Hello, and welcome to the next chapter!
Isao Gin; In canon she did yeah. Here, she might have another Sacred Gear, she'll appear in some capacity. Yeah, fire and ice could be interesting.
Kaiser Umbra; Thanks for the suggestion! I'll either update, or rewrite that story.
Morregen; Yeah, that's what she looks like~ He could probably make them yeah. Yeah, Haruki wouldn't rest until Suou was stopped so he couldn't harm Akeno.
Clarent excalibur; Thank! Yeah, when he gets in some training with it, he's going to be pulling off a number of ice related abilities, along with Holy Lightning. That could be part of his Balance Breaker yeah~ Like an upgrade or something. Yeah, it could work like that~
OechsnerC; Thanks! No worries~ Thank you very much!
Yuu-Alter; Yup, they're in the harem~
T-B-R; Yeah, quite the happy reunion between them.
ShadowUzumaki55; Thanks! He really did yeah, he went all out to keep his sister safe. Yeah, they were rather surprised by it~ Yeah, for Haruki, it was completely personal, and had to do what he could to stop Suou. Suou did have some humanizing moments, and entrusted the clan to Suzaku. They will live together happily now~ Ooh yeah, they definitely will compete for affection in some fun ways.
TiranosTemblad; Yup, Rias is in also~
InnocentxPsycho; Thanks for the vote! Any of those would be cool familiars. That would be a cool move to have.
kynan99; Thanks very much!
Silver crow; Yeah, he's awakened it. Yeah, Suzaku went as soon as she became aware, Suou seemed to have planned ahead a little. Yup, his priority was, and still is to keep Akeno safe, and knew at the moment he didn't have much chance of winning. That was when he was a very small child. Yes, even Haruki questioned it, showing how far Suou would go to have him killed. It can be used by males also, and as he said, it became something of a habit. Yeah, they worked together as much as they could. Serafall was watching for him yeah. Yeah they went up, he still has unsure feelings about him. It was a trap, they didn't know of the lethal ways it could be used and it was hidden. Yup, he did his best, and fought through as much as he could. Glad you liked Absolute Demise~ Yup, they seem to be quite in sync with one another. He would be, regardless of if he's a Devil. He knew Suou knew he was running out of power, it was more of him basically telling Suou that he'd try till the end. Yup, Haruki wouldn't let go, even if he was suffering, wanting to protect Akeno until the end. Serafall indeed was very angry. That was to show his nerves. Suou got some kind of peace. Yeah, acceptance as in growing into the role of leader, even if she's inherited it, she'd have to show her capabilities as a leader. Yeah, he wouldn't pass out until he knew Suou was gone, and Akeno was safe. Suzaku and Haruki will interact in the future. Serafall could see how hard he had tried, and was glad that he could finally have some time to rest. Akeno and Haruki are finally back together~ For now, he calls her Princess. Absolute Demise and Haruki will be very close, not quite like that, but they'd have a great relationship and work together really well. He probably will fight Katerea in that arc, to defend his King. I'm sure he will do~ Suzaku's going to do her best. Some Himejima might be worried he would after what they did. He is Himejima so he might be able to unlock that power one day. Yeah, that would be a cool moment. He could make ice soldiers if he wishes. That sounds like a cool idea~ She'll be active whenever she wants~ He'll be a master of hand to hand yeah. Thanks for the suggestions! Grayfia wont be her Queen, someone else will. Vali could be.
Akeno fan; Yeah, they are~ They could be! Thanks for the votes!
Guest 1; Yeah, she could do that. He'd join them in that journey yeah. She probably would be his main enemy. Yeah, that could be pretty cool, them not being that close, but grow overtime could be some fun backstory for them. That would be cool if she as close to Lily. Yeah, he could go back since it would be his Father. That would be awesome yeah~
Robobot; Thanks very much! Thanks for the vote! It would be a cool combination alright~
MDM11; Yeah, he could do that. Those could be. He'll be learning some different types of magic, and already does know a few like defense magic. Those could teach him a few things. Riser will be going through a few things~ They'll have some assistance from Haruki yeah~
Anime PJ; Yeah, they're safe, and together~ I'm glad you like it! His relationship with Absolute Demise is going to be pretty fun to play with~ Haha, she seems to want to keep people like Serafall back away from her Master~
darkjason78; He could name it in the future, for the moment he calls her Princess.
SomeDudeThatReads; Yeah, Devils usually have familiars, depending on who they are they play a small or large part of their character and powers. Thanks for letting me know.
Guest 2; Thanks for the suggestions! They'd spoil him regardless.
ragde; Maybe yeah~
Guest 3; Thanks for the vote!
kurenai lui; Glad you liked it! She looks roughly like that in Slash/Dog. He got it by searching through private stuff of Himejima, making contact with their enemies, doing dangerous stuff to acquire the information, things like that. Yeah, he could be that, sounds pretty fun. Yeah, maybe he could be like that with Isane. She'd probably be more intrigued than dislike him for not showing his true self. Thanks for the votes. If I had Meredith, I'd probably have Le Fay also. Their dynamic would be cool to see in the same group. Yeah, she probably would have the option with Haruki around. Either Bennia or Tobio could teach him how to use scythes. They probably would be inspired to train harder. He knows he can't save everyone, he learned that from being unable to save his Mother, so he'd want to work harder to save those who he believes are in bad situations. Regardless of what happens, Kuroka could still be apart of Vali's group depending if Vali's in Haruki's peerage or not. That's a cool outfit. He probably would if he saw it. He could have something like that. This little arc is going to show why Haruki would join Serafall's peerage. Yup, Suou's gone now. Yeah, that could be cool for their relationship. Yeah, by the time Kokabiel rolls around, Haruki would have been a peerage member of Serafall's for a number of years, and would have done quite a bit for the Underworld. Absolute Demise wishes to keep her Master safe, and has a little mischievous side. He could teach her a few things about that yeah. That's a cool chant. Haruki will be meeting Vali very soon. Yeah, as you said, she wouldn't need both Asia and Valerie, they share the same role and all. The rest are good. I have some ideas for who is going to be on Rias' group. He'll be normal sized. His Holy Lightning will take different forms, different to Akeno's as well. Not a worry, I understood everything you put. I'd probably have Asia or Valerie in his peerage to fulfil the healer and depending on who it is, some other functions.
weslyschraepen; Thanks for the votes! They'd spoil him regardless of height.
PaperTucan; Yeah, and some others who she personally isn't sure of.
Skull Flame; Yup, it's Absolute Demise~ It's going to be fun to play around with her~
kept123; Thanks very much!
Guest 4; Thanks for the vote!
Valtryek-sama; Thanks for the votes! He might become her Queen, we'll be seeing that rather soon. Ravel would help out with paperwork yeah. Yeah, she wouldn't put too much onto him, but she'd be able to rely on him if she needed him for anything.
haibara-san; Thanks very much! Yeah, he's a bit different huh. It seemed to be a destined meeting, and have personalities that can balance one another out rather well. Their relationship is going to be fun to explore. Yeah, he doesn't hate Fallen Angels, his feelings about his Father are complex. Yup, Absolute Demise won. Sairaorg's a favourite of mine also. Yeah, she gave him a moment to just relax, and recharge after always having to be on high alert in fear they'd be attacked. Kuroka at this point doesn't trust anyone, it wouldn't matter if Haruki was Fallen Angel, Devil, or anything else. He knows that he can't save everyone, like when his Mother died, that would only make him more determined to save everyone that he could do, and she could join Vali regardless if she is saved here or not. The Balance Breaker would be altered to the one that appears in canon. That would be cool. I can't reveal that, could be Ophis, Great Red, or something else. Asia and Haruki will have an intriguing dynamic for a number of reasons, and Rias...well, I can't spoil about how Haruki's presence will effect her just yet, it will become apparent in the future. I don't know if Isane would be all the pawns, I was thinking either Pawns or Queen. Irina and Haruki's relationship will be shown as the story goes, and while they might not be childhood friends, doesn't mean they couldn't fall in love with one another. Asia could still help Isane like that regardless if she's in the harem or not.
