Akeno woke up later than usual. She stretched to get the stiffness out of her body even though she knew that stretching would fail to ease her lethargy. The cool morning air and the solitude was something she was used to, even the heaviness in her heart, she was used to, but the lag in her body and the soreness all over was not. She barely slept during the night, and what little sleep she got was restless. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of the fallen angel jamming his spear into the ground next to Rias's head shocked her out of it, and she woke up shaking and covered in sweat. And to think they had thought the waiting was the worst part.
Routine made her put on her school uniform as she always did, and it wasn't until she was going out the door that she realized wearing it was pointless. Kuoh Academy was gone. It wasn't even in ruins, it had disappeared entirely.
They made no plans after last night, and Akeno barely even remembered how she got home. They had spent some time together after Kokabiel was taken away, allowing Kiba to make his apology. So, instead of the hole in the ground, she made Issei Hyoudou's house her destination knowing that Rias would be there. The Occult Research Club, or ORC, normally gathered in the old school building at Kuoh Academy, but obviously they would have to change that until it could be rebuilt, and Issei's house made sense seeing as Rias already lived there.
Issei was strange boy. Akeno had been amused at his perverted antics. It prevented the school days from being dull, although his actions often trespassed into the unacceptable. His behavior hadn't bothered her until Issei started directing it at her best friend. For her part, Rias seemed to preen under the attention – they were all perverts in the end. Issei had proven himself to be more than just a pervert throughout his time in the ORC though, he was someone that they could rely on. Despite that, despite how honest and genuine he was, Akeno couldn't help but blame him in part for the changes that were happening.
She vaguely noticed that the weather was brilliant. The sun was out, there was not a cloud in the sky, and the humidity was tolerable for once. Despite the weather, there were barely any people out on the streets, but the ones that were acted ordinary enough – a testament to how powerful the two devil heiresses were. Kokabiel's devastating 'invitation' would've caught everyone's attention, and yet the people were barely affected. It was sad in a way. Their loved ones died, and the history of those loved ones' existences was erased to protect the living, a second death for them. Akeno couldn't help but imagine what she would be like if her mother was erased from her memory following her death. Would she be happier for it?
"Oh, Akeno?"
She must've been watching the ground as she walked, because Rias's voice came from right in front of her. Akeno did her best to smile at the small group in front of her, surprising herself as she easily managed to put on the mask. Everyone from the ORC were there, and, save for Asia giving her a worried look as she often did, they looked none the worse for wear.
"We were on our way to pick you up. We'll be doing some groundwork for the reconstruction efforts, it'll be a fun teambuilding experience."
Akeno just nodded and let the group lead her along. Normally, when structural damage happened in Kuoh as a result of the ORC, usually as a side-effect of some stray devil hunt, the reconstruction efforts were finished overnight – another perk of being active at nighttime. For them to need such drastic measures to rebuild the Academy in secret spoke of just how widespread the destruction caused by Kokabiel was. In fact, it was the first time Akeno herself had to get involved with any damage control.
The barrier around the blast zone was several blocks away from the Academy grounds. The outer houses were mostly intact and shouldn't take long to fix, but the ones closest to the blast zone were completely gone. Entire families gone in an instant thanks to Kokabiel, and then further erased by us…
Akeno felt bile rise in her throat. The whole scene was much worse than she remembered it. The entire academy ground was a crater, the air smelled like ash and soot, and it tasted like metal. The group got to work by teleporting in dirt and spreading it over the place. Literally groundwork, she mused. Not the most glamorous work, but once the dirt was in place, shaping magic and the like would easily let them rebuild the foundation, and the academy would follow afterwards.
The manual labor let Akeno busy her hands while her mind wandered. She watched as Asia and Rias competed over Issei's attention, the boy managing to work twice as fast as he had any right to after Rias promised him a premium view of her bosom. Kiba remained stoic off to the side. Though he appeared fine earlier, it was clear that he was blaming himself for something, perhaps for everything.
