Hello, Vinzelles here. Welcome back to A Path to Freedom.
I'm only late by a few hours this time! And it was because of actually important reasons! Too bad they're personal, so I'm not going to tell you anything, nyeh! XD
Alright, so, this chapter. This chapter, I'm gonna warn you guys, is a bit heavy with emotions and edge (no cutting or anything though so don't worry about that). If you happen to be sensitive about that stuff, you're in luck because I think you should be able to skip this chapter and read the next one without missing much of anything. To those kinds of people, I ask then to be patient and wait for next week.
Not much to add to be honest. I'm deliberating a change in the synopsis because I feel it might not be all that great in retrospect, and very few people are reviewing, and that makes me a sad panda. Despite that, plenty of favorites and follows so thank you guys for the support you've given me!
I'll see you strong-hearted people at the bottom.
EDIT: I forgot the title for the chapter, whoops. It's not like you'd be able to notice, but it is something to laugh about, yeah? XD
Enjoy.
Arc 2 Chapter 7 - Truth
"...Nina-san, why am I here again?"
"Don't ask silly questions, Orochi-kun. You know why."
"Well yeah, but it's so odd for me. And you people from the Department did things behind my back again so me being pissed is understandable I think."
"Careful with your words, there's a child here."
"She can't understand Japanese anyway!"
Orochi had found himself in front of an unfamiliar Western-style house. It was late evening of the same day he was challenged to a Rating Game by Riser Phenex. With him were Nina Eisenwald, her daughter Agnes, and the Fallen Angel Raynare, who was also slightly creeped out by the sheer wealth that Ajuka Beelzebub demonstrated. The Satan had promised that everything would be ready in half a day, and it only took a few hours instead.
"By the way, your belongings have already been transferred in this building along with your school equipment."
"Too quick?!" "How did you even know where my stuff was?!" was Orochi and Raynare's synchronized response.
"Silly Raynare-san, obviously I found it in Orochi-kun's apartment!"
"HOW FAR WERE YOU GOING TO GO WITH YOUR STALKING, RAYNARE?!"
"...And there he goes." was Raynare's exasperated answer. "I wanted it to be a surprise! ...Or rather, I didn't want that detail to be known at all considering this development! What did I do to you, woman?"
"Nothing, hahaha! I just enjoy messing with brats!"
"Mutti, why are Bruder and Schwester shouting?" The feminine voice of a child interrupted the trio's banter. (1)
They all looked at the voice's owner. Agnes Eisenwald, Nina's daughter, was looking at them with slight curiosity in her expression. She had light violet longish hair flowing down her back and deep blue eyes, and wore a simple red shirt and a pair of overalls with white shoes. She had just addressed her mother in her native language, since she didn't know any other way to express herself properly to Japanese people, being the 8-year-old that she was. She also had poor knowledge of the supernatural, which is why she currently only saw Raynare as the human Yuuma Amano, and assumed her to be a Japanese human girl. 'I will have to explain it to her one of these days.' thought Nina.
"Sorry Agnes, they're just whining, don't worry about them. Let's go in, you two." A pair of angry grunts were the only answer to Nina's request, made in Japanese after answering her daughter.
Apparently the four of them were going to live in that huge house together from there on. Ajuka even went so far as to tell Nina to go sign the papers for Orochi's official first adoption! Everything was done so quickly that even Orochi himself had barely any time to register what was happening before he was pushed out of his apartment and brought there against his will. When asked for his reasoning, Ajuka simply told him that it was his fault for "hurrying things up to that extent". 'Bullshit, you were the one who suggested the damn Rating Game!' That thought emerged again in the boy's mind.
Raynare was equally angry. Orochi had decided to drag her into something she didn't give two shits about, and had to resign herself to become his training partner earlier than she had planned. Her intention was definitely to follow the human and fight alongside him, but like him she was caught in the flow before she could protest and ended up there, forced to share a roof with not one, but three humans!
The house's interior was just as big as the exterior: it truly looked like a high-class building, not quite like a hotel or anything but definitely something that was incredibly expensive.
"What do you think, kiddos? Pretty cool, is it not?"
"...That really isn't my main concern right now." Orochi was not done whining. "How long do I have to stay here?"
"Of course, until I decide to send you back. And since nobody here knows how much time will be spent studying Heaven's Gate, it won't happen for a while."
"...I've never agreed to this, so unfair..." Orochi also had to resign to his fate, and muttered that after a long sigh.
Agnes was already running around the house, exploring her new home while laughing excitedly.
"Now, since Orochi-kun is in such a hurry, you can unpack later." said Nina. "We need to start preparing a training schedule as soon as possible, so..."