Drake; Either that, or just release enough killing intent they hallucinate. Yeah, this arc is going to be them making the decisions that they do. It wont be a long arc, but will put into perspective why Haruki would choose to become a Devil. Exactly, he has Holy Lightning and a Longinus, some might be against it, but it is Serafall's peerage and she'd go for him if she wanted. She'd gain an eternal partner, someone that could stand beside her and fight her enemies, protect those she cares for like Sona, help her with her Maou duties, and a number of other things Haruki could do for her, and in turn, Haruki would be getting a lot from becoming Serafall's servant. Maybe she could have a 'true form' with the help of Haruki's Longinus, kinda like how Rias gains an armour from Ise in canon. He could do yeah. Thanks for the vote.
Guest 5; Thanks for the vote!
Andrew123456; I will do one day. Thanks for the vote!
Guest 6; He'll still use it, it's a habit now. Thanks for the vote.
Guest 7; Someone like Kokabiel would probably do that. Akeno's gonna have some strong character development. Thanks for the vote.
Hiruka Lucifer; If not in this story, in a future story I will.
Guest 8; To answer them in order...It will be kind of both Serafall and Haruki. Xenovia probably would do. This little arc will answer the question why Haruki would decide to become a Devil. He would protect his Princess yeah. Yeah, he'll be able to fluster her. She can still be an Onee-sama to Haruki even if he's normal height. Haruki could wipe them out within seconds, so we'll see what happens. Asia might join Rias' or Haruki's peerage, not decided yet. He might help her see that raw power is needed. That would be a cool outfit for him to use, perhaps he will. He'll develop some fun ice based techniques as well as lightning based. Can't reveal if he is a natural born wielder of a Holy Sword or not. He might playfully tease her. Probably when she needs to know stuff. Azazel probably wouldn't care, he'd only care about the Longinus he has. Yeah, that would be cool if he took that appearance. He'd just use his Fallen Angel/Devil wings. A mix between Technique and Power types. He already knows some magic, but he'll mainly use his Holy Lightning and Absolute Demise, but could fight if both were sealed somehow. Irina will have a reason to fall for Haruki. Depends on when/if Isane dies. If they did fight, it would be Serafall testing how far Haruki's come, and if he's ready for a next step in his growth, and she'd probably just still call him Haru-chan most of the time and Haruki when situations are needed for seriousness. I can't reveal if Isane is going to end up dying in this story there, she'll still get their powers one way or another. They probably would end up at the end of the tournament. Vali and Haruki will have a few battles, and will acknowledge his power.
Guest 9; Yeah, they'd be cool. Thanks for the votes! She'd probably be more intrigued than dislike for Haruki, and Haruki...well, he'd have a few thoughts about her.
Guest 10; If I did, yeah that would be a good way to go about it. Those are interesting ideas! Thanks. Isane probably wouldn't dislike him, be more intrigued than anything.
just a guy; Yeah maybe she could. They'd have normal interactions. Thanks for the vote.
Guest 11; I'm sure people would wonder about it.
Guest 12; Thanks very much! Thanks for the votes!
Guest 13; Vali and Haruki will have an interesting meeting.
dxdfanficfan; Thanks for the votes!
SenpaiMAN46; Thanks for the vote!
Guest 14; He can summon her and unsummon her whenever he wishes, she always knows when Haruki's going into battle, or is in danger. He might have an ice move like that. Absolute Demise has some kind of instincts, and can think and can have likes and other things like that. Yeah that would have a bond between them alright~ He could do something like that with Holy Lightning yeah. He'll always feel sadness that he couldn't save his Mother, it's not really a barrier, it's more of a driving force, his relationship with his Father on the other hand...that's going to be interesting to explore. Thanks for the votes. Haruki and Sairaorg might do battle before then, can't spoil anything about that~
Well, with those reviews out of the way, it's time to start the chapter!
New mysteries!
For a good while now, ever since the incident with Suou had been resolved, Haruki had been able to relax for a good while now, together with his sister Akeno.
But now he was pondering on what he was going to do now.
He was so focused on trying to find Akeno, that he didn't think of what his life would be after that.
Akeno had also gotten closer to Rias.
They talked, and it seemed they had become quite fast friends.
Haruki was glad that Akeno was able to make friends with the Devils.
"Hmmm...so, there's a place that holds some strong creatures in the Underworld...not owned by anyone, and what's more, they wish for a challenge...alright then, I'll have to check that out~"
Always up for an adventure, Haruki smiled at the information he was looking through as he perched himself on the couch.
While doing that, Serafall came bouncing into the room.
When she saw Haruki, she smiled, and rushed towards him while calling "Haru-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" but the moment she got near him, Absolute Demise appeared, and placed her hands out.
"Ooh! Princess! Please let me get to Haru-chan! He needs me to cuddle him tightly!"
The ice doll didn't pay any attention, and kept the young woman back.
Serafall showed a cute pouty expression on her face, and tilted her neck side to side.
"Haru-chan! Tell her!"
Haruki chortled, and lightly tapped the ice doll.
"It's alright Princess, let her through."
The ice doll dropped her hands, so Serafall went closer.
But then she felt an icy hand on her shoulder.
Looking back, she saw that the ice doll was looking towards her.
"Princess, don't worry~ Be a good girl~"
Serafall beamed, the ice doll just stared at her.
Serafall brushed off the hand, then got to Haruki's side, hugging him tightly.
"Haru-chan, something on your mind?"
"Just thinking about the future."
"Future? What do you want to do?"
"I remember Sona-san saying that maybe I could make differences to peoples lives that are like me. Circumstances beyond their control, being banished, or attacked and nearly killed, by either strangers or family members, I wish to help them out. But proceeding...hmmm, I'll have to think of the best way to go about it."
Serafall slowly nods.
Hearing his words, she understood rather well.
"You know Haru-chan, there are several ways of accomplishing that kind of goal. One of them could be to become a Devil? I think you'd do really well as a Devil. You'd be able to gain a peerage."
"Peerage...huh."
Haruki mused, Serafall giggled.
"Right, having a peerage. You could make people that you think deserve happiness your servants. Love them like you'd love anyone else. Build a team for yourself, and have it accomplish some really cool stuff. Of course you could do that without being a Devil, but I know that if Haru-chan became a Devil...you'd be able to do some real good within the Devils world, and Fallen Angels world, and even the humans world."
Haruki rubbed his chin in deep thought.
Maybe it would be nice to have a peerage all his own.
A group that could want to battle, that could want to be beside him.
Maybe people that didn't have any place to go, he could add them to his group, to his family.
It was a serious situation and Haruki had to ask himself…
If he truly wanted to change and become a Devil.
He didn't have anything to really hold him back.
But being a Devil had a lot more implications than simply being someone that could gain a peerage.
"I'd have to think about it."
"Then maybe I'll offer Haru-chan a place beside me~"
She giggled out, as Haruki thought about being beside her.
He thought that it would be rather intriguing if he did gain a peerage.
Perhaps he could even make differences to the Devils society.
More than that, maybe he could save people that don't have any place to go.
On a hot day, Haruki was busy trying to perfect his lightning based skills, shooting it off in different directions, and attempting to control its path, training harder and harder so he could continue fighting even more.
The place he went wasn't owned by Devils nor Fallen Angels, or anyone really, as far as Haruki was aware, it was the place he had discovered while researching places to explore within the Underworld, and train.
It was a place that some strong creatures that wished to do battle, and Haruki had to admit that he found the idea of fighting them appealing.
As he was looking around, what he came across was something he didn't expect he would come across.
A light silver haired young girl, with hazel eyes, and a wicked expression on her face.
She held the aura of a Devil.
