Part 1
Liliana took a deep breath as she stepped in the frontyard of the house
She had been to this place many times before, but never in circunstances like now...
The front door opened before she could knock, but this time it was in a slow and vagarous motion
"Hello, Liliana-chan..."
Aiura said, the usual cheerfulness in her voice nowhere to be heard
"Hi, Aiura-san, can I come in?"
The somber woman nodded and stepped aside as a sign for her friend to walk in
Standing right at the living room, her husband, Saiki Kusuo, was waiting, his arms crossed with a concerned expression
"So my daughter has finally done it."
He stated without even greeting Liliana first and placed a hand over his forehead
"Honestly, I knew she could be doing something bad, but to think it would be on this level..."
Liliana couldn't answer, in a situation like this, what could she say to a concerned father whose daughter was revealed to have commited an horrible act?
"Darling, please..." - Aiura said and Kusuo shook his head
"I should have done something... when we noticed she was trying to block our powers, to hide away from us, I should have know she would do something shady, I just..."
He gave an angered sigh
"I would never imagined it would be something on this level..."
After he said that, a figure walked out of the kitchen holding a teacup, Liliana's golden eyes went wide when she saw who it was
"Hate to say I told you so little brother, but..."
The blonde man blew on the cup before taking it to his lips, with an unpreoccupied sip.
"Not now, I'm really not in the mood for that" - Kusuo said
"Kusuke-san?!"
Doctor Kusuke, the scientific ace of the Japanese Esper Community, the greatest genius of humanity, was rarely seem outside of his labs, so even in a situation like this, she was surprised to see him like this.
"Hello there Liliana, I see things have finally gone out of control with that irresponsible niece of mine"
"Kusuke!" - Aiura reprimanded him
"I'm sorry Aiura-chan, but someone has to say it. Unchecked power like that was bound to cause trouble eventually, I knew that the moment she started to go out of her way to avoid detection"
Kusuo shrugged
"I used to avoid tracking when I was around her age, specially from you, was I a threat?"
Kusuke shook his head
"That's because you are one of the most boring people who have ever bored in the history of boredom, brother of mine. You have the power to toss the moon like a volleyball and you chose to work at an office."
He snickered before continuing
"Kuriko is nothing like you, I always knew she would be a great force... for good or evil"
Kusuo frowned without saying another word, Aiura bit her lip in a nervous gesture, Liliana took this opportunity to speak up
"I'm sorry to be asking this, but we believe she might show up eventually, this is why I'm asking you to stand by in Kyoto, we'll likely need your help if she shows up"
Kusuo-san turned his sights away from his brother and towards Liliana, he seemed to be thinking for a moment before nodding
"Of course I'll be there, but this seems strange, don't you agree?"
He said, Aiura looked at him with a confused expression
"What do you mean?"
Kusuke smiled and answered in his brother's stead
"My little brother means that there is absolutely no way Kuriko-chan doesn't know that he'll do everything in his power to stop her, which means she's either expecting him to be there or..."
He raises a hand in a dramatic manner
"He'll never make it there in the first place"
Aiura's eyes went wide and Liliana winced, meanwhile, Kusuo's face was blank, his expression not having changed when his older brother said such a thing
"Do you really thing Kuriko would do something like that?" - His wife asked
While attacking Kusuo was something that she would definitely do, Aiura still sounded like she didn't want to believe in that possibility
"I don't think, I'm sure of it, my niece will definitely try to stop anyone who can get in her way. Which includes me, little bro and..."
"You."
Kusuke points at Liliana
"Out of all us, you could very well be her main target"
The silver haired demon girl looked surprised for a moment and rubbed her forearm
"I... I know..."
"Then you also know you can't fight her, as you are now it would spell disaster"
Aiura placed her hands onto the bottom of her shirt and squeezed it nervously
"Are you sure? If it does come down to having to stop our daughter, Liliana-chan is the one-"
Kusuke swiftly raised his hand
"Don't even suggest it, right now Liliana could unleash a far worse disaster than Kuriko. The risk is not worth it"
Kusuke narrowed his eyes as he said that
"By the way, I assume you haven't told them about..."
Liliana shook her head
"No, the last person to know about it was your family, I haven't told them."
Kusuke seemed relieved for a moment
"Good, that's good, the less people know about it the better, can't risk letting your power go rampant, that would be incredibly stupid"
As he said that, Liliana scratched the back of her head
"W-well, I didn't told him, but..."
Kusuke furrowed his browns when he heard Liliana's words
"Liliana... what have you done"
Despite being a powerless human whose only special trait was his incredible intelect, Kusuke's words still managed to send a shiver down her spine
"Y-you see, when Tatseyo had an encounter with Vali Lucifer he..."
