A/N: Here we are. 40 favorites, 53 followers, 13 reviews and almost 2,000 views!!! You guys are amazing! I can't believe I already reached a milestone of over 50 followers and nearing 2,000 views. I want to thank everyone for their support. But I'll save the rest for later. Anyways, here's chapter 4 of Son of a Stray!
Chapter 4:
A Devilish Encounter
It has been a year and a half since Shuri died. The two were so struck with grief that they didn't take the time to remember that it was their birthday that same day. But a birthday is supposed to be a happy occasion, not one filled with sorrow. After their mother's death, Akeno and Yoake tried to stay with Akeno's aunt. But it wasn't for very long because they were soon banished for fear they would only bring more trouble to the clan.
"Screw them," the boy said after walking him and Akeno out of the village, "they weren't family anyways." So the two wandered Japan aimlessly for a year and a half. Yoake remembered all the times he spent on the run with his mother and had experience with the runaway life. Akeno, however, had trouble keeping up. She stopped frequently from exhaustion and couldn't bear the places they stayed in for shelter. Yoake reassured her that things would get better eventually.
"We have each other. Just as Kaa-San said. We'll protect each other. And I'll always be by your side, princess."
At this point, Yoake adopted the role of Akeno's knight in shining armor. She was all he had now, and he didn't mind the company. Neither did Akeno, because she stilled blushed every time he referred to her as "princess". Before they left home, they gathered a few things to take with them. Yoake secretly grabbed the marriage contract and hid it in his backpack Shuri bought for him one day, if he ever went to school. Akeno took her mother's shrine maiden outfit and hair tie less out of necessity and more out of remembering her mom. The pair traveled far and wide, Akeno using her skills her mother taught her to purify evil spirits in order to gain food from those she aided. Yoake, on the other hand, trained hard in order to achieve his goal. This saddened Akeno, her friend only focused on vengeance and protecting her. Gone was the fun loving boy. In his stead was a boy striving to get back at those who wronged them. So she decided to complain less and have them stop occasionally to appreciate the beauty in the landscape. But Yoake would just shrug it off and ask her to keep moving. He did appreciate her complaining less though.
Yoake also noticed how Akeno started to get a tiny bit more curvy than before. She had a little more roundness to her chest and her hips gained some width to them. He hid his blushes from her whenever he stole a glance. He even wondered if Akeno would look like Shuri when she got older, only to recall the countless times she would shamelessly show her nude form to him while bathing and shake the images from his head. His purpose now was protecting Akeno. When they'd set up shelter for a night, he'd go off on his own to train. Yoake recalled all the lessons from Baraquiel, but he didn't revere the man as his father anymore. He only decided to be thankful that he was taught a few things from a high ranking fallen angel. But he still loved thunder/lightning based magic and even quickly gained a small affinity to it. After a year, he was able to coat his hands in thunder and fire more powerful and faster projectiles than when he started. When receiving food from the people Akeno aided, he would always take the smaller portion. This worried Akeno especially because he got slimmer and slimmer as the months went by.
"Please Yoake-kun. I've had more than enough. You need to eat as much as I do," she would say to him every night.
"Save it for later. You need the strength."
"But you are getting weaker and weaker! It doesn't help that you also keep training all the time. Please, Yoake-kun, eat," she replied desperately with a piece of food in her hand.
"I'm not hungry princess," he said as he gazed aimlessly into the night sky. Akeno eventually would give up and hope he would more later. But the toll eventually became too much for him. It was a chilly January night. Yoake was carrying Akeno on his back through the outskirts of Kuoh, a town which the two stumbled upon not too long ago, when he suddenly collapsed.
"Yoake-kun!"
"It's…okay…Let's keep moving."
"No! You're too weak!"
Akeno quickly reached into Yoake's backpack and found half of a ham and cheese sandwich. She unwrapped it partially and gave it to the boy.
"Here. Ham and Cheese. One of your favorites!" the young girl said as she tried to put on a smile.
