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FICTION
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Chapter 13: Unexpected Role
Things were going quite well for me and those around.
Having Koneko and Akeno come for lunch and join in the study session together had turned into a normal occurrence much to Baraqiel's chagrin and the 'strange' situations that the Himejima would cause once in a while would continue to persist.
Even through there was a sharp difference from the lewd tone she took early in her 'chase', some particular events would still continue to happen.
Hands touching during lunch, she would press her chest to 'look over my shoulder' or she would even go and try to get her shirts wet while using the sink of the kitchen. The girl ended up mastering the bursts of water, making it a precise hit on her shirt only.
It was the teasing that was left unchanged. The perverted 'Oneesama' was incredibly keen to point out some of the more 'interesting' details about a situation about herself or, in some cases, about me.
Nothing was committed explicitly in front of the two younger girls, yet I was quite sure that my little kohai already knew that something was going on between the Queen of the peerage she was part of and her poor senpai.
Speaking of the sweets-loving girl, I was happy to learn that she was quite confident about the future results of her Math test. The silver-haired Reincarnated Devil did show some rare smiles much to Kunou's growing interest to see more of her senpai.
It was an adorable relationship both Kitsune and Nekoshou were developing, very close to a sisterly bond which Koneko was quite elated to have as she was somehow happy to be the 'older sibling' to the young blonde.
Training proceeded smoothly, with Baraqiel being a little more 'aggressive' in his approach after learning about Akeno's frequent visiting and how she was 'interested' to me. I didn't blame him for being incredibly protective, but I did blame him for making training a true walk through hell with his more violent attitude towards me.
It was around Friday that the Fallen Angel announced some news for the following day.
After finishing the last sparring session of the day, the man showed me a particularly long report, urging me to read it.
And I did and… I was a little surprised at what was supposed my official first mission for Grigori.
I blinked and then frowned at the details, turning for answers to Baraqiel. "Only one day and… where is this place?"
The address was strange, written in a language I was quite unfamiliar with and the man smiled.
"It's going to be a mere escort mission as some talks happens in the meantime and you don't have to worry about the location." The Fallen Angel stated with a smile. "You will be helped around by your partner during the mission, he is quite acknowledged about Hell language."
… "Partner?" I found myself questioning. "You are not going to come too?"
"I will be going for said diplomatic talks once this training session is over." He answered while giving a lone nod. "My presence for this event is important and your presence will give some trust to the other side."
"Are there going to be the Four Maou?" The Fallen Angel quickly nodded at my question. "So… this has to be a big thing and- do I know whom is going to be my partner?"
He merely smiled, then he spoke three words and I groaned.
"You know him."
Which means that, since I knew just four people from Grigori and only one fit the bill, I was going to deal with Vali once again and while he had yet to go rogue, he was still going to be a pain to deal with.
"Can I have some more info? Like who is the contractor or-"
"All will be explained in good time, Hoitsu-kun." Baraqiel sighed as he started to move towards his room. "Just behave and avoid making a bad impression."
With those ominous words the Fallen Angels left the training room, leaving me to contemplate the situation from a very limited standpoint.
Whatever was going on between Grigori and Hell, it has to have to do with Khaos Brigade… or at least what was currently part of KB.
Qlippoth and Old Satan factions have already joined at this time of the story, same for the Nilrem faction as I had the pleasure to encounter a group of themand-
I wonder if I should contact Mephisto Pheles and inform him about the current situation of the magicians, maybe get his support early on for the eventual anti-KR coalition and avoid some major issues.
I should do that but right now I couldn't because of the lack of info about the Grauzauberer. It wasn't common knowledge in the lore where exactly it was sited, nor how it truly worked.
Maybe they would even hunt me down if they discovered me as I was a Magician, that was a thing now, but I was quite unaware what kind of ideological line they would have towards 'newcomers', a purist or a reformist one.
My little silent thinking earned me a minor headache as I slowly ended up theorizing where exactly Vali and I were supposed to be sent to.
Hell was smaller than the entire world, but it did have several interesting places. Places that were either 'safe' or incredibly dangerous to be spending time within.
Hopefully I wasn't going to deal with any dangerous situation anytime soon and hopefully the Khaos Brigade wasn't going to cause any problem during the talks, just like it had happened in Canon.
I entered my bedroom and blinked at the sight of a nine fluffy tails of golden waggling slowly as Kunou lied on the bed, eyes open and directed at the door while giving a patient look.
The Kitsune was wearing her Pjs and I was glad that there was nothing ecchi in the way she was positioned, no unnecessary skin showing and she looked mostly adorable like that. Like a puppy starving for affection.
I snorted, a small smile playing in my features. "I think you are getting quite spoiled, aren't you?"
She pouted briefly, but didn't shy away as I slowly slipped inside the covers and waited for her to start to move.
The blonde sighed in relief as her head nuzzled on my chest. I patted near her fox ears and she hummed pleased by the calm but careful ministrations.
With her eyelids half-closed, I decided to break the news to her now as things will get quite annoying in the morning.
