Reincarnation Game (Book 1 - Highschool DxD)
Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD.
Chapter 30:
Aftermath
'Thinking'
"Talking"
"Talking"
- Kuoh, Japan -
-Sora Sakai-
With Asia busy putting her all into keeping Rias alive through her Twilight Healing, I mentally command for all of my other Summons to take over helping attend to the wounded still in the area now that our primary healer is occupied.
Handing off a small handful of red bottles over to a silent Ni who approaches my side without a sound, each bottle is filled with a Potion of Restore Health (Moderate) that should hopefully keep any injured civilians alive until my Miko summons can get to them.
As he passes off the potions to other Servants who move out with a single Spirit to guide them towards the nearest injured - including a weakened Koneko, Irina, and Xenovia - I hand a single large bottle containing a Potion of Restore Health (Extreme) to be given to Rias.
[Potion of Restore Health] (Extreme)
Heals an extreme portion of the consumer's health.
Hopefully, the potion will provide a much-needed boost to Asia's efforts in getting her healed as soon as possible. Because on a battlefield like this, having someone be in such a vulnerable position is a weakness that I fear Kokabiel will exploit if it isn't handled quickly.
With everyone else taken care of, I nod to Juuichi and Ichi as the two make their way towards a madly cackling Freed who brandishes the Fused Excalibur upon seeing them approach. The stray Exorcist clearly doesn't understand just how screwed he is against my girls, but that's something he'll just have to realize first hand.
Of all the enemies in the Highschool DxD Universe, Freed is perhaps the only one who I couldn't care less about if he lives or dies.
The fact that he constantly was given the chance to run away without anyone being able to stop him the cliché "bad guy gets away" trope several times in the anime actually made me dislike his character even more than I already did.
…speaking of which.
'That's… not something the System is going to try and force to have happen, is it? Because that's just bullshit.'
Um… Probably not?
I don't see anything that makes me think it is…
But, it's super hard to tell now that the Admin is messing around with the System.
'That guy's already starting to mess with this Universe? I thought he was going to wait until after I left?'
He is waiting… I think?
I'll take a looksee and let you know after you deal with the big baddie!
'Thanks, Gaia.'
Focusing in on the fight ahead as I end my conversation with Gaia, I distantly hear the roar of thunder and flashes of lightning as Akeno and Kiba go at each other in the distance.
"You really wanted a war, huh?" I call out to the floating 10-winged Fallen staring down at me from his position in the sky. "I'll give you props for through with the whole 'Scorched Earth' strategy, but do you really expect this to not come back and bite you in the ass now that you've forced the cat out of the bag?"
"I mean, you know there's no way that you're going to survive this, right?" A single eyebrow raises on my face as I state. "Even if you beat all of us and get away, the rest of the supernatural world is just going to hunt you down for what you've done. And while you're certainly stronger than the most of the Fallen, that strength is going to mean nothing against some of the older Gods and Pantheons."
And it's true. While Kokabiel is one of the strongest Fallen in the Grigori, he's basically a child compared to some of the monstrosities that I remember from the anime that exist in the other Pantheons and Factions.
The Shino Faction alone is a Pantheon of Gods filled with powerhouses that can easily go toe-to-toe with him; and none of them are going to take his destroying of a Japanese town lying down. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if our inevitable fight gets interrupted by someone from the Shinto Pantheon who wants to make an example of the warmonger.
"As if I care what those failures think," Kokabiel replies with a scoff. "They forfeited most of the world to us, the Biblical Factions, when they realized that our powers far exceeded their own heathenistic magics."
Waving a hand towards the destruction he and his followers caused, his elven face broke into a menacing smile. "Just look around you. This is just the first act in our plans to solidify the Fallen's dominance, and already the other Factions and Pantheons are too scared to meet us on the battlefield."
"Where are the Devils, whose territory it is that was just destroyed?" He asks aloud rhetorically. "Where are the so-called Gods of the Shinto faith whose believers were just slaughtered?"