"You need it more than I do…princess…" Yoake then started coughing weakly. He was in poor condition. Akeno then found a tree where she could lean the boy up against. It was nice and shady and relatively isolated. She tried picking him up, struggling to get him onto her back. But after a strenuous two minutes, she did it. She piggybacked him to the tree and set him down. She went back for the sandwich she set down on the ground, and placed it back in the bag. Akeno recalled how she received the sandwich.
Flashback (several hours ago)
Akeno and Yoake just arrived in Kuoh, a nice, small town filled with shopping districts, a rather beautiful park, an old rundown church, and a nice green forest surrounding it and other areas of the town.
"Seems like a nice place. Very quiet and peaceful," Akeno commented.
"Let's hope there'll be a place where we can stay for a good week now."
"Tired of carrying me around?" Akeno teased.
"Just…tired. Sleeping on the hard ground with Kaa-san's clothes as a blanket is not really comfortable either."
"Well, I'm sure there's someone in this town who can hopefully offer us a place to sleep this time."
Akeno had noticed Yoake seemed a bit weaker. When he walked, his legs wobbled a bit. He would cough occasionally, but each one was violent. His eyes were bloodshot most of the time from keeping watch. He was in bad shape and he needed help, soon. The girl and her friend wandered around, Akeno searching for any kind of supernatural presence. Her mother taught her how to distinguish energies and aura that certain races give off. If there was a person dealing with evil spirits, she would jump at the chance to find them, especially now with Yoake's current condition.
"C'mon. There's got to be something," the girl thought. She concentrated carefully and remembered what Shuri taught her. In her mind, she saw the energies of everyone that surrounded her. That's when she felt something. A strange, blackish energy appeared in her mind. "Gotcha. Now where are you?" She concentrated harder on pinpointing exactly where it was. "There!" It was inside of a karaoke establishment. She dragged Yoake along with her to the source of the evil presence. Once they entered the karaoke place, Akeno stopped to marvel at the place. On the walls were posters of various singers. Some were American, others were Japanese. There were neon signs of musical notes and symbols. The walls themselves were a vibrant green and the place itself had a welcoming feel to it. Akeno awed at the interior while also focusing her senses on the evil spirit. The presence was coming from upstairs. She hurried upstairs, not bothering to worry about Yoake, who said he'd catch up later. As Akeno ran up the stairs, he was staring at a poster of a familiar woman. Her picture was framed in gold and it was the largest out of all of them. The woman had long, elegant purple hair and soft, chocolate brown eyes. She had a microphone in her right hand and smiled brightly. Her dress was a beautiful violet that matched her hair color and upon closer inspection, she wore a silver and purple necklace with music notes arranged to form two Ms. On the bottom of the picture, it had the name of the singer. 'Melody Murasaki' the sign read. "Momma…"
Back with Akeno, she reached the top of the stairs to find a man dressed in a blue and white business suit and black hair. The man also had gold eyes filled with fear.
"AAAAAAAH!" the man screamed femininely. Akeno saw the evil spirit that was creeping towards the older man. It had a demonic mask and consisted of a eerie blue like aura that made up the body of a man. Its wings consisted of the same energy like that of its body. In the center was a beating heart like object connected by vein-like objects. The man backed himself into a corner, allowing the spirit to take advantage of him.
"Your soul will be mine!" the spirit said.
"Please! Don't kill me!"
Akeno concentrated her energy and soon, a white glow appeared on her hands. It was a gentle light and capable of eradicating evil spirits. Her mother taught her at a young age to control this. And Akeno was a natural at it. She fired the blast at the spirit, who noticed it too late before burning up and disappearing.
"Wha-Who?!" the man said before he noticed Akeno standing in his field of vision.
"You…You saved me. Thank you."