While the others were busy with their shenanigans, she went up and talked to him.
"Kiba, how are you doing, what's on your mind?"
He stopped moving the wheelbarrow that he was pushing and turned his full attention to her, looking at her for a moment before he responded. "I guess it's that obvious," he sighed deeply, looking around to see who was listening before turning his gaze solemnly to the ground. "I know I've said it before, I know, but I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for leaving you all behind without explaining myself, I'm sorry for having no good reason even when I did explain. I…"
Kiba trailed off, appearing to forget that Akeno was there. Rias would always forgive her peerage, that was her nature. She would've surely scolded him at length if she had the time, but with everything that was going on, her mind was elsewhere. Forgiveness was something Kiba already received, though, and it clearly wasn't enough. Not knowing how to console the boy, Akeno decided to speak her mind. "Why did you leave?"
Kiba looked pained at the question. "It's… I hate the Excaliburs. They are the symbol of what was done to me, to us. I felt that it would be impossible for me to live with myself if I didn't give my all to destroying them," Kiba scoffed. "Fat lot of good it all did me. Valper Galilei, the bastard, is gone, the Excaliburs are probably safe and back in the churches by now, and all I did was add another reason to hate myself on top of it all."
Kiba had managed to kill Freed and warn them, but he made no mention of it. As Akeno recalled the image of Freed lying tortured to death next to a dumpster, she felt it best not to bring it up.
"I should've brought my troubles to you, all of you, I know that. I won't fail again."
Akeno placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "I have faith in you, Kiba, and I know Rias does as well. We all have our problems, and we'll solve them together, I promise."
Though she said that, the truth was that she kept her own troubles away from their little group as well. Despite Rias having promised her that she would never have to be alone again, despite knowing that Rias loved her, Akeno wanted to burden her king as little as possible, because for all in the world, she would fight to never become a burden to her best friend. Kiba for his part looked moved at her declaration, and for a moment Akeno thought he might start crying, but instead, his face eased into a tender smile that was so different from his usual charming smiles that she felt her heart skip a beat. Prince of the academy indeed. Akeno found herself at a loss for words and chose to resume her work rather than blunder in conversation, making sure to steal some nervous glances at Kiba to make sure that he wasn't bothered by anything she said.
By the time they finished working, it was evening, and they decided to head back to Issei's house for a meal. Issei's parents were wonderful people, the kind that treasured their son and his friends even as they shook their heads at his antics and muttered where did we go wrong under their breaths. Apparently, Rias had said that they would be helping with reconstruction efforts in the city, because Issei's parents treated them all like heroes. When they first arrived, they were greeted by proud smiles before being hurriedly ushered into the living room and promptly banned from helping out in the kitchen for the day.
Kind people.
It ended up being something of a wild dining experience; everyone there had their own quirks. Rias started out their meal by reaching in over the table, making sure to give a view of her cleavage that set the imagination wild, which in turn made Issei knock over his glass. When they had cleaned it up, they returned to the meal only to realize that Koneko had eaten all the rice in the meantime. Miki, Issei's mother, spent some minutes trying to impress upon the little girl that she should wait for everyone to have a bowl before getting another, a lesson that Koneko surely took to heart judging from her blank expression and lack of apology or anything resembling remorse.
Issei apparently took his mother's actions as an insult to Koneko's endowment, and he went on quite the impressive speech about how size didn't matter even though it did actually matter, and the disgusted look on his father's face made even Akeno, despite all of her previous misgivings, burst out laughing.
Much too fast, the evening came to a close, and Akeno knew that it was time for her to go home.
"You can stay here, you know," Rias said. Generally, one would expect someone from the actual household to make that gesture, but Rias was obviously unbothered by such customs. "You don't have to go home."
Issei looked taken aback at the suggestion, but his mother, Miki, jumped at it. "That would be wonderful! The more the merrier, and I've heard from Rias here that you're good in the kitchen as well. Why don't we prepare breakfast together tomorrow?"
