Chapter I
Hello people, yes, I know. Another new story. Sorry, this is another one of those things burning away at my brain pan so I haven't been able to do much else. But, now that I've gotten down on paper, yes I know it technically isn't but that's the phrase so be quiet, I can actually focus on my other stories, namely Wagtail Shinobi and Fairy Tail's Dragon God. At any rate this story is a High School DxD, Bleach, Sekirei, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fairy Tail crossover. Although not all of those contribute a lot since Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist contribute mainly characters. This story also has Bakuto Masaki as its coauthor, so I'd like to thank him as I always do. Also, this story does use what is effectively an OC, Kazuma Soryu, who is actually a heavily modified version of the Protagonist from the game Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. The story will actually start off with the Agent of the Soul Reapers and Rescue Arc (not exactly the Rescue Rukia Arc since that part's been modified somewhat) before moving on to the first story arc of High School DxD. Right, I think that's everything, so be sure to leave a review on what you think of the story, hopefully you enjoy it but whatever.
Three people found themselves in a bush on the edge of a large school. One was a short, bald, tanned, squinty-eyed young man.
The second was a young man with short black hair, squared-off glasses, and a weak frame.
The third was the strange one. A young man with a relatively strong build, just past shoulder-length, messy brown hair that almost reached his brown eyes, and wore the same school uniform as the other two, a white, button-down shirt with vertical black stripes, a black bowtie, a black blazer overtop with white trim, black pants, and brown shoes. He did not seem to fit with the other two, aside from the fact that all three were crouched down in a bush right next to dojo for the school's kendo club.
The bald student sniggered perversely as he peeped through the hole. "Oh man…this is so awesome!" he whispered excitedly.
The bespectacled student nodded in agreement as he looked through the peephole. "Right, good work Kazuma."
The now named Kazuma shrugged lightly. "Don't worry about it. I always have to help my fellow man, eh, Motohama, Matsuda?"
Matsuda, the bald-headed teen nodded happily as did Motohama, the bespectacled teen.
"Uhm…what are you doing?" a quiet female voice asked.
Motohama and Matsuda froze before all three stood up and turned around to see a teenage girl of average height with long, waist-length, burnt-orange hair in bangs tucked behind her ears with hairpins and a full, but parted, fringe over her forehead, brown eyes, with a generous bust, and wearing the school's female uniform, a black vest with white trim, which was left open under her chest, a white, button-down shirt with long sleeves and vertical black lines, a black bowtie, a short maroon skirt with white trim, long white stockings, and black shoes.
The two shorter of the group froze and gasped, "O-Orihime!?"
Kazuma merely waved to her plainly. "Yo. What's up Orihime?"
The orange-haired girl nodded puzzled. "What were you three doing here, anyway?"
Motohama and Matsuda mumbled excuses, Kazuma deftly answering, "They wanted to show me something interesting they saw here. Turns out it wasn't really that interesting," he lied.
Motohama and Matsuda gaped at their friend's betrayal, only to clam up when he flashed two books in his hands, green books with the words, "Make-Out Wonderland" written on the covers. The two boys nodded in swift agreement.
Orihime nodded in naïve understanding. "Oh, okay. Mind if I take a look?"
Again Matsuda and Motohama froze.
Kazuma waved a hand dismissively, "Don't bother, it really isn't anything all that great. Anyway, wanna head to the cafeteria? I think there should still be some meatbuns left."
Orihime nodded and left with Kazuma.
Motohama and Matsuda watched him leave depressed.
Matsuda moaned heavily. "Damn…I seriously think those two are datin'."
Motohama adjusted his glasses slightly. "Please, that's impossible."
"Yeah…you're probably right."
As Orihime and Kazuma walked away, Orihime asked, "So, have you heard about what's been happening recently?"
Kazuma looked at her plainly. "A lot of things have been happening."
Orihime puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "No, no! I mean that big drug company. Medium, Brain, Inflation…something like that."
Kazuma sighed in exasperation. "Mid-Bio Informatics. Most people just call them MBI. Don't try to act smart, you don't do it well."
Orihime flailed her arms frustrated. "Hey! You big meanie! Whatever, hmph!" After a few seconds she then continued, "Anyway, I heard that Mobile-" Kazuma looking at her flatly caused her to reassess her train of thought, "MBI, has bought up all of the local pharmacies here. Pretty weird isn't it?"
Kazuma looked at her deadpan and then pointed nearby. "It's weird that the out-of-nowhere drug company with advanced tech and a friggin' doom fortress in the center of the city is buying out all the competition? I'd be more surprised if they did anything that doesn't look like it's straight out of Superman."
"Super…man…?"
Kazuma sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "American comic book, he's basically the west's version of Goku."
"Oh! I get it!"
After a few more seconds Kazuma stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
Orihime looked at him puzzled. "You okay Kazuma?"
Kazuma waved a hand at her. "Go on ahead, I've got a bit of a headache."
Orihime nodded and walked ahead.
After waiting for her to leave he turned to the side angrily. "Okay, is it really necessary for you to throw such a tantrum, Mavis?"
Soon the translucent figure of a floating, transparent, girl with a child-like build, very long, wavy, blonde hair that reached her feet, large, featureless green eyes, who wore a frilly, layered, pink robe with a red ribbon tied in a bow around her neck, three blue diamond patterns around the chest with two blue triangles above each diamond, the set outlined in hot pink, as well as wing-like adornments around her ears and small hoop-earrings appeared. She folded her arms in a huff. "I'm not having a tantrum."
"You've been shouting obscenities into my ear the whole time I've been walking with Orihime."
Mavis moaned angrily and then shouted in frustration, "You just always hang out with that bimbo so much!"
Kazuma twitched an eyebrow. "I can't really be seen talking to you in public, now can I? They'd think I'm even more insane than they do now. I don't need 'voices in the head' added to the list of possible mental instabilities they label me with."
Mavis frowned in dissatisfaction and then sighed. "Fine. It just gets boring having to float around with nothing to do. Because the people of this era aren't used to seeing spirits I can't become corporeal, and spooking humans runs out of its appeal fast."
"You're twisted, you know that?"
"You create super special ramen with bug spit."
"…Touché…"
"Speaking of, don't you start working back at that restaurant next week?"
After sitting down and opening a package of crackers he had with him, Kazuma nodded in response. "I do. Why?"
"Just curious. Even though I know how you make that ramen I still love the taste of it."
Kazuma shrugged as he ate his snack. "Right…anyway…I guess I should go ahead and do more training after school's done today."
Mavis gaped at him. "Seriously? More training? When I gave you Naruto's notes on that stuff I didn't think you'd become as insane about it as he was."
Kazuma shrugged again as he continued eating. "Worked for him didn't it? Hell, I even have the same powerful monster sealed inside me thing going for me."
Mavis looked at him incredulously. "He's not a monster."
Kazuma ignored her while he finished the last of his meal. "Well, I suppose that should do it. If you haven't got anything else to say I'm going to get going."
Mavis sighed as Kazuma walked away.
As he did, someone patted him on the back.
Kazuma turned and saw a young man with spiky orange hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin in the Kuoh uniform, the blazer absent to reveal the white shirt to have long sleeves.
Kazuma blinked at the teen. "Oh, hey Ichigo."
Ichigo waved. "What's up Kazuma, I didn't see you at lunch today."
Kazuma shrugged. "I was busy with Matsuda and Motohama."
"You mean peeping?"
"And you care why?"
"I don't." Ichigo then turned and waved. "What's up Mavis?"
Mavis nodded to the bright-haired teen. "Hello Ichigo. It's still weird that you can see me."
Ichigo shrugged in response. "I've just been able to see spirits since I was a kid." He then turned to Kazuma, "So what are your plans for later today?"
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "You asking me out on a date?"
Ichigo kicked Kazuma in the face. "No way you idiot! Besides, I thought you were into chicks!"
