Chapter 2: The Evergreen Forest Weeps At Lunch
Padding through the halls silently, Kosuke became lost in his thoughts while his body shifted into autopilot.
'That girl from last night,' He thought as his tired gaze drifted to the clothes hamper in the corner of the bathroom.
Hanging off the edge was a blood soaked shirt that had dried and crusted up into something a tub of Hydrogen Peroxide and bleach couldn't fix.
Yeah, no way was last night a damn dream.
'What the hell was she.' He thought with a small amount of frustration, turning on the water faucet and waiting for it to warm up slightly. 'Some sort of Angel of Death?'
Reaching through his medicine cabinet and pulling out his toothbrush, Kosuke spread the toothpaste on and brought it to his mouth.
He didn't exactly have dark circles under his eyes, but the creases under his lower eyelids hinted at how tired he was. His eyes were red, and he couldn't bother raising them higher than halfway.
Spitting into the sink and washing his mouth out, Kosuke took a diagnostics check.
His body felt perfectly fine, no soreness, no pain to hint at the earlier battle. He was however, emotionally and mentally exhausted.
His eyes were tired and he wanted nothing more than to keep them shut, his body had no desire to sleep though.
Rummaging through the drawers of his sink, Kosuke ripped open a new toothbrush and set it on the counter for Rias to use later.
He had a couple spares in there for sleepovers or if he needed a change for some reason.
Stepping into the shower, Kosuke relaxed under the lukewarm water.
The sweat that had clung to his skin earlier washed off with ease. Squirting some Ivory soap onto a luffa, he lathered up in silence.
'Issei, Yuuma, and now Rias is a key player.' He rinsed off the soap and and let the water wash over his face. 'And we can't forget Koneko. She's a part of this too.'
The small window near the top of the wall showed that it was still fairly dark outside. He could spot the tops of trees and the sky. It was autumn, and even though he hadn't set his clock back for daylight savings yet, it was still dark out in the mornings.
Judging by the blue tint, it was dusk. Somewhere around five or six.
'Koneko and Rias have that club together in common. The Occult Research Club.' Reaching up to rub his hand through his hair, he was irritated to know there was still some blood caught in his scalp.
Shit, he was out of shampoo. He'd just have to make do with conditioner.
Scrubbing rigorously to the tune of birds chirping outside, Kosuke made sure every last spec of dirt and dried blood was gone before rinsing.
A cool breeze from the open window hit his flesh, but he didn't mind. It was strange but he was rather fond of the cold.
Putting his shoulder length hair under the running water, Dark blue eyes watched as darkish brown water rushed down the drain until the water pouring down his shoulders became clear again.
'So we have a club researching the supernatural, a girl who is supernatural, and Issei caught in the middle of it.' He thought with the same neutral gaze he had adopted whenever he began to think.
'And now me, I'm caught in the middle of this now.' And suddenly the gravity of the situation hit him and his cool gaze quickly morphed into one of shock.
His eyes widened considerably and he had to put a hand against the wall to balance himself. His frame trembled and he found himself gulping in deep breaths as the shock finally set in.
He had fucking DIED last night. And now he was here, taking a shower with some girl he had never shared words with sleeping in his bed, while there was a whole world of supernatural beings he had to accept as reality.
The cascading water, and the symphony of birds outside set a scene that clashed brutally with the 16 year old boy who was a hair's breadth away from an existential crisis.
After a couple minutes of standing under the shower head, the cold water managed to calm him down and he shrugged off his earlier shock.
Turning off the water, Kosuke stepped out and began to towel dry.
He accepted what he knew and integrated it into his current beliefs. There was no use worrying over that now. Not to mention he didn't have enough information to come to a solid conclusion.
But his uninvited guest did.
Reaching into the cabinet underneath the sink, Kosuke pulled out the hairdryer and turned it on low. Cold air hit his head and tickled his scalp. After a few minutes he began combing through his tangled hair, his conditioner doing wonders to make the job easier.
After several minutes, he took a comb through his hair and swept his bangs out of the way.
Leaving the blow dryer on the counter for his guest, Kosuke looked in the mirror once more.
