Chapter 5 - Rage

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or High School DxD

Author's note-

Six paths translation-

Deva Path - Tendo

Asura Path - Shurado

Human Path - Ningendo

Animal Path - Chikushodo

Preta Path - Gakido

Naraka Path - Jigokudo

Author's Note:- I've flipped the rating of the story to 'M'

Uchiha apartment, Lilith

I am Uchiha Shurado.

And I hate devils.

I hate them, I hate them, I hate them so much.

I want to drown them. I want to slaughter them. I want to pluck their wings off and push them down a deep hole.

Is there anything good about them.

No.

Have they ever done any good in the world.

No.

They kill. They steal. They rape. They murder.

They do what they want. They take what they want.

They are nothing but destroyers.

They are nothing but trash which deserves to burn.

I will kill them.

I will kill them all.

I will sever their spines.

I will crush their windpipes.

I will shatter their bones.

And I will throw their lives into disarray…

Just like…

Just like they did mine.

I grabbed my head, shaking it left and right. My fingers shaking badly and my heart beating faster and faster, my breathing quickening.

N-No.

I-I don't want to remember her again.

My… my kaa-chan.

I don't want to remember how she died.

…

How she was killed.

'R-Ryo-chan, r-run away… q-quickly…'

My mother said, kneeling before me with a grim smile. Her body bleeding in many places, she bit back a pained yell as she brought me close and lightly hugged me.

'Your t-tou-chan and nii-chan need backup- Aaah!'

A huge explosion of magic threw the both of us to the ground. My kaa-chan cradling me in her arms and protecting me from the debris thrown up by the blast.

And then I heard a scream.

A voice which had until then only been the strong and smiling voice of my older brother.

Became a scream which pierced my heart and spread dread all through me.

My face became wet, as tears rolled uncontrollably from my mother's eyes. But she still continued smiling at me.

'Ryo-chan. I-I need you to be brave. Kaa-chan will keep the devil at bay so run away, Ryo-chan. Will you be brave for me?'

I wasn't brave.

I just lay there shaking with fear and terror in her arms.

And regret.

Incredible regret.

Because… because I was the reason for all this.

My family comes from a long line of mercenaries. We take contracts and we deal with any magical nuisance. Be it youkai, fallen, devils, rogue magicians, anything.

One day we got a case of dealing with a devil who wore human skin to disguise itself. And the town it roamed in started losing its people day by day. Blood caked the streets every morning. And soon my family was hired and dispatched to deal with this problem.

We weren't able to find the devil. It was too clever. As if it knew it was being pursued, it stopped its attacks immediately, leaving my family with no clues.

…and that was when I got the bright idea of building a devil radar. A device which would pick out the residual magic which is so unique to those disgusting creatures. The devils lying captive in my family's basement, captive because they were requested to be delivered alive by our contractors, served as good test subjects.

All I'd done was ask them to display a bit of their magic in return for some decent food for them. While I adjusted the parameters of the radar I'd been constructing. In hindsight, I should have hacked off an arm or two, decency is wasted on such cursed creatures.

…cursed creatures which devoured my entire family.

Ahahaha.

And now I'm equally cursed.

Because I'm a devil too.

My master spoke with an intrigued smile, his teeth still red from having bitten off my mother's head. My devil radar in his hand, as he observed it with a curious eye.

'This is quite ingenious. How old are you boy? Eight? Ten?' This is how you tracked down my kin?'

I was too lost in screaming over my mother's dead body to care about answering back.

My master continued, digging his hand into his coat and bringing out some chess piece. He began in the same formal tone, as if he hadn't just left a trail of bodies behind him.

My mother, my father, my brother, my uncles, my aunts, my grandpas, my grandmas…

I'll never see them again…

'For hunting my clan you humans deserve no less than the pain of death. Hmmm, but I can make an exception for you.'

He smiled.

'Serve under me, and make more devices such as these. I have been to the lab in your home, and the make of the machines there is the same as this. Haha, quite the genius you are, aren't you young human? I shall enjoy your services.'

I had enough sense in me to loudly scream at him to fuck off. Before I hurled a ball of explosive magic at him using my staff which lay in my hand.

He simply chuckled and swatted my explosive ball away as if it were just a fly.

'You don't have a choice.'

He blurred.

And the next thing I knew, his hand was sticking out of my back, plunged in into my chest and tearing through my lungs.

The pain…

It hurt so much I don't even remember the pain now.

But I do remember the words which began my bondage.

