Here we go! Please enjoy this joint project that came as a result of the joined geniuses of CrimsonBlade11 and bamafelix~! PREPARE FOR THE ULTIMATE BADASSNESS!
-CrimsonBlade11: 'Ultimate Badassness'? Well, if that's what you want to say… Anyway, I hope you guys like what we've created here, as does my illustrious collaboration partner bamafelix.
Also, prepare for the ultimate wrath of Kazusa and Makotoooooooooo!
...nope. That's all for my rant~!
Disclaimer: We, bamafelix or CrimsonBlade11, own nothing involving DxD. (The rest of this is solely from me, bamafelix) If we did, we'd probably have more light novels in English. Been a long while since we got one of those light novels translated. It's almost nerve-wracking since all of the translators are inactive...Oh dear merciful God, please let the light novels be translated further! With the spoilers I've been given, I HAVE TO know what happens! I have to read the light novels! Those spoilers can't be true! They just can't be!
-Kazusa was created by me, CrimsonBlade11, and Makoto was created by bamafelix. If there are any question regarding our characters or the story in general, just pm us or review to your heart's content!
On with the story~
Life 0: I Don't Want These Kinds of Heroes
It all started over a year ago. These rumors that began to spread around not only the Underworld, but even within the realm of Heaven.
The rumors of the servants of Serafall Leviathan. No one knows who they really are or where they came from. Only that they appeared out of the unknown, being named as the new servants of the Maou, Serafall Leviathan.
The only thing that is certain about these two is their terrifying power.
The first, the newest [Pawn] of Leviathan-sama, it is said he fights with the ferociousness of a beast, possessing the ability to command even the heavens to obey his whims, creating powerful lightning that could destroy entire mountains, obliterating entire armies when he unleashes his full fury. He has even been said to possess actual fangs with which he could rip apart even gods. Not only that, but the [Pawn] used to reincarnate him as a Devil was said to be a Mutation Piece. Truly, he is amongst the strongest [Pawns].
The second servant, the one Leviathan-sama deemed worthy to become her [Queen]. A man possibly more frightening than the beast-like [Pawn]. It has been rumored to be near impossible to land a single blow on this man. He is also said to unleash powerful flames like that of a Dragon. Flames whose power could match those of the mighty Phenex clan, a clan renowned for their mastership over flames. Not only that, but any enemy who faces this man is bound for misfortune. Many have faced this man and many have come out poorly, barely hanging onto their sanity by the end of the encounter. Whatever drove them to this state, it was apparently too unspeakable for them to recount. Truly, may God have mercy on any soul who was to face Leviathan-sama's [Queen].
Together, these two possess amazing power. Together, their combined power is said to allow them to possibly defeat even an Ultimate-Class Devil. Their pasts are a mystery to anyone but themselves and perhaps Leviathan-sama.
They are highly treasured by Leviathan-sama as some of her most capable servants.
She would truly only entrust the most important missions to these two.
Where these two are as of right now...? Well-
Kazusa's POV...
I stood, staring tensely at the younger boy who stood across from me.
He was 16 and possessed black and slightly spiky hair and blue eyes. He was slender and in-shape, possessing an admittedly handsome face as well like that of one of those annoying bishounen you read about in manga. He wore a student uniform similar to my own. Only this douche wore his in a rather delinquent-ish style with the jacket open and wrinkled. Wrapped around his wrists, palms, and knuckles were protective bandages to complete what he likes to call his "delinquent-look". Personally, I thought he just looked like a total tool.
Not like me, who looked awesome.
Being 18 years old and standing at a modest 5'11" with short strawberry blonde hair, I was blessed with a handsome face. Most people don't like my amber-colored eyes because they tell me I always get this weird glint in my eyes that they don't like. My frame was moderately muscled, like a swimmer's build. I possessed a faint scar that trails from the back of my left ear, underneath my jawline, before tapering off my chin.
When it comes to my own school uniform, it's always immaculately pressed and looks like it was freshly cleaned. I admit to only doing this to piss off the mutt in front of me, who could never manage to keep his uniform clean. The only part of the uniform I don't wear is that stupid ribbon. You tell me to wear it, I'll just ignore you.
But yes, it's come down to a staring contest between me and the mutt standing in front of me.
"To think...that's it's all come down to this, Mako." I said.
Mako growled at the nickname I called him by. "I've told you time and time again, Kazusa. DON'T call me that! It pisses me off!"
I knew that of course. I'm sure he KNEW I knew that because he was glaring daggers at me. Perhaps it was the faint grin on my face that gave it away.
"Enough games, Kazusa! We're finishing this!" Mako spoke like he was trying to be a badass when he really wasn't.
I smirked. "Alright then. Go!"
We both threw out our respective fists, ready to finally put an end to this issue.
Then suddenly the door to the room slammed open.
"Ah! Youko-san! I'm sorry. I was just looking for Makoto-kun in here!"
Both Mako and I turned away from our game of rock-paper-scissors to the newest occupant of the empty classroom entered.
She was a busty girl with glasses and waist-length black hair. That's about all I cared to take in concerning Tsubaki's appearance. I'd seen her so many times that it didn't take much for me to identify the Vice President of the Student Council.
I looked back to the game between me and Mako.
Shit. I had drawn scissors while he had drawn rock. Just gonna fix this up a little aaaaand-
Done.
"Oh, hey Tsubaki-chan. What's up?" The mutt was completely distracted by the arrival of one of his many stalkers...OK, maybe "stalker" would be going too far with Tsubaki. Maybe with Momo, but not with Tsubaki. Tsubaki was genuinely head-over-heels in love with that idiot. It only took one week for the guy to unknowingly charm the girl.
Too bad for her that the idiot is already in a committed relationshi-HAHAHAHAHA!
I can't say that with a straight face.
The idiot was building a harem and he's yet to even realize it. He's already got a girlfriend.
Koneko Toujou. The school mascot.