No, Haruki also sensed something else within her.
Human.
"Ara, so you're a human and a Devil hybrid, is that right?"
The girl's eyes latched towards Haruki's own, and she gave a smirk.
"Perceptive. A Fallen Angel and a human together it seems."
Haruki nodded slowly.
"That's right, so what are you doing here?"
"I could be asking you the same thing."
She challengingly said, Haruki liked her attitude quite a bit.
"Came here for a challenge, heard it was filled with strong creatures around here that liked fighting."
"I'm here for the same reason. Though I didn't think I'd see someone else my own age here."
"I thought the same, though there is Sairaorg-kun who would also do this probably. Still, if you don't mind me asking, what family do you belong with?"
"I don't. I haven't seen you at the Grigori before."
Haruki's brows furrowed.
"...So, you're apart of the Grigori?"
Haruki knew that Fallen Angels occupied apart of the Underworld.
It was separate from the Devils, so he wasn't surprised he might run into Grigori members in places like this that any faction could go to.
He was surprised that a half Devil was apart of the Grigori.
"It seems you're not. Though you are part Fallen Angel, I assumed you were with Grigori."
"I also assumed about you since you're part Devil~ Fufu, it seems that we should be on opposites sides~"
The girl huffed.
"Either way, don't get in my way, I need to train."
"I wont if you don't get in mine~"
In Haruki's voice, it sounded as if he was being playful, yet challenging at the same time.
She quite liked that.
"What's your name?"
She demanded, Haruki chortled.
"Ara ara, isn't it polite to give your own name before asking others their own?" The girl didn't look amused so Haruki ran his finger across his lips gently. "Haruki, that's my name. What's yours?"
"Vali."
"Ara, Vali-chan is quite the tough girl~"
Vali was smirking even more than before.
"If tough is what you're looking for, then you're staring at someone that can beat a good number of people at the Grigori."
"Quite confident."
Haruki noted, Vali nodded.
"I'm not going to cockily say that I can beat them all since that would be absurd, but I have been training hard, with my Longinus."
Haruki's face curled upwards.
His excitement was growing by the moment.
"No kidding. You have a Longinus too?"
Vali's ears perked at that.
"Too? So you also have one?"
Haruki nodded, bowing as a cold chill surrounded them.
Vali watched with intrigue as the ice doll made her appearance, forming right beside Haruki, then she bowed her body respectfully as she held up some of her ice dress.
"This is my Princess, Absolute Demise. I've shown you mine, can I see yours?"
Vali didn't have a disagreement about that, and flexed her shoulders.
As she did, wings of blue light escaped her back.
They also looked Dragon like at the same time, and beautiful with a silver lining at the top of the wings.
"These are my wings, my Longinus. Divine Dividing."
"Divine...Dividing huh..."
Haruki mused aloud, more intrigue coming to him by the moment.
Vali looked at the ice doll with intrigue also.
Then at the same time, they said "Want to fight?" something that caused them both to smirk.
"Alright then Vali-chan."
"Great, then lets do this."
Vali spread her wings, and shot for Haruki.
The ice doll waved her arms forward, and created spires from the ground, shooting for Vali.
Vali cupped her hands, and unleashed a silvery aura from her hands, crushing through the ice spires, Haruki looked surprised that she could do something like that.
"You are tough after all...breaking through those ice spires...alright then, lets kick it up a notch."
Haruki raised his hand to the sky, and shot lightning upwards.
The clouds gathered above, and sparkled, as lightning came shooting downwards.
It wasn't Holy Lightning, but it wasn't weak either, since he didn't want to accidentally kill Vali.
The lightning shot down hard and fast.
Vali looked up towards it, and extended her palm.
Gathering demonic power, she allowed the lightning to hit, when Haruki heard the noise [Divide!] come from Vali's Sacred Gear, splitting the power in half, adding it to Vali's own power, then she unleashed her demonic power broke through the power of Haruki's.
Haruki was impressed that she could do that so fluidly.
Still, it made him all the more excited.
"Fufu, this Devil-chan is quite the opponent~ Alright Princess, lets do this."
Vali raised an eyebrow as spires of ice erupted around her.
Forming walls around her, she looked to be caged.
So she tightened her hand, and smashed her fist into the ice, causing it to crack as Haruki came shooting upwards, gathering lightning in the air, then brought it down towards Vali.
Vali shot off her demonic power...
Or she was going too when it began freezing in her hands.
She gasped, looking to the ice doll that was waving her arms outwards.
"So, it can even freeze my demonic power, making it useless...not bad, not bad at all."
Vali admitted, and was forced to try and dodge out of the way.
But when touching an ice pillar, the ice doll waved her hand, and from the pillar, a spire came shooting outwards to hit Vali.
Vali was taken by surprise, but she didn't allow it to stop her, and created a strong wave of demonic power, breaking through the incredible ice, shattering it out of existence, but the lightning came down, so she was forced to raise a barrier, not having any time to use her Longinus to tank the lightning.
Still, Haruki was happy to see that Vali was able to block so well.
Vali stretched her arms as she stared in Haruki's direction.
"This is quite the challenge. Not had anyone challenge me from my age group before. Even more so, seeing someone that is also half human with a Longinus. If I believed in such a thing, then this might have been fate."
"Fate~? Do you believe in such a thing?"
Vali shrugged.
"Who knows."
Vali then unleashed her demonic power, and broke through all of the ice. Haruki even noticed that Vali used her Longinus to weaken the power of the ice as she did so, dividing it to the point that it became brittle, then she charged towards Haruki with amazing speeds.
He watched her come closer, the ice doll caused many spires of ice to shoot out of the ground to stop her.
But to Haruki's happiness, she was able to dance around the attacks, and then get in close.
Raising her fist, she brought it towards Haruki.
Coating it in demonic power to add more power, Haruki could see she was being serious.
So, he stuck his hand out, and caused Holy Lightning to erupt around his fist, shocking Vali as they clashed together violently.
Their power blew away the trees around them, and carved into the earth also.
"...That power, it feels holy in nature. My skin is tingling from it. I've also heard of someone in the Grigori wielding lightning with holy properties. Could it be...you're his child?"
"That's right, my old man is Baraqiel."
Vali widened her eyes as they clashed again with their fists.
Vali and Haruki continued smashing their fists together, matching one another blow for blow.
Haruki used his Longinus to freeze her demonic power, but Vali also used her Longinus to divide Haruki's lightning and weaken it also.
They stalemated in the end, neither were able to come out on top for over half an hour.
By the end of their fight, they both collapsed onto the ground, panting.
"Geez Vali-chan, you are a tough girl~ Makes me feel all tingly fighting you~"
He admitted as Vali raised a brow.
"That...was incredible. The first time I've felt like I've met someone that can truly give me a good challenge. And an existence like my own...very interesting."
At Vali's admission, Haruki grinned from ear to ear.
"Happy to oblige Vali-chan."
Vali inhaled and then exhaled slowly.
"Still, I don't get...why aren't you with the Grigori?"
"Why are you with it?"
Haruki countered, Vali laughed lightly.
"Because the leader took me in."
"It's the opposite for me, the Grigori didn't approach me. The Devils took me in."
Vali raised an eyebrow at that.
"Which Devil would take in a half Fallen Angel?"
"The cute Maou-sama Serafall-san~"
"A Maou...now that's interesting."
Haruki nodded slowly.
"This battle was intense Vali-chan, I'd like to fight you again sometime."
Vali also wished to do the same.
But she played it cool, and shrugged.
"If I happen to come here again, perhaps we could do."
"Good, fighting Vali-chan has been a new exciting experience~"
Vali blinked at his words.
Seeing his excitement, she very much was intrigued by him.
His power, his attitude to fighting, and how he liked having challenges.
All in all, he definitely was someone that she wished to meet again, and understand a bit more.