With his bangs out of his face, he could finally see his eyes again. Dark blue orbs peered lazily at the reflection in the mirror.
Turning around and stepping out into the hall with a towel wrapped around his waist, Kosuke had a cold drink of water before stepping back into his room.
The girl was still asleep.
The alarm on his nightstand read 5:54 am in neon green. She still had 30 minutes before she needed to wake up, but Kosuke wasn't exactly patient.
A flash of anger rushed through him at the thought of being dragged into all of this.
Surging forwards, Kosuke reached out to shake her awake, but one look at her face stopped him.
There were pronounced black circles under her eyes, she had obviously been through alot, and probably gotten even less sleep than he had.
His anger died down quickly and he scolded himself for getting so emotional.
Kosuke backed away, slipped on some boxers, and left the room.
He could wait 30 minutes.
Throwing his ruined shirt away, Kosuke took the bundle of clothes from the laundry hamper and threw them in the wash. He had seen Rias' lacy underwear and raised an eyebrow.
Who knew she wore that under her clothes each day.
Putting in the detergent, Kosuke closed the door and sorted through the settings.
He didn't have time to sort through darks and whites, so he just set the temp to cold, and put the washer on express wash.
The washer began spinning and the noise filled the empty house. The red 15 minute timer displayed stood out among the greyish blue tint of the house. There were no lights on, and it was still dark out.
Kosuke walked down the hall further and entered the kitchen.
Reaching through the cabinets on a premeditated path, Kosuke set down a bowl and reached for some oatmeal.
He tore open four packs of Maple and Brown Sugar, before pouring it into the bowl. He filled the bowl level to the oats with milk from the fridge, before throwing it in the microwave.
One minute and fifteen seconds later, and Kosuke devoured his food in about the same time it took to prepare.
Washing his bowl in the sink, he briefly considered making some for the girl too.
'No, I'll ask her which flavors she likes later.' He concluded once he placed his dishes in the dishwasher.
He returned to the laundry room where he leaned up against the washer and rested his eyes until the cycle ended.
Running through settings once more on the dryer and Kosuke closed the door and started the spin cycle.
The red display flashed 30 minutes against the washed out space it resided in. The boys feet led him back to his room.
6:17 am; the green numbers lit up her features as she lay on the bed. Kosuke admired her for a few seconds before turning around, and searching through his drawers for his other uniform.
His hair fell back into his face as he reached down to pull his pants on. Before he could reach up and brush his hair away, a pair of arms wrapped around his torso and trapped his arms to his sides.
"Good Morning." Was said airily into his ear, the speaker?
The same girl who had her tits buried into his back, with her chin resting on his right shoulder.
His breath hitched for a moment, before returning to normal.
"Good Morning, Rias." He responded softly, turning his head to the side to regard her, peering through the space between bangs he couldn't push out of his face.
She smiled magnificently, pearly white teeth flashed him.
"So how's your tummy?" She asked as she rubbed the spot where he had taken a fatal wound.
"It's fine now," He said as he gently broke away from he grasp and turned to face her. "I assume you're the one who did this."
"Yep, I held you close last night and used my magic to heal you." Even now he could see the dark circles under her eyes. "It's pretty taxing on its own, but healing both you and Issei… You can't exactly blame me for falling asleep in your bed."
Magic, huh. So she was a supernatural entity as well.
She wasn't human, but then again, no human could achieve a body like that.
Kosuke just let out a long sigh, while pushing his hair out of his face.
"Let me show you the bathroom, I'm sure you want to take a bath."
"Yeah," She replied as she sent her new servant a grateful smile. "I would."
She followed after the boy as he led her down the hall, not without taking a glance at all the instruments strewn about his room.
As she walked sedately down the hall, she looked in awe at all the paintings blown up and framed along the walls. And on closer inspection she saw that they were all album covers.
"Kosuke," She called out once he opened the door to the bathroom. "You really like music, huh?"
"Yeah." Was the clipped response she got.
Cute, he was still too tired to entertain her. Oh well, she would have all the time in the world to get to know him further.