"Tomorrow I will be out of Kuoh for my work." Her sight was quickly locking on my face. "It will be just for Saturday, by Sunday's early morning I will be back."
She blinked, a little tense but not too much and she asked. "Just Saturday?"
"Yes, just tomorrow. I will call Asia and Issei early in the morning to see if they can come and keep you company, okay?"
Golden eyes glowed warmly at mentioning the fellow blonde and the funny brunet. "What about senpai… or Neechan?"
"I don't have their number, but if they pass and wants to spend some time I don't see any issue with that."
She smiled and nodded, further snuggling close to the warmth. "Niichan?"
I hummed in response, half-asleep already and she giggled.
"I… love you."
I sighed and pulled her head closer, kissing her forehead and smiling. "Love you too, Imouto."
It was quite early in the morning, I had set my travel bag on the table as I let Asia and Issei in, nodding at them. "Once more thank you to be there-"
"Nonsense, senpai. Issei and I will be more than happy to take care of Kunou and the house for today and..." The girl looked around, a little awed at the size of the place. "T-This house is really big."
The brunet nodded in agreement and then turned back to me with star-glittered eyes. "This is what will happen if I continue working part-time?"
I shrugged. "If you keep up for a long time, you will be able to buy what you want, even a house."
He nodded, happy with the answer as I turned to Kunou. "Remember to listen to Asia-chan and Ise if they say that there is something dangerous going on, okay?"
She nodded quickly. "I will be fine with Ise-nii and Asia-nee."
I patted her head. "Good and.." I blinked towards the two distracted teens, a little devious plan forming inside my mind. "Do try to bring them together. Just some suggestions, nothing too much complex."
The girl blinked and glanced towards her temporary caretakers and nodded slowly, a little mischievous smile appearing in her face. "I will try."
I patted her head again and picked my bag. "I will see you all tomorrow then." I held my free hand up to wave as I walked out of the door and I was greeted by the three waving back.
Closing the door behind me I started to make my way to the precise alley Baraqiel had told me to present myself to and much to my silent surprise the walk was surprisingly a short one.
I paused a moment before venturing towards what seemed to be a dead end, putting on my disguise as Hekishoku on. Feeling ready to go after putting the changed clothes inside my bag, I started to walk towards the frontal door and… waited for something to happen.
Looking around I found nothing in particular that could fit with anything magical or- Wait.
I pressed my open palm on the wall and… it was warm. Pushing some energy onto the construct, a glowing seal appeared and a beam shoot from it and hit my full body, coating me in light as… I felt shifting.
I lost my footing and tripped almost immediately in a rugged floor.
Groaning, I got up and the first thing I noticed was that I was now in a train?
There were some workers walking around, some guards and some normal people wandering through the various aisles of the moving thing. I blinked and turned to look if I could see someone familiar and… I did.
Standing right by the aisle directly in front of this… 'Shifting' section of the train, a caped figure was standing alone, giving me his back and… I decided to test Vali's perception of things.
So I slowly made my way towards him, my feet coated in shadows and silencing the sounds from those and managed to poke at his shoulder to get his attention.
His head snapped my way, I could feel some initial anger, then surprise and realization and finally scowl. "So you are here too."
His dry tone only made me smile more. "Aw, and I thought you would have missed me."
He crossed his arms and looked away. "Why are you here?"
"I am your partner for this mission." He glanced back and I nodded. "By the way, do you know where we are going? Baraqiel-sensei decided to say nothing about it and-"
"Gremory's territory." My eyes widened at the sudden answer. "We are supposedly going to guard the young spawn of Sirzechs and his maid."
That… sounded quite strange. Why would they need us when- This doesn't make any sense.
"And I am fairly sure that something else is going on." The host of Albion continued to speak. "Yet Azazel was very secretive about it all."
I frowned. "Well, I know that Baraqiel was supposed to be present for some diplomatic talk."
Vali froze for few moments, then he turned around fully attentive at my words. "What?"
"He didn't tell you, didn't he?" He didn't reply but from his previous reactions I knew it was the case.
"He should have told me!" He rebuked loudly and I sighed. "What? Do you think this is funny?"
"Quite the opposite, I think the situation is far more complicated than you think."
… "Explain!"
Another sigh. "I know that… there is some internal rebellion brewing within Grigori and the passage of sensitive info is quite difficult."
"You mean that he doesn't trust me?" He asked shocked and I facepalmed.
"I am saying that people are preparing to support some bastards and that you, Sougyoku-san, are being monitored by some of those."
He tensed up and started to look around. "Not now. Not during a mission. That is why Baraqiel didn't say anything about keeping quiet about what was going on."
"But shouldn't Azazel know where the traitors are?"
"If the big boss pull some shady act, people part of this rebellion will know and plan something earlier than established. Grigori isn't ready for a civil war, not yet at least."
His shoulders relaxed a little. "That sounds… smart." Vali admitted, turning his masked face to the rest of the people enjoying the ride. "Still it doesn't explain why we are here."
"Indeed." I agreed, nodding even. "And sadly, I am completely unaware of the reasoning behind our presence today."
