Hiiiii~ Another chapter is here!
Damn I let myself go and ended up writing 7k words for chapter 36.
I have also finished planning out the upcoming arc thanks to my beta readers.
Also, I would like to thank my newest patrons: Tuan Tran, Jose Bautista and Broly LSSJ! Y'all rock!!
That's all,
Author NimtheWriter out!
beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.
-Kuoh Academy-
-Hachiman POV-
There were not many things that scared me in life.
No, I didn't mean that I was fearless, I meant it more like I grew experienced on how to deal with them. Deadly strays? I can get rid of them easily. A psycho exorcist? Already took care of him. A certain white dragon? I know when to pick my fights.
What I truly feared was…failing.
But today, I found out that another fear soon formed within me.
"Hikigaya!"
And the cause of my new fear was closing in on me at a rapid speed. Running so fast that he left a comically large dust of wind, creating chaos everywhere. The girls ran away screaming as they saw the bull-like creep with red eyes approaching their direction.
'God damn it, Issei.' I sighed at my misfortune. After dealing with Asia's case, I had completely forgotten about Hyoudou Issei and his own personal case. You can't really blame me—that night with Akeno, my heart-to-heart with Asia, and Kalawarna's incisive flirting—my brain was just overwhelmed.
"Fufufu, he certainly is fond of you," Akeno said, standing by my side after picking her up for school.
"Don't say it out loud, Aika might be nearby and hear it." I would be damned if I'm at any point shipped with Issei.
I can definitely do better than that guy.
I sighed exasperatedly.
Looking at Akeno, even with what happened last night, she behaved the same as always. While she didn't seem at all flustered or shy in any way from what had transpired the night prior, I stiffened up to the slightest of her touch.
"I won't let you get rid of me this time, you bastard!!!!" Issei screamed like a madman filled with a deeply rooted grudge. "I got you now!"
I didn't bother moving and kept staring at him with my deadpan look, while Akeno just watched everything from the sidelines like it was nothing more than a comedic gag.
'I won't use too much streng—'
Crash!
Just as he was about to catch me—and be on the receiving end of a knee kick—two wooden shinais suddenly appeared beside me and smashed the boy in his face, sending him flying away.
'Well, that's convenient.'
A familiar pink haired girl accompanied by her brunette best friend stood guard in front of me.
Murayama and Katase.
"Don't you dare try and even get near Hachiman-kun and Himejima-sama with your perverted germs!" Katase shouted in fury as she glared at Issei, before turning her attention to me. "Oh, Hachiman-kun are you okay? You didn't get hurt by this pervert, right?" She asked all worried, a stark contrast to her earlier attitude.
If she had done so in front of my old self, that Hachiman would have certainly been put off or disgusted by her two-faced persona. A two-trait character that she switched in between with a flick of a light switch. I would have called her a fake bitch before, but now I just treated her attitude with an eye roll.
Murayama on the other hand went to Akeno, where she was thanked by the latter. Honestly, from her expression and flushed face just by being near Akeno, I was worried she would get a nosebleed or even faint.
'Her crush couldn't be any more obvious…' I noted dryly.
While we were officially a couple to our friends and devils, most of the school wasn't aware of it. We never confirmed it or brought it out to the public. Allso, if everybody knew about it, I would lose the peaceful atmosphere that I worked so hard for to achieve.
And trust me, many would not like the idea of us being together. Even if I was somewhat liked due to the deeds of my club, Akeno and Rias absolutely surpasses me in that aspect. The entirety of the school population literally fawned over them like they were popular K-pop idols. The sheer possibility of a yandere coming after my life was very real and honestly quite terrifying!
So I just let people like Murayama try to gain her attention. It didn't bother me. Why would it? I wasn't insecure about the relationship we had, and Akeno would surely fry anyone who tried to force things.
"Uh… thanks for the save… I guess? He wasn't trying to hurt me." I didn't want to worsen the kid's already infamous reputation. "Hope you didn't hit him that hard."
Crouching beside the knocked-out Issei, I poked his cheeks with a nearby branch to see if he was alive.
"Don't worry! Usually, when he and his friends peek during club practice, we use way more force than this and they somehow survive."
Please try to not kill your fellow students, no matter how much they deserve what's coming to them.
Akeno soon joined my side, clearly amused watching me poke Issei. "Now now, Hachi, we should bring him to Rias's clubroom. I'm sure he still has a lot of questions left unanswered."