She addressed Orochi. "I'd like you to tell me in what direction exactly you plan on focusing your training. There's a bunch of things that we should be able to pull off in 3 days, but some of the other stuff I had in mind will have to wait depending on your answer."
The atmosphere in the living room where they currently stood became heavier: Orochi had suddenly adopted an incredibly serious expression, and glared fiercely at Nina. Raynare had never seen such a powerful glare before. Aside from Azazel's, that is!
"W-What is it?" Even Nina was slightly shaken by his gaze.
He looked away, seemingly having made up his mind about something. He opened his schoolbag, which was still in his hands and had not been dropped once all that time due to how fast his situation had developed. And just in that moment Agnes was running towards his general direction.
"Agnes, come here. I've got something cool for you."
He spoke German.
Nina was certainly not expecting that, and neither was Raynare. Why was a Japanese boy speaking German so naturally?
Agnes stopped running as soon as she heard understandable words coming from the Japanese boy. "Oh, you can speak German, Bruder?"
"I sure can. Look at this." He pulled out a colorful toy from his schoolbag, a smile on his face. "This is the Cube of Rubik. Have you ever seen one of these?"
"Yes, I've learned how to solve it! ...I only need to follow the instructions I wrote down from the Internet, hehe." Agnes laughed sheepishly.
"Hey, even that is pretty good for someone your age! Go solve it, and if you can do it before dinner, ice-cream is on me tonight."
"Yay, ice-cream! I will be back soon!" She ran upstairs, presumably to the bedroom she had already claimed for herself.
Orochi stood up from his kneeling position and returned his gaze to his previous target. "I suppose I'm too deep into this to pull out now. I'm convinced that it is impossible to hide myself properly from people like you and Ajuka, Nina-san. You will eventually find out on your own so, at this point, asking for cooperation seems my best bet."
"...What are you talking about?"
"Here's what I'll do." answered Orochi without missing a beat. "I will tell you everything you need to know about me, so that you'll be able to decide where my training should start. But I won't accept interruptions of any kind, and the same goes for you, Raynare. AND, as my first and single request, I beg you to not tell Ajuka anything about what you're going to hear now. Too many people knowing about me will put into danger everyone I know, Agnes included. Is that clear?"
Nina was baffled. Once again, Orochi Kamakura was able to conquer an unfamiliar battlefield with mere words and his brutal honesty. "...Very well. I'll listen to what you have to say, if you promise me that one day you'll share this... information with Beelzebub-sama too."
"...I promise. ...Where should I begin?" Orochi sat down on the big green sofa in the living room, as Nina and Raynare stared at him.
"I suppose I should introduce myself once again. My name is Orochi Kamakura, 16 years old. I've lived in this town since I was 7, and the orphanage you dragged me out of took care of me and my basic needs until today. I'm a student at Kuoh Academy, and my tuition was paid for by the orphanage itself, once again until today. ...Officially speaking, the surname Kamakura is completely arbitrary. But that's a lie I crafted myself, in order to hide from my abusive parents who currently live on the other side of Japan, completely unaware that I'm alive."
Nina swallowed thickly. Among the data she received from Ajuka, there was a speculation that Orochi could in fact be affiliated to... certain dangerous people.
"Officially speaking, once again, I did not exist until I signed the papers that gave me a name. My existence was hidden to the world due to the power I was supposed to possess: the power of the Evil Dragon Yamata no Orochi. I was supposed to be its vessel, but I ended up being a fluke, a failure, despite my parents' best efforts. The Evil Dragon was to become "blessed by the wind", which would make him a lot harder to kill if it ever resurrected and as such that enchantment was implanted into my body in the form of the Wind Brand. As a result, I probably can only perform wind magic even if I wanted to do something else, which I don't."
He was even aware of the existence of magic. Nina was now sure of what kind of hellish place Orochi had crawled out of.
"My father's name is Soichiro Kamakura. ...My mother's name is Annabelle Goenitz."
The woman's blood froze at that confirmation. Back in Germany the Goenitz household was well known and feared by those aware of the supernatural world. And the boy was a member of that very household.
"Y-You are-"
"My mother has lead the White Serpent Sect for 16 years now. Before her the leader was Leopold Goenitz, who is almost undoubtedly my grandfather. He committed suicide on purpose, in order to allow Heaven's Gate to enter my body as another form of protection for the Evil Dragon."