He was know hers, and their lives were bound together.
She couldn't see herself trading him for another either.
Rias bent forward to turn on the faucet; smirking when she felt his eyes on her backside.
"Here's a towel, and your clothes are in the dryer now, but I'll set them out for you when they're done." Rias turned back in surprise, he was very polite considering he didn't even know her other than what he must have heard in the 2 weeks he had been at this school. "They should be ready by the time you finish up."
Yep, she was already fond of the boy.
"Thank you for your hospitality." She said with as much sincerity as she could muster.
Kosuke just nodded his head before heading out and leaving her be.
"I hope he isn't always this standoffish." Rias said with a sgh before stepping into the shower.
True to his word, her clothes were folded up and sitting on top of the toilet lid. Rias found a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a blow dryer lying on the counter for her use.
She smile at that; he was very considerate. She almost started to feel bad for intruding.
Keyword; almost.
Now standing in front of the mirror, her hair dry and clothes on, Rias grumbled slightly as she looked closely at her face.
There were obvious dark circles under her eyes.
She couldn't go to school like this, but how to fix it.
Just then, Kosuke walked through the open door. His dark blue eyes, made even darker by the shadows of half opened eyelids, caught hers in the mirror before a look of understanding crossed his eyes.
He crouched down next to her and started rummaging through the cabinets looking for something. She watched him carefully to see if he would take a chance to peek up her skirt.
Not that he hadn't already seen everything she had to offer, but she was hoping to tease him if he did take a glance.
A box of makeup was offered to her while he stayed near the floor watching her lazily.
Rias got the hint and thanked him again; he left immediately afterwards, a grunt of acknowledgement all that he had to offer her.
"Meet me in the kitchen when you're done." He said softly before turning the corner and walking down the hallway.
In the quiet house, Rias could hear his footsteps clearly as he made his way to the kitchen.
Setting the makeup on the counter, Rias went through it all looking for concealer.
She had never put makeup on before, she never had any need for it, but it seemed simple enough to put on.
A small application under her eyes and all was well in hell.
The girl flashed herself a million watt smile and posed a couple times in the mirror.
Kosuke had easily cemented himself as a part of the peerage with his actions this morning alone. He would be a great addition to their little family.
It was kinda funny; the boy acted like he didn't care, but he was really in tune with other people. He was almost like Koneko in that sense, although something told her Kosuke was remarkably different at the same time.
Once thoughts of praise had ended and she returned to the present, a confused frown appeared on her face.
"Wait, why the hell does he have makeup underneath his sink?"
The kitchen just like the rest of the house, and just like outside, was dark. Enough blinds had been pulled back that the blue tint from outside transferred indoors.
Rias was fine with this though, she was a devil, they preferred the darkness compared to harsh bright lights.
Rias sat at the bar of the kitchen, eating oatmeal Kosuke had been all too kind in preparing for her.
Such a sweet boy.
Said boy, now fully dressed in his school uniform, leaned against the counter farther away from her, earbuds in and scrolling through his phone.
In between spoonfuls, Rias studied his appearance. He forewent his black blazer that everyone wore during the autumn and winter. Instead he stuck with the standard white long-sleeve button up. He left the shirt open and wore a deep navy blue shirt underneath, a curious purple necklace hung from his neck. His hair was a deep black starting at the roots and curiously enough, dark brown around the tips. In fact, looking closely, Rias could see quite a few strands throughout that changed from black to brown near the middle of its length, and kept lightning up to a golden brown reminiscent of an italian cappuccino. Had she not had the eyesight of a devil, she might have even mistaked it for dirty blonde. His hair sat around his shoulders and kissed his collarbones, while his bangs flowed around the sides of his face like a split waterfall. He had really nice eyes. The color she couldn't narrow down, but sat far on the dark end; somewhere past navy blue. And he had a rather dainty nose. With such features, she wondered if he had any noble European blood in his veins. He almost looked like a girl with such soft features, and it was only his indifferent expression and tight lipped frown that kept him from being labeled effeminate.