The two idiots were madly in love. Of course, as always with Devils, the relationship would never be monagamous. Makoto Saeki has already gotten two other girls to fall in love with him. And just about everyone but that idiot has realized that Momo is just about stalking him and Tsubaki is somewhat stalkerish. Of course, that might be partially my fault since I keep feeding her info about Mako that just makes her SEEM stalkerish.
Even Koneko-chan has noticed.
The idiot keeps on attracting babes just by being his normal, idiot self.
"U-Um, Makoto-kun..." Tsubaki seemed to become nervous. The girl was stone-cold serious all of the time except when around Mako. She was the second most-serious person I'm often in contact with and she couldn't even speak a simple request to the mutt.
Come on! Don't back out now! We've discussed this!
Mako stared at the glasses-wearing girl with confusion. "Something wrong, Tsubaki-chan?"
"Erm...I...well..." Damn. The girl's gonna crash and burn. The idiot was just staring blankly.
...he really was dumb as nails.
"I was...just wondering if you needed any help with your homework!"
Damn! She backed out! I spent a good hour talking to this girl on the phone, trying to convince her to just go ahead and either confess or ask this idiot out. Not of my own volition of course. This dick called me up at 2:00 AM last night, asking again for Mako's preferences and what colors he likes and (as creepy as it was) what size underwear he wore. Just imagining the thoughts involved with all three of those gave me chills. And what did all that wasted time give me?! This!
Mako raised an eyebrow. "Er...No. I'm good. Thanks though, Tsubaki-chan."
Tsubaki turned around to leave when I coughed into my fist.
"AHEM!" I interrupted. Tsubaki turned to face me. "Wasn't there SOMETHING ELSE you wanted to-"
"Hey! You goddamned cheater! You changed your choice!" I heard Mako shout at me.
Ah. Mako was more perceptive than he appeared.
He was clenching his fists at his side. "You can't just do that! There's no way in Hell I'm gonna be the one to go out on patrol to keep an eye on those stupid Fallen Angels!"
I waved the hand which I had changed to a paper sign. "Sorry, Mako, but I'm afraid that paper beats rock~"
Mako growled at me. "Fuck that! You only won because you're a goddamned cheater, you fluffy-tailed rodent!"
I laughed mockingly at that comment. "I'd really think you'd be okay with fluffy tails considering that really dirty pick that your lovely "Neko-chan" sent you. Man, I never thought she'd be willing to dress like that~"
To be honest, I was bluffing about that.
What actually surprised me was that Mako's face turned a deep-red color. Then his face contorted into an expression of rage.
"Who-How did you see those?!"
"I have my ways." I said vaguely.
"Bastard! Koneko-chan gave me those out of trust!"
"I thought she gave them to you just so you'd still only think of her when you're touching yourself."
Mako's eyes went wide out of shock. Oh gross! Does he really-?! No wait, his face was turning into one of insulted outrage. Nope. Never mind.
"Say one more word, Kazusa. I swear. I WILL kill you." Mako threatened me. "One word."
I stared blankly at Mako. He stared blankly back.
"OK...You furry." There. That was THREE words. Not one.
"You sonnuvabitch! IMMA KILL YOU!"
The poor mutt crouched down on all fours and lunged forwards with his teeth, leaping through the air to get at me...
Or the illusion of me that I created. The poor furry bastard only attacked an illusion I created of myself when he wasn't looking while I hid myself using the same brand of illusions. Mako flew right through imaginary-me and slammed face-first into the desks behinds it, knocking them all over before kissing the wall behind them with his entire body.
Ouch.
After Mako slid away from the wall, I noted a small crater his impact had created.
Huh, how hard was he planning on hitting me, I wonder?
Oh well~
All that matters is that it was HIM who got smashed into the metaphorical pavement rather than me.
"Gyaaaaah!" Hm, Mako got up faster than I thought he would considering the force with which he hit the wall.
I casually ducked, causing the poor bastard to fly right over my head and face-first, yet again, into a group of desks. By this point, I think he's doing more damage to the school than he could ever do against me.
"I'll get you this time!"
LEAP-SLAM!
Seriously, this guy is such a simple-minded dimwit. If he wanted to, he could've sniffed me out by this point. But no, he continued leaping and attacking illusions I created.
"I don't care how long it takes! I'll keep slashing until I finally get the right one!"
He leaped at yet another illusion I created, having the same results as his other attempts.
"Um...Makoto-kun..." Tsubaki tried interrupting his failures.
"Not now, Tsubaki-chan. I feel like I'm really close to getting this bastard."
Lather, rinse, repeat.
I sweatdropped. This would be so much more hilarious if it wasn't quite so sad.
Ha, I wonder how dear ol' So-tan would feel if she saw this?
"What is going on here?"
Speak of the Devil and she will come.
Standing in the doorway of the room was a familiar girl with violet eyes and a surprisingly relatively small bust when you compare her to her older sister.
Sona Sitri. Possibly the strictest and most annoying person I know. She could probably be as fun as her older sister if she didn't (probably literally) have a broomstick shoved up her ass.
I dispelled the illusion that hid myself, smiling and bowing dramatically to the heiress of the Sitri.
"Ah. What a surprise to see you here, So-tan." I teased. I noticed the corner of Sona's mouth twitch slightly, most likely out of annoyance. "If you're referring to this mess, I have no idea how the room got like this. I only recently arrived here after all."
Rather than turn her sharp gaze towards Mako who slowly got back to his feet, shooting me a sharp glare as if he was ready to pounce again.
Sona's look, however, sharpened even further. Her expression said something along the lines of "Cut the shit. We both know you had something to do with this."
And she was right.
So-tan turned to Mako who was still glaring daggers at me. "What happened here?"
Mako jammed an accusing finger in my direction. "Kazusa's being a prick, that's what happened! And now I'm gonna kick his ass!" I could tell Mako was getting serious by the way some of the strands of hair on his head began to spike upward, as if being pushed upward by some force. He held up his arm as electricity began to build up and take shape in the palm of his hand.