Before Akeno could utter another word, she felt another strong presence, this one being much stronger than the spirit. She recognized it from all the time she spent with Yoake. It was…devil-like. A magic circle appeared on the floor with weird inscriptions and a red glow. Quickly, Akeno ran back down the stairs in fear of what might happen. She spotted Yoake gazing at the poster on the wall of the purple-haired woman.
"C'mon Yoake-kun! We have to go! Now!"
Yoake didn't listen.
"Yoake-kun! Please! This is no time to be standing around!"
No response. The girl then walked up to him and slapped him across his right cheek to snap him out of his trance.
"Yoake-kun! We need to leave now!"
The boy nodded his head and was dragged by the hand by his friend. On the way out, Akeno spotted a mini fridge by the counter. "Food!" she thought. She opened it up and grabbed as many things as she could and stuffed it into Yoake's backpack. The boy needed to eat. Once they were in the clear, they would stop to feast on their raid. Once she was finished packing, she grabbed Yoake and ran out the door.
Meanwhile, the red magic circle's light faded and in its place stood a handsome young man who appeared to be in his 20s. He had light brown hair and grey eyes. He wore a fancy business suit that was a deep crimson red with a white tie. He also sported a pin on the jacket that had the crest of the devil family he served, Gremory. Behind him stood a little girl who looked to be about 12 years old. She had a white dress on and had long red hair like blood and bright blue-green eyes.
"Ah! Heinrich-san! Good to see you again!" the older man greeted.
"Suzaku-san, a pleasure," Heinrich greeted.
"Oh! Who's this cute girl you brought with you?"
"She's my master's youngest daughter, Rias. When she heard I was headed to Japan for our contract, she begged me to take her with me."
"But Tou-san never lets me visit the human world! I'm always cooped up in my room. And you know I always wanted to go to Japan Heinrich-chan!" the girl retorted with a pout.
"Hahaha! I can tell she's going to be an interesting young woman when she gets older."
"Indeed. Now, about my contract…"
"Oh, you came in a tad bit late. Granted I'm fine, but this girl saved me."
"Girl?"
"Yes. She appeared to be Rias-chan's age. After she got rid of the evil spirit, she left in a hurry. Maybe she sensed you were coming."
"Hmmm…I wonder why?"
"Well, now that you're here, would you wish to stay? I can get you some refreshments."
The devil shook his head.
"Now that you mentioned that girl, I sensed a presence around here that seemed out of the ordinary."
"What do you mean?"
"Her presence…it's not just human. Hmm…"
Heinrich focused his energy on the recent activity around him. He sensed Akeno's energy signature and…another one more devil like in nature.
"Let me check downstairs."
The bishop headed down the staircase to see the mini fridge open and with what appeared to be most of its contents missing.
"That brat! She stole my food!" Suzaku complained. Heinrich looked around for further evidence. "Two of them were here alright. Maybe the girl sensed the evil spirit and came to defeat it hoping to get help for her friend. His energy is really weak, even for a devil." He turned to see the portrait of Melody Murasaki on the wall.
"Ah! My pride and joy! That gal had the biggest talent for singing."
"She really was something."
"You know her Heinrich-san?"
"I did. She disappeared a while ago. No one knows about her whereabouts. I remember hearing her for the first time. She had a voice even angels would be jealous of."
"I can say! Voice of a true goddess! She's my favorite singer of all time! I wish I could have met her," Suzaku commented.
"If you do not need me, then I shall be on my way."
"Okay, take care Heinrich-san!"
The bishop gave a bow and drew a magic circle to teleport out of the building and into an alleyway.
"Why aren't we going home Heinrich-chan?" Rias questioned.
"I'm gonna go find out why that girl ran from us."
Flashback end
Akeno stayed beside Yoake, who could barely stand. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was faint, yet rhythmic. But the boy's appearance denied any sort of healthy indication. "Yoake-kun…please be alright." Then, she heard a whoosh hobby her. She looked around to see nothing. "Just to be sure…" Akeno activated her spiritual sense and concentrated on the area around her. In her mind's view, she scanned the area like a sonar. She heard a rustling again. The girl gazed around her. Nothing. Before she could call it off, an energy sense rapidly grew closer towards her and Yoake. She grabbed Yoake and pulled him off the tree, nearly avoiding the sharp katana blade. She looked up to see a large man with a muscular build, a scar on his right cheek, shaved head, slight beard, and a kanji tattoo. Akeno immediately knew who this behemoth standing in front of her is.