Overwhelmed by all the positive energy directed her way, Akeno hesitated. It was hard to say no when offered the world in such a way, but something stopped her nonetheless. There was just something in her that let her know she couldn't stay. It was all well and good while they were having fun, but when the dust settled, Rias and Asia would still be fawning over Issei, Koneko would be her usual self, and Akeno would feel out of place among them.
The turmoil within her must've been clear on her face, because Rias's gaze on her softened, and Miki's warm attitude dimmed. It only made Akeno feel more alone; she didn't want to be the one to dampen the mood, nor did she want their pity.
"You don't have to stay," Rias said, reaching out to touch Akeno's cheek in a loving gesture. Her hand felt warm and kind. "Just know that you have a place here with us. You're not alone."
Akeno closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Thank you."
"We'll walk you home," Issei said, once more showing the kind side that he hid so well underneath his perversion.
"I don't want to cause any trouble, please just stay here and enjoy yourselves."
Rias shook her head at that. "I know you can take care of yourself, but…"
"I'll walk her home," Kiba stepped forward to settle the matter. He offered her his usual charming smile, and Akeno couldn't help but compare it to the one that he gave her earlier and find it lacking. "I have to go home anyway, so it's no trouble."
They all looked satisfied with that, somehow ignoring that Kiba would then have to walk home alone after the fact. Before long, Akeno and Kiba were out in the night, walking underneath the starry sky in contemplative silence. The nights were getting noticeably warmer now and more humid. Summer was fast approaching, and with it, the yearly festival at Kuoh was on the horizon. That and the rating games. The rating games were fighting games for devils, though calling them games might be a bit of a stretch since they involved live combat, which often resulted in serious injury. Rating games were a staple way to settle disputes among devils, trial by combat, but the ones on Akeno's mind now were the yearly rating games which were hosted in a tournament format for all young devils to attend and prove their worth in.
Rias and Sona would most likely be debuting in this year's games, though neither devil heiress had made it official yet. It was expected of them, that was the truth of it. Akeno looked at Kiba as he walked beside her. He looked troubled again, perhaps because of the silence that rested between them.
The old shrine came into view, and with it came a sense of loneliness that Akeno hadn't felt since before Rias picked her up. The shrine stood alone with small courtyard and a wall around it that separated it from the rest of the town. It looked well enough on the outside – large and appearing to be well kept, though that belied its real state of disrepair. Before she even stopped to think about the sad state of the shrine, she spoke.
"Would you like to come in?"
Kiba looked perplexed, and only then did Akeno realize how risqué she was being. She was about to correct herself before Kiba nodded and she showed him in. It was a while since Rias had visited the shrine, and no one else had ever come there. The interior was mostly empty. There was a single futon, large enough for two, in the far corner, a low table on the other side of the room, and in the center, an altar with unlit incense burners. There was a kitchen in the back room, but of course it did little to assuage the emptiness of the main room.
She flicked on the light although they could both see well enough in the dark, and as she took in her own home, shame built within her. The room was barren. The air was stifling, the floor was cold and uninviting, and it all came with a slightly musty smell. It wasn't a place that she could invite anyone to stay at, but Kiba didn't complain as he went to sit on the floor by the low table.
"I'll make some tea."
It was late, but sleep was the last thing on Akeno's mind. It was clear that the same could be said for Kiba, who sat motionless even as she returned and placed a steaming cup in front of him. At least the tea that she had around was good. They took a few sips in silence, and despite everything, a peaceful atmosphere settled around them. Akeno wasn't in the mood for silence though, but before she thought of something to say, Kiba spoke.
"The tea's good." It didn't leave much space for Akeno to continue the conversation, so she was grateful when he continued. "I don't think we've ever been alone like this, have we?"
Akeno shook her head. They had been alone in the clubhouse on occasion, but during those times, it was never the focus like it was now. "Not like this." Akeno licked her lips nervously, unsure whether she should speak her mind or not, but eventually, the desire to let go won over. "Have you been feeling alone lately?"
