"Ugh, where's the breakfast at?" Haihane wondered as she sat down on the couch, stretching her arms upward before yawning slightly.
"Jesus Haihane, is food all you think about? Honestly." Said Benitsubasa as she sat next to Haihane in her morning attire which simply was a tank top, pink short with her hair up in a ponytail. "Oh, good morning Miya." Said Benitsubasa as she greeted Miya before watching her approaching Haihane & herself.
"Morning you two." Replied Miya. "I had just gotten off the phone with Antonio." Just the mere mention of Antonio's name gathered The Sekirei in the living room's attention. "He said that he was going to bring us breakfast a little later, hence why I haven't started cooking. Let me bring you two some tea."
"Please and thank you Miya." Haihane responded which prompted Miya to return to the kitchen to prepare tea for the two Sekirei. The Indigo Sekirei turned her head to see Benitsubasa hands clasped against her cheeks. "The hell is wrong with you?"
"Isn't Antonio just the sweetest human ever? Always thinking about us and putting us first. Ahhh so romantic." Benitsubasa said softly, she turned to look back at Haihane, who after a few seconds had passed between them placed her hands against her cheeks.
"Oh my gosh Benitsubasa, is Antonio all you ever think about? Honestly." Said Haihane as she mocked her friend & ally.
"Oh bullshit Haihane, I don't sound like that and you know." Replied a flustered Benitsubasa. "I also think about stuff other than Antonio."
"Oh? Like what?" Replied Haihane which prompted Benitsubasa to play with some dangling hair with her index finger.
"Shopping, finding some cute clothes and jewelry. Ohh, some cute shoes as well." Said Benitsubasa as she rambled on which caused Haihane to let out a sigh.
"It was rhetorical genius, you don't need to ramble on." Replied Haihane.
"Piss off Haihane." Replied Benitsubasa.
"Language Benitsubasa." Said Miya in a calm tone of voice before approaching the two with their tea cups. Haihane snickered to herself.
"That's what you totally sound like and you are just too embarrassed to admit it." Said Haihane which caused Benitsubasa to not say anything but let her face burn even brighter.
"Thank you again for doing my hair big sis Kuroka." Said Kuu in a happy tone of voice and she could feel each soft and gentle stroke of Kuroka's brush touching her hair.
"Why, it's not a problem." Replied Kuroka as she kept brushing Kuu's hair. "You have such beautiful hair."
"Really?" Asked Kuu, Kuroka nodded her head.
"You have such beautiful hair. I'm almost jealous." The black nekomata let out a slight laughter, causing Kuu to turn her head.
"You have pretty hair too!" Said Kuu honestly causing Kuroka to smile slightly and her cat ears to twitch. "I bet that's one of the reasons why my big brother likes you so much." When Kuroka heard this coming from Kuu, she was a little caught off guard.
"Well that's very sweet of you to say young one." Replied Kuroka. "Though what makes you think he likes me?" Kuu had placed a finger on her bottom lip and had begun to think.
"Well, I don't know." Kuu said, simply causing Kuroka to sigh slightly.
"I don't think.."
"What I do know is that my big brother wouldn't just help anybody he didn't care about truly." Said Kuu, causing Kuroka to stop talking. "He's really nice so he must care about you if you are living here with us right?" When Kuroka heard this, she stopped brushing Kuu's hair as her eyes widened as a blush rose to her face as she smiled gently when the images of Antonio's face came to her mind.
' "Kuroka wait." said Antonio, who stopped the Nekomata in place before she could disappear into the night as her two black tails wagged in anticipation. "If there is anything you may want to talk about, if there is anything I can help you get off your chest or help you out with, you can count on me."
"I thank you." Replied Kuroka. "Though you shouldn't associate yourself with someone bad like me. I'd just bring nothing but trouble." Antonio has simply scratched the back of his head.