"RAAAAAAH!" the behemoth yelled as he swung his sword horizontally. Akeno dodged it again and Yoake groaned in pain as he hit the ground with less grace.
"Daughter of Shuri, you will cause destruction to our clan no longer! You will die!" the man shouted before charging in again. Akeno grabbed Yoake and piggybacked him. The girl, with her friend on her back, ran. She ran from the crazed giant. Only to find more rather familiar faces joining the chase. It was the Himejima clan. Now they wanted to end her life and most likely, Yoake's too. She couldn't die yet! She had so much she wanted to do. Like become a master Shinto priestess like her mother. Make new friends who wouldn't look at her like an outcast. And, the one she couldn't deny any further, marry Yoake. The children never told each other, but in that year and a half on the run, they began to rely on each other more and more. The more they did, the more their love grew. They really cared for one another. And Akeno, when she came of age, hoped to one day marry the boy. She just hoped he had similar feelings for her.
"You cannot outrun us child! The trouble you've caused will end tonight with your death!" a clansman threatened. But he was soon blasted away by a ball of thunder.
"Heh…heh…I'm still pretty accurate…"
"Yoake-kun! You're really weak! Using your magic will only drain your energy faster."
"I'll protect you…princess," he replied as he kept hurling thunder balls at the mob of clansmen chasing them. Akeno, while appreciative of the aid in their getaway, feared the worst for her friend. He was using up all of his energy. More color drained from his body as he continued his attack. But her fears only increased when another group of clansmen got the jump on them from in front. She tried to find any openings, but couldn't The two kids were surrounded by the Himejima clansmen. One of them stepped forward.
"So, these are the two freaks causing trouble for us," he said. He turned towards Yoake.
"You severely hurt my son you son of a bitch!"
SLAP!
Yoake fell to the ground with a hard thud.
"Yoake-kun!"
Akeno hurried towards her fallen friend, but was halted by the others.
"Oh no, we finish this right now! The hybrid bitch and her stray devil die tonight!" the behemoth from before shouted. The others cheered in victory as they readied the two of them to be executed.
"Enough!" a voice from the crowd said. A pathway was cleared and the clan leader, Suou walked to the children.
"Ah. This is my niece's daughter and adopted son. You two have caused too many problems for us!"
"We have done nothing to you!" Akeno retorted.
SLAP!
A trickle of blood ran down the girl's nose as she faced her granduncle again.
"You listen here! Your father should never have come! Your mother was tricked by that wicked man and gave birth to you! You could've been a normal girl! But it was because of your father and fallen angel blood that alluded trouble to our once peaceful village. We've had to deal with more stray devils by our village than before. Our numbers dwindled every time we tried to face one. Like that wicked snake tailed freak we killed near a warehouse close by. We sensed it had a lot of power, more than anyone that came before it. So while it was sleeping, we dropped steel pipes on the monster to trap and impale it."
Yoake got up momentarily.
"What…monster?"
This time, Yoake got punched in the gut and went back down.
"A stray devil like yourself! We had to be careful we didn't anger it further and risk losing any of our men. So we were smart and killed it in its sleep!"
"You…murdered…Momma?" the boy replied with tears coming down his face.
"We did and we'll do the same to you. Once we've gotten rid of you, we'll finally have peace in our village. Grab their limbs. Make sure they won't resist."
Four men stepped forward and restricted Yoake and Akeno. They tried to squirm out but couldn't. Suou pulled a dagger from out of his coat. The blade shone brightly in the moonlight. He went up to Yoake first. Suou slashed Yoake across the chest.