Gesturing towards the unconscious Rias and the heavily sweating Asia whose kneeling over her body, Kokabiel's voice gets louder as he continues. "Where is the Satan Lucifer, herself, whose sister now lies bleeding on the battlefield?"
"NOWHERE!" He cackles, "And you know why, little Sakai? Because they're too scared! They're too afraid to face me in open combat now that I've already turned their whole world upside down! Too afraid of the politics and the debates over what they can and can't do, how they might overstep their bounds or anger this group or that person - the sheer bureaucracy of it all - to even lift a finger and stop me!"
As the frown on my face deepens the longer I listen to his rant, a small part of me admits that part of what he's saying is right.
Not about everything, of course.
But the part about the others being too worried about the optics and how the political climate might change because they interfered is exactly the reason why Siras and Serafall haven't been more hands-on when it comes to protecting their little sisters after everything that's gone on before now.
Just the idea of the 72 Pillars calling them out for favoritism was enough to keep them both from placing better security around Kuoh beyond just the standard detection barriers they have up.
Now that the world has become aware of the supernatural, I can't even begin to imagine just how tied up their hands are right now.
Still… just because they can't interfere and stop him, doesn't mean I can't.
Reaching into my Inventory, I almost pull out my trusty Gae Daerg in order to take him out quickly when I change my mind. Instead, I grab hold of a familiar cursed holy spear that hasn't seen much action in a while, and twirl the golden metal spear experimentally as I activate my [Oni: Touki] and [Monk: Ki Rush].
[Gae Buidhe] (Legendary) - (Artifact)
"Golden Rose of Mortality"
A golden cursed holy spear, forged with the light of a Fallen.
Inflicts wounds which cannot be healed unless the wielder wishes so.
Letting go on some of the restraints I've put on my emotions, I glare up at the 10-winged asshole that dared to destroy Kuoh and plot to kill my girlfriends as I grip the Golden Rose of Mortality tightly.
Kiba may have been the one to stab Rias, but Kokabiel is the one who made all of this happen. And seeing as Akeno is busy trying to fry his ass, then he gets the honor of acting as my target to vent all of my anger and stress out on.
And I've got a lot of stress to take out on him.
Between dealing with the Hero Faction assholes, corroborating with Ni over where to best send my Summons to help support the defense of Kuoh, and now having to basically say goodbye to all of my efforts in the DxD Universe until further notice… let's just say I really want to find out how many wounds Gae Buidhe can give someone before they succumb to blood loss.
That's… a little dark,
Even for you.
Well…This is what happens when a Gamer doesn't have the traditional Gamer's Mind to keep their emotions in check.
With just how much shit comes up in these fantasy universes that have real, emotional impacts on the Gamer; it's not that surprising that I am thinking pretty darkly even for my usual considering the day I've been having.
The morning's easy and light atmosphere seems almost like a lifetime ago, and the part of me that doesn't want to make the winged asshole pay for ruining my day is itching to reach into my Inventory and pull out my phone to give Aika a call.
Before I'd even teleported to Kuoh, I already checked with the several Spirits watching over her and made sure that she was okay before I did anything else. And based off of what they'd seen, she was at least physically okay - mentally is a whole different matter.
But the sight of her healthy and alive, and staring at the TV as live video footage of the destroyed town is playing for the whole world to see, is probably the only reason why I'm not practically frothing at the mouth and charging straight at Kokabiel in a rage.
"Oh?" Having caught my movements out of the corner of his eye, Kokabiel finally stops looking out upon the battlefield victoriously and locks eyes with my narrowed gaze. "Have I upset you? Does the sight of your precious hometown lying in ruins make you angry?"
"…" Knowing that anything I'll say is just going to work in his favor, I grip Gae Buidhe even tighter as I mentally call on my [Balance Breaker: Bladesmith Arsenal]; creating dozens of silver holy swords that float in float in the air around me.
"Nothing to say?" He taunts as he raises a hand, creating an equal number of light spears in the sky above him easily as a massive Light sword appears in his other hand. "Very well... If you want to fight and die by my hand, then so be it."