It was a weak start, she knew, but it was a start. Kiba looked unsure of how to respond. "I don't… are you worried that that's why I went off on my own? It's nice of you to care, but I assure you my reasons were different. I already told you about the holy sword project and how I felt about it, and being left out… no, I haven't felt that way lately, I don't think."
The revelations of Kiba's life from before Rias appeared was something of a shock to most of them. A human guinea pig, tormented by the Vatican in order to create faux holy sword users, only to be abandoned and killed when the project failed to yield the intended results. Kiba had survived thanks to his comrades, but there was no vindication in that. There was only survivor's guilt and hatred for the ones responsible, feelings that Akeno knew all too well. They were kindred spirits.
"I just wanted to know if you felt the same way I do," she said, and Kiba perked up at that, as though suddenly realizing it wasn't about him. "The way things have been going lately, I just feel like I'm being left behind. I thought you might feel the same way since you're not in love with Issei or anything – at least I hope not? Not that there'd be anything wrong with that or anything… nothing wrong with it, no."
Rather than looking horrified at the idea, Kiba only smiled at her, once more with that beautiful smile that made her chest heat up. "That's not the case. I suppose I should consider him something of a rival with anything given his performance against Kokabiel yesterday. Well, in the end neither of us accomplished a thing."
Calling the fight against Kokabiel a performance made Akeno sick to her stomach. The image of Kokabiel standing over Rias was burnt into Akeno's mind, unlikely to ever fully disappear, but she had no words to express that feeling to Kiba.
Kiba swiveled his now empty cup a few times before putting it down on the table, leaning back on his arms where he sat. "We really didn't manage to do anything at all, did we? In the end, we were saved by Azazel and that other guy. Damn, I never knew anyone could be as strong as them. It was unreal how fast it all happened."
Once more, Akeno found herself with nothing to say, so she just looked down at the cup grasped in her hands.
"Sorry, I shouldn't just talk about fighting, it's just all that's been on my mind since yesterday. Well, that and my disappointment that Valper got away. And my disappointment in myself…" Kiba sighed and closed his eyes. "It's disappointment now, but it was a red-hot anger before. I suppose that's how we devils are, isn't it?"
Akeno shook her head. "I don't blame you for anything you did; I wish that things hadn't happened the way they did, though," she trailed off. She wanted to help Kiba find peace. And maybe there was something she could do after all, though the words tasted sour in her mouth as she spoke. "Do you wish that you could kill Galilei?"
Kiba's opened his eyes, and before he even spoke, she knew his answer. "For my friends who didn't make it, I will have him on his knees, screaming and begging for forgiveness before I end him."
"It might be possible," she said, and when Kiba looked at her with surprise written across his face, she wondered if perhaps her faith was misplaced. She licked her lips nervously before continuing, realizing that she should probably feel more apprehensive at the idea of helping her friend commit murder. "There's a man here in Kuoh who's known to be able to find anything," she paused. "Anything and anyone."
Kiba only furrowed his brows at that. Of course, being able to find anyone just wasn't possible. Cato hadn't found her father yet for one, but unlike her father, Valper had actually been in the city, and perhaps that was enough to make the difference. At any rate, trying it out would give her something to do that didn't revolve around Issei or Rias. Yes, it was a good plan.
"I could introduce you?"
Kiba closed his eyes and was silent for a while. Akeno fiddled nervously – why did she care if he wanted to try it or not? The stakes were low; in fact, there was nothing that she could lose if Kiba said no, but she still desperately wanted him to agree to her suggestion.
"You think he could find Valper Galilei, an apostate who has evaded capture for years?"
Akeno nodded. "I do."
The darkness was so thick that her movement felt sluggish as she tried to gain her bearings. Despite her devil nature, she couldn't see anything around her, all was faded to black. A voice called to her and she turned toward it. Rias glowed as she reached her hand to Akeno. Her face was distressed, and Akeno instinctively turned toward the source of that distress. Hovering above them was the face of terror. With ten dark wings, he looked down at them with hateful eyes and a self-confident smirk, Kokabiel.
