Beyond the Outer Gates Lies...Vision Correction?
"Four Star Bowl," Tsubasa said firmly.
"I agree," Sona inclined her chin towards her Rook.
"Yes, that would be good," Reya agreed
Unsurprisingly, the girls wanted udon from a shop that was relatively close to my place, but that they did not go to very often.
"That works for me," I decided not to object.
"Reya-san, Tsubasa-san," Sona used their given names more casually and naturally than I had heard her do so far, "I will go to my home and fetch our bags. I will entrust you two with picking up dinner. And perhaps also some groceries."
She looked back at my kitchen with overacted dismay.
"I was going to go shopping today, before everything else came up," I told her defensively. She snorted in disbelief.
"I believe you, Harry-san," Reya comforted me. Sona's lips curled up slightly. And then she took out a pair of ten thousand yen bills, and gave one to each of the other girls.
"Dresden, I trust you will remain here where it is relatively safe," once again the slender Devil said it like a question, when it obviously was not.
"Are you sure you don't want to tie me up, gag me, and roll me over to Ise's place for Rias to watch?" I shot back.
"I don't think that will be necessary right now," she pretended to take my suggestion seriously, "However, you are correct that I should contact Rias-san and let her know what out plans are, so she can keep an eye out for trouble while we are running our errands."
"Just get going," I rolled my eyes at her.
"We will return shortly," she said with small grin.
"See you soon, Harry," Tsubasa smiled and waved.
As soon as they were gone, I took my phone out. I hit the fourth number on my favorites list. It took five rings instead of the usual two, but she picked up.
"Hiya, Harry-chan," Serafall's voice rang out, "What's up? I was in the middle of packing."
"Hi, Levi-tan," I responded, "Sorry to interrupt, but I figured I should call before you left, since the reception in the Underworld is hit or miss."
"True enough," she agreed, "So, what's up?"
"I just thought I should thank you for today," I answered.
"Everyone helped," she sounded slightly embarrassed.
"That is my point," I said, "I know your power. Once the seal was in place, you could have killed every Beholder in that cave, in one of a dozen ways, with a wave of your wand. Impaled on icicles, crushed by a glacier, frozen solid, etc. Hell, you might not have even needed the seal. Just knowing where they were, you probably could have killed them before they noticed and had a chance to phase."
"I could say the same about you," she countered, "One Pyro Fuego could have wiped them all out."
"Yeah, but I don't think I had the power left for that," I said dubiously, "Between setting up the ritual, and my shields, I probably wouldn't have been able to fry Greenie along with the rest."
"Well maybe the same could be said for me," she teased, "I did have to teleport extra baggage both ways. And it was definitely over the weight limit."
"Uh-huh, pull the other one," I said, "I know you could have done it alone, and I'm pretty sure I know why you didn't."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"You wanted the others to get real world combat experience," I explained my thoughts, "Not like Ratings Games, or even hunting strays. Plus, I'm sure you wanted to give Tsubasa a chance to kill a Beholder, even if it wasn't BB."
"So did Harry-chan and So-tan," she sounded a bit shy.
"And," I continued, "in between them, you wanted all of us to feel useful."
"And I was just too lazy to do it all myself," she insisted defensively.
"Yeah, maybe some of that too," I allowed, "But I know you did it more for the others than anything else. And so, thank you."
"Sure thing, Harry-chan," she sounded self-conscious again.
"I guess I should let you go," I said, "Sona will be back any time, and I don't think you want her knowing all that."
"She probably already knows," I could hear the pride in her voice, "So-tan is pretty smart like that."
"Yeah, you're probably right. But you still have packing to do."
"Alright," she sounded resigned, "Just take care of yourself until I get back, okay, Harry-chan?"
"You know me," I said glibly.
"I do, that's why I said it," she agreed.
"Goodbye, Serafall," I told her firmly.
"Bye, Harry-chan," she said brightly, "Have a fun night with everyone!"
I shook my head as I disconnected. And a second later, my doorbell rang.
Monday morning, I and my would-be girlfriends, along with Ise and his harem, escorted Gasper to school. The young vampire had spent the night at the Hyoudou house.
