Faust Kuroki separated himself from the crowd silently as they fussed with Kiba's newfound perspective. He moved to Rias' desk, and after thinking for a while, sat on it. Everyone looked really happy, even the usually taciturn Koneko. Her remarks weren't as cold and biting this night, courtesy of the cake. After a month of knowing him, and being responsible for multiple invasion of privacy in his room, Rias Gremory wasn't surprised at all. Instead, she positioned herself near him, also as a silent observer to her peerage.
" It's been a month, hasn't it?"
" Feels far longer than it should have, though."
" Being exposed to multiple death threats while simultaneously exploring the other side of the world tends to do that. In some ways, Issei adapted better than you."
" He's just excited about a very real prospect of having a harem for real."
Her hand was brought to her mouth, muffling the light giggles. Whoever her mentor was, Rias managed to ingrain the habits of a noble to herself splendidly. Even though it hadn't been that long, she knew silent moments during conversations were a given with this guy. They'd just suddenly stop talking and enjoy.
Thinking of that, she giggled and plopped on her comfy chair.
" What do you think, Faust-kun? Of this club and the members."
Again, he didn't say a word for a while. Truly, a certified ruminator he was, even more so than cows or bulls. After a few minutes in silence, when she was about to throw out another, he gulped down a whole paper cup of soda and released a satisfied huff.
" Honest answer?"
" Of course."
" A whole bunch of teenagers."
" Well..." Her mind couldn't help but be surprised at his sarcasm. She was really intrigued, though. From her point of view, they already improved quite a bit and moved on from their wounds. She knew the scars would last, but at least they weren't bleeding anymore. Carefree school life had done wonders for all of them.
" I think Issei's still shaken from being killed by Raynare after working really hard on the date they went through. That's a really low blow for guys, so that's a given."
" Anyone would get hurt after that, male or female."
He chuckled a little at her response.
" Asia, well, I personally think she's got excessive need of self-sacrifice. It feels like she won't allow herself to be happy, back then at least. When she was at the cross... she looked like she thought she deserved all that, even while she was unconscious.. If you ask me, I'd say the church's indoctrination left a lasting mark on her psyche. Working for the good of people, not herself, and all that stuff."
Rias sighed at his comment. Asia's history was a dark one, something that made the male narrow his eyes. An abandoned infant left at the doorstep of a church in England, who just happened to possess a rare ability of healing. She was indoctrinated to heal whoever came to her, whether they're rich or poor, heroes or convicts, thus earning her the name of saint.
But healing was a nasty job. After all, as many people she cured, there were also many that died before her. After that, she met a heavily injured devil near the church. Staying true to her faith that all beings deserved salvation, she healed him.
That day, the revered saint became the detestable witch. The witch didn't belong in God's abode that was the church.
" I guess faith really does work both ways, huh?"
" Aren't you glad you saved her? I mean, you planned for her to have the choice for herself, to stay human or be reincarnated. I could revive her, you know."
" I think it's sad if her whole life were to be spent without making any choice for herself, even in death."
" Softie."
" Akeno-senpai. From what I see, she and Koneko have similar problems, but different coping mechanisms. How long has she practiced that default smile? Did something happen that made her lose something important, family maybe? That smile's the telltate sign of masking self-disgust."
His eyes were trained on the Queen, who was going 'ara, ara' as usual.
" That middle-schooler, same thing, I guess. Abandonment issue for sure. No emotions to prevent excessive attachment? Lock and keys? I'd recognize that anywhere."
It was very close to the truth, the big picture he gave out. Rias couldn't help but laugh with less spirit than she usually would. Faust released a hollow chuckle, and looked down.
" As for Kiba, well, what the hell does he live for? Look at him. That guy hides a big mess underneath that perfect guy persona. Perfect, practiced smile, knight persona... with something against holy swords? That's why you told me to conceal it, right?"
She was silent, trying to digest what he just casually blurted.
" How did you find out?"
" His favorite blade eats light."
" Good point. Well, he IS obsessed with that sword he calls Holy Eraser."
The guy who could make all kinds of swords only make a sword that could eat holy energy, and not try anything else. In his viewpoint, such oversight could only mean something was off. If he were to possess such interesting power, he couldn't even begin to imagine all the possibilities waiting to be uncovered.
Rias sighed at her piece's antiques, and glanced at Faust's lingering mad scientist's grin. Admittably, it was kind of unsettling. But somehow, it was also somewhat endearing, especially since his default face exuded fatigue and chill.
" That's my Faust. My... Well, I'll have lots of time to think about what he is once I shake off this wretched engagement."
The other members were happily frolicking around, eating and drinking. As a former so-called saint, Asia had little to no experience with the oppositte gender, aside from healing purposes or talking with priests or deacons or other management people. She'd even met the pope once, one of the reasons of her almost blind devotion.
Even now, she felt like returning to the church was a real possibility, perhaps after she weathered the storm due to her lack of belief. Still, despite this being a den full of vile creatures known as devils, she was really comfortable with their presence, even wiping cake from one of the recent addition's face.
" Thanks a lot, Asia! Man, this cake is amazing!"
