Dodging the Insidious Hook

Chapter 8

Yui furrowed her brow as she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she took noticed of once she was able to focus is the bare ceiling. The smooth white paint reflecting the soft light coming from a nearby lamp on the bedside table. Wondering where she was, Yui sat up. Her eyes wandering around the unfamiliar room. 'This isn't my room. Where am I?' Paying no attention, she swung her legs over to the side; dragging the bedsheet with her as tried to stand up. However, with the blanket tangled up with her; she fell forward, panicked hands pushed to the forefront as she landed ungracefully with a yelp.

"Ow!" She looked back at the offending item. And, with an undignified curse coming out from her lips; she started pulling herself from the tangled mess. Before she could escape, the door swung wide open admitting the last person she thought she would see.

Tsubaki blinked, surprise clearly evident on her face when she saw Yui on the floor pulling on the blanket. The vice president mentally out of her bewilderment and rushed to help Yui. With both of them working together, Yui quickly peeled the blanket off her and tossed it to the side. To her surprise, her previous clothes were now gone. Instead, she found herself in a Kuoh Academy tracksuit.

"You're awake." Tsubaki offered a hand. "How are you feeling?" Yui stared at the genial expression of her classmate. Hesitatingly, she accepted her helping hand and stood up; cautiously looking around the room.

"Where am I?" Yui blurted out.

"You're in Kuoh Academy." Tsubaki picked up and folded the mangled blanket, placing in on the bed, "More specifically, in the room adjacent to the Student Council Office."

Yui visibly relaxed, a hand on her forehead. "It was just a dream then? Thank goodness."

Tsubaki turned to face her, a lipless smile gracing her face. "Yui, I'm afraid that what remember happening to you tonight is very much real."

"What?" Yui uttered breathlessly. She looked down to her torso and arms. "Then...then what happened to—I remember this—thing the terrible feeling..." She hugged herself, rubbing her arms, trying to find comfort.

Tsubaki placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's alright. You're safe now. In fact, you have Alphonse to thank for that."

"Al-Alphonse?!" her head perked at hearing his name. "Where's is he? Is he alright?"

"A little bit bruised, but otherwise fine. He and the President are in the midst of hammering out a mutually beneficial agreement."

"Eh?" Yui tilted her head. Tsubaki positioned her hand on her back, gently ushering the confused athlete out the door.

When the two entered the room, Alphonse and Sona were sipping their perspective tea in relative peace. Alphonse turned his head and upon noticing Yui, he nodded at her. "Shirai-san. I'm glad to see you're up and about." Yui didn't answer him as she was busy staring agape at the one of the weirdest, most shocking thing she ever saw to date.

A question was almost out of Sona's lips when she noticed Yui's face and instead redirected it to her second-in-command. "Tsubaki, how's her condition?"

"As you can see, she's doing fine." Tsubaki said taking a quick glance at Yui. "Her injuries are mended to the best of my abilities." A thoughtful look came across her face, "Although, she might need more bedrest."

"I see." Sona placed her teacup with a subdued chink. "Shiria Yui-san," she uttered her full name betraying the seriousness of the situation. Everyone except for the still partially blind Alphonse could see her break out from her stupor with a visible gulp. "Might I suggest you take a seat." Sona waved towards the empty love seat perpendicular to both herself and Alphonse. "As per agreement with Alphonse, I'll be explaining the events which took place this afternoon."

A dumb "Huh?" was all Yui could utter, her eyes still staring occasionally at the pair of bat-like wings twitching behind Sona.

Many minutes passed on by as Sona explained to the bewildered Yui the events that culminated to the incident at the abandoned warehouse, with Alphonse supplying his version of the events.

Yui stared at Sona, disbelief clearly showing on her face. Even with the bat-like wings twitching every now and then behind the President, she still couldn't believe that the stickler-for-rules, straight at as an arrow Student Council President is a Devil. Shouna Shitori or Sona Sitri a devil that should represent the darker side of humanity seem to care more about the rules of school than the men and women that run the place are.

"Are you kidding me?!" Yui burst out. "President-Shitori-san, you can't possibly be one."

Sona gave her a raised eyebrow in response, "Why is that, Yui-san?"