Thoughts like that led to curiosity, and Rias began to dress him up in her eyes. If he put his hair in a bun, put on a light dashing of makeup, and wore a skirt, he would easily be the envy of most girls in his class; probably getting his fair share of admirers.
"Like what you see?" He teased, and suddenly his lazy demeanor changed into something she saw on her Queen far too often.
Rias tensed up; she had been caught staring. She was more than a little embarrassed.
Her elbows were on the counter and she had unconsciously propped her head in her hands. A blush threatened to emerge on her face at the realization; she could only imagine the goofy look on her face. Thankfully she kept the blush back, but the quivering of her brows and the aversion of her eyes more than gave away her discomfort.
The boy laughed loudly while walking over; it was the kind of laugh that originated from the throat and forced you to tilt your head upwards. He grabbed her empty bowl with a relaxed smile on his face, mirthful blue eyes sought her own for but a moment, before he turned away and washed the dishes in the sink.
Rias let out a sigh and scolded herself for getting so flustered because someone had teased her.
The clinking of dishes was followed by the sound of plastic racks pushing forward and the click of the dishwasher closing.
The chair next to her slid backwards quietly, and Kosuke planted himself to her right. His smile had fallen again, but at least now he didn't look bored.
No he looked rather attentive now, and he had bothered to open his eyes a little wider. Rias watched as the shadow of his eyelids lifted and his blue eyes lightened considerably.
Leaning over with his elbows on the counter, hands clasped with his chin on his knuckles, Rias eyed the purple pendant dangling from his neck before he spoke.
"I live fairly close to school, so we still have a solid 20 minutes before we have to leave." Now turning his gaze towards her, Rias met his gaze with a serious look to match. "I want some answers."
"Of course." She said with a smirk that Kosuke could say was absolutely…
Devilish.
"Kosuke!" He heard a familiar voice exclaim.
Turning around with a pleasant smile, he responded in kind.
"Murayama!" Of course he didn't quite appreciate when she retorted with a "Quit messing around, I want to ask you something serious!", but he didnt let it bother him too much.
"So," He led on, a sparkle in his eyes that wasn't there this morning. "What's up? You're quite excited this morning."
Hands placed on his desk and leaning over to look him in the eye, Murayama didn't realize she had given him a golden opportunity to see her cleavage. He didn't look of course, he had more respect for his friend than that.
No to mention there were always better opportunities.
"So, Kosuke." She whispered conspiratorially. "What have you been up to. I saw you walking with Rias Gremory this morning."
Kosuke leaned back in his chair and kept the pleasant smile on his face while his eyes conveyed honesty.
"I got scouted for Rias' club, I'm officially a member of The ORC." He said with a little smugness in his tone, a mock arrogant grin on his face as he pretended to brag about his position.
"Oh, Ok. Congrats then, Kosuke." She said with an honest smile that showed she was truly happy for her friend. "And to think that you've only been at this school for a couple weeks."
Kosuke just laughed abashedly; inside though he was ashamed of himself for having to lie to her like that. Murayama was a nice girl, and he really enjoyed her company. He was most assuredly not proud of himself, but all the less, he was a great actor and knew when to put those skills to use.
She leaned against the back of the chair right behind her, and strook up a conversation about nothing too important. Kosuke enjoyed taking with her though, and entertained her mindless babbling, teasing her or inputting jokes every now and then, forcing laughs out of the girl time and time again.
After a short while, he scooted his chair back so that he could rise from his seat. His head tilted downward and his hair spilled into his face once more, hiding his visage from view. He took the short reprieve to discreetly take a look at Murayama's breasts, and goddamn if she wasn't busty!
Never breaking his motion or hinting at all to his ulterior motives, The Kendo Club Captain didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to him when he finally sat himself at the edge of the desk.
Leaning back with his palms behind him steadying his frame, Kosuke suddenly frowned when his new devil enhanced vision picked up on something.
"Hey, Murayama." He called out with a touch of concern.
"Yeah." She responded, watching him tip forward and look at her a little bit closer.
"Maybe you should get a hobby."
Murayama bliked at the random comment.
"I do have a hobby, Kendo." She answered more than a little confused at where he was going.
