Welcome to the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, but before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:
Altair95: Thanks. Yes, it was the meeting between his friends and first fiancées/childhood friend with all of them taking an almost immediate liking to her. It would be difficult for them to "purge" a Sacred Gear user if said person is under the divine protection of a major god. I thought that it was a good idea and a lot of the media that I read had something similar, plus, it'd add more detail to how the Sennin used it compared to Youkai. Maria is always thinking of creative ways in using her Sacred Gear and gaining its Balance Breaker will be a great asset to her.
It was the meeting between them and the Five Principal Clans' heirs, as well as Minako's mother about all that has been happening around Japan. Yes, Claire was able to reunite with her mother's Queen and that feeling will be explored more in the future. Thanks, and I will.
Slimreader11: Well, if Rossweisse is going to be added to his harem, then she wouldn't be reincarnated into Rias' Rook. To be honest, I love Le Fay's character, but I can't see them going well together unlike all the other characters that I made.
Gamer91: Thanks for the vote.
Meetings of the Old III
Later that night, Evangeline found herself sitting down inside of the living room of the Amagiri Residence, having repaired her magician clothing using her demonic powers after the incident. Kunou was already carried inside her new bedroom by Minako, which left Kensei, Alice, and Claire there to tend to their unexpected guest. As soon as she entered the living room, Claire didn't skip a beat in ensuring that Evangeline was properly tended to.
Kensei and Alice had to admit that it was one of the first times that Claire has been this nervous and anxious, but it was understandable. As she was busy getting the tea and snacks prepared, both of them were becoming more acquainted with Evangeline, Cleria's Queen.
"I have the utmost gratitude to you all for watching over our Claire."
Evangeline bowed her head out of appreciation.
"No no, there's no need to thank us."
Kensei replied smiling lightly at the gratitude she was directing toward them.
"Well, all three of us happened to meet one another on Hagun Island," Alice added before smiling faintly. "But, all of us ended up living under the same roof no matter the situation and became our own little family. So, there's no reason to thank us for helping a family member."
Hearing her response caused Evangeline to give a bright smile.
"I was worried when I had to leave her behind to assist my King, her mother. I know that things must've been so hard for Claire, but I'm happy that she found some good people to rely on," Evangeline said before glancing over towards Kensei and wearing a more mischievous smirk. "I can see that she even made a good decision falling in love with someone who wasn't a misfit. But, I can tell Kensei-kun is a misfit in some ways."
"…well, she's exactly as Claire explained."
Kensei said as Evangeline started laughing at her comment with Alice laughing more lightly as she glanced over to the side so she couldn't get caught.
"Eva-obachan, what did you tell them?"
Claire said as she carried in a finished dish that was filled with tea and snacks inside of the living room, where all of them were sitting. She curiously stood there as Evangeline picked up one of the teacups that were placed right on the place, then gave her signature mischievous smirk.
"Oh, it was about how blatantly in love you are with Kensei-kun."
"Waah?!"
Claire almost fumbled with the dish in her hands causing the snacks and drinks placed on it to shake as a result of the sudden imbalance. But, she managed to regain her balance as Evangeline started laughing out loud after seeing that occur right in front of her.
"Hahahaha, c-come on, you're exactly like your mother! Th-There's no other person in the world who would ever replicate those moments whenever flustered. Hahahahaha!"
"T-That's not funny."
Claire shouted before starting to pout angrily toward Evangeline who continued laughing.
"Y-You're even pouting the same as her."
Evangeline seemed unable to contain her laughter, but the contents of her teacup remained stable without even the slightest distance on the surface. Claire, with a flushed face, started passing out the tea to Kensei and Alice in a rushed manner as she took a seat beside them while looking downward.
"Seeing your face like that really brings back memories. I always knew that you would grow into a mature young woman, but I didn't think that you'd already show signs of that now. I'm truly happy to see that you're living such a life like this even without us."
Evangeline laughed again.
Claire continued going back and forth as she continued looking at the woman sitting right there before her while drinking from the cup in her hands. She had a hard time believing that the woman she loved as her aunt and also responsible for raising her was actually there. But, her personality and mannerisms were the same as she recalled from her mother's most trusted servant and best friend.
"Uh, Eva-obachan? I was wondering whether or not…."
"I already know what you're going to ask me," Evangeline said realizing what Claire wanted to ask her, but she simply smiled cheerfully. "The truth on the incident isn't going anywhere and besides, it's getting a little late and I want to enjoy the rest of the time. 'Kay, Claire?"
"Yes, Eva-obachan," Claire was unable to go against the wishes of Evangeline who continued giving her the very same honest smile. "You'll be able to stay here…."
"I think that it would be best for Evangeline-san to reside inside of a hotel."
Kensei commented before Claire could finish, causing the gray-haired girl to glance over towards her.
"Huh, why, Nii-san?"
"It would be impossible to set up a room for her here for tonight due to the timing."
Kensei replied causing Claire to realize that he was correct considering the current time. But, deep down she had the desire to want Evangeline to live under the same roof as her like before.
"But, how about…?"
"Claire, if you're worried about me, then it's unneeded," Evangeline replied as she placed the teacup on the table before continuing. "There's no way that those devils from before will come after me, while under the guard of someone under Shintoism. Those guys lost their chance do to whatever they wanted to do the moment that I was found by you and him. It doesn't matter where I sleep tonight, all that matters if that we've been reunited, right?"
"Right."
Claire replied, her mood improving a lot after hearing that from her beloved aunt; stirring her into moving forward to give her another hug. In response to this, Evangeline smiled and wrapped her arms around Claire, bringing the younger girl into a deep hug. As the two of them were in the middle of their hug, Alice had pocked Kensei a bit in an obvious attempt to catch his attention.
The moment that he turned his attention to Alice, she signaled for him to come closer so that their conversation wouldn't interrupt them.
"I don't see the reason that we couldn't make an effort to make up a room for her," Alice pointed out feeling that it wouldn't be too difficult to make up a room for Evangeline. "It would normally be Claire saying that, while you'd be the one ensuring that it was possible. Is there something wrong here?"
Alice spoke to him knowing that doing something like this wasn't a part of his nature based on what she learned about him over the years.
