Chapter Posted: 11/02/23
Author's Notes:
Hello, friends. Two notes to handle before we proceed!

One: canonically, Kuoh Academy is located in Kuoh Town. This was only revealed in volume NINETEEN out of the twenty-five for the Light Novel that was originally released. It was named as such literally months after this fic even started its first chapter. Therefore, I am choosing to reject that name, as it's very clearly an afterthought, so that I may be able to equate Kuoh Town, and the location of Kuoh Academy, to something more familiar and equivalent in the real world. It's not a crazy change, but one I thought was worthy of an explanation as it will be revealed more clearly this chapter.

Two: some of you may ask, "InGen, my friend, you have tagged this story as humour. You are perusing through the plot of Highschool DxD, a harem anime that prides itself on ecchi humour. Where is the comedy in your newer chapters? Why is everything so exposition-heavy, and why are primarily humour-relief characters being so introspective when before they were falling into (questionably) comedic antics?"

To those, I say, excellent questions! Here's what I got for you:

Though the comedy in DxD relies heavily on the ecchi aspects of the story, you'd be hard pressed to say that serious matters don't present themselves in DxD. However, they do so primarily in the absence of the main character, Mr. Hyoudou, or through moments where Mr. Hyoudou is being spoken at rather than a dynamic conversation with him. Issei serves as a key to unlock various interesting characterisation opportunities, most that the story seizes, some that the story chooses not to.

Ask yourselves this: is Issei an interesting character at his genesis? Or does he become interesting as time progresses? Or does everyone else around him become more compelling? Let's be real, nobody got into DxD because Issei is a compelling, mysterious protagonist (for that matter, no, neither is Kane at the moment, but I'm trying to fix that!). He's not Kylie from Blame! or Re-L from Ergo Proxy. You got into it because of the comedy, because of the DxD girls' assets, and because of the interesting power structure and organisation of Sacred Gears, Rating Games, and mythologies alike (my personal reason, I swear). The show relies on comedy heavily in the first season, to make up for the relatively plain background of the main character, and then utilises the arguably far more intriguing backgrounds of the characters around Issei moving forward.

This is, at the end of the day, my story. I will, of course, retain some of the humour; DxD is not the same without the comedy, but I want to look at the relationships and personalities within the show, as well as the magic/power system as a whole, from a more serious perspective, infusing some of the character-heavy development direction that AC games used to employ in their earlier titles, within the intriguing cast of DxD. Thusly, some of the... juvenile humour from my earlier written chapters, as well as the main canon, you will notice, will be reduced over time, and once I've reached a sufficient point, I will modify the humour tag to something more appropriate due to how this story will diverge.

Questions? Concerns? Leave 'em in the reviews. I got the answers and solutions.

With that ridiculously long A/N out of the way, let's proceed forward.

It was indescribable: the terror, the power. The firmness in his limbs, tightening down to his very bones. A cascading wave of energy sent his hairs of his arms on its edges as it flowed through his spine, ribs, even his very cells. He felt afraid… he felt very afraid. These are instruments of power, and he knew all too well those who have used them for control and catastrophe. He always felt uneasy even witnessing Pieces of Eden in front of his eyes, and terrified when touching them, feeling their humming potential coursing through him. Now? Now he is entwined with one entirely, becoming a forbidden weapon himself… he wanted to curse Aurei, curse him to the ends of the Earth. That uneasiness, that fear, he felt when witnessing Pieces doing their best, and worst, work… that discomfort now felt as if it was eating away at his very heart. Was this Aurei's doing? Or was this inside Kane all along?

"I'm never… I'm never going to forgive him." Kane sputtered out. When he spoke the Sacred Gear's name, he could hear Aurei's voice mingling with his own. Kane wanted to point the finger at someone, anyone right now, and he wanted to point it at Aurei, and everyone else in this room. "This is not right. This is not right! I… I can't… I d-don't…." Kane mumbled, recoiling into himself. He faltered back, trying to grab onto something, anything. The bracers and knuckledusters, something reminiscent of cesti of the ancient world, began to crumble away into azure and golden dust, ghostly meta-images of the bracers pulling the real ones out of local reality all the while.