'Welcome to my peerage.'

He shoved something inside me.

And my entire body started to burn.

As if I was being changed from inside-out.

'I am your master.'

He smiled his polite smile. Holding me upright as the hole in my chest stitched itself close.

'And I will make good use of you… Ryo-chan.'

I hollered at him, backing away, looking at him with terrified eyes. Asking him what he had done to me.

'I made you a devil. Now come, we must return to our estate. The clan shall like to meet its newest servant.'

I snarled at him, refusing to comply.

'Goodness. And you seemed like a smart boy. Your parents were very negligent in teaching you to respect your superiors. No worries, your master will educate you.'

Torture.

Burning knives slid into my skin.

Bones broken ten times a day.

Holy water sprinkled on me for every small act of defiance.

Locked away and bound by chains in his mansion's dungeons, I…

I broke under the constant torment.

And just learned to comply.

I began to… forget myself.

And just learned to keep master happy.

Master's anger was never a good thing. He was a kind man, but only when his words are given the respect they deserved.

He taught me to respect him with all my heart.

My heart which he molded to obey without question.

One day, I'd made master another one of my inventions. A device which lets you crystallize your devil power and then use it to restore your energy when you run empty.

My master was so satisfied and thrilled that he gave me some money and told me to go enjoy myself for the rest of the day in the city. We were traveling then, we'd come to Lilith on some business of my master's.

And that was that fucker's undoing. For that was the day I met my savior, in my servile trance which he slapped me out of.

That day, those slavish thoughts, I cannot forget them-

Lilith, many weeks ago

I really didn't know what to do. I just stay cooped in my lab everyday, studying books, taking master's requests for new devices or magic formulas, or noting down new ideas and research directions in my ideas book.

Looking at me one might think what else did I really want out of life? I had a fulfilling job, I was looked after, and I had a place and people who called me theirs…

Like I was their property.

There were even talks of exchanging me to another master.

But master was a kind man! He went out of his way to assure me that I'd always be a part of his peerage so long I had ideas in my head. His benevolence knew no bounds and I'm sure lucky to be his servant!

Coming back to my ineptitude to come up with anything to do with the money I'd been given, I wandered the streets of Lilith with confusion, knowing that if I didn't obey and spend all the money then I'd be insulting my master.

"Hotdogs… Get your warm and fresh hotdogs…"

So I decided to get a hotdog. I walked up to a black haired man who looked like he was cursing his very existence and who had a bad case of inflamed eyes. He looked at me with a scowl and stared down at me when I pulled on his shirt to get his attention. He was standing beside a kiosk with wheels and with sausages, buns, and sauces stuffed inside it. He was wearing a pale blue shirt, black pants and a hat which had a company logo saying 'Juicy Sausage Hotdogs!'

Looking at the funny company name, I felt compelled to ask him with a small grin, "Umm, do you have a juicy sausage?" I snickered as his eyes twitched.

He scowled at me.

"Don't push it, kid. Either get a hotdog or get lost."

A lady with dog ears and a tail, wearing the same uniform as him, turned to him with a pout, looking at him with an expectant stare.

The man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with irritation.

He forced a smile on his face.

"Dear customer, how can I help you today?"

Wow, friendly smiles do not look natural on him.

Master had always told me to be helpful, so I was quick to assist the man in assuming an expression he'd be more attuned to.

I asked with a smile, whether he was new to the job. Because he seemed really out of place.

"How is that any of the dear customer's damn business?"

He said with his lips turning up with irritation, but still being forced into a smile. His coworker started frowning, whining a little under her breath and pouting at him with her ears flopped down. Basically a stereotypical puppy dog face.

Not noticing at the time how the man's red eye started spinning as he looked at me with a suspicious stare, I continued with a snicker.

I asked if he'd started working there for the hotdogs, or the hot dogs. You know, like the lady dog pouting right now?

He blinked in confusion, turning his gaze to the food in the kiosk.

"Hotdogs?"

As if a lightbulb slowly lit in his head, he shifted his eyes to look at his coworker who tilted her head at him under his attention.

"Hot… dog… hah."

He chuckled, crossing his arms.

"Beautiful."

His youkai-devil of a coworker immediately blushed, whipping her head away and holding her palms to her cheeks. Her bushy tail started wagging as she began stammering how she wouldn't give him a raise just for complimenting her. Especially after he'd choked her and tried to steal from her earlier.

…hahahaha.

Choking and stealing from devils.