A week later, Haruki and Akeno casually talked within the living room of the Sitri Castle. Usually, many people would be there, but for today it was just the pair of them, so it was refreshing for the pair to be together like this.
"So, Haruki. It seems that the Devils have accepted us. Isn't it weird?"
"From constantly having to run, it's nice to be in one place. But Onee-sama, I've seen that you're getting rather close with Rias Gremory-chan. Do you like being with her?"
"Fufu, Rias is kind of adorable with the way she acts. Did you know that she has a fear of camels?"
"Not until just now. Ara, I wonder what we could do with that information? I bet a scared Rias-chan is a cute one~"
Akeno giggled sweetly.
"She surely would be~ But, it's nice to belong somewhere, isn't it?"
Haruki couldn't agree more.
He didn't think he'd ever have that again in his life.
But now he had his elder sister, and a place for him to rest, relax, and train.
He couldn't ask for more than that.
"It's weird Onee-sama, Devils were beings I always thought would want us to die. I never thought I'd be able to trust a Devil."
"I felt the same. I thought for sure that if I came across a Devil, they'd want to kill me."
"Still...Serafall-san...she really was pretty cool~"
Haruki admitted.
Akeno seemed to acknowledge what he was thinking about.
She gained a teasing smile for her younger brother.
"Ara ara, are you perhaps a little smitten with Serafall-sama?"
Haruki lightly smiled, but held a little redness on his cheeks.
"I...I don't know, I just appreciate her power. That's all."
Akeno, deciding to tease her little brother, smirked.
"Ara ara, since you have Serafall-sama, it seems that I'll also have to choose someone."
"Who?"
"Maybe I'll join Rias' peerage~"
"Rias-chan's peerage, has she offered?"
"Not yet, but you never know. I'd have to think about it, Rias is someone I do quite like." Akeno smiled, gently petting her little brothers head. "But don't worry Haruki, I'll make sure that cute girls hug and cuddle you, but they'd have to fight me for my adorable Haruki's affections~"
Haruki tilted his head.
"Don't worry Onee-sama, I'll always give you lots of affections~"
"Fufu, that's good to hear. I'll cuddle you tightly Haruki~"
Haruki chortled.
It was nice being with his elder sister again.
Speaking and chatting like nothing had happened.
Though they didn't speak much about the elephant in the room, their Fallen Angel heritage.
While Haruki was indifferent to it for the most part, Haruki knew that Akeno hated the idea of her Fallen Angel heritage and Baraqiel.
He wondered how he'd be able to help her over that.
Perhaps seeing that he himself was okay with using Holy Lightning might show her that it wasn't a bad power. That's what he hoped at least.
The next day, Haruki was within the forest he met Vali in, within the Underworld, and was currently eating some food as Vali sat close by, and also had some food after they trained together.
"You know, I did some research on you."
Vali admitted, Haruki chortled.
"If you wanted to know anything, you could've directly asked me~"
Vali smirked.
"You're from the Himejima family, aren't you? From the Five Principal Clans of Japan."
Haruki nodded.
"I guess being from the Grigori, you'd have access to that kind of information. Indeed, it is true that I am from the Himejima family...well, I was anyway."
Vali furrowed her brows when he said 'he was' but didn't press it.
"I heard that the head of the family was killed sometime ago, but the details aren't accessible beyond that. Even finding out about you was difficult, I couldn't even find your status beyond your birth into the clan."
Haruki nodded slowly.
"Suou Himejima was his name, and I killed him."
Haruki said to the surprise of Vali.
"Why?"
Haruki didn't mind telling Vali.
He had gotten to know her over the past week, and did enjoy her company a good deal.
He even learned a good deal about her, and her past.
Though she did still hold some secrets about her past that she didn't want to reveal it which he respected.
"He...wanted to kill me and my Onee-sama. He hunted us down...relentlessly, and he killed my Kaa-chan. So...I killed him, after he nearly killed me. We were banished from the clan, though I don't mind since I can live here peacefully with my Onee-sama."
As she listened, Vali furrowed her brows.
"...I see, that's quite the tale. So, you got your revenge. How did it feel?"
"To be honest, I did feel good that he can't hurt Onee-sama or myself anymore. But, it still doesn't bring back my Kaa-chan. I never could save her, killing Suou doesn't bring her back, so that's why when I come across people that need help or saving, that's what I do. Still...I get to be with Onee-sama. I personally think that...I want to make the most of each day and live my life to the fullest, because you don't know what's going to happen next. You wont have regrets if you live life how you want to, you know?"
Vali listened to his words.
Living life to the fullest...
Make the most of each day.
"I understand. I quite like that. Live to the fullest...no regrets..."
Vali cast her mind back to her own family, and her situation.
She wondered if she could one day also get revenge on the people that had harmed her, and caused her emotional turmoil.
"Exactly, live and be happy."
"If it's like that, to live and be happy...I want to be the strongest, and challenge the strongest this world has to offer."
Haruki chortled.
"Fufu, then I guess we'll be competition as I am also aiming to be very strong Vali-chan."
"Good, a fellow Longinus user being a challenge for me. Though, I've also been told that I do have a rival out there. Not sure where that person is, but I hope that person isn't weak."
"A destined rival huh? That would be cool, I wonder if I have something like that..."
Haruki murmured, thinking if there was a counter for his Absolute Demise.
"I don't know, but I do know that there's a fire based Longinus."
"Ooh, maybe they're my rival~"
Haruki laughed, as he continued to enjoy his time with Vali.
Though she was a little odd, he also was odd, so it didn't matter to him in the end, and he could happily spend many hours with a fellow Longinus user.
Later on, after Vali left, Haruki was doing some training on his own.
He even had Absolute Demise out, and was training together with her, shooting off his lightning and she used her ice to surround his lightning also. Haruki unleashed his attacks against a tree, and he wanted to freeze it as well as blast it open.
But it didn't work as he wished to do it.
As he was firing off his Holy Lightning, he heard the sound of scuttling, so he paused.
"Fufu, is there a challenger here for me?"
He called, but didn't get a reply.
Instead, he heard slow, but slightly panicked breaths.
"Hey, it's alright, I wont hurt you."
He called, as he walked forward towards the sound.
The young boy hopped across a broken log that laid on the forest floor, edging closer and closer to the area he heard the scuttling.
As he got closer, he heard the sound of what seemed to be a meowing noise.
"A cat…?"
He murmured, getting closer.
Jumping behind a tree, he stopped when he saw a small white tail poking out of a bush a small distance away.
Moving closer, he peaked around the bush, and came face to face with a cat girl, one he had briefly seen before.
"Hello there."
"Nyan!"
The girl jumped, and looked towards him with worry on her face.
Haruki held his hand up.
"Sorry, did my lightning scare you? I thought I was alone. There's all sorts of naughty creatures around looking for fights."
The girls eyes looked the boy up and down.
Though it had been a little while, the girl remembered him from the city.
When her sister pointed him out to her.
"...You're the boy...the Fallen Angel human..."
Haruki blinked in surprise.
"So you're aware of that then?"
"...Yes, I became aware when my Onee-sama told me."
Haruki furrowed his brows.
He did recall seeing them within the city at one point.
But hadn't seen them since then.
"I see...and you're a...eeh, Nekomata? Is that right?"
"...I'm a Nekoshou, rarer than Nekomata."
The girl explained, so Haruki chortled.
"Is that so? Then where is your Onee-sama?" At that, the girl stopped, and kept her head down, so Haruki bent down towards her level. "Are you lost?"
"...I went to go...find something for my Master...but, I...I got lost...and I can't...sense anyone for miles...I'm not as good as Onee-sama..."
"You were sent...out here? There's not much around here though. In fact, there's only wild creatures and some rare plants out here."
"Onee-sama...was busy...and I...I have to earn...my keep..."
"Earn your keep…?"
Haruki found that an odd thing to say.