Raising the massive sword in challenge, he yells. "If it's death you seek, then I, Kokabiel of the Fallen - Leader of the Betrayed - will deliver it to you by my own hand!"
… …
-Akeno Himejima-
Unaware of the conversation going on between Sora and Kokabiel, a girl dressed in a miko shrine attire with two pairs of wings - one a pair of black bat wings, and the other a pair of black feathered bird wings - battles against a half-human, half-animal boy in a one-on-one battle that is quickly becoming a stalemate. The two teens too busy dividing their focus between their conversation and their battle for either of them to get an advantage over the other.
"WHY?! After everything Rias has done for you… After giving you a home, a family, and all the support and compassion she can give… Why have you betrayed her? Betrayed us?!" An enraged Akeno asks, throwing bolts of lightning at the mutated thing that was once her friend.
"He promised me the chance to destroy the Excalibur fragments once and for all." Kiba exclaims as he sends a wave of demonic swords at Akeno who just flies out of their reach. Dancing around each of her responding blasts of lightning with ease thanks to his Knight's speed. "Do you understand what that means? After all these years, I can finally rid the world of those FILTH once and for all! THAT is the only thing that's EVER mattered to me!"
Practically spitting out his words at the end, Akeno finally sees in that moment just how broken her fellow Peerage member really is.
The manic gleam in his eyes and the demented look on his face, combined with the mutated body he now bears as a Stray Devil, finally destroys the princely outer appearance he's always maintained, and reveals the corrupted monster that's always lurked within.
Now, her fellow Peerage's outer appearance reflects his inner one.
And it's with a look of disgust that Akeno realizes in a moment of self-awareness that if Sora hadn't helped her to move on from her beliefs about her Half-Fallen side, she may very well have ended up in a similar position that Kiba is in now. Her body becoming nothing more than a disfigured abomination filled with hatred, showing nothing but indifference to the pain she might have caused to anyone close to her so long as she got what she wanted.
"I do understand." She replies after a moment of silence, her mind drifting back to the last time she saw her father, and the feeling of holding her dead mother's body in her young, scared arms. The sound of battles raging around them filling the space as Kiba's face momentarily pauses in surprise at the look of honest understanding on her face. "And it's because I do…"
Slowly, the images of that night are replaced with the memories of her time together with Rias and the Gremory family. The late nights spent gossiping with the redhead. The small moments of silent joy she's spent with a quiet Koneko as the two worked together to bake sweets and desserts.
And finally, the love she has for the one man who even now makes her heart feel all aflutter.
The same man who she bore her darkest secret and most deeply held insecurities to… and who had told her that he still found her beautiful anyways.
"…that I will NEVER forgive you for it." She glares scathingly at him; all traces of held-out hope of changing his mind gone. Whatever memories she might have of her time together with Kiba, the thing standing before her is no longer that same person.
It is not Kiba. It is Isaiah.
And Isaiah has not only tried to just kill her bestfriend and King; but is also a threat to the rest of those precious to her.
Including the man who holds her heart.
And that… that she will not allow to exist.
Not alive, at least.
Following her statement, out of her back a pair of demonic bat wings burst out… before they are instantly followed by two Fallen wings.
As the two pairs of different wings spread out wide from her back and lift her off of the ground and into the air, Akeno's lightning-coated arms gain an intense white aura as she creates the one thing she never thought she would make.
The only other gift her father had given her besides her wings.
Holy Lightning.
-Kokabiel-
Grunting in annoyance as the golden metal spear in his opponent's hand barely manages to bypass his defense, the Betrayer of Heaven ignores the slight trail of blood it leaves on his arm and uses the opening in the human's guard to land his own strike against the boy's side.
The sharpened edge of his Light sword digs deep enough into the golden Touki shroud that a thin cut opens up.
Despite his strength exceeding that of all but the top ranks of the Grigori, Kokabiel finds himself being somewhat tested by the human boy's own not-insubstantial power.
"Curious…" He muses as the boy sends another wave of silver holy swords at him, an amusing trick that he hadn't seen other Sacred Gear users ever use before, but one that is easily dealt with by a flurry of easily-conjured light spears. "That someone as strong as yourself would not be swept up into the ranks of one of the many supernatural Factions. Even the Devils, for all that they've coerced you into doing for them, have yet to lay claim to your soul as they've done to so many others."