As Kane stumbled, Akeno dashed forward to grab a hold of him. She grasped him on his back with one arm, and held his head up firmly with her other. Kane felt his eardrums pulse, the blood coursing through his skull. Akeno's touch, her hands on his body and skin, felt like a knife piercing through the epidermis. Sight, sound, touch, it overwhelmed him. He could see the hallowed shadows of the other three devils gathering around him, calling out to him for a response, asking questions he knew not the answers to. His eyelids collapsed in without his permission, and as they did, the last thing he could comprehend were the violent carousels of lavender peering down at him, with pity.

She felt the skittering of creatures, waiting, preying, around her.

She saw the pillars of grey-blue carve and form under her feet, under a black sky of white rain.

She heard the thunder, one, two, three, in uncanny unison, repeat ad infinitum.

The rings around her fingers tightened their grip. It hurt. It hurt so much.

She clawed at them, tearing the skin and flesh, digging into the blood vessels, screaming with her heart to take them off.

The silver chipped; the gemstone cracked; the pain, relentless.

She turned, and saw a beast, saw it bare its fangs, coated in oil and grease. Eyes devoid of meaning and purpose. Hunger all-knowing, all-encompassing.

She held out her hand, her rings, drenched in her blood and wrapped in her flesh, towards the beast. The beast chittered, ran, and fell away into the abyss.

As did she. She clutched on to her rings.

She awoke to the sound of a cacophony, between the thumping at her door and the whimpering of mice at the end of her bed. The beating against the door grew shorter in frequency, louder in volume. They were impatient, whoever had wanted to see her.

"P-please wait!" Asia cried out. She pulled herself out of her pillow, mangy and old. The thuds of the person outside slowed, and stopped. Asia quickly put on her robes, the only relatively clean clothes she had left. She groggily stepped over to the door, trying to avoid the tiny shadows whistling and whimpering away in the darkness of the room. Rats were the least of her worries, at the moment.

The door opened with the crying of the hinges, ready to break apart any moment, and she came face to face with a towering, lanky man. His hair thinning, made more apparent by his furrowed brows, and unhappy eyes, and an incomplete moustache that drooped down.

"Argento-san. I appreciate your payment of last week's fees, but this is now half a week into the next. Are you able to pay today?" His thin voice emanated out; a tinge of desperation hidden inside. Unfortunately for him, Asia had nothing to offer.

"I'm sorry, Goto-sama. I… I don't have anything else to give right now. I-I'm sorry for deceiving you… I n-needed a place to stay… I will l-leave today." Asia apologised, almost at the verge of tears. Mr. Goto nodded solemnly.

"I was going to say that I'm afraid you cannot stay here any longer, then, Argento-san, but you knew that already. Please leave the motel by the end of the day, and return your keys to my desk." Mr. Goto said, as he turned and walked away. Asia lowered her head, partly in shame, partly in fear.

'Where... do I go now?'

- - - - - - - - - - -
A while later...
- - - - - - - - - - -

"Excuse me... do you... happen to know where the nearest church is? It isn't m-marked on this map..." Asia asked the stranger. His daughter gazed up at her, mesmerised by her powder-white veil. The father gave a wry smile, apologetically.

"I'm afraid I do not, miss. There are a few shrines around here, and maybe there's a few more in the deeper city, but here in Hadano... I'm not sure where they are either. I'm sorry." He had said quickly, clearly in a rush. Another vain attempt in acquiring any hints. He walked away, his daughter giving a small wave to Asia. Asia returned the wave, but did so without anything even remotely identifiable as a smile. She had been looking for Freed, or really, any kind of monastery, or church, around the area. Ever since that mysterious hooded man had come in-between her and Father Freed, though she was grateful at first for interceding... she now feels he is responsible for her disparaged state. 'Oh Father in high heaven, forgiveth thine servant, for she cannot forgive her fellow man. I plead that you giveth her strength to forgive.' She prayed in her mind, disheartened, with a sharp annoyance and distaste for the albino boy welling inside her.