By now Orochi's voice had already become monotone. "...I've been part of the Sect for the first 7 years of my life, and I still remember perfectly how to execute several of Mother's most powerful spells even if I've never been taught how to refine magic particles. Such a thing can happen due to me also developing a strong memory capacity like Father's, alongside having a physically powerful body. With the inclusion of Heaven's Gate, I was supposed to become a perfect being, but the Dragon never emerged, and as such I came into this world as utter trash instead."
He bended forward, a crooked grin appearing on his face. "I was a worthless human living a worthless life! My hatred for the world became immeasurable, and I turned into a monster! I learned of how easy it was for someone like me to discard useless people and still give a hand to those helpless fools, and grew on my own while developing myself the way I was supposed to!"
He held his face with one of his hands. His entire body was trembling. "A-And then Nishijima decided it was ok to barge into my life like a wrecking ball, and my hatred d-disappeared just like that, and I despised myself for it! I was s-suddenly left with absolutely nothing to my name, and what grew next w-was the urge to raze everything to the ground like the m-monster I am, just to escape from it all-"
He was suddenly hugged by two figures.
"Stop it. ...Please, just stop..."
"This isn't you. I swear I'll kill you if you keep this up, orders be damned."
Despite the begging coming from the two women (which sounded more like a threat when coming from Raynare's mouth), he was still trembling and giggling like a madman, and the flood of tears that streamed down his face was the unmistakable sign of a mental breakdown. He was about to lose control again.
"I'll destroy everything! DestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroyDestroy-"
A spark reached Orochi's neck, and he immediately collapsed on the carpet unconscious. Nina had apparently used a taser on him, to Raynare's surprise.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! That was not a good idea, when he wakes up he will-"
Nina was oddly calm despite the Fallen's outburst. "When he wakes up, you will stop him. Someone has to, and tasers won't be effective for long against Heaven's Gate. Besides, I need to think of an excuse to give to Agnes."
"And how exactly do you expect me to do that?"
"Think of something, I don't care what!" Nina was trying to keep her cool, however that intent could not last long in such a situation. She was a mother after all. "This poor child's loneliness drove him to despair, and I won't allow him to be on his own any longer!"
"!"
"Don't you too want to do something for him? He's so far gone that he was even reluctant to the idea of being adopted despite what he's been through! It's up to us, Raynare-san! If we don't do it, who else will?"
"..."
Raynare had to admit that Nina had a point. Even she couldn't help feeling pity for the boy currently laying face-down on the floor. He was left behind by the world, and his answer was to leave the world behind, in a cycle of absolute solitude. He held back his murderous urges and actually helped people out despite what his nature was telling him to do. But in that single day, his apparently fragile mind was overwhelmed by people and events both. He reached his limit, and threatened to explode after sending away the one person that didn't need to hear those hateful words, and didn't deserve complete annihilation.
They both looked at his crumpled form, and decided to lift him up and carry him to one of the bedrooms in the upper floor. "This fool... while his mind was collapsing, he was still thinking about little Agnes's safety..."
"That single fact gives me hope, Raynare. It means that he still has a shred of mercy to spare for humanity as a whole. I'll do my very best to allow him to gain control, not only because we'll have a powerful Inversed Abnormality on the loose otherwise, but also for the sake of his future!"
(1) The words mean "Mom", "Brother" and "Sister", in that order. Get used to them.
Welcome to the bottom.
This is sadly another one of those chapters I'm a bit iffy about, mostly due to how heavy topics are involved, and the fact that I have no experience with them. I hope to have been able to convey those strong emotions well enough, at the very least.
I made it so that Orochi's surrogate family had German origins for this very chapter. Along with a loving mother figure, I wanted to add the slightly oblivious little sister figure as well, and just like that Agnes was born. The name isn't inspired by anything but my personal preferences if you were wondering: I just really like that name, and would love to give it to a potential future daughter if I ever get that chance. Anyway, I wanted to have Nina be already aware of how dangerous a Goenitz magician could be, and for the sake of future arcs I decided to give her a German surname and highlight properly the notoriousness of that wicked family that Orochi had been a part of.
Of particular significance is the fact that Agnes was sent away by Orochi before allowing himself to lose control. I want Orochi's character to be somewhat detached from everyone and everything, someone that helps people simply because he feels it's what he should be doing with the strength he has, and yet someone who will not always grant mercy, someone who can get angry, sad or depressed, a human in a monster's clothing if you will, with all the problems it entails as you saw. As a human I want him to have the moral values a modern human should have, among which is "children are innocent", and keep, however, his violent impulses as a constant. I plan to capitalize on those moral values in future arcs so look forward to that.
And that's it I believe. His outburst speaks for itself, really. e.e
Next time, the promised training session.
Thank you for reading, see you soon. Ciao!