Kazuma, easily ignoring the blow, answered, "I am. I was going to reject you if you were."
"Go to hell!" Ichigo shouted before kicking Kazuma into a wall.
The day was relatively uneventful after that particular moment, aside from the Perverted Trio lounging around the school grounds after classes during club activities.
They found themselves on a small patch of grass near the track field by the old school building on the property.
Matsuda sighed in frustration as he sat up and looked around. "You know, man…this sucks."
Kazuma glanced over at him curiously. "Oh, and why's that?"
Matsuda looked at him confused. "Come on dude, look at this. We came here to this school because it used to be all girls, right?"
Kazuma shrugged. "I kinda came here to get a good education but I suppose having some nice asses to look at while I work is always a plus."
"Isn't it?! Problem is we came to this school hopin' we'd get to tap some o' that ass. Instead we're sittin' here getting' blue-balled while that dick-bag gets aallll the pussy."
The person in question was a teenage boy with short, golden-blonde hair and grey eyes who was walking through the pathways of the school surrounded by several girls of the school.
Motohama nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Yuuto Kiba. The school's White Prince and greatest playboy. All the girls wanna lay him, all the guys wanna slay him."
Matsuda pumped a fist in the air. "True dat!"
As the entourage walked by, Yuuto glanced up at the three intensely and then frowned sadly before continuing to walk past.
Kazuma suddenly sat up and shivered heavily.
Matsuda looked at his friend confused. "Yo, you alright dude!?"
Kazuma took a moment and then sighed. "Damn…that felt really creepy."
Motohama looked at him puzzled. "Have a messed up dream again?"
Kazuma knocked him on the head. "No you nitwit! I don't know what caused it!" Kazuma then sat back down and sighed, before glancing up at the nearby school building. He saw the visage of a person in the building and his eyes widened. 'Chiaki…?!' He shook his head and then saw a young woman in her late teens with a buxom figure, light skin, long, crimson-red, waist-length hair with a single strand sticking up off her head, loose bangs covering her forehead and framing her face, blue-green eyes and wearing the female Kuoh uniform with a small cape added on that fastened in the front just above her ample bosom. He blinked in curiosity at the red-haired beauty before Matsuda and Motohama saw where he was looking.
"Wuh-hoah!" Matsuda exclaimed.
Motohama adjusted his glasses with a perverse grin. "That's Rias Gremory, one of Kuoh Academy's Two Great Ladies. Measurements are ninety-nine, fifty-eight, ninety."
Matsuda snickered to himself.
Kazuma narrowed his eyes as he watched the redhead turn away from the window. 'Why does she look like…?'
Matsuda nudged Kazuma's shoulder. "Daaammm, amiright?"
Kazuma blinked as his mind rebooted and then nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah…right."
Motohama raised an eyebrow. "You alright man?"
Matsuda slapped Kazuma's back a few times. "Yeah, he's fine, just imagin' all the ways to tap that, right?!"
Kazuma nodded weakly before standing up. "If you don't mind, I need to get home."
"Later!"
As Kazuma walked back to his apartment building, Mavis floated silently behind him.
She noticed his far-gone expression puzzled. "You okay?"
Kazuma sighed and then shook his head. "No. Seeing that…Rias, girl, has drudged up some things I'd rather forget."
Mavis frowned sadly. "You mean the Tower of Amala?"
Kazuma nodded. "Yeah, it's been…what, three years since I woke up out of that forsaken place?"
Mavis looked up in thought. "I think it's been about three months and a week since the Tower of Amala exploded and you showed up near Shinto Teito. Hasn't it been a thousand years since you were sealed in there?"
"That's what I've heard. It's been a thousand years since that coward Forbesii Lucifer sealed me in that tower during the Great War. That bastard created me, killed my family, burned my home, and turned me into a half-devil. Then when I got too powerful he sealed me away."
Mavis sighed deeply. "Yeah. So have you remembered what woke you up from the seal to begin with?"
Kazuma shrugged. "No. Only thing I can remember is Tama telling me that she felt someone approaching and then I woke up on the beach."
Mavis nodded and the duo continued walking until they heard a strange sound nearby.
They stopped and listened for it again, it turning out to be the meow of a lone cat.
Kazuma turned and saw a small, black cat with amber eyes sitting on the concrete path nearby, sitting silently with its tail swaying side to side slowly as it looked at him intently, releasing another light meow. Kazuma blinked and then walked over to the seemingly lost creature. "Hey there little guy…lost…?"
It mewed in return.
Kazuma reached out and scratched the little critter's chin, it stretching its neck and raising its head with a loud, ecstatic purr in glee.
Mavis giggled in amusement. "I think she likes you."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow as he scratched the feline's head. "She? How do you know it's a she?"
Mavis gave a playfully haughty smile, "Woman's intuition."
"In other words you pulled it out of your ass."
Mavis covered the area in question and shouted embarrassed, "You shouldn't be talking about my ass, perv!"
Kazuma ignored her and scratched the cat's chin, saying in a playful voice, "Mavis is being an idiot isn't she?"
"Hey! I'm right here!" she flailed at Kazuma, her arms passing through him.
Kazuma then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet of food he brought with him and set it on the ground.
The cat sniffed the food curiously and then began digging into it.
Mavis giggled happily. "She really seems to like it."
Kazuma nodded and then stood up and began to walk away, Mavis following behind.
The two then stopped when they heard a familiar sound, Kazuma feeling something small rubbing against his leg. He looked down and saw the cat looking up at him with content expression.
Kazuma blinked curiously, Mavis giggling amused. "You know, I think she likes you. You know you're not escaping this."
Kazuma sighed in resignation and knelt down, picking up the small feline. "Well…I guess it can't be avoided. So…what should I call you…?"
Mavis popped over, "I have a few ideas."
Kazuma remarked. "I'll call you Muffins."
Mavis face-faulted and even the cat looked at him in disbelief.
Kazuma smirked. "Muffins it is."
Mavis moaned, "You're an idiot…"
Kazuma, Mavis, and Muffins arrived at their shared apartment, a small home on the edge of the city, with a small entryway through the front entrance where Kazuma dropped his shoes, Mavis being a spirit and choosing to go barefoot, Muffins being a cat.
Through the secondary doorway from the entryway led to a large room with a bathroom door several feet from the entrance on the left side, a door to a moderately sized bedroom just beyond that, the back wall being a single large window overlooking the city, though a large flat screen TV with a multitude of electronics under it on the entertainment center blocked the view of the window, a wide couch sitting just opposite the television with four seats and being made of white fabric. On the right wall from the TV was a series of shelves which held books and pictures, most of them merely generic images Kazuma bought on Mavis' suggestion, with a glass wall dividing the rest of the right wall from the kitchen, which had a fridge right next to the wall, tall and robust, a two-rack oven and four-burner stove next to it, with a countertop extending across the rest of the wall with a two-bowl sink and a long series of cupboards, including one marked "Magatama," with a long, six-person table in the kitchen area as well.
Kazuma looked down at the purring form of Muffins and set her down softly. "Well, here we are."
The cat meowed happily as it wandered around.
Kazuma then sighed in annoyance. "Shit…"
Mavis looked at him confused. "What…?"
Kazuma rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I need to buy a litter box for her."
Mavis laughed weakly. "Shouldn't you have thought of that before?"
"Bite me. Hey, shouldn't you become corporeal now?"
Mavis raised both eyebrows and then nodded, setting down on the floor as energy flared around her from the feet up, her form becoming solid as it did. She took in a big breath and then sighed happily. "It's so much better to be solid."
As he gathered a small amount of food for Muffins he asked, "Then why don't you just attend the school?"
"Because…I've attended school twelve times in the past hundred years. I'm done."
Kazuma shrugged as he put a plate of food down and signaled Muffins over. "I'm pleased with it so far."