"I honestly don't know the reason," Kensei whispered as he looked directly at Alice who noticed that he looked a little bit perplexed about his reason. "Since this night, after meeting Evangeline, I've been feeling a little bit unsettled for some reason."
"Do you think that she's…."
"I don't know whether or not it's Evangeline-san. I thought about it, and have been sensing her spirit the entire time and she has been nothing but honest. Each time someone lies, there's the slightest disturbance in the flow of the spirit. I might not be as good as Hisui at this, but I'm still better than a lie detector test."
"Then what's wrong?"
Alice heard that from him, realizing that it meant that Evangeline hasn't been suspicious or lying to neither of them the entire time. But, Kensei still looked a little bit unsettled the entire time throughout this entire situation.
"I don't know. It's just an odd feeling that I've been having."
Kensei replied again, confusing Alice, who seemed more worried since he wasn't the kind of person who would randomly have odd feelings like this without a reason.
"…."
Throughout this entire situation, Claire was still relishing at the moment with Evangeline who had her arms still all wrapped around her. There wasn't much that Kensei could do since she hasn't been the slightest bit suspicious since finding and bringing her home. However, he did as promised and found Evangeline a comfortable hotel for her to reside in for the time being. Minako, who also didn't have a room of her own, found herself sleeping inside of the same one as Kunou.
"So, Claire ended up running into her mother's Queen last night?"
Zane spoke surprised about that fact.
"Yes, I arranged for her to live inside of a hotel in town for the time being."
Kensei replied.
It was the next morning, Kensei and Alice were sitting inside of their homeroom with one another talking to Zane about the incident from last night. He was shocked to hear that none-rogue devils from the Underworld entered a land, not under their jurisdiction. More so, it was a surprise that the person that those devils were chasing after is the Queen of Cleria, Claire's mother.
"Well, it looks like we might end up going through something interesting again," Zane sighed thinking about the current situation. "I'm glad that Claire was able to reunite with someone from her mother's peerage, but it's a little weird that those guys would risk coming here just to catch her. Did she ever mentioned what happened before that or how she got into that situation?"
"No, she didn't say anything about it since it was a little late at night. But, we plan on having a discussion about it sometime after school."
"At least, this is going to give Claire some kind of closure about what happened to her and her first family. We all know that her parents were a devil and exorcist, but there wasn't much revealed about what actually happened at that time. But, based on the fact that devils from the Underworld tried hunting down her mother's queen, then we can guess that it has something to do with that."
"Although, it looks as if Kensei felt something weird after meeting her."
"Oh, how so?"
Zane appeared to be interested and concerned after hearing those words from Alice as he turned himself around to see them. In the background, Lena appeared to have been caught up in a discussion with other students, but in several instances, she looked to have been attempting to get out of it. However, her signals were ignored by Kensei, Alice, and Zane who were focused on their conversation.
"Well, I have been having this weird feeling since meeting Evangeline last night. It's weird, but there hasn't been anything that caused me to have this odd feeling this in a while…not since fighting Niðhöggr."
"Do you think that she's lying about something?"
"That's the thing. Evangeline-san has been nothing but honest since we first met," Kensei stated honestly, but he couldn't let go of that feeling. "But, this weird feeling won't go away."
"Well, your instincts are almost always on point about danger," Zane pointed out. "At the same time, it's weird it started happening after meeting Evangeline. But, she hasn't done anything wrong or hasn't lied about anything at all since meeting you. Before we start thinking about anything that might make things awkward, I think that it'd be a good idea to have Hisui feel her out and we'll be meeting her after school anyway."
"I agree, this is something that Claire has been looking forward to for a long time. There aren't many people here who're able to reunite with their families. So, Claire being able to do this might be her last chance," Alice stated in a serious tone that almost surprised Zane. "And I'll never forgive anyone who attempts to abuse Claire's emotions no matter who they are. I'll summon all the monsters that I can to devour them all."
"That's something that we can agree on."
It didn't surprise Zane that Kensei would agree with Alice in that situation, but the fact that even she would say all those words was a surprise. At the same time, as much as Kensei, Alice does care about Claire in the same way as an older sister caring for their sibling. But, most of them could tell that for her it was more natural, however, for Kensei, it was starting to becoming something different than loving a sibling.
"I don't want to imagine the thoughts going through either of your heads," Zane pointed out laughing a little more nervously not wanting to imagine what was going through their minds at that moment. "First, let's do what we all agree on first and have Hisui administer her usual test to see whether or not Evangeline is the real deal. If she is who she says she is, then you two can forget about doing whatever weird stuff is going through your heads. And then we can figure out what to do. Don't forget that this isn't going to interfere with Claire's birthday, right?"
""Of course, it isn't going to interfere with anything.""
Both Kensei and Alice replied at the same time, causing Zane to smile at their unified response.
"Hah, it took me too long to escape from those girls," Lena allowed a relieved breath to escape from her mouth as she arrived near Kensei, Alice, and Zane. She then glanced towards the three of them who appeared to avoid her intense gaze. "I didn't think that dealing with human girls would be more troublesome than dealing with those loveless Valkyrie from the Valkyrie Squad."
[Achoo!]
Meanwhile, in Valhalla, where the Valkyrie Squad members that Kensei and the others fought against sneezed in the middle of a training session. Near them were the Valkyrie-in-training who wanted to become similar to all their idols in the future, practicing their techniques.
"Uh, what was that unpleasant feeling?"
Ortlinde questioned, feeling a sudden disheartening sensation traveling across her body almost as if a knife was just stabbed in their hearts.
"I think that Lena is talking behind our backs again."
Schwertleite added, feeling whatever vitality was inside of her body leaving her vanishing.
"Even when she isn't here. I can sense the harshness of her words."
Rossweisse added, realizing that no one else would be able to put them in that kind of state aside from the Chief-God who made it a habit to target her.
"It doesn't matter what was said by Lena. We cannot allow it to interfere with training the future Valkyrie who will be the ones to support Asgard. So, let's continue with the training everyone," Brynhildr said, which spurred up the vigorous spirit of the Valkyrie and their trainees under their tutelage. Those were the strong words most would expect from their Chief Valkyrie, however, her inner voice was completely different. "Of course, it would be Lena saying such harsh words about us even all the way in Japan. Why does she always say such things about us, we are trying to find someone we love and fill that special place in our hearts? No, I have already found that potentially special someone. All I need to worry about is winning him over."