"W-well. For one. You're nice! Too nice to be one of these Devils." She said with a raised voice while waving her hands frantically towards Sona.

A "Thank you" was all Sona could say.

"Dont mistake her as a nice Devil Shira-san." Alphonse interjected from behind his teacup. "Remember, she originally wanted the events from earlier erased from your memories."

Sona adjusted her glasses; eyeing the original instigator of what transpired evening with a bland look. With a matter-of-factly tone she spoke "Which is per protocol as I explained."

Yui glanced between her card-wielding magician as a classmate and the student council president-turned-devil-princess in disguise. Her eyes wide with surprise at the revelation. With all the things that were said and the surprising bombshells that happened in those minutes, she can be forgiven for missing the less important ones than say one of her classmates is a devil princess and the other is a freaking magician! Yui scrunched her face, "erase my memory?" Sona nodded, "like that one movie?" The Sitir Heiress gave her a blank look. Yui mimed with her hand. "You know men wearing black suits and shades. They have this nifty thing called the 'The Neurolyzer'" Sona only cocked her eyebrow in response.

Yui slowly dropped her hand and stared at the Sitri Heiress. "You know" she spoke to her slowly, "Aliens. Government keeping it a secret from ordinary folks. Like you with the Devils."

Sona blinked and nodded slowly as if she understood something about her classmate. "Yui san I don't know who these government men are," She said with the straightest of faces, "but aliens are nothing but unconfirmed at the moment."

A choking sound interrupted their conversation and the two girls swiveled their gaze towards the source. They found Alphonse leaning forward, his teacup is far away from his mouth. There were dribbles of liquid tricking down the corner of his mouth as he coughed. Meanwhile a smile was quickly forming on Yui's lips. She bit down on them as she tried not to let a single peal of laughter out.

However, once Alphonse regained the use of his lungs; he let loose an uncontrolled chortle. Which surprise Sona and the peanut gallery. Yui did her best also, covering her mouth as she started giggling uncontrollably. Before long, she couldn't take it anymore and guffawed along with Alphonse.

Meanwhile the one at the receiving end of the unspoken joke stared bewildering at her two classmates. She was never, not even once, laughed at by anyone except from her teasing sister. Not to her face at least. This was a first for her. She pursed her lips in thought. The feeling she received out of it was uncomfortable. No one likes to be laughed at. At the same time, however, it was a novel experience. Wither her sheltered life, especially as the heiress of the Sitri Clan, she was always greeted with respect and kept at a distance even with children around her age. The only playmate and friend she made was Rias. Only because they both were in the same boat as each other. She gave them a small smile, tolerating their fun for a few moments.

However, one pawn decided they had enough fund and jumped to his Kaichou's defense. "You two! Stop Laughing at Kaichou!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the two instigators, but mainly Alphonse for more obvious reason. Alphonse soon reigned himself, barely able to hold his dignified face. However, the twitch at the corner of lips betrayed the shaky control he had.

"Pardon my impertinence." He inclined his head, Meanwhile, Yui still tried and fail to contain her mirth "However, you cannot deny that her situation is humorous at beast." Alphonse hid a cough behind a closed hand before changing the subject back to its original intention. "Anyway," he turned to look at the still laughing Yui. "Shira-san." His tone sobered her mirth, "Now that you're caught up to speed; You now have two choices to make. On one hand, "He raised his left hand up, palm opened upwards, "You accept Sitri's demand of having everything you have learned today gone from your mind."

Yui visibly widened her eyes in surprise and turned to look at the Student Council President. Sona indicated the statement to be true with a curt nod before supplementing, "You get to continue with your life as if nothing ever happened. And, you wouldn't have to worry about something beyond your ken."

"The other option" Alphonse continued, raising his other hand in a similar manner, "You get to keep everything you learned here."

Before Yui could utter anything, Sona spoke out. "You may keep your memories of what you've learned, but you are, under no circumstances, obligated to keep everything a secret." Yui once again tried to speak, but Sona once again did not allow her the chance to speak nor raise a protest, "Our world is a dangerous place to be in. If the wrong person ever caught wind of you contact with myself or someone of the like, they could easily extinguish your life without remorse or thought." Yui sat there in silence. She stared at Sona; eyes wide. Her stern face, and the very firm tone behind her warning hinted she did not like Alphonse's second option at all.