I smirked. I guess Mako wanted to mix things up this time. He doesn't usually start things off with his Sacred Gear.
"Fine then. Let's go." I prepared to unleash my own power when-
"ARH ARH ARH!" Mako covered his ears suddenly and his eyes bulged so far out of his head that I thought they would pop out. He started letting out loud, pained yelps, dropping to the ground and dragging his body in circles. "ARH ARH-WOOOOOO!"
It was actually kind of funny to see Mako do what appeared as some weird break dance.
I looked back at Sona to see she had a small piece of metal in her mouth. She was blowing on it.
I recognized the piece of metal as a whistle. I found myself grinning as I recognized what KIND of whistle it was.
Sona finally stopped blowing into the seemingly noiseless whistle, causing Mako to finally calm down.
He sat up, glaring at Sona.
"What the fuck, Senpai?!"
Sona held up the whistle. "Onee-sama gave me this just in case you were to misbehave again."
Mako rubbed his still-aching ears. "Well what did I do?! More importantly: How come I'm the only one being punished?! Kazusa started it!"
The violet-eyed girl rubbed her temples. "Makoto-kun, I'm sure we've both realized by this point that Kazusa is beyond hope." Just to annoyingly acknowledge them, I gave them a playful grin, to which she released a breath.
Mako rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. "Yeah, you're right. He IS an unmanageable bastard, ain't he?"
"Coming from the mutt whose first solution to most problems is to punch something or blow things up." I retorted.
"That's it," Mako growled, "I am SO kicking your as-ARH ARH-WOOOOO!" Mako ended up rolling about on the ground in pain once more.
Sona had started to blow on the whistle again.
"OK! OK!" Mako screamed. "I GET IT! I GIVE! I GIVE!"
Sona once again relinquished the whistle from her lips, ceasing Mako's punishment once again.
"Hey, Sona, where can I get one of those whistles," I joked. Neh. I'm not the type to torture Mako in such a way. If I wanna pick on him or screw with him, I do it with subtle manipulations or through humilation tactics. Physically torturing him is just plain boring. Plus, I would never stoop to that level unless it was for someone who ROYALLY pissed me off.
"And you," Sona said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Act more respectful as it's due. You must not bring shame to your position as Onee-sama's servants." She was not pleased. "I have half a mind to report your actions to Onee-sama as it is."
"Go right ahead," I taunted, "but then somebody might accidentally let slip the certain "scene" he/she stumbled upon between you and your sister one night..."
Sona's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"
Mako frowned and Tsubaki also gained an interested look.
[What ARE you talking about?]
The two spoke in perfect unison. It was kind of trippy actually.
...those two would make good couple. Or, master-servant, or whatever the Hell it's called between the possessor of a harem and one of the members.
I smirked. "Oh. Mayhaps this somebody would reveal how much "sisterly love" you and Serafall-sama shared?"
Sona's eyes widened as she realized what I was talking about.
It was one of those days where me, Mako, Sona, and Serafall were all together in the same house. Serafall, being the adorable sis-con she was, ended up sleeping in Sona's room with my manipulations. I expected Sona to wake up shocked and embarrassed, her face squeezed between Serafall's surprisingly large breasts (surprisingly large for her small body size at least). What I DIDN'T expect was, when I checked up on them in the morning, to see Sona completely asleep, kissing Serafall in the lips.
It wasn't particularly dirty or passionate. More like Sona was moving her head around in her sleep and she accidentally brushed her lips against Serafall's.
Sona only woke up when she heard the sound of my camera snapping photos.
You gotta love blackmail.
Sona opened her mouth to say something, but there was no intelligent argument, no clever response, nothing. This is the point that they would call "checkmate". As long as I had that embarrassing scene over Sona's head, I could get away with just about anything (as long as it's within reason at least).
The poor Sitri heiress could do nothing as I successfully got away with blackmailing her.
The annoyed/embarrassed look on her face made it all the more worth it.
Mako looked on upon the exchange with confusion and curiosity.
"I'm lost. What is he talking about, Senpai?"
Rather than answer with words, Sona responded by yet again blowing on the dog whistle.
"GAAAAAAH!" Mako screamed. "WHY!?" Ha. Poor bastard.
I'm one of the few people who can irritate Sona to the point that she punishes someone else other than her desired target to relieve her frustration.
"Well, now that it's decided that Mako will be taking the next shift, I'll be heading out now. Later."
I waved goodbye, turning to leave the room.
"Wait a minute, you bast-GAAAAH!" Mako tried to intervene and stop me from leaving with the matter settled in such a way, but he was halted by the suffering he experienced as a result of the cursed whistle.
After Sona finally finished venting her frustrations, Mako laid on the ground, a dazed and pained look on his face, Tsubaki crouching next to him, gently trying to shake him back into consciousness with a cute, worried expression on her face.
...
They're fiiiiiiine~
Ignoring the rest of those guys, I strolled right out of the classroom.
It was only then that I realized something:
All of the people who I usually hung out with were busy now.
.
.
.
What have I done?! I'M SO BORED NOW!
Makoto's POV...
Gah! I hate that asshole, Kazusa!
After Sona-senpai finally ordered me to take this shift, I realized there was no fighting it.
Unlike Kazusa, I actually respected the will of the younger sister of my master, Serafall-sama.
After all, I was pretty grateful to Serafall-sama for bringing me back to life after I died at the hands of those bastards...
I shook my head, trying to get those bad memories out of my head. I didn't want to remember those right now...not after what happened.
My only complaint is that she brought back that fluffy-tailed rodent, Kazusa, too.
The thing that annoys me the most is that she always seems to like him better than me. Then again, Kazusa is her [Queen]. It's only natural that they are closer than Serafall is with her other servants.