She was rather young, and he knew this forest was a little dangerous, a reason why he chose to train there, so it was weird that she had to earn her keep by coming to a forest like this.
"...Yes, Onee-sama...usually takes care of us...so, I...I tried to help...but, I couldn't...I feel...so useless..."
"Now, now." He soothed, gently petting her head. "Don't worry about that. I'm sure it's going to be okay." The girl looked up to him, so he smiled down towards her. "What's your name? My name is Haruki Himejima."
She didn't say anything for a few moments.
She examined him, seeing if he was a person she should be worried about, or what.
She kept silent until she finally could feel as if Haruki wasn't a bad person.
"...Shirone."
"Shirone-chan, what a cute name~" Haruki cooed to her surprise. "Come on, lets get you back home, okay?"
Shirone slowly nods...but then stopped.
"But...I have to get something...for my Master..."
"Master...but I can't sense demonic power from you, so you aren't his Devil..."
"Yes, I'm not his Devil servant...but, he took us in...after we had no one..."
Having no one.
He could relate to that rather well.
As he was going to speak, he saw that she was clutching her tail.
Looking towards it, he did see a little bit of blood.
"You hurt your tail?"
Shirone nods slowly.
"I...I slipped while a beast...wanted to fight me, and it got hurt as I fell down, it was cut on a sharp piece of wood."
"May I take a look?"
Shirone slowly nods, and then moves his hand towards her tail. Seeing a little cut on it, he cut a strip of his shirt off, and tied it around the tail like a bandage, while also using some water made from magic to clean the wound the best he could.
Shirone shivered at the soft, tender touch that he gave her.
When his fingers brushed on her tail, those shivers went through her, and she felt her face turning slightly red. It felt good.
"There. It isn't the best, but I learned to bandage my own wounds on my travels..." He said with a smile, Shirone looking quite perplexed as Haruki cocked his head towards her. "So, what is it you have to get exactly?"
"...It's this."
Shirone presented Haruki with a piece of paper.
He looked over it, and saw that it was some kind of flower.
"A flower huh..." Haruki spread his Fallen Angel wings, Shirone's eyes were mesmerized by the beauty of the glossy black wings. He turned his back to her, then kneeled down before her. "Alright, hop on."
"...I'm sorry?"
"I'll carry you, it would be much quicker."
Shirone looked at his broad back, then towards the wings.
She then moved forward, getting onto his back, so they took off into the air.
Looking down at the ground, she saw many different things.
She even saw the ice doll that Haruki had with him casually swaying within the air, and her body was disappearing. Most likely she was being dismissed away from the area but she wasn't entirely sure until the ice doll disappeared.
"So, I'll help you find this flower, and find your way back home, okay?"
"...Yes, thank you."
"Can you show me the picture again? I can see a bunch of similar flowers to it already, want to make sure I get the right one."
Shirone went into her pocket, and fished out an image.
"...Yes, here."
Haruki examined it, and couldn't recall seeing any like it.
"Hmmmm...there's some similar ones here...but not exactly like this one..."
"...I see..."
"Still, we'll find it. Come on, lets get going."
Haruki shot through the forest, his wings flapping once in a while. Shirone hung on, and used her cat eyes to search for the flower.
They flew around for what seemed like hours, reality it was about half an hour, and they didn't find the flower.
Shirone was becoming worried, Haruki though didn't give up, and continued through the forest.
Eventually though, they found the flower, sitting on top of a hill.
So Haruki flew over, and Shirone grabbed it.
"...This seems to be the one. I wouldn't have found this without your help, thank you."
Haruki waved his hand.
"Don't worry about that, lets get you back to your home. Where do you live?"
"With the Naberius clan...but, I wandered so far...I don't know where that is…."
"Hm...Naberius huh. I don't know either...but, I do know that the Sitri clan should know. So lets head their first."
"...Okay."
Shirone was glad that she happened upon him. She wouldn't know what she would have done if she didn't.
Haruki flew towards the Sitri estate in the hopes of someone being able to help them.
However, as he was flying, he was surprised when they came across Ravel casually walking towards the Sitri Household.
"Ravel-chan!"
"Waaaaah!"
She cried out, looking around but couldn't see anything.
He chortled, seeing her being rather cute when seemingly on edge about something.
"Up here Ravel-chan!"
Ravel's eyes shot upwards, and caught the sight of Haruki in the air.
She breathed out some relief.
"Haruki-sama...why are you up there?"
"I was flying back to the castle to see if anyone knew where the area Naberius was in."
"Naberius…? But why do you want to go there?"
As she asked, Shirone popped out from behind Haruki, and rested her chin on his right shoulder.
Ravel's eyes met with Shirone's...and something happened.
They instantly took a glare to one another.
Haruki glanced between them, feeling the intensity behind their stares.
"Fufu, it looks like the kitten and the Phenex aren't getting along...maybe this is a cat and bird thing?" Haruki mused to himself as he pulled closer. "This girl lost her way, and she's trying to find her way back. You wouldn't happen to know the way to Naberius family land, would you?"
Ravel smiled, and nodded.
She figured that maybe this would be a chance to see more of Haruki.
Wanting to know more about him.
Ever since she met him, she became more and more intrigued.
The fact that he was gentle with his friends, and sadistic with his enemies, it was something she hadn't really seen before. It was one way or the other with both usually. But seeing that he was so kind to her, and helped her out that day, she wanted to know more about him, and if this was a way for her to do it, then she was perfectly happy about doing it.
"Yes, I do know the way to that location. Please follow me."
Haruki landed by Ravel, and Shirone kept on his shoulders. She even shifted so she now sat on his shoulder.
Ravel looked on, and her brows furrowed.
"Are you going to ride on his back the whole time?"
Shirone looked towards Ravel, seeing the young girl was staring at her.
"...Is there a problem with me doing so?"
Ravel showed a cute expression as she shook her head.
"Of course not, there's nothing wrong with it."
"...Then why did you bring it up?"
Ravel puffed out her cheeks.
"I was just asking, that's all!"
"...Then you know the answer."
Ravel just stared at the young cat girl, who looked right back towards her with a curious stare.
Haruki looked bemused between the pair of them.
Upon finding the property, and being allowed access by the maid after explaining what had happened, Haruki walked together with Shirone and Ravel, flower in hand. Haruki's eyes scanned the large garden that was before them, and saw that it was a rather beautiful place to be in.
"Thanks for this Ravel-chan, you are a nice girl aren't you~?"
Ravel lightly smiled.
"O-Of course, it wasn't a bother at all..."
Shirone looked towards Ravel who was staring at Haruki with curiosity.
"...It seems that the chicken has a thing for the raven."
"E-Excuse me?"
Ravel said as Haruki gave an intrigued stare.
"I'm the raven huh~? I quite like that~"
Haruki chortled as Ravel walked beside him as she poked her fingers together.
"...It's clear, the chicken likes the raven."
Ravel glared at Shirone.
"So, what were you doing little cat?"
Haruki could hear the challenging sound within Ravel's voice.
"I was looking for something for my Master."
"But I didn't hear any Neko's being apart of any Naberius clan members peerage."
"...He took us in, that's how it is."
Haruki watched as Shirone's face took a notable dip.
There was something clearly there that was harsh for Shirone.
Something that she didn't like to think about.
"So you aren't apart of his peerage then?"
"...You couldn't tell?"
"I can't tell with a single glance if someone is a Devil or what have you."
Ravel explained, Haruki nodding.
"It can be difficult if they look as human as you do Ravel-chan. Or if they don't have any Devil wings out. Don't worry, as you grow older, you'll be able to feel them out quickly. I learned when I was away from Onee-sama that I could feel what I was looking at. If it was a Youkai, or a Devil, or a Fallen Angel, or a human, or what have you. Like how you'd be able to feel holy energy right away, as you grow you'll feel what is before you. Of course, that wouldn't be as great as someone with the power of...I believe it is called Senjutsu. At least I've heard that Senjutsu users can feel auras from a great distance."