Mavis gave him a sly grin. "That's just so you can peep on naked girls."
"Guy's gotta have goals."
"The fact that you've garnered the title Black Prince while you're such an open pervert boggles my mind."
Kazuma smirked slyly. "Sometimes girls like a dirty boy."
Mavis shivered. "That was so creepy."
Kazuma then walked into his bedroom, with the door being in the left corner, a long, short dresser along the left wall with a closet door against the back left corner, the back wall holding his queen-sized bed with two lamps on either side situated upon nightstands, the rightmost wall holding a small, gray desk with a computer on top, with a several drawers in the desk and the computer's tower seated to the side on the floor, the wall against the door having a large wardrobe.
Kazuma made his way to the small dresser and pulled out a selection of clothing, pulling off his own to change, exposing his fit frame hidden by his clothing, along with a series of scars on his torso and back. Changing into a grey T-shirt and green shorts he left the room and saw Mavis sitting on the couch, playing with Muffins and watching a television show.
"Hey," Kazuma mentioned, getting Mavis' attention, "Want something for dinner?"
Mavis put a finger on her chin as she thought. "Yup, Ocean Breeze Ramen!"
Kazuma nodded in understanding. "I'll be having Sweet Heaven Ramen."
Mavis merely nodded as she turned to the TV, which is unfortunate as if she hadn't she would have seen Kazuma's twisted grin.
However, as he went over to begin cooking the ramen, he, and Mavis, turned when he thought he heard a strange sound. After deeming it nothing they both went about their business.
The strange sounds were heard by the two of them a few more times before Kazuma finished the ramen and provided Mavis her bowl while he sat down to eat his.
Mavis smiled and giggled happily at the food before noticing it looked strange. She blinked curiously and then raised an eyebrow. "Uhm…are you sure this is Ocean Breeze Ramen?"
Kazuma lazily ate his own food and took a moment to swallow before answering, "Of course it is."
Mavis narrowed her eyes incredulously and picked up her chopsticks, causing Kazuma's attention to snap to her, she then split her chopsticks, causing his eyes to narrow, and then picked up a helping of noodles, causing his food-filled mouth to curve into a grin.
However, moments before she was going to eat the food in question, their ears and senses were assaulted by an incredibly loud, bellowing, monstrous roar.
Mavis immediately dropped her chopsticks, and their contents, back into the bowl as both she and Kazuma covered their ears. "What is that!?" Mavis shouted in distress.
Kazuma winced at the incredibly loud bellow and forced out, "I…don't know…!"
Their answer was provided when the far wall from the door suddenly exploded as though something smashed through it.
"What the hell was that?!" Mavis shouted in shock.
Kazuma didn't wait for an answer and reached into his pocket, pulling out several long daggers, kunai. As he did, his eyes changed, his brown irises turning red with three black tomoe in each. He narrowed his eyes as he readied his weapons. "I don't know, but it's big."
The being in question then came into view, a large, amphibian like monster with its most distinctive feature not being its massive size or leathery body, but the paper-white skull with empty sockets, yellow eye-like structures being the only feature within the blackness.
Kazuma and Mavis stared wide-eyed at the beast.
Mavis trembled as she asked, "W-what is that…? I've never seen a creature like that, not even Zeref's creations churned out monsters like that."
Kazuma readied his weapons and tensed. "I don't know, but it looks pissed."
The monster sniffed around and then noticed Kazuma and Mavis. It then spoke. "Heh, heh, look at this, a human and a spirit that have tasty smelling souls. Tonight is my night."
Mavis backed up and raised her arms in front of her.
"I think not, Hollow," a new voice said.
Kazuma and Mavis turned to see a beautiful young woman with long, scarlet red hair that reached her waist and brown eyes who wore a white shitagi, a black kosode, a black hakama, a white belt, white socks, beige sandals, a katana sheathed at her left side, and a small arm band on her left arm with a symbol on it.
Mavis' eyes widened slightly. "Erza…?"
The woman, presumably named Erza, stared down the beast, a Hollow, angrily and unsheathed the sword at her side.
The creature narrowed its beady yellow eyes and chuckled. "Ooh, and a Soul Reaper to boot, I'm so very LUCKY!" It then charged at Erza, forcing Mavis and Kazuma to dive out of the way, before snapping at her, Erza dodging the attack.
"Hey!" Kazuma shouted to her.
Erza turned confused to him. "You…can see me…?"
"Of course I can! So mind explaining what the hell's going on here?!"
Erza opened her mouth to speak but the Hollow turned to lunge. Acting on instinct she grabbed Kazuma and jumped out the window, to his tenth floor apartment. She looked down at the ground and froze. "Ah…I didn't think this through very well…"
Kazuma looked at her deadpan. "I coulda told you that, dummy."
The duo then plummeted to the ground at high speeds. However, at the last second, Kazuma held Erza close to him and put his hands together in a series of symbols.
Her eyes widened when she saw that. 'He knows…ninjutsu…?!'
Kazuma took a deep breath and then exhaled a small burst of air as he exclaimed, "Wind Style: Air Bullet!"
The downwards burst of air managed to break his and Erza's fall just enough to leave them with minor injuries.
Kazuma grunted as he stood up, Erza looking at him puzzled.
"How…?" she asked.
Kazuma groaned and looked at her. "How, what?"
She looked at him sternly, pointing the tip of her blade at him. "How do you know ninjutsu?"
Kazuma narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
However, before their conversation could continue the Hollow jumped down to the ground beside them.
Erza snarled and pushed Kazuma behind her. "Stay behind me, you may have some form of combat ability, but I doubt it's enough to slay a Hollow."
Kazuma looked at her annoyed. He then noticed Mavis approaching nearby, the Hollow turning to get her.
"Mavis!" Kazuma and Erza shouted in unison.
Mavis gulped as the monster got close to her swiftly.
Kazuma himself acted on instinct again and threw a series of shuriken at the beast, the bladed discs merely imbedding in its skull and annoying the creature.
"You're pretty persistent for a human. How about I fix that?" The creature reared up its head and swung down to take a bite out of Kazuma.
He sneered and got ready to retaliate as the creature bit down, blood spraying over the area.
Kazuma's eyes widened in horror as he saw the creature with its jaw embedded in Erza's shoulder.
She turned to him strained and frustrated. "You fool, why didn't you move…?"
Kazuma snarled at her in frustration. "Because I can handle myself!"
Erza then used some of the strength she had and sliced vertically, causing the Hollow to toss her against a nearby wall as it shrunk back with a gash in its skull. "Damn…" Erza swore in frustration.
Kazuma growled and then went over to her. "You alright?!"
Erza looked at him flatly. "Do I look alright to you?"
Kazuma sweat-dropped. "Fair point…"
"At any rate, that Hollow did more damage than I expected, I'm not in a position to take it down. I'd normally just retreat to heal up…"
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "So? Then go."
Erza frowned at him. "And leave you and Mavis here to be eaten by that creature?!"
Kazuma sneered in annoyance. "I'm not as weak as I look, and I'm not sure if you know but Mavis is more than capable of handling herself, even if she is an idiot."
"I'm right here you know!"
Erza sighed and then asked, "Why did you step in to help like that?"
Kazuma turned to her and shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? Mavis is a friend of mine and you're obviously a little in over your head. I couldn't call myself a hot-blooded man if I just stood around while you two got the stuffing beat out of you."
Erza looked at Kazuma surprised and confused. 'He's…just like…' She then sighed as she noticed the Hollow beginning to regain its senses. She turned to Kazuma. "Listen, if you really want to help me, then there's something you need to do."
Kazuma turned and knelt down, nodding in understanding.
"It's an extreme measure for only the most dire situations but…I'll lend you enough of my power to beat this Hollow. Normally I'd be able to do it myself, but…" she winced as the pain from her injury made itself known.
Kazuma nodded in acceptance. "What do I need to do?"