...Hehe. Kazusa's a Queen. Man, I can't remember how long I was busting my guts laughing after learning what Evil Piece he was brought back with.
I don't mind the piece I got brought back with. A [Pawn] is the most versatile piece and always possesses the ability to change the tides of any battle.
I-
"Are you okay, Makoto-kun?"
I turned my head to see Tsubaki-chan staring at me with concern in her eyes.
I smiled for the first time today, appreciating her concern. "Yeah. That whistle hurt my sensitive ears quite a bit, but I'm all aces now."
I liked Tsubaki-chan. She was always so nice to me. It was a nice change from Sona-senpai's strict harshness and Kazusa's "assholishness".
Sometimes, I fancied the notion that Tsubaki had a crush on me. She usually tended to be as serious as Sona-senpai, but she becomes more sociable and much cuter whenever she gets shy. She got shy a lot when she's not taking care of her duties as Sona-senpai's Queen. She also ended up hanging around me more than the other Student Council members.
But then I realized how crazy it was. I mean, Tsubaki-chan and I are friends.
I won't say I haven't thought about it. But I WAS in a relationship already with my adorable Koneko-chan~
I know I'm a Devil, but I don't think Koneko or Tsubaki would appreciate me trying to build harem. In the same way I'm somewhat possessive of Koneko, she's kind of possessive of me. Not excessively like a yandere, but she tends to become rather competitive with the other girls around me, ESPECIALLY when they're larger than her when it comes to bust or when they're older...coz I kind of have a fetish for older women. I admit it. It's not something I hide, but I got the feeling that Koneko felt somewhat self-conscious because of it. It made me feel icky inside when she got sad or jealous like that.
Even if she's younger and smaller than me, I like Koneko very much~
So, even though I admit that Tsubaki is kind of sexy as a "by-the-book-serious" senior student character with a hidden shy side, and would look hot in a maid's outfit (maids are ANOTHER fetish of mine), I cannot in good conscience explore the theory she liked me.
It was a crazy thought anyway. There's NO WAY Tsubaki likes me THAT way.
But back to answering her previous question.
I nodded in response to the question Tsubaki asked before. "Yeah, I'm fine. That whistle is a bitch to hear. It's so high pitched and I'm the only one who can hear it. A real pain in the ass."
Tsubaki-chan bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry! Perhaps I should've spoken up earlier! If I had-!"
I petted Tsubaki on the head, calming her down. "Don't worry about it. It's just the same shit as it always is with Kazusa. One of these days, I'm gonna bury that prick six feet under."
"...I was always under the impression that you two were friends." Tsubaki spoke with confusion in her voice. "You always seem to be hanging around each other."
I frowned. "Friends? With that guy? As if!" I felt annoyed. To be honest, I like to think that Kazusa and I are frenemies. We hated each other's guts with a passion, but we could never bring out a desire to truly kill each other. It was as annoying as it was perplexing, really. "One of these days, Kazusa's gonna get his ass kicked, mark my words."
By this point, we had reached outside the front entrance of the school.
What I was surprised to see was someone else waiting for me and Tsubaki by the front gate.
Upon recognizing the beauty, I grinned and waved vigorously.
"Koneko-chaaaaaaan!"
Unable to keep my cool around my adorable girlfriend, I immediately ran towards the white-haired loli staring at me from the entrance of the school gates.
I stopped short right in front of her, smiling brightly. I always got so excited when I saw Koneko.
Perhaps it was my animal instincts recognizing her as someone dear to me, causing me to desire to shower her with endless affection until she either returned it, smacked me away, or until I ran out of energy and gave up.
Koneko stared at me with her expression somewhat stoic as usual, but I could tell she was also happy.
"Hey, what are you doing here, Koneko-chan? Doesn't the Occult Research Club have activities planned?"
Koneko shook her head. "...None for today." Was her brief answer. "...Want to go get something sweet to share?"
This was Koneko's way of asking me if I wanted to go on a date. You see, Koneko is usually stingy when it comes to her sweets. To willingly offer to share something sweet with me was not only a romantic gesture (in an odd way, I admit), but it is also a sign of how close we are.
I sighed. "I'd really love to, but I got stuck with recon duty today. SOMEBODY has to keep an eye on those pesky Fallen Angels."
I noticed Koneko's gaze shift a few inches to my right. "...And Shinra-senpai?"
I turned to my right to see Tsubaki-chan finally catching up to me.
Then I noted the slight change in expression on Koneko's face. "...What are you doing with her?"
Oh. Jealousy.
I raised my hands up to my chest in surrender. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Tsubaki and I were just walking together to the gate. Nothing ecchi or anything."
"I-It's true, Toujou-san!" Tsubaki-chan added, her face flushing red.
Koneko eyed both me and Tsubaki-chan with suspicion. After a few seconds, her expression returned to normal.
"...I believe you."
Well that's good. I don't know how Koneko would react if she thought I was building a harem.
I sighed. "Geez, Koneko. You know how I feel about you. It wounds me to think that you think I would cheat on you with Tsubaki-chan just because she's taller and has larger, firmer-looking, and softer-looking breasts than you. You're my girlfriend, the girl I care most about."
.
.
.
SLAP
Tsubaki-chan face-palmed, but I noticed a light blush on her face. Koneko's expression just became blank.
...What?...Was it something I said?
Koneko walked up to me, placing a gentle hand on my chest.
She looked up at my face, staring me in the eyes. "...In a way, that was a sweet and romantic thing to say." I got the feeling there was a "but" coming along. "...But-"
In hindsight, I think I knew I had it coming.
Koneko slammed her heel down on my foot (REALLY HARD), causing me to let out a yelp of pain. Koneko then followed up by jamming her elbow hard into my stomach, knocking all of the wind out of me.
I crouched down, hunching over in pain as I clutched my stomach.
When I looked up at Koneko, she was looking down at me with an annoyed and disapproving look.