Sounds amazi-

No, no. I better apologize to the nice lady. Master would never condone a member of his clan mocking the commoners, no matter how lowly they are.

I shook my head, coming back to my senses.

And when I opened my eyes, I saw the man's face extremely close to mine as he crouched before me.

I'd yelped in surprise and jumped back, falling on my butt with a slight wince.

The man muttered with a frown, three dots in his red eye spinning,

"…just now. What were you thinking about?"

I was thinking about the hotdog lady?

"…who else?"

Uhhh, my master?

His eyes widened a fraction.

"Your master? What master?"

I frowned, wondering why he suddenly became nosy. Why won't the damn devil mind his own business and shut the fuck-

No. No. Others might test my patience, but master's servant must always put his best foot forward!

So I put on a polite smile and informed him that I was a pawn serving in my master's peerage.

His eyes narrowed.

"What is a peerage."

Calling upon all the powers of poise and goodwill, I contained my irritation at being questioned by a hotdog seller of all things. On a subject so basic and utterly contemptibl-… utterly essential to the survival of devilkind.

I told him what a peerage was.

I explained to him what evil pieces were.

I expounded upon him the joys of serving.

Not a penny to my name, not a life to call my own…

Because my lord took care of all that silly stuff for me!

The hotdog seller asked me with a baffled face.

"…can't you feel the rage I see brimming in your eyes? Why does it stop at your eyes? Doesn't your life make you angry?"

Rage?

What rage?

There's nothing but love and gratitude in me for my kind master!

The hotdog seller scowled at me.

"Your mind has been tampered with."

I frowned.

What?

He put a hand on my shoulder. He made a weird handsign with his free hand. And his red eye morphed into a red flower and spun rapidly.

He muttered.

"This might hurt… Brace yourself."

I blinked.

What is he talking about-

"Kai!"

A wave of foreign energy slammed into me. Washing my insides and flowing like turbulent water.

There were always a few spots within myself where my magic flowed irregularly, like blockages which I had to maneuver around to cast my spells.

The foreign energy crashed against those blockages and swept them away along with its current, flowing from within me and then out. Draining out all the impurities in my magic flow.

I sat staring at the hotdog seller. Blinking my eyes wide. And… feeling like I'd returned home to my own self. It was strange…

He stared at me with pursed lips. "How are you feeling?"

I lunged at him with a snarl!

"Die, filthy devil!"

He caught my arms before they locked around his throat. The hotdog seller chuckled, "now that's more like it. None of that faked civility." He took off his cap and tossed it to his youkai coworker. "I'm taking a break, don't let anyone choke you in the meantime."

His coworker blushed, looking away with a pout. Saying she really wasn't into that kind of stuff. She also asked which part of her he found beautiful.

The hotdog seller snorted, "I was talking about the wordplay. Not your highness." Shaking his head with a chuckle at the now sadly frowning youkai, the seller held me like baggage under his arm and walked away with me. Taking us to a nearby public bench.

All the while I was trying to kick him, bite him, claw at his eyes, pull his hair. The filthy devil was touching me. And he deserves to burn for that.

My efforts were to no avail as he easily maneuvered my strikes away from himself.

I tried to muster up enough magic to blow him up, but my mind was extremely taxed for some reason. And extremely blinded by rage. I couldn't even think straight without interrupting my own spell incantations with thoughts of butchering, boiling, murdering, killing the fucking hotdog seller.

"Now tell me," he began, sitting down on the bench and sitting me beside him. "Tell me how kind your master was to you. How wonderful being part of a peerage is."

I growled at him with my teeth bared, as he immediately encased me in a purple glowing rib-cage the moment he sat me down. Preventing me from further attack and at the same time holding me in place.

He smirked. "You're going to burst with rage like that. I'm offering to listen." His smile was ugly, his red eye was spinning, and his words were tinged with amusement. "A good tale of sorrow always makes my day." He chuckled, leaning back into the bench and staring at the sky. "It helps me kill Uchiha Sasuke."

…Uchiha Sasuke?

That… sounds like a human's name… From Japan especially…

I snarled at him.

No human would be harmed as long as I live!

Before I could roar out my threats, he continued-

He looked at me with a menacing grin. "It helps me kill myself."

I stopped short. Puzzled. I asked with mounting confusion… and brittle hope.

"Are… are you Uchiha Sasuke?"

He smirked. "In the flesh."

I continued, my heart thudding loudly as I asked him,

"A-Are you a reincarnated devil too? W-Were you a human being?"