"I don't know about that." Replied Antonio. "Someone who is willing to do what you did to protect their family can never be bad in my eyes." When Kuroka heard this, her cat ears started to twitch as her face warmed up as Antonio was staring at her backside. "If you need help, or want to talk again, come find me." Silence had ensued between the two before Kuroka had lept up in the air and then had vanished into the moonlight night. '
After having her flashback, she had simply patted Kuu atop her head and smiled but before she could speak, her ears perked up.
"We are back everyone!" Said Antonio as Natsu, along with himself brought in bags and bags that were filled with food from the restaurant Antonio & Natsu came from. As the pair placed the bags onto the table Miya walked up to the pair as Musubi had come onto the scene with her usual burst of morning energy.
"Thank you for bringing breakfast for us, that was quite kind of you." Said Miya.
"No need to thank me." Replied Antonio as he was removing the food from the bags, opening the containers and placing them on the table while Musubi was bouncing around the living room. "It must be tiring cooking for all of us everyday, so I just thought I'd bring something back for everyone." Miya had just simply smiled in response to his kindness.
"Well thank you for kind generosity Antonio. We all appreciate it."
"She's right, we all do!" Musubi chimed in, catching both Miya & Antonio's attention as she wore a simple tank top and shorts with her combat gloves. "So umm." Before Musubi could finish speaking, a low rumbling sound could be heard from Musubi's stomach. "Can we eat now?" As everyone was laughing slightly at Musubi's airheadedness, Kuroka had just examined the sight of Antonio's face and as seconds go by, she couldn't help but smile too herself as her tails wagged slowly, Benitsubasa observed this and had simply took a sip from her tea cup.
'"Hmmmm." Benitsubasa thought to herself. 'Maybe it's just me, but something doesn't feel right.'
"Staring at her chest isn't gonna make yours grow any bigger." Haihane replied, causing Benitsubasa's face to grow red with embarrassment.
"T-That's not why I was looking and you know damn well I wasn't!" Replied Benitsubasa.
"I don't know anything, isn't that what you tell me?" Said Haihane as she shrugged her shoulders, causing veins of irritation to appear on Benitsubasa's head.
*I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE MENTIONED ANIME NOR ITS CHARACTERS*
Speech: "Home is where the heart is."
Thoughts: 'Can I really go through with this?'
Whispering: "I will do anything and everything I can do to help."
Chapter 29: What Lies Ahead! The Eighth Pillar Part 1
"Does something seem to be troubling you my liege?" Asked Xyla as she had seen Xros sitting in his seat, eyes closed with his right hand on his face as if he was in deep Meditation. "Master Xros?"
"Salazar.." Xros muttered to himself, causing Xyla to tilt her head slightly.
"I'm sorry?" Replied Xyla. She then had seen Xros slowly rise to his feet after opening his eyes.
"Salazar, Kaōri, Fukitsuna & Mujitsu, and the Ninth Pillar."
"Yes, the thirteenth through the Ninth pillars were killed." Replied Xyla. "All that's left are the Eighth through Third pillars, who are yours to command of course."
"Hmmm." Xros muttered to himself softly before turning around and walking towards a nearby window to look out of it. "Even if the remaining pillars were to 'die' & 'perish' my reality for a new world will come to fruition, one way or another. This planet is filled with nothing but wars, anger and hate, violence, hypocrisy, you name it and you'll find it amongst all various forms of life breathing. I've seen it for myself how cruel and gruesome this once thought to be perfect world is and I'll be the one to change everything."
"You will be an excellent ruler my liege." Xyla responded as she bowed gracefully towards Xros. "I'm excited to be by your side and watch you lead your utopia to greatness, I know you'll do whatever it takes to see your ambition come to light. Now if you will excuse me." Xyla has then politely bowed to Xros before slowly backing away from, then turning to the door leading out of his chamber and headed towards it after exchanging a few more words with each other. As Xros watched her exit & heard the sound of the door close, he turned his head back towards his window, looking up at the sky. Outside of his chamber, Xyla started walking down the corridor.
"I was wondering when you two were going to be finished talking. Just you acting like that towards him like that is almost too sweet to stand." Xyla has stopped walking after passing a hooded figure in the large corridor. "Not that I care any."