She asked, pleaded, searched, all day long. No money to find herself another motel to take residency in, no direction in which she could go. Maps dotted around the residential district never pointed her in any closer direction towards where she might find help. The sun swooped down, over the hours, degree by degree, until the cobalt of the sky merged into a golden glow, interspersed among the pillowy clouds above.

Asia found herself at the entrance of a park, evergreen and beautiful. Families gathering around the pathways, people enjoying the afternoon breeze and warmth. Her robes clung to her, grimy, unclean, and uncomfortable underneath. She searched for water fountains to quench her almost never-ending thirst, finding one in between fields of tulips gathered in rows, around a brilliant marble fountain. Benches lined the brickwork pathway, clean and pristine, but weathered in age.

Asia rested her weary legs, sitting on the bench nearest to the fountain, finally setting down her travel case. It was full of only the barest of essentials... but it was all she had. She gazed at the sky, even as her heart sank. She was cornered in, with no friends, no family, no sisters or brothers of the faith to help. In desperation, she called to God, pulling her Bible out of her satchel, and started reading. Her marker, left in the Second Book of Esther, as she continued reading, in a whisper that was yet audible:

"Fifteen. 'When the turn came for Esther... the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail... to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested.

And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her.'

She is humble, she is kind, and she is blessed. Father in heaven, bless thy servant with thine hand the gentleness Esther exhibits.

Sixteen. 'She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.'

Seventeen. 'Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the other virgins. So, he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.'"

She read, and she read. She felt exhilarated by Esther's ascendence, her favours, and the adoration of those around her. Her quest to see her story, to it's end, though she knew it already, exhausted her already tired mind, and as day turned to night, Asia's eyes fell away, eyelids pulled down, as exhaustion and hunger claims her for that night's sleep. Her Bible lays open, on the final Book of Esther:

Mordecai the Israelite was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the People of Israel, and held in high esteem by his many fellows, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all of his tribe.

Asia dreamed that the people did good for her, too, and that they spoke up for her welfare likewise. The first dream that was kind to her in a long, long time.

The clock struck six, the bells tolling. The walls that Sona had materialised were not nearly thin enough to block out the gong of the grandfather clock that announced the hour's passing. Kane's slumber, however, was too deep to recognise the hourly tolls of the day... until now.

He dreamt of fires engulfing mountains, seas engulfing the flames, frost engulfing the oceans, and trees and plains engulfing the ice. Cycles of renewal and violence, never-ending, everlasting. The grasp of the dream leaving him already, the memories fading away entirely, as he felt the warm glow of the ornate lighting fixture return his vision to him.

In the corner of his eye, a shadow shifted and turned. By instinct, Kane felt his body push itself upwards, like a crack of a whip. His eyes traced the shadow, back to whence it came from. Akeno Himejima, sitting cross-legged in the corner of the little room, beside the foot of what could only be called a poor excuse of a bed. Her violet eyes dart from her lap, up upon Kane, startled at his sudden awakening. A book lay in her hands, the spine lay wasting away, the pages yellowed and brittle. Adorned on the front, a maroon cover, and upon it, written in cracking golden letters: 'Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik.'

"The Birth of Tragedy..." He uttered. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked: "You are a fan of Nietzsche?" Akeno's face turned to something of a mirthful expression.

"Trying to be. He's a little difficult to comprehend, sometimes." She responded in kind, no animosity in her tone, yet no playfulness in her inflection.

'"Say also this, thou curious stranger: what sufferings this people must have undergone, in order to be able to become thus beautiful.'" Kane quoted, a closing statement that stuck with him for years. Birth of Tragedy was one of the few Nietzsche works that he had read, his time in the order too overwhelming to dedicate much time to literature.