He barked a laugh. "You could say that." He grinned at me, delighting at the tormented confusion on my face. "Go on. Ask me that question you're burning to ask."

He… didn't know what a peerage was.

He says he's a reincarnated devil.

And he doesn't know what evil pieces are…

"H-How can you be a reincarnated devil? D-Didn't your master teach you about peerages?" I said with my eyes burning, and my face increasing becoming wet with tears.

Uchiha Sasuke frowned at me. "That's not the question you were supposed to ask, but whatever." He continued, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "I have no master… I did at one point but I took care of that snake."

No... No master... T-That means...

"You are free…"

I whispered, pressing my face against the ribcage, my fingers coiled around the bones. "You have no master, and you are free." I chuckled. "I-I'm glad." I let out a happy sob, "I-I'm glad you're free, nii-san."

His eyes sharpened.

"I'm not your nii-san."

I gave him a broken smile. My broken hopes, tarnished dreams, ruined future all packed into that one smile. "Then why did you help me?" I chuckled, wiping a few tears off, seeing him scowl at me. "D-Does your offer still stand? Will you listen?"

He gave me a curt nod. Vanishing his purple ribcage and freeing me. And I sat silently for a few moments, before I started talking. My voice hesitant and sad at first. As I recalled all my memories of my family, how I was fascinated by magi-tech. My mother a scholar of magic and my father a mercenary. I talked of an older brother who was a scatterbrain but who was mighty in battle, and who always had time to play with me at least once a week.

My family grounds where I spent many a day training my skills. Reading all the books and research on the arcane arts. My grandma who would sit me on her lap and sing me a lullaby to put me to sleep whenever I'd stubbornly refuse to rest in favor of staying up late.

My grandpa would occasionally take me on his contracts, showing me what the family trade was. And why it was so essential to ensure the protection of humanity.

And then the fateful day of my stupid invention. Born out of a childish hope to save the world from bad devils. Unthinking of the consequences such an action might have.

The evil eyes it might attract.

I… recalled the slaughter.

My father hacked to pieces.

My brother beheaded.

Kaa-chan killed right before my eyes.

My family in tatters and pieces. Pieces so small you can't tell which body part belonged to whom. Like a bloody mincemeat.

My home burning to ashes.

And my… master standing before it. His face calm and cool, looking at me with interest as I screamed and howled and hurled the contents of my stomach looking at the mutilated bodies. His calm voice assuring me that I'll get over this soon enough… that my training shall wash out these unneeded attachments and help me serve well.

…H-Hahaha.

"Burn."

Hahahaha!

"I will burn you, master!"

I smiled a mad smile and clutched my face with my hands, folding into myself with my elbows on my knees. Laughter shaking my whole body as I roared with tears rolling down my eyes. Sadness and rage mixed in my mad howls.

"I will turn hell on its head! Ahahaha! Bringing me to hell is you undoing, you fucking devils! Peerage? Servitude? What a joke!"

I whipped my head to my savior, looking at him with a face splitting grin. "H-Hey! Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? I-I'm not in the wrong, right? No more devils. Sounds like paradise! A-Ahahaha!"

Sasuke-nii grinned and put a hand on my shoulder, he said in a loud voice, "great lines! We'll definitely use them in our play!"

I blinked with confusion, frowning. "What the fuck are you-"

He put an arm around my shoulder and drew me close with a laugh, "you have potential, kid. Got a few rough edges but give it time, you'll be an expert like me in a million years if you keep at it." His pulling me close turned my head towards the devils in the streets who'd paused in their strides and were giving us confused, wary or affronted looks.

After Sasuke-nii's words though they gave us annoyed glares, muttering about the downfall of the arts and stupid plays these days, before heading on their way.

My savior said in a low tone, turning to me with scowl, "kid, if you want to sabotage your own revenge plan be my guest. Don't ruin my own plans to take over hell."

I blinked.

"The fuck?"

He smirked.

I looked at him with big eyes full of disbelief, "you're serious… How…" I shook my head, "just how will you unseat the clans? Centuries of tradition." I frowned, "please tell me you're joking. I… I don't want to see you killed, nii-san."

He scowled again, "don't call me nii-san." He let me go and leaned back in the bench. "What I need… is frustration. Injustice. Discrimination." Sasuke-nii chuckled, "what I need, is a majority of discontent and wronged populace. Second class denizens you can say."

…The gears slowly turned in my head.

I sputtered, "y-you're kidding me." Please tell me he's kidding me?