"Is there something I can help you with?" Replied Xyla, causing the hooded figure to shrug their shoulders.
"Nothing really, just figured I'd try to make conversation." Said the hooded figure. Xyla simply scoffed.
"Surely if you can conversate at your leisure, then surely you can do your part in bringing about our Masters plan."
"Yeah yeah. Careful not to stress yourself over Xros's plan so much, you'll grow…"
"Finish the sentence if you want too, if you do, that'll be the last thing to ever come out of your insignificant mouth." Said Xyla firmly with a cold tone of voice.
"Sheesh, can't take a joke. Still, don't you at least wonder what we're to happen if Xros's utopia never came to fruition?" When the hooded figure finished speaking, Xyla turned around slowly.
"There will be no if's, his utopia will see the light of day. It's up to us to purge the world of its toxicity. Salazar and the others had potential, but were utterly humiliated. I shouldn't have to say this, but if you all fail your missions from here on, you won't have to worry about Xros killing you, because I'll do it for him. Understood?"
"Yeah yeah, I got you." After Xyla finished speaking, she turned around and continued walking down the corridor until she vanished from the hooded figure's sight. 'Tch. I don't know what Xros see's in her to make her 2nd in command. Oh well let's see what kind of trouble I can get into.'
-Elsewhere-
In a calm, quiet forest area with the only sounds that filled the area were the sounds of the brushing leaves and the chirping birds, Issei had leaned against the base of a nearby tree before slowly sitting down on the ground. Sweat rolling down his cheeks and falling off his face, he slowly breathed in then out.
"Hey Ddraig."
"What is it Issei." Responded Ddraig, the dragon that resides within both Issei and Issei's Sacred Gear.
"It seems that with all this training I'm doing, I can feel myself getting stronger."
"Then what is the issue?" Issei had then brought up his hand that had transformed into his Sacred Gear Boosted Gear.
"It's just that no matter how hard I seem to train, I just can't go beyond the Overbooster form." Said Issei with a serious tone in his voice. "What can I do?"
"Well, where would be the fun in telling you instead of you trying to figure that out for yourself?" Replied Ddraig, causing a vein of frustration to appear on Issei's head.
'Why you overgrown lizard!' Issei thought to himself.
"Though as I told you before.." When Ddraig continued to speak, the green orb on the boosted gear started to glow and Issei had seemingly been engulfed in flames which caused him to cover his face with his arms. When he removed his arms from blocking his vision, Issei had seen that he was surrounded by nothing except roaring flames all around him but when he turned around, he came face to face with Ddraig himself. "If you want more power then give yourself up to me!" At that moment, Ddraig has let out a blood curdling roar towards Issei that caused him to cover his face once again.
"Issei? Isseiiiiii." Said Rias as she was searching the surrounding forest area in search of her pawn. 'He couldn't have gone that far off to train could he?' She thought to herself. After a few more minutes of searching, she came onto a small forest opening and saw Issei taking a 'nap' against a tree. She quickly walked up to Issei and kneeled down just to observe his adorable sleeping face which put a smile on her face. She went to fix some dangling hair of his. 'I love you Issei, you charming devil you.' Rias thought to herself as she softly placed her hand on Issei's left cheek.
"Hmmmm." Issei let out a small groan before opening his eyes, when he looked up he had seen his beautiful club President Rias Gremory. "Pres?" Rias pouted slightly.
"I've been looking for you, but I didn't want to interrupt you from your nap. You were sleeping so peacefully." Said Rias as she backed away from Issei a bit to allow him to rise to his two feet. As he stretched, Rias noticed that he already had his Boosted Gear equipped. "So how'd the training go?"
"I'm making progress." Issei then looked down at his Boosted Gear gauntlet then slowly clenched it into a fist. "I just feel that It's not enough. Issei had then seen Rias placing her soft & gentle hand onto his clenched fist.
"Some progress is good progress." Responded Rias. "Whatever you do Issei, I'll always be proud of the accomplishments that you do." Issei's face turned a slight pink before he smiled and nodded his head. "Come on let's head back."
