- Chapter 4 -
(Narrator's P.O.V.)
It was eight o 'clock in the morning on a Saturday and the entire peerage was early to begin their day...all except for the new rook who was snoring away in bed.
(Asia's P.O.V.)
I walked up to my room, which Maxi was using temporarily, to wake Maxi up for his first day of training. Knocking at the door, I exclaimed "Maxi, it's time to get up. Rias wants to train you for the day"
I jumped in shock when he yell at the other side of the door "It's eight in the fucking morning on a Saturday! The only thing that's gonna be up is your god-damn tombstone if you don't leave me the fuck alone!"
"Riiiiiias! He won't get up! What should I do? I exclaimed at rias who was in Issei's room.
She stepped out, only in her shirt and underwear, in front of the door as she knocks the door and commands "Maxi Evermore, you are going to get out of bed, freshen yourself up and come with me to train your sacred gear. Am I clear?"
Rias opened the door slightly just to be bombarded by pillows, which forced her to close the door.
"Ok then, he doesn't want to get out of bed...but I can fix that" she slyly stated as she buttoned down her shirt, revealing her cleavage.
I was a little confused, not to mention scared at what rias was going to do when she opened the door and walked inside but closed the door when she got in.
Worried at what she will do to him, I placed my right ear at the door to hear slight screaming and distressed sounds of someone struggling.
A few minutes has passed when rias walked out smirking evily and behind her a flushed and silent Evermore walking slowly out of my room shaking as if he went through something frightening.
I tried to ask him what happened, but as soon as I said something he covered my mouth with his hand as he mutters "Im up...alright? I...am...up..." before going to the bathroom.
- 45 minutes later -
(1985 - Bowling for soup)
(Maxi's P.O.V.)
After taking a nice hot bath and dressing back to my old clothes, which Asia charitably washed for me, I walked downstairs to see the redhead and the pervert along with two adults on the couch who I assume are his parents considering neither one of them are gingers.
"So you must be the friend rias mentioned sleeping in Asia's room am I right?" The woman asked as she stood to shake my hand "I'm Issei's mother by the way, also the guardian of the one you threatened to put up a tombstone for..."
I could tell she was angry when she started to grip my hand as if it was practice to her for my neck as I muttered "Asia...I am deeply sorry that I yelled at you, truce?"
The pissed off mother loosened the grip of my hand and rubbed my hair when she replied "I always like a boy who realizes when he's wrong. Have fun outside"
I noticed the father was right behind her silent when she was at that angry state. "This must have happen often, there is no way in hell this is a first time thing" I thought to myself as I rubbed my sore hand through the front door.
Shortly after, rias alongside with a stupidly smirking issei came up as she handed me a note with some address.
"Rias if this happens to be your phone number then I have some harsh news for you" I jested before reading it "A circle? It doesn't seem to have any logos from any official companies. Are you trying to punk me or something?"
Not a single word of explanation was given. Rias simply just replied "This may be sudden for you maxi but we're on a tight deadline. You will be training with akeno and koneko to harness your magic and strength."
"So by putting up with them I get to look like a roided bodybuilder and pull a rabbit out of a hat? Where do I sign up?" I sarcastically sneered at them both "How do I work this thing?"
She gave a stressed out sigh as she pulled the tip of the paper in my hand and made it glow a dark shade of red before I instantly found myself at the back of the building I was in yesterday.
"Grassy area, barely any flat land for straight running, and trees to block scenery from a distance. And they say you don't learn anything from naruto…" I said to myself before turning to the trees "HEY, ALBINO AND TEMPTRESS! I KNOW YOU'RE BEHIND THOSE TREES! SHOW YOURSELVES!"
It seems that my hunch was correct as the two women revealed themselves from behind the trees. One of them running sparks of electricity through her fingers while the other was armed with nothing but her bare steel gloved fists.
"Ara ara, you knew exactly where we were hiding because of an anime? That's strange and at the same time impressive" akeno complimented in a flirty tone as she aimed her sparked fingers at me "But does naruto tell you how to dodge lightning?"
(Lose Yourself – Eminem)
In all honesty, when Rias mentioned magic when she talked about training I thought she meant seals and charms and stuff like that but this….this was obviously beyond my level. I tried to dodge from the attack, with a slim fucking chance that I would actually dodge lightning, but quickly noticed koneko ready to hit me from above.
With a surprisingly vast amount of luck I mange to somehow see the blast coming as I shifted to the side but got knocked to the ground from one hard punch from the smaller girl to the chest.
"Get crushed…" she whispered in her stoic tone as she landed on the ground and stretched to deliver another punch.
I tried to get back on my feet, keyword is tried here, to see if I can escape but instead got a thunderbolt stile to the same spot as I flew into the trees.
All I could hear was akeno's psychotic and lustrous laughter before I fell from a couple of branches to the ground.
"Now that I think about it, that video game doesn't seem worth the serious beating I'm getting" I said, while coughing an unhealthy amount of blood "What is this, a fucking gang initiation?!"