Brynhildr was determined to make "that" special person in her life fall head-over-heels in love with her using any possible method in her arsenal. However, at the moment, she focused on doing what she promised, which was the training of future Valkyrie Squad members.
Inside the Amagiri Residence, Minako was dressed in simple casual attributes, consisting of a simple pink tank top and blue shorts. She was lying down on her back on the couch as the television was turned on and currently had a drama program playing. But, her attention didn't appear to be focused on whatever was playing, instead of in one hand was a journal.
"Hmm, thinking about the perfect song is the biggest job of an idol. So, what should I sing next?"
Minako questioned as in her other hand, the pen she was using was being spun around above her opened palm, because of the wind she was manipulating. As she was doing that, besides her, she reached her free hand inside of an open bag of potato chips and started snacking on him.
"Hmm~ Hmm~ Hmm~ Ah, there goes one," as Minako was eating on the chips and humming a random tune that came to time. And at the same time, an idea for a song did enter her mind as she returned to a sitting position as the pen landed in her hand. "This is going to be the perfect song."
And just like that Minako spent the next couple of minutes cheerfully writing down the lyrics that came to mind at that moment. It was one of the things that Minako found the most peaceful, which was coming up with some lyrics that she could sing in front of others. At almost the same time that she finished writing up the lyrics for a new song, there was a knock on the front door.
"Here I come," Minako called out placing the journal on the couch, then jumped up with some pep in her step as she walked towards the front door wondering who could be there. "School hasn't ended yet, so it wouldn't be any of them. Kensei did mention that there was a woman who was supposed to be tending to all the younger children in the orphanage. So, it could be here."
After peering through the peephole and recognized the person standing on the other end of the door, then wore a surprised expression on her face. Realizing the person's identity, Minako didn't hesitate to open the front door to allow that person to enter the home. Standing in front of the now opened door was revealed to be Evangeline, as a gentle smile graced her face, and dressed in more casual wear aside from her magician's garb.
"Good afternoon."
"Oh, hello. I believe you were our new guest from last night, Eva-san."
"My my, aren't you a friendly one," Evangeline smiled after hearing the friendly tone from Minako despite neither of them having met officially last night. "Well, I didn't have the pleasure of officially meeting you after carrying out that adorable-looking fox girl."
"Yea, Kunou is an adorable girl," Minako said as she allowed Evangeline to enter the Amagiri Residence. "It'll be a long time before Kensei and the others leave school. Not that I mind the company since it gets a little bit boring being here alone."
"Oh, I sensed someone here on a walk so I thought someone was playing hooky and wanting to have a little talk with them to pass some time," Evangeline revealed as she took a seat on the couch. "But, it's kinda naughty for a girl like yourself to be skipping school."
"Well, I'm kinda not in school at the moment. My mother more or less homeschooling me since I started an early career as an idol. It'll be difficult for me to attend normal school since a lot of the students will be raving about me and I would rather attend school without needing to hide. So, it's kinda a harsh situation for me."
Minako revealed as Evangeline looked surprised after hearing those words since it wasn't something she thought she'd ever heard from her.
"It's not surprising because normal people raze about idols like yourself," Evangeline replied in a not so confused tone. "But, an idol, huh. Though, it shouldn't be a surprise that I haven't heard of you since being given that kind of information was a little bit difficult. So, are you a good singer?"
"Well, I'd like to think that I'm a good singer. I just started as an idol a couple of days ago, but I do have a lot of fans who appear to love my singing."
"And you're also rather modest. I've only talked to two people so far, but I can tell that Claire was able to find her a good place to call her home. So, do you think that I could get a sample?"
"Sure thing."
Minako smiled cheerfully, seeing no trouble with singing in front of Evangeline who hadn't heard her yet.
After taking a light breath, Minako started singing one of the first songs that she performed in front of a crowd of people. Evangeline almost found herself immersed in her beautiful voice and lyrics, which continued for nearly over a minute before stopping.
"And that is a sample of, 'One's Dream'. Though all you asked for was a sample for a song, I wouldn't mind at all singing the full song for a newcomer. I based it off an old friend of Kensei and me who we met when all the kids from the different clans met one another."
"No no no, that was perfect. I'm ashamed that I haven't you singing before."
Evangeline said clapping her hands, still thinking about the melodious voice from Minako, which seemed to have already burrowed itself into her memories.
"Well, my mother is organizing another show for me to perform in front of a crowd," Minako replied showing her a slight smile. "So, was there something that you wanted to know? You know, about Kensei, Alice, or Claire by any chance. I mean, it wouldn't be surprising because you're more or less Claire's beloved aunt."
"And you're quite perspective as well. I can see that Claire is living a good life here, but at the same time, I have to make sure that she's living in the right place," Evangeline said before laughing to herself. "Great, I'm starting to sound like my King sometimes. I used to always tell Cleria that she tried too much in watching over Kuoh Town, there wasn't a moment that she didn't put her all into making sure the people lived comfortable lives. I also heard the school there that was originally for female students became co-ed. That was something that Cleria was also pushing for all the time wanting males and females to have equal chances."
As Minako listened in on Evangeline talking about her King, Cleria, sounding almost exasperated about how she overworked herself and was too serious. However, at the same time, there wasn't anything in her tone that even displayed that she was disappointed or irritated by that fact.
"I really don't know much about how servants and Evil Pieces inside of the Underworld. But, Eva-san sounds like the perfect Queen that a King could ask for," Minako stated as noticing that the expression on Evangeline's face was nothing but honest and sincere. "Kensei gave me a heads up about what he was feeling as a precaution, but I just don't see anything remotely similar to a trick. But, I can't see a reason that Kensei's instincts would flare up after she arrived here. Could there be someone who put her under their control?"
"Oh, is there something wrong," Evangeline asked wondering the reason that Minako became silent suddenly. "If it was because I started rambling about Cleria, then I didn't mean to…."