And yes, I was the one escorting him. I was not one of the ones being escorted.
When we arrived at school and split up, I was given two options by Sona. Come to the Student Council office as soon as class ended. Or go to the old schoolhouse with the members of the Occult Research Club, and then go home with them.
Resigned to another afternoon carryout handouts and acting in the place of Kuoh's apparently overworked stepladder, I shuffled slowly towards the Council's opulent room. But when I arrived, I found most of Sona's Peerage milling around outside, looking moderately anxious. The only ones not present were Sona herself, and Saji. Tsubasa caught sight of me and smiled for a moment, but then her lips pursed again.
"Hello, Harry-san," Reya greeted me, but then looked back to the door.
"Hey, Reya," I responded cautiously, "Is something going on? Why's everyone out here?"
"When we arrived, Kaichou asked to speak with Saji in private," Tsubaki answered for her. I frowned thoughtfully.
"I wonder what that is about," I joined their musing.
"What can I do for you, Kaichou?" Saji was almost shaking as his King closed the door. She gestured at one of the empty chairs. He moved into it almost as fast as if he had teleported.
"I have been considering ways to deal with this for some time now," the young woman answered, taking her own seat, "To be honest, I hoped it would not come to this. But it interfered with our mission yesterday. So I have decided to take a page from Dresden's book. I will be blunt."
"Kaichou?" the Pawn's worry was slightly displaced by confusion.
"I am not romantically interested in you," she told him, "Even should Dresden do something to severely disillusion me, I do not foresee any situation under which my feeling towards you will change. To me, you are a valued member of my Peerage and a younger sibling."
He looked stunned, but she could tell it was not enough.
"In addition, your stated goals in a relationship with me are at the very least inappropriate and disturbing," she pressed, "And at worst insulting and potentially illegal."
"You know about that?" the young man's face was white.
"I do," she confirmed. He slumped down into the chair.
"You must get over this crush," she instructed, "I have it on good authority that there are other girls in this school that find you attractive. I would recommend you open yourself up to other options."
"Yes, Kaichou," he said mechanically.
"I also expect that this little rivalry you have with Dresden will come to an end," Sona switched gears, and her face and voice expressed an increased anger, "Events like yesterday put all of us at risk."
"Of course, Kaichou," he said flatly.
"Good," she nodded, "Now, as for your actions yesterday, I believe punishment is in order. Come over here, and bend over."
Somehow, the boy's face turned became even paler. And a dark energy surrounded her right hand.
The office finally opened, revealing an emotionally drained Saji. He was standing oddly, and limped as he stepped away from the door.
"Hi, Sona," I strode in first, "What's going on?"
"That is a matter between myself and Genshirou-kun," she said firmly, "And good afternoon to you, Dresden-kun."
The rest of the Student Council followed me in. While most of Sona's crew gave him speculative looks, Momo and Ruruko looked sympathetic.
"So, what's on the docket for today?" I asked, trying to draw attention of from Saji. He might annoy me, but as a fellow guy, I didn't want him to feel too emasculated.
"We need to sort the career path forms from the first year classes, and then deliver them to the department heads," she answered, "And the baseball club has received their new equipment, so we need to box up the old balls and gloves for donation."
"Come on, Harry," Tsubasa hooked my arm, "we can go handle the packing."
"Wait, Kuoh has a baseball club?" I asked.
"I would prefer he stay inside to help with the distribution," Sona ignored me and debated with her Rook, "It will be safer, all things considered."
"But it is my day," Tsubasa slipped back into her cool persona, "And I think an American like Harry would like to have a chance to throw the ball around. Besides, so long as we are on the school grounds, I doubt we will get attacked."
"So you admit your plan to shirk you duties to have fun with Dresden-kun," Sona lectured severely. Then her lip twitched, and she added, "Though I doubt any of our women's gloves would fit Dresden's hands."
"Maybe I'll just go see what the ORC is up to after all," I considered out loud, "They might actually be doing magical research for a change…"
"Fuku-Kaichou, take Yura-san and Genshirou-kun to the baseball club," Sona ordered quickly, "the rest of us will handle the sorting."