I managed a weak smile, resisting the urge to spit up.
"...So..." I wheezed out. "...A raincheck on that date?"
Koneko turned her back to me, preparing to walk away. But before she left, I heard the faintest whisper:
"Yes."
I could swear on my mother's...I hope it's her grave at any rate. I swear on her grave (hopefully) I saw the faintest smile on Koneko's face.
Kyaaaa! Koneko, you're so cute when you smile~!
I was still hunched over in pain, wheezing as I recovered from Koneko's jealousy-filled blows.
"Um...Makoto-kun...are you okay?" Tsubaki-chan placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah. I'm good." I replied shortly. "...You can go ahead and tell Sona-senpai...that I went to take my shift. I'll be off in a sec..."
Tsubaki had an uncertain expression on her face, but she nodded. She was about to leave when she opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to change her mind.
Then she appeared to change it again, opening her mouth to speak.
"M-M-Makoto-kun..."
I raised an eyebrow, my confusion temporarily helping me recover from my pain. "Yeah?"
Tsubaki-chan froze up. Whatever she was trying to say was stuck in her throat. She seemed to choke several times, trying to say something. What it was she was trying to say to me? I had no idea in Hell.
"...I just..." She finally spoke after a good ten minutes of silence. I had fully recovered by that point and was just standing, staring at her. "...it's..." Tsubaki seemed to blush as she physically strained to speak her mind. After realizing she wasn't going to get it done, she sighed. "Just be careful, okay?"
I chuckled. I waved off my senpai's concern. "Relax, babe. I'm the [Pawn] of Serafall Leviathan. These are Low-Class Fallen Angels who haven't even received their second pair of wings yet. I'm sure I can handle anything these guys dish out even if they DO catch me spying on them."
Tsubaki's eyes widened.
I frowned. "...was "babe" too personal?" I spoke informally with all girls, even my Senpais (except for Devils of a higher rank than me), sometimes even coming off as flirtatious. But I've never come off as too flirtatious with Tsubaki-senpai. I mean, we are friends and end up associating too often for me to make things awkward by coming across as a perverted douche like a certain annoying Yakitori...
If I ever become like that guy, may The Big Man Upstairs strike me dead.
Maou forbid if I ever become like him...
Tsubaki-senpai's face flushed as she shook her head "no". "N-No! I-It's fine! I-I just..."
"Well I should get going." I cut Tsubaki-chan off, needing to get going.
"Right..." Tsubaki-chan replied. "I love-I mean, I hope to see you later!"
Wait. What was that first thing she was gonna say?!
Before I could question her, Tsubaki-chan immediately vanished.
I scratched my head. "I guess she was using the speed trait of her [Queen] piece..."
Why I was talking to myself, I had no idea?
I placed my arms behind my head, leaning backwards. I continued walking out the gate and traveling the usual route for patrols and recon.
Well, these Fallen Angels are huge pansies. If I'm lucky, I won't even get into an actual encounter with them...
Well, as long as Kazusa doesn't start shit...
Kazusa's POV...
"I'm surprised you came here."
Standing before me was a young woman with long, black hair and the most ADORABLY malicious eyes I've ever seen. That's right. They were so NOT-threatening to me that they were adorable. She wore some school uniform that I've never seen before in order to pass herself off as a human, but I knew what she really was.
I smiled. "Ah. I was curious why this certain Fallen Angel-chan was so bold as to outright ask me to meet with her anonymously."
The Fallen Angel girl raised an eyebrow. "So you know I was the one who sent you the message after you left that school? And you still came here?" There was a hint of confused concern and disbelief in her voice. "I...I'm not sure whether to call you brave or stupid."
I lackadaisically waved a hand to the side. "Well, some people say I'm more along the lines of outright insane, but tomato, tomatoe."
"Che." The Fallen Angel girl seemed to be biting her tongue, resisting the urge to break out into full-blown laughter. "So this is the so-called "legendary [Queen] of the Maou Leviathan"?" She asked in amusement. "What a joke! This might be far easier than I thought!"
She snapped her fingers. Then all at once, our party of two was joined by a few dozen party crashers.
They all wore priest robes and carried light swords and light pistols. Exorcists.
Of course, since they were with this Fallen Angel, they were undoubtedly "Strays".
Fallen Angel barked sharp orders to the Stray Exorcists. "Kill the [Queen] of Leviathan. This is too great of an opportunity to cripple the Devils to give up!"
The Exorcists seemed uneasy about following this order.
"B-But, ma'am! I-Isn't that rather reckless?" One bolder Exorcist asked.
"Y-Yeah. If we invoke the wrath of a Maou, then-"
"Enough of your jabber!" The Fallen Angel commanded harshly. "Once "the package" arrives, it won't matter! I'll be invincible and the pesky Maous won't be any threat to us! Now kill him!"
Oh, goody, and here I was hoping for 'quality' entertainment...
Makoto's POV...
Well, it's quite another thing if it's the Fallen Angels who start shit.
In that case, I have no probz with Kazusa going bat-shit crazy.
If anything, I'd feel sorrier for the Fallen Angels if they were stupid enough to try to take him on alone. Even more sorry if they faced the trauma of trying to fight him with an ambush.
Oh, those were not pleasant days...
Kazusa's POV...
[3 Minutes Later...]
"Oh boo. I didn't know you were bringing friends." I said in an amused tone.
I nudged a nearby charred corpse of one of the Exorcists, with my foot, who still had remains that even resembled a human body.
I grinned mockingly at the Fallen Angel girl who was on the ground, trembling as she looked up at me with fear in her eyes.
"You should've brought more." I finished with a dark tone and an almost sadistic expression on my face.
Surrounding us were the charred remains of the ambush of Stray Exorcists that the Fallen Angel had set up in a vain attempt to murder me, the [Queen] of my most adorable [King], Serafall Leviathan, one of the Yondai-Maou.