"Right." Replies Issei as the two started to take a walk with each other. Issei was observing the back of Rias & when he was doing so, his heartbeat was increasing slowly & slowly to the point Issei had stopped walking.
"Huh?" Rias heard Issei stop which caused her to turn around and had noticed Isssi did in fact stop walking and had just stood there. "What's wrong Issei?" Silence ensued between them for a few seconds before Issei took a deep breath and then exhaled, causing Rias to tilt her head in confusion.
"Pres, I've been doing some thinking." Said Issei, causing Rias's face to blush from how rare Issei calls her by her actual name. "Whenever this is all over." Isssi once again drew up the courage by taking a deep breath then exhaling. "T-There's something I want to ask you."
At Mizuki's house, she was comfortably sitting on her couch with a cup of hot tea with steam rising out of the top. She gently blew on the tea before slowly ingesting it.
"Ahhhhh, now that's the stuff." Mizuki said to herself. She relaxed on her couch as she looked at a nearby counter she had inside her home and atop that, she had a couple photo frames that held pictures of not only herself & her sister Takami, but also of their kids as well. She sat her tea down on the table that sat in front of the couch, got up and walked towards the counter. Once there, she picked up the photo frame and examined the picture of herself and when Antonio was but a little child. Mizuki and her son, back in the day, were side by side, smiling as if they didn't have a care in the world hugging each other. As she held the photo frame with her left hand, he used her right index finger to slowly rub the picture. As she was standing there, almost reminiscing about the past, she was brought back to reality by the sound of her doorbell going off. "Oh coming!" Said Mizuki in an elevated tone of voice as she placed the photo frame down back on the counter and went to the front door to answer it. When she opened it, she was surprised.
"Hey Mom!" Greeted Antonio before Yashima and Nanami both bowed in respect towards Mizuki.
"Greetings Mizuki, we hope you are doing well." Said Nanami, causing Mizuki to smile seemingly uncontrollably.
"Oh hello all my wonderful children!" Said as Mizuki greeted everyone. "Come inside, come come!" Mizuki went back inside her home, allowing Yashima, Nanami and her son inside. Antonio had closed and locked the door before taking off their shoes in Mizuki's genkan. "Make yourselves at home and I'll bring you all some tea!"
"Ok, thanks as always mom." Said Antonio as the trio made their way to Mizuki's living room to sit down on her couch with Yashima on his right and Nanami on his left.
"You have such a lovely home Mizuki." Said Yashima as Mizuki was preparing three cups of hot tea.
"Yes it's really lovely." Chimed in Nanami before Mizuki approached the young trio with their cups of tea.
"Oh stop, you two beauties don't have to flatter me so much~!" Said Mizuki as she smiled at the compliments she was receiving, giggling to herself as her son saw this and had just sighed. "What brings you kiddos over this way?"
"I just wanted to check on you, see if you were doing ok mom." Replied Antonio.
"We decided to tag along to keep Antonio safe." Chimed in Yashima.
"Yes, we aren't going to let him go out by himself without having protection. Miya said 'Whenever you go out, one or more of us shall accompany you. No complaints.' Something along the lines of that."
"Hoooo"? Is that so?" Mizuki questioned playfully. Nanami nodded her head as Antonio took a sip from his tea cup.
"That's right." Replied Antonio. "Not that I have an issue with it, just means whenever I go out or have something to do, I'll just have some company and get to spend more time with everyone, Nanami and Yashima included." When Antonio said this, both Nanami and Yashima had a blush come to their face before it was replaced with a smile as they both rested their head on Antonio's shoulder. As Mizuki looked on, she had seen how genuinely happy Nanami and Yashima looked resting their heads upon the shoulders of the man she gave birth to. Gazing upon the smile her child had as he kissed the foreheads of both Nanami and Yashima, she grinned to herself.
"Well it kind of bums me out. With as many beautiful women you have in your life now, it seems like you'll eventually be at a point where I won't be needed." Said Mizuki.