Lifting the massive sword in his hand, he blocks a swift stab at his side that comes after the boy's body disappears in a blur of motion. "I wonder why that is?" He asks nonchalantly, acting as if their fight is nothing more than a way to pass the time.
And it is.
He's already accomplished what he set out to do - revealing the supernatural to the world and sowing the seeds of chaos. What does it matter if a few more minutes are wasted, when he's taking a victory lap at this point?
"What does it matter?" Sora throws back at him, diving in with his golden spear in hand and clashes against Kokabiel's weapon, the two bladed edges grinding and screeching against each other.
"What does it matter?" Kokabiel parrots back mockingly. "It matters because power like yours cannot be allowed to remain unspoken for in our world. It matters because whosoever has the most powerful on their side reigns supreme… It matters, because I will not allow you to become a greater nuisance than you already have."
His mouth stretches into a horrific smile full of teeth, disfiguring his elfish features in such a way as to look almost demonic as his power explodes off of him, tossing the white-haired boy back.
Raising up his arms over his head, Kokabiel pools his considerable magic power into a single spear that grows and stretches until it's as large as he is tall.
The Holy Light radiating off of his Light Spear is a magnitude far greater than anything he's called upon yet; something that hasn't been seen since the days of the Great Biblical War. There's so much power being sent into it, that the air around the spear heats up and turns to steam as the tip points in Sora's direction.
… …
-Sora Sakai-
Seeing Kokabiel go in for his finishing move, I return the favor by reaching into my Inventory and pulling out Gae Dearg.
Dual-wielding the two spears of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, I aim the crimson tip of Gae Dearg at the massive Holy Spear while the other one I prepare to throw right afterwards.
From how our earlier bouts went, I know that I can't just rush him head on and hope to land a direct hit on him - powerful spears or not. Even with the cuts I've given him that refuse to heal while dripping Fallen blood down onto the destroyed battlefield below us, Kokabiel hasn't shown even a momentary lapse in his focus.
So, if I want to be able to land a direct hit on him, I'm going to need to do things differently this time.
'Ready, Gaia?'
Ready!
… …
-Kokabiel-
Feeling his magical reserves strain to continue filling the absurdly-large Light Spear floating over his head, the Betrayer of Heaven luxuriates in the feeling of victory as he stares down his opponent.
This. This will be the moment that, when the pages of history speak of the start of the Fallen's reign as the supreme race, historians will regard as the first showing of Kokabiel's, the God of all Beings, supreme might.
'Kokabiel - God of all Beings, and King of the Earth… has a nice ring to it.' The hideous smile on his face relaxes into something more natural and pleasant as the thought lingers in his mind.
Glancing down at the boy who seeks to challenge his might, Kokabiel feels a flicker of regret at having to extinguish what could have been a potentially useful soul in his conquest of the world. 'No war is ever won without sacrifices; the Great War taught me that. And sometimes… sacrifices must be made in the name of others.'
The boy wouldn't know it, but Kokabiel would use Sora's newfound fame amongst the supernatural world as a stepping stone to further cement his legacy.
'First, the boy. Then the Satans…' He thinks as his arms move to throw the spear.
'And then… I'm coming for you…'
With a sonic boom echoing in its wake, Kokabiel uses his full strength to send the Light Spear hurtling towards his target. The tip pointing directly at the white-haired boy's face and racing across the sky with pinpoint accuracy, burning through the air as trails of heat and steam are left in its wake.
'Michael.'
… …
-Sora Sakai-
The speed at which Kokabiel's Light Spear comes flying at me is even more than I expected, but not unequipped to handle, as I return fire with Gae Dearg.
Throwing the demonic crimson spear directly at the oncoming Light Spear, I shift Gae Buidhe into my dominant hand before taking aim past the two spears about to collide and at the smiling face of Kokabiel himself; noting the look of triumph on his face as if he expects to have already won.