"Ara-ara, no spoilers! I'm not that far in!" Akeno responded with a chuckle. Kane relaxed his tensed muscles. He was ready to strike, fearful of danger that he might have found himself in. He lowered his head, and apologised:

"Sorry, I didn't know. Usually, people read his stuff more than once... it was necessary for me, anyways, since I couldn't crack it on my first read." Kane returned Akeno's smile, the first time he had smiled in a while. He felt no pressuring aura from her, no overwhelming presence. She felt like an entirely different girl to the one he had found himself sick of when he came to Kuoh. In fact, he himself feels different too, feeling like a version of himself that he had known before he had come here.

"Kane-kun, are you alright? How do you feel?" She asked as she gently closed the book, and put it aside.

"My head feels heavy... like there's an anvil between my shoulders. What happened?"

"You lost consciousness, and would have hit your head on the ground." Akeno paused, tilting her head, gazing at him with gentle eyes. "I caught you. I decided the best thing to do was to tuck you back into bed. I had to go get on with my responsibilities, but since school's over for the day, I finished some business with Issei-kun and buchou, and returned here, in case you were... feeling unwell." Kane was taken aback. Everyone here had been remarkably kind and considerate of him, whether they were human or not, whether he was human or not... he felt a sense of shame build up inside of him, looking away in embarrassment.

"...I appreciate it. I really do. Thank you, Akeno-san." He muttered, barely audible, but enough so that Akeno could hear it. She beamed at him, giggling.

"At your service... though, not full time." She spoke in jest, a wide grin planted on her face. Kane smiled at her once again. "It's... six in the afternoon now. Almost evening." She added, to which Kane nodded. This was strange to Kane; it was the first time he had left behind all his animosity towards Akeno. He felt relaxed, truly relaxed, truly at ease around her.

Why, he wondered, now? 'Why am I only now having the first real, human... er, human-ish conversation with her?' He thought to himself. 'Was this... was this her doing? Am I being hexed or something?' His tensions returned, his suspicions alongside them.

"Is... I... are you doing this?" Kane questioned her, and the sternness in his tone seemed to surprise her a little.

"Doing... what exactly?" She responded, perplexed at his seemingly bipolar nature.

"We... I... you never... we never spoke like this before. Like... normal people. A real conversation. Why do I feel... why are we speaking like this only now?" Kane haltingly posed yet another question. Akeno's smile faded, as she looked away, towards the glow of the lantern above Kane, besides the door. "You were always borderline harassing me... I was clearly uncomfortable with it, so why, Akeno-san? Why did you do it?" He continued, and as he did, Akeno slowly lowered her gaze, as she pulled her legs in close to her to bury her face in them, wrapping her arms around them all the same. Though the Kuoh girls' uniform made this pose a little inappropriate, it was the furthest thing that could be on the pair's minds at that moment.

"Kane-kun... truth be told, I was never into guys that much. Though, they always seem to flock around me, it was effortless, sometimes annoying, sometimes funny." Akeno spoke, her voice low and solemn, something Kane never thought he would see. "I like teasing boys here and there; the adoration and attention were sometimes intoxicating..." She continued, a slight giggle coming out of her at the thought, "but I never felt a tug towards them. A serious one. Then buchou found Issei-kun. By all measures, it sort of doesn't make sense... Issei-kun himself isn't anything special, but he has something special in him. It pulls buchou, it pulls me too, and sometimes it doesn't feel right. Buchou follows that tug, and I would have too... but I met you too."

She turned to look at Kane, as her indigo irises seemed to pierce straight into Kane's soul. He felt a tingle up his spine, a shock to his system. "You... weren't interested in me. You didn't lust after me, or anyone at this school for that matter. It seemed bizarre to me... and it didn't... sit right with me. What did everyone else see in me that you wouldn't?" She rested her forehead on her knees, burying her face entirely in her legs. "I... didn't want you; but I wanted to have you. For some reason I can't explain, I needed you to want me." She muttered out, Kane barely able to hear her.