"You have to…thrust my Zanpakuto through your chest…"
Kazuma blinked in disbelief. "You…you're kidding right…?"
Erza groaned in frustration. "I don't have time for jokes!"
Kazuma gulped and picked up her sword. "Well…here goes nothin'…" He then grabbed her sword by the blade and thrust it straight through his chest.
The Hollow shook its head and then looked around, seeing the area in front of him filled with smoke. "Heh, heh, tryin' to hide in the smoke, eh? Well it won't work-huh?"
As the smoke cleared, Kazuma stood in the center of it, a similar outfit Erza's own adorning his body, a sword in his hands, perched on his shoulder. A massive sword the length of his body three times the width of a normal katana.
Erza's eyes widened before she looked down at herself. Her black outfit had vanished, leaving only the white clothing underneath. She flexed her hands and murmured, "My powers…he took…almost all of them."
Kazuma flexed his shoulders and his neck, before smirking proudly as his body and clothing began to shuffle. "Wow…haven't felt this good in a long time." As he said that, his red eyes shifted, the three tomoe adjoining in the center into a three-pointed pinwheel before three more points extended outwards.
Erza's eyes widened further. "M-Mangekyo…Sharingan…but how? The Uchiha were supposed…to have died out…"
Kazuma grinned as he crouched down to fight the Hollow.
Erza then made another observation. 'His stance…the way he holds that massive Zanpakuto…he…he looks like he knows what he's doing…'
The Hollow sneered and lunged for Kazuma, Kazuma hopping into the air and landing on its arm, twisting his torso around and slicing behind him, cutting off the monster's hand.
The beast howled in pain as it grabbed at the bloody stump. "You shitstain! You'll pay for this!"
Kazuma's grin merely widened. "The hell I will asshole!"
The creature swiped at him with its good hand, Kazuma jumping in the air again. His left eye then widened, blood seeping out. "Amaterasu!"
The beast's right arm was then engulfed in thick black flames, burning through it. The beast hobbled backwards as it stared angrily at Kazuma. "What…are you…?"
Kazuma merely smirked. "Nothing more than a high school student." He then reared back his arm with the sword and then swung it forward, the sword spinning through the air like a giant shuriken, lopping the Hollow's head off before returning to Kazuma, whom caught the spinning blade effortlessly and rested it on his shoulder as the Hollow fell over and dissolved.
Erza could only watch surprised. She then turned to Kazuma as he walked over to her. "You…you're not…a normal human…are you…?"
Kazuma shrugged. "If you wanna see it that way."
Kazuma, Mavis, and Erza sat in the kitchen of Kazuma's apartment talking.
Kazuma rest his head on his fist and sighed. He then asked, "So let me get this straight, you are a Soul Reaper, which is basically like a Grim Reaper except you hunt monsters?"
Erza nodded. "Yes."
"And that thing was a monster called a Hollow, which is a human spirit that has become feral?"
"Correct."
"And you work for this place called the Soul Society who governs the world of the dead?"
"Yes."
"And to beat that thing I took part of your power as a Soul Reaper and became a Soul Reaper myself?"
Erza shook her head. "No, not exactly. I had originally intended to give you half of my power, but you somehow took almost eighty percent of it."
Kazuma sighed heavily as he laid his down on the table.
Erza sat silently.
Kazuma then swiftly raised his head and shouted, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
Erza's expression remained placid, however she had a noticeable twitch in her eyebrow.
Kazuma then sighed in exasperation and looked to the side annoyed. "Although considering my own situation…I guess I can't complain."
Erza tilted her head in confusion. "Your situation?"
Kazuma shook his head. "It's complicated. If you don't mind, I'd rather keep that to myself."
Erza narrowed her eyes suspiciously but accepted it.
Kazuma shrugged and then asked, "So, when will you go back to this Soul Society?"
Erza sighed in exasperation. "Unfortunately I cannot for now."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Oh…? Why not?"
"Because, I had only intended to give you a fraction of my power, but you took a large portion of my powers, leaving me with only enough to exist in this world. And as such, I don't have enough power to return to the Soul Society."
Kazuma played with Muffins, who was sitting on the chair next to him, and remarked, "Well, that must stink. So what will you do now?"
"Live here, naturally."
Kazuma immediately froze, Muffins being off-balance from his sudden stop and falling on the floor below. "What?! Here!? Why!?"
Erza folded her arms and answered matter-of-factly, "Simple. You took my powers, I can't go back until they replenish, so in the meantime you will need to take over my duties as a Soul Reaper."
Kazuma stood up in protest. "Screw that!"
Erza narrowed her eyes angrily, causing Kazuma to shrink back some. "You don't have a choice. You are the one that took my powers, so until they return it's only right that you take over the tasks I would normally be doing."
Kazuma nodded weakly. "Y-yes ma'am."
Mavis could only giggle in amusement. "You're still as strict as ever, Erza."
Kazuma blinked in confusion. "You two…know each other?"
Erza nodded in the affirmative. "It's a long story, but several thousand years ago I was part of an organization that Mavis established."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "So…does that mean you know this Naruto guy Mavis keeps mentioning?"
Mavis froze stock-still and Erza's expression darkened.
Erza nodded slowly. "Yes…he was…my husband. He entered the Soul Society around the same time I did, joining the Soul Reapers only a few decades after that. And then…almost a thousand years ago…he died…permanently…"
Kazuma frowned with a self-abashing expression. "Ah…sorry…I didn't mean to…"
Erza shook her head with a weak smile. "No, it's quite alright. You had no way of knowing, since Mavis didn't tell you."
Mavis laughed weakly. "Sorry 'bout that."
Kazuma sighed and then looked to the side. "That does leave one issue…"
Erza looked at him puzzled and then turned to see where he was looking and remembered the destruction of Kazuma's apartment. "Oh…I'll see about…handling it…"
Kazuma looked at her incredulously. "Right…just try not to screw up my life anymore than you already have please."
Erza huffed in annoyance.
The next morning Kazuma noticed that his house was still wrecked and made his way to the school, noting that Erza seemed to have vanished. That made him think that last night was a high from bad ramen, until he noticed the hole in the wall and went on his way.
Of course he decided not to tell his friends and classmates about the event, for obvious reasons.
The day began normally enough, until the homeroom teacher introduced the class' new member.
The teacher motioned to the door as a person walked in and announced, "Class, I'd like you to meet our new transfer student, Erza Scarlet."
Kazuma saw this and began choking on the drink he snuck into class.
The teacher narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "This is why I tell you no drinks."
Kazuma could only look in surprise and confusion as Erza walked towards his area of the class near the back.
Motohama and Matsuda perched themselves over his shoulders. "Whoa…" Matsuda gasped, "the school now has two redheaded hotties."
As she approached the group she stuck out her hand with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me during the year."
"Yes ma'am!" Matsuda and Motohama cheered.
However, Kazuma looked down and noticed writing on her hand which read, "Say a word and die." Kazuma only twitched an eyebrow in annoyance.
As Erza turned and walked towards her seat nearby, the collective male class eying her lecherously, Motohama adjusted his glasses and gaped.
"So!? So!?" Matsuda urged.
Motohama snickered quietly and laughed maniacally.
"What's gotten into you?" Kazuma asked.
Motohama turned to Kazuma confidently. "You'll never believe it. We now have the second best girl in the school."
Kazuma looked out the window bored. "Oh? And how's that?"
"101, 57, 93."
Kazuma's concentration was broken by the measurements, causing him to accidently slam his head into his desk. He then looked at Motohama in disbelief. "Y-you gotta…be kiddin' me…"
Motohama adjusted his glasses proudly. "I. Am. Not."
Kazuma merely sighed. "Well…this made things weirder…"
"Why's that?"
Kazuma gulped. "Ah…well…nevermind…"
Motohama narrowed his eyes behind his glasses but before he could garner any more information out of his friend the school's starting bell rang.
