Chapter Thirteen - The sparks of rivalry
"What did you just say?" she asks President Sitri in an incredulous tone as her aura starts to rise and her blood begins to heat to a boil.
"Issei Hyoudou, Seiji Shiina. I saw them walking together through the courtyard. From the looks of it, it seemed like Shiina was leading him to the southern wing of the school. I can't imagine why though, there isn't really anything there."
Rias immediately thinks back to yesterday and this morning. "That son of a bitch," she says. "He wouldn't. Not after I paid through the nose." Her aquamarine eyes flicker to a deep, blood-soaked red. Her aura remains unseen, but Sona can feel her anger stirring deep inside.
"She wants blood," thinks Sona. "Hold on," says Sona to Rias. "I don't think it's really him. When they were walking through the courtyard I saw something rather strange in Shiina's eyes. A foggy lavender glow like those of someone possessed by a fallen angel. I don't think he's acting out on his own terms."
"I see," responds Rias. "So you mean to tell me that he's gone so far as to conspire with one of our enemy factions in order to get revenge on my Issei?"
Sona is left speechless. Responding with wide and worried eyes, "well…I mean. I didn't think that at fir…"
"No worries, Sona. It's plainly visible he hasn't learned that he can't always get his way. No matter, I'll simply have to engrave that lesson into his very soul," she says as little embers of crimson red aura begin to appear beside them both and her red bangs start to cover her eyes. In that very instant, Rias lifts her hand. From her palm, a magic circle bearing the crest of her house begins to gyrate violently to the point that an unquenchable flame begins to dance in her hand.
"Hear, oh darkness which all things hides. Make me unseen to all other eyes. Let me sink into shadow and may your shade be my guise. That I may deliver unto my enemies their final demise," she chants as the magic circle begins to wrap around her, lowering itself until it reaches the floor. With her eyes shining like carbuncles she recites the final words. "Gremory Art: Shadow Sprites." In that very moment, her entire body starts to fade to black, consuming even the red light of her eyes. She melts into the floor like ink, leaving behind a perfectly circular puddle in the tainted aftermath. Then, little by little, wisp-shaped figures begin to emanate from the puddle, breaking off and swimming on the floor, walls, and roof, spreading about like actual ink till the puddle is completely gone. Nothing left behind save for Sona who, upon sensing the immense fury which burned deep within the very being of her childhood friend, could not but stand in a stunned stupor and wonder what fiery passion could bring Rias to so vehemently and indignantly seek to protect someone like him.
"She's definitely going to murder that fallen angel," thinks Sona. "And she won't care if she has to take Shiina as well to do it."
Sona casts her own illusory spell, making herself invisible, and flies out of one of the windows toward the courtyard. "We can't kill humans, though," she thinks nervously. "If she slays Shiina and the fallen angel, that'll be two whole factions angered by the actions taken by our own. This isn't just any devil, Rias is royalty! Why does she so fervently choose to ignore that fact?"
Upon landing in the courtyard, she begins to look in the direction to which Shiina and Issei were walking. She makes her way to the southern wall and finds there nothing of much interest.
"Where could they have gone?" she thinks as she stares at the wall. Suddenly, she notices something. "Hmm, these bushes don't seem like they belong here." And upon closer inspection, she observes their surrounding to discover, "there's a hole here!"
"Who did this?" she thinks; but she can already reasonably guess an answer. "Shiina," she says internally. "The scoundrel. Only someone like him would stoop so low as to have a secret entrance on school grounds. But how did he make this without my knowing? I'm a failure as a Student Council President," she thinks to herself. "But I guess I can address that later. So he and Hyoudou would've gone through here. Let's see what else I may be able to…"
"I'm tellin' ya, Daichi, da boss is gonna kill us if he finds out we wuz out hea' disobeyin' 'is ordas," rings a voice from behind.
Sona immediately turns around to find two young boys making their way toward the wall.
"Hold on," thinks Sona. "I've seen these two before." After a few moments, she realizes who they are. "It's Shiina's servants!" she exclaims internally.
"I don't care!" yells Sakaki to Daichi. "Da boss's been actin' real funny-like eva' since dis mornin' and dat shit jus' ain't sittin' right wit me! He's a diff-runt person. I mean, didja see da way he jus' up'n ignored us when we went'o say hi to'im dis afta'noon? He's always so, what's da word…?"
"Courteous?"
"Yes! Da boss's always so courteous wit' us. What's wrong wit'im? What happened last night? First he wanted dat Hyoudou guy's nutsack in an iron maiden, and now he's walkin' around wit'im like dey wuz teacha'n student. I mean, ain'tchoo even a li'l cure-ree-us 'bout wha's goin' on?"
