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FICTION

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Chapter 18: Of Happiness and Dread

The walk back home was surprisingly tiring.

My body felt just like when I was trying to get the Light-type integrated in my Magic Core, the only differences being that I was facing a minor case of running nose and what I could only assume were the symptoms of a common cold.

Passing by the nearest pharmacist, I was quick to get a medical mask and the proper medicals to treat this sudden sickness which I was clueless about its causes.

While I knew that in that brief moment of fever spurned by feeling a sudden powerful energy triggered something within me, I was completely unaware what exactly had happened back then.

I could feel the entire energy contained in my Core fully manifest in that exact instance, a sudden flex that over-exerted my whole body, my bodily temperature spiking with the same speed and leaving me a little bit tired, confused and with a headache.

Groaning, I dodged another light pole, my perception of things hindered by a small sense of dizziness developing and further making my return quite difficult.

There were moments I had to pass around a large crowd of people, my headache worsening as I felt my sense of direction deafened by the heightened sounds of the urban life going around me.

'Still, it's quite curious what had happened back at the entrance of the school. I couldn't feel anything close to a possession or some attempt to mind-control you from external energy and yet your sudden change of attitude looked just like someone took over you.'

It was worrisome that even Apophis was unknowing about what caused this phenomenon to happen, that sudden rush of anger, fear and primal need to either fight to the death or run away from the monstrous threat hidden in that vehicle.

And that is ignoring the foul thoughts I had over the situation with Ruval. While Raiser warranted cruelty well-equalized over his own 'sins', I still felt that the reasoning at a certain point during that discussion switched from justice-making to sadistic pleasure.

That wasn't part of me, the only times I could possibly get this blood-thirsty was when the subject in question had committed something heinous and beyond anything forgivable.

Yet this rage was still there, the boiling sensation present inside my chest but lacking a clear target.

I sighed in relief once I unlocked the lock of the door, slowly pushing it open as I ventured inside and-

"Niichan!"

Oof!

Kunou smiled as she tackled me, almost sending us both to the ground with the suddenness and the strength behind that embrace.

A small smile appeared, hidden behind the mask as I started to pat her head. "Ku-chan."

She giggled and started to get up, her face twisting in surprise and concern once her golden eyes fixed upon my face.

The girl blinked. "Niichan, what is wrong? Are you sick?" She started to straddle onto my shirt and I sighed.

"Just a minor cold. Nothing dangerous, but I think you shouldn't be this close to me right now or you might get it too." She nodded, still looking a little bit worried as she took two small steps away.

I saw two individuals peek from the doorstep that led to the living room. "Do you need to rest, senpai?" Koneko's usually stoic look was replaced by some concern, then I glanced to the other head peeking and-

"Oh, you have a minor cold, Hoitsu-kun ~?" A chill went down my spine as those words left Akeno's lips, her eyes narrowing in an intrigued light at this development.

The good news of this situation was that Koneko didn't have any exam for this week, thus letting her enjoy some free time she wanted to spend around Kunou. If before the two had been close, now they looked inseparable and I could easily see that the silver-haired girl had become something of a big sister for the Kitsune.

The Nekoshou enjoyed the moderated questioning of her kohai and the blonde herself was glad to have someone close to her age helping her around with homework and other curiosities.

With the two young girls closing up to Kunou's room, I was left to deal with an opportunistic woman like the Himejima.

Akeno might have ditched after a while her sillier and more extreme attempts to get my attention and win the intense chase, but if I knew enough of girls with her peculiar mindset then I was fairly sure that I was going to get 'nursed back to health' by her.

Not only it was a good intervention that helped her score some good points for my graces, but also offered a chance to get to explore the intimacy a nurse had with her patient.

There was also the fact that 'small accidents' about peeking over some clothes and other indecent things were 'easy to justify' if ever caught by said patient.

I was going to deal with quite the issue if I wasn't careful around her.

'She looks quite beautiful, I would even dare to say she would be the ideal woman if you give her even a small chance to prove it to you.'

I snorted inwardly at the dragon's comment. You mean the very daughter of the man that is training me? The woman that enjoys whipping people around to a sexual degree?

'A little bit of whip isn't-'

I will ignore the crap you were about to say, Apophis.

The being huffed. 'Not an issue, yet I still stand by my ideals.'

Is there even a dragon that isn't even a little bit a pervert?

'It's all about perspectives, Hoitsu.'

Archiving this little chit-chat away to never be brought up to my poor mind, I found myself being attentive of the girl's actions around me.

Surprisingly enough, the Himejima held her hand from action during the preparation of the lunch, twitching once or twice while glancing my way but doing nothing worth of suspicion.

A quiet but happy time lasted for the entire lunch, Koneko mentioning how she had slowly tried to integrate the way she studied math with other subjects she was struggling with and how the results had been quite positive.

Just as I expected this situation to end up with me dealing with Akeno alone, Kunou decided that today it would have been a good day to break this habit.

Sitting on the large couch in front of the flat TV this house had, we decided it was a good opportunity to spend some time watching something new.

Thus I decided it was time to test a theory of mine about the Nekoshou's possible interest and… hopefully I will survive through this.