"Yoake-kun!!!" Akeno screamed with tears in her eyes.
He was slashed a few more times before he hung his head low. The men released him and he dropped lifelessly on the ground. Blood poured out of his wounds and he stared lifelessly at Akeno, just like Shuri did.
"NOOOOOO! YOAKE-KUN!!!"
"Shut up! You'll join your friend soon enough," Suou said.
He raised the dagger above his head. Akeno gladly awaited the end. She just wanted to be with Yoake and a Shuri now. She waited a while, only to realize nothing happened. She looked above her to see the back of Heinrich, gripping the dagger in his hand. He shoved Suou away and the clansmen went to his aid. They looked towards the devil with hate but backed off because he flared his power towards all of them, showing how dangerous he was.
"A devil of the Gremory family?! What are you doing here?!" Suou questioned as he laid on the ground with the clansmen pulling him up.
"I was finishing up a contract I had in this area when I sensed murderous intent. And lo and behold, I find it to be you Himejima-san."
"We don't want any trouble."
"And neither do I. Just explain why you are murdering these two helpless children."
"They're not human. They would've caused trouble for our clan. You must understand we're doing this to protect our families."
"But that doesn't excuse the fact that you still tried to murder these poor children. I should have you punished for doing such a thing. And we all know all of you are no match for me," Heinrich answered, flaring out his power again.
"You are lucky I am merciful Himejima-san."
Heinrich then noticed the lifeless body of Yoake and frowned.
"There's blood on your hands already?"
"The boy's a stray. You would've killed him too."
"But if he's only a child, what crimes has he committed?"
"He's hurt some of our own kinsmen. Boys his age who don't have the destructive powers he has. He's a monster just like his mother that we took care of."
Heinrich looked towards the boy again. He noticed the purple hair and thought back to the poster back in the karaoke place. "So, he's her son huh?"
"Well, I will handle the boy. He is a devil so I will properly deal with him. As for the girl, I sense she is still one of your own. Why did you make the attempt on your life. Surely she did nothing to deserve this kind of treatment."
"Devil-san, you must sense what she is too don't you?"
"I do. However, I do not believe this child has committed anything wrong."
Another voice spoke up.
"Heinrich-san, where's the girl we're looking for?"
Rias emerged from the crowd and saw the scene in front of her.
"Rias-sama, please wait a moment. Let the adults handle this," he replied as he turned back to Suou.
"This girl doesn't deserve to die."
"Well she doesn't belong in our clan any longer. She will only bring more chaos with her."
"I will take her!" Rias spoke up. Everyone, including Akeno herself faced her.
"Rias-sama, are you sure?"
"If she has done nothing wrong, then she doesn't deserve to die. I will take her! She looks like she could use a friend."
Akeno smiled a little at that. This girl was vouching for her. No one other than Yoake has done that. The girl with the red hair had an aura of kindness with her, despite being a devil.
"Besides, I sense that she is strong. And since I'm getting my peerage soon, I hope that she'll become a part of mine."
Akeno was puzzled by that statement. What was a peerage? Was it some kind of devil group? She had no clue.
"Is that what you wish Rias-sama?"
"Yes Heinrich-san."
"Very well, we'll take the girl out of your hands then. She'll be under Gremory protection now."
"Fine," Suou replied, "but she is not allowed near our clan village ever again. She is a disgrace to the Himejima name!"
Akeno was hurt by that comment. Though she never really liked any of her fellow clanspeople, she still felt that it was a part of her identity. But what choice did she have? If she went back, they were sure to end her life eventually. And if they were devils, perhaps they had some kind of magic that would bring back Yoake.
"Then we're all set. Hopefully we won't cross paths like this again Himejima-san," Heinrich said as he picked up Yoake. Akeno followed closely behind Rias and Heinrich. She feared that if she even slightly strayed out of line, the clan would kill her right there.
"Don't worry, Heinrich-san will make sure you're safe," the red head suddenly spoke out.