"Awh come on mom don't say that, I'll always need you around in my life." Said Antonio. He started to use his right index finger to gently scratch his cheek. "If it wasn't for all the things you did, sacrificed and lessons you taught me, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be the man I am today. Most importantly…"
"Most importantly?" Mizuki replies.
"If it wasn't for you teaching me to help those in need, I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet my Sekirei & I don't think I could ever imagine a life without them now." As soon as Antonio got done speaking, silence enveloped the air, causing Antonio to look to his left and right and saw sparkles in both the eyes of Yashima and Nanami.
"Antonio.. that's probably one of the sweetest things you ever said about us!" Said Yashima in a burst of sweet emotion as she brought her left cheek towards Antonio's right cheek and Nanami brought her right cheek towards Antonio's left. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever thought of me, I just can't stop smiling."
"Me neither." Chimes Yashima. "I can't contain this happy feeling right now."
"W-Well I'm happy you two are feeling happy right now, truly I do." Said Antonio softly due to having his body being squeezed by Nanami and Yashima hugging him tightly. "D-Do you think you two can let up on the hug? It would be problematic if I stopped breathing. Please?"
"Nope~!" Said both Nanami & Yashima in an enlightened tone of voice as the pair of Sekirei continued to squeeze their husband with their hug, making Antonio feel conflicted on if he actually wanted them to stop. The scents from both of their shampoo's and their natural body scent enveloped Antonio's nostrils, coupled with the soft, firmness of their bodies squeezing against his brought a slight blush to his face. As Mizuki looked onward, all she could do was just smile at how happy not only Yashima and Nanami was, but how happy all of his Sekirei were, because of her son.
"Oh I know, how about I make a quick snack for you all to take back home with you." Mizuki suggested before heading towards the kitchen.
"Mom you don't have too." Antonio replied.
"Is that really ok?" Questioned Yashima, receiving a head nod of approval from Mizuki as she rolled up her sleeves and wrapped an apron on herself.
"Of course it's ok. I wouldn't suggest doing it if I didn't want to. I'll make enough so that the others can have some as well!"
-Kanzaki Residence-
Musubi was happily humming to herself as she was preparing lunch for all of the residents in the Kanzaki household, bobbing her head rhythmically while using a ladle to stir some curry in a cauldron that was sitting atop the stove.
"Hey Musubi, the tonkatsu is done." Said Uzume.
"Ah thank you Uzume." Musubi responded before turning the heat down on her curry.
"Here." Said Kagari, handing Musubi some sliced cabbage. "Am I done now?"
"Oh wow Kagari." Said Musubi in amazement before grabbing a towel to clean her hands with. "I wouldn't have expected it, but you are pretty handy with a knife." After Musubi got done speaking, Kagari had a vein of irritation appear on the side of her head.
"What exactly does that suppose to mean?" Asked Kagari. "I do know how to cook and use a knife."
"Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean anything by it." Replied Musubi. "I just didn't think you'd be as good with a knife as you're with being angry and giving everyone the cold shoulder."
"Hey!" Replied Kagari as veins of irritation appeared on her head.
"We're back everyone!" Announced Yashima before the trip consisting of herself, Nanami and Antonio walked into the living area. As Antonio sat the large plate of treats his mother made for everybody down on the kitchen table, he went over to Miya and Yuma and gave them both kisses on the cheek which caused them to have small blushes emerge on their cheeks.
"Oh wow that smells amazing." Said Antonio as he caught an amazing scent in the air.
"Thank you so much Antonio." Musubi said happily. "It's almost ready so it won't take much longer."
"Take your time Musubi." Replied Antonio, unknowing of the 'danger' that was sneaking up behind him. "Take your ti.."
"~Take this.~" Said Kazehana as she latched onto Antonio's back, allowing her breasts to press into his firm back while wrapping her arms around him.
"K-Kazehana?"
"Hehe surprised? I bet you were."
"Y-Yeah, that caught me a little off guard." Replied Antonio. "What's up, you seem a bit different from when I left earlier today."
"Hmmm, I guess you can say that." Replied Kazehana.