Yui stammered "Uh-W-what do you mean?"

"It'll take more than what time we have left to even begin to scratch the surface of everything pertaining that simple question. In simple terms; behind the peaceful façade you humans are currently experiencing—"

"Minus the numerous conflicts happening around the world."

Sona ignored Alphonse side commentary and went on "Three factions are currently in a state of a cold war between each other. As you might have guessed, one of the the faction involved are the Devils."

"Then that means, you were fighting God? The Christian God?" Yui blurted out. Sona winced in pain, hearing the taboo twice in succession. There was also a loud cry of pain from the only other Devil in the room with them. Yui turned her head to face Saji. "Huh? What's wrong with you?"

Alphonse, even with his blurry vision, noticed Sona's visible reaction. Combined that with the simultaneous cry of pain from Genjirou, he quickly put two and two together and whispered only a single word, "Interesting."

"Shirai-san, please refrain from saying his name around us."

"You mean G—"

Sona quickly held out her hand, stopping Yui. "Yes that. Or any sort of prayer dedicated to his name. We have an adverse reaction on hearing anything pertaining to him." She hazarded a glance towards Alphonse; only to see him thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Some have a more acute reaction than others."

Yui glanced at Saji, still cradling his head in pain. "I-I see."

Sona breathed a sigh of relief as the pain gradually subsided. "As I was stating, the Devils of the Underworld fought against the Biblical Heaven."

"But you said there were three factions involved. So, who was the third?"

"The third faction are the Angels of Heaven who fell from his grace."

"They're these Fallen Angels, right?" Yui answered, remembering Alphonse mentioning them earlier and the very reason why he was out and about in the first place.

Sona nodded, "The 'peace' between these three factions is only held by each of their leaders' desire to avoid conflict at all cost. However, there is no peace treaty in the first place. In essence, we are in a state of a cold war not unlike what went on after Second World War. Though, this has been going on for centuries instead of just mere decades."

"Centuries?" Yui breathed in awe.

"Yes. And as such, the hostilities could erupt from any provocation; no matter how small or inconsequential. To that end. You yourself having retain your memories of tonight's incident might just be that small spark."

Yui was taken aback by her declaration. From what she could come to understand, her presence matters little in the grand scheme of things. So how could she be the cause of such a war from happening again? Sona stared at her with such intensity she'd never seen in class before. She took a quick glance to the only non-devil in the room with her and asked him a silent plea for help. Unfortunate for her, Alphonse only gave her an already knowing look. Even though he squinted, she could somewhat tell that he already expected something. A twitch at the corner of his mouth was a stark contrast to Sona's severe declaration.

The track and field star visibly gulped. Apparently, the decision to keep her memories intact is harder than it seems. And her only ally in her predicament is hell-bend on keeping his mouth shut and settled on just giving her 'that' look. Whatever it meant.

"Do...do I have to decide now?"

Before Sona could open her mouth to answer, Alphonse happily provided her the answer. "Captain Shira will be swinging by to pick you up. You have less than an hour to make a decision." It caught almost every devil in the vicinity with dumbfound shock.

"Oh. Dad's coming then." Yui mulled, "How long does this...ritual-memory-wipe-thing take?"

"It wouldn't take too long. Several minutes at least." Sona answered distractingly. "You will no pain nor discomfort whatsoever. Though you might suffer a slight case of disorientation accompanied with dizziness after the procedure. Which should disappear within five minutes."

Yui nodded absently as she quietly sunk herself deep into her thoughts. Unbeknownst to her, an uncomfortable silence descended in the room as a couple of devils stared at Alphonse. In the meantime, Alphonse leaned forward, eyeing the plethora of snacks Yura bright in earlier; still unaware of his accidental slip up.

Alphonse plucked a cookie from the plate and took a generous chunk. Too sweet he thought as he slowly chewed the piece down. He hoped Shirai-san saw through Sona's little ruse. It was somewhat crude of her to scare Yui into submitting herself to a mind wipe. Couldn't she just agree not to do it in principle? He swallowed and took another bite. There was another reason he wanted Yui to have a say on the matter and to personally make the choice to either go through it or not. Knowing his history and the extensive and elaborate way a secretive cult was able to hamper progress for over a few millennia to protect the Gods' secret; he was all for giving the kith a choice that ran counter to what higher beings want. Of course, if it was me in her shoes, the choice would have been clear from the very beginning.