"I'm sua' da boss 'as 'is reasons," responds Sakaki. "I fink it'd jus' be betta if we get sumfin'o eat and fo'get about all dis fo' now, don'tchoo?"
"Sakaki," begins Daichi, "are you seriously tellin' me right now dat'choo could give two shits 'bout what our boss's goin' frough?" asks Daichi, looking intensely into Sakaki's eyes.
"It's not dat," responds Sakaki. "It's jus' dat…"
"I see. So you two are also curious as to what Shiina is doing with someone like Hyoudou?"
The two of them immediately look behind them to find Student Council President, Souna Shitori, standing before them.
"Shit!" thinks Daichi. "It's da Student Prez. And if I just heard her right, she knows 'bout da boss and dat jackass, Hyoudou."
"I-I-I too ha-ha-have be-been wo-wondering what a st-st-student like Sh-Sh-Shiina would be do-do-doing wi-with s-s-someone like H-H-Hyoudou," she manages to stutter out to the two boys, tiny droplets of sweat beginning to form on her forehead and upper lip. "What are you doing, Sona?" she thinks to herself. "These two delinquents are practically one sour mood away from being common criminals! Yes, I know. But maybe they can help me. I just need to assert myself before them as their Student Council President. And just what makes you think that these two will follow your authority seeing that they refuse to follow that of the adult's? Simple. A common interest…I hope."
"Crap," thinks Sakaki. "So President Shitori knows. She prolly finks we're involvedd somehow. Damn it!" he yells internally as little droplets of sweat start to form on his brow.
"Fuck, I can't get expelled from this place," thinks Daichi. "If my parents were to find out that I got expelled from Kuoh Academy, they'd disown me!" thinks Daichi as even he begins to start sweating. "What do I do? What do I do?"
"I s-s-simply c-c-cannot allow s-su-such things t-t-to g-go b-b-by un-unnoticed. Th-Th-Therefore, a-a-as y-y-your S-S-Student C-Council P-P-President, I d-d-demand th-that y-you two t-tell m-m-me wh-wh-where Sh-Sh-Shiina t-t-took H-Hyoudou."
"Oh, they're really going to start spilling the beans now," she says to herself. "You really asserted yourself there, didn't you?"
The two boys simply stare at Sona without answering.
"See? They think it's some sort of game. They're practically laughing at you, Sona. Alright then," she thinks. "I'll just have to put my foot down."
Sweating profusely, Sona tries her very best to cross her eyebrows at the two boys and frown at them.
"Shit," thinks Daichi. "She isn't happy. Fuck, what do we tell her?"
"Dis is bad," thinks Sakaki. "I ain't neva seen da Prez dis mad befo'."
Slowly, Sona starts raising her foot. "T-T-T," she begins to stutter out. "Oh for Lucifer's sake," she thinks to herself. "Just say it now!" she screams internally. Sona slams her foot down into the dust and in that very moment blurts out, "TELLMEWHERETHEBOTHOFTHEMWENTRIGHTTHISINSTANT!"
The two boys' eyes go wide. In that moment, Daichi falls to his knees. "Waah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I promise I'll never be a delinquent ever again! I'll leave behind my evil ways! Begin anew! I swear that I'll grow up to be an outstanding and inspiring member of our society! I swear it on my life, President Shitori. So please, I beg of you. PLEASE DON'T EXPEL ME!"
Sona's absolutely speechless.
"But I fought ya wuz nuttin' but loyal to da boss!" interjects Sakaki.
Daichi looks back at his friend, gets up, and runs to his side while putting a hand over his mouth.
"Wouldjoo jus' shut up 'bout da boss fo' two seconds, ya numbskull?"
"But'choo wuz da one talkin' 'bout if I couldn't give two shits 'bout what happened to…" but Daichi presses his mouth down harder in order to muzzle the boys words.
"Could'joo jus' shut ya mouf fo' two minutes? Dis is da Student Council President we're talkin' 'bout he'a and she knows 'bout da boss and Hyoudou. If we don't wanna get our asses kicked outta dis joint and make our boss hafta get new membas den we're gonna hafta make a compromise and cooperate wit'er. Don'tcha see? It's still all fo' da boss."
Sakaki thinks his words over. "I fink I see what'cha mean," he says in a muffled voice.