"I didn't know any better at the time. I haven't... I'm not used to talking to boys like this. For most of life, I've had buchou, and that was enough. But she, even more than the what is required for that Game with Rise-sama, now wants someone. She knows she doesn't want Riser-sama. She knows she wants Issei-kun... and... I... didn't want anyone... is that... wrong?" She lifted her head, peering at Kane, looking for an answer in his eyes.

"It's... it's not. You know, I don't have... a lot of experience talking to girls either. Most of the time, I'm busy with... doing work, and surviving. I don't really... want anyone either." Kane admitted, returning her solemn gaze, her regretful emotions. It had been some time Kane was this honest and open with someone, maybe too long. He felt like a weight was being lifted off his shoulders.

"I see... I thought I should also have someone... and you were the most exotic choice. So, I chased you, and chased you some more." As she said this, Kane shuffled forward, taking the blanket he was using as a throw to wrap himself around with it, and awkwardly moved over to sit by Akeno's side. She shifted over, so he could have a little more space, and continued on: "When I told you I was sorry, I meant it, Kane-kun. I really am."

Kane looked over to Akeno. He had noticed her hair was not in a ponytail, and that she left her vermillion ribbon by her side. The kindness he saw earlier that day remained, but the beaming happiness, her impossibly perfect smile, was not here... the one she gave now, only had a certain sadness in it. She meant it, Kane knew it. He believed her, so he nodded, gave his approval to her. "I accept your apology. It's... hard growing up, I guess. Sometimes you just don't have time to figure out what you want, who you want... but when you do, you stop like a deer in the headlights." A silence carried between them as he said so. After some time, Kane held out a hand, asking her for a firm handshake, to settle on the matter. Akeno's expression broke into her signature giggle, she obviously found something profoundly funny about this gesture.

"Ufufu, a girl pours out her heart to you, and you offer her a handshake?" Akeno exclaimed, trying to stifle her laughter. This time, it was Kane's turn to beam at her.

"Don't push your luck, Akeno-san. You and I aren't entirely different... it's been some time since I've spoken to someone new who seems to somewhat understand what I go through... I want to consider you an acquaintance, at the very least, if you'll allow me." Akeno took Kane's hand and shook it firmly.

"I think I will allow you, Kane-kun. Having a family is nice. Having an... acquaintance is new. I want to try new things." She said, a grin on her face. They both felt at ease, and deflated, allowing themselves to rest against the boards of the room. As they let go of their handshake, Kane's stomach grumbled a slow groan. "You haven't eaten?" Akeno asked, concerned.

Kane shook his head, laughing. "Not in a little while. I've been a bit busy, as you saw today... I have some money left in my wallet. I guess I'll go grocery shopping... or snack shopping anyways."

"I can bring something for you." Akeno offered, but Kane shook his head again.

"I'll be quite alright. Thank you for being here, and looking after me. You should be heading home now, anyways." Kane pointed out to her.

"Heh, I suppose I should. Goodnight, Kane-kun." Akeno said, as she took her ribbon, and tied up her hair again. She stood up, placing her book under her right arm, waving to Kane with her left as she exited the little room whilst Kane gave a stern, tired salute back.

"Goodnight, Akeno-san." He said as she left. She giggled as she ambled away, leaving the door ajar. He sat in silence for a little while, hearing the door of the office close in the distance.

'She's nice when she wants to be... really nice... though... I've got other stuff to worry about right now.' Kane pondered, as he wore his jacket over his uniform, his only set of clean clothes now, and took his wallet with him. 'I've got to return back to the apartment as fast as I can... I need to get back anything that could be worth my while, anything that the Templars left behind.' He said to himself, with revitalised determination. A vision of azure and gold flashed in his mind, for a fraction of a second, but Kane did not let it stop him. The Sacred Gear can wait. Dinner can't.

The chattering of birds, the call of crows, the morning breeze, came together in a burst, and forced Asia to return from her dreams. She wished she could stay there, forever. She felt her heart sink as she found herself once again... lost.

