1-3 Mind Reader
'So he didn't come after all…' A soft sigh escaped the lips of one Reya Kusaka as she left classroom 2-C. The normally kind and pleasant young woman was distinctly unhappy and couldn't get over the feeling of apprehension welling up in her chest. It was because of Daichi Takahashi, her self-appointed academic rival. Even though she thought of him as such, the two of them never spoke a single word to one another. Daichi, because he was usually a nervous wreck around women up close and Reya, because she didn't know how to converse with someone so withdrawn. It was no secret that Daichi was the most anti-social student of their year. Not even the boisterous Pervert Trio, known for transcending all sorts of social barriers to the consternation of many women, could break through the walls that Daichi put around himself.
Still, it was his presence more than any other that brought out a severe competitive streak within Reya. For high grade point averages, that is. And now that rival of hers had been gone for 3 days, too soon into the school year, without a reason. So, the story went, but she knew the reason.
Roughly a year ago, Reya was recruited by Sona Sitri, under her guise as Souna Shitori, into both the Student Council and her Peerage due to high magical potential. Reya was reincarnated as a Bishop, which unlocked said potential and bolstered it. Her true value came into play when it was discovered she had a strong affinity to mental magics. One of the rarest of magical alignments that one could have, second only to soul magic.
There were many times in Kuoh where the public had to have their memories rewritten due to a nearby supernatural event. While her Devil friends had to rely on a limited array of template spells provided by the Underworld government to hide away the supernatural, all Reya needed to do was exert her mind. And that was not even the limit of Reya's talent in mental manipulation. She found that she could easily slip pass the mental barriers of her peers, her master even, and touch upon the core of their personalities… And if she dared to, twist them into different personalities—permanently. The cognitive dissonance had frightened her so badly that she swore off on using her talents unless it was an emergency and switched her studies in magic to that of barriers and wards, which was Momo's talent.
She stuck to her oath for over half a year until she felt compelled to break it yesterday, and broke it today. The Evil Piece within her soul did many things aside from increasing her mana pool and the efficiency of her spells. It also slowly adapted her physiology so that it was more human than devil, and as the change came closer to completion, traits specific to devils rose to the surface. During the spring break, she was granted a weak empathic sense. She couldn't sense the subtler emotions like a highborn could, but when emotions rolled off the body like waves, it was hard to not sense them. They had the subtlety of a boot to the head.
And it was with this sense that she noticed that a significant proportion of her classmates were happy that Daichi was gone for the second day in a row. No one had said anything about it, instead turning to mundane conversation topics. But that did little to hide the satisfaction in their tones. When everyone shuffled into class in the morning and once again saw the empty desk that belonged to Daichi, it was as if a dam broke. 'Gone for good is he,' 'I wonder if the fat bastard offed himself, now I won't have to look at such an eyesore when I look at the board,' 'This must surely be divine punishment,' and the like were muttered under the breaths of the sinners. And Reya, with Evil Piece enhanced hearing, heard it all.
To say she was livid… Would be an understatement.
Reya shattered her oath with full force, scanned the memories of all her classmates, and found that she needed all of her self-control to not render almost everyone into a vegetative state. Even if they, in her opinion, absolutely deserved it. What she saw in those memories was a systematic attempt to destroy Daichi Takahashi as a person. Why? Because he was, in their eyes, morbidly obese and thus a blight on the reputation of Kuoh Academy. It was such an inane reason, but that was all they needed.
When Reya had enough of the memories skirting her mind, she shifted her power, intending to mete out punishments worthy of the crime. For those intimately involved Daichi, she rewrote their entire personalities, murdering their old selves. And while it sounded incredibly petty, she had also inserted into these new personalities a handful of debilitating phobias. For those that were complicit to a lesser degree, but involved all the same, she removed the memories of any bullying and had it so that they were missing something and that nothing they did could ever fill that void. And for those who were only tangentially aware of what was going on, she merely removed any knowledge of Daichi's torment. With all of that done, she extended her power to surround the high school grounds and made subtle changes to the student population so that her overt changes were consistent.
By lunch time she had finished her work, and was now making her way to the Student Council room. Her master had definitely noticed Reya using her magic and she would be expecting an explanation. Maybe even punish Reya for the severity of her actions, but that wasn't much of a concern at all.
'I wonder if President has Takahashi-san's records… I have to see if he's okay.'
[-]
"Reya-san, come in quickly, we need to discuss your… judicious use of magic during school hours." As soon as Reya entered the well-furbished Student Council room she was immediately confronted by her King, Sona Sitri. Sona stood about as tall Reya, but cut a more imposing figure. The slim woman had a bob cut of raven hair that framed brilliant violet eyes. A frown constantly adorned her face, as if there was something not meeting her standards. Her severe looks did not detract from her Devil inherited beauty, enhancing it instead.
Tsubaki Shinra, Vice President and Queen of the Peerage, hovered behind Sona. Tsubaki stood half a head taller than Sona. Her long, straight black hair extended all the way down to the knees. Split bangs rested over a peculiar case of heterochromia, a left amethyst eye and a right brown eye. In front of the disparate eyes were square half frame glasses. Aside from Reya, the other two women were the only ones in the Council room.
"Yes, Kaichou," Reya responded, her head tilting downward in subservience. While she wanted to know Sona's thoughts—at least in terms of how much in trouble she was—she did not feel her way into her King's mind, out of respect for the woman. Besides, the emphatic bond between the Evil Pieces and their King made Sona aware of the actions of her Peerage almost at all times. It would be easy for the heiress to know if Reya was skulking about in her mind.
"Let's hear it then," said Sona. A bit of frost could be felt in her voice. Tsubaki—who had a sense of dramatics—adjusted her glasses, making them somehow glint intimidatingly even though she was facing away from any windows in the room. Reya thought it was a bit silly, but she did her part anyway by looking sufficiently cowed by the duo. It was easy enough to do when you had a pleasantly soft countenance like Reya's.
"I dealt with some bullies," the word was almost spat out. It was not secret to the Student Council that Reya had a severe distaste for bullies, as she was once the target of petty jealousies during middle school. Even the slightest mention of bullying was enough to make Reya's mood turn on a dime.
Sona raised an eyebrow, an indication to elaborate, "Do you know of Daichi Takahashi-san?"
The heiress nodded, she knew about all of the students in the high school section. A part of Sona's appeal amongst the student population was that she knew everybody's name. Just that fact made her more approachable than the Great Ladies of Kuoh, even though Sona was well-regarded as a no-nonsense person. Daichi Takahashi, in particular, briefly held some interest to Sona in the past.
A couple of years ago, a Stray Devil had made its way to Kuoh and began a string of murders. It was a particularly powerful Stray, able to elude destruction at every turn all while racking up victims in the double digits. It took several coordinated attempts between Rias' and Sona's Peerages before the Stray could be executed. Unfortunately, some of the victims had immediate family members bereft of loved ones. Daichi was one such person.
Daichi's academic performance after his parents' death gave enough pause for Sona to consider giving him a position in her Peerage. In most cases, academics was the starting point for Sona's recruitment strategy. Academics wasn't everything, though, and when she saw him in person, she was left wanting. The young man only had the desperate drive to succeed in his studies, nothing else. Daichi was empty.
"He was the one being bullied," Reya supplied, "It sounds unlikely, considering that we've been using our empathic senses to clamp down on anything resembling bullying… However, they were able to trick my—our