"They're willing to cooperate!" she thinks to herself, her devil ears allowing her to hear what Daichi's been saying. "Very well then," she says to them. "I-If you're w-w-willing to c-c-cooperate with m-me, th-th-then I p-promise th-that neither one of y-you t-two will be s-s-seriously r-reprimanded."
"We've got a chance," whispers Daichi.
"But we don't actually know where the boss is. Plus, he'll be real pissed if we get'im in trouble with the Student Prez," responds Sakaki.
"We'll find'im wit'out President Shitori trailin' behind us. I jus' got'n idea. Follow my lead."
Daichi moves from his friend's side and stands before Sona. "We'll be more than happy to take you to da boss. I mean, take you to where Shiina and Hyoudou are. There's just one little problem, President Shitori."
"Oh no," thinks Sona. "He's going to do something unlawful."
"I'm afraid we'll have to crawl through this hole," he says as he walks toward the bush and reveals the opening. "It really is the fastest way. Not to mention that we'll most definitely want to get to them before any unfortunate accidents can take place. Wouldn't you say?" he asks Sona. "Perfect," he thinks. "There's no way in hell a girly girl like the president will follow through with crawling along a dark and dusty tunnel."
"That's everything?" she thinks. "All right, then."
"I see," she says. "Very well, then. Please lead the way."
Daichi feels a chill run down his spine, ending in a weightless feeling in his legs which almost makes him collapse to the ground. "B-B-But, P-President Shitori. It's d-d-dark a-and d-dusty. Y-You'd g-g-get your u-uniform a-a-all d-d-dirty."
"A necessary evil," she responds as she shakes her head. "What kind of president would I be if I were to value the state of my uniform over the lives of my student body?"
"Wow," responds Sakaki. "Prez Shitori su'a is a great person. Don'tcha fink, Daichi?" as he looks over to his friend.
"Y-Yeah," he responds in a daze. "Just the definition of admirable. No time to lose, then. Let's go."
With this said, he crawls into the hole followed by Sakaki and President Shitori. Unbeknownst to them however, there are already two people on the other side waiting for them.
"You wish to save him, right?" she asks Kiryuu.
"Right now, more than anything else!"
"Would you be willing to do anything? Even to go so far as to cross borders not walked by normal humans and give your life if such should be necessary?"
"He was prepared to do the same for me," she responds. "Of course I'd do it for him."
"Then you can save him. And the good thing is, I think we'll be getting some help."
In that moment, Daichi, Sakaki, and Sona all appear from the hole. Dusting themselves off, they take notice of Kiryuu and the other girl.
"You!" exclaims Daichi at Kiryuu. "You're dat Hyoudou guy's ex-girlfriend! What happened last night wit'im and da boss? Why's our boss trailin' behind dat creep like a dog?"
Kiryuu's taken aback by his line of questioning. "I should be the one asking you what your boss is doing with Issei. His debts to him have already been paid. What more could he want from him?"
"Our boss had debts wit' Hyoudou?" asks Sakaki.
"You idiot, what would our boss owe'im? She means da debts dat Hyoudou had wit' da boss!"
"Wait, Hyoudou was borrowing money from Shiina?" asks Sona.
"No!" exclaims Kiryuu. "Issei had some sort of inherited debt with…"
"ENOUGH!" shouts the raven-haired girl at the top of her lungs, making everyone stop talking. "This is no time for contextualization. You all wish to find the ones named Hyoudou and Shiina, correct?"
"Yes!" they all respond in unison.
"Very well then. I'm going to be breaking a lot of rules by doing this and this is sure to have horrible, unprecedented consequences down the line, but I guess there's no choice. You," she says, looking directly into Sona's eyes. "I know we may have had our differences in the past, but trust me when I tell you this is much more important."
With this said, she spreads her pitch-black wings, revealing what she truly is. They're all launched into a state of shock as the dark feathers, fallen from her aerial extremities. begin to fall around them.
"There's no need to hide it anymore," she says to Sona. "We need to work together on this. Please, help us."
Everyone looks back at Sona. "She's a fallen angel! She's willing to help. She's part of an enemy faction! She doesn't care about the differences between the factions. We could stand to face serious ramifications! If she's going so far as to reveal herself this openly and team up with us then whatever she's trying to prevent must be unspeakably worse than any consequences we'd stand to face from the High Council. We can justify this. DO IT, SONA!"
"V-V-Very well. It's plain to see that you're trying to stop something calamitous from happening. Whatever our past may have been, I'll help you."
With this said, Sona spreads her bat-like wings and reveals her pointed tail to everybody.
"What. The. Fuck," replies Daichi.
"OWW!" yells Sakaki.