And if not for Gae Dearg, he might have.
But the crimson spear's ability to pierce through any form of magical energy or protection remains true, and successfully carves a path straight through the Light Spear that instantly detonates it on contact, creating a massive explosion that kicks up a cloud of dust thick enough to block my sight of Kokabiel.
And Kokabiel's sight of me.
… …
-Kokabiel-
Witnessing the failure of his Light Spear, Kokabiel frowns at the wasted magical power he put into its creation that the boy seemed to effortlessly contend with. 'Perhaps the boy is more powerful than I anticipated…'
A mistake on his end, he freely admits. But one that is inconsequential now that the boy has used up his ace.
The boy has already thrown everything he has to offer against him; whether it be swords, spears, or abilities… and all have come up short in doing anything more than scratch him.
Tilting his head to the side as the crimson spear flies just past where his head is, Kokabiel knows that the other spear - the crimson one's golden twin - is likely going to come at him from a different direction.
The boy's presence was easily noticed when he disappeared after the detonation of his Light Spear, and now this Sora is resorting to trickery and stealth to accomplish what his strength and power could not.
Feeling a small wave of blood loss overtake him for a moment, the 10-winged Fallen manages to right himself in midair as he glances down at the litany of trailing blood flowing from the multitude of inconsequential cuts that he has been ignoring up until now. '-Tsk- Damned spear. So, this is the power that defeated a Phenex, is it? How… quaint.'
Rolling his eyes as he feels Sora's presence suddenly appear in his blind spot, Kokabiel withholds a scoff at the boy's obvious attempt. 'Attacking at a moment of perceived weakness,' He thinks as he spins around with his broadsword held firmly in hand, aiming for the boy's exposed neck as the golden spear cuts into his side. 'How utterly human of you, boy.'
A larger wound to the side in exchange for a lethal blow to the neck? An easy choice in the Betrayer's opinion.
If nothing else, surviving the Great Biblical War taught him a single truth about battle.
Smaller sacrifices will always lead to greater victories.
And as his broadsword comes down on the boy's neck, the momentary victory he feels is a sweet as the finest of wines.
…until, that is, the boy's image shatters in an illusion of glass as one of the robed summons takes the lethal blow in his place.
'WHAT?!'
Feeling multiple new presences make themselves known around him, Kokabiel's body continues to follow through with the movement of his swing… as four massive dragons made of golden energy appear around him, their fanged maws opening up to reveal a furnace of golden flames moments before four gouts of fire race towards him.
With no way out now that the dragons are boxing him in, Kokabiel's eyes briefly manage to catch the golden stare of his opponent as he stands in his original position - having not moved at all despite Kokabiel's belief otherwise - and admits that the boy might have been a more worthy opponent than he realized.
'Well played, Sakai… well played.'
- Timeskip -
-Sora Sakai-
Seeing Kokabiel, the Betrayer of Heaven and the man behind the attack on Kuoh, being burnt to death by the flames of my [Summon: Ryuu] almost made up for the stress and uncertainty of watching as - even with my Potion of Healing helping her - Asia struggled to get Rias into a stable enough condition.
Kiba's Balance Breaker might not have had the Light element that it did in the anime, but the sword's near-Legendary Demonic Sword status meant that a fatal wound as the one she suffered should have spelt the end for her if not for the amount of healing that she received immediately afterwards.
I almost went and took my feelings of stress out on Kiba personally, when I caught sight of Akeno, bearing her two different pairs of wings proudly, called down a storm of Holy Lightning upon the mutated Stray Knight that even his enhanced speed couldn't outrun.
From there, it was a simple matter to finish things off with my Summons having already dealt with the last of the Fallen and healing those few survivors that were still injured. Many were in a state of shock and confusion as their minds tried to comprehend everything that had happened to them, but there were a few lucid enough to start asking question that no one was ready or prepared to answer.
Questions that the world is now asking, as the supernatural communities around the world are systematically being brought into the limelight one-by-one thanks to Kokabiel's efforts.
The best way to describe all of it can be summed up in one sentence by my favorite Oni.