" Of course, Issei-san! Here, aahh~"
" Aahh~ mmm~"
Perhaps this was a path for her, laid out by God himself despite her fatal offense years ago. She found company and place to be, although not exactly as she imagined. There was no overbearing crowds, no judging eyes full of expectations, and no pressuring discipline. A normalcy she'd always wanted, but never able to obtain because she had to devote her life to God.
Here, with her beloved.
Rias was relieved that Asia was able to fit in comfortably, despite them supposedly being on opposing factions. Honestly, she thought that taking the burden of such choice wouldn't be any less kindness compared to giving her the choice. That way, she could think 'it couldn't be helped', thus cutting off any future complications. Looking at her now, so in love and thriving, she couldn't help but be jealous.
Even now, when she jogged with a shy smile and two plates with cake on them.
" Here, buchou-san."
She smiled sweetly at her, full of innocence, as if she'd never experienced despair. Rias took the plate off her hand and thanked her.
" And here, err, Kuroki-san..."
The nun had uneasy expression on her face. She almost keeled when Faust stepped forward and accepted the plate. Poor girl would've dropped if not for Faust quickly taking the plate.
" Oy, Faust! What the hell are you doing to Asia?!"
" Breathing the same air?"
Issei helped Asia stand firmly by lending his shoulder. Rias was unable to contain her laugh, and her pawn was the same after he knew what happened. The guy patted my shoulder and leaned heavily.
" Asia, no need to fear this guy. He looks scary but once you know him, he's not that bad of a guy. Well, unless you count out talking like a grandpa, that is."
" Well, as long as he's on your side at least."
The last remark from the highest devil authority in the room made both Issei and Asia shudder involuntarily. Faust's eye twitched in annoyance. The reason of such estrangement was valid, but that was like admitting he had very abrasive personality and face.
" Damn, I'm slacking too much."
He relaxed himself, and pushed away the thoughts of magic, fallen angels, and whatever Rias was hiding for now. Faust exerted control on his facial muscles. Mastering expressions was a very useful skill, especially for framing unsavory people and gaining sympathy. Weirdly enough, there were two more people in this club capable of similar feat.
" Thank you, Asia-san. I'll be counting on you as a fellow human, okay? Let's get along well from now on."
Asia and Issei left, happily returning to their private world. Rias was still unable to control her laugh, and was relying on her fancy desk for support to prevent her from keeling over due to respiratory arrest. In fact, her stomach felt constricted after guffawing that much. It had been quite a while since she could abandon her princess persona and just laugh to half-death like this.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, her talking partner was not amused. His cold frown that would usually murder of any good atmosphere now looked very ridiculous to her. Indeed, fun was really a matter of perspective.
" Sorry, sorry. You can't blame me, though. Still, looking at you until now, I'd thought that pure, naive, ignorant, and innocent little girl isn't something you're fond of?"
" It's not. But it's barbaric to just destroy things I don't like."
He chewed the last piece of cake, and put the plate beside him. Rias' blue-green eyes stared at him very closely, unflinching even after he caught her.
" What?"
" You're very observant, Faust-kun. But certainly, what you're saying sounds pretty far from normal, right?'
Instead of responding, he wiggled to get more comfortable position. After a short while, he answered.
" Is it? Well, they're the same as others for me."
" I see."
" Mm-hmm."
" Then..."
She closed one of her eyes teasingly and pointd at herself.
" What about me?"
Contrary to her expectations, though, his face was an exemplary deadpan.
" Rias-senpai, do you have some weird kinks? Perhaps something that would complement Akeno-senpai?"
" Huh? What do you mean?"
" I mean, you just blatantly asked to get roasted, didn't you? Unfortunately, I don't have share the same hobby as your Queen. With that said, you can ask her instead."
Rias let out a really long sigh, and slumped on the polished oak.
" So, how bad is your fiancee?"
The chair clattered as she stood up immediately and slammed her hands on the table. Then, she grabbed his collar and forced him to face her.
" How do you know?"
" You're acting so sullen, sighing every time you see anything remotely romantic. It's obvious, isn't it? And then you're so adamant about silliest things about love and stuff like that. And you're the sole heiress of a noble family of a race with severe birth problems to the point they have to reincarnate other races to repopulate. I can go on, but you get the gist."
He pushed her away, letting her sit back on her chair.
" Look, you don't want others to know, right? Be less obvious then."
Rias Gremory was very annoyed. She'd wanted to have the sole male human join in a weekend physical training for a change of pace from their grueling work and research. The dark room devoid of any life greeted her instead.
" How could this be? That guy absolutely loathes waking up early!"
She stomped her heels while pouting, then activated the communication circle she'd given him for both safety and communication purposes.
Meanwhile, Faust Kuroki was yawning as he was in a moving car, conversing with an old man at least 4 times his age.
" Yeah, hotels aren't not doing too well lately, a downtrend for these three months. But holiday season is coming soon. Besides, the buffet and meeting rooms are doing alright, even more so than before, in fact. Kuoh's having lots of deals lately... It's better to get this issue done before December, about two or three months then."
The back of his hand warmed, and glowed. Luckily, it was hidden from sight. The grandpa chuckled at his shock.
" Well, go ahead and take it, lad."
" Yep, sorry grandpa."