I can already guess that he'll ask questions about Raynare, or Amano Yuuma as he so adamantly believes her to be.
The Fallens were fine, still held up in their cage down below my house, they'll have to wait until I have my talk with Azazel—who I'll be having a meeting with after school. The old crow sent Vali of all people to pass the message, so either it must be extremely important or the old bastard is trying to screw with me.
It was most likely both.
"I'll take him there, " I said with a sigh, letting go of the twig which was probing Issei's nose, "Also I had some things I wanted to talk about with Rias, so might as well take this opportunity to do so." I wanted to talk to her about Asia and allow the girl to enter the school. She wanted to make friends, and school is the perfect place for that.
"..."
Wow, did I just put the words 'school' and 'friends' in a single sentence in a positive manner? Ha! Hiratsuka-sensei would burst out laughing before telling me that I did a good job.
…I still miss her sometimes. I really do.
"Again, thank you for the help Katase, and you too Murayama. I'll join for practice today, but it won't be for long, unfortunately. I have some… important business to attend to later." I said to the girls before carrying Issei on my shoulders and making my way to the Occult Research Club.
Akeno kept gazing at the retreating figure of her boyfriend as she saw him walking away towards her clubroom, where a lone Rias was located.
"This will be interesting."
…
I could feel the uncomfortable stares from the female population.
Me, carrying an unconscious Issei off to a nondescript area would surely set their imaginations into overdrive. I could feel their dark desires and the nefarious BL fantasies write themselves within their minds. Turning my head around a couple of times, I tried spotting a hidden Aika in the wild who would most likely take pictures and start selling them to the female student body.
"Oh? If it ain't Hikigaya!" To my surprise, I saw Tsubasa Yura walk out of the old building where Rias's club was located. "That's an interesting package you're carrying there." She motioned at Issei, looking amused by the scene rather than weirded out by a guy carrying another guy like a sack of potatoes.
This girl is too chill most of the time, but I can respect that.
"Yo, Tsubasa, how're you doing?" I greeted her casually. "Also ignore him, he was just being an idiot again."
We didn't talk much. As a newly recruited member of Sona's peerage, I really haven't gotten many chances to interact with her.
From my first impressions of her, the girl was a hard worker and an honest person. She reminded me of myself, always trying to get better and doesn't really care about her image. She really was a textbook tomboy ikemen.
She even kept getting love letters from the female population!
"I'm fine, I just came to drop off some supplies in the storage room. Hey, I heard from Kaichou that you're someone who likes to train a lot, so do ya want to join me once in a while? Would be nice to have a training partner; the others are too lazy to join me." Tsubasa proposed, hoping to have a training buddy.
I had time. I don't know if it'll be any time soon, but surely I could do a few laps with her. I never stopped my training, especially when my sacred gear growth halting to a complete stop without Vritra, I had to rely on my own capabilities to not fall behind the others. The Vajra techniques were a good alternative, but basic stuff like stamina and endurance was still important.
"Sure, when?"
"Before school hours, at about five." She said after thinking about it for a minute, not seeing my bewildered look.
So early!? No wonder the others didn't want to join her!
I nearly dropped Issei when I cringed at the idea of waking up so early! I was a night owl, all of my intense workouts always started late at night when it was calm and peaceful. 'She is my natural enemy!' These early risers were the bane of my existence, Akeno included.
"I'll let you know when I'm free, okay?" I neither rejected, nor accepted her proposal—a perfectly neutral response. A universally used answer for those who just wanted to say 'no' politely.
"Great! I'll wait for you on Saturday in front of the school!" She said cheerfully before jogging away.
What?
"Oi, wait I didn't say ye—and she's gone." Why is this morning such a pain? And why is every woman in my life out to get me? I couldn't have been a terrible person in my last life.
Leaving this conversation out of my head, I entered the building and made my way to Rias's clubroom.
Knock Knock
Crash
As soon as I knocked on the door, I heard a crash noise coming from inside, followed by the sound of frantic movements and a surprised squeak.
"Rias!"
I didn't hesitate to burst open the door—my strength nearly snapping off its hinges. I called out my sacred gear, ready to cast [Delete Field] and take down any possible enemies. I don't know who on earth was stupid enough to attack her in broad daylight but they'll have learned a lesson from me soon.
Don't mess with my friends!
