Chapter 3 – I Have A Present For You
"What's this? Raynare, aren't you done playing around with this trash?"
Torn from his moment with Raynare, Issei looked up at the interloper. It was a tall, middle-aged man with a grey trench coat and a fedora.
"Not now," she snarled. "We'll talk about this later."
He laughed sinisterly, forming a light spear in one hand.
"Don't tell me you're getting attached? You know the mission - he can't be allowed to live."
He threw the spear, and three pairs of eyes tracked it as it hurtled forward - two in shock, and one in gleeful expectation.
"No!" cried Raynare desperately, throwing her own spear to intercept it. The two collided. However, the latter was hastily formed, the product of a split second of reflex. Knocked off target, the light spear missed Issei's heart - and stabbed into his arm.
Issei screamed, pain flooding his brain. He dropped to the ground, clutching his arm, unable to think. He began to tremble and shiver, feeling hot and cold all over as his body tried and failed to interpret the pain exploding from his arm.
Seeing this, rage enveloped Raynare. "How dare you?" she hissed furiously. "How dare you!"
Spears of light forming in her own hands, her wings extending to their full span and billowing behind her as she exploded forward. Dohnaseek's eyes widened and he took a step back, taken aback at the intensity of her reaction. She had never blinked an eye when he killed the occasional human or Stray Devil, or when Mittelt brought back an unsuspecting victim to toy with. Raising his hands to defend him, he was thrown backwards by the strength of her attack.
A barrage of light spears flew at him with the ferocity of a storm. It was all he could do to defend against them, to deflect and avoid each one, until one slipped past his guard, and stabbed into his shoulder. And then another, and another, until he resembled a pincushion. He slumped to the ground, face frozen in indignation and shock.
Only then did Raynare stop, breathing heavily with exertion. Issei's still hurt! She turned around in panic, running over to him.
It wasn't lethal, but it could have been, if she had reacted just a moment slower. Even then, it had been a close call. An inch to the side, and it would have slipped by his arm and gone through his chest.
Kneeling next to him, she pulled the light spear from his arm and tightly bandaged him. He would recover, given time. Still, though, this wasn't how she had planned to introduce him to the supernatural world. But maybe it wasn't so bad after all - it would give him a healthy dose of respect for lurking dangers and reinforce the importance of listening to her. Yes, he couldn't trust anybody. The Devils, the Church - everyone could and would manipulate him. Only she would guide him, and all he needed to do was follow her. And then one day, she'd have a Longinus wielder at her beck and call.
In fact, maybe it wouldn't hurt to scare him a little more...
o - o - o
Issei gasped, still terrified. Someone had throw a spear of light at him, and he'd nearly died. But his angel had saved him - his guardian angel. He turned to look at her beautiful visage, a stupid grin taking over his face. How had he been so lucky to meet her? He still remembered the way she had fussed over him, nursing his arm and bandaging him. He'd seen it countless times in his eroge - a cute nurse coming to nurse you up, and then things would start to heat up. But it was a thousand times better in person, and she was his girlfriend too. He'd gladly take another hit if that was the price to pay for her nursing.
As they reached the intersection, she pulled his arm, leading him down a different path. Could it be...they were going to a love hotel? No, he shook his head. Calm yourself! He couldn't scare her off. Girls wanted it to be slow. They wanted their 'emotional connection'. Yes, he nodded. Take it slow. He needed to build up those relationship points first, like in a dating simulator.
"Where are we going, Raynare?"
"Call me Yuuma," she replied. "We're going somewhere where we can get a lot of privacy. We don't want anyone to see us."
He flushed, heart beating wildly. Could it be?
"I was thinking the nearby park."
The park! Issei stopped, adrenaline spiking. She wanted to do it in the park. For an inexperienced virgin like him, that was utterly terrifying and yet just the idea of it was sending thrills down his spine.
"W-what are we doing in the park?"
She turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. "Training. You nearly died just now, and he wasn't even that strong. I don't expect you to beat anyone anytime soon, but at least you can buy enough time for me to get there, right?"
Oh. Training. Still, at least she was concerned for his well-being. That was a good sign, right?
When they arrived at the park, Raynare set up wards to hide their practice from any passersby.
"The first thing you have to understand, Issei, is that Devils, Angels, or any other magical creature can do magic."
"Magic?" cried Issei. "You mean I can be a wizard like Henry Pedder? I can brew a potion and transform someone into a cute fut-"
"Um ... no," she explained. "Humans can do magic. But their magic is different. You need to do calculations to perform magic. When I do magic, I just need to think about it."