After the first few classes, where Erza displayed her obvious lack of social experience, Kazuma made his way out of the school building to go to the roof of the old building to have lunch with his friends. However, on the way he was grabbed by the shoulder and pulled into one of the small pathways between the main school buildings.
"Eh…?" he mumbled in confusion before seeing Erza standing in front of him. He blinked puzzled before flattening into an annoyed frown. "Need something?"
Erza nodded in the affirmative. "Yes, it's time for your first mission as a Soul Reaper."
Kazuma sighed and looked at her disgruntled. "I already told you I have no interest in this Soul Reaper crap."
Erza narrowed her eyes and slipped on a red glove with the image of a skull surrounded by black flames onto her left hand. She then lunged forward.
"Huh!?" Kazuma grumbled in shock and anger, before Erza's hand slammed into his face, and then through his face.
Kazuma stood, wearing the Soul Reaper garb and having the large Zanpakuto on his back, and looked around, before seeing his body lying on the ground. "Hey! That the hell just happened?!"
Erza stowed the glove in her uniform's pocket and answered, "I removed your soul from your body so that you are in Soul Reaper form."
"Hey! Cut that out!" Kazuma shouted as Mavis poked him. "Wait…why are you in your solid form?!"
Mavis shook her head. "I'm not."
Kazuma blinked and then looked down. "What the hell happened to my body?!"
"Don't you listen?" Erza asked exasperated. She then bent down and moved his now soulless body to a nearby corner.
"What're you doing…?"
"I'm placing your body so that it looks like you're sleeping."
"That's no good! With my body like that people will think I'm dead!"
As the two talked Mavis got a playful grin and floated over to Kazuma's body.
"Well maybe you should warn a man before you do that!"
"And you should be more aware of your situation!"
"Hey," Kazuma said. Or rather, his body did.
Both Erza and Kazuma looked at his now moving body.
Erza blinked in confusion. "Err…how many souls are in your body exactly?"
Kazuma looked at her annoyed. "Just one, mine nitwit."
Erza glared at him with a tic mark.
"It's me, silly," Kazuma's body said.
Erza and Kazuma blinked in confusion before gasping in surprise. "Mavis!?"
Mavis, who had possessed Kazuma's empty body, nodded. "Yup. This way it looks like you're still here."
Erza nodded happily. "Yes, that's a wonderful idea. Your body can move around like normal, and I don't need to waste the money on a Soul Candy."
Kazuma blinked in confusion. "Soul Candy?"
"Not important now."
Kazuma sighed and then looked at Mavis, in his body. He then noticed her playful grin. He sneered. "Hey, don't get any funny ideas."
"I think that's enough," Erza remarked sharply as she grabbed Kazuma's arm and tugged him away, "It's time to go."
Mavis waved to him as they left, Kazuma shouting in protest. "Hey! Stop! Mavis, don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Mavis grinned darkly as she turned around towards the school.
Erza continued to drag Kazuma by the arm for quite a ways before she stopped and he wrenched himself free. "Let go o' me!"
Erza observed a cellphone she carried with her and nodded. "This should be good."
Kazuma folded his arms disgruntled and asked, "What's far enough?"
Their conversation was interrupted by a familiar howl, the howl of a Hollow.
Kazuma turned to the side as he saw a young boy being chased by a giant, purple, centipede-like Hollow, barreling through a park to get him.
"Help! Help me!" the boy cried.
"Damn!" Kazuma cursed as he reached for his sword.
However, before he could move, "Stop!" Erza shouted and grabbed his arm.
"Hey! Let go dammit!"
Erza gave him a stern look. "I won't. You said you want no part in the role of a Soul Reaper, if that's true, then you won't save that Plus."
Kazuma's eyes widened and then narrowed. "Why you…you brought me here to force my hand, didn't you?!"
Erza nodded plainly. "Exactly. If you're serious about this, then this will prove your words."
Kazuma grit his teeth as the young Plus was chased by the large Hollow. He snarled and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, his body becoming intangible, causing Erza's hand to pass through it.
Her eyes widened at the move. 'Kamui!'
"Screw this!" Kazuma shouted. "There's no way in hell I'm just gunna stand around and let someone get hurt or killed if there's something I can do to stop it!"
Erza's eyes widened further, as a second voice played in her mind as Kazuma spoke.
He pointed a finger towards her and declared, "Because that's just who I am!"
Erza's eyes welled up slightly as the visage of a man with spiked hair seemed to appear behind Kazuma. 'Are…are you…?'
Kazuma then wasted no time unsheathing his Zanpakuto and charging for the monster.
It curled back its body and lunged at the defenseless spirit.
"Nooo!" the boy shouted in fear.
Kazuma stood in between the boy and the Hollow, its maw biting down on the sword instead. "Haaahh, screw you!" He sliced downward, sending the Hollow rearing up in pain at the large gash in its face.
"You bastard!" the monster shouted in agony. It curled back and lunged at Kazuma.
He dove to the side, the beast turning to face him. He raised his sword up with one hand and thought, 'I can feel it. Now, I am able to freely manipulate mana, which means…' He then swung his sword down in a powerful arc and shouted, "Demon Fang!" A blue wave of energy shot from the tip of his blade and careened for the Hollow, slicing through its body easily.
The monster howled in pain again as its body was cleaved in half. "Graagghh!"
Erza was still frozen in shock with the skill and power this supposed "Substitute Soul Reaper" wielded the sword and magical powers like it was second nature.
The now substantially smaller Hollow used the last of its remaining body to lunge for Kazuma.
He brought the sword close to him and rushed up under the Hollow's neck, and swung in an upward arc, shouting, "Take this!" The Hollow's head was cleaved off with a powerful swing as Kazuma rose up, the dead monster's body falling and dissolving as it fell.
Kazuma landed lightly on the ground as Erza walked up to him. She then asked, "So,
are you ready to commit to being a Soul Reaper?"
Kazuma stowed his sword and sneered at her. "Not a chance."
"What?!"
"I didn't do what I did just now because it's my job or I'm supposed to, I did it because it's the right thing to do. You can call me scum for breaking your rules like this, but I'd be even worse than scum if I just stood by and let that child get eaten by that thing."
Erza felt her heart momentarily stop at his words but shook her head free of the confusion.
"Besides," Erza looked at him intrigued as he finished, "when you stepped in front of that thing to help me, you didn't need to, you didn't have to, you wanted to. That's exactly what I did, and I'll be damned before I let rules like that dictate what I do."
Erza sighed and put a hand on her face as she shook her head. "You…you're just like him."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"
"Don't worry about it, for now. So, that's your answer then?"
Kazuma shrugged in response. "Pretty much."
"I suppose there's no way around it then. But this means you will be helping me with this job, understand?"
Kazuma sighed and then turned to the child cowering nearby after the battle. "…Right…if all these situations are like this, then I can't just stand around. I'll help you, for now."
Erza smirked happily. "Good to hear. All that's left now is the Konso."
Kazuma blinked befuddled. "K-Konso…?"
Erza nodded as she walked over to the soul of the child nearby, the boy shrinking away in fear. "Yes, the Konso is the ritual that is used, to send Pluses like this one, to the Soul Society, so that they do not linger here."
Kazuma nodded as he walked up and Erza explained it, before pulling out his Zanpakuto and tapping the child on the forehead with butt of the sword, a circle of light appearing under him as he vanished into it. Kazuma then scratched his cheek and asked, "So…we done?"
"I suppose, why?"
"'Cuz I'd like to get back to see what kind of devastation Mavis has caused."
Erza merely raised an eyebrow.
Upon returning, to Kazuma's surprise, Mavis had not done much of anything, aside from use her own form of magic to prank Matsuda and Motohama, an act Kazuma was not too broken up about.
After reentering his body Kazuma informed Erza and Mavis of his plans to take care of some shopping before returning home.