Sasuke-nii gave me a sharp smile. "This reincarnation system, it was set up to replenish the devils' numbers wasn't it?"

I nodded, my heart both sinking and soaring at what he was proposing.

He continued, "what would you say is the ratio of reincarnated devils to pure-blooded devils?"

I did a quick mental calculation and replied, "a-around seven to one?"

Sasuke-nii's smile became pure evil as he stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Goodbye kid, I wish you a good revenge against your master." He took a few steps away from me and then glanced back at me for a moment, "thanks for the idea."

O-Oh shit, he was gonna get himself killed because of me.

I jumped to my feet and scurried after him. "Hey! At least tell me you have a plan!" Damn it, distract him! Get him occupied with something else. "Oi what happened to killing Uchiha Sasuke! Or did you just say that to be metaphorical and shit! Come on! Help me off my master!"

He shrugged, "there's no finesse in just going for his throat. It'll take too long to wipe out all such high class devils." He chuckled, "I'll get them all in one fell swoop."

Yeah, sure that's dandy and all but, "I'll still be bound to him while you enact this foolhardy plan of yours." I scowled at him. "And besides, what'll you do about the stray devil mechanism?"

Sasuke-nii turned to me with a frown. "Stray devil what?"

I glared at him, "you are so unprepared for what you are suggesting." I shook my head at him, "if a member of a peerage goes rogue, nine times out of ten they lose control of their devil power and turn into monstrosities." I gave him a mirthless smile, "isn't Ajuka Beelzebub so smart."

Sasuke-nii had paused in his stride, his lips pursed in thought. He turned to me, "can you counteract this mechanism. Disable its effects all through hell?"

I rolled my eyes, "yeah sure. Where will I get the evil pieces to study and think of a solution?"

Nii-san crossed his hands and tapped his foot on the ground for a few moments, before he sighed and grabbed my hand. While I was busy being startled, he began pulling me along as we walked along the main road, "quickly now, I'll supervise your revenge. And then we can pilfer the evil pieces from your master." He turned to me with an evil smile, "don't worry about turning into a monster. The King of Hell will restore you if you lose control."

I frowned, his words… seductive to my revenge seeking mind. "What exactly are you offering me? And why should I listen to you?"

He replied straight away, a hunger in his voice as he narrowed his eyes, "I'm offering you revenge." He smiled sharply, "one that will up-heave hell."

A smile snaked its way onto my face, as he spoke words that sang to my heart, "I'm yours to use, nii-san." I chuckled as we crossed the road, "avenge my family, and I'm forever your tool to do as you please with."

Smack!

"Ow!"

Nii-san slapped the back of my head, making me yelp.

He scowled at me, "an Uchiha is nobody's tool. Never call me nii-san in such a tone ever again." He'd grabbed me by my collar and hauled me up to face his spinning red eye, my legs dangling off the ground. Nii-san glared, making me wince at his reprimand, "is that understood."

I smiled weakly, "s-sorry. I-It'll take a while to forget my master's training." I blinked at calling master anything other than a fuckface. "Hah, can't even stop referring to him as master." I then gave him an amused smile, "by the way, did you just acknowledge that you're my brother now?"

Sasuke-nii gave me a flat face. "No." He then unceremoniously dropped me, having let go of my collar and letting me fall on my butt. While I rubbed my behind and stood up with a pout, he glanced at the time. "Hmm… meet me back at the hotdog stand in two days. I've got other business to take care of until then."

I frowned and asked him what it was.

He said with a smirk, while watching a cartoon show's advertisement play on the screens of the store opposite to us, "need to smack fear into a magical girl."

I shrugged and bid him farewell, informing him that I'd be in Lilith for the rest of the month.

I later found out in the news that the magical girl in question was Leviathan. The very next day I'd hurried back to the hotdog stand, and the first thing I said upon seeing him was-

"Are you a fucking idiot?! Do you have a death wish?!" I hollered at him with a scowl, "why did you pick a fight with a Satan!" I then blinked, looking at the gaggle of four kids surrounding nii-san.

They each went, one by one-

"Sasuke-nii, are hotdogs better with mustard or ketchup?" said a blue haired girl looking at the food in the kiosk with a drooling smile.

"Twenty five! Twenty six! Twenty seven!" Went a blond haired boy in midst of his push-ups.

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Can we go shopping! I want to compare the sturdiness of the synthetic ropes with my threads!" said a white haired girl, smiling up at Sasuke-nii with a slightly mental smile.