"No, it wasn't that," Minako reassured her and waving her hands back and forth. "I'm interested in hearing more about Cleria. And in return, I might share some things about Kensei that might reassure them that he's the right person for Claire. So, would you like some tea and snacks? As a part of my bridal training, I was taught about stuff like that and normally couldn't do anything else until I got it right."
"Well, that sounds nice. It would a good thing to pass time. Besides, I'm interested in hearing more about this boy who attracted the attention of our little Claire. I also know her birthday is coming up so I have something that I'd like to get for her as a surprise."
Evangeline said at the idea of being able to have a genuine conversation with someone like Minako.
"Alright, then I'll get started with making the tea and snacks for our talk."
Minako cheerfully leaps from her chair, then started heading in the direction of the kitchen to prepare both tea and snacks for their conversation. There wasn't enough proof to state that Evangeline was suspicious of anyone or she wasn't who she said she is. So, she decided to wait to see what happened and simply wanted to continue talking to her to see for herself.
After school ended sometime later, Zane and the others did also meet Evangeline as planned at their home and Hisui did as Kensei requested. Similar to Kensei and Alice, neither of them could find anything wrong with her in the slightest. Even Hisui, who can sense a person's true emotions by sensing and reading the flow of their spirits, couldn't sense the slight hint of deception. So, she confirmed that Evangeline wasn't even being the slightest bit suspicious or ill-intent.
As a matter of fact, all of them found that similar to Minako, Claire's mother, Cleria couldn't have found an even more perfect Queen to serve her. Hearing those comments from his friends alleviated some of the concern which had arisen within Kensei's heart. But, even then, those odd feelings that would arise from his instincts remain in the back of his head.
[So, was that enough to reassure you that there's nothing suspicious about Evangeline-san?] Zane asked Kensei over the end of the phone as the latter was alone sitting on the living room's couch. [She does look to be nothing, but genuine about everything that she said to us all. Besides, even Hisui wasn't able to find anything weird about her at all. Not malice. No lies. It was nothing, but the truth.]
"Yes, if Hisui wasn't able to find anything wrong with her, then there's no reason to doubt Evangeline-san at this point. It's a good thing too because I honestly think that Alice was going to do something more brutal than I'd do, and that's saying something," Kensei answered. Zane felt unnerved about that thought since it made him wonder about what a girl as impassive as Alice planned on doing if Claire's feelings were hurt about it. "But, that doesn't explain the reason that I feel like there's something weird going on."
[Well, it could be that someone is watching her movements somehow. It could be possible that someone placed a tracking spell of some kind on her, which might explain the reason that those guys followed her here. There still isn't much known about what happened with her parents and her mother's Peerage.]
"Evangeline-san is talking to Claire about it in her bedroom right now. So, we might be able to get some intel on what exactly happened after she ensured that Claire wasn't involved in any of it."
[Well, I guess that all we can really do is wait and see. There's not really much that we can do since none of us have the correct connections in the Underworld. I mean, most of the high-class devils there wouldn't be favorable to all the mixed-blood devils on our end.]
"Don't forget Claire mentioned that her mother's cousin is the current Belial Head and Rating Game Champion," Kensei reminded Zane over the other end of the phone who did remember that. "Claire is a little hesitant to meet him since Cleria never mentioned that she was pregnant to her relatives fearing that the old devils would find out about her also being the child of an exorcist. She didn't talk about it much, but she once mentioned that she was a fan. Honestly, I think she doesn't believe that he'll accept her."
[Not surprising considering her situation. But, it wouldn't be too bad to build connections to some more favorable high-class families from the Underworld. I did hear that the clans of the current Four Maou share some of their positive views. Your dad did mention that he also has some relations with clans from the Underworld. So, it'd be a good idea to talk to him about it.]
"Well, all that's gotta wait until we finish what we're doing at this point. You know, finishing Claire's birthday party finished and getting the Kibou Alliance thing settled," Kensei replied, causing Zane to silently agree with him as a lot of other things needed to be finished before all that. "Speaking of Claire's birthday, did you finish the thing that I requested before?"
[Yea, I'm almost finished. I was surprised when you….]
"Oh, what's this 'thing'?"
Reacting to the new, but familiar voice, Kensei hung up on Zane before he could finish that sentence, looking a little bit flustered. Standing around the corner nearing the living room was Evangeline who was starring towards him wearing a teasing smirk on her face.
"Th-There's nothing, nothing at all."
Kensei replied, still a little bit flustered about the sudden interruption since whatever he had Zane working on was almost revealed. Evangeline still looked as if she wanted to tease him about it unless she was satisfied with the secret between him and Zane while being curious about it too.
"Come on, don't be a prude like my King," Evangeline continued prodding him for answers by pocking his cheek several times. "If this has anything to do with our darling Claire's birthday, then I have to know what this pertains to, you know? Come on, it isn't a good thing to leave a woman with their question unanswered."
"I've been in this situation before with other people all the time so that isn't going to affect me at all, Evangeline-san," Kensei said as he brushed aside her finger causing Evangeline to pout angrily after being denied a second time, but she didn't look too disappointed about it. "It's a surprise for Claire, so I don't want to reveal anything. So, did the two of you have that conversation?"
"I swear, you're not being funny right now," Evangeline said not liking the way that Kensei was acting at that exact moment before returning to her usual demeanor. "But, yes, Claire and I did have a moment between ourselves to talk about everything that happened. She matured a lot more than I thought that she would, it's funny comparing her to the child who used to hide beside Masa-kun and Cleria. Well, I hope this presentation will make her happy."
"That's the plan."
Kensei replied, causing Evangeline to give the most genuine smile that he has ever seen from her yet, and was a bit more surprised seeing her leaning forward toward him.
"Uh, what're you doing?"
Kensei asked as he leaned backward confused, but Evangeline stopped inches in front of him smiling.
"Please, continue taking care of Claire, Kensei-kun."
Evangeline replied as she gave him a gentle and honest smile before standing up from her seat, then started to walk to the front door. Not saying anything else, she unlocked the door and walked outside of the house leaving a surprised Kensei sitting in the same spot. He didn't have the same odd feeling triggered by his instincts about her after hearing those words.
"Seriously, what's going on," Kensei asked himself after getting up to lock the door behind Evangeline, then was surprised as he started hearing erratic footsteps coming from the upstairs. "Huh, is that Claire?"