Liliana described the meeting where she had taken Tatseyo to one of her bedrooms and removed her jewelry
Once she was done explaining, Kusuke's eyes widened
"YOU REMOVED YOUR JEWELRY FOR HIM?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"
Kusuo rubbed his forehead, even by his older brother's standards he sounded way too cruel
"Calm down onii-san, she just used her aura, it's not like she tried using her actual power"
"I... I'm sorry"
Liliana felt guilty, she knew that what she had done was trying to help Tatseyo recover, but she also knew where Kusuke was coming from, out of all the people in the world, he was the one who understood her powers the best, likely even better than herself.
Kusuke sighed and rubbed his sweaty forehead, a bit calmer
"Well, as long as it was just that it's fine, but you have to be careful"
Liliana breathed in relieve as she was let out of the hook and turned her sights to Kusuo, who now seemed to be far away, looking at seemingly nothing
"It seems like you were right, onii-san"
Kusuke furrowed his brow for only a moment before realizing what his younger brother meant and quickly had a serious look on his face
"So, is she here?"
Aiura's expression turned to shock
"Our daughter?! Kuriko is here? Can you sense her?"
Liliana looked expectanctly at Kusuo, however, he shook his head
"No... this is not our daughter"
Kusuo rushed through the front door with the others following right after him
"Wherever you are, it's time to show yourself, you're not fooling anyone"
A moment passed and only the whistling of the wind could be heard until a voice cold as ice cut through the breeze
"Just as expected, even I cannot hide from my muse's father"
As if stepping out of nothingness, a sillouette appeared in front of them
Liliana's eyes went wide when she recognized the figure
"Caretaker!" - She instinctively shouted
The boy's cold gaze traced towards her and he slightly lowered his head, in a sign of... respect? Admiration? She couldn't tell
"Butterfly of Judgement, I was warned you would be here. It's an honor to finally meet you."
Liliana took a step back as she heard that nickname, there was only one person in the world who called her by that alias...
But before she could say anything back, Kusuo stepped forward, standing in front of her and his two family members, blocking the Caretaker's path
"So my daughter has finally decided to introduce her boyfriend to me? It was about time I suppose..."
His words towards the boy were calm, almost as if mocking him
"Though the fact that you chose this moment of all times tells me that you're not exactly here to ask for her hand"
The Caretaker closed his eyes and shook his head
"I'm not worthy of the title of my muse's mate, if I could ever hope to touch the shadow of her greatness I'd be overjoyed"
"What does that mean?" - Aiura whispered to her husband
"I think it's the youth's way of saying that there's nothing between them..."
Kusuke shook his head
"No, no, you are too naive brother. He obviously means that they just aren't serious about it"
Aiura 'aahh' as if she finally understood.
"Oh, so that's it? Honestly, I didn't expect that girl to be into such things..."
Liliana looked back at the trio and shouted
"That's not the time for this!"
Kusuo nodded
"Sorry, I got carried away, but it's a shame really, I always thought that girl would settle down once she found someone she liked."
"Why are you here?" - Aiura asked
The boy bowed once again
"As you must be aware by now, my muse is on a mission and to accomplish her goal she must do things which she knows you will not approve."
When he heard what the boy had to say Kusuke laughed, stepping forward
"I see, so my inteligent and kind niece has decided to send you here in order to explain to us why what she's doing is right, an argument so compeling that will no doubt make us understand her side of the story and bring us all together to work towards a brighter future"
He said that with a voice that sounded dead serious, Aiura, Liliana and even Kusuo looked confused at him
The Caretaker didn't respond, only looking at Kusuke with a blank expression on his face
"As if!" - Kusuke began to laugh, giving his back to the Caretaker and standing face to face with his brother
"You got this?"
Kusuo didn't answer, only nodding his head.
"Good, I'll get these two out of here"
Liliana panicked as she watched Kusuke approaching them
"W-wait, I can help!"
"You will stay far away from this"
Kusuke scolded her and Kusuo nodded
"That's right, if my daughter is causing trouble... you may very well need to prepare to stop her"
Liliana gulped in anxiety, if Kusuo was leaving that responsability to her, could it mean...?
"So ladies... shall we go?" - Kusuke asked, revealing a strange looking device from his pocket
Aiura nodded and her face turned from fear into a determined expression before she shouted at her husband
"Kusuo!"
The pink haired man turned his head to look towards his wife
"Don't you dare lose to this brat"
A smirk escaped his lips as he noticed the look on her face
"Yes ma'am."
Kusuke laughed
"That's right lil' bro, I'm the only one who's allowed to defeat you"
The light of a teleportation device enveloped the trio as they disappeared out of sight
Only after they were gone, the Caretaker spoke again
"I'm surprised... if you had relied on the Butterfly of Judgement there's no doubt I would have been defeated"
Kusuo smiled
"Where did you learn about Liliana's power? Was it my daughter?"