"…nii-san's hair is comfy," said a red haired kid, who was sitting on Sasuke-nii's shoulders and resting his cheek on nii-san's head, yawning lightly and snuggling with a small smile.

I gave Sasuke-nii a dirty look. "I see how it is. They can call you brother but I can't?"

Sasuke-nii noticed me and opened his mouth in a hurry to explain, "this isn't what it looks like. They just keep following me and won't leave me alone!" He said, his tone slightly panicked as if I caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. He then adjusted the boy on his shoulders, and barked at the exercising boy to switch to using a single hand for his push-ups.

My only response to all this was to frown at him and go, "you are so fucking unfair."

He scowled, "shut up." He proceeded to make a hot-dog with both mustard and ketchup and handed it to the drooling girl, and told rope enthusiast girl to wait till he's done with his work.

I continued, looking at the kids with a jealous glare and then turning to him, "also, are you stupid? Why did you pick a fight with a Satan!"

Sasuke-nii frowned with confusion, "what Satan? That's just the first devil in history right?" He made a customer a hotdog, and then turned back to me with furrowed eyes. "I only engaged that clown in a magical girl costume."

…what?

He doesn't know what a Satan is?

"Why… why did you engage Leviathan?" I asked, hoping he had a legitimate reason.

He smirked and replied, "she started it."

"…and?" I asked with a furrowed brow.

The blond haired kid roared from the ground, "an Uchiha never backs down from a fight! Believe it!"

Sasuke-nii shivered as if reminded of a bad nightmare. He turned to the kid and barked out, "a hundred more pushups! If you have the energy to talk you have the energy to get stronger!"

"Yosha!" The kid cheered and started his latest set.

Sasuke-nii turned to me and nodded, "what he said." He gave me a self satisfied smile, "showed that pink peacock the might of an Uchiha."

"Yeah!" The kids all cheered in unison. "You don't mess with nii-san!"

I blinked wide eyes at the band of buffoons before me.

It slowly dawned on my that my new brother is a freaking dumbass.

…shit. I'm gonna have my hands full making sure this idiot survives his lofty goals.

I sighed and gave him a kind smile. Vowing to save nii-san from his own nutty self.

Sasuke-nii pursed his lips, "…I don't know why, but I feel like slapping that smile off your face."

I chuckled, "nah, it's just our brotherly bond manifesting, nii-san!"

Sasuke-nii scowled and clicked his teeth with annoyance, which just made me laugh and smile.

He didn't refute what I said, and that made me happy. Incredibly so. At finding a companion who shared my ideal of wrecking hell and bringing devils to justice.

I turned my head to the kids, and my smile started souring.

Hmph. Disgusting devils, how dare they get close and act all chummy with nii-san. Bloody-

Sasuke-nii's voice snapped me out what I would've thunk, "your ire is against those with the power to do you wrong. Don't misdirect your anger." He scowled at me, "we shall level the playing field, and that will be your greatest revenge." He sighed and glared up at the sky, "there is already one of me, the world doesn't need another." He glanced back down, his eyes looking a little remorseful and full of anger, "I will punish those who need to be punished, you just… live."

I scowled at him. "That's the problem you see. I have no life." I put a hand on my chest, where I'd been stabbed all those years ago. "The price of my rebirth was my life." I glared at the children, "and they belong to the species which took my life. They won't be any better than the current grown up lot. It's in their blood to be rotten."

Nii-san smirked and threw me a small pouch. I caught it before it struck my face. I looked at him with a frown, and he motioned me to open up the bag.

Doing as he asked me, I opened it and found chess pieces inside…

Blood caking their surface. And pieces of cloth beside them… whose fabric resembled those I saw my master wearing this morning…

U-Unholy hellfire. D-Did he-?

And suddenly nii-san was kneeling right before me, whispering in my ear, "I gutted him like a fish." I turned shocked eyes to him, he gave me a pinched smile, "right as you left your lodgings, I vanished him to outside the city. And killed him with extreme prejudice." He put a hand on my shoulder, "you won't find any remains, my fire took care of extinguishing all evidence of his existence."

My hoarse voice whispered back, my heart thudding loudly as I realized what he just took from me.

"My… my revenge…" My eyes burned, angry tears forming, "y-you had no right…" How could he? Why did he?

He grimaced and put his hands on my shoulders, "how old are you?"

"F-Fourteen."