At his words, Haruki noticed that Shirone's ears perked at the word 'Senjutsu' something that he wondered if she knew, or had knowledge about. He was aware that Youkai's mainly delved into Senjutsu and Nekomata's like her did have an affinity for it.
In contrast, Ravel was amazed, and appreciated the knowledge that Haruki had, since the school she went too didn't cover topics like this.
"I-Is that so Haruki-sama? Amazing...Haruki-sama, would you teach me how to recognize signatures also?"
"Sure, I wouldn't mind~" Haruki leaned closer, and gently whispered into her ear hotly. "Maybe we could have some private lessons fufu~"
Ravel's cheeks burned red, poking her fingers together shyly, and she couldn't even speak.
Haruki then caught the sight of a girl, around his age, maybe a little older, running closer and closer. Her eyes displayed worry, fear, then when seeing Haruki, and Ravel, her eyes lit up angrily, seeing them near her sister, and jumped to conclusions.
"SHIRONE! LET GO OF MY IMOUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The girl, who was called Kuroka, thrust her hand to the right, and summoned some kind of white orb. Ravel's face took a dip as the girl shot the power towards them.
"Aah! Haruki-sama!"
"Ara, don't worry Ravel-chan. I'll protect you~"
Ravel placed her hands together, and smiled.
"Like a Knight..."
Haruki smirked at the sight, and shot his finger forward, erasing it out of existence with his Holy Lightning ability.
"Ara ara, there's no need to get so excited. You're Shirone-sans Onee-sama, right?"
"You stay away from Shirone! Did you kidnap her?!"
Ravel exhaled.
"If we did, why would we bring her back?"
Kuroka glared towards Ravel.
"You're here to bargain for her life, aren't you?"
"No, please calm down. We're here to just bring her back-"
As Haruki spoke, Kuroka's eyes went towards Ravel, Haruki believed he knew what Kuroka was thinking right now.
Haruki stepped forward, feeling the difference between Ravel and Kuroka, knowing Ravel couldn't take Kuroka in a fight, so he'd stand there and protect her.
"Sorry, but you've got the wrong idea. We came across her, and helped her out. That's all."
"I don't believe you, no one's been kind to us since we came here nyaaa!"
Haruki thought that was very telling when she said it...it made sense to him now why she jumped to the conclusions that she did.
Kuroka shot off a blast of her power towards Ravel, but Haruki stepped before her, and destroyed the shot with his Holy Lightning.
But as he did, Kuroka had already approached Haruki with a strong fist filled with energy.
"Haruki-sama!"
"Don't worry Ravel-chan, I'll protect you."
Ravel's cheeks went red when he said that.
Using his own Holy Lightning, he parried Kuroka attack away from him, then saw that she summoned a sphere of her white energy up close, and personal.
Aiming for his face, he ducked, and the blast went over his head, while Shirone sighed.
"...I'm sorry about Onee-sama."
Shirone said to Haruki who chortled.
"Don't worry, I understand about how difficult it can be to trust others. I'll calm her down and get to the bottom of this quickly."
Haruki got close to Kuroka who snapped her fingers together, and created more and more spheres of her power. The white orbs floated around her, as she then thrusted her finger towards Haruki's form.
Haruki grinned at the new challenge, and dodged all of the attacks as they came for him. Kuroka looked surprised for a few moments, then smiled, and placed her hand on the ground. Running her power through it, the ground below began to turn into a different substance.
It spread outwards, so fast that Ravel was caught up in it, while Haruki took to the air on his Fallen Angel wings.
It was revealed to be a muddy substance.
Ravel was beginning to sink in, and grimaced.
"A-Ah, Haruki-sama! Sorry to disturb your fighting, but I'm sinking into this mud...i-it wont kill me, right?"
"Don't worry Ravel-chan, I'm coming for you."
His words relaxed her heart.
She sensed that despite his casual tone, he was taking it seriously by the expression on his face.
She wouldn't have anything happen to her, not while he was around.
Ravel smiled sweetly, as Kuroka smirked.
"Got one nyaaa~ I wont let you do anything like leaving~"
Kuroka thrust a finger towards Ravel who panicked.
However, before Kuroka could do anything…
The mud that Ravel was sinking into, was suddenly frozen.
It became an ice like area that was freezing towards Kuroka.
Kuroka gasped "What?" and placed a barrier around her. The barrier that went around her, began to have ice grow across it. It was even wrapping around her barrier, to the point that she could barely see out of it.
Ravel also was brought out of the ice, riding on an icy platform that generated from beneath her.
"Wow..."
Ravel murmured, as Shirone looked towards Haruki. Seeing the ice doll beside him, she understood what had happened.
Kuroka on the other hand snarled.
"Ice...magic? But this seems a bit different..."
"Fufu, trying to work me out Neko-chan?"
Haruki asked, as he sat upon the ice dolls shoulder which he summoned.
Kuroka shattered the ice around her, and shot off a wave of white energy towards Haruki.
The ice doll waved her hands forward, creating a wall of ice to block off the attack, while Haruki gathered Holy Lightning within his hands, and then shot it through the ice. Since the ice tanked the attack, his Holy Lightning had a clear path towards Kuroka.
Kuroka's face turned pale so she jumped backwards, as the Holy Lightning slammed into the ground. Creating a small explosion, Kuroka was forced back with the shockwave. But it wasn't over, as she saw the ice doll create spires of ice within the air.
Her face paled as the ice doll waved her hands forward, and shot off the spires.
"Ararara, it seems that this kind of power isn't normal. Is it a Sacred Gear perhaps?"
Kuroka mused, using her quick feet to dodge the attacks.
But Haruki shot downwards as she dodged, getting to the right hand side of her, where she filled her fist with aura, and swung it for his face. Using his Holy Lightning, he broke through the power that she used, and dispersed it into the air.
"It's nice to see you are very strong, but I don't want to cause any destruction around here. Though it seems you'd be quite fun to tease~"
"Tease huh?" Kuroka grinned, grasping Haruki's hand, yanking him closer. "I'd like to see you try nyaaa~"
Haruki smiled at the challenge, grasping the hand that was holding onto Haruki's other hand, then flung her towards the ice doll.
Kuroka looked back, seeing the doll opening her arms.
"Ooh crap!"
Kuroka shot off power towards the ice doll.
But she used ice projectiles to break through the power that Kuroka used.
Her arms then went around Kuroka's body, restraining her as the dolls ice could be felt across Kuroka's warm body.
Haruki flew up towards her, his finger slowly moving before her face.
"Ara ara, it seems that I've captured you~ Now, what should I do? Perhaps tickling might be in order~"
"N-No! Don't tickle me! I'm very ticklish!"
"Fufu, you shouldn't reveal that, because that makes me want to tickle you even more~"
Kuroka didn't know what to make of him.
He was teasing her.
He looked rather excited to do so.
Yet at the same time, he was serious in making sure that Ravel was safe, and protected.
He even made sure that none of his ice touched Shirone.
"Ararara, so you're going to be quite the wild boy? But, if you want to tickle me, explain to me why you kidnapped my Imouto! She's an innocent girl, and she needs to be protected nyaaa! So, why are you doing this?!"
"We didn't do anything. We came across her while she was trying to find some kind of flower for your Master. She got lost, and we helped her find her way back here."
Kuroka furrowed her brows.
"Finding a flower for our Master nyaaa?" Her eyes went towards Shirone. "Is that true Shirone?"
"Yes Onee-sama. Please don't fight anymore...they're nice people."
Kuroka scowled.
"I see..." Kuroka looked back to the ice doll who held her, and giggled awkwardly. "This ice doll...what is she exactly nyaaa?"
"Absolute Demise." Ravel informed. "One of the thirteen Longinus'. Haruki-sama is rather special in that regard. He controls ice, and Holy Lightning to his whim."