And at the same second I got back up, the short one suddenly ambushed me and begun to rapidly punch me.
I getting badly pummeled, yet at the same time it was barely hurting. Almost as if I stopped feeling any pain. But none the less I was still getting wounded, so I began to block every punch she gave me.
(Koneko's P.O.V.)
"Your tougher than I thought rookie, but just because you can keep up with my blows doesn't mean you have a full grasp at combat" I coldly said as I took a step back and kicked him right through a couple of trees.
"You both….fucking….suck…" he groaned as he pushed the pieces of bark off his torso and got himself up. I started to get curious when he looked at me in that angry tone. But most importantly, his eyes started to glow green like last night.
Was it his sacred gear? I wanted to test his ability right away but I had to dash backward when a keno launched another thunderbolt at the rook
At the looks of it, he was in immense pain from the electric shock. And akeno must have notices when she stated "Oh my, it makes me so hot playing with you but it look likes you can't handle it" before shortening her magic output on him.
I never knew why she chose him as a rook, nor why we had to train him like this.
-2 hours ago, in issei's house-
(Hurricane – Theory of a Deadman)
"Akeno and koneko, I have a small favor to ask you" bochan caught our attention when she stood in front of both of us.
I stopped eating my snacks as I asked "What is it bochan, do you need us for something?
She rubbed her temple in a gesture of annoyance as she replies "I've been talking to azazel over the phone about the content of his sacred gear and how to let maxi reveal it"
"Ara ara, he seem to be packing a lot of magic within him for a beginner rook" akeno laughed with a sly grin "I'm so curious as to what sacred gear the boy possesses"
"See that's the problem" Rias continued as she sat next to koneko "Like the smart-ass he is, azazel isn't telling me the full detail of maxi's sacred gear beside the name and small piece of info. All he told me about his power was that he had the ability to be strong enough to be anyone's rival in a matter of seconds, evil piece class or otherwise"
I was surprised at what bochan said but tried my best to conceal my facial expression.
"A power to match anyone's level of power, that seems farfetched to be honest. Yet again, Issei has proved himself pretty powerful since the kokabiel incident." Akeno mentioned as she moved closer to bochan "So what's the name of the sacred gear?"
Bochan paused for a few seconds as she leaned back at the couch before answering "The name of his sacred gear is…Eye Nerve Data technique , or E.N.D. for short"
"Eye nerve dominator? What does that mean?" that question echoed my mind as I tried to figure out what it could do. "So what do you want us to do bochan" I asked
She stood back up, looking at both of us as the replied "I want you both to draw out his power by fighting him. I'm not saying that you both just beat him up for no reason, just be as rough as you need to"
"Hmhmhm…this is going to be interesting" akeno said amusingly as she got up to set up a teleportation circle "Well be waiting for him at the back of the club building to 'rough him up a bit'"
Without saying a word, I went on the magic circle with her and got instantly transported from the house.
- Present time –
(One for the money – The war is ours)
"The power to to match anyone else's power huh" what bochan said raced through my mind as I started to punch harder "Let's see what you're made of"
(Maxi's P.O.V.)
I could feel in every hit she made that she wasn't holding back, but somehow I went from getting knocked down from a few blows to withstanding a barrage of fists from her. It was as if I knew how she would attack.
She jumped up, accidentally flashing her underwear to me, to give a kick. Out of sheer instinct alone, I ducked right below her leg and saw the opening for a uppercut.
"Eat knuckle you albino brat!" I screamed as I threw the heaviest punch I could muster up at that moment right to her stomach, which made her collide head first to a tree.
She wasn't knocked out, but for some reason when she looked directly into my eyes the girl just laid in front of the broken down tree in a shocked expression. Then…..I began to rub it in her face…
"Hahahaha! I superman punched you to a tree! Someone better call smokey cause your ass got knocked the fu-AHHHHHHH SHIT!" I may have not seen akeno's lightning strike coming, but in hindsight I probably should haven't celebrated too early.
As I turn around to face her with a now sore back, she gave a painfully smug smile as she says "You didn't really forget about me didn't you?"
"Actually yes, at I was hoping to" I replied as dodged the next volley of thunder strikes to the point that I realized I was moving nearly ten times faster than I was before.
Seeing that she couldn't hit me this time, I took cover behind a tree to block her attack.
Still zapping at the tree behind me, she sighs "You know, you may have the strength but as a queen, besides rias, I'm the naturally strongest among the peerage"
After ceasing fire against a charcoaled tree, I stepped back to strategies. "She's behind there, this tree is weaken in the middle and she seems more focused to break down my cover" he thought for a while before snapping his fingers at a perfect plan "I got it! Time for a little distraction"
(Akeno's P.O.V.)
"Aw what's the matter? Are you tired all ready? I was just having fun with you" I asked in a purposely seductive tone as stopped firing at the tree "If you want me to stop you can come tell me….face to face"
What came next was quite a shocker when the tree suddenly broke off into the year. I looked forward to see maxi wasn't behind the tree nor did he show any signs of running anywhere else. Then I looked up.