Kensei thought since Minako, Kunou, and Alice were in the same room with one another talking about something and Claire was the only one who would be doing that. Soon enough, Claire, did, in fact, come downstairs wearing a look that showed nothing less than excitement. It was so much so that she found herself almost out of breath, meaning she didn't care about pacing herself.
"Where's the fire?"
Kensei asked as Claire tried catching her breath, but her excitement about whatever Evangeline told her made it a little difficult to do that.
"I finished talking to Eva-obachan," Claire managed to get those words out before looking almost as happy as the time that Kensei first met Claire as a young child, the beaming smile on her face was almost blinding. "She told me that the other members of Kaa-san's peerage survived. And all of them are attempting to find out where both Kaa-san and Tou-san are. Eva-obachan said that after the people attacked our home, there was a fight, but all of them managed to separate from one another and escape. So, there's a chance that they're still alive."
"That's great, Claire."
Kensei felt happy that Claire was able to hear that her old family was still alive, which caused him to walk forward and wrap his arms around the young girl. In response to hearing the news from Evangeline and also receiving a comforting hug from the person who brought her out of the deepest sadness. For a long time, she found herself in an abyss of sadness and depression after what happened to her family. So, hearing that all of them were alive is the greatest thing and news that she could ever receive.
Since then, it's been two more days as Claire's birthday was nearing closer and close, being simply one last day before the big celebration everyone planned. All the various preparations for her birthday party were being made by various people in an attempt to ensure that Claire wouldn't stumble across them by accident. As well as all of it is set up in a special location she wouldn't think of looking.
Evangeline also had a hand in assisting the others in planning and helping setting up the party for Claire because she volunteered. It helped more that she knew more about all Claire's particular tastes and dislikes, so planning it becomes easier than last time. A lot of people were starting to like Evangeline despite her only being there for a short period of time and loving her personality.
After school ended for that day, Claire found herself sitting inside of a desert shop alongside Iris and Kunou, who were seated at their reserved seat. Kunou continued attending school with them through her transformation into a miniature fox and keeping her presence masked from humans. As Kensei previously said, she was looking at the entire school before being enrolled in it. She, of course, was hiding her fox ears and nine tails, appearing more human in public.
"So, Kunou-san how do you like our school so far?"
Iris kindly asked Kunou who sat right in front of her.
"I'm liking the school so far. You and Claire-san appear to be quite popular with the other student there," Kunou said recalling all the attention that Claire and Iris were receiving from other students. "Everyone there appears to be quite nice, so it would be a good school for me to attend. But, I'm really looking forward to attending the same school as Ken-nii."
"I can agree with you on that. I'm looking forward to working in the Student Council with Sis and Layla. So, Claire are you looking forward to running the Public Morales Committee with Kensei?"
Iris soon turned her attention towards Claire who was sitting beside Kunou, but the young girl seemed to be more focused on something else. Both Kunou and Iris watched as Claire was sitting there wearing nothing but a happy smile on her face. Neither were sure that she even heard them at all as Claire continued merely kicked her feet back and forth.
"Uh, Claire-san?"
This time Kunou pocked Claire's cheek in an attempt to catch her attention, which worked as Claire jumped a bit surprised about that.
"Huh, oh, did I zone out or something?"
Claire wondered out loud as she glanced over to Kunou and Iris who nodded their head in agreement.
"We asked whether or not you were looking forward to attending the same school as Kensei, Sis, and the others."
Iris replied repeating what she initially asked Claire.
"Yes, of course, I think that it'll be fun for us all to attend the same high school as one another. Besides, there'd be so much more stuff that all of us can do together. I heard there was supposed to even be a lot of fun events at Kibou Academy compared to our middle school."
"Claire-san, are you excited about what Evangeline-san said about your parents and her peerage?"
Kunou asked as Claire nodded her head excitedly not minding showing that side of herself around them.
"Of course, I am. I've been waiting to hear something like that for a long time since we all left Hagun Island. I never thought that I'd be able to reunite with Kaa-san, Tou-san, and everyone else," Claire said as both of them could see nothing but enthusiasm from the usually calm girl. "Eva-obachan said that we could do whenever I was prepared to leave to see them all. I'm honestly so excited that I don't think that I can focus on my birthday party at this point anymore."
"No no no no, we spent all week getting everything prepared. So, you're having that birthday party."
Iris said jokingly as Claire and Kunou shared in the laughter.
Soon enough, the store worker brought them all their orders, which was done moments after entering the dessert shop. They all looked on in anticipation as the man placed their various orders right in front of their now sparkling eyes. Placed in front of the three of them were ice cream sundaes with different toppings on them and seemed to stir up their sweet tooth.
"Well, girls, one, two, and three!"
Claire started excitedly counting down as she raised her spoon up into the air alongside Kunou and Iris before a bright smile graced their faces.
[Itadakimasu!]
All three called out at the same time as their spoons touched the ice cream, then took a long-anticipated bite out of the dessert. In an instant, a smooth and sweet sensation traveled across their taste buds as the three girls felt the utmost level of satisfaction from that simple bite alone.
"Hmmm, I don't think that the shops in Kuoh Town have anything as sweet as this," Claire said as she compared it to the ice cream that she used to eat as a child in the old hometown where she was born. "But, I would still love to eat the nostalgic sweets from there."
"I never had these kinds of things in the Church let alone on Hagun Island, but I'm happy that I was born."
"Oh," Claire said as if recalling something. "I'm sorry, I was talking about seeing my family when…."
"Don't worry about it. I already got over the cause for my birth because of everyone here," Iris said as she smiled towards Claire more so than she ever had before. "I'm not going to hide what I am. And I'm going continue going down the path in front of me alongside the only two people I've ever considered my family."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that. So, is there anything in particular that you want to learn?"
"I think that it would be useful if I learned to use my dragon powers more and at some point even transform into a full dragon. I don't want to be a burden for Sis and Layla, so I'll be seeing what I can do to help them aside from being just a healer."
Claire smiled as Iris went from the quiet girl who used to hide behind Maria and Layla into someone who fights by their side no matter what happens. It really reminded Claire of how she used to be a long time ago, which caused a sense of nostalgia to well up within her.