"Everythin's tits-up now," Juuichi grumbles as she wraps a massive arm around my body, pulling me against the hard contours of her much-larger frame as my head rests against the only soft part of her body. Her breasts. "Sucks to be those Fallen fuckers right now."
Nodding in agreement, I sigh heavily through my nose as I let my body relax against her.
On my other side, Ichi crosses one leg over the other as the three of us sit leisurely on the couch in the living room of the main building and watch as the news on the TV displays afterimages of the destroyed town. "Despite Kokabiel only having a small group of Fallen at his command, the entire world is laying the blame of yesterday's events solely on the entire race's shoulders."
Her black-painted lips twist into a concerned frown as we watch the screen change to a meeting happening at the United Nations between all of the countries of the world. "Anti-Fallen sentiments are going to be on the rise now, and I'm uncertain as to whether or not the Governor-General and his people will be able to survive what is to come."
"He'll survive," I reply. "It's what comes next that I'm more worried about."
It's safe to say that the world is spiraling out of control, and more than ever am I grateful that I'll be able to take an extended leave of absence while the Admin works on fixing things here and there.
What this Universe will look life when I return? I don't know.
But it can't be much worse than the state it's already in.
*Ping!*
Hearing my phone go off, I pull out my Gamers Phone and read through the message I just received.
Aika: "Can we meet?"
Seeing the three simple words my girlfriend texted me, an unsettling feeling sets itself in my stomach as I hesitantly reply.
Sora: "Of course. Where?"
Waiting for her reply, my leg starts to bounce as I restlessly wait for a response.
In the aftermath of the battle, the arrival of Siras, Grayfia, and a legion of Devils mere minutes after Kokabiel's defeat was as underwhelming as the response from the Exorcists who took one look at the number of Devils now surrounding them and instantly left to return to the Church.
Only Asia stayed behind long enough to hand over the mostly-healed Rias to Siras, before wishing me well and stating that someone from Heaven would be in contact with me in the coming days about what happened and what the future will bring.
After that, a healed but clearly shocked and heartbroken Rias was teleported back to the Underworld to be treated while Kiba's body - and the bodies of the dead Fallen - were turned to ash by a massive wave of Siras's Power of Destruction.
The Satan Lucifer, despite keeping a look of calm on her face, let a sliver of what she was feeling show as the entire battlefield shook beneath the weight of just a fraction of the power she has at her command.
Reminding everyone there that, beneath her normally friendly and open exterior, lies the Embodiment of Destruction.
*Ping!*
Aika: "The fountain by the park?"
The unsettling feeling grows even more within me as a mental red flag goes off in my head.
The fountain she's talking about just so happens to the same one where Issei was killed, - which, miraculously happened to survive to destruction caused by the Fallen's attack on the town - and a part of me wonders if I should have some summons come along with me just in case before banishing the thought as nonsense.
This was Aika, after all. I had nothing to fear from her. Certainly not a fear for my safety if she did turn out to try and do something. While I love her with all of my heart, she's still just Level 1.
'I never did get around to explaining the supernatural thing to her…' I grimace as I text her back. Feeling like something big is going to happen when we meet. Something I'm not going to like.
Sora: "That works. Meet you there in half an hour?"
Aika: "K."
Well… if I wasn't worried before about this meeting, I am now. Any guy who's ever texted a girl and got the singular "K." response knows that something's wrong. And until now, Aika has never responded to anything I've sent her with it.
"Someone's in trouble~…" Juuichi sing-songs as she reads the conversation over my shoulder, using her larger size to her advantage and the fact that I'm still laying against her side in order to see what I'm doing.
"Yeah, yeah…" I sigh as I extract myself from her body, momentarily smirking as I use my hands to both push myself up and pinch her nipples through the fabric of her suit teasingly. The small yelp she makes at the sudden feeling makes me laugh fleetingly before the unsettling feeling forces itself into the forefront of my thoughts. "I'll be back in a little bit."
"Later!" "Good luck, Master."