"But that's not fair!" protested Issei. "Who wants to do math when they do magic? What's the point? It's magic!"
She touched his hand, gently stroking his palm.
"What's the matter, Issei? You're not willing to try? Not even for me?"
He gulped. "I'm willing! I'm very willing!"
She smiled and retracted her hand. "I know you won't disappoint me, right Issei?" As he nodded furiously, she continued, "So we'll spend some time on the basics. Maybe get you to practice on performing a simple spell matrix. It's not my specialty, but I think I know enough to get you started. And then after that, we'll start practicing with your Sacred Gear."
"The Boosted Gear, right? You told me about it earlier, it makes me twice as powerful every few minutes."
"Yes. You're very lucky. You have a lot of potential." There was a hint of envy in her tone.
'I'm the lucky one', Issei thought to himself. He'd met her.
They trained for a couple hours, until the sun began to set, and she had to leave, after a little bit of cuddling on the bench. Unfortunately, it turned out that he had absolutely no talent in magic. He was terrible at math, and didn't have any idea what he was doing. Giving up in frustration, Raynare had moved on to the Sacred Gear training, where results were more fruitful. By the end of the day, he was able to manifest his Sacred Gear on demand. Soon, he'd be able to talk to Ddriag, the dragon inside, she said.
Before she left, she'd given him a warning. The Devils would do anything to get their hands on him for his Sacred Gear. She said they'd go after him, or his friends, or even his family. Nothing was sacred. They were Devils, after all. If he wanted to keep his friends and family safe - if he truly cared about them, he would cut ties and keep them at an arm's length.
Devils prey on humans, Issei. They take everything dear to them, and then some more. All they do is lie.
The idea terrified him. But he knew she was telling the truth. Just this afternoon alone, a Fallen had nearly killed him, and he had been powerless to stop it. How would ordinary humans with no knowledge of the supernatural world - how would his family, or Matsuda and Motohama be able to protect themselves?
While the Devils were the worst, not even the Fallen or the Church, or any of the other factions (there were plenty of others, she assured) would hesitate to manipulate and use him.
"Issei, I have a present for you."
Her words sent a thrill down his spine. The first thing a girl had ever given him. The first ever present from his first ever girlfriend. He would treasure it more than his own life.
It was a simple necklace – a silver chain with a small, sun-shaped gold pendant hanging from the chain. He stared at it, not daring to touch it, in case it wasn't real.
"Do you like it?" she asked, and he nodded enthusiastically. How could he not like it? Even if she had given him a fossilized piece of turd, he'd still put it in a glass display and show it off to his friends. Because she had given it to him.
Gazardiel. That was my name. The Angel of Dawn. I was the harbinger of sunrise.
And then it dawned on him when he looked at the pendant, "It represents you, right, Yuuma?"
She beamed like the sun, whispering sadly, "Yes…promise me you'll never take it off. Never. Not in the shower, or when you go to sleep."
"As long as the sun rises," he promised.
And when she spread her wings and took to the sky, he walked home with a skip in his step. When he brought her home, what would his parents think? He finally had a girlfriend who liked him! And better yet, she was an Angel (literally)! His life couldn't get any better than this.
Even if they'd forget about him one day. Even if he had to move them away, and make it so that they had never had a son. A childless couple who had lived a happy life together. For their own safety. Even if...he still wouldn't trade it for anything. She was worth it.
When he arrived at his neighbourhood, it occurred to him that his house was strangely silent, as if his family had gone to bed early.
There was no answer when he knocked on the door, or when he pressed the doorbell.
When he took out his key to unlock the door, he discovered that it was unlocked. Strange. While it was a safe neighbourhood, their family always locked the door.
A deep, unsettling feeling grew within him, as he noticed that the entrance hall was a complete mess, as if it had been ransacked by a mob. A precious vase that his mother treasured - passed down through generations - lay on the floor, shattered into a thousand pieces. The family photos that had hung on the wall were ripped and torn to shreds, their frames irreparably broken. The light bulb was broken, furniture and decorations were scattered everywhere, and crimson stains with a metallic smell painted the wall, as if a little child had gone wild with paint.
Issei stepped into the house, gingerly walking over the broken glass and splintered wood. He did not take off his shoes.
In the living room, he could hear a sound. A wet, repetitive noise, like skin slapping together.
And then he turned the corner and saw a naked man with mottled, grey hair and blood-red eyes standing over the bloody corpse of his mother.