Ravel looked rather excited to say it, while Haruki thought it was cute.
"Longinus...Holy Lightning huh..." Kuroka murmured, her eyes running up and down Haruki who raised an eyebrow. "Longinus...pretty cute...hmmm...anyway! Will you let me down?! I'm getting cold! This ice girl is making me feel numb!"
"She makes me feel excited when she's ready for battle~ That icy maiden~"
Haruki smiled at the ice doll, and if Ravel wasn't mistaken, then she could've sworn she saw the ice doll wink at Haruki.
"Great, now can I get down?"
"No more attacking?"
"No nyaaa."
Haruki snapped his fingers, so the ice doll let her go.
Floating down to the ground, Haruki and Kuroka met back up with the others.
"Nyahahaha, it seems that I was a rather naughty cat then. Jumping to conclusions. But, can you blame me? I don't know either of you."
Haruki lightly tapped Kuroka on the top of her head in a playful manner.
"Next time, use better judgement."
"Nyaaaa..."
Ravel nodded.
"We understand that you were worried, but find out the situation if it isn't obvious. We didn't show threatening behaviour, if we did then I'd understand...but, we didn't. So please be more cautious next time."
Kuroka pulled out her tongue towards Ravel.
"Perhaps you're right nyaaa~ Sorry for attacking you."
Ravel and Haruki both nodded, accepting the apology right away since no harm came to them.
However, as they talked, Haruki saw a man dressed like a nobleman who had a curious face, but there was something off about him. Haruki wasn't sure what it was, but the way he looked at Kuroka, Shirone, and himself, was as if he was staring at something disgusting. Ravel even got some kind of glare like that, something that made her move behind Haruki.
"That's one of the members of the Naberius clan Haruki-sama. I heard that he's a rather secretive person, he keeps to himself, and can be condescending also. But, he is also very polite to those who he believes are worthy of it. Or so I've heard anyway. He also always addresses those with status with proper respect. But...I'm not sure if he does respect them."
Ravel whispered, as the Naberius clan member pulled in closer.
His eyes went towards Haruki first.
"What are you doing on my land you peasant?"
Haruki almost felt like scoffing at this attitude.
"Helping someone connected to this household come back."
Haruki replied, Naberius brows furrowed.
"I see, you may leave now. To be honest, I don't want Fallen Angels on my property."
Ravel scowled while Haruki thought he was rather funny, and brave to say such a thing.
"That was rather rude."
Naberius turned towards Ravel, and held back a sneer.
"Sorry. Do you associate with Fallen Angels Phenex-san? Shall I inform your parents that this Fallen Angel is with you?"
"My parents are fully aware of what I'm doing and who I am currently with. That shouldn't matter anyway. What should be is sending out someone connected to your house without proper knowledge of the area, and the way to come back to your residence. In fact, that area isn't even Devils territory. May I ask why it was important to send her?"
Haruki thought that Ravel's question was spot on.
Naberius didn't seem to like the tone that Ravel used, and just stared at her defiantly.
"That's my business. Now I'd like you to leave. Off my property, now."
Haruki frowned at the tone he used on Ravel this time, and stood close to her.
Naberius glanced towards him, showing a disturbing look towards him.
Haruki wasn't intimidated.
He in fact was rather ready to fight if he had to.
"Got something to say to me, Naberius-kun?"
Naberius looked towards him with a cold look.
His hands tightened, and his eyebrows furrowed.
"...Off my property Fallen Angel. Take your Phenex with you also."
Ravel scowled, but Haruki, despite wanting to punch this guy in the face, knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything like that right now, so he placed a hand towards Ravel.
"Come on Ravel-chan, lets get out of here."
"Yes, I believe we should Haruki-sama."
Naberius watched as the pair turned.
Haruki glanced back to see that Naberius was speaking to Kuroka.
Kuroka didn't look thrilled, while Naberius had an angry look on his face.
"Why is your Imouto socializing with Devils and Fallen Angels?"
"Question is, why did you really send her on her own?"
Kuroka held anger in her voice, Naberius though showed a condescending look towards her.
"You were busy Kuroka, I needed to gain a flower."
"What's special about that flower?"
"That's my problem. If you want to keep having a roof over your head, then I suggest not questioning me anymore. Because if you do, I'll toss both you and your Imouto away. Because you're in Devils territory, you wont last long if you cross me. So do as I say."
Naberius' tone was menacing.
Kuroka didn't back down though.
"I do, but don't involve Shirone. Leave her alone nyaaa."
"I'll do what I want with my property, as you'll see right now."
Haruki couldn't hear what was being said.
He presumed one or both of them made sure that he couldn't hear them.
Naberius then pushed Kuroka aside, and stormed over to Shirone.
Shirone froze in fear when he approached her.
His eyes displayed annoyance, anger, and because she was small girl that had no real experience in fighting or combat, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to proceed now. How she was supposed to handle this situation.
"Shirone, disobeying me means punishment."
"..."
Shirone didn't know what to say.
She couldn't say anything at all.
She was stunned in fear.
Haruki saw that, and immediately shot back as the man raised his hand as if to strike her.
His eyes locked with Haruki's, and he almost baited Haruki to attack, believing that he'd be able to stop Haruki easily.
Haruki caught "Don't talk to others you stupid girl." coming from Naberius, and when his hand went to hit her.
Kuroka snarled and went to interfere...
When Haruki swooped in fast, and punched Naberius hard in the face, adding some Holy Lightning to make him feel numb, faster than he could have predicted.
He couldn't kill Naberius, despite how he had acted towards Shirone, and what that might do to Serafall if he did take more extreme actions.
But still, he did want Naberius to feel something.
Kuroka was stunned as Naberius went flying across the grounds, Ravel smiled lightly at the sight before her.
"Don't try and strike her you asshole." Haruki looked towards Shirone, bending down towards her, and gently petted her head. "It's alright, you wont be harmed."
Shirone looked up towards Haruki, and her cheeks turned slightly red.
Kuroka looked on towards Haruki, stunned that someone, even a Fallen Angel in the land of Devils, would do anything for her or her family.
Naberius groaned in pain from the punch, his anger filled eyes shot for Haruki.
"You little shit!"
Naberius unleashed a wave of demonic power.
But Haruki merely waved his hand and dispelled it with his Holy Lightning.
Naberius looked stunned, his face falling as Haruki stared at him coldly, sadistically.
"Do you want to fight me? Because the eyes you made before you tried to strike Shirone-san tells me you did."
"Tch...you read it wrong."
Ravel could hear a slight tremble in Naberius voice, and believed that Haruki was right, he was trying to bait Haruki and then he'd take him down, but didn't realize the power difference between them favoured Haruki rather than himself.
"Even then, I hate people that strike defenceless people. In fact. I hate people that treat others like you treated these girls then. Aren't you supposed to be someone that took them in? Why did you try to strike this girl exactly? I heard because she spoke to others...flipping it on you. Who sends someone that doesn't know the layout to a potentially dangerous area, that isn't even owned by Devils mind you, knowing that she didn't have a choice? She could have been seriously hurt, she could've gotten lost, kidnapped, anything could have happened to her."
Naberius breathed in and out heavily.
Kuroka hadn't been aware that the place Shirone went was dangerous.
It made her feel more anger for Naberius.
"G-Get off my property! Or I'll report you for striking me! You are nothing but a Fallen Angel scum in the land of Devils! I could have you killed!"
Haruki gave a bemused look, and thought.
"Why is it each time I stand up for people in the Underworld, I'm always threatened with execution? First Zephyrdor, now this piece of trash...but, I need to think smart here. If I do this wrong, then it could come back on Serafall-san, or it could harm these girls rather than help. After all she's done to help me...I can't allow anything to happen to her. Still, this guys dodgy as hell...there's something not right here...the way Kuroka-sans acting...how she didn't trust people...how scared Shirone-san was then...how she was sent on her own to that area...why that flower specifically...? It doesn't seem that valuable to me...is it about the flower or something else...?"