"But your parents and peers put a lot of pressure on you, dont they?" He asked with a small frown on his face and searching her eyes for answers.
She gulped slightly and thought about it.
He had hit it right on the mark actually, she was starting to feel the pressure of high expectations from her family and friends.
Murayama matched his frown as her body inched ever so slightly to close in on itself in defense.
"I still enjoy Kendo though." She said, cursing herself as she noticed how weak her voice sounded in comparison to earlier.
"But you don't nearly enjoy it as much as you used to, do you?" Kosuke replied, infuriating her with his ability to so easily see through her. "There's a lot of stress underneath the surface, huh."
"How would you know that?" She said uncomfortably.
Kosuke reached out quickly and plucked a strand of hair from her head, Murayama winced in response and glared at him.
"And just what was that for!" She hissed to the boy who didn't shirk away in fear like she had expected, but stayed perfectly calm and relaxed.
"You need another hobby, or something to vent your stress with, otherwise…" Kosuke held up a grey hair which Murayama stared at with shock. "Your brown hair will turn to grey, and I don't believe our pretty little Murayama would like that."
Murayama was at a lost for words.
The bell rang and everybody started heading towards there seats; Murayama stood still in surprise for a few seconds before she too headed to her seat.
As she was leaving to her seat further away from where Kosuke sat, the boy left her with some departing words.
"If you can't find another hobby, that's fine." His dark blue eyes held hers and she could see nothing but honesty in them. "You can always talk to me and vent, I don't mind. Call me whenever, I'll be happy to hear out a friend."
Murayama smiled as she resumed her trip to the other end of the room.
Kosuke was a really nice guy, she would have to hang out with him more.
Kosuke had meant every single word he had said. Part of his reasoning was his compassion and wanting to be of help, the other part was due to his own past.
He knew exactly what it felt like when the stakes started getting too high; how it felt to see everyones expectations of you grow higher with your every achievement not knowing how close you were to falling apart.
Not knowing yourself how burnt out and stressed you actually were, and not seeing the impending destruction.
He had crashed and burned horribly before, his family had been incredibly disappointed and he failed them time and time again. Incapable of getting his shit together or realizing just what was wrong with him.
It was the curse of Talent. When you finally hit the wall, you really hit it.
It was a rut that was so incredibly difficult to get out of, because for the first time in your life, you had to struggle at something.
And boy was that a foreign concept.
No one understood what you were actually going through, and it was something you couldn't put into words because it was a brand new experience.
Kosuke had reached that point, and eventually brought himself out of it with a new understanding. He knew how hard it was, and he was well aware of how many talented people fell off after reaching that stage.
He always wished that someone had been around to help him through that stage, or at least prevent him from hitting it altogether.
He wanted to be that for Murayama.
Because she was his friend; because she was a talented kid teetering on the edge.
Just. Like. Him.
Murayama looked a little downtrodden, although she hid it well when he had rejected her request.
Kosuke would have none of that.
"Yeah, unfortunately I have club immediately after school ends."
"But," Murayama regained a small amount of hope in her eyes. "My lunch periods are always free, and I had been looking for something to fill the gap. If you can do it then, I'd love to practice Kendo with you."
Murayama brightened up immediately, and it made Kosuke feel a lot better.
"Although I'm a complete beginner, so please be patient with me."
A glint emerged from her eyes and a cocky grin made itself known.
"Of course, you can call me Murayama sensei from now on, and I'll show you the way of the sword."
She ended her tirade with a wave and a beaming smile before she made her way to the practice room, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts for the time being.
He would not abandon her no matter how rough it got. And while it was a heavy promise to take for someone he didn't even know all that well, he simply couldn't afford to let her follow the same path he had.
He had the power to make something right, and by the 4 Satan, he would see it to the end.
'Why have I been getting so much more emotional lately?' He thought with a frown on his face as he headed to the Old School Building.
Was it because he was now a devil? Rias had explained to him that Devils were creatures of impulse.
Did that mean he would become less rationale?
That thought didn't sit well with him, and he grew anxious for his future.
The large evergreen trees that lined the small forest off to the side of the path passed by him in a blur.