"Can you not latch onto him the moment he walks through the door?!" Said Hikari, as she pointed with her left index finger at the backside of Kazehana after walking into the living area. "Let him breathe! The hell is wrong with you, you giant tit demon."
"Oh don't act like I'm doing this out of the blue. You were just as happy when you found out that he can't imagine life without us." Replied Kazehana before releasing Antonio, causing Hikari's face to turn red with steam escaping her ears.
"Wait." Said Antonio catching Kazehana and Hikari's attention. "How did you know I said that?" Said Antonio with a hint of confusion?"
"Oh, you mean when you said 'I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet my Sekirei & I don't think I could ever imagine a life without them now'? Matsu has a recording of it."
"When we all listened to it." Antonio turned his head to see Hikari trying to hide her blush while using her right index finger to twirl her hair with her finger. "I-It made me happy." Suddenly Antonio's eyes widened with the realization of what Hikari said, so his face turned pink from the slight embarrassment as he closed his eyes and cleared his throat.
"W-Well it's true." Said Antonio "After spending so much time with all of you. I can't ever imagine a life without any of you." As his soft tone ceased, Musubi, with a big smile and a blush across her face happily approached her husband and clapped her hands together.
"You must be hungry, we just got done making food for everyone." Said Musubi happily.
"Thanks Musubi, I.." before Antonio could finish, he felt a heavy force that tackled him to the ground.
"Awhh, you just know the sweetest words that'll pierce this little shinobi heart of mine don't you?" Saki said in a soft tone of voice as she rested her buttocks on Antonio's back. As the commotion in the living area went on, Kuroka stealthily peeked her head around the corner to peek inside the living area and once her sight was fixated on Antonio, she simply observed him and his interaction with his Sekirei.
-Later-
"Ahh man, I don't think I'd be able to handle being without such delicious food anymore." Said Antonio as Musubi and Kagari went around picking up everyone's dishes.
"Yes, 'twas a very delicious meal." Said Tsukiumi. "For a Sekirei who loves combat, you have a great hand in cooking."
"Thanks Tsukiumi." Musubi happily replied as she put what seemed to be a massive amount of dishes in the sink with Kagari and Uzume putting some more on the counter next to the sink. "Although, Kagari did the majority of the work." When Musubi said this, Kagari's eyes widened and caused Antonio to turn his head.
"Oi Musubi!" Kagari whispered but was met with Musubi placing her index finger on her lips as Antonio gazed on at their backs.
"Thanks Kagari." When Antonio said this, the fire Sekirei turned her head to where their eyes met. "Today's meal was really delicious." Kagari's could feel her cheeks turn a light pink color as her face was heating up she turned her head back around to the sink before proceeding to clean the dishes.
"That doesn't make me happy that you said that." Said Kagari as Musubi observed how a smile formed on her face.
"I always knew she was a Debbie downer and always gave the cold shoulder. The cutesy act doesn't suit her at all" Said Marsh gently, but was frozen when Kagari turned her head back around and sent a chilling glare her way.
"How are you the smartest Sekirei in the room, but yet to understand that Sekirei have advanced hearing." Said Kocho before letting out a sigh before rubbing her stomach that had a Sekirei crest upon it forming.
"Hey I have my forgetful days." Replied Matsu. As everyone shared a laugh at the table, the day went on as everybody went to do their own thing as the hours passed. As night crept upon everyone, all the Sekirei went to bed in their respective rooms along with the other housemates except for a few.
"Can't sleep either Huh?" Antonio asked as he went to the rooftop of his home and found Kuroka in her night time attire, resting her arms on the guardrails, looking up into the beautiful night sky as her tails were moving side to side.
"Oh, I thought you would've been asleep at this hour." Kuroka replied as Antonio began walking towards her.
"I just got done using the restroom and I got done drinking some water." Replied Antonio as he walked towards Kuroka's left side.
"Aren't you going to need to use the restroom later?" Asked Kuroka.
"Nah I should be alright." Said Antonio. "I usually use the restroom before I fully wake up in the morning."