Reya actually stepped behind me at her King's proclamation, and Tsubasa herded Tsubaki and Saji out of the office. Sona's eyes directed me my usual chair, as she started handing out piles of papers.
"Fine," I said glibly, "I guess I'll stay."
I gave the three girls suspicious looks, even as I let them into my house again.
"Okay, I understood last night," I told them, "But nothing happened. So how long is this going to keep going on?"
I looked at Tsubasa and Reya, "Because at the very least, I don't like the two of you lying to your parents about this."
"We will be staying tonight," Sona said firmly, "If that Beholder is planning something, rather than simply reacting to our assault, we can't count on it attacking immediately. Indeed, given what we know, it could very well be waiting for me to leave."
"BB," I said, pretending to ignore the rest of what she said, "Its name is BB."
"Dresden," Sona said dangerously.
"Fine," I acquiesced, "You are already here, you left your stuff here this morning, and you did fill up my fridge. So I guess you can stay one more night."
The Bishop and Rook squeezed each other's hands, and grinned happily.
"One more night," I insisted, "After that, my defenses, plus having Rias and company next door will have to be enough."
"We will see," Sona said.
I sighed. By now I should have known better than to argue with that type of woman.
"Well, we should probably get dinner started," I changed the subject, "Because I want to try some scrying with those Beholder parts tonight."
"If you and Kaichou want to get started on that," Reya said, "Yu… Tsubasa-san and I can get started on the hamburger steaks."
"I can't really ask you to do that," I tilted my head dubiously, "Even if you invited yourselves, you are still technically my guests. Making you do the cooking while I go have fun doesn't sit right."
"So Harry thinks searching for monsters that are trying to kill him is fun?" Tsubasa looked confused.
"Well, no, not that part," I conceded, "But experimenting with new spells and components is."
"Well, if you do want us to leave," Reya sounded disappointed as she said that, "then better to get started on finding BB and his siblings, so we can finish this. And then you won't need our protection any longer."
Tsubasa snorted at that.
"Laugh it up, Rook-girl," I told her, "I seem to remember saving your cute little ass from BB two days ago."
"If that's how you choose to remember it," she nodded smugly, "Because I distinctly remember someone getting carried after he almost tripped."
"Let's go, Dresden-kun," Sona stepped away, hiding an amused grin, "I have heard about your attempts at cooking on the Occult Research Club's summer camp, and would feel far safer letting Reya-san and Tsubasa-san handle it."
"Dissed in my own home," I said in mock dismay. Only mock, because I knew in my heart she was right, "What next?"
"How the rest of the night goes is almost entirely up to you," Tsubasa said Dangerously.
"Oh, look at the time. I think I have experiments to run."
I beat Sona down to the basement by the proverbial mile. No shame in retreating when you are surrounded on three sides.
I lightly tapped the stone table in frustration. I wasn't dumb enough to punch sixty pounds of magically reinforced granite. But I was frustrated, and judging by her expression, so was Sona.
I had started simple, using BB's scale and the same spells I had used to find the Beholders' base. That had been a complete failure, even though it had only been about thirty hours. He shouldn't have changed enough in that time to make my spell fail, so I assumed he was remaining phased.
Next I had added a few drops of one of the blue Beholder's blood, and one of Greenie's fangs. I hoped the fact that all three came from Argus and were mystically similar would set up some sort of resonance that would let me either punch through BB's intangibility or find Rini or one of the blue balls.
Still nothing.
I broke out the spectral scanner next. It wasn't suited for long range searches, at least not in its original form. But Sona and I were able to tweak the runes until it covered most of the city. Unfortunately, that also scattered the readings so much that it was worthless. I hopes I could use the Beholder parts to refocus it, but that was also a bust.
We spent the next half our trying every calculated scrying spell we knew, in a few combinations that were not recommended. Either they really had turned tail and run, or they were staying phased to avoid our spells. Or they really did have some other way to hide themselves.
I glanced at Sona, and shrugged in askance. She frowned and shook her head.