I whistled. "Wow. While totally ineffective, I gotta admire the balls you must've had to try and ambush a guy like me. I really do." I rubbed my chin. "But, a little something you should know for the future-"
I moved closer to the Fallen Angel who desperately tried to crawl away backwards, but was ultimately too petrified with fear to actually try something. I leaned in real close, my dark smile being easy to see by the Fallen Angel before me.
"-You ain't worth shit." The Fallen Angel trembled even worse upon hearing my words. "If you can't even lay a single hand on me, then you won't stand a chance against my [King] who is significantly stronger than me. I truly cannot compare to her or the Maou-samas. Not at the moment anyhow. So, in four words to describe how you'd fare: You would be fucked. Get it?"
Not wanting to risk my wrath, the Fallen Angel nodded very quickly.
I was about to go ahead and leave, ready to blame the charred corpses around here on some crazy gas leak, when I had one more thought.
I looked at the Fallen Angel girl once again, using my index finger under her chin to force her to look up at me.
"One more piece of advice: I understand you're observing the one known as Hyoudou Issei-kun, correct? You see, an associate of mine-as I'm sure you know-is also observing you. And let's drop all pretenses. I'm fairly certain by this point that both of our groups are well aware that we're observing and keeping an eye on one another. While he is a simple-minded dimwit who tends to get on my nerves, this world would be much less fun without him around to stir things up. If anything happens to put this dimwit in danger, either physically or politically, or if you somehow manage to kill him...let's just say I know where you and your pretty crow friends live. Do we understand one another?"
The Fallen Angel turned a deep shade of green. I don't think she could nod any faster.
With that my facial features returned to normal. "Good~! Bye-Bye now~!" I turned to leave. "Be good~! Eat your vegetables and don't be a stranger~!"
I smelled what could've potentially have been a little "accident" around the Fallen Angel.
If she was that fearful, then I was fairly certain she got the message. I guess hanging around Akeno really helped with creating the perfect sadist persona... Maybe I need to get her something as thanks, since she's been a big help... Shrugging, I continued on my merry way.
Now, it's all good as long as Mako doesn't fuck up somehow...
Makoto's POV...
ACHOO!
I let loose a violent sneeze into my sleeve.
I sniffed twice to make sure no mucus was running down my nose. I frowned, looking around.
Either I'm catching a cold...or someone's talking about me...
I couldn't help a perverted smile that grew on my face. Part of me fantasized that it was some cute girl fantasizing of me in the bathtub...
I WAS rather popular in Kuoh Academy despite being rumored to be a pervert...which I admittedly am. But I was good-looking pervert with a good heart, unlike that douchebag, Issei Hyoudou.
The A-hole ruined SEVERAL of my favorite peeping spots with those two loser buddies of his! I couldn't very well stop them from using those spots without revealing that I, myself, was a huge pervert to the female populace of Kuoh Academy who adored me.
The hole in the wall of the kendo club's changing room, the lockers for the changing room for the girl's swim team, the hidden spot in the ceiling above the soccer team's girls' changing room...that one was always my favorite.
I cried to myself as I once again felt the loss of that spot. That one was my favorite. The girls always came back in from practice, their sweat-drenched clothes clinging to their tight and well-toned bodies...
Auuuu! Damn you, Hyoudoooooooou! Those girls had the finest posteriors and you ruined that for meeeeee!
This may sound contradictory to my thoughts about how I feel about Koneko from earlier, but I was not lying. I know where to draw the line with my perversion.
I don't peep excessively (it's more of a moderate luxury that I award myself with every now and then) unlike Hyoudou and the Perverted Trio. I don't obsess with the female body. I appreciate it, but I don't obsess over porn or erotic games. Nope. Everything in moderation. I sometimes peep, I sometimes make-out with Koneko whenever we are feeling romantic, but I don't go about fantasizing about building a harem or any of that overly erotic junk.
Nope nope~
But back to what I was doing before.
Apparently the Fallen Angels have a lot of free time on their hands during the day.
I mean, it was kind of boring to watch them during the day.
I knew all of their names and faces.
The blonde, gothic lolita-styled Fallen Angel girl. Mittelt. Possibly the weakest member of the four Fallen Angels based in the old Church on the outskirts of town. She wasn't well developed and could easily be mistaken for a child or a girl in her early teens. The only places I saw her go into were places that sold food. Caramel, chocolate, fruit-flavored candies, ice cream, mainly sweets. Somewhere in my gut, I got the feeling the reason she fell from Heaven had to do with gluttony. It was weird how a girl who ate as much as she did was still as small as she was...All implied.
Sensing she wasn't up to anything bad, I decided to pursue one of the other major observation targets.
Next came the guy who was always dressed like he was heading out on a rainy night. The fedora-wearing gent, the Fallen Angel Dohnaseek. He was fairly boring. He didn't stray too far from the Fallen Angel base. The most I observed him doing was stopping at a local coffee shop. He liked his black. I don't understand how people drink it like that? I prefer my coffee with milk, sugar, or some other kind of sweetener. I can't stand it black.
But anyway, nothing unusual with this guy. He didn't so much as insult someone. Even when the one waitress spilled his first cup of coffee all over him, he was fairly polite about it. Didn't seem like a bad guy. Boring, but not bad other than the fact that he and his crew were trespassing in Gremory territory.
I eventually got bored and moved on.
Then came the bountiful beauty who I have no shame in admitting I was ogling.
The beautiful Fallen Angel, Kalawarner. To sum up her appearance in a word:
Hoooooooooooooooooooot~!
She was truly beautious! She possessed curves in all the right places and she had a raw presence that radiated sexiness! And her tush! Truly amongst the greatest posteriors!
However, she didn't seem like the type of woman I should associate with. She spent a fair majority of the time I was watching either drinking or flirting with other men, persuading them to buy her more drinks. When she left the bar she was at, she was with a fairly pleasant and innocent-looking chap who looked like he was awfully nervous and embarrassed.