While Juuichi plays it off as nothing; Ichi, more insightful than her sister, notices how uncomfortable I look as she tries to smile reassuringly. "I'm sure everything will be okay." She offers warmly, and I can't help smiling back at her as I nod.
"[Summon: Teleportation Gate]!"
- Kuoh Town Park -
-Sora Sakai-
Instantly appearing next to the town's fountain, I don't even try to hide my magic anymore now that the world is aware of the supernatural.
The bright golden glow of my teleportation catches more than a few eyes of some nearby civilians who weren't involved in the battle, and are now casting wary if-not hateful looks my way as they immediately leave the area.
No longer needing to keep my magic a secret is a weird feeling, and a part of me glances around as everyone else leaves with tense shoulders before immediately relaxing as I spot Aika walking towards the fountain from a distance. Whether or not she saw my magic, I can't figure out from the distance, but as she gets closer there's a seriousness about her that more worrying.
"Sora," she smiles. And in that moment, looks as beautiful as I've ever seen her with her hair in a loose plaint over her shoulder and her eyes framed by new glasses that better fit her face. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Of course." I reply. "Is everything okay?"
It's a loaded question, and while the obvious of what's happened is left unsaid, we both uncomfortably smile as we realize neither of us want to mention yesterday.
"I… It's my grandmother." Aika starts as her hand reaches out to take mine. Interlacing our fingers as I squeeze comfortingly, trying to break whatever wall that is building up between us.
Even when we first met, we've never been as uncomfortable talking to each other as right now feels.
"Th-There's no easy way to say this…" she sighs, her shoulders dropping as the hand in my grasp starts to shake. "We're leaving Kuoh."
Feeling my heart stop at the same time it drops straight into my stomach, my eyes widen as I stare at her in shock. "W-What?" I gasp out, feeling the air leave my body as I struggle to take a breath.
"Y-Yeah. After… you know… it happened," she gestures with her hands around the area in lieu of being specific, and my own hand moves with her movements as our grip refuses to let go of each other. "She didn't even wait before she started backing up the apartment."
Waiting a moment to see if I have anything to say, the stunned look on my face pushes her to keep talking.
"We have some family that lives in a small town out in the countryside." Aika explains. "My grandmother thinks it's better if we live away from larger cities and big towns for now. Until… you know… things settle down."
The fact that she's repeating "you know" is a clear sign that she's starting to ramble off now. The air around us grounding even more uncomfortable as I try to get something out.
"Are… " I start only to stop.
My voice, at least, makes Aika stop rambling as she looks up at me silently.
"What if… what if you stay with me?" I offer.
It's a loaded offer. One that requires revealing a lot of secrets about myself.
Secrets that I've been keeping from her since the day we met. Secrets that might affect our relationship - or whatever is left of it now - if she finds out.
"Sora." She smiles.
And then she kisses me.
Taken aback, my hand leaves hers as I wrap my arms around her waist. My mouth instantly opening up as her tongue practically forces its way in before attacking my own vigorously.
For a brief, fleeting moment, everything feels like how it used to be.
The uncomfortable air between us is gone as our tongues perform the familiar dance that we've come to perfect over the course of our relationship. Our mouths moving as one as her hands come up to run through my short hair, and her body forces itself against mine to try and get as close as she possibly can to me as physically possible.
"MMMmmhhh~!" She moans into the kiss, eventually having to break the liplock in order to breath as we pant into each other's faces.
Where once before we were looking at each other uncertainty, now we stare into each other's eyes with all the love we have for the other clearly visible in our gaze.
But as her hands come down from combing through my hair, her head tilts down and she takes a deep breath in through her nose like she's memorizing my scent… before she looks back up at me with tears in her eyes.
And I know that this is goodbye.
"I love you, Sora…I'll never forget you." Aika whispers, placing one last lingering kiss on my lips.
The moment feels like an eternity, almost like a nightmare and a dream happening all at once as she pulls back. The look in her eyes as she stares at me will forever etch itself into my mind.
A look of love, and loss.
"Goodbye."