The two women accepted and returned to the apartment without him.
Kazuma made a short shopping trip that lasted from dusk to nightfall, rain having started to fall as he did.
"Aagghh, shit! Where'd this crap come from!?" he shouted frustrated as he ran with a magazine barely covering his head.
He stopped as he passed a small alleyway however. He took a few steps back and saw a woman with long purple hair that reached just below her waist, tied in a wide ponytail with a pink ribbon, matching violet eyes, a bust to rival Rias' and wearing a short, purple, Chinese dress with a wide, open section in the middle that showed off much of her cleavage and her navel, with long sleeves with slits up the sides. He also noticed she was holding a seemingly empty sake bottle.
Kazuma looked at the woman conflicted until he heard her moan and seem to stir awake, she turned to him drunkenly and smiled sloppily. "My, aren't you a cutie…" She stood up shakily and unsteady and hobbled over to Kazuma, supporting herself on his shoulders.
Kazuma backed up some and covered his nose. "Agh, geez lady, you reek of alcohol!"
The woman frowned at him disappointed. "That's not something you say to a lady."
"It is when they're shitfaced!" He then reached around her waist when she began to stumble over.
The woman looked at him surprised and smiled again. "You're rather helpful…"
Kazuma sighed in defeat and looked her in the eye. "I can't just let you stay out here, you'll catch a cold, if that's the worst that happens to you."
Her eyes widened more alertly as he spoke. "Oh…?"
Kazuma looked around and then groaned in annoyance. "Ahh, come on! Isn't there a hospital around here?"
She turned to him puzzled. "Hospital? Fufu, why not just take me to your place?"
He looked at her sternly. "Because there are simply too many ways that can go wrong. I don't like taking advantage of people who are in a weakened state of any kind."
The flush on the woman's face increased slightly as he spoke, however she seemed to manually force it back down.
Kazuma groaned again and then saw the telltale signs of a nearby hospital and sighed in relief. "Good, hey, think you can stay conscious long enough for me to get you there…oh…nevermind…"
The woman had already passed out on his shoulders.
Sighing in frustration he set her down and pulled out a small book from his pocket and flipped to a specific page and swiped his finger down it, another book appearing in a burst of smoke. He then turned the book towards his now sopping groceries, revealing a complex design on the page, and swiped his finger across it, the bags bursting into smoke and getting sucked inside the page.
After putting the books away he picked up the woman princess style, one arm under her knees and the other arm supporting her head and neck against his torso, and proceeded to carry her to the hospital nearby.
Upon walking inside the nurse at the desk noticed his and her sopping wet condition and asked hurriedly, "Is she alright?!"
Kazuma nodded slowly. "Yes, yes. She's just drunk. Think you could spare a bed for her overnight?"
The nurse looked at him confused and tilted her head. "Couldn't you just take her home?"
Kazuma laughed uncomfortably. "I actually have no idea who she is. I just saw her lying on the ground drunk and passed out and couldn't stand to let her just lie there."
The nurse looked at Kazuma surprised and then nodded with a smile. "Of course, sir, right this way."
After setting the woman's wet form down, Kazuma wiped some of the water from his forehead.
"You know," the nurse began, "she'll probably want to know how she ended up here. What do you want me to tell her?"
Kazuma looked up in thought and then answered with a playful smile, "Her guardian angel."
The nurse looked at him confused and then laughed loudly, catching herself and blushing embarrassedly. "Ah, right…I can do that."
Kazuma nodded and then raised an eyebrow and reached into his pocket and pulled out the same book.
The nurse looked at it puzzled and asked, "What are you doing?"
Kazuma nodded as he felt around in his pockets. "Just going to leave something for her, grr, excuse me, do you have a pen I can borrow?"
The nurse nodded and handed him a pen from her pocket. "Just bring it to the desk when you're finished."
Kazuma nodded in understanding as he wrote on a piece of paper. He then waited for the nurse to leave and swiped his finger across one of the complex seals, a burst of smoke appearing and a bowl of ramen with the label, "Sweet Heaven Ramen" on the top. He placed down the ramen and the piece paper which had written on it, "Eat this, it'll help with the hangover." He then left the room and the hospital.
At that same moment, elsewhere in the city, Orihime sat in her room with a friend of hers, Tatsuki Arisawa, who was a girl Orihime's age with short, spiky black hair, blue eyes, and a simple casual outfit.
The two were merely playing games and talking as they ate, however, outside the window to Orihime's room, the spirit of a young man with shoulder-length brown hair, grey eyes, and a business suit floated outside her window with a frown.
As he floated there, several dark figures appeared around him, and then grabbed him, pulling him down into a dark hole in the ground.
The spirit then found himself in a strange place resembling a desert with tall rock spires and a bright sun.
A large, black creature with narrow red eyes then appeared in front of him and waved a thin hand, multiple black forms converging on him.
Kazuma finally managed to arrive home later that night, and came home to a rather bizarre sight. It seemed he had never cleaned up the ramen he left from before the Hollow attack.
Muffins had attempted to eat it, seeming to succeed somewhat, but found herself unconscious on the floor with the bowl and its contents strewn across the hardwood.
Kazuma pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and sighed, picking up the unconscious cat and gently laying her down on the couch before going into his utility closet and pulling out a mop.
After cleaning up the mess left by the overambitious cat he put away the mop and sighed in annoyance. It was then he noticed something strange. On both sides of his room, at the corners, there were hallways that seemed to lead to the next rooms. He looked from side to side puzzled and raised an eyebrow. "Were these…always here?"
Curiously he walked down the left hallway and found himself in, as he expected, the apartment next to his. However, it had been completely renovated. The room at the back of the room was still present but the bathroom was gone, replaced by another bedroom, and the space around the edges where that room's living room, kitchen, and dining room had been had also been filled in and turned into three more rooms, giving a now total of six rooms.
He then flinched and ran across the room, down the hallway, across his apartment, down the other hallway and found the exact same situation. It had been linked up to the next apartment with the bathroom, living room, kitchen, and dining room all altered and filled in to create more bedrooms, giving him a total of eleven.
In confusion and anger he shouted, "What the hell's going on here!?"
A familiar woman's voice chimed in plainly, "You really shouldn't yell like that, you'll disturb the neighbors."
Kazuma ran over and pointed at her accusingly. "You…! You did this didn't you?"
Erza tilted her head and then looked around, realizing what he meant. "Oh, you mean adding more rooms to your apartment, I was partially responsible."
"What the hell!? I thought I told you not to interfere with my life anymore than you had already! And now you kick out the tenants in the rooms next to mine and renovate their apartments?! That's the exact opposite of not interfering! That is…mega-interfering!"
Erza blinked incredulously. "Mega…?"
"Oh bite me!"
Kazuma then immediately stomped off to his own room and slammed the door.
Erza frowned in confusion. "He seems angry."
Mavis sweat-dropped. "Even after four thousand years you're still socially inept…aren't you?"
"Hmm?"
The next day, Kazuma stirred awake slowly and noticed his arms felt unusually heavy. 'Did I…was that woman heavier than she looked…? With those massive tits I wouldn't be surprised. Wait a sec…' As he came to he realized that there was actually something weighing down both arms.
After managing to wrestle the blanket far enough away to see what the objects were he paled.
On his left side, hugging right up against him, was Mavis in her corporeal form; that, however, was not too strange as it was something that had become routine.
It was what was hanging off his right side that gave him pause for thought. Erza had somehow ended up there, for some reason wrapped around his arm, it being sandwiched between her plentiful bosom.
Kazuma paled and began to sweat heavily. Even without her powers, Erza could be a scary woman, and if she were to wake up to this situation, he doubted he would make the day.
Fortunately he remembered how he could use Kamui and managed to phase through both girls, neither waking up, and make his way out of the room to prepare breakfast.