For the reason as to why he was like that, my money was on the possibility that Fallen Angel Kalawarner was about to "corrupt" him, him being a virgin. And I got the feeling that that would be personal and not for my eyes.
And that was when I took a break.
Nothing wrong with that, right? Just taking a little break every now and then is just fine.
I only had one more Fallen Angel to keep tabs on. What could possibly happen if I took a fifteen minute break? My watch shift was almost over anyway.
I ended up stopping by a nearby street curb outside a local convenience store and sat down, stretching my arms.
"Well, not too bad of a day I guess." I said to myself. "Looks like those Fallen Angels didn't feel like stirring up trouble today. Sure there's that fourth one, Raynare, to think about, but she's still a smallfry. Shouldn't be too much trouble to track her down and keep an eye on her...although, Kazusa DID tell me she's been more active lately...I wonder what she's doing..."
Then the hairs on the back of my neck all stood upright.
My instincts took over as I felt a strange danger approaching. I quickly raised my hand behind my back. On cue, I felt something cylindrical, cold, and made of metal slam into my hand. I wrapped my hand around the can tightly.
"Oh hey, heads up, Mako." A familiar and obnoxious voice muttered in a monotone way several seconds after the fact.
I shot one annoyed glance over my shoulder to see Kazusa with a disappointed look on his face.
I could tell from the way that his hand was positioned that he had deliberately been aiming for the back of my head.
"You know what-?!" I started, standing up, about to chew the bastard out. Then I gave up, sighing. It was starting to get too late for this shit. I looked down at the can he had thrown at me. It was a can of orange juice. "I'm gonna drink this."
SNAP
I opened the tab and took a large sip.
I was surprised it wasn't actually tomato juice or something. I wouldn't put it past Kazusa to switch the label using his illusions.
I moved back into the shade of the convenience store, sitting against the wall.
SNAP
I looked up at Kazusa who was leaning against the same was I was sitting against, sipping his own canned drink.
"Nobody said you could stand next to me." I spoke with venom in my voice.
"Nobody said I couldn't." Kazusa coolly replied.
I shrugged. Fair enough. No point in arguing. Even if someone said Kazusa COULDN'T do something, he'd still probably do it if he wanted to. That's the kind of guy he's always been.
He and I just stood and sat there respectively, sipping our drinks and staring off towards the setting sun that loomed over in the horizon.
It was weird, yet serene...Just the two of us, staring silently at such a beautiful sight.
"Did it always look like this...?" I blinked, turning to look up at Kazusa.
He held this strange, passive expression on his face. Not happy, annoyed, sad. Just passive, or more like he was at peace.
"The sunset, I mean." Kazusa clarified. "Back when it was just us, remember? Back before all of this Devil stuff when it was just you, me, and-" He cut himself off, as if remembering something rather unpleasant. He glanced at me and I could tell he cut himself off to spare my feelings.
Kazusa was a total asshole, but he knew where to draw the line. He knew it hurt to mention "that person" in front of me.
"Or maybe even before then, before we met "that person", when it was just us two...Was the sunset always like this?"
What an odd question.
I turned away from Kazusa and looked back toward the horizon.
I squinted my eyes, trying to see what Kazusa was seeing. After realizing I was finding nothing, I shrugged.
"I dunno. I can't even begin to think what we thought of the sunset back then." I replied honestly. "Even though it's only been a few years, it feels like it's been so much longer...but still, things have changed so much since then."
"What are you talking about, idiot?"
I glared at Kazusa who was looking down at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm just saying that our lives have changed a lot since we first met..."
I remembered that day. Despite the fact it was the day I first met the biggest asshole in the universe, I still looked back on it fondly. After all, it WAS the day I first got my name...
"Stupid mutt." Kazusa whispered harshly. "Nothing's changed since then. We're still wooing babes, causing chaos at every turn, and trolling people to the brink of insanity."
Well, he's got me there I guess. Although it's mostly him when it comes to trolling people. And I'm also in a committed relationship, so it's not likely I'm still wooing hot chicks. Although, I admit it wouldn't be the first time I've been unaware of the growing affections of girls around me...
The last time I wooed a girl unknowingly...I didn't even realize until I had fallen as well...
I felt myself become sad at the memory. Your first love always seems to end the most painfully in terms of emotion.
I sighed. "Geez, at this rate, I might get so depressed I might need to get a drink."
Kazusa raised an eyebrow. "You're kind of underage, ya know?"
"Tch. Shut up. Your first drink was when you were 15." I retorted, clicking my tongue. "I had to carry you back to your room while you reeked of booze."
Kazusa stuck out his tongue at me. "Not my fault I got too drunk to recognize that I should stop drinking."
I snorted, suppressing a laugh at that. Despite being a jerk, Kazusa still possessed the ability to make me laugh when he acts stupid enough.
Maybe things haven't really changed-
RIIIIIIIING
I sighed, upset by how the ring of my cellphone ruined the reminiscing going on between me and Kazusa. It was one of the few times we weren't at each other's throats. When Kazusa WASN'T being a total asshole (which he was about 99% of the time), he was actually a bearable person. Not that I'd ever let him know I thought that.
Not wanting to upset whomever it was (especially if it was Koneko, she got really suspicious and jealous whenever I took too long to pick up), I picked up my cellphone and flipped it open, accepting the call.
I placed the speaker to my ear. "Hello?"
[What exactly have you been doing?]
I recognized Sona-senpai's irritated voice. I bit my lip. It would be bad if I told her I've been goofing off these last ten minutes or so, sitting by a convenience store and drinking juice.
"I...I've been patrolling and keeping an eye on the Fallen Angels."
Shit. I hesitated. I hope she won't pick up on that.
[Are you sure?] Shit. By the tone of her voice, she clearly did. [From what I've just heard from Rias, one of people you were supposed to be keeping an eye on killed someone who has been a person of interest in becoming a servant of either mine or Rias's.]