He glared at the floor, "and you were in servitude since you were seven… that's half your life." He turned his glare at me, "live a good life. Deliver others who share your fate from their bondage." He smiled, a small and crooked smile, but a smile nevertheless, "be better than me. Because I still want to burn my enemies and former friends to the ground." He chuckled, "innocence be damned."

I shakily shook my head, feeling tears trail down my cheeks. "Y-You ask for the impossible." I turned an angry glare at the children who were watching us curiously. "They're all the same, it's their genes."

"They're the ones who asked me for a new brother." Nii-san chuckled, "they wanted a bedtime story and well, yours came readily to mind." Sasuke-nii ruffled my hair with a chuckle, wiping off my tears with the back of his hand. "'We need to rescue him, Sasuke-nii!' The brats wouldn't stop saying that till I did something."

I stared at him, flabbergasted. "T-The hell! My life-story isn't a bedtime story! Who the heck tells such things to children!" Sasuke-nii just grinned, and the kids shuffled closer, standing behind him and looking at me with small smiles. They… looked like they wanted to get closer and hug me.

…oh fuck.

I glared at Sasuke-nii, who smiled as if he was well aware of what he was doing, "rejecting these brats would just make me an asshat, wouldn't it?"

Nii-san nodded, "nothing wrong with being an asshole." He smirked, "I've been called that many times, but then again I'm Uchiha Sasuke and I'm in a league of my own."

I snorted.

"Please, stay in that league. I've no interest in joining the stupid squad."

The kids giggled, and nii-san glared at me. I let out a weary sigh, looking at the bright smiles directed my way via the devil children. I smiled back weakly, and the kids' smiles widened and they all ran towards me, pouncing on me with a cheer and hugging me and babbling away at how nii-san is an awesome superhero for rescuing me.

And before I knew it, I was helping the red haired kid tame a rabid multi-headed dog, assisting the blue haired one scheme on how to trick nii-san into giving her another hotdog, advising the white haired girl on how to pursue a career in nursing, and shutting my ears to the constant enthusiastic chattering of the blond kid on how he'd be the next Satan.

After many hours, nii-san was done with his hotdog selling work. And when he approached me, he found me sitting on the floor in the playground with a bunch of four kids, who'd exhausted themselves playing and were currently either sitting on my lap or leaning against me as they snored and slept with tiny smiles on their faces.

I sulked as nii-san came within hearing distance, "you made me a babysitter."

Nii-san snorted. "Welcome to my world, Shurado."

I blinked.

…Shurado?

I asked him, confused, "what do you mean Shurado?"

Sasuke-nii frowned, and then shook his head. "Nothing, forget it." He smirked, "you're a probationary Uchiha anyway. No name till you get your shit together."

"Probationary what?" I glowered at him. "The heck do you mean probationary?"

Nii-san sighed and sat down beside me, giving me an exasperated look… yeah right, he thinks I can't see him biting his lip and trying to control his laughter. He opened his mouth and spoke with a raised brow, "what? I don't like crybabies." He turned to the sleeping kids with a proud smile, "now these kids? They didn't even cry after what they've been through. Well, at least at the time."

…is this asshole really comparing sob stories?

I growled, "you are so fucking unfair."

Sasuke-nii rolled his eyes, "and the sky is blue, what's your point?" I scowled at him, which made him snicker and then ruffle my hair. He said with a smile, "welcome to the clan, kid."

Despite how much of a jackass he was being, those words from him brought out a grin on my face, a brittle and hesitant grin. "T-Thanks, nii-san," I whispered, gazing at him with joy and sort of comforted by the cocoon of children I was in. Their warmth reaching my very soul and soothing me with the fact that I wasn't alone.

I looked at the kids with a grateful smile, promising myself that I'd try to give them a chance, despite them being devils.

And of course nii-san had to ruin the moment.

He rapped my head and glared at me. "What do you mean nii-san? What did I just say?"

I sighed, rubbing my head and answering him with a pout, "thanks, probationary nii-san."

Sasuke-nii smiled and nodded.

I scowled.

"Jackass."

I'll have you calling me Shurado or whatever you just named me. Just you see.

I grinned at him, yawning tiredly and blinking sleepy eyes.

Sasuke-nii shuffled closer and started patting my back, lulling me into a sleep.

And the last thing I remember before falling asleep against him was seeing a pained smile on his face. And I heard the words-

"I'm no better than your dead master, Shura. But I can try."

He sighed.

"I will damn try."