Said meal was a quiet affair, Erza never once mentioning the matter of her waking up in Kazuma's bed. Something the brunette found infinitely frustrating but managed to subdue.
As they ate, Mavis inquired about Erza's corporeal body.
"Gigai? I've never heard of it."
Erza nodded. "Yes, a gigai is an artificial body that the Soul Society provides so that spirits can exist and interact with the material world."
Mavis' eyes lit up. "That's really cool. Think you'd be able to acquire one for me?"
Erza looked up in thought. "Erm…possibly."
Mavis snickered happily.
After finishing breakfast, Kazuma stretched and made his way towards the door. "Well, I'm off."
Mavis waved to him. "Buh-bye!"
Erza blinked in confusion. "But…I though we don't have school today."
Kazuma nodded in affirmation. "We don't, but I have a part time job. I normally work there a few hours a day after school but with all the stuff going on recently at school I was given a couple weeks off. To make up for that I'll be doing a full day today."
Erza looked at him slightly puzzled. "I see…does that explain the suit?"
Kazuma nodded and then got an idea. "You could come visit if you like, there's really good ramen."
Erza nodded in agreement and got up, following him out the door.
Mavis didn't like being alone so she followed behind them, invisible to most naturally.
Eventually the trio arrived at a small restaurant on the opposite end of the city from Kuoh named, "Ichiraku's."
Erza looked at the restaurant thoroughly puzzled.
Mavis tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "It's actually run by Ayame's reincarnation, or at least a woman who looks just like her and has her name."
Kazuma overheard Mavis explaining that but decided to ignore and entered the restaurant through the door.
As he did two voices announced, "Welcome to Ichiraku's-Kazuma!" The surprised voices belonged to two young women, both with tall, slender builds and long black hair that spread out in wing-like shapes, with hazel eyes. Both also wore matching maid outfits for the restaurant, one girl wore pink and one wore purple, there was also one other difference between them, the girl in purple had a significantly larger bust than her twin.
Kazuma waved to the girls as they realized it was him. "Yo, Hibiki, Hikari. How's it goin'?"
The two girls walked up to him frantically. Hibiki, the woman in pink with the more average sized bust, sighed and looked at him thankfully. "I'm glad you're back, I can't tell you how many people have been requesting that ramen of yours, it's quite exhausting really."
Hikari, the woman in purple with the larger breasts, nodded in agreement, although she seemed far more agitated. "Yeah, idiots just couldn't realize that you weren't here. Think you could get back to it and shut a few of 'em up?"
Kazuma nodded with a light smirk. "Yup, I can do that. Let me go tell Ayame I'm here first and see if she needs me for anything first."
The two women nodded as he walked away. They then turned and saw Erza. "Who are you?" they asked in unison.
Erza blinked in thought. "My name is Erza Scarlet, I'm a student from Kazuma's school."
The twin looked at her puzzled, then looked at each other and huddled together a few feet away.
"She said she's from his school," Hikari remarked confused.
"Yeah, I thought he said he didn't want anyone from Kuoh discovering that he works here or what he does," Hibiki added in slight bewilderment.
"So why'd he bring her?"
"No clue. Think she's blackmailing him?"
Erza scowled and grumbled, "I'm right here you know."
Both women froze and began to sweat, then turned with inviting smiles.
"Sorry about that," Hikari mentioned uncomfortably.
"Y-yeah, we were just…confused about something…" Hibiki excused weakly.
Erza grumbled quietly with her arms folded.
At that moment Kazuma walked out of the back office and scratched his head in annoyance.
The twins looked at him curiously.
"What's up?" Hikari asked.
Sighing, Kazuma responded, "She doesn't want me getting back to cooking just yet, she says my absence lost her a lot of customers, so it's my job to try and replenish them. Man, I hate handing out those damn fliers."
Hikari laughed weakly. "Yeah…sorry. Well, here, guess you should get busy, huh?" She then handed him a stack of fliers.
He groaned and walked out the door. "This sucks."
It was as he handed out the fliers and began acquiring new future customers for Ichiraku that Erza saw a completely different side of Kazuma.
Kazuma stood against the wall with the stack of fliers in his hand when two women walked down the street talking. Seeing them he walked out a little bit and then waved lightly to get their attention.
They stopped to see what he needed. "Yes?" the brunette woman asked.
Kazuma pulled out two fliers and handed them to the women with a smile. "My boss is punishing me for being gone for a while so she's having me do this grunt labor. It would really help me get out of this heat if you two lovely ladies would stop by the restaurant some time."
The women looked at him curiously and then to the flier.
The raven-haired woman raised an eyebrow and then asked, "You really make this ramen yourself?"
Kazuma nodded with a disarming smile. "Yeah, I do. I'd actually much rather be in there than out here, but my boss is such a slave driver I'm stuck out in this heat…"
The two women looked from him to the fliers and then nodded. "Yeah, sure," the brunette remarked, "we'll stop by some time."
Kazuma smiled widely and remarked, "Really? Thanks, that'd make me very happy." He then offered a sweet smile to the two women.
That seemed to kill it as the two turned bright red. "Ah, y-yeah, sure thing." They then walked by with light smiles of their own.
Kazuma merely smirked proudly as they walked on by.
Erza was in disbelief. "I…I don't believe it. At the school he's an unmotivated misanthrope, and yet at this job he seems capable of wooing just about anyone, aside from me obviously. Mavis, why is his personality so split?"
Mavis snickered amusedly. "Kazuma's personality is actually somewhere in between. He is in fact lazy and perverted, but then he's also able to charm just about any average woman. He actually told me once that the reason he chose for his school to be so far away from his job is because of the women."
Erza blinked curiously and then stood up straight. "Oh? What do you mean?"
"With this restaurant being so far away from the rest of the city, specifically Kuoh Academy, it's almost guaranteed that he won't run into anyone he knows. Despite having the ability to, as you can see, charm most women, he finds it really taxing and prefers at Kuoh where the women want nothing to do with him and he doesn't need to keep up any persona of suave charm. Makes him wonder how Yuuto Kiba does it so well and so much. He figures the guy must have the mental stamina of a psychologist."
Erza looked at Mavis confused and then turned to continue watching Kazuma curiously. She frowned in confused thought as he continued to attract customers for the restaurant, many of whom entered the restaurant immediately. 'Just who are you…?'
After a few more hours of working, the sun had passed its highest point and the owner of the restaurant had elected to shut it down for the day.
Kazuma sighed in relief and flopped down into one of the chairs. "Holy crap…I'm exhausted!" He then flopped forward and slammed his head down on the table. He felt a light sensation on the back of his head and turned slightly to see a small towel resting on his head. Sitting up he saw Hikari standing beside him. "Ah, hey."
Hikari nodded in return. "You looked pretty tired, I figured that'd help a little."
Kazuma eyed the towel lazily and pulled it down from atop his head, using it to wipe the sweat from his neck and face. With a sigh of relief he nodded with a small smile. "Thanks, that really helps. Hope things weren't too rough for you guys in here."
Hikari shook her head in reply. "Of course not. All we had to was wait tables."
It was Hibiki's turn to flop down into a chair. "Don't say it like it's nothing. Having to wait these damn tables all day is friggin' exhausting."
Hikari scowled lightly at her sister.
Hibiki lazily eyed Kazuma and then asked her twin, "What?" gruffly.
Hikari just sighed in exasperation.
Kazuma waved a hand at her with an apologetic smile. "Don't worry about it, she's just venting."
Hikari sighed and rest her head on her fists. "You know, you're too forgiving."
Kazuma just chuckled. "If you say so." He then stood up and signaled over to Erza. "Well, I suppose it's time we get going. I'll see you two tomorrow?"
The twins nodded as he and Erza, along with Mavis whom they did not see, left.
The trio, duo to most, left and began their walk back to Kazuma's apartment when they saw Orihime walking on the sidewalk opposite them.