In a start, he dashed towards Rias with a spear of light in his hand, and without even thinking, Akeno sprinted to Rias, desperately trying to shield her. But she was too late. Kokabiel descended – no, it wasn't Kokabiel anymore. It was Cato flying toward Rias with his ten blackened wings, and the spear of light had turned into a strange, gemstone dagger. He jammed the dagger into Rias, and the world exploded into light.
Akeno opened her eyes with a start. She was sweating heavily, her heartbeat racing. Stirring, she bumped into something and almost let off lightning as a reflex. Instead, her hand reached out, feeling around the rough fabric of her futon and touching something warm. Oh. Kiba had stayed the night, she had forgotten. He didn't wake up, his presence alone calmed her down a bit. That's right, it didn't happen. We're all alive and well. Still, what a strange dream. Why was Cato-
Ah, shit. She was supposed to meet up with him the day before, but she forgot it completely in the wake of everything. A cold dread settled in her stomach. Cato was friendly enough, but he was the kind of man that you didn't want to cross, of that, Akeno was sure. I hope he's not too mad.
The morning brought with it awkwardness that Akeno was unprepared for. Kiba had been a comforting presence while he was asleep during the night, but with how flustered he was acting after waking up, Akeno had half the mind to turn her seduction up to maximum to mess with him. It had been too long since she gave in to her sadistic desires, ah, too long indeed. She felt a little guilty about making him stay in a run-down shrine with only one futon, so she opted to remain civil instead, hoping that she could make him feel at home.
Kiba calmed down a little after some breakfast. The larder in her kitchen wasn't impressively equipped since she mostly made food at the clubhouse, but it still had enough to make a breakfast worth serving for a guest. Akeno smiled without thinking as Kiba scarfed down the omelet that she made. Cooking was a skill that she was glad she picked up. It ended up being a happy scene, though not lively in the way that last night's dinner was.
After they finished their meal, they spent some time sipping away at tea and just enjoying the stillness of morning – though calling it morning was something of a stretch. They had slept late, after all, and it was almost noon by the time their breakfast was down. Once the mood had settled, Kiba addressed what Akeno had been running over in her head since that strange dream.
"That man you spoke of, is it possible for us to meet him today?"
Akeno fiddled with her fingers and kept her gaze low as she considered it. She had stood Cato up, and the last thing she wanted to do was have Kiba there for an embarrassing moment…
Kiba took her silence to mean something else entirely as his brows furrowed in worry. "He wasn't hurt in the blast, was he?"
Truth to be told, Akeno hadn't even considered that, but for some reason, she wasn't worried even now that the possibility was revealed to her. There was something about Cato that made him seem indomitable. She was certain that it would take more than a few stray chunks of rubble to do him in. "I don't think so. His house," Akeno paused. Was it his house or just his office? "His office isn't close to the academy, so I doubt he was hurt."
Kiba nodded solemnly. "Let's go see him then. We can go meet up with Rias and the others first, if you want."
"Yeah, about that…" she trailed off again, it was becoming a bit of a bad habit at this point. "I think it's best if I go see him first." Kiba moved to object, but she continued before he had the chance. "It's no trouble, don't worry about it. I need to go meet with him for something else anyway."
Though Kiba still looked unsure, he agreed to it in the end. And just like that, her first ever sleepover with a boy ended. Rias would be sure to tease her for it, but the idea only made her smile. That sort of normalcy was what made life worth living, wasn't it?
After Kiba left to meet up with the ORC, Akeno went to the kitchen. A peace offering, that's what I need. Cato had been quite fond of mochi, traditional rice cakes, especially those filled with green tea or red bean paste. Akeno didn't have the ingredients for that, so she ended up settling on baking a tray of cookies, mostly because cookies were fast to make. Then she set out toward a certain private investigator's office, hoping that her peace offering would be enough.