As I entered the room, expecting there to be broken furniture, blood, or even the enemy itself—but I found none of that. Everything was in perfect condition, there were no traces of conflict or intrusion anywhere.
It wasn't until I turned my attention to Rias that I noticed something...off about her.
"Rias, are you feeling well?" I asked.
Her face was completely red as if she had gone through a long session in a sauna. On top of that, she was sweating like crazy—her sweat dripping down her face, drenching her clothes making them see-through, showing off part of her black lingerie. Her once well cared for crimson hair was now a huge mess as if she had just come from a huge fight; her heaving breaths was also worrying.
"O-oh, Ha-Hachi-ku-Hachiman! It's good to see you!" She said with a flustered tone.
"..."
It was clear that she was panicking, trying to hide something from me. She looks exactly like a kid caught stealing cookies from the jar.
Her table was a mess, seemingly important were sprawled haphazardly all over the place—looking exactly like a certain teacher's desk I once knew of.
"We just saw each other yesterday… what happened?" She was acting too weird to be normal. Granted, Rias was a genuine clutz—she would often have her moments and be laughed at by Akeno and the others. "Like seriously, you look like a mess."
But this felt different...
"O-oh, i-it's nothing, hahaha, I was just too caught up in my work all day and I just came back from my training. My brother gave me some advice on how to advance my Power of Destruction to another level. So don't worry, it's not something bad!" Rias said while trying to organise her desk, doing her best to fix her skirt.
"You know, being the little sister of the current Prince of Lies, I expected something better from you...this is just embarrassing."
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, making her fidget under my gaze. This girl, even while being a devil, was a horrible liar. I could be critical in my observation but not gullible to such a simple lie. The delicate silence that followed, coupled with her aversion to looking at me in the eyes, was a clear indicator that she wanted to move on with the conversation. 'Something funny is going on here.'
Not wanting to crack this case, I just acted as nothing happened and brought Issei in. I kept my gaze on her eyes, I would have noticed that they were looking down my waist.
"Why is Hyoudou Issei here?" She asked curiously, her face redder for some reason.
"Got beaten up by Murayama and Katase for being an idiot." I brought the boy to the sofa and placed him there untill he would wake up later. "I'll leave him up to you. I don't know when he'll wake up or if he even does, I just don't have time for him today. Answer his questions, don't talk too much about Raynare, basically just do whatever you feel is right." I won't be his babysitter, the guy needed to get a hold of reality soon enough and move on with his life.
Rias was a good person to talk to. Even if she was a bad liar, she was a hell of a capable temptress. "You're going to turn him into a devil? I know you still have some pawns, a knight, a bishop, and a rook. From what Koneko told me, the boy has a dragon-based sacred gear—probably [Twice Critical] with his small magical reserves. Something like that may seem weak, but can be quite powerful when rightfully used." I doubted the boy could reach such a level by himself without the devil's enhancement. His powers and magic reservoirs were so minuscule, that it barely existed. Even newborn babies have better magical power than him!
'At least, I found someone shittier than me.' I thought to myself sarcastically.
"Who knows, you might even get the legendary red dragon, [Boosted Gear]. He will fit perfectly in your peerage, with you being known as the Crimson Ruin Princess. Hehehe, a match made in hell." I said jokingly, not noticing the frown on Rias's face.
The girl obviously didn't like some of the things mentioned.
I still had my doubts about the whole devil peerage system. It has its flaws, but it wasn't necessarily a cruel form of slavery when paired with a good king. There existed far more sinister and evil ways to bind someone in this world—the peerage system didn't even come close to some of those—and yes, that's even including the existence of strays. Heck, I don't even need to go so far, even human society had its own forms of slavery hidden in plain sight.
Becoming a corporate slave may seem like a simple thing but many are forced to work in tasks beyond their capabilities—pushing some to give up on life. Even beyond corporate slavery, modern slavery was still very much a thing that exists—it's all around us, with people forced to work in all kinds of fields and end up being severely exploited. To those people, becoming a devil would be equivalent to true freedom—even when knowing about all of its downsides, they would surely do it in a heartbeat.
Slave trading still persists to this day in the black market, for crying out loud!
In the supernatural world, the practice of soul exchange still existed, though it has become a bit rare in these modern times. Magicians regularly forge soul-binding contracts and trap innocent people and use them for experiments.