"Uh, Kunou feels like she's being caught out of the loop."
Kunou pouted as she was unable to follow the conversation between Claire and Iris who realized what the two of them had done. Despite that, the two of them started laughing lightly after realizing that.
"I'm sorry, Kunou. I promise that I'll explain it later," Iris said as she pointed towards the dessert placed in front of them. "But, instead, I think that it would be best to focus on these sundaes before they start melting."
"You're right."
Claire and Kunou agreed with Iris as the two of them started digging into the sundaes in front of them, while all of them enjoyed the sweetness. More so, the three of them realized that this was their own personal group with one another since their ages are similar to one another. So, it wouldn't be too bad for them all to hang out with each other like this from time to time.
After paying for their dessert, the three girls left the shop and started walking down the streets without much of a planned path. Claire was walking in-between Kunou and Iris as they went down a clear path without many people being in front of them.
"So, is there anything else that the two of you want to do?"
"Oh, I know. Do either of you want to go back to that mall and check out some of the stores there?"
"Yes, that sounds like…."
"Wait, hide."
Claire suddenly said as she pulled both Kunou and Iris into a nearby corner that was off of the streets, causing a confused look to appear on their faces.
"Why did we have to hide, Claire-san?"
Kunou asked confused as Claire peaked her head outside of the corner towards one spot, in particular.
Noticing where she was staring, Kunou and Iris also peaked out their heads and followed her line of sight toward the same spot. There the three girls saw Kensei standing in front of a window looking at what was being sold by that specific shop. But, he wasn't alone, standing beside him was Minako, who was currently wearing the same disguise that she used the first time they met.
"Oh, Kensei and Minako appear to be on a date."
Iris spoke out loud as Claire and Kunou looked a little more complicated about seeing Kensei out on a "date" with Minako like this. It didn't take her long to notice the expressions that were on their face, then a certain idea came to the girl's head.
"Hey, if you're that interested in their date, then why not spy on them."
[Right.]
Both Claire and Kunou agreed without skipping a beat, surprising Iris.
"Uh, I was kinda joking," Iris said revealing that the idea was a simple joke, however, Claire and Kunou seemed to have either taken it seriously or already planned on doing that in the first place. "Besides, do you really think it would be possible to spy on Kensei? I don't think that anyone has been able to actually attack him from behind in all the sparring sessions with him."
"Well, I know Nii-san as much as Minako-san and trained with him a lot," Claire said as she glanced over towards them. "So, as long as we don't put too much attention on him and remain at a distance, then all we need to do is ensure we hide our presence. Do you want to test that out?"
Claire asked Iris, who seemed a little hesitant to following Kensei and Minako, but there was something about the new experience that sounded interesting to her.
"So, we'll be like ninjas?"
Iris asked as her eyes seemed to be sparkling at that idea.
Both Claire and Kunou glanced over to one another as Iris seemed into the idea of pretending to be ninjas. It is a trend common among foreigners whenever topics of samurai and ninjas came up, but at least Iris got the basic idea, unlike most people who'd come up with different things.
"Yes, we'll be ninjas."
Claire agreed with Iris as she seemed to be interested in the idea now.
"Then let's go."
"Kunou thinks that it be funny to jump in on them at some point as a surprise."
"Yea, that might be funny."
Claire added as she chuckled at the idea.
After getting Iris on board with their idea, Claire and Kunou were determined to follow Kensei and Minako around without either of them noticing their presence.
All three girls followed the two older teens around for a couple of minutes without their presence being known, as well as following Claire's advice. Due to them also having enhanced hearing more than a normal person because of their supernatural lineage, it was easier for them to listen in. Since then, Kensei and Minako hadn't done much aside from looking at whatever product was being displayed in the windows and having simple conversations.
Soon enough, Kensei and Minako found themselves sitting down at a park where there weren't that many people who were around. However, Claire, Kunou, and Iris, who took into the ninja role found themselves hiding inside of the bushes near them. Claire was sure that Kensei hadn't picked up on the fact that the three of them had followed
"Ah, it feels so good walking around town like the old days."
Minako breathed out loud from loving walking around her old hometown after all this time, more so with her own childhood friend. In her hands was an empty crepe packet that was the fourth one that she finished before putting it on the pile. Kensei sat beside her finishing the one that he ate and tossed it into a nearby trashcan.
"Well, I can agree with that after all the time that I spent away from Kibou," Kensei said before making a mocking smile on his face. "The one thing that I don't miss is buying all the snacks that you wanted."
"Well, you still bought them for me no matter how much you complained about it."
Minako chuckled as she started eating another crepe.
"Cause, I know that I won't be hearing the end of it."
"Yea, you're probably right about that," Minako said as she stared into the snack in her hands and allowed just a single breath to escape from her mouth before speaking. "You know that first song that I sang in front of a crowd was a tribute to Mei?"
Kensei paused after that name was mentioned, causing Claire, Kunou, and Iris to become surprised about it.
"Who's Mei?"
Claire asked turning to Kunou, who looked as surprised about it as Claire.
"Kunou doesn't know. She hasn't heard Ken-nii or Minako-san talk about her before."
Kunou replied.
"Yea, I kinda realized that after listening to the full song," Kensei admitted as he thought back to that person. "If it wasn't for happened, then she might have been on the same stage as you. Despite what everyone else said, the two of you did want to become the best idols."
"Yea, then we would have hired Kensei to be our own personal bodyguard and keep away all the crazy fans coming at us from all sides. I know that the two of us would've made a good idol duo with one another, but I feel I can become one for both of us. So, I used that time spent apart to become just that."
"I think that we should leave," Claire suggested as their conversation seemed to be getting more personal and it wouldn't be right for them to interfere. "It wouldn't feel right to intervene with their conversation like this anymore."
"Right."
"Alright, let's depart like ninjas."
Kunou and Claire shook their heads after hearing that comment from Iris while being amused about just how the two of them were engrossed in the idea. So, carefully without doing something as simple as stepping on a twig to make a noise, which would reveal them.
"You know, in all the time that we spent apart until we turned sixteen and I became an idol," Minako started as she seemed to become a little bit flustered, which was a little weird for someone like her. Her acting like this even caught Kensei's attention since never acted this bashful before. "I was the happiest that I've ever been after we reunited at the mall. And since then, it reminded once again the reason that I fell in love with you."