He turned around and whispered, "not now" at the glowing circle. It dimmed down, and Faust expertly, as all millenials, tapped on his phone and put it near his ear.
" Hello, Rias-senpai? What's the matter?"
A half-shocked, half-annoyed voice came from the other side.
" Oh, I'm going around with my grandpa. Yes, until about 2 or 3 PM. You were? Hm, well, next time, then. What? You shouldn't worry about small matter like that, senpai."
The call was short, but his grandpa's smirk indicated the repercussions wouldn't be. In that matter, he was the origin of the intimidating nature of Faust's mad grin.
" Girlfriend? As expected of my grandson."
Obviously, business was the farthest thing in the old man's mind right now.
" Nope. Come on, grandpa. We've still got four hotels and two whole apartments to visit, and then properties in Kyoto, Tokyo, Okinawa, and..."
He waved his hand impatiently, as if dismissing his grandson.
" Those things can wait. You made them self-sufficient, after all. Your plans cover until June next year still. This—"
He tapped on a notebook full of scribbles and a pad full of graphs and tables.
" Isn't the primary reason I'm taking you."
" Right."
His grandpa's creases were more pronounced when he sighed. Usually, he was energetic, but this time, he looked his age.
" At least lemme do it right this time, Faust. When your parents ain't able to, heavy job of embarassing you falls to me. Look at you, though, ain't giving me no chance at all."
He fell back to his old accent, as a sign of his distress. Faust's face hardened, and he looked forward at the road instead.
" That's alright. I'm not fond of being embarassed anyway."
" Of course. That's the whole point."
The old man guffawed at his grandson's deadpan face, risking sudden breathing difficulty and stomach cramps was well worth it for that. In fact, his stomach did curl up a little after that, but well, it was fine.
They arrived at a hotel, promoting a clean, slightly opulent, but quite elegant image to it. Both men entered, welcomed by the staff carefully.
" What are you doing? No need to welcome us, finish your work!"
" Yes, sir!"
All of them were promptly returned by their boss' scolding. Faust picked up a plate and started scooping in pasta with mushroom sauce and several slices of garlic bread. His grandpa opted for chicken soup instead.
" Honestly, all of them..."
" Yeah, well."
" What is that thing again? Torn, Born effect? Something about people giving better results under supervision?"
" Hawthorne effect, grandpa."
He scooped in the warm liquid, and sighed in contentment. Quality was one thing service industry must always uphold no matter what.
" No need for theory and all that fancy stuff to say that people can only work well under watchful eyes. Really, ask any good businessmen, they know. Ah, here he is."
The manager came. With that, they all started their monthly review of the hotel's condition.
" My prince, ahh, my prince, please wake up from your lengthy slumber and embrace me, for I long for your warmth and affection... By the way, Asia-chan's waiting."
A cute blonde nun and scarlet-haired onee-san stared at the curved alarm clockwith 3D projection of a half-naked busty princess with her breasts wholly exposed. Issei innocently turned in his sleep, despite having a not-so-innocent dream.
" Asia-chan, this is..."
" Ah, yes. Well, apparently Faust-san gave him this, and he's been using it since forever..."
Asia giggled shyly, still not used to his antics despite waking him up for a week now. Rias usually just waited outside while she woke him up and got him ready. Still, clock or not, that dialogue didn't seem scripted somehow. She was even more surprised when it prodded Issei awake with another that linked with the previous, jolting him awake on the promises of the reward for saving the kingdom.
" Well, he says something about it being loaded with a virtual assistant that's been, what's the word, booming since 2 years ago... What is it? I'm sure it has a scary name..."
Rias took out her smartphone and tapped on an app. It expanded, showing a cute purple bat with comical eyes. It started chatting through a frame on the side while flying around the screen, and Rias smiled gently at it, as if meeting her friend.
" Viend, short for Virtual Friend. It can do a lot of things, from waking you up, checking schedules, and playing music, and the likes. But the most attractive thing is that it's designed to become your friend. I don't know how it works, but it does its job really well."
" How fascinating... I didn't know such thing exists!"
" Yeah, well, it's one of the reasons Japanese people face harsher population challenge, though."
Issei finally was conscious of his surrounding, and with the alarm clock congratulating him and wishing him a good day, it turned off. He saw the two and pulled his cover abruptly, hiding the unfortunate event, byproduct of male physiology. It didn't help that his nightly routine was impeded by tests and homeworks.
" Err, buchou? I'm gonna get ready, so..."
" Aahh, don't worry Issei. It's normal for all males, anyway."
" I-It's fine, Ise-san! I won't think less of you!"
The pawn stormed out of his room in tears, cursing his luck of having a bad case of morning wood when both Asia and buchou came in. He really had to wake up earlier, and make it a habit very soon.
" Aah, yeah. We got it from a festval around here. Took us a dozen times to get it."
He reminisced the younger days while doing his usual running lap, Rias and Asia biking just behind.
" You seem awfully interested in Faust, buchou. Are you—"
" Eyes on the road, Issei. Faster!"
" Hiii, yes!"
The draconic Sacred Gear wielder upped his pace by the command of his King. That action left him panting like a dog more than he usually did. Asia, the ever kind girl, quickly offered him some water, which he accepted gladly.