"So what do you think? A dragon's sacred gear is a boon any team would vy for. And I'm sure if you promise him a harem, he'll accept the offer without hesitation. A single pawn would suffice, maybe two if I'm proven wrong." Of course, he'll have the freedom of choice in the end. If he so desires to keep his humanity, then Rias will have no choice but to comply—otherwise, there'll be a new devil in Kuoh.
Rias on the other hand didn't seem as eager as I'd thought she would be. If this was another reality, the heiress would have jumped on the chance of having a dragon-based sacred gear in her group. She would have probably converted him when the actions of the rogue Fallens, turning him into a devil on his deathbed.
But she hesitated…
Looking inside her box, where the rest of her remaining chess pieces were kept, she eyed the neatly arranged pawn pieces and the other ones as well. Her eyes darted from the pieces to me and back to the box, going back and forth a couple of times.
"Unfortunately… these pieces are reserved for someone else…" Rias said while I stole some of Koneko's hidden SUPER coffee stash.
"..."
The sound of me popping a can of coffee broke through the silence, as I took a sip before giving Rias a side stare. "You're still trying to get me to join?" I was met with a slight nod.
"Honestly, for you to think I am strong enough for your entire pawn collection is very flattering. You don't need to save up for me—with your growing power and my shitty talent in magic and half-asleep sacred gear, even a single pawn is already too much for me." I said self-deprecatingly.
"That's not true!" Rias stood up in anger while slamming her hands on her table, nearly destroying it with her flaring power. "Don't you realise how strong you are!? Out of everyone I know, only you train every day and come up with all kinds of spells, despite your lack of talent in magic! Where you stand currently in terms of power is more than enough to be worth more than a couple of pawns, and I'll be damned on wasting my chance on having you by my side over some boy I've never met before!" She finished screaming while panting heavily in the end.
I was at first a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst, before remembering who I was dealing with. Releasing a slight chuckle, I couldn't help but retort, "Come now, Rias, at least let me belittle myself a bit. You people care too much, you're risking a potentially broken sacred gear user in your team. I'm sure you'd prefer having someone better—"
Slap!
"-!"
I was shocked by the stinging sensation on my face, as I watched in surprise at Rias's face filled with anger and sadness. "Don't. You. Ever. Say something like that to me ever again!" She took hold of my uniform collar and brought me closer to her face, making me look directly into her eyes—noticing the tears she'd been holding back ready to break out of the dam. "Or I swear to Satan, that I'll forget our deal and forcefully turn you into a devil and show you just how much I care about you!"
.
.
.
'Damn, I went a bit too far today.'
We stayed like this for a while, our eyes zoned in on each other. I could make out each of her emotions clearly from her gaze with her so close to me. I could read her like an open book.
Before this situation got out of hand and Rias would do something irreversible, I gave her an excuse to leave. "Class is soon starting… I should leave."
"..."
Looking at me for a few more seconds, she released a sigh before letting go of my collar. "Yeah...sorry for the slap." She said meekly while avoiding my gaze once more.
It might have been at the spur of the moment, I couldn't really blame her. I was being a pessimistic asshole for a bit there, so I deserved that slap to get me out of my hole.
"Take care. Be sure to put Issei up to date with everything," I said while leaving the clubroom. "Also...thanks, Rias."
{Break}
With Hachiman gone from the room, Rias once again slumped on her chair, both relieved and frustrated with what just happened.
"Oh, Satan… I nearly kissed him without thinking… and I slapped him!" She hid her face in shame while mentally apologising to her queen/best friend. Of course, his previous statement did make her slap him on the cheeks, but he deserved that. It was at the heat of the moment, she wanted to comfort him so badly that she nearly did something cheap behind Akeno's back.
Rias hadn't given up on him, she didn't think it was possible, especially with what she witnessed last night. But she wanted to impress him and win him over with her fight against Riser to prove a point—that she wasn't a damsel in distress.
And what's worst of all, he nearly caught her in the middle of her doing something unthinkable.
Opening her cabinet, she took out an old crinkled picture of her and Hachiman posing in an anime convention while cosplaying. She needed something to take away her pent-up desires… so she resorted to using his picture and replaying last night's scene again and again in her head.
She would have died from embarrassment if he had caught her in the middle of getting herself off to one of his pictures.
"Haaaa! I'm such an idiot!" She screamed to herself, not caring about waking up the still unconscious Issei, and banged her head a couple of times on her desk.