The Caretaker nodded in response
"Indeed, my muse told me everything about all the existences that could become a hidrance to her plans."
"Then you should be careful about what you wish for, the words of a third party rarely translate the reality which one can only experience with their own eyes"
Kouta closed his eyes and nodded
"Forgive this one for his ignorance, truly, a tremendous power such as that would be wasted on me"
Kusuo laughed at the boy's words, unable to tell if he was being genuine or mocking him
"Now, don't sell yourself so short. You know, the moment you stepped in this place I knew you were something else... in my whole life there were only four people whose minds I could not read"
He said
"My daughter and brother, who found ways to block me out. A man who thought too few, a man who thought too much, but you... you are a first..."
He squinted his eyes
"Because even if I can read it, I cannot understand a damn thing"
A smirk took over Kusuo's face
"I finally understand what my daughter sees on you... your mind really is one of a kind"
"I'm not worthy of such praise"
Kusuo had a small smile on the corner of his lips, the boy's face was like a steel mask, it gave no clue if he was being honest or mocking him.
Looking at the boy's mind was like staring at an abstract painting filled with symbols and shapes one could not understand or perhaps listening to a song in a language completely alien while a multitude of instruments played one over another
This would usually annoy him, but now he was more fascinated than anything else
"I've heard about your powers, according to the Community's classification you are close to me and my daughter, is that why she thinks you alone would be enough to stop me?"
The Caretaker stretched his arms, his limbs looking like they wanted to reach the skies above
"I'd never take a person of your standing lightly, however... I'd never disregard a request from my muse either"
With a shake, the colors of the sky began to change
Kusuo looked up with an impressed look on his face
"So it's true, you can affect reality to this level"
He raised a finger and the shaking stopped as the sky turned back to normal
"But... this much won't even cause me to break a sweat"
Kusuo raised a hand with a challenging gesture
"Stop wasting my time kid, show me what you really got"
The Caretaker's expression changed, a genuine smile seemed to appear on his face
"As expected, there is no way I can do anything against you while holding back"
The boy hoovered his hands in the air with gestures similar to conducting an orchestra
"I apologize for that, but now, the real show will begin."
[An empty bliss beyond this world]
The world around them twisted and Kusuo felt the change in the boy's aura along with the loud sound of an orchestra playing around them
"Oh, getting serious, are we?"
Kusuo reached for the antennas on his head
"Then I guess I have to show you what I can do as well"
He took it off and the atmosphere around the entire area changed
The boy's eyes went wide, the first time he had showed any hint of surprise near him
Kusuo clenched his fists and the mere pressure of lifting his arms caused the earth to split and the skies to part, if the boy wasn't an esper, that simple swing would have killed him on the spot.
"Hahaha! Just like her! No matter how many times I witness it, this wave of raw power is incredible! It could only come from someone of my muse's family"
"Hey, boy, I know you seem to be a fan but..."
Kusuo disappeared from the boy's line of sight
"Teleportation..."
He said, immediately turning to where Kusuo appeared holding a huge ball of energy in his hands
"Don't drop your guard." - Kusuo declared
The Caretaker swiftly draw on the air with his fingers and Kusuo disappeared from his current position and the ball of energy only managed to hit the ground
He looked back at the boy, an impressed look on his face
"Your aura, the moment I took control of this place I can predict where you will land simply by dectecting the shift in it, so instead of moving myself or you, I shifted the enviroment instead"
Kusuo nodded
"That explains, they told me before something like this was possible... I just never found someone fast enough to do it before I could hit"
Kusuo pushed his arm back, the movement caused destruction simply by the enormous pressure that his unrestrained power wielded
"Now it's getting interesting"
He disappeared one more time
"Again?" - The Caretaker wondered, but just as he realized this was not the case, Kusuo was already up close to his face and a huge orb of light blew from beneath his feet
Distracted, the boy had not been fast enough to dodge and was engulfed by light
"If beating you with tricks won't work, I'll brute force my way!"
Kusuo declared, suddenly the place was filled with several orbs filled with psychic power
As powerful as The Caretaker was, he could not suppress the tremendous strength of Kusuo's attack and smiled as the light of the explosions surrounded him
"As expected of my muse's father... I cannot hope to compare"
The light faded and an enormous cratter was left where the boy once stood
A large puddle of red covered the hole
Kusuo suspiciously took the liquid into his hand
He smiled
"Heh... you really are good"
Just as he said that, the boy appeared standing a few feet away from him
"You really are an impressive kid, I put a lot of juice in those"
The boy slightly bowed
"And you are just as my muse told me you would be, I barely managed to escape"
"Are you sure you don't want to ask for her hand? I'd give it to you if you stop attacking me"
The Caretaker smiled
"For as honored as your words make me feel, I must decline, for my muse has requested me to take you down. And for the sake of her goal, that is what I will do"
Kusuo gave a troubled smile
"On one hand, I'm happy that daughter of mine managed to make at least one good friend, but on the other hand can't really let you do that."