His training had showed some results, courtesy of his demonic physique. Accelerated metabolism and healing helped him increase his strength quite a bit, although not at a very monstrous rate. It wasn't like he was involved in any clubs with physical focus before, making this new routine a bit heavier for him.
Still, he endured. Last time, Faust had to step in and save the day. Now that he was a devil, with a Godslaying weapon no less, he wanted to finally be able to do the same. His friend helped save Asia, it fell to him to protect her now.
For now, he had to nurse his really fatigued limbs, though. Asia could alleviate the pain and damage, but nothing to fatigue.
Props to devil physiology though, he recovered pretty quickly after the training session. As usual, it ended after about one hour and half. Asia brought a picnic basket filled with sandwich, and they ate on a bench nearby.
" Buchou, what's the matter?"
Asia tilted her head, calling out to a zoned out third-year. Rias broke out of her daydream, and popped in the last bite of her sandwich..
" Asia, your things have been moved, by the way. And you're sure you want to transfer to school?"
" Yes, buchou-san. Thank you very much."
" It's nothing. Well, should we return?"
The trip back felt shorter despite Rias and Asia riding a bike and urging him to go faster every 10 seconds. The front gate looked like a moving company just dropped in, though.
" From now on, Issei, Asia will be staying here."
" HUH?!"
The fidgeting nun jumped at his rather violent reaction, with tears forming in her eyes. Seeing her shudder, Issei quickly ran to her side and dish out a rather awkward attempt at consolation. As the sheltered girl she was, Asia swallowed his attempt without any question and returned to her happy self.
All three of them entered Issei's house, once again nearly giving the Hyoudou couple heart attack. After all, their perverted mess of a son with unbendable faith to mammaries had brought home two girls that would make models ashamed. They got used to Asia, but this was their first time meeting and talking with Rias.
Was this buxom western beauty trying to sell a vase and drain out family funds?
Fortunately, Rias had experience from her high-class devil's education, which included a whole lot of negotiations. With only that, and Hyoudou couple's desperation for grandchildren, Asia was successfully incorporated into the family without issues. Why, in fifteen minutes, it was as if Asia was their child instead of Issei.
She spent some more time to exchange banters with her Pawn's family, ensuring that Asia was in good hands, and know him a bit better. After that, she left the place, letting Issei and Asia get more accustomed to their new circumstances.
Faust returned with more relaxed face. The monthly trip with his grandpa was a good way to unwind, despite it being reviewing, monitoring, and understanding how his properties were doing. Currently, that old man also had an interesting project of making tree houses at places rich with nature, something of a resort or an assortment of villas.
" Honestly, if only he's like this before... No, mom wouldn't have let it anyway... Not after how he treated her when she was young..."
Truly, humans were extremely weird and irrational creatures. What happened to his family was a prime example of how ridiculous human nature truly was. Or maybe take a page of history, any page. Executions, riots, dictators, and the craziest one, in his opinion at least, the concept of honorable death, or harakiri, or seppuku, whichever term.
What was he thinking about again? Oh yeah, ridiculousness of human nature.
Faust's mind dived into the pages of history book he'd read before, and sneered as he recalled the ridiculous events. Truly, the quote of 'stupidity knows no limit' was spot on.
" This is just depressing. Why am I fussing over unfair executions? I got research to do."
He inhaled, and harnessed the energy around him. He'd been able to distinguish between chi and magic—generally similar but very different nonetheless. Getting to know people who utilized magic on daily basis was a great way to learn magic, and it helped that Koneko seemed well-versed in chi, life force, and whatnot.
His obsession with learning things he didn't previously know spurred the process even faster. He now noticed things he'd previously taken for granted. For example, breathing techs to calm down, alleviate pain, or even increase strength temporarily he'd been using to curb down his stress apparently also promoted easier access and acclimation to chi.
It seemed shaolin monks were for real, after all. But after seeing teleportation and other outrageous things daily, the novelty wore off rather quickly.
" Right, Sirius. Are you done with the language yet?"
" Apologies, sir. I need approximately 48 hours, 30 minutes, and 15 seconds more to complete this task."
" Even you'd take this much time, huh..."
" Slave-driver. Actualizing a completely new language in terms of mechanics and this level of intuitiveness... my poor self..."
" Just so you know, I just think it's really complicated, this magic thing, if it gives you this much trouble."
" May I suggest adding the conditional variable 'magic' to brain matrix?"
" Alright."
...
...
...
As his trusty 'partner' did its own thing, Faust fiddled on his own. A complete, functioning language might still be out of reach, but he still had some rough prototype at least. In a way, magic was the most intuitive language of all.
It had no form, nor fixed definition. It could be anything the user wanted, in fact, the users' desire was the one to give born to the concept of 'magic' itself (Devipedia, n.d.). The book's original text was so old to the point there was no system of calendar yet.
Luckily, he had experience coding something as vague as desire and emotions. Otherwise, he might pull out his hair in frustration, and make Rias and Sona also bald due to stress from unending questions a very real possibility.
After a few hours of trying out the limits of magic he currently could muster, which included only the simplest designs, his mother screamed from downstairs. With smooth and trained movements, he ran downstairs as fast as his feet could take him. One second meant one minute, one minute meant an hour, so on, so forth. That was the type of person she was.