"Stupid, stupid…"
Now she had to figure out what to do with Issei!
There is no way in hell she'll use any of her eight pawns on him, no way! That was for Hachiman only! If her knight, bishop, or remaining rook didn't work then she would just let Sona take care of him.
Her battle with Riser didn't bother her that much, she still had a lot of time left.
If things went smoothly and the Phenex family followed the set date they agreed upon, which is after her graduation, she would have been prepared by then.
But with the political climate in the Underworld, you never knew what would happen next.
{Break}
-Hachiman POV-
After classes were done, I walked to the roof of the school. It was a barren place, where no one would see me teleport.
Aika was taking care of the small requests, but she had been asking me to look for a new member because she couldn't keep up with the sheer number of requests we were recieving on a dailyl basis. Though Akeno was technically the vice president of the club on paper, I wouldn't ask her for help as the people would surely request ridiculous things from her.
Also, apparently, Issei had woken up and had been updated with everything that happened, the problem, according to Rias's text, was thst he was still in denial with Raynare.
He honest-to-God still thought that he had a chance with her, and that the Fallen had some hidden feelings for him as well.
He just wouldn't listen.
'I'll have to take drastic measures if this continues.'
"Ah, good afternoon Hachiman-kun." On my way to the rooftop, I came across Kiba who gave me a polite greeting.
I guess he needed some alone time, being hounded constantly by girls would be tiring for anyone. While Vali would be the quintessential bad boy, Kiba would be his exact opposite—a prince charming that makes everyone around him swoon with but a single gaze.
"Yo," I waved at him lazily, "did you send that device to my house?" I asked about the sacred gear extractor we found last time; though mostly broken, I'm sure I could find a use for it.
"Don't worry, I sent the package without Buchou knowing about it." He said, his pleasant smile still plastered on his face.
"Good, I'll be going somewhere now, be sure to check up on Issei before he does something stupid." Like trying to meet Raynare.
"Don't worry, I got your back."
We exchanged a few more words before going our separate ways. I trusted Kiba; while he was a kind-hearted individual, he had his own problems as well. It took a while for me to accept him at first—his resemblance to Hayama was too much for comfort—but now things were good between us.
As I reached the rooftop—first making sure that there was no one around—I began my teleportation spell. Focusing on one of my anchors, the one I left in Azazel's home, I soon began drawing on to the source until a black magic circle formed beneath my feet and slowly engulfed me in a dark violet light.
{Break}
-Azazel's house-
Just like before, it only took me about a few seconds to reach the other side. With time and practice, I was becoming more and more efficient with it. 'Who knows, one day I won't even need these anchors anymore.'
The room I found myself in was a prime example of a boujee lifestyle apartment—Marble countertop, modern kitchen, fancy lighting, and gold plated items. I wondered if people in the supernatural world just loved to show off their wealth… I wonder how the angels would differ.
"Oh, boyo, you're just in time! I have some guests today." From the corner of my eyes, I saw none other than Azazel, the governor-general of the Grigori. He hadn't changed at all, which is something you would expect from a nigh immortal being.
I greeted before turning my attention to the other two individuals in the room.
"-!"
Immediately I felt my whole body instictually freeze up as I glanced at them.
In front of me was an older-looking tall man, even towering over Azazel himself, who I considered to be very tall to begin with. He has white hair that's often spiked up, wearing a gold armour that seemed to refract light itself. He looked even more unnatural with his white eyes which radiated a godly aura.
On his side was a beautiful woman; with her dark hair and eyes, she looked like the complete opposite of the man. Her clothing was a long black dress that became see-through at the bottom, showing off her legs. And just like with the previous guy, I could feel tremendous power from her.
Azazel noticed my reaction and tried to soothe things out in the room, "Hey you two, might want to suppress your powers for a bit, you're scaring my friend over here." Without any warning, he shoved a glass of whiskey at me and gave me a sharp glare. 'Don't panic,' that is what his stare was conveying. "As for you, Hachiman, these are two of my oldest friends from Ireland, Lugh and Badb. These gods here wish to acquire some assistance from you."
He said to me casually before walking out of the room and leaving me alone with two freaking gods!
'Stay calm Hachiman, just greet them politely.'
.
.
.
"Yo."
Damn it, I fucked up…
Next 4 chapters are already available on my p@treon at /NimtheWriter
And get early access chapter of my second fic. (Broly x Fairy tail)