Cato's office looked exactly the same from the outside as usual. It would be a useless observation if not for the fact that every house around it had suffered some structural damage, but Akeno tried to ignore the oddity. She took a deep breath as she walked up to the main entrance. The same stupid closed sign that he always used was there, "closed until open," as if it meant anything. She raised her hand to knock on the door regardless, as Cato's opening times were about as sporadic and noncommittal as the sign. Cato was probably in given the time of day, but as she was about to knock, she noticed a new addition to the sign. Hanging below it was an envelope which, on closer inspection, was addressed to her. It read "for Akeno," written in beautiful calligraphy.
Unsure of what to expect, she opened it up to reveal a letter inside.
"Akeno,
I'm sure you are remorseful about not showing up yesterday, as indeed you should. There is no lonelier experience than being stood up so coldly,"
Akeno swallowed a lump in her throat. That didn't bode well.
"That said, I remember the stress that you appeared to be under, so you needn't feel any guilt at the heartless no-show. I figured you would show up eventually, though, and so I left you this. The reason I am writing you a letter rather than simply inviting you in is not because I couldn't possibly contain my anger, no, it's because I went on vacation. Yes, that's right, vacation. I will be in Italy for a little while – I haven't yet booked a return ticket, but then understanding dates appears difficult for you anyway – and once I'm back, we can make up for lost time. The shincha will, of course, be too aged by then for an ideal experience, but ideal was a little much to strive for to begin with.
I hope you're doing well,
Sincerely,
One who is not worth keeping an appointment with."
Akeno let her head drop into her hands. At least Kiba wasn't there to witness this moment of shame.
*chuckles* "I'm in danger."
Why does Akeno end up like this instead of being the way that she is in canon?
In DxD canon, Issei attracts practically every living woman, and this is loosely explained by him being the Red Dragon Emperor – he gains an innate charm as a result of it. Akeno has met someone with a charm that eclipses that of Issei before ever meeting the boy, and she has thus gained a degree of resistance toward it. That's not to say she's immune, although it of course looks that way at the moment.
Kiba didn't get his happy ending because the excaliburs got spirited away, and we don't yet know what happened with Valper Galilei.
Thank you for reading.
Bonus scene "Drinking Buddies I" (not exactly canon)
Azazel had brought out a bottle of the good stuff even though they were a few bottles in already.
"Nothing like the good stuff, am I right?"
"You know, I brought a little something special along today as well," Cato said.
"Oh?" Azazel was too drunk to get overly excited at the idea, but 'a little something special' was a phrase that would always make him giddy. As Cato presented the bong, Azazel wondered if he was a few too many drinks into it all and seeing double. Upon rubbing his eyes and blinking vigorously, he still saw the same, familiar shape.
"Why is it phallic?"
"What?"
Azazel tried to point at the monstrosity, but it was more of an awkward wave of his arm.
"Why is it, *hic*, you know, well… you know?"
"What?"
"Why's it shaped like a dick, huh? Why is your bong shaped like a dick, Cato?"
Cato, glanced down at it, trailing his hand up and down the shaft as he did so. "You've got it wrong, it's a, well, a bong?"
"Yes, yes, but it's shaped like a dick."
"No." Cato looked down at it once more. "Well, maybe a little."
"A little? Why does it have two balls? No bong has two balls, you idiot!"
"Ah, yes. See, that's the magic of it, because it's not just your regular old bong." Cato fiddled with the balls a little, getting it all hot and ready. "We have the tobacco here, you see, and then over here, we store some alteration magic that takes it all to the next level."
Azazel sighed and rubbed his face, trying to get the budding headache to disappear. Cato in the meantime was about ready to begin. He cast some odd magic on the left ball and lit the tobacco in the right. When enough smoke had gathered, he opened both of them, and sure enough, they reacted as Cato had explained. The white smoke thickened almost to a liquid, making it look peculiarly like something quite different as Cato started sucking it out.
"Oh, for fuck's sake! That's disgusting. I'm out."
Azazel left; his nausea stayed.
I don't even know why I wrote this.