He said, half mocking, however, he felt a shiver down his spine when the Caretaker bowed and uttered a few words
"I understand. And as things are, I won't win if I don't use that last resort"
Kusuo backed away slightly, expecting an attack to come
But it didn't...
He squinted his eyes and for a moment as nothing seemed to happen
Untill... the air stopped
No, not stopped
Gone would be more like it
It was as if everything around them had gone
Every sound, every movement
Slowly, the colour of everything around them seemed to disappear
And then even the shapes, as if the world itself was melting away and the only two things left were the two of them
Kusuo tried to use his time manipulation to bring things back to normal, however...
It didn't work
He tried to teleport
It also didn't work
Wherever they were, time and space were meaningless
"Did you like it? It's a move that my muse helped me develop, a special attack meant just for you. It took a lot of effort to create"
Kusuo gave a nervous smile, what the hell was this?
"This place is the end of all things, the border between life and death, here, existence itself has no meaning."
He extended his arms as if embracing the void they were in
"Welcome to [Everywhere at the end of time]"
Kusuo tried to step back, but he couldn't, there was no espace
It seemed like this place was infinite yet constricting at the same time
So be it, if couldn't move he would attack
He tried conjuring another attack, using his own energy, but this time... also nothing
As if noticing what he was trying to do, the boy spoke
"In this realm, where conscious itself breaks apart and is laid to waste, even my muse cannot defeat me"
"How did you... managed to control... this?" - Kusuo asked, his voice beggining to trail off
To reach this level of control over a dimension who existed in the border of life, death and consciousness itself
"What... did my daughter... do to you?"
A crooked, demented smile appeared in the boy's face
"Whatever it takes to realize her dreams, I'll gladly give everything I have"
Part 2
"It's over"
The Caretaker said as he stared at Kusuo laying on the ground
They had returned to the 'real' world
As a testament to Kusuo's strength, the Caretaker was still nervous about approaching him even though he seemed knocked out.
"Excelent job, Kouta"
A voice came from behind him and he turned around to see his muse staring at him and wasted no time bowing towards her.
"Thank you, as you said it took all I had to defeat him"
Kuriko approached the boy and stroked his hair
"I knew you could do it"
She walked to the body of her father lying on the ground and squinted her eyes
"He's still alive..."
Kouta nodded
"His soul is... incredibly strong, even if his counsciousness has fadded, he refuses to wield"
The semblance of a smile appeared on her face
"That's good, it's not like he had to die for it to work, as long as he is out of commision that's one less problem to worry about. Now we just have to put him somewhere safe to make sure he doesn't wake up so soon."
Kuriko placed a hand over her father's forehead and he disappeared
"That should do it, I have instructed them on how to handle the rest"
The Caretaker lowered his head
"What about the Butterfly of Judgement?"
"She's special, we can't touch her for the time being, but it's alright..."
Kuriko actually smiled this time and took a hand to her chin
"Because she'll be of use to us very soon"
She said with a distant look in her eyes
"And in regards to-"
Kouta barely finished this sentence before his body fell forward, aiming towards the ground
Kuriko quickly catched him in her arms and the boy apologized
"I'm sorry, it seems like using this ability has taken a lot out of me"
Kuriko nodded
To reach that realm Kuriko had forced him to the limit and to use such power was like doing it all over again all at once
"It can't be helped, after all... we are only human."
Kuriko gently lowered his body and grabbed his head
"Unfortunately, this is all I can do for you now"
She gently placed the boy's head against her thighs and ruffled his messy blue hair
"You don't have to do this for me"
"It's the least I can do after all I put you through"
He tried shaking his head, but was so weak that it barely brushed against her legs
"Unnecessary, all I do is because I wish to see your wish come true, your will is my will, regardless of what I have to do or let be done to me"
Kuriko smiled, stroking his hair
"Then my will right now is for you to rest, understood?"
Kouta closed his eyes, giving up
"So I will... thank you"
He rested his cheek against her thigh and his body gradually loosened up as his breathing became more regular
For a moment, while the Caretaker laid on her lap in a rare defenseless state, Kuriko felt her chest ache...
"I'm so sorry."
She muttered in a monotone voice to the sleeping Caretaker.
Afterword: Thanks for reading and for all the reviews you all left. Wish I could answer them all, but there'd be massive spoilers, I'll say one thing though: What makes Issei special is something that exists in canon, however, unlike in canon, it's not going to bring him much happiness from it.
I was thinking if I should release this chapter before or after the battle in Kyoto, but since this chapter is shorter I decided to release this one first, also it explains why Kusuo didn't intervene in Kuriko's plans so far
Thanks for reading, look forward to the next chapter.