Sona's violet eyes kept Alphonse in their periphery. Keeping the urge to stare directly at the half-blind magician was a struggle in of itself. She noted there was no change with his expression as he bit through the crumbly cookie. There is no way he could've known about Yui' father coming. She was certain he was unconscious when she made that call. Even if he was awake during that time, he would not be anywhere remotely near to physically overhear that conversation.

Could he... She internally shook her head. Impossible, I would be able to detect such an intrusion. She paused, remembering his odd way of spellcasting. Maybe not so impossible it seems. Mind reading was a well-known ability which most, if not all supernatural beings developed a defense against it. Or, a counter to render it totally ineffective to be used and now fell to the wayside. Only those who were powerful enough can actually make effective use of such mind-altering abilities with a resistant subject.

The senjutsu-like aspect of it might be able to circumvent such protection. After all, Senjutsu is still a mostly an unexplored branch of magic by most of the wider magic communities. Those that practice it, are mostly beholden to the ancient ways of training and with little effort of advancement. Meaning... Sona's mind went into overdrive as Alphonse's unusual abilities casted him on a different light. Is he a part of a hidden conclave of human 'magicians' with peculiar, yet advance sort of senjutsu-like magic that cut themselves off from the wider magic community? If so? For how long? And more importantly why? If they cut themselves off for centuries, they would have thought of the rest of the supernatural world as myths and legends just like modern humans. Which explains one part of the mystery. Yet, why send a 'spy' here at Kuoh in the first place with that kind of useful ability if he doesn't know about the supernatural in the first place?

There were just many questions that's conveniently wrapped around him to make the young genius heiress run around in her in circles. She did think for a moment that he was just a distraction for something else that this secretive conclave he belongs to wanted to keep away from her prying eyes. She quickly threw that line of thought away. It makes little sense for them to distract her as there's nothing in Kuoh that's worth anything of note. Sona internally huffed. She knew the reason why the town and its surrounding land came to be in Devil's purview in the first place, thanks to overprotective parents and siblings.

Unless, he was sent here specifically to get to know the only two members of the 72 Pillars in attendance.

Saji sensed that something happened based on how Kaichou is now side-eying his love rival which made his blood boil. He bit his tongue realizing that making a mess of things right now would now show him in a good light. The only thing he could do was try to decipher what actually made Kaichou get distracted like that. Looking back, there was nothing really exceptional about the conversation. It was boring for the most part. Though, he did harbor a small begrudging respect for his rival after he negotiated for Yui to have a say if she wanted her memories intact or not. He was also somewhat thankful that he outright rejected Kaichou's initial offer to become a member of her peerage. He saw how Kaichou enjoyed their talks earlier which didn't bode well for him if he actually become a part of the peerage.

Still, he didn't have any idea on why Kaichou reacted with surprise. Saji furrowed his brow, Did I miss something?

Meanwhile, Yui tried to think hard on her choice. She bit her lower lip in concentration. Shitori or Sitri's she forcibly corrected is behaving differently tonight. She thought to herself. She's not like her usual self. And, what's up with Alphonse-kun too? She muttered internally, annoyed by his lack of help. I mean yeah, he talked with the president about the whole mind-wipe thing and gave me the choice of either go with it or not. But, c'mon! Give a poor gal a bone or something. This is a big deal!

This whole mind-wiping innocents thing is supposed to be the way it is. A routine. like cleaning spilled juice. But according to the president, some wouldn't even do it the right way. Why? She twisted her lips in concentration. The athlete remembered the president saying it takes only a few minutes to do the ritual. Time factor's only a little in their decision making. Do they considered it a pain in the ass for them to actually do it right? Is murder actually easier for them? She shuddered at the thought, remembering the monstrosity that is Viser. Her inhumane feature aside, she was a thing that actively attack humans for food.