"…."
Reacting to that, Kensei's cheeks turned red as Claire, Kunou, and even Iris found themselves stopping because of the sudden reveal. Since the moment that the three of them met Minako, more so, Kunou who has known her for much longer, it was a shocking honest reveal. She always played off everything nonchalantly no matter and she would even at times tease them about their feelings for Kensei.
"C-Come on, it took a lot of courage for me to say that."
Minako said bashfully as she started shuffling around the same spot as before unable to do anything else.
"…ah, I almost didn't believe that you said that. It almost makes me want to tease you instead."
Kensei said smirking as Minako pouted adorably, then suddenly started pounding her fists on him from frustration and embarrassment.
"You're a meanie, misfit, battle maniac, and a womanizer!"
"Come on, that womanizer one wasn't even called for," Kensei said feeling more hurt about the sudden lashing of words instead rather than the actual beating he was receiving. He later grabbed both Minako's wrists without actively doing anything to hurt her wrists. "I…love you too."
"…!"
[…!]
Minako, Claire, and Kunou were surprised about that admission from Kensei, Iris was also surprised about it, but she wasn't on the same level as them. Both Claire and Kunou seemed to be jealous about that sudden reveal since both of them personally wanted it to be them.
"Then, it wouldn't be wrong for me to do this."
Minako moved forward with flushed cheeks as she pressed her lips against Kensei's, which caused a silent yelp to come from Claire and Kunou as their mouths hung up. It didn't last that long as Kensei seemed to get into their kiss a little more, which he placed a hand on her cheek before the two of them separated almost a minute later.
"Well, that was…."
"…a thing."`
Kensei and Minako seemed a little embarrassed about what the two of them had done, but neither of them regretted it at all. Soon enough, the two of them started smiling at one another after realizing that the two of them just shared a kiss.
"I can't believe that Minako-san got ahead of Kunou again."
Kunou seemed miffed about that but was stopped as she noticed Claire stood up without saying a single word of what happened. Again, without saying a single thing, she turned around and started running off somewhere else without making a single that would reveal herself.
""Claire-san/Claire?""
Both Kunou and Iris spoke in a hushed tone so that neither of them wanted to be revealed either.
"Huff. Huff. Huff."
Claire found herself a greater distance from where she, Kunou, and Iris had been hiding behind the bushes from Kensei and Minako. She ran off at the highest speed possible without even thinking about it, causing her to leave them behind. For a moment, she looked around noticing that she ran inside of an isolated forested area, meaning she must've been running for a couple of minutes. Her mind went back over toward the kiss between Kensei and Minako sharing a kiss as jealously started welling up inside of her.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Claire allowed a scream to escape from her mouth as she shouted out loud, her voice seemed to echo inside the quiet forest. She later allowed several calming breathes to escape from her mouth before hearing a familiar voice that she hadn't heard in a while.
[Have you calmed down?]
Claire heard Radueriel speaking for the first time in a while.
"Oh, I haven't heard from you in a while, Radueriel."
[I don't believe that I can assist you much in your social life in some regards. At most, I can advise about all the ways you can use the light powers provided by White Nemesis and times when you're going through an emotional situation.] Claire heard the care that came from Radueriel, which would be weird because he was an angel who fought against the original Four Maou and slain countless devils. Although, Radueriel never prided himself in that. [So, is there any issues that you have now?]
"Yes," Claire admitted as she finally calmed down. "But, the issue isn't with the fact that Nii-san and Minako-san kissed one another. But, the issues that I have is with me."
[…I see.]
Radueriel remained silent as Claire started looking into the air as she listened to the wind blowing.
"I ended up acting childish again after seeing Nii-san kissing another girl. The same thing that happened when I first met Kunou-san in Kyoto for the first time and found out that she was his fiancée," Claire said as she started mentally berating herself, which was something that Radueriel could sense. "I should've gotten used to the fact a lot of other girls like and will end up liking Nii-san. I have no issue with it being Alice-nee, but whenever girls like Hisui and Kunou-san are involved I end up getting the same feeling."
[Well, it's a part of human nature to be jealous of some people, especially when someone that you love is mixed into the situation. It should be noted that those from the Belial tend to adore and have affection towards all those close to them. So, considering the fact you're a human and a devil, it's not really weird at all.]
"I can't tell whether you're teasing me or trying to make me well better. I didn't think that I would hear those kinds of things from an angel."
[I have been the host of a bunch of different humans. So, I started learning more about them, at the moment, I've got an interesting host in this era. You can understand and criticize yourself whenever you realized that you have done something wrong. Claire that is a wonderful trait for a person to have, more so one as young as yourself.]
Claire felt a smile gracing her face as she heard those words from her partner, but Claire would rather not have made that mistake in the first place.
"Thanks, Radueriel for talking to me. I'll need to head back to apologize for Nii-san and Minako-san for following them around like that. I know that neither of them would be mad, but I still need to…."
"Surprise!"
"Ahhhh!"
Claire jumped as she heard a familiar voice behind her.
After landing on the ground again, she placed her hand on her chest and her heart started beating faster than it'd normally be. Claire turned around, her face being shocked and scared as she turned around to see Evangeline in her usual magician's outfit smiling at her.
"Gotcha~"
"Eva-obachan that wasn't funny! I almost had a heart attack!"
"Come on, you're acting like your mother."
Evangeline pouted as she heard those words from Claire who seemed to have calmed down, but soon enough a question on her mind had left her mouth.
"Wait, what're you doing out here?"
Claire asked finding it weird that Evangeline would be out here when she ended up here randomly after running off without considering anything like directions.
"Well, I was out here practicing some magic to keep my skills sharp, then I realized that someone was running off in the same direction I was," Evangeline replied as she looked at Claire. "I was surprised to hear you screaming like that when I approached you. Did something happen?"
"No, well, kinda," Claire said as she was attempting the find out how to explain this to Evangeline. "After going in town with Kunou-san and Iris, we kinda sorta decided to follow Nii-san and Minako-san. And the two of them were on a date with one another from what we could see."
Evangeline seemed to be interested in hearing what Claire was attempting to explain to her without interrupting it in the slightest.