Present day, Uchiha apartment, Lilith

My breathing slowly settled down, as I reminded myself of my nii-san and my siblings.

I groaned and settled back into the sofa, my laptop placed on the seat beside me. I shook my head in exhaustion.

Seriously, I need to stop having these rage attacks.

I then turned to my laptop and opened up deviltube, hoping to distract myself for a while before I went back to my research.

And you know what I found on trending?

'Oppai Dragon and Tsundere Crow: Livestream at Kuoh Academy!' by 'Miracle Levia-tan Official Channel.'

And unholy hell, nii-san was on the thumbnail.

…what is he doing this time?

Dumbfounded, I numbly opened the link and was greeted to-

Nii-san cosplaying as a superhero and running in the hallway of some building. A horde of robed individuals chasing him. Nii-san slapped his hands together and went-

"Chikushodo!"

Poof!

A… A giant tentacled monster with a bulbous head and purple ringed eyes emerged, and it began grabbing all the… women.

"W-What the fuck?" I whispered with wide eyes. The women on screen began screaming with terror as they were each ensnared by the monster's appendages and lifted into the air.

"Aaaah! I didn't sign up for this!"

"Crap-Crap-Crap! I don't like where this is going!"

"Somebody save me!"

My jaw kept dropping and dropping, as those tentacles wrapped around and in-between their breasts-

Actually I don't think I should be watching this stuff.

In the corner of the screen, a brown haired boy with a red gauntlet was crying uncontrollably, rubbing his face with his hand and blowing his nose into his shirt. He grabbed my brother in a hug and wailed happily,

"D-Dude! This is amazing! I-I never thought I'd see such wonderful sights in real life! You're my role model, bro!"

Nii-san sputtered with wide eyes, shoving the other boy away and slapping his hands together again. He roared weakly,

"R-Release!"

Poof!

The monster disappeared in a puff of smoke, dropping all the robed women to the floor. The blinked in surprise, almost all of them pouting with disappointment, as they turned to my nii-san, demanding why he'd stopped.

Nii-san held his hands before him and looked at them like he'd committed some unforgivable sin, his face forlorn.

…my brother shouldn't be making such faces.

Glaring at the name of the channel which posted this, I growled lightly as I clicked the dislike button on the video. But that meant crap in the sea of likes it already had. The view count well over two million by now, two million people all watching my brother make a fool of himself.

I scowled.

Levi-tan?

What a vindictive bitch for someone acting so cutesy and immature all the time.

Trying to bewitch my brother, beating him up in their spars, playing around with him as if he were a child, and then her stupid pranks.

I clicked my tongue with anger, and muttered to myself, "he's my brother, he doesn't belong to you, you bitch."

It's just tiring to watch, seeing nii-san being forced to dance to her tune. The Satan getting what she wants almost all the time.

I mean, why wouldn't she?

She sits on such an advantageous throne.

She's fucking rich. She's a bloody ruler of devils. She's everyone's darling and sweetheart as that cosplaying menace of a Levi-tan.

I tilted my head, a glare adorning my face as I considered what she was.

Born into power.

Destined for greatness.

Free…

Abso-fucking-lutely free.

No one would dare tell her what to do. What to pursue.

Heck, if she were someone else she wouldn't even be allowed to go around skipping in those inappropriate magical girl costumes of hers. Isn't she supposed to be all scary and devil-like? You know? Like an actual fucking Satan?

I smiled maliciously.

I guess ancestry really does determine your liberty.

"You may be vindictive, Leviathan," I muttered to myself, as my fingers blazed across my laptop's keyboard, typing rapidly, opening and closing windows, injecting code, bypassing networks, and intruding other devices. I smirked, "too bad for you, my brother and I are even worse."

I picked up my phone which lay on the table before me, pressing a button and speaking into it,

"The world has its eyes on you. 'Operation: Stray' is a go."

On the laptop screen, nii-san blinked.

His face twisted into a vicious smile. He picked up the portable phone I'd made for him from his pant pockets and held it to his ear. He whispered, his voice coming through my own phone,

"Really? Now?"

He chuckled.

"The pieces are all in place?"

I smiled with eager anticipation, and greeted our new lord and savior.

"Karasu for Satan."

Nii-san barked a laugh.

"Excellent, Shura. If this pulls through, you've earned your name."

I smiled, "knock 'em dead, nii-san."

Sasuke-nii nodded with a chuckle.

"Prepare for revolution."

Author's Note:

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Stay safe.

Wishing you the best.

Cheers!