"Okay, well it smells like it's getting close to time to eat," I said, "let's get everything put away. Maybe we'll have some more ideas after we eat."
"And if not?" she pondered.
"Well, I have some homework, so I'm guessing Reya and Tsubasa do, too," I remembered, "So we can do that and if that doesn't inspire anything, try going over my books again, or if you have any books about scrying that I have not seen yet…"
She shook her head again, as she used her water to scrub out the beaker.
"I have no books like that, other than the ones we have already studied."
"Okay," I said, "I figured, but thought I should ask.
"Harry-san, Kai… Sona-san," Reya called down, "Dinner is ready."
"Thank you, we will be right up," Sona called, as I set the last of the Beholder parts on the shelf.
"Should we ask them?" I wondered.
"Reya-chan may not be a researcher like we are," the King answered thoughtfully, "but she has learned some magic I have not. And your fantasy stories may provide some inspiration. However, I would rather not ask Tsubasa-chan to think about this. So if we can ask manage to ask Reya alone…"
"Yup, got it."
Tuesday, I had gone to the ORC's clubroom after class for my scheduled treatment with Asia and Ise. Since my encounter with Sona in Tsubasa's shower, we had been working on the big scar on my chest. Rias had been happy about that, she still wanted to get me to come to the pool with her Peerage. I wasn't sure why. I had already verified I could not join her peerage. Plus, all of the girls were into Ise, with the possible exception of newcomer Rossweisse. And I wouldn't even bet on that.
'Unless she is going to woo you away from Sona Sitri,' Lash suggested. And I barely avoided twitching away from Asia's glowing hands.
'I think you are taking this harem thing too far,' I told her silently.
'No, that is not what I meant,' she said, her thoughtful tone preventing her from teasing me, 'Sitri professed her intent to have you become her contracted magician. Rias Gremory could have the same idea.'
'You think she is willing to do that to her friend?'
'Sitri has not exactly announced her plan. But even if she had, it would not surprise me if Gremory still wanted to contract with you first. They are rivals after all.'
"Okay, Dresden-san," Asia panted, pulling her hands back, "I am afraid that is… all I can do for today."
"You did great, Asia," Ise cheered her on, "That scar is a lot smaller. And you are healing them much faster than when we started. Right, Buchou?"
"My lovely Ise is correct," the red-head confirmed, "You are advancing admirably, Asia-chan. And Dresden-kun is much more presentable now."
"Yeah, thanks, Asia," I told the former nun as I let my shirt drop and then tucked it back in.
"Well, then, should we go home, Dresden?" Ise asked.
"Are you escorting me?"
"Ah…" the Pawn looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his head.
"Sona asked us to," Rias confirmed, "We can walk you home, and keep an eye out to make sure nothing attacks you while you are there."
"Actually," I said suddenly, "Before we head out, there is something I would like to talk to you about in private, Rias."
'Are you sure you should be doing this now?' Lash asked.
'Not the contract thing, the other thing,' I told her.
'Ah,' I could feel her nod inside my head.
"Alright," the King nodded, "Ise, Asia-chan; Xenovia is with the kendo club this afternoon, why don't you two join her. Dresden and I will come to fetch you when we are finished here."
They both nodded and left. After they closed the door, Rias placed a privacy seal I now recognized over the room.
"So, what can I do for you Dresden-kun?" she asked, eyeing my curiously.
"Actually, it is sort of the other way around," I countered.
"Oh?"
"Okay, I'm ninety nine percent sure, but I need to ask first. But you are in love with Ise, aren't you? You aren't just teasing or manipulating him?"
"Dresden," she said my name angrily.
"I don't think that," I reassured her, "But I remember how you treated him right after he became a Devil. And while I believe you have really fallen for him since then, I have made mistakes in that regard before. So I had to ask."
"I can't deny how I acted back then," Rias said regretfully, "And I appreciate your concern for my lovely Ise. You are a good friend, Dresden-kun."
She smiled happily, "For all his faults, I can honestly that yes, I am in love in Hyoudou Issei."
"Good," I returned her smile. I was genuinely happy for them. But my expression quickly soured.
"But that also makes this a little harder," I said softly.