Just as we continued with our discussion, the blue-masked youth noticed the digital sign blinking and sighed. "We have arrived, get by the door on the right side."
I frowned but complied, noticing a large button to open said door and, as it slid open, I stared at… the massive territory owned by Rias' family.
Yet there was a small but considerable issue now that I thought about it and said issue was… the fact we were flying. The whole train was flying. "How am I supposed to-" Thud "W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
One moment I was grasping at the sides of the new opening, then I found myself free-falling as the host of the Divine Dividing Sacred Gear decided to sparta-kick me out of the train.
Of the many things I've trained, of the several spells I've learned about with both Azazel and Baraqiel, none prepared me to deal with this particular situation.
I slowly started to turn over and over, my breakfast starting to beg some evacuation but I managed to hold over. Squinting my eyes, I saw Vali following my falling with two Dragon-like wings on his back.
Help me!
He slowed down a little, I could perceive the smug at the fact he was going to pull me out last minute.
HELP ME, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!
Finally the young Lucifer snorted amusingly and quickened his flight, catching me before I could turn in a human omelet and started to get us towards the large gates that led to the central mansion sited within the territories.
We landed and I spent few moments breathing in and out to normalize my poor lungs, ignoring the chuckles coming from the Dragon-kin and the arrival of various members of servitude, an army of maids and butlers went in two lines, one for each sides, and bowed slightly as the gates opened.
"Uh, quite the welcoming party." My comment was met with a nod by the fellow member of Grigori and we slowly started to make our way inside the large courtyard that led to the massive mansion in front of us.
Once we stepped inside the large house, we found ourselves staring at a particularly old butler.
"Welcome to the Gremory's Household. I am Horace and I shall be your guide to the room where the young Master and Lord and Lady Gremory are currently in." He bowed a little and I nodded appreciatively.
Vali ignored him, but the elder seemed to not mind the young man's attitude and proceeded to lead us through part of the large mansion, some of the windows showing some inner courtyard and the overall aesthetics were… impressive.
It was actually my first time entering the house of someone very, very rich and so I took my time in looking around the rooms we were passing by.
Finally we reached a humongous living room with two long dining tables, two big fireplaces and several couches of various dimensions.
Right by one of the fireplaces a small red-haired child was playing with what seemed to be a box of… Lego?
Now that I looked closely, it was a different company but… the toy was similar. I tried to discern the constructions completed but, before I could focus on that properly, I saw the boy stopping and looking to stare who had just entered the room.
He then got up from the carpet he was previously sitting on and slowly approach us.
Short red hairs, his eyes a shade a little lighter than his locks, the young child of Sirzechs and Grayfia smiled in a friendly way.
"Nice to meet you, I am Millicas Gremory. Could I ask about your names?" And polite too, just like in the show.
I crouched a little and smiled through my mask. "My name is Hekishoku and it's nice to meet you too, Millicas."
If I remember correctly, the boy appreciated being addressed in an 'equal' way and I nailed my response by his smile widening at the way I addressed him.
The old butler coughed. "I think you should address the young Master in a more formal manners, Hekishoku-san."
I blinked and turned to stare at the old servant and returned to stare curiously at the boy, a little deflated at the words of the butler.
"So, I saw you were playing with those blocks. Can you tell me what you were building, Millicas-kun?"
His eyes widened and he nodded as he took the hand I offered to him and led me back to the fireplace much to the old man's dismay.
Kids need to be kids and… it's been a while since I played with some lego-like blocks.
And then I saw them sitting in two close couches.
Venelana Gremory, née Bael, was a beautiful woman. There weren't enough adjectives in the English vocabulary to describe the attractive figure the lady had and I was forced to look away almost immediately to avoid blushing madly at the sight.
Zeoticus Gremory looked like a professional businessman with a kind edge on his expression, probably because of the fact he was in the proximity of his grandson.
The two current leaders of the Gremory family looked happy and… fine. They were there babysitting their grandchild and… they were still strong enough to protect him.
...Why were we there then?
I gave a quick bow to both respectable members of Devils' society and they returned the gesture with a nod.
It was right in that moment that the dots connected and… I knew what was going on.
There were diplomatic talks happening right now and… Vali and I were 'guests' to the mansion owned by the parents of one of the Satans. We were supposed to stay there until the talks were concluded thus…
We weren't guarding anyone today.
Today, much to my dreadful realization, I recognized that this was a classic hostage situation, one that served to build-up the trust between Fallen Angels and Devils.
I blinked and started to quietly listen Millicas as he described his buildings, my mind focusing on a small detail about this all.
While I could accept the situation as it was a necessity, what would Vali's reaction be at the idea that Azazel had knowingly used him as an expendable piece in the big chessboard?
I could only hope that, during our stay, he wouldn't understand what was going on just like I did and maybe, just maybe, this mission will end up being a breeze…
AN
Millicas, Zeoticus and Venelana will be expanded upon next chapter. I decided to make this little mission three parts long for good reasons and…
Yeah, shit will hit the fan once more…
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The Soldier of No Sorrow: I will evaluate every possibility, but the ship section of the story is quite far from now.
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