Afterall, he was a kid who prided himself on his intellect and rationale, at this point it was a large part of his identity itself, and to think that it might be stripped away all the sudden.
His absolute worst fear was coming true, he was gonna lose himself!
Kosuke stumbled into the forest to go be weak without anyone seeing.
Steadying himself with his back leaning against the tree and raising his trembling hands closer to his face, Kosuke tried to calm his laboured breathing and erratic heartbeat to no avail.
Was there anything good about this new life he was supposedly living.
He had died, Fucking Died, and no matter how much he lied to himself that he was fine, he was not fucking fine.
His life was not his own anymore, he was slave to a teenage girl not much older than himself, who he - no offense- believed was nowhere near as smart or levelheaded as him.
Granted he hadn't gotten to know her, so his previous thoughts could be wrong, but he didn't give that idea too much hope.
His humanity along with his free will was gone, in the hands of another.
His hopes, his dreams, his aspirations and every single idea and experience he had ever entertained the thought of had instantly become null and void.
Kosuke barely felt it when he slid down the trunk and sat on the woodchip forest floor.
His breath quickened and he barely stopped himself from hyperventilating.
He knew he was a mess right now, but what could he do about it.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck." He choked out softly as he trembled even harder at the evergrowing realizations.
Gone was the calm composed Kosuke; and the Charismatic, Teasing Kosuke was nowhere to be found.
In their place lied a 16 year old boy who was struggling to come to terms with such an earth shattering reality.
He no longer had purpose. It had been taken away. And while he couldn't exactly blame Rias for his predicament, his rationale still governing some of his thoughts, it didn't exactly change anything.
The life he had predicted and planned was gone.
He lacked Drive, Motivation, Passion. It was gone, all of it was gone!
It didn't matter anymore, did it?
He was a husk; could he even be called human anymore without those things guiding him?
What was the point in living if you were to walk around aimlessly, or worse, yield to someone else's will.
He might as well kill himself.
A teardrop made its descent down his right cheek.
Oh wait, He already was dead.
For the first time in years, his body once again went through the motions and shivered as if caught in a blizzard.
He partook in the act he swore to himself he would never again do since his parents died when he was 14.
He cried.
He cried long and hard, sobs tried their hardest to tear through his throat rendering it raw and causing a heavy weight to settle in his chest. A waterfall rivalling Niagara flooded down his cheeks and stained the wood chips below a darker red. Kosuke bit his bottom lip roughly in some cavalier attempt to remain quiet, and somehow it worked.
But what did it even matter.
He was alone.
The forest of evergreens formed a canopy with their branches that sunlight struggled to diffuse through. No animals, other than a few stray birds, lingered in this area.
A cool autumn breeze passed through hollow tree trunks and created wind tunnels in various parts. Red wood chips formed the topsoil which gave way to old knotty bark from tree trunks that rose high above the forest level. Leaves of a dark green had already begun the transformation and turned into beautiful shades of red, yellow, orange, and brown.
The forest was a quiet and beautiful place.
Kosuke, former boy now become devil, experienced a mental breakdown and wept for all it was worth.
A.N. Those are the exact same thoughts that would run through my head were I put into the same situation, and even then, I doubt I'd handle it as well.
I'd probably end up locking myself in my room for a couple days where I tried to come to terms and eventually begin reassessing my beliefs, if I hadn't killed myself first.
Could you imagine the pope dedicating his entire being to Christ, only to one day be shown irrefutable proof that God was a myth. That when you died, there was no golden gates or cobblestone paths. Your consciousness just ceased to exist and you were nothing. Complete and utter annihilation.
What a slap to the face, to realize you had basically wasted your entire life and that all your past, present, and future actions amounted to shit.
What an earth shattering realization. People would lose their fucking minds, and I hope I was able to convey that accurately with Kosuke.
On a lighter note, please dont expect chapters to be this length all the time. I just thought this was a good place to stop, and nothing I wrote earlier seemed like a good break off point for the next chapter.
So yeah, expect the normal 12 pagers, or perhaps in time that number will increase.
Until next chapter.