Chapter 4: Prince and Princess
Before long Darius was dragging Calvin by the back of his shirt, with the latter being the formentioneds' guide while inspecting the bullet hole in the shoulder of his shirt.
"Just fucking great. How am I going to explain that to my mom?" he wondered to himself.
"Doesn't matter to me," said Darius, "I'm taking you home, away from the police, back to your parent or parents, and for your own good. You don't need to be going around, stealing billfolds and getting shot at." Calvin finally freed himself from Darius' grasp, clearly annoyed,
"Dude, you're barely a year older than me, barely know me, and now you're acting like my dad or something. And I already told you, I wasn't stealing from you. I was saving you."
"Saving me from what, exactly?" Asked Darius sarcastically, "The police officer shooting at you?"
"The guy with the switchblade and the shitty haircut that was snatching your wallet until I..." Calvin stopped, and pulled Darius to yet another alleyway, and when he was sure no one could see, he lifted up his hands, having his palms face each other, "...until I flashed the guy with this." Right before Darius' eyes, a pulse of electricity was sent through Calvins' hands, making Darius step back in surprise,
"What the f-?!"
"Don't freak out!" Said Calvin, "I just woke up with these powers a couple of days ago, and I don't know how I got them." Darius slowly but surely calmed down, and his curiosity began to take hold,
"Are you...a conduit?"
"I shouldn't be. When my hero, Cole MacGrath, set off that RFI thing, it was supposed to kill off all conduits on a global scale. But I think it may have triggered some people into becoming conduits as well."
"RFI?" Darius then remembered the flash of light and the thunder sounding off before he fell unconscious, "Is that what that bright light was before I went out?" Calvin blinked,
"That was a few days ago, but yes. How long were you out in that alleyway?" Darius scoffed,
"Hard to say. I remember fighting those monster conduits, you know, the swamp people and the ice titans, and then I remember this bright light, thunder, and the next thing I know, the monsters began dropping, and after a minute so did I." Calvins' eyes briefly darted towards the ground, his eyebrows raising, and looked back up at Darius,
"...Did you notice anything else?"
"No..." Darius then gave him a confused look, "...should I have?"
"Look at your hands." Darius looked at his hands as he brought them up, and to his shock and surprise, they were forming and spilling sand from his palms.
"Okay...that's different," said Darius.
"We should probably get you back to my house," said Calvin, and the conduit grabbed the princes' hand and began to haul him back to his home.
Present...Kuoh Town...Adrians' House...
"After that, Mr. Lightning Rod proved to me that, similar to him, I had become a conduit, but wheras he had similar if not identical powers of the original Cole MacGrath, I was stuck with sand powers," explained Darius, "I mean, of all things. Sand? Really? Is this just going to be a theme for my life now?"
"I can see why that would be annoying," said Issei, "I mean, I wouldn't want to wake up and find my bed full of sand everyday. Especially if it winds up in all the wrong-." Before Issei could finish his unintentionally lewd comment, Darius smacked his hand down onto the table with a serious glare, silencing the Red Dragon.
"...Anyway..." continued the prince, "Calvin and I continued to experiment with our powers out of sight of the public, and while he still had some more practice to put in for his abilities, I was able to master my own fairly quick. I suppose having several thousand years of life prepares you for almost anything." Rias then looked away from Darius and the others, looking out the window and into the night, an image of Adrian crossing her mind,
"Does it really?" Darius caught her staring out the window.
"...Generally yes. It had me prepared for when Calvin had to leave for Kuoh Town, but truth be told I was surprised that he wanted to remain 'penpals' with me, considering most people who come across me would rather be rid of me once they found out I was immortal."
"They were afraid of what they didn't understand..." said Asia, understanding what Darius was saying, and hung her head, "...just like they were afraid of me...like they were afraid of Adrian..."
"Speaking of which, I couldn't help but notice that Calvins' best friend, his other girlfriend for lack of a better term, and finally I don't see any green coat clad buffoons. Where are they?" Darius then noticed that most of the ORC then had mixed looks of sadness and regret, and Rias herself had her eyes shadowed by her hair,
"Everyone, do you all mind if I have a word with Darius...alone?"