" What the hell are you doing, lazing around in the house— Do something useful!"
The same sentence was launched, with more nagging and a bit more profanity. Of course, the volume was dialed from zero to twenty as well. His witty retorts were swallowed back, as he always needed to. Never a pleasant experience. Of course, she just conveniently forgot he'd spent about half of his day going around with his grandpa, helping out with his business.
Like always. She'd added that he was going around in an air-conditioned car, while she was stuck cleaning her parents' house out of piety, sweaty and tired. And he'd gotten occasional pocket money just from sitting pretty and doing nothing.
" –WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE, THAT FACE WOULD'VE EARNED ME A BELT! YOU THINK—"
The whole thing was recited without fail, perfectly following the procedure. Knowing he was just a convenient venting place, albeit an unwilling one, he sighed and left the house. As usual, his destination was an old bookstore a bit far from his home. Before he knew it, he was already squatting down in a bookstore, reading a novel in training pants and grey hoodie.
" I'm pathetic..."
Already knowing how things would turn out was different from coming to terms with it. The key word was 'mitigating', not 'nullifying'. No matter how many years, he just couldn't get used to this. All the research, observation, and self-hypnotizing methods didn't work as well as he'd like, and after a point, they became obsolete. Not to mention those motivation books which would just make him feel more guilty for not being able to deal with things easily.
" I really— No, no, that's bad. I won't be able to stop once I get there."
" Hey, Kuroki-kun. Our porn section is over there."
" Tell that to one of the trio, miss shop attendant."
Wearing casual clothes didn't really do much against a figure like Nase, instead enhancing her domestic look even more. The words that came out from her mouth, though...
" Why not? Isn't that the boys' sole reason for coming here? We don't really really care about age, anyway. What sells, sells. Besides, it was your idea."
" Then let me enjoy this novel."
" You'd rather read than spend quality time with me?"
She'd also squatted beside him, looking at him with the legendary puppy eyes that all males considered as lethal weapon. It was basically the equivalent of throwing a berry before the poke-ball.
Faust spared her a glance.
" Yes."
Utterly ineffective. The power of tiredness combined with stress was too great. Mitsuki Nase's face contorted to disbelief, then a giggle.
" Maybe that would be effective, then?"
Faust followed her pointed finger, landing at a certain vice-president of a certain club looking around. She picked up his book and bumped him lightly, forcing him to yelp a little.
" Shoo, shoo."
Mitsuki Nase watched as he got dragged away by the bustier older woman. She looked at the book, caressed it and returned it to the corner he'd claimed as his own.
" Don't read when you're depressed, moron."
" Oi, Mitsuki! Man the cashier for a while, will ya?"
" Cooomiiiiingg~"
"You could've called me, Akeno-senpai."
" I don't have your number, though."
Faust facepalmed. These devils could search for files and investigate private matters, even cause wide mind alteration, and still couldn't a phone number. Perhaps he was just a passing fancy, after all. But that would be inconsistent with their effort, and the fact that this senpai was here as well...
" Faust-kun? Hello?"
" Oh, it's nothing. So, why have you come, Akeno-senpai?"
She smiled, and walked a bit faster, with hands clasped behind her.
" You see, buchou and kaichou have some big news, and we can't do without all our club members, can we?"
" Hoo~ Akeno-senpai, don't turn back."
" Of course, ufufu~"
They'd been followed for the last 5 minutes. Of course, since they went around to the same place, there was no doubt at all. Faust's face hardened, while Akeno's took on a wider smile, with the purest of intentions.
Purely willing to commit atrocities, that is.
Her breath tickled his ear.
" Faust-kun, let's go to a place with less... witnesses."
" Are you sure?"
" Very~"
He was with a devil capable of deep-frying monsters using their own fat. If she were sure, then he didn't mind. What could a couple human thugs do against a creature of the night? They went to a rather dark and dirty alley people avoided. Of course, the bait was eaten without any suspicion at all.
" Oh, oh, lookie, isn't that little demon spawn over there? Ha, paying a whore cause you can't bang otherwise?!"
" Nerd kid you always talk about, aniki?"
" *whistles* Look at what he brought, though! Hot piece of ass!"
Slick hair evident of excessive gel use, a body befitting frequent visits to gym, and wannabe punk look. How people changed after just a few years baffled him. To think they used to be attending one of the most prestigious prep school for talented kids in Japan. Faust sighed in utter disappointment. He was sick, he was tired, and honestly, he was very much in need of stress relief.
" Akeno-senpai, we seem to stumble to a pack of rabid apes."
Despite his nonchalant attitude, he unconsciously moved in front of the woman, not liking the hungry, molesting eyes of surrounding men. The guy spread his arms, although a bit harder with the alley they were in.
" Nerd as he is, look what he brought us. An absolute bombshell. Good job, demon spawn, you can go to hell now."
The stress level had reached the point where it impaired his limitations when one of them approached, grabbed his shoulder and tried pushing him aside.
" Anatomy lesson. There are all kinds of joints in the body, all with their own range of movements. For example..."
*CRACK*
" AAAGGHHH!"