"What if you get up in the middle of the night having to go?"
"It'll be alright." Replied Antonio. Kuroka had simply observed the smile that was glowing on his face before averting her own gaze while allowing the silence around them both to envelop them.
"How can you stay so cheerful?" Questioned Kuroka, catching Antonio's attention. "With everything going on, how can you still be able to put a smile on your face?"
"Hmmm, now that's a good question indeed." Replied Antonio as one of Kuroka's cat ears twitched.
"I'm being serious here!" Said the Nekomata.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Replied Antonio. "It's kinda hard to say honestly. For me, it's probably because I have you and all the love and support of my family giving me the push I need whenever I am feeling down to still be able to smile." Antonio replied which caused the Nekomata's tails to stop moving. With her ears perked up, silence once again consumed the air between them with the only thing Kuroka is able to hear is the sound of her heartbeat increase.
"Hey, I have something to tell you." Said Kuroka softly, causing Antonio to turn around and face her. She had then quickly grabbed hold of his right and with both her right & left hand. Using her thumbs to softly feel Antonio's right hand, her head stayed down.
"W-What is it?" Antonio replied Nervously.
'With you being the only one, the only one who knows of my past. You know how long I've been on the run, what I did to protect my little sister. D-Do you think a hardened, despicable devil like me…' Kuroka lifted up her head to where Antonio and Kuroka were looking each other in the eyes deeply as her tails wagged side to side as she felt that her heart was about to burst out of her chest with each passing moment that she gazes into the eyes of Antonio who had just simply titled his head to the side while still holding onto her hands.
"What's the matter?" Asked Antonio, he had watched Kuroka shake her head.
"Honestly I don't know myself." The Nekomata replied as she gripped Antonio's hand tighter. "Everytime I see you, everytime I'm near you, hear you speak, see you interact with people and watch you smile, my heart feels like it is about to jump out of my chest. I've been on the run for as long as I can remember and probably longer than other wanted Devils, but none of that made my heart race for when I started to develop these feelings for you… Antonio. At first I thought it was just me wanting you because you are insanely strong." When Antonio heard this he used his left index finger to gently scratch his left cheek.
"Ehehe, T-Thanks." Replied Antonio as he chuckled softly as a cheesy smile rose on his face.
"It was more, so, so much more." Kuroka continued. "Which is why I observed you, every chance I could find to make sure this feeling that was growing wasn't a fluke. Then, that night at the park, when I poured my heart out, you didn't look at me like some criminal, you didn't look at me like I was something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe. You actually listened to me, you listened to me and didn't judge me. You don't know it but you have no idea how much that meant to me."
"Well yeah." Antonio replied. "I'm nowhere near perfect enough to judge people, devils or anyone for that matter. I believe everybody should at least have their story heard, that's what I think at least. Besides, Someone who stood up for their siblings the way you did can't be evil. You sacrificed a lot to protect your sister, hell you've been watching over her as she grows. If that doesn't scream the perfect sister, Then I don't know what does." At this point, Kuroka could feel tears well up in her eyes as they slowly trickled down her cheek. "I just wish someone specific I know would jot down some notes." Antonio said in a jokingly manner with his eyes closed.
"Aaachoo!" Yukari let out an adorable sneeze as she was laying down in her bed with Shi on her left and and Shiina on her right. 'Is someone talking about me?' Thought Yukari. She decided to shrug it off and decided to fall back to sleep. After laughing to himself softly, he opened his eyes back up, and when he did, he had seen Kuroka's tears were flowing from her eyes.
"Damn, there goes that silver tongue of yours again." Said Kuroka said softly before sniffling and using her arms to wipe her tears away. "Damn it." Right in the middle of her drying her eyes, the Nekomata was enveloped in a hug by Antonio as he gently squeezed his arms around her tighter. 'This warmth.' Kuroka thought to herself as she placed her left hand on Antonio's chest as the light from the moon gazes over them both as her tails wagged happily side to side as her cat ears twitched. 'This is what I've been looking for, for so long." Inside of the house, simply around the corner before taking the steps to come out onto the rooftop, two nosey residents were peeking around the corner.