"Thank you Devil-san."
"If we're gonna know each other for a while now, you must refer to me not as 'Devil-san'. My name is Rias Gremory, heir to the Gremory household!"
The girl sure liked being dramatic. Akeno giggled a little at that.
"Okay Gremory-san."
"Tell me your name. I promise I won't hurt you."
"Akeno…Himejima," Akeno answered. She was still unsure if she should trust these devils or not.
"I promise we're gonna get along just fine."
"What about Yoake-kun?"
Rias looked towards the boy's body being carried by Heinrich. She heard about him being a stray. From a young age, she was taught that stray devils were the worst of the worst. Everyone hated them. Why would someone abandon their master? She never understood. But from Akeno's tone, it was clear that she held affection for the boy. She didn't want to upset the girl by doing anything that would make her hate her. She housed a lot of potential that would serve her greatly in the future, perfect for her peerage. Also, the Japanese girl seemed like she could be another great friend for her besides Sona. She could tell her all about her home, one that she really wanted to visit.
"We'll make sure he's fine. He's been hurt badly but the doctors in the Underworld are the best. Don't worry."
Akeno didn't care how good these doctors supposedly were. She wanted Yoake alive and well again. Seeing him suffer for a year and half saddened her. She wanted to see that fun loving side of him that he abandoned once they left home.
"Heinrich-san, are we almost there?"
"Yes Rias-sama, we'll be arriving shortly."
The group came across a subway tunnel and walked down the steps. They huddled together into an elevator and Heinrich casted a spell to reveal a secret button. He pushed it and the four of them went down to the strange new floor. The elevator dinged, signaling they made their stop. Once the doors opened, Akeno was surprised to see a fancy, demonic, magical looking train on the tracks. It was painted red and black with a gold trim and on the side was the Gremory family logo. Was this really the way to the Underworld?
"Ah, Agrippa-sama. Pleasure to see you taking Rias-sama to one of your contracts," an old man in a train conductor's uniform said. He had a stylish, well kept beard and soft blue eyes.
"Hello to you too Reynaldo-san. We wish to hurry on back as soon as possible. This young boy needs medical attention."
"Oh my. Would you wish we stop at the nearest Gremory territory hospital then?"
"Yes, and don't mind but we've also have a Japanese girl joining us as well," Heinrich answered pointing towards Akeno.
"My, my. Hello young lady. I am Reynaldo, the Gremory's conductor. Rest assured that you're in good hands now. I have been serving this family for centuries and they have treated me like one of their own. I'm sure they'll do the same for you too."
"Thank you Reynaldo-san."
"I can tell you're concerned for your friend in Heinrich's arms. Don't worry Miss, I've never been late before!"
Reynaldo ran to the front of the train and blew the whistle, signaling the group to hop on. Akeno climbed aboard the train car which looked very luxurious inside. She sat near a window with Rias joining her.
"So, who's your friend?" the girl asked.
"His name's Yoake. And…"
What could she say? Was she comfortable calling him something more? How could she describe him?
"Yoake-kun's very special to me. He's very kind and likes to have fun. While we were running around Japan, he's protected me many times before…"
She blushed at recalling the memories they shared. The boy she had feelings for.
"He sounds nice. I sensed he has a lot of power too."
"Yoake-kun is strong. He likes to use thunder and lightning magic a lot. One night I saw him training with his magic and noticed a beautiful purple glow coming from his hands."
Heinrich overheard that last bit. Pieces of the puzzle were coming together now. The boy was the son of Melody Murasaki, who went missing about a decade or so ago. But when did she have him? Why did she leave? There were still some questions to be answered. He'd have to report this to Zeoticus later after stopping by the hospital. After fifteen minutes, the train stopped to a halt. Akeno gazed at the scenery around her. It appeared very different from what she imagined the Underworld would be like. There was green fields and forests everywhere. In the distance, she could she a giant mansion and other large buildings. In front of her was the Gremory owned hospital. It was a clean Victorian-age looking building with white paint and lots of windows. The Gremory symbol was on top of the sign of the hospital.