The guy knelt in pain. If breaking one wasn't enough, there were more, was what in his mind.
" Fingers. You never were good at anatomy, huh? Shouldn't skimp on money for classes, Maru. Look at you, crawling around the streets, pretending to own the place when you just flunked and got too embarassed to go next year."
He was considering making a show out of this guy, but after breaking all his fingers, he decided otherwise and pushed him stumbling back.
" Scram, failure. Before your grandma started cursing your parents' grave for birthing dipshit like you. She doesn't spend her savings for a dog with mohawk."
" And you, Tarou."
He pointed at his former classmate, who was the head of the pack.
" Getting expelled did you well, huh? Still in contact with everyone from middle school? Bet you do, cool guy. Cool enough to get sold out by your 'friends'. How did it feel? How did YOU feel? I mean, getting caught beating the shit out of them should've scored you some cool points. Tell me, man."
" YOU!"
His face was purple. The same thing he used to boast to his gang friends, when spoken by him, grated on his ears. Ah, youth. Embarassment of such time could be said as proof of sufficient growth in maturity. However, these people seemed to have regressed instead, and used the most primitive form of dominance that was aggression to assert themselves to society in their own twisted way.
" Criminal has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Failure of society, residue, you call it. But you can't even do it right. Oh yeah, we all want to strut around with mohawks and leather jackets from daddy's money. Crawl around at night like roaches, licking hand with other dogs, right? Better than those stuck-up shitheads, as I recall? But you..."
Faust laughed loudly at the tension.
" Begged the school not to report you. Cause deep down, deep down, you know that's all you had. Cause you don't know what you're doing with your life. Shipped off, straight to juvenile prison, all because you wanna be a cool kid. Worth it? Say something, come on."
The guy dropped down, shivering as Faust laughed at his worst experiences.
" Go on. Leave him, help him, not my business. I'll do mine. Let's go, Akeno-senpai."
She was wearing a very complicated face, but anger was definitely dominant. The air also had been smelling like ozone for a while.
Unfortunately, the path was blocked. It seemed the God of protagonists shone on him today. Protecting a damsel in distress was definitely protag 101. But Akeno Himejima wasn't a damsel. She was a bona fide devil.
" Hoo~ kid. You done a number on my brats, good job."
Faust's eyes widened at the familiar voice.
" It's him."
His face went from almost sick elation to a mixture of insane hatred and horror in seconds. Tattoos going over his left arm and shoulder, and a scar on the left cheek... That damned menace of a man.
" That bastard..."
His throat felt dry, and his breath grew erratic. It felt like there was liquid metal being poured down his throat, melting his intestines in agonizingly slow motion.
" Oh, aren't you the brat from a family neck-deep back in the day? Mommy and daddy in home now? You've grown quite—"
*SNAP*
Something snapped inside of him.
.
.
.
" AAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
He couldn't finish as Faust let out a grim growl as his fist caved in his diaphragm. The man got his breath knocked out, but as experienced as he was, he still cocked his fist and swung at the boy's head. Faust grabbed his punching arm as if waiting already, and used the force to swing his face to the wall.
" Shit..."
It was his last thought.
Faust felt as if something dark and sticky inside burst out when he grabbed the guy's head in an iron grip, and roared as his face collided with the cold brick wall. Blood trickled down, the iron smell permeating the area. But Faust was too far gone already.
*CRAAACCKKK* *KRRTTCCHHHH*
All his resistance disappeared with a trail of blood smeared to the rough wall. Everyone present watched in horror as the man fell pitifully to a puddle of his own blood, with face already far beyond recognition.
" Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Akeno-senpai is here..."
The brief madness subsided as quickly as it appeared, and his coherence returned. The insanity he kept locked in exploded like a broken dam, and he felt like he was out of his mind, quite literally.
Not knowing what to do, he froze. Like a deer in headlights.
Akeno, on the other hand, was also stunned, but for reasons different from what he had in mind.
Her hand reached for her phone, and poked in the number.
" Yes, Akeno?"
" Buchou, Faust-kun looks very tired. Since it's important, though, I'll be waiting for him should he feel fit enough to join today."
" Akeno, wait—"
Beep~ Beep~ Beep~
" Come with me, Faust-kun."
Akeno's POV
He'd been silent along the way, letting me grab his hand and guide him wherever.
" Just to be sure, I've modified the memories of those present. Well, they're schmucks, so I think the police will write it off as drunks fighting or something anyway."
" ..."
He was different than when he crushed that mad ex-priest. Then, he exuded cold-blooded, almost machine-like style and now, well... The only thing I could say about it is that it was insanity given form. It was just for a very short moment, maybe even a few seconds, so certainty was certainly out of question.
During that very brief moment too, I felt as if the whole world had gone bleak. It was a wave of sheer dread, permeating the air like poisonous gelatin, sticky and deadly. The worst part was that I knew it was more than capable of devouring me. The coldness behind my neck, squirming around all over... It was like being a rabbit stared down by a snake. And rabbits COULD die out of fear. However, the craziest part was that I felt that dread was basically Faust projecting himself to the tangible world.
Yes, Rias would call me insane, and politely send me to insane asylum if she heard. But that was what my womanly instincts said about it. Somehow, I could feel I get this being called Faust Kuroki a little bit more from that brief encounter with... whatever that was.