"What's wrong?" asks Daichi.
"I just pinched myself real hard in da butt to make su'a I wasn't dreamin'. I ain't."
"Kiryuu," says Yuuma. "I asked you if you'd be willing to cross borders untouched by normal humans. Do you still stand by your word?"
She looks between Yuuma and Sona. "I'm getting involved in something way beyond my understanding," she says. "I'm just a normal high school girl who's never really done or been known for much. I'll admit, I probably shouldn't have even gotten out of bed this morning. I don't even know how I did. But right now, Issei's in danger; and that's all that really matters to me. All this is just…details. No offense."
Yuuma chuckles at her final words. "None taken."
"And you two," says Sona to Daichi and Sakaki. "Are you two willing to do the same for Shiina?"
"O' course!" responds Sakaki. "No matta what comes our way, we'll get frough it all fo' da boss! Ain't dat right, Daichi?!" he exclaims, turning his head to look at his friend.
Daichi's found with his head tilted downward and his arms shaking. "Heh, heh, heh. I really fucking envy your conviction, Sakaki. Did you know that? You're always so straightforward, so honest. You don't care about danger or consequences, or anything like that. You're authentic. Me? I just have to fake it and hope that no one notices, you know? And it really fucking gets to me sometimes."
Suddenly, Daichi feels a hand put over his shoulder. Looking forward, he finds Sakaki smiling at him. "We ain't always got all da answas, Daichi. But dat's okay, I fink. I fink, maybe dat's life, ya know? Ya gotta discova it as ya go along. But if dere's one fing I do know, it's dat you wuz right 'bout dis. Boss might be in dange'a and we gotta help'im no matta what."
Everyone is speechless. What an unexpected turn of events; but after a few moments, Yuuma begins to speak. "Very well then. We've no time to lose. Let's go, everyone."
"Just a moment!" interjects a voice from behind.
A flurry of wisp-shaped shadows soon produces itself from the surrounding environment. Gathering themselves at Sona's side, they start rising up from off the ground and shape themselves into the silhouette of a young woman, Soon enough, the blackness begins to melt away to reveal in its place, "Rias Gremory?" announces Kiryuu; and with her wings and tail revealed as well.
"I'll be going as well," says Rias. "I heard every last word; and believe me, I've no qualms about putting our differences aside and working together."
Nevertheless, whom she finds staring at her angrily is the last person she'd expect. Her gaze shifts to meet the eyes of Kiryuu. Everyone can feel it as well. These sparks that she's giving off. The sparks of rivalry.
Okay, three days late, fair enough. How's everybody doing? I hope you all find yourselves well. Me? I'm doing pretty good. Birthday's coming up soon this month and I'll be getting a whole week off from work so I'm looking forward to that. What do you think of this chapter? I know, I pulled some characterization out of nowhere with Daichi and Sakaki. Who actually remembered them? Just me? Yeah, I guess. So, tension between Aika and Rias. What's Yuuma's plan? What consequences does Sona stand to face? We'll just have to find out. I guess the majority of you have noticed this by now, but I quite literally make up the story as I go along. Don't get me wrong, I think of the major scenes I want to write, but then I just fill in the blanks as I see fit. I personally think it makes my writing sloppy, but what do you guys think? I think there's always room to improve.
When I finish this arc, I want to put a little "Get to know the author" section where I tell you guys some stuff about me. Little tidbits at the end of every chapter where I share some stuff about me. So, what's today's tidbit. Well, so far in the story we've seen dialogue's in French and Portuguese that offer some linguistic breaks from the norm. You're probably wondering then. Sinuhe, what's your native language? The answer is that I'm a compound bilingual, someone raised with two mother tongues, and they're English and Spanish. I'm learning French and Portuguese, actually. If you're curious as to what I sound like when I speak Spanish, my friends and I have a YouTube channel called "Los Miopes de Metrópolis" (The One-Eyed Men of Metropolis). Check out some of our Fandubs. Specifically the ones for Ed, Edd n Eddy; Dragon Ball Super, and Courage the Cowardly Dog. In the end credits you'll see they name "SINUHÉ" with an acute accent over the "E". Those characters are interpreted by myself.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Sinuhe, isn't using your fanfic and its popularity to promote viewership on your YouTube channel shameless and in bad taste? And yes, yes it is. So give it a view or two. I don't know how many of you actually speak Spanish, but if you're learning Spanish, it may come in handy.
For now, farewell, everyone. We'll see each other in the next chapter.
Por ahora, adiós a todos. Nos veremos en el próximo capítulo.