"C'mon, let's go!" Rias said snapping Akeno out of her thoughts.
The girl followed her as the group rushed inside. They were met by a nurse whose auburn hair was tied in a bun and she had green eyes.
"Heinrich-sama, what is the matter?"
"This boy needs medical attention right away!"
"We have a vacant room. Room 106. It's down that hall. I'll alert Doctor Manuel."
Heinrich nodded and rushed to Room 106 with the two children behind him. They barged into the room and the bishop laid Yoake on the hospital bed. The nurses soon came in the room and hooked Yoake up to various machines. Then, a man in his 30s walked through the door. He had blue hair, grey eyes and glasses. He was dressed in a clean uniform with a stethoscope around his neck.
"Doctor Manuel, a pleasure to see you."
"Likewise Heinrich, where is he?"
"Here. He was killed recently. He was slashed up by a dagger across his chest."
"Let me take a look."
The nurses moved to the side for Doctor Manuel to inspect Yoake. He ran some tests on the boy before diagnosing him.
"He's very low on energy. The blood loss doesn't help his case either. But we'll make sure he'll live. We just need to hook him up to some machines that will replenish his energy. The nurses and I will cast some healing spells on him to make sure he's healed correctly."
"Will Yoake-kun be okay?" Akeno interrupted.
The doctor gazed at the young girl and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Yoake will be fine young lady. He'll be in our care."
"I want to stay with him. I need to be here, with him. Can I please stay Doctor?"
"Heinrich?"
"She's the boy's friend. They survived together on their own and have gotten really close. Her name's Akeno."
"Well, Akeno-san. You may stay with him. But you can't interfere with our work okay?"
"I understand."
"Okay. Glad we can agree. Will you be going then, Heinrich?"
"Yes. Someone needs to take Rias-sama home."
"Indeed."
"Akeno-san, I hope we can get along with each other," Rias said with a bow.
"I hope we'll be able to get along too…Rias-san."
A/N (2): Again, thank you all so much for reading! If you enjoyed, favorite and follow. Reviews are always nice and PMs are welcome and appreciated. So in this chapter, Akeno and Yoake meet Rias. A big life changer for both characters. The evil spirit featured in this chapter is modeled after Omen from Killer Instinct if anyone was wondering. So we get the name of Yoake's mom, who apparently was an extremely talented singer. Also, I decided to give some reason as to why the Himejima clan want to eliminate Akeno and Yoake as well as make them the reason behind Melody's death. Now Yoake and Akeno are now living with the Gremorys so we'll see some of that next chapter. Despite being a stray devil, I feel like the Gremorys would still show at least some pity on the boy. If he did step out of line, then perhaps they would deal with him most other devil families would. Now, I'm sure a big question on most people's mind is...harems.
To answer your question(s), yes, both Yoake and Issei will get harems. Now as to who are in either harem, it should be made evident that Akeno will be Yoake's main love interest. They have history so Akeno will be Yoake's #1 girl (Also she's my favorite out of all the girls in DxD and quite possibly my #1 waifu. Sexy, powerful, and has a lot of character to her despite most seeing her as a huge flirt). Speaking of history, I feel like that is what a lot of the harem choices should be made on as of now. Of course others will be introduced later, but that's what I'm going for. Irina and Issei have history, so that's a pretty big reason why she's part of his harem. I mean Issei is introduced to all the girls in canon, but besides character and general attraction, history is important. So with that said, Rias and Koneko will be a part of Yoake's harem. Spending a lot of time together will make their relationship stronger than if they were to meet someone and just fall in love with them at the drop of a hat. Don't worry, Issei will get his ladies too. Leave suggestions for either one.
And after that lengthy Author's Note, I once again want to thank everyone who has supported this story. Next chapter, we'll continue after where we left off with Yoake and Akeno's new life under the Gremory family. See you next time!