It was easy to know that he fully understood what just happened. My grip tightened around his hand, hopefully dissipating his worries. Just a bit is fine.
" Here is good."
It was a quiet cafe, managed by an old owner who could whip up marvelous tea and cake. The atmophere wasn't very appealing for youngsters nowadays whose sole purpose is seeking insta-worthy places, but it was nice and cozy.
I quickly placed orders, black tea for both, pancake with blueberry jam for me, honey for him. Faust was surprisingly a picky eater, one interesting factoid I got from the previous party. If there were other choices, he wouldn't touch things he didn't like.
" Akeno-senpai..."
" Yes, Faust-kun?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it, opened it again, then closed it before he could make out a single word. The words were like fishbone, painfully stuck and unable to go anywhere without bringing more pain.
How could I understand this person? He was a big contradiction, in and by himself. Back then when he saved Issei and Asia from the botched contract, he was cold-blooded and effective, decisively striking down Freed without any hesitation, and even trained his own gun at him. Not to mention the vicious verbal lashing that left the opponent experiencing existential crisis I witnessed first hand.
Although he looked like the villain instead of the protagonist back then. That laugh chilled her to the bone.
And then, that brief, anger-driven, insanity relapse. Even I could tell Faust was not in his right mind when he relieved the guy from his face. As unfortunate as it was, he would probably even leave him for me to play with. Alright, maybe a little fortunate. The two states were different, but both showed no hesitation or aversion to a very high degree of violence.
But here's the last one. Faust showed great remorse after he basically led those ex-priests to be mutilated by that filth Raynare, and this was its repeat. Honestly, this started to seem like a huge staged joke.
Fortunately, the tea came. Its aroma was amazing, and the taste also didn't disappoint. Well, not as good as the Underworld's tea she'd been serving since forever, but not bad nonetheless.
" I don't know what happened to you, and saying that I understand would be a lie. But I kind of catch a glimpse of the extent, after you unleash... whatever it was back then."
He was still not looking up. Sighing, I pushed the other cup to him.
" Drink it. It'll help calm your nerves."
The tea must've been scared from how intensely he glared. The lesser of hearts would find themselves intimidated by that kind of gaze, but fortunately, the cup had no such thing as limbic or nerve system necessary for that. He picked it up and sipped a little, wetting his mouth with the sweet, slightly hot liquid. Good, his nerves were going down. Hmm, looking at him like this, I could really understand why Rias called him cute. The image of him sulking was just... what did she name it? Gap moe?
How fascinating. My hidden side is threatening to come out~
" Himejima-senpai?"
Ah, I poked his cheek unconsciously.
" You can call me Akeno, you know. I definitely like the senpai at the end, though."
" ...Akeno-senpai. Is there any questions you want answered? Oh, but please don't expect all of them to be answered. You can expect me to answer truthfully, though."
I blinked. Ahh, this guy thought of me inviting him was for that reason. Reasonable, but a little too much considering what just happened. After all, I'd seen how he reacted after leading dozens of men to their brutal demise. One must always remember that Faust Kuroki, despite being able of performing the unthinkable, was still just a 15 years old.
But he also just smeared a guy's face to the wall after barely 1 minute of encounter. Well, I also just booked out after manipulating their memories, judging his mental state to be more crucial than a scum's possible death. Hah~ what a troublesome child.
" Faust-kun, I didn't bring you here to interrogate you, though."
" ..."
" Alright, you got me."
I raised my hands in defeat. There's no way one wouldn't be curious, right? Faust sighed, as if he'd thought that already.
" First, are you okay?"
He raised his eyebrow, and finally met me face-to-face. His face, though, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.
" Geez, I don't know. Am I? Was that supposed to be a moving punchline?"
That was casual jab, wasn't it? He sighed.
" It was a joke, Akeno-senpai. Okay is a very vague word, though. I'm not feeling very good, yes, but that's normal from someone whose club member almost commits absolutely untraceable murders."
" Ufufu~ You didn't consider me wanting to be saved by a prince on a white horse?"
" So you don't deny you want to deep-fry them with their own fat. Noted."
How terrifying... That suggestion was just too terrifying... But nonetheless, it was very, very interesting. Oh no, my face... Calm down, me. In front of me, Faust smirked. Aah, it was too late, wasn't it? My face had contorted to a rather unsettling smile.
Luckily, the pancakes came after I managed to fix myself. Smart boy, diverting the attention like that... I could understand how he managed to turn those priests against that filthy creature called fallen angel. If anything, that scored some plus points for me.
" Eat. You'll feel better."
I pushed the honeyed one to him. He liked his tea with a little bit of honey in it, thus said topping. Dejected look was supposed to show his dislike, but it was kind of hard to gauge which it reacted to in this situation.
He poked the food twice with the fork, then went ahead and cut a small mouthful with some honey. After chewing for a while, his eyes lit up a bit, then the portions he cut got a little bigger compared to before.
" Akeno-senpai?"
" Hm?"
" Won't you eat as well?"
I totally forgot my pancakes. This underclassman was just too fascinating, and I got a little too absorbed. Aah, what a shame. It's just lukewarm now, and the texture degraded a little. I picked up my fork and started eating as well.