While Haruki was thinking about it, Naberius ran a hand to his face, feeling the blood coming out of his nose.
Ravel, seeing what was going on, decided to chime in.
"And I'll report you for trying to strike these girls. Haruki-sama might not have much influence, but I do. Choose your words carefully."
Naberius scowled towards them.
Kuroka, knowing if others found out...then it could become worse, moved forward.
"It's alright raven-chan and bird-chan. Everything's fine here."
"Kuroka-san..."
Haruki tried to speak, but Kuroka stopped him.
"It's fine nyaaa. Don't worry, our Master sometimes gets a bit angry. He's a private person. Now please leave here...just go."
Haruki knew she was covering for him.
But he didn't know why yet.
Kuroka, from what he could tell, had more power than Naberius.
But there was something holding above her head...perhaps he had something of hers that meant she couldn't say anything.
He wasn't entirely sure yet, but he was going to find out.
"If that's how you feel, we'll come to check on you some other time." His eyes shot for Naberius who flinched at the gaze Haruki gave. "That would be okay, right? Then no one would have to be informed about what transpired here."
Naberius knew that he could be caught in a bad situation if others began poking around.
If it was just Haruki, he was sure that he'd be okay with it.
But if others did...he needed to keep up appearances, and look as if he had nothing wrong but an anger issue.
"...Whatever. Just don't interfere with me."
That told Haruki he did have something to hide.
If he didn't, then he'd go ahead and have something done to Haruki, at least he'd try.
But if he did, Haruki wasn't sure what he could be hiding.
Still, he was going to do his best to find out.
"I don't care who you are, if you try that crap again, I wont hold back against you."
Naberius felt a shudder go through him when seeing Haruki's eyes on him.
Naberius turned his face, as Haruki glanced back towards Ravel.
"Come on Ravel-chan, lets go."
"Are you sure Haruki-sama?"
Haruki looked towards Kuroka.
She showed a normal expression.
But he saw a sadness within her eyes.
A sadness he could understand.
"Yes, don't worry Ravel-chan. Lets go."
Ravel wasn't sure what Haruki was thinking.
But she followed him regardless.
Walking off of the property, Ravel had questions about what Haruki was currently thinking.
"Haruki-sama...what's going on? Are we really just leaving?"
"For the moment, we have to approach this a little differently. There's something wrong with that situation. I'm not sure what it is. Kuroka-san has the power to put down Nabeurius, yet she hasn't chosen to do so. It also seemed to be a common occurrence, by the way Kuroka-san didn't react to the way that Naberius acted. Though she was also angry with how he targeted Shirone, perhaps he doesn't do that often. Also...how she wanted us to go, I'm not sure she'd be willing to trust us yet...I can relate to that rather well, I had to be careful on who to trust after what happened with my Kaa-chan...and, I saw Kuroka-san then, she would have stopped Naberius if I didn't. Still, I am concerned for them."
"So what are we going to do?"
Haruki raised an eyebrow.
"We?"
"Yes, we. I mean, I'm also involved Haruki-sama."
Haruki gave a light smile.
"Might be dangerous."
"Still, Haruki-sama. You think it's worth it, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I will also follow your judgement. It seems that you understand more about people than I currently do. If I learn more, then maybe I could become someone that's useful in the future. So, allow me to offer my assistance Haruki-sama."
Haruki chortled, gently patting her head.
"Right, then lets work together and see what's going on. I found out information about Himejima once, things they had made extra effort to keep hidden. Even if Naberius is trying to hide stuff, there's always a trail somewhere. We will find something out Ravel-chan. ...Lets try and find out the circumstances behind the reason why the neko girls ended up living with Naberius in the first place, and go from there. I think that's the best place to start."
"Yes Haruki-sama! Should we inform Serafall-sama? Do you think it would be best?"
Haruki hummed.
"It would be best if we informed her of the suspicions that we have, at least in regards to how Naberius acted, and that was in front of us, so who knows what he does behind doors."
"He probably thought that he'd be able to get away with it, or he was cocky. It's as you said, he wanted you to attack, so he could try and be superior, but he was shocked when you displayed power beyond his. That's why he became more agreeable."
Haruki had to agree with her.
"Either way, it isn't right. Serafall-san might be able to provide some assistance, and help us pursue, at least stop him from treating those girls that way. Trust me, I'd love to knock some more sense into him, but sometimes you have to approach things in other ways, and take people down in other ways than just physical."
Ravel nodded slowly.
"Yes, that does make sense. Serafall-sama does have to be careful if she makes accusations, all we have right now is a feeling, and seeing him attempt to hit them...though as horrible as it sounds, there are other Devils that treat their peerages and others like that, Zephyrdor is a good example of that, and yet some Old Devils would consider that fine, when it really shouldn't be. Naberius also has some friends higher up, so we'd have to be cautious."
"Exactly right Ravel-chan, it's a flawed system that makes others at the mercy of idiots like Naberius and Zephyrdor...not while I'm around though. Lets do this Ravel-chan."
"Okay Haruki-sama, lets go!"
Haruki nodded.
Though the situation wasn't something Haruki was sure about.
He definitely knew that there wasn't something right, so he'd have to find out what was going on, and make sure those girls were safe.
As much as he had wanted to just take them away from Naberius right there and then, he knew that he'd have to play it smart in case Naberius had something else under his sleeve. He wasn't about to be a fool here, and now he was going to do his best in uncovering the mystery behind Naberius.
End chapter!
So this chapter introduced Vali! And reintroduced after the brief cameo a few chapters ago with Kuroka and Shirone! Getting into Vali and Haruki, with the pair being intrigued by the others powers, and had a brief fight, gaining respect for one another, to the point that they even meet up quite often after their first meeting. Serafall seems to really wish for Haruki to join her group, Akeno and Haruki are spending some quality time together, and Akeno is also be getting rather close with Rias.
Then Naberius showed up, and had some interaction with Haruki, and Ravel, being rather rude and looked down on them, though they shrugged it off until he went to strike Shirone/Koneko, believing that neither Haruki or Ravel could do anything about it, only to be proven wrong when Haruki punched him in the face.
Now, believing something is off with Naberius, more than meets the eye, Haruki's going to find out what that is, even Ravel seems to wish to help out also, and as he said, he has to do this a certain way, or else Serafall could be caused trouble, something he doesn't want to do.
Also, thanks to everyone who voted! Counting up the votes, it seemed that in the end, Vali was the winner, and for those who voted for Isane, in a future DxD story with the Oc having a peerage, I'll have Isane in that, and in this, they'll have a very interesting relationship.
Some did suggest about having Meredith (for those unaware, she's a character that appears in True Volume Four, I wont spoil major things here about her and what she does during that volume for those who haven't read that yet, she is on the wikia if you're curious about her), being in Haruki's peerage, I thought it could be cool if both her, and Le Fay were in his peerage. I thought that Meredith could be either Pawns, or mutation Knight (I know she's a magician, but she did make longswords with her Sacred Gear and seemed ready to fight with them plus due to how her Sacred Gear works, I think speed would be an asset to her), so yeah let me know what you think about that, and any other suggestions you have! There's still a number of places in the peerage!
So here's the current peerage list. Kuroka is in the peerage, she's not apart of Naberius' in this story, but she isn't on the list yet due to me not deciding if she'll be the other Bishop, or Pawns.
Haruki's peerage
Queen; Vali.
Rooks; Koneko, Undecided.
Bishops; Ravel, Undecided.
Knights; Xenovia, Undecided.
Pawns; All Undecided.
Well, until next time, thanks for reading!
Haruki; Serafall, Sona, Ravel, Koneko, Kuroka, Gabriel, Akeno, Vali (fem), Isane, Xenovia, Rias, Irina, Asia, Rossweisse, Le Fay,