"What is it?" she said nervously.
"Your approach with Ise," I started cautiously, "I don't think it is working."
"You're telling me," she sounded depressed.
"And I think it is probably making things worse," I continued.
"Worse?" she looked worried and a bit upset.
"Yeah," I considered how to explain it.
"So, just after you resurrected him, Ise came to me for advice. When I found out he had become a Devil, I cast spell that is like a light version of the Soulgaze. It gives me psychic impressions of whatever I'm looking at. It isn't as deep as the Soulgaze, but still helpful."
I guess that was an accurate enough description of Wizard Sight, without actually explaining it.
"And when I used it on Ise, I saw a gaping wound on his heart. A mental injury, not a physical one. It was from what Raynare did to him. She approached him as a lover, but then mocked and killed him. Because of that, he is afraid of women. He doesn't trust them, especially in a romantic sense. And even worse, he doesn't trust himself to understand what women want."
She nodded.
"And now, you, all of you, you flirt, you get naked around him. He thinks that is just an example of how the Gremory family is really affectionate with their Peers. When you go on dates, there is always some other reason. Akeno said it was payment for her help, you told him it was to work on his manners. So to Ise, in his current state of mind, it is like…"
"Like he is just a member of my Peerage, rather than the man I intend to marry," she said despondently.
"Pretty much."
She sighed. Then gave me a sad smile and asked, "So, what would you recommend?"
"Well, I'm not exactly good with relationship or feelings either. I would say you should sit down with him, and tell him simply and honestly how you feel. No trying to seduce him, just a gentle, direct conversation. And if you really intend to share him, tell the other girls to do the same thing. But, you know I like to be blunt, so take that with a grain of salt."
"No, I think you could be right," she nodded, "Thank you, Dresden-kun. You are a good friend."
"Well," I tried to hide my chagrin with sarcasm, "It was getting painful to watch. And I figured this way you would owe me one."
"Of course," she smirked.
Tuesday night and Wednesday at school passed without warning. The ORC escorted me home again, and after making a third, almost perfunctory attempt to scry for the Beholders, I began skulking around my house like a Mister in a rainstorm. I could not seem to settle in one place, or focus on one thing.
I was a homebody, I knew it. I wasn't a hikikomori. I went to school almost every day, I prowled around town and took day trips for my job. I had no problems going out to get food or new book. Hell, I preferred it to online shopping, it was easier to find things you didn't remember or know you were looking for. And there were no delivery fees.
That said, I would rather stay at home than just go out for no reason. I had always had my books and magical research to fill my time. And since coming to Bizzaro World gave me access to the electronic age, I felt like I had at least two decades of sci-fi and fantasy geekdom to catch up on.
Until I found myself forced to stay home by the friendly neighborhood Devils living next door. I understood the reasons well enough. Not only was I protected here, but I was also bait. If the Beholders wanted me, they would have to do it on our terms. Which also made it safer for all of my overprotective friends.
But I had also never been good at being told what to do, even when it was what I would have done anyway. Mab and Marcone had both used that against me, telling me to keep my nose out of some place they wanted it.
And it wasn't just me being contrary. I had adjusted to this new standard of life, more quickly than I would have suspected. So, as a private investigator, being forced to stay in one place was bad business, and thus bad for my income.
"That is ridiculous, my host," Lash told me, annoyed by my pacing, "With the money you have saved, you could easily maintain your current lifestyle for two years. And that is not taking into account your sale of magical trinkets. You can easily make your protective coats here and continue to sell them through Sona Sitri. In fact, if you have nothing better to do, and you are so worried about finances, maybe you should shut up and sew."
She was right, of course. But that didn't really help.
And, if I was to be perfectly honest with myself, I was also upset that my confinement had infringed on my normal activities with Sona, Reya, and Tsubasa. It wasn't deemed safe for me to be alone with just one of them, and they seemed to want to get me home more quickly than usual the last three nights. Regardless of my unclear feelings, I had come to enjoy reading with the Bishop, dropping in on the track or bojutsu clubs with the Rook, and studying calculated magic with the King. So not being able to do that was just making this all worse.