Taking out a small DVD case, I put on the Blu-ray device the small disk and waited for the TV to load it.

The screen turned black as a familiar opening began.

Few hours passed and I slowly recovered from by sudden bout of sickness, my skin regaining some healthier color and my body feeling less sore and tired.

Still I was unsure if Phantom Blood would have gained some interest from the girls but right as the credits of the last episode rolled in, I found myself comforting a sobbing Kunou as the kitsune latched at me for some reprieve.

While there was a general liking for the protagonist that was Jonathon Joestar, the blonde was the one that got the most attached to him. Since they both shared similar backgrounds, the little girl found herself cheering for the first Jojo almost as quickly as he was introduced.

The adventure, the various characters that were befriended or beaten and finally the bitter finale for that chapter of the Joestar's family.

Patting her head, Kunou had her face buried deep in my shirt, incredibly angry at seeing her new favorite character pass away like this.

"Kunou-chan, there is no need to cry. After all this is just the first part of the series and… I am sure there could be other good characters." Akeno shifted in her seat and slowly took the blonde out of my hold and into hers, the little girl looking surprised with her eyes going wide as she was softly hug by the Himejima.

The difference was the kitsune now had some extra pillows to rest her head, which she accepted without much of a fuss, resting a little in that hug.

I stared at the scene, at how content the older female looked while carefully keeping the blonde in her embrace and.. I felt someone tugging at my sleeve.

I blinked, turning to see Koneko looking quite distracted and nervous. "Do you need something kohai?"

The girl didn't reply, her eyes carefully lifting to stare mines for a brief instant, then she moved.

Eyes going wide open, I looked down at the sudden soft hug I was receiving. The silver-haired girl was tense, as if she had completely forgotten how one was supposed to initiate an embrace and looked ready to retreat from the seemingly failed attempt.

'Why she seems this hesitant? It's easy to see that she want to be close to you in a familial way.'

Her sister went 'mad' with power and left her after killing most of their family and leaving her to deal with the following fallout.

'That is quite the sad story.'

She opened her mount while slowly moving away, trying to apologize for the sudden embarrassing situation she froze the moment my hand reached for her head and my other one went to bring her back in the hug.

Her tension deepened just a little more, eyes going wide a little at the returning embrace.

"It's fine, Koneko-chan." I whispered quietly. "I am not going to hurt you."

My words slowly sunk deep in the girl's brain, an acceptance to her need to be close to someone, the need to have some nostalgic happiness back in that simple gesture.

Her eyes closed, head slowly tilting to my chest as she nuzzled a little to enjoy the relative closeness.

Some moments passed, the Nekoshou enjoying every single instant of that little hug and then our little peace was interrupted by someone tackling us both.

A golden missile jumped between us and infiltrated the embrace, Kunou giggling a little while basking in the warmth of both. I looked up at Koneko, the girl snorting at the sudden intrusion but refusing to budge at it, conceding to this group hug.

I was glad to see that the silver-haired girl was finally showing a little more of herself around others and I was blissfully unaware that someone was plotting right behind me.

A chill went down my spine the moment I felt two soft cushions pressing on my unprepared back, a pair of soft lips reaching for my ear. "Ara, Ara, is Hoitsu-kun enjoying the hug of three maidens ~?"

My cheeks reddened instantly, and my entire body tensed at the sudden glomping of the giggling girl behind me.

Kunou looked confused at my sudden blushing, while Koneko glared at the Himejima for ruining that innocent moment. There was a simple smile well wide on Akeno's face, but I soon learned the worst had yet to come.

Her hands hovered above my shoulders and reached for my face before I could react to it all.

"Nwo!" The young woman started to pinch my cheeks, some giggling fleeting her mouth as she continued to painfully play around.

"W-Welp!" I tried to call for support, but the only thing I got from the small blonde bundle latched at me was giggles, Koneko having turned to the side, trying to be neutral about this but failing to hide with her hands the amused smile twitching in her face.

The terrible torture lasted two more minutes and I my cheeks were now glowing red once more, this time in a show of pain.

"I'm sorry, Hoitsu-kun, maybe I shouldn't have been that much harsh with the pinching." The Himejima said with a mock-apologetic tone. "Maybe I should redeem myself by doing something that will make you laugh."

I frowned at those words, but as I tried to respond I found her hands descending to the sides of my torso and start to tickle it mercilessly. She giggled again, expecting to find an instantaneous reaction out of me.

I couldn't blame her, everyone would laugh at being tickled the normal way. But sadly that figure is wrong as… only a majority of everyone laughed at being tickled.

And I wasn't part of that.

Few seconds passed as she continued with her ministration, possibly expecting me to be holding back from letting out my chuckles… then I turned around and I glanced at her with a vindictive smile, my cheeks still hurting.

She stopped, her jaws dropping and looking suddenly quite nervous. "N-Now there is no nee to-"

But it was too late. Kunou shifted onto Koneko's lap as I fully turned at the panicking Himejima and started to return the favor immediately.

I pinched her cheeks, the girl looking comical as I stretched the pinching a little, making her look even funnier. "So, is this fun?"