"Prez." Yui started, eyes cast down and fingers drumming on her other hand. "What would happen, if Viser did what she would obviously do to us." She clenched her hands into fist. "Would—would you have informed my dad of what happened and see justice done? Or, would you consider it a minor problem and see no reason to tell the truth?"

Sona cocked her head when she heard Yui's question. She was surprised to hear her ask such a question. Nevertheless, she approved of it even though the answer to her question is simple and yet harsh.

"To tell you the truth Yui-san, if the incident today took a turn for the worse and the Stray Devil took yours and Alphonse-san's life; Viser's life would still be forfeit. The unfortunate truth is your parents and in the case of Alphonse-san, his guardian, wouldn't be informed of your tragic fates."

"To keep your world a secret right?" whispered Yu loudly. Sona nodded. "Us. We don't matter in your world at all."

"In the grand scheme of things? Only a select few matter to us."

"The lucky, or unlucky few who possess this so-called Sacred Gears." Alphonse piped in. Sona gave him a quick glance.

"Or, Individuals who possess extraordinary traits or talents which will prove useful."

"We're not gods-damnit collectibles Sitri." Alphonse blandly spoke which all devils on the vicinity winced.

"I know and so do a few respectable Devils."

Yui looked at Alphonse. From what they told her; Sona took an interest in Alphonse because he could do magic. Which she still couldn't believe after seeing it for herself. Not to mention the two of them are geniuses to boot. She paused; eyes wide. Wait! realization struck her. Alphonse is not special. Forget about him being smart. He can do magic. A human like him can do magic! Her heart raced as an once childhood dream of hers could actually become reality. He can teach me magic! A big grin appeared on her face and everybody notice her change in demeanor.

Alphonse immediately knew what her decision will be. No one would explicitly give that big of a smile if they want to lose their memory. He leaned back on to the soft chair, fingertips pressed together in a satisfied manner. He allowed himself a small victorious, almost a smug, smile to outwardly show. It also seems Sona knew what her answer is going to be as she heave a small sigh of resignation. She surprisingly gave him an almost annoyed look before speaking.

"By the looks of it, you have made your decision."

"Hah, yep." Yui nodded, "No Neurolyzer for me."

"I see. It seems everything is all set then. I must reiterate. You must not tell a soul about any of this. Is that clear."

"You can count on me Prez." She gave her a jaunty salute. Sona only sighed.

"Very well. While we wait for your father to arrive, your previous set of clothes should be ready soon."

"Umm. One more thing." Yui turn her attention to Alphonse. "Uh-Alphonse-kun, can you teach me how to do magic." One could hear the pin drop once Yui put out that question. Sona turned her attention fully at Alphonse. Her eye brow cock challenging.

"You too?" was Alphonse only response.

"You mean I'm not the only who asked?" asked Yui.

"No," he shook his head. " Sona here also asked me to teach her. And in return, she'll teach me about Devil Magic."

Yui's shoulder slumped with dejection. "So does that mean no?"

"You're welcome to join us." Alphonse said with a grin.

"Yes!" Yui punched her fist upward as she jumped with joy. "Thank you! I could hug you right now."

"Please don't." Alphonse brought both of his arm up in case Yui would actually make do with her threat. "Studies shows that fathers of pretty young women such as yourself are very protective. More so if said fathers are law enforcement officers."

"And what is your source?" Sona asked with a ghost of a smile

"Countless generations of filial anecdote. Besides, You're the one to talk. Given that you're the heiress of a prestigious family.

"Umm heiress?" Yui cocked her head.

[Chapter 8 end]

Author's Notes:

Hello again! its been quite awhile since the last chapter. Two years, 10 months and some days I believe. Which coincided when I got a job. Apologies.

Anyway, now that's out of the way, I made some realization with how I write... Let's just say I'm not really particularly good with structuring and making a cohesive plans. Meaning, I'm all doin' it my head and not writing it down properly like I should be. On the upside, I go into tangents and explore neat ideas and what-if scenarios most of the time. Downside is, I get really distracted when I'm writing the chapter down for a first draft.

As for Chapter 9, I've barely started it. Hopefully, we can all go back to the hunting our favorite baddie and also not take another 2 years and 10 months and some days to actually finish and post it. Cross thy fingers.