I couldn't tell whether I should be humored or severely confused when I saw maxi, and I kid you not, on top of the flying tree screaming "People use wood to make surfboards. Chuck Norris uses surfboards….OUT OF THE GOD DAMN TREE!"
I quickly struck the tree with my lightning to nothing but black ashes, which in effect made evermore plummeted to the ground head first that seems to have knocked his lights out.
Concern about the rook's health, I ran up to his body and placed his head on my lap "Maxi, maxi are you awake? Koneko, can you take him back to the room? I'll go and fetch Asia to heal the bump on his head"
Koneko nodded as a reply before getting off the ground and lifting the boy to the building along with me.
- Three hours later, in the Occult Research club room -
(Maxi's P.O.V.)
(Bleed it out – Linkin Park)
I started to wake up with the epic return of that brain tearing I always couldn't tolerate as I got up to see rias and Asia in my line of view in what appears to be the occult research club I unfortunately met these people.
The red head turned to me with a smile while greeting "So the sleepy head finally woke up. Sorry akeno and koneko had or take such a toll on you. But riding on a flying tree? I wish I could have seen that"
I rubbed my head while looking down and replying "Redhead, unless you have some painkillers I am not in the mood for your pointless talking"
"Hey, it's president to you Evermore. I am your master that deserves your respect" she retorted.
I only laid back on the pillow while reply back "Rias, unless your last name happens to be either Gandhi or Obama you're not getting THAT kind of respect from me"
"You know what? I tried, let's go asia. can help him on the way out" Rias said as she walked angrily through the door.
"I think I'll wait here a little longer. I don't want maxi to stay here all alone" Asia said before surprising sitting beside me "You know….until he feels better"
"Fine, I won't stop you" she replied as she left "Make sure you home with issei when he gets back from his pact"
The room was empty, the only ones here were me and the innocent blonde sitting right beside me nervously. The quietness was getting a tad bit uncomfortable, so I decided to break the ice and ask "So, what's your story for being here?"
In a cutesy fashion, she made a high pitched 'EEK' sound before stuttering "You….you want to talk…to me?"
"I'm not going anywhere in the next couple of hours and I could use a story to put me to sleep…so shoot" I lazily replied as I shifted in a cozy position.
The blonde girl hacked to the ground as she told " Well, when I was a child I lived in a church far from Japan with my old friends until the day they saw me use my twilight healing to help a wounded woodland creature. They moved me to a new church where thousands of people come to pray to me to heal them. I honestly enjoyed it and it made people happy because of my gift, or at least for a while. Some time later, I came across a man who was fatally wounded so I healed him like I would any other person. But that was when later I was kicked out of the church and called things like a witch or a heretic that I healed a devil"
I paused for a minute, I have seen and read some sad stuff, but this was downright depressing. I always knew the church was bull shit but this was severely pushing it, but I nodded "I can understand what your coming from, continue"
Asia nodded back and continued "After I was kicked from the church, I was isolated and shunned by everyone….everyone except a dark angel who promised me a placed to stay if I joined her, which I did. But after meeting Issei and everybody else and being turned into a devil, I never regretted healing that man. I'm happy now and I want it to stay that way forever"
I seriously had nothing to say to that, I couldn't make a single sound over that story. No offensive joke, no media refrences…..nothing. I found my self in a sense of emotional shock to the point that I felt one sole tear running down my right eye followed by a gentle and soft hand wiping it off my cheek.
"Aw, don't cry over me maxi. I'm OK now, Issei saved me in the end so you don't have to worry" she gave a cheerful smile at me.
I quickly begun to mentally get my shit together as I exclaimed boldly "Psssh, what a bunch of d-bags am I right? If that was me I would have flipped them off through the church door!" to keep my rough demeanor intact.
"It's all right to tell me how you feel. I swear I won't tell anyone about this" she promised as she placed her hands at the center of my chest.
"I..I..I can't do this right now asia" I muttered as I quickly removed her hand from me before I ran off through the door.
On the way out, I accident bumped into the pervert Issei who asked "Oh it's you, are you done with your training"
"Mind your god damn business! And watch where you're going!" I yelled before continuing my fast pace out of the school grounds.
I ran all the way to the front of my apartment building, with little time thanks to my training I guess, before stopping to catch my breath.
"What the hell was that back there? Was she lying to get closer to me? What was the point of telling me that? Did I really just cry in front of one stupid girl?" all of these questions ran through my head before I eventually calmed down.
"Just calm down maxi, your dad didn't raise a little bitch. Just go inside and-" I felt an excruciating pain coming from my back, I looked down onto my stomach to see a large blue light pierced through my torso before it disappeared as I collapsed at the pavement.
The only thing I could here was the voice of a man grunting "Next time don't go out without your master, you filthy stray devil" and after that loud flapping sounds followed by a bunch of black feathers slowly falling to the ground before everything went black.