"And I kinda found them kissing one another."
Claire revealed surprising Evangeline who wasn't expecting that and appeared to be a little bit empathetic after it was revealed to her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Claire."
Evangeline apologized as she leaned down to wrap her arms around Claire, but she wasn't mad about that.
"No, Eva-obachan, I'm not mad about the fact that Nii-san kissed another girl. It's more the fact that I reacted the way that I did, leaving Kunou-san and Iris behind," Claire said in an attempt to return to her more mature mindset after thinking about the situation. "It was childish of me to react like that in the first place since I should've already known that something like this might happen. So, I'm going to return, then I'm going to apologize to them."
"No, no no, Claire, you don't have anything to apologize for."
"Uh, what're you talking about, Eva-obachan? I was the person at fault for following them in the first place," Claire was confused about the reason that Evangeline said something like that to her. "I wouldn't have wanted anyone to interfere with Nii-san and me if we were on a date with one another."
"No, it was his fault for kissing someone else instead of someone else."
"Eva-obachan? You're starting to confuse…."
[Claire, don't listen to her…!]
"Huh?"
Claire was confused and stunned as she received that sudden warning from Radueriel, who seemed to be more concerned at this point. But, it was too late as Evangeline placed her hand comfortably on Claire's face causing her to stare directly toward her confused and ended up looking directly into her eyes.
"Kensei-kun shouldn't have been with someone else and ended up hurting your feelings, right," 'Evangeline in an intense tone questioned as her eyes appeared to flicker with a darkish red tint. In response to this Claire's eyes widened a bit from surprise, but then started turning somewhat dimmer. "I thought that it was a good place to live and I wanted it to be somewhere that you could call home. But, the one true home that you'll ever have is with us and Cleria, right?"
"B-But, I can't leave here…this place became my home after losing…."
Claire's consciousness seemed to have started becoming dimmer and weaker as she continued staring into the eyes of Evangeline. She started looking in another direction as Radueriel's warning seemed to have continued echoing inside her head. Claire began feeling odder and odder as time passed, her own thoughts even started to become weaker and less active. It was almost as if her mind was drifting off into the deep recesses of an ocean, reaching toward an abyss.
"Come on, Claire. I thought that you wanted to see your mother and father again."
And that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin as Claire's eyes turned blank as if her mind was finally sealed off and unable to act on her own.
"Now that's a good girl. Do you want to leave now?"
Evangeline asked kindly as she leaned in front of the now catatonic girl who simply nodded her head akin to that of a machine unable to think on its own. She took her hand, then started walking in the direction of a clearer field, a light started shining in her hand as she started forming a magic circle meant for teleportation.
[Claire! Claire! You have to snap out of this before it's too late!]
Because almost all Claire's mental functions were sealed off, Radueriel's voice could reach her no matter how much he tried.
Before the magic circle could activate, there was a sudden stream of blue flames that separated Evangeline and Claire from the teleportation magic circle. Said woman looked surprised about the sudden occurrence, which was outside of her initial plans.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Evangeline turned around to see Kunou and Iris standing at a distance from them, the Kyuubi revealed her ears and tails she summoned her kitsunebi in her hands. Iris took looked miffed at what she was witnessing right now, as her close friend looked almost like a zombie without a mind of its own. Her red eyes seemed to turn sharper til they appeared more like an actual dragon.
Her nails started turning into claws as silver scales started appearing on her hands, even her teeth started to turn sharper than before.
"Whoa whoa, I didn't expect to receive such killing intent from such cute girls," Evangeline reacted to their killing intent without being concerned as she waved around her hands defensively. "I was just taking Claire back to the place she truly belongs since it appears as if Kensei-kun broke her heart. Isn't that right, Claire?"
"…."
Claire remained silent despite hearing that question from Evangeline, but nodded her head robotically, which seemed to tick off Kunou and Iris far more than before.
"Do you think that we're going to buy that? We followed after Claire after seeing her running away, then arrived at the same time that you started doing that," Iris roared as flames seemed to spew from her mouth surprising them due to the sudden tone. "Claire was happy that she reunited with her aunt! It was something that she was looking forward to for a long time! She has been the happiest that she has ever been in ages looking forward to being able to reunite with her family again and for all of us to meet them! Are you even her aunt?!"
Iris' voice seemed to echo across the entire forest more so than Claire, almost resembling that of a dragon's own shout. It wouldn't be surprising if other people outside of it would be able to hear it as well, which was something Evangeline realized. Iris started letting several breaths escape from her mouth.
"Am I really her aunt," Evangeline seemed to have shown a darker expression while maintaining the same smile on her face as that question was asked. But, Kunou and Iris realized that it was almost as if she was an entirely different person compared to before. "I am Evangeline Bellerose, Cleria Belial's Queen. And so, I'll be taking her daughter Claire Belial."
Moments later, Evangeline started leaking out an incredible demonic aura that was stronger than anything these two girls had sensed before. But, that didn't deter the two girls standing in front of her as they started raising their own auras with the intention of fighting.
""There's no chance we're letting that happen!""
Both Kunou and Iris declared as both of them had no intention of backing down, both having no desire other than rescuing Claire from the person who neither of them was sure of their identity.
A/N: And there goes the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, well this was an interesting chapter as things have started picking up. First, Claire was having a good time reuniting with Evangeline, but there seemed to have been some suspicion about her from Kensei. But, she appeared to have appeared more normal around the people of Kibou Town. As Claire's birthday is just a single day away, she had stumbled across Kensei and Minako kissing one another, then ran off, more frustrated with herself.
However, near the end, Evangeline seemed to have turned into an entirely different person and wants to take Claire somewhere else. But, Kunou and Iris appeared inside of the same location determined to stop that from happening. Now, this situation is starting to break down and whoever this person is will be revealed later.
Also, after receiving some reviews about the decision to add Rosseweiss into the harem, I wanted to wait a little bit longer, but the chances of me added her is high. At the same time, I decided to remove Mirana since I couldn't see the scenario where she could fit.
Kensei's Harem: Alice, Claire, Hisui, Kunou, Yasaka, Lu Lingqi, Sarah, Minako, Koneko, Kuroka, Ravel, Amaterasu, Brynhildr.