Hello everyone. Like I said in the last chapter, this one is a bit short. That's why you got the previous one a little early ;)
Thank you to all those who reviewed and enjoy!
Soundion: Plot twists for the win, eh?
: Magnificent comment can't wait for more, please review more soon.
paposki: I'm gonna persume you said nice things, because I don't speak spanish.
Underworld – Medical ward
It was night. Or as much night as it could get in the Underworld. Rias and the others had left at dusk, about an hour before he emerged from anshara. The doctors had insisted he stayed for at least two more days so they could monitor his progress. The concept was preposterous of course, but Issei decided to humor them. Issei glanced at his wings, not having bothered to hide them. They had grown back even more beautiful, his feathers now tipped with filaments of silver.
He stared ahead of him, knees pulled under his chin, pondering. The game had changed. His attention was diverted when the door opened. In stepped Kiba, who shot him an uncertain glance, but grabbed one of the nearby chairs and sat next to Issei's bed. "I'm surprised to see you this late at night." Issei said. "Do you ever sleep?"
"The older an angel becomes, the less sleep they require, but yes, I sleep. Once about every two months or so. How can I help you?" Issei replied. "I… I was wondering if you would tell me about my birth parents. I never knew them." Issei's brows furrowed in concentration. "If my memory serves me right your father was Tenzo Yuuto. I don't remember the name of your mother, but I could check the archives of Tokyo, where you were born."
"What… what happened to them?" "Murdered in cold blood by a stray exorcist I was chasing, I stopped his killing spree a few hours after their death." "Oh…" Kiba looked a little sad. "Do you know what they did for a living?" "I think your dad was a regular office clerk." Issei said to Kiba's disappointment. "Sounds harsh doesn't it? Everyone who doesn't know their parents hopes for a fairy tale of some kind." Kiba nodded.
"Kiba, everyone is born with the potential for greatness in them. Who your parents were in no way defines who you are or can be. For starters you were born with a Sacred Gear despite your parents being the most regular people you could imagine. Look how far you have made it. You serve as a knight for the heiress of one of the great four houses of the underworld. You are already set up to sway more power than they ever would have and you are barely sixteen."
"Why did the Holy Sword Project have to be terminated?" Damn, Kiba was on a roll with the questions. "The results were unyielding. As you perhaps remember from your time there, you were taught intrinsic knowledge of the exact workings of the holy sword. That is closely guarded information. The risk of it running loose was too great. The dead don't talk."
"But the institution of the Holy Sword Project was yours!" Kiba said accusingly. "Yes, it was. I, however, never consented to the project, nor it being done on the children I saved. I tried to shoot the project down as soon as the first drafts of it were made. Later I learned I was unsuccessful and I was betrayed by the person closest to me."
"Gabriel could not have hoped to conceal the project forever." Kiba said. "No, she hoped to sway me with the answers the project was speculated to provide or, if that failed, blame the killings on the fallen angels. She broke me, Kiba. What she did to you and your comrades broke me."
"I know." Kiba said. "Right, I forgot you lot decided to invade my mind." "We didn't exactly invade your mind." Kiba said. "Rias's evil pieces brought you into my mind, yes?" Kiba nodded. "She took active action to place them in me, yes?" Kiba nodded again. "So, without my consent, you entered my mind through an active act." "Okay, if you put it that way, I guess the use of the word invade is condoned." Kiba said.
"But aren't you grateful for what we did for you?" Kiba asked. "You saw the memories, don't you think death would have brought me peace?" Kiba was silent, finding no way around the logic of Issei's answer. "What happened afterwards? What did you do to Gabriel?" He eventually asked.
Issei's expression hardened. "I was unable to undertake 'legal' action against her, if Heaven even has such a thing, since I found out she was backed by all the Seraph. I found out she got close to me only as to make sure I did not interfere in their project. Therefore I took the only action I could. I shunned her, denied her existence for the most part. She aches for my forgiveness, something she will never gain. It's the only penance I can take from her so it will have to make do. One day," Issei continued, "I hope the regret will fester so deep she will voluntarily fall."
"She came here, you know. Soon after Riser burned you to a crisp she came demanding answers. She was yelling something about 'a shift of power' that was sensed all the way in Heaven. She thought the devils were plotting war." Issei snorted. "Sounds like Gabriel. Inconsiderate, rushed, and rude. To understand her you must first understand where I come from and that is an explanation I would rather only give once, with the rest of the ORC present."
"You can manipulate bone and after you do, you bleed. Why?" Issei's eyes were piercing. "Careful, Kiba. I may be in your debt, but don't push it." Issei silenced Kiba. Issei remained silent for a few moments, letting Kiba think he wasn't going to answer. "Every hundred thousand angels or so, one is born with a gift. They are granted the power of manipulation. What they can manipulate is random, ranging from rocks to emotions. Most of these angels become Seraph, those who don't revered members of angel society."
"Using this power turns our blood acidic. Too much of it and the acid eaths through the veins in our body. It first becomes apparent in highly blooded membranes, such as nose, eyes and nails. Carry on longer and more major arteries will open up, such as the ones on the arms and legs. Overuse will fry the brain, or drain of too much blood, killing the user. And before you ask, it's considered very rude to ask what an angel can manipulate." Kiba sat in in his chair, contemplating this new knowledge.
"I hope you have the answers you came for now, Kiba. You should rest." Issei said. Kiba nodded and turned for the door. "Issei," Issei looked up to where the knight stood in the door frame, his back to him. "Thank you." And with that Kiba was gone.