The morning sun peered through, her Bible on the ground. She sniffled, realising she must have been very cold the entire night, and pulled out some packed tissues in her satchel. Once she blew her nose, she reached for her Bible, and closed it. She remembers she finished Esther again, no marker needed for now. Bible in bag, tissue thrown in a nearby rubbish bin, she continues her search once again, leaving the park with her travel case by her side, and started heading towards Mount Oyama, theorising there may be a church somewhere a little outside town. She passed rows of suburbs, residential buildings, apartments... people full of purpose and direction in their lives. Asia felt no such comforts, her depression only deepening forevermore.

In her doldrums, she forgotten to look forward when she trips forward on a stray weed that began growing up between the concrete, falling face first into...

"Aah!"

"Eek!"

Kane and Asia both hit each other square on the head, as Kane drops a trove of grocery bags, whose contents of snacks and fruit tumble out. He couldn't even hear her timid footsteps around the corner... he desperately tries to gather all the food that had fallen out of his bags back into them... not noticing that Asia had fallen in such a way to reveal all her undergarments under her robes. Kane's face reddened deeply, as he exclaimed: "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there! Let me help you" He immediate leaves his bags to try and help Asia to her feet... when down by the other corner arrives none other than:

"A-A blonde girl's sparkling whites!" Issei welped, excited beyond any reasonable measure, seizing the opportunity like no one else quite would. Kane, aghast, is lost for words.

"Hyoudou-san, you're talking out loud. What is wrong with you man?" He retorts back, helping Asia get to her feet.

"Ah... yeah, you're right, this isn't the time for that..." Issei replied, clearly much disappointed, as he rushed on over too. He helped grab the bags that Kane had dropped, as well as putting Asia's belongings back into her travel case, a gesture borne of clarity that took Kane aback in surprise. "Are you two alright?"

"I... I'm okay..." Asia squeaked out, dusting off the dirt on her robes and veil. "You... you again!" She exclaimed out, seeing Kane, recognising instantly by his pale complexion and his snow-white jacket. "I... you... ugh!" Kane saw those mesmerising emerald eyes being engulfed in figurative flames. This meek girl had held a great amount of distaste for him that he could feel from her very presence.

"You... you saved me that night..." Kane began to mutter, to which Issei began to scratch his head.

"Uh, you two know each other?" Issei asked, puzzled. "Oh hey, YOU'RE the prick that-!" Issei began, finally recognising Kane as well from their earlier brawl, but cut off by Asia, who seemed to be clearly more frustrated.

"You... you ruined me! Do you have any idea the lengths I've had to... argh!" Asia began to berate Kane, always trailing off in frustration. Kane realised that if she were to describe the sequence of events of that night right now, his cover would be blown off to Issei as well... the devils had a deal with Aurei, they needed to know, or found out on their own anyways.

'This lecherous idiot has no need to know. I have to make her quiet.'

"Sorry... I must have been mistaken, I thought you were someone else... I really haven't met you befo-" Kane began to explain, a lie he tried to commit to so he could cover up his slip up just now.

"Liar! Lying is a sin! Stop lying to me! I've been searching for Father Freed for days now... I have nothing left!" Asia retorted, almost delirious. Her voice was so soft in its very nature, her anger was almost hilarious to Kane and Issei both... almost.

"I... you must be... you must have hit your head, really hard. I'm so sorry for that... I'm not who you think I am but... we can help you find your way back to your church?" Kane suggested, not giving up the lie. "Right, Hyoudou-san? We can do that, right?" Issei offered Kane's grocery bags back to him as well as Asia's travel case back to her, his face lighting up in bliss.

"Yes! Yes, of course! Anything for a maiden in distress, of course. Not to worry, Ms. Nun, we will help get you home!" Issei proudly proclaimed, bravado on full display.

'A useful idiot, at the very least...' Kane lamented mentally. His tired and apologetic eyes locked with Asia's, hers still shaking with inexpressible rage. She closed them as she clasped her hands to her head, deep in thought.

"Hmph... f-fine..." She said, finally calming ever so slightly after some silence. Kane gave an enormous sigh of relief.