+1 Affection and Obedience with Aika Kiryuu … Affection: 100 [Locked] | Obedience: 100 [Locked]
Aika Kiryuu: Affection [100] - Skill Unlocked:
[Lewd Look] (Active) - Lvl. MAX
Allows you to see under women's clothes.
Aika Kiryuu: Obedience [100] - Perk Unlocked:
[Ladies Man] (Perk)
Increased Affection and Obedience with all women.
And just like that, she's gone. Out of my life just as quickly as she entered it.
For a brief, fleeting moment I think about going after her. There's no telling how she might respond if I reveal the truth about everything - including the Gamer System - to her; it might even be enough to get her to stick around and find out more…
…but that's just my hormones talking.
It's the part of my brain not wanting to lose an attractive girl who loves me and would do anything for me. While the rest of my brain, the part that truly loves her back, says its better if she doesn't stay.
I feel my mouth begin to dry as realization strikes me.
Unless I become a Devil and gain my own Evil Pieces, or create some type of potion or catalyst that could change her race, Aika will still be a regular human and live for 100 years at best. Living and surviving in a world filled with supernatural entities, and having to deal with the chaos that seems to follow me wherever I go for as long as she can.
All the while, I would be able to live on for millennia thanks to the Gamer System. And while I'm certain I can find some way of getting her to live as long as me… I don't know if that's something she actually wants.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I turn away from the direction she just went.
"It's better if she doesn't know." I whisper as I begin to walk away.
Aika deserves better than this life. A chance to be allowed to live a normal life away from the dangers that come with being part of the supernatural world. With a heavy heart, I give a deep sigh before turning around and walking back home.
Maybe some time with my Summons will help relieve some of the ache I'm feeling.
Quest Completed!
[Father of the Wives]
Reward:
[Massive Rep Increase with remaining Gremory family]
[Blueprint: Gram Reforged]
[Recipe: Potion of Fertility]
Guess that means Zeoticus isn't going be a problem any more…
…At least something went right today.
-Aika Kiryuu-
Trying to walk home through the tears in her eyes, Aika raises a hand to wipe some of them away as her phone begins to vibrate.
"Hello?" She asks in a slightly trembling voice; trying and failing to sound normal as she answers.
"Did you tell him?"
Hearing the gentle voice of her grandmother on the other line, Aika sniffles as she pauses in the middle of the street. Her legs refusing to move for a moment as her mind goes back to what she wanted to tell him.
"…no, I didn't." She replies softly, her free hand resting on her stomach just above her groin. "It's better if he doesn't know."
The hand holding her phone trembles, but she quickly tightens her grip on it as her grandmother's voice asks. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Aika whispers, glancing back over her shoulder, as if hoping to see Sora come running up to her.
When he doesn't, her shoulders lift and her posture straightens as she gathers herself, wiping the tear marks from her cheeks as she finally starts walking again. This time with purpose and certainty in her stride. "Maybe I'll tell him one day… but today isn't that day." She states confidently.
The time she's gotten to spend with the love of her life has been the best thing that's ever happened to her.
But now it's time for her to go her own way; to forge her own path.
And if the two of them are truly meant to be together as she believes, then fate will bring them together again one day.
"One day, but not today." She promises, her hand still resting on her stomach as the other hangs up the phone. "And then, the three of us can be a family."
- END -
Author Notes:
And that's Chapter 30!
I have so many stories I want to write… tales I want to tell… and yet here I am, stuck doing a part-time job that somehow has found a way to take up even more of my free time than a full-time job would. -Sigh~-
At least this story is almost done. I can't even begin to describe how badly I want to move on from this DxD universe and do something else - something new - that doesn't involve trying to tie off so many loose ends that I planned to expand on over several chapters each, and now have to be compressed down into half a chapter each.
People always say to follow your dreams and take a chance at doing something you love… but considering what I love is this, and it's almost impossible to make a living off of it, that doesn't exactly seem possible…
I wish it was.
…sorry for ranting. My depression is spiraling, and it's getting really hard just finding the will to get out of bed now. I'll try to update this story as fast as I can, and I appreciate you all being patient with me.
Hope you all are still liking it so far! Thanks for checking out my story.