Erza signaled Orihime who saw the two and crossed over the road towards them.
However, as she approached an out of control car careened towards her.
"Orihime!" Kazuma shouted as the car ran right by her, sending the girl tumbling to the ground. "Orihime!"
Erza and Kazuma ran over to Orihime, who was lying on the ground at the side of the road, and Kazuma knelt down to check on her.
"Orihime! Are you alright?"
Orihime slowly came to and then suddenly stood up. "Yup! I'm A-Okay!"
Kazuma and Erza sweat-dropped in incredulity.
Kazuma sighed and then continued to persist if she was alright.
As he did that, Erza noticed something strange on Orihime's leg, a strange, dark mark on her lower left leg. Erza narrowed her eyes and then pursued her curiosity. "…Orihime…"
The orange-haired airhead looked at her curiously. "Yes?"
Erza pointed to her leg and asked, "That mark, has it always been there?"
Orihime raised an eyebrow and looked down at her leg and saw the mark. She blinked in confusion and then shrugged. "Don't know. Wasn't there before. Maybe I got it in the accident."
Kazuma nodded in agreement and then offered to help. "You know, I could walk you home."
Orihime then, in a flash, grabbed her groceries and began running. "No thanks, I can handle it!" she answered as she ran off.
Kazuma blinked curiously and Erza asked, "Maybe she doesn't like you."
"Shut it," Kazuma snapped back.
After that event, Kazuma, Erza, and Mavis continued on their way home, Erza asking, "Kazuma, how well do you know Orihime?"
Kazuma raised an eyebrow in thought. "Well…I've only been here, in Shinto Teito, a few years, but I only really knew her through her brother, Sora."
Erza turned to him curiously. "Sora?"
Kazuma nodded. "Yes. Sora Inoue, Orihime's older brother. About three years ago…Sora was killed in a car accident. I don't know the specifics, but from what I understand, they started the day on rough terms and Orihime felt guilty about it."
Erza nodded with a frown. "I know what that can feel like." Images of a woman with long white hair appeared in Erza's mind.
Kazuma sighed as they continued walking.
Erza then narrowed her eyes and rushed on ahead.
"Ahh…where are you going?" Kazuma asked.
Erza turned to him and answered rushed, "I have to check something at home."
Kazuma raised an eyebrow confused and then just shrugged in response.
Back at Orihime's house, Tatsuki showed up and offered more food to Orihime for a meal.
Orihime smiled happily and denied her offering.
Tatsuki frowned. "No way, if I don't keep bringing you food every night then you'll just concoct some bizarre food on your own."
Orihime laughed weakly as Tatsuki followed her up the steps.
Kazuma arrived back at his apartment to find Erza still seemingly missing.
Mavis tilted her head in confusion as she made her form physical. "I wonder where she is."
That answer was given when Erza suddenly came rushing out from one of the side areas frantically. She put on her red glove again and ran over to him, "We've got orders and we need to move!"
Kazuma attempted to calm her enough to get info but Erza didn't waste a second pulling his soul from his body. Falling flat on his ass as he was taken from his body, Kazuma snarled, "What the hell?!"
"There's a Hollow nearby, we need to-!"
She was interrupted by a familiar roar.
Kazuma grabbed his Zanpakuto as a large, red and brown Hollow with the upper body of a human and a long, snake-like tail extending from its waist with a black pattern at the tip and its head resembled that of a human's with a white mask on and shoulder-length black hair appeared from a black portal in the wall. Kazuma smirked in amusement. "How considerate, this one decided not to trash my room."
That compliment was soon disregarded as the Hollow opened its mouth and shouted, "Vitriol Shot!" A blast of acid shot from its mouth towards Kazuma.
"Crap!" Kazuma ducked to the side as the shot of acid hit his dining room table and began to melt it. He flinched and then shouted, "Hey asshole! Don't you Hollows learn any manners!?"
The Hollow merely roared and swiped its long tail at Kazuma.
The brunette was surprised when the beast's tail was hard enough that it pushed away his Zanpakuto and sent Kazuma himself flying to the side right into the back wall. "Oww…that hurt…"
The large Hollow rushed towards Kazuma with its huge claws in attempt to tear him apart.
Kazuma snarled and set down his Zanpakuto, stabbing it into the floor, and then went through a few hand signs, sucked in a big breath, formed an arch with his right index and middle fingers and then exhaled as he shouted, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" A huge fireball almost as big as Kazuma himself formed and then launched at the Hollow, hitting it dead-on in the face.
The beast howled in pain as it curled back, Kazuma smirking as he saw a chunk of its mask get blown off.
However, when the beast turned to him, his blood ran cold, he could see a human face underneath the part of the mask that had been revealed, the creature then opened another portal in the wall and dove through it, disappearing.
Erza frowned in annoyance and then turned to Kazuma puzzled. "Kazuma…what is it?"
His eyes wide, his body trembling slightly, Kazuma answered, "That…that was…Sora…Orihime's…older brother."
Erza frowned sadly before sighing. "Kazuma, there's something you should know about Hollows."
Kazuma blinked in curiousity. "What…?"
"All Hollows, every single one of them, used to be human. Human souls who have become monsters."
Kazuma paled. "Y-you can't be serious…"
Erza nodded. "However, they are no longer human. They are…" Erza clenched her fists as a pained expression crossed her face, "they are nothing more than violent monsters intent on killing and consuming human souls for power. And that includes the one we just encountered. He is no longer the person you used to know, he is nothing more than a monster that needs to be put down."
Kazuma clenched his fists angrily. "Shit…"
Back at Orihime's house, Tatsuki and Orihime were talking lightly about the events earlier that day.
Orihime showed Tatsuki the mark she had received from the accident, causing Tatsuki's eyes to widen. "Geez, you're a real klutz, you know that?"
Orihime laughed weakly. "Yeah…but fortunately Kazuma and Erza were there, so I didn't get hurt too bad."
Tatsuki nodded in agreement. "Yeah, despite his…unique choice of friends Kazuma's definitely a fast operator."
At that moment, a loud crash reverberated through the room along with a deafening roar.
Kazuma growled in anger as he looked around his apartment. "Dammit, why do these things insist on messing up my house?"
Erza grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. "We don't have time to stand around like this. We need to go!"
Kazuma looked at her confused and then nodded in agreement. He then turned to Mavis. "Hey, bring my body along for me!"
Mavis nodded and jumped into his body, possessing it for him.
At Orihime's house, Orihime and Tatsuki managed to finish their dinner after the strange sound, confused still however.
After that, however, Orihime turned and frowned. She crawled over to a pink, stuffed bear and picked it up, it having been knocked down. "Oh, Enraku got knocked down."
Tatsuki blinked and then pointed to its head. "Look, it got ripped."
"Hm…?"
As Kazuma, Erza, and Mavis in Kazuma's body ran towards an uncertain destination, Erza remarked, "One thing to note about Hollows is that they almost always attack the people they were closest to in life."
Kazuma snarled angrily. "Then that means…he'll be going after…"
"Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted as Orihime was thrown against a wall by an invisible force, going unconscious as a result. She then felt herself being pressed against the floor by the same invisible force.
Orihime, however, sat in a corner of her room frightened as she saw the massive Hollow pinning Tatsuki to the floor. She then looked down and noticed the long chain protruding from her chest and attaching her to what she recognized as her body.
The Hollow then turned to Orihime and called out her name. "Orihimeee!"
She shrunk back some and asked frightened, "H-how do you know my name?"
The monster heard her and turned, lunging at her.
However, at that moment, Kazuma burst in through the window and slashed at the Hollow's head, sending it slamming up into the ceiling.
Orihime turned, still in shock and saw Kazuma standing in front of her with his Zanpakuto. "K-Kazuma…?"
Right, that about does it for the first chapter of Chaos Pawn of the Gremory.