How nice to have someone to actually appreciate good tea and comfortable silence. I didn't mind bubble tea or all those viral drinks and foods, but classic was where it was for me. Classic tea, nice atmosphere, and delicious food. No need for those antique murals or themed cafe people posted thousands of instagram photos of.
" Unfortunately, the world's demography consists mostly of those people, Akeno-senpai."
Oh, was I thinking out loud? He'd downed his last bite and licked his lips, cleaning the honey stuck there. My own plate was almost empty, too. His face looked a tad bit relaxed compared to how he was before.
Not much, though, considering his usual face consisted of half-dead eyes with dark bags and tiredness and indifference, but far better than the cold bloody murder face he'd been making quite often recently.
" Faust-kun, who was that person at the end?"
" He used to be with a troublesome group, then he degraded to trash after the group disappears. I don't know why he came back, though."
" Not that. The wall behind you were blown up even though his fist didn't even touch it."
He brought his hand to his chin, his pupils narrowing to a slit. Honestly, I'd rather bring up the matter with that yakuza and those acquaintances of his.
" You're saying he's using Sacred Gear? But it must be recently awakened. If he had it before, I'm positive I'd be dead long ago."
" If you don't mind me asking, would you elaborate on him? I'd rather have such... unsavory groups eradicated pronto. My clients would also agree, and help even. Business climate in this town has been good lately, and they want this to continue."
The CEO of a corporation operating a significant bulk of fast-food chains in Kuoh was also complaining about that. The rates of delinquency in Kuoh had never been too appealing, but that was limited to silly youthful mistakes. However, the recent increase of mugging and robbery near his properties was quite disturbing.
If this unsavory folk Faust literally defaced could lead to some findings, that would be very useful for future relations with a very powerful cooperator. Besides, all in all, Faust was still human. Having more human contacts higher up would only be good for him.
The boy just sighed. Well, it seemed my motives were seen through. But, sometimes, it was best to fall to ploys of those who were concerned, you know? Mm-hmm, his eyes were clearly saying 'what a ridiculous attempt' or 'try again next time'.
" Right, well, as far as I know, that guy was a part of yakuza group who's both a loan shark and debt collector. However, the whole organization was destroyed years ago, with little to no hope of revival. If he came here again, that must be for different reason, or organization. After all, that sort of lowlife can't really be expected to perform well without proper leader."
" Even more so now, I think."
That response was more of a reflex, that I didn't account for. Faust let out a small chuckle and looked outside.
" He'll live. He still had enough face to live."
I wanted to retort on how he was still coherent enough to notice that, but the words died in my throat. Far be it from me to squash the effort I gave to stabilize his mental state.
That, and I was a little scared at how nonchalant he was.
The guy, though, was absent-mindedly fiddling with the crumbs on his plate while saying those things.
" You know, being a devil involves many things, including extermination of monsters that were once like us too."
" Those reincarnated devils that lost control of foreign 'organ' that regulates interactions between devil and original biological systems, causing severe results ranging somewhere in between death and partial loss of cognitive function due to magical imbalance?"
Oh, right. I forgot that he was like this sometimes. No, no, what was he talking about? I could understand since he didn't use weird jargons, but the information's logic still needed some time to be processed properly. But, huh, I didn't know Strays were formed like that. Maybe it's because my devil educations included tutors and not tons of books and tomes?
" Yeah, that. Stray Devils have 'kill on sight' orders for all factions, and overseers often get tasked to clean up those that escape to their territories."
" Mm-hmm."
" So if it's any consolation, I, no, we aren't innocent stuck-ups who'd frown on you that easily."
Ah, the tea's gone already.
What a shame.
I was very tempted to order another cup, but our phones rang at the same time. Now this was what could be called an uncanny coincidence.
" Buchou. You?"
" Kaichou."
" They most likely have the same reason for calling, anyway. Well, Faust-kun, let's just take them here?"
He nodded, and promptly accepted the call as I did with Rias. Ah, she wanted to know if we were going to go to school after all. If Faust couldn't go, she wanted me to go there quickly, and maybe brief him tomorrow or something.
" Hm. What to do?"
I glanced at Faust, who was also talking with indoor volume. As expected, he went back to his regular self quite quickly.
" Yes, buchou. I'll ask Faust-kun if he's good to go. Ah? Of course, I'll be sure to arrive as soon as possible. Then, alright."
The call died as the other party pressed on the red button. I sighed, noticing that it had been quite a while indeed since I last called that worrywart of a King. Faust had also ended his call already, pocketing his phone swiftly.
He stood up, but before he could walk off, I grabbed his wrist. His face was asking what in the world I was doing. For a boy who rarely expressed emotions, Faust knew how to talk without words.
" Ara, ara, Faust-kun. Let this senpai do her job for the kouhai, okay?"
Please stop making that face that obviously said 'seriously?', little kouhai. No, I'm not ashamed saying or doing this, and will not be, so stop looking at me like that. Please. Eat your bait for once, will you? I don't want to be arrogant, but most males would die to be teased by me, you know?
Was this guy even sad or stressed in the first place?
At least he properly thanked me afterwards.