"Yes ma'am," the club said in unison, and they quickly, quietly dispersed, leaving Rias and Darius alone in the kitchen/dining room area. The red haired she-devil then stood up, approaching the large windows next to the area, wrapping her arms around herself, and breathed deeply,
"Tell me, Darius..." she began, "...in all your years, how did you deal with loss?" Darius slowly rose to his feet, and the Prince of Persia approached the Princess of Ruin, but kept a respectable distance,
"Over the years, I have had many friends, many wives, and even children..." Rias turned to the prince in surprise, and Darius sighed from the memory, "...and I have been unfortunate enough to watch them all grow old and die, while I remained young..." Darius looked to Rias, doing his best not to shed a tear, "...I suppose I deal with it via time. That's the best way I can describe it." Rias gently placed a hand on his arm in pity,
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you bring up-." Darius gently placed his fingertips to her lips, quieting her,
"I know you didn't. But I'm pretty sure you were wondering so you know how to cope with it yourself..." Darius then grew serious, "...and I'm certain you aren't asking because of Calvin." Rias closed her eyes, and turned back to the window,
"...A while back ago, my House of Devils and I had a fight against a leader class fallen angel named Kokabiel..."
Rias then began to recall the key events that happened between Kokabiels' attack and Adrians' abandonment, and with each word spoken, she began to grow more and more tearful, causing Darius to wrap an arm around her as she slowly began to break down into tears,
"...And then, when it seems like it couldn't possibly get any worse, Adrian just...leaves...broken seal and all...as if he really doesn't care," she sniffed.
"From the way you made it sound, it seems like he doesn't," said Darius.
"I must have sounded like such a selfish fool for trying to keep him from avenging his mother," said Rias, only to find herself turned towards Darius, his hands gently yet firmly gripping her shoulders, and slowly but surely he brought them up to gently cupped her face in his hands,
"Rias. You just wanted to protect him. You all care for him. You were all heart broken. For Adrian, his destroyed hive, his burned down home and his murdered mother. If he can't see that you are all hurt for him, and that you are all here for him, then he is the fool. Not you." Rias was shocked at first, but then brought one hand up to Darius' hands on her face, and found herself practically melting in his hands,
"I...I needed that...thank you Darius," she said with a teary eyed smile. Darius said nothing as he used his thumb to brush away her tears. Then, to the shock of both of them, Rias closed her eyes and gently placed her lips to his. Darius quickly pulled away, leaving Rias to open her eyes, slightly hurt at his actions,
"What was that?" He asked her in slight alarm. Rias looked away,
"I don't know...it just felt right..." Darius gave her a look of disapproval,
"What about Adrian?" Rias then gave him a look of defiance,
"He's single now, and is free to do whatever with whoever, just like I am free to do whatever with whoever." Darius raised his eyebrows as Rias blushed, realizing that she had almost completely quoted Akeno from the start of that night.
The Prince of Persia then approached the Princess of Ruin, giving her a seductive look,
"Well then tell me, Rias Gremory, what is it you want to do? And with whom?" Rias matched his look, and wrapped her arms around his neck,
"I want to feel something from the man in front of me," she said boldly.
"Even though I'm immortal?" Asked Darius with a warning tone, "I'm asking because all those who loved me in the past eventually grew old and died...and I would hate to add another to the list."
"How many of those women were devils, exactly?" She asked him, and before he could answer, she told him, "Devils can live far longer than humans, by thousands of years. Trust me, you would be amazed if you knew how old some of my family members were..." Darius still had an unsure look on his face, and Rias gently slid a hand to his cheek in reassurance, "...and if you want, but only if you want, I can even look into a cure for your immortality." Darius' eyes widened, and out of pure instinct and joy he pressed his lips to hers, each of them catching the other off guard as they suddenly found themselves in Adrians' bed, naked and rolling, with the prince penetrating the princess in blind passion and lust, and Rias allowed it with face flushed bliss, a smile spreading across her face in the ecstacy of their actions. Little did they know, they were being watched by a disapproving assassin, hiding by the doorway, and a shadow on the wall, with eyes glowing like fire from a burning palace a long time ago...