'Way to go big sis Kuroka.' Kuu thought as she gave an approving fist pump in the air as she saw how relaxed and less tense as she rested her head against Antonio's chest. "Hmm hey where are you going?" Asked Kuu as the other housemate who was watching the pair with her decided to head off somewhere."
"I have some thinking to do." Karasuba said before walking off, leaving the young king behind. "So I'm gonna go for a walk outside. I just got a feeling." As Karasuba left to return to her room, Kuu had tilted her head to the side.
"Huh, what does that mean? Is something bad going to happen?" Asked Kuu as she went to seemingly follow Karasuba. A few more moments had passed before Antonio and Kuroka had separated from their hug. The Nekomata had placed her right hand over her heart and took a deep breath and then exhaled.
"Oh wow." Kuroka said gently. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight after all that. Though, I would gladly lose sleep if it means I can be held tightly in your arms." When Kuroka said this while looking into Antonio's eyes, he couldn't help the rising blush that tried to emerge onto his face as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well since we can't sleep.." Replied Antonio. "Want to go on a night time stroll?"
"If you don't mind having my company." Kuroka replied. Later, after switching out of their sleep attire and into something casual. They exited the house and began walking side by side conversating. Their nighttime stroll along with their conversing had led them to a nearby park that had a lush field, plenty of park benches and was illuminated by the street posts. Sitting atop one of those street posts was a hooded figure whose cloak was flowing gently in the nighttime breeze, observing the two entering the park and couldn't help but have a maniacal grin come across their face. "I can't remember the last time I ever talked to someone this much and actually enjoyed the conversation." Said Kuroka as she, along with Antonio sat down at the same bench together with her sitting on Antonio's right. "Usually I just ignore everybody."
"Well I feel honored to have garnered your attention that much." Replied Antonio, causing Kuroka to stick her nose up in the air.
"Well you should feel especially honored, not everyone gets my attention that easily. You should be grateful." Said the Nekomata. After she got done speaking, the two shared a light, hearty laughter. Silence ensued between them with the only sound that could be heard was the wind gently swaying the leaves on the nearby trees side to side before Kuroka looked down to see Antonio's right hand resting on the bench. Slowly but carefully, with a nervous sweatdrop rolling down from her head, she motioned her left hand to Antonio's right with her left pinky finger as she bumped into his right pinky a couple of times before wrapping them together. As one of her ears twitched, the two of them had unwrapped their pinkies and Kuroka had placed her hand into his as the two intertwined their fingers together. In this moment as the two were holding each other's hand, Kuroka had an awfully warm smile appear on her face.
"Hey." Said Antonio, catching Kuroka's attention. "Why don't we take a picture together?"
"A picture?" Replied Kuroka as Antonio with his left hand, dug into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone. "You mean on one of those soul stealing devices?"
"Ehh?" Antonio said in confusion, causing Kuroka to giggle to herself.
"I'm only messing with you. I know what a picture is." Replied Kuroka while still holding onto Antonio's hand. "Let's take a few."
"Ok!" Said Antonio as he opened the camera app. As the two could see themselves in his front facing camera, Kuroka was straightening her hair. "Ready?"
"Mmhm." Kuroka responded as she proceeded to Scott closer to Antonio, bringing their faces inches apart and right before Antonio's thumb was about to press the capture button, Kuroka softly pressed her cheek against his as the camera snapped the picture. "Can I see?" Asked Kuroka and without hesitation, Antonio handed her his smartphone after pulling up the picture. With his smartphone in hand, she had observed the picture of the couple and had smiled warmly. "I love it."
"Well I'm glad." Replied Antonio. In the distance, as the two were enjoying a moment with each other, a shimmer of light could be seen in the distance before projectiles were shot, rushing towards the couple.
Next Chapter: What Lies Ahead! The Eighth Pillar Part Two
*I am sorry for the extremely late upload! I hope everyone is staying safe from COVID-19 and quarantining if able.*