Thursday, Azazel sent me a text over lunch, asking me to come to the old schoolhouse after classes. The entire Student Council headed there, too. Instead of meeting in the ORC's room, he had directed us all to the small gym on the first floor of the old building. After the Sona's and Rias's Peerages, plus myself and Ravel were all there, the Grigori leader finally appeared.
"So, as you all know by now," he said, walking through the crowd, handing each of us a labeled envelope, "Last Saturday we undertook a mission to eliminate the Beholders that have been hunting Dresden-kun and Gasper-kun."
The young vampire shuddered at that.
"While a few were unexpectedly not present, we were able to eliminate five of them. And afterwards, Dresden was able to harvest their bodies for components. He asked me to use my contacts to sell most of them, and split the proceeds amongst everyone involved."
I got a more than a few surprised looks. Everyone but Rias, Az, and my four pursuers had left before that part of the conversation. It looked like the ones who had been there, hadn't told the others.
"Once their veracity was confirmed, it turned into quite the bidding war," he continued, his grin growing, "Other than a few drops of Beholder ichor a few decades ago, no Beholder materials have ever been put up for auction. But I was able to complete the sale, and that is each of your cuts."
I opened envelope and looked at the check without taking it out. And then inhaled sharply. The check was for just over twenty million yen. The loot from the library expedition had netted me thirty million yen, but that was a double share and just one of the dragon bones would have been about the same volume as all the Beholder parts I gathered. So I guess Az wasn't exaggerating about a bidding war or the rarity of Beholder bits. But given how hard they were to injure, and how quickly their bodies had rotted afterwards, it wasn't too much a surprise.
Then there was a loud thump and everyone around me tensed. As I reached for my staff, I identified the source. Rossweisse had pitched forward onto the floor. Her eyes were open but unfocused, she seemed to have passed out without closing them. And despite that, she had the check in a death grip. The rest of Rias's crew relaxed, displaying various degrees of embarrassment and amusement. And then I remembered the nickname the Valkyrie had gained in our neighborhood.
'It appears you have even less reason to worry about money, my host.'
Other than keeping Rossweisse from passing out again the second time she saw the check, the rest of Thursday was quiet.
Friday, Ise and Gasper had come over to my place for some guy time, video games and soda (given we were too young for booze). Sona had called off our normal Codex Alera game so she and Tsubaki could pick up and confer with Serafall. So having the boys want to escape the pool of estrogen that was the Hyoudou house was a welcome distraction from my lonely incarceration.
But that night had come to an end, and now I was looking out on Saturday without even school to get me out of the house.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Lash asked sternly.
What I was doing was filling my duster pockets with potions and other party favors. I was already wearing my battle clothing from the Ratings Game against Riser. My force rings and belt buckle were fully charged. I had both my shield watch and shield bracelet on. And my gym bag was packed with my staff, blasting rod, new sword cane, and a bunch of other larger tools, both magical and mundane.
"There are things I have to do," I told her, "After last night my fridge is almost empty, and this check won't deposit itself…"
"Actually, there is an app for that," she interrupted.
"Right, and given my luck that will be exactly the moment electronics in Bizzaro World decide to stop playing nice," I quipped. She did not look amused.
"I'm not going to be dumb about this," I gestured at my coat and bag, "I have all my combat gear, I am fully rested and healed. It will just be a quick trip to the bank, the grocery store, and a carryout burger."
She started to protest, but I held up my hand.
"I won't even go to BK. There is that Wendy's knock-off place on the way."
She continued to glare at me.
"It has been almost a week," I reminded her, "And not a peep from BB or his sibs. And it will just be a quick trip. Thirty minutes, tops. Then I promise to stay inside until school starts on Monday. Unless there is a legitimate reason, like I start the house on fire, or Godzilla attacks or something."
Lash just sighed in defeat.
Thirty minutes, tops. Famous last words. I gently set down the grocery bags and fished out my staff. The kids playing in the park had already run screaming. Floating above me and on either side were BB and one of the blue Beholders.
"Today, Harry Dresden," BB snarled angrily, "You die."
Well, at least I got to the bank first.