I felt my heart stop. "W-What?!" It couldn't be! This can't be true! The only Fallen Angel I hadn't checked up on was-
...Raynare...Dammit! I hesitated! Because of my lack of diligence, someone died...
I think that fact hurt me more than anything else...because of me, someone died.
I swallowed hard. "Who was it?"
Deep down, I think I knew. I've heard his name passed around by Rias-senpai and Sona-senpai in passing. I even heard Kazusa mutter his name every now and then.
[Hyoudou Issei. A Second Year. You have a class or two with him. I doubt you haven't heard of him considering that he's renowned as "The Worst Pervert" and the leader of the Perverted Trio.]
I felt my heart sink. Hyoudou...He...We had never been friends or anything...He ruined several of my perfect peeping spots...but I didn't really hate him. I never wanted to see that guy dead.
I didn't...but he is. He's dead.
I bit the inside of my cheek.
[You should report back with what you have gathered from your observations. Even nearly-worthless information about the Fallen Angels is better than no information at all.]
I could really tell that Senpai was disappointed with me. And here I was thinking my conscience couldn't become any more pained.
"...Yes, ma'am." I replied solemnly. "I'll be there as soon as possible. See you soon." I flipped my phone shut, sighing to myself. "Damn it..."
Kazusa looked at me with an amused smirk. "Oh? Did you do something wrong? Did your little pussy cat bear her cute, little claws at you?"
I shot an annoyed glare at Kazusa. "No...Fallen Angel Raynare killed someone."
That got Kazusa's attention. He seemed more interested as he inquired further. "No kiddin'? Who?"
"Issei Hyoudou." I answered, concerned at the sudden attention he was giving the matter.
"Then what do you care?" Kazusa asked in a flippant tone, as if I had simply said that someone poured water all over someone else's homework assignment. "Didn't you always say that guy pissed you off?"
"Yeah," I paused, taking a breath, "but I never wanted to see him dead...Damn that Raynare..."
"Hm...So this is what she was up to earlier..." Kazusa noted. I don't think he realized he said it aloud, but my eyes widened.
"Wait. You KNEW she was up to something?" I asked impatiently. "And you didn't deem it necessary to inform me of this?!"
"Yeah, so?"
"SO!?" I bursted out in anger. ""So" someone died! THAT is "so", you sociopathic asshole!" I stood up, tossing my can of juice away, all pretenses of peace thrown out the window. "As some point while you were being a total dickwad did you ever think "Hm, maybe I should tell Makoto about this. It sure might be important"?! Or maybe just a single word to possibly save someone's life?!"
Kazusa just casually sipped his drink. "I don't see what you're getting so hostile for. Hyoudou was a servant candidate for both Rias and Sona. Even if the Fallen Angel killed him, he'd probably be brought back with their Evil Pieces. He's probably alive right now, already reincarnated as a Devil."
"That's not the fucking point!" I grabbed Kazusa by the collar, ready to strangle him. He didn't react to it in the least, still giving me that infuriatingly calm gaze.
What did it take to get through to this guy!?
"He still died! He could've gone on to live a normal life! Maybe go through the whole thing without even realizing whatever power he had! It doesn't matter if he got brought back to life! We're responsible! I'M responsible! I'm the one who has to live knowing someone died because I wasn't keeping a careful enough eye on someone when it's supposed to be my job! And now I get to go be chewed out by Sona because you didn't bother telling me a piece of information that could've saved a guy's life! So thank you very much!"
To emphasize my point, I flipped Kazusa the bird, turning away before walking off.
Kazusa's POV...
I looked on as Mako left me all by my lonesome.
I continued staring off towards the horizon, watching as the twilight was swallowed by darkness, fading into night.
"Sorry..." I whispered to myself. I wasn't entirely sure if I was saying it to Mako or myself or Hyoudou. "Even if the Fallen Angel didn't kill him, it's impossible for those of us with abnormal powers to live normal lives. He would've been dragged into this bullshit sooner or later."
I dropped my drink on the ground to my side. "You should know that better than anyone, Mako. Just like with me and you, abnormal powers that exist within people usually cause them abnormal trouble." As if to emphasize my point, I felt a weight press down on my shoulders as I grabbed the Stone hanging on my necklace.
In this way, things really haven't changed for us.
Every battle we win or overcome just means there's a new and tougher one waiting for us over the horizon.
People die, friends change, you and I keep dragging ourselves forward.
That's how it's always been for us, Mako.
I opened my hand in front of me. After focusing for a few seconds, I watched calmly as a bright and beautiful flame lit up into existence in the center of my palm. It danced in a way that no words could ever completely describe.
Making sure no one else was around, I let my "hidden features" finally make themselves known...
Nine fluffy tails revealed themselves from between my lower back and my waist. Atop my head sprouted two, furry, fox ears.
I continued staring at the flame born from the power I had since birth.
Even with these powers of ours, it means nothing unless we can actually break this cycle...
We died because we failed to break it last time.
The only real question is when we'll get our next chance to try.
So, how can you believe that things have changed...
-Makoto?
Aaaaaaand done.
I sincerely hoped you all enjoyed the first chapter of this joint project between us, CrimsonBlade11 and bamafelix.
The way we're writing is by alternating writing each chapter between us, so expect some differences in the style of each chapter. However, the character personalities will still remain relatively the same.
And for the record, Kazusa and Makoto's history together will be elaborated upon further as the story goes on. All that will be revealed right now is that they've known each other for quite a while.
Harems (subject to chance as the story progresses):
-Makoto: Koneko Toujou, Asia Argento, Tsubaki Shinra, Momo Hanakai, Xenovia, Rossweisse, Gabriel,
-Kazusa: Yasaka, Serafall Leviathan, Ravel Phenex, Kiyome Abe, Akeno Himejima, Kuroka,
Please be sure to review.