She couldn't reply because of my ministrations and then… I switched to the tickling.

I admit that at that point, things escalated a lot. Since she was being treated with the tickles, her body obviously tried to move away from my fingers, forcing me to follow her as she slowly made her way towards the end of the couch and-

Thud

We both fell on the ground. I spun around, catching her before she could truly hit the floor, using my own body as a pillow.

Sighing, I stared at her face, part of it hidden as she was pressing it on my shirt. My entertained expression shattered in confusion the moment I saw her entire face burning red, her breathing was erratic and she looked a little dizzy.

What was wrong with her-

'Wait, if she is Baraqiel's daughter, does that mean she is also a-'

Shit!

I had completely forgotten about the masochist trait the woman had inherited from her father, thus everything I just did until that point led her to-

OH MY GAWD, NO!

I looked away quickly, face exploding in red as I realized why she looked this happy.

"T-That was… amazing." Akeno finally spoke, her tone strained as she was recovering from… that.

I looked back at the couch, Koneko looked as confused as Kunou was and I felt blessed by the fact only the two adults in the room knew what was going on.

Goddammit Akeno…

Baraqiel was clueless about what had happened few hours ago by the fact he looked perfectly calm and normal when he entered the training field.

If he had, I would haven't had the time to even think about the possibility of him knowing or not because the punishment would have been administered swiftly and mercilessly.

So, before the session would begin, I decided to explain him about what had happened back to Kuoh Academy minus the encounter with Ruval. I preferred for that to be a secret, especially with the heir to the Phenex family knowing if the information had been revealed by me or not.

"A sudden and unconscious burst of energy? You mean that your body obtained new power without reason?"

I shook my head at the queries. "I know it was from my Core, but I don't know how and why it happened so suddenly. It felt like I wasn't controlling my body anymore at a certain point and Apophis said my eyes went red-"

"Stop." My voice died down at the order, the Fallen Angel approaching closely, his open palm pressing on my chest and I quickly felt some energy coating my whole form.

The process lasted more than two minutes, the light covering my body mildly warming during it all.

I blinked in surprise at the unplanned analysis spell, kind of confused and worried by the fact he didn't bother to warn me before going with this but I stopped myself from asking as I knew whom I was referring to.

Whatever got the man this worked out and panicking, it had to be important and-

"A sliver." He sighed in partial relief. "To think that it would found its way here in your body of all places… there is still some time to act but..." He paused again and turned at me. "Tomorrow you are skipping school, kid. We have important places to go to."

I frowned, more confused by the Fallen Angel's stressed expression and tone at saying those words.

"What do you mean- What kind of place-"

"Sadly, I can't disclose where we are going, but the people we will ask help from are good ones." He replied quickly, leaving much of the whole situation unknown to me.

That wasn't giving me enough and I was getting particularly tense now that I knew that something was indeed wrong with me. "Good enough to not get back-stabbed or good enough to make a good job?"

Baraqiel merely smiled. "They are former students of mine, I can speak volumes about their capacities and you will like them."

I sighed and nodded at the strong defense the man had over this group of people. My mind was racing to try and find whom could fit with a group of people which Baraqiel had taught too.

Not anyone I particularly know from the anime series, yet there was something that sounded similar about the manga.

There was also a blurred picture forming from these lines but I couldn't get a clear one, only blurred.

Nodding at his orders, I decided to move to the training part of the discussion. "So that means we shouldn't train today or-"

The Fallen Angel laughed at what I was trying to say, forcing me to shut up and frown at such reaction. "You seriously think I would skip a day to get you prepared for the future?"

Laughs subsiding, the man presented three large books and passed all of them at me.

The moment the tomes reached my waiting hands, I felt a cloud of dust forming from the minor impact, causing me to cough a little. "W-What are those meant for?"

"I think you have reached a good level of physical training, but your body is still limited without the help of something a bit more… mystical." He explained, still smiling as he went to take a seat on the side.

Meanwhile I took a glance at the title of the top book in the pile and blinked in surprise.

"Senjutsu?"

Baraqiel only smiled, leaving me to understand what I was supposed to do with something like this, knowing full well that a false step with the meditation and… I was going to lose control.

He had to pick now of all times to teach a technique about self-control?!

AN

You know what I mean about when I write short chapters? A fight is coming soon!

I admit I went a little fluff there, that is why there is little content in this chapter, but next one will contain a very interesting fight and chase with people from the same universe.

Future milestone 1: 626 Followers and Favorites.

Future milestone 2: 696 Followers and Favorites.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

REVIEW Q&A! (Quick notice: The Reviews are not appearing on the website, not even in the moderation tab of my profile. Dunno what is going on with FF server but hopefully things will get better.)

Blaze2121: Some epic fighting that might or might not expand the current universe.

Evyplayz121: There is something a little more complicated. It will be a major plot point.

AnCapBukharin: It would seem like my own dark self follows from Victoria 2. Heh.

Night-Stryder: Nah. There is nothing intimate between the two, but there will be a deal exposed by Ruval about why she remained untouched.

Darkjackal248: Not corruption, something to possession (It's not Apophis). Also thank you for the support!

Twitch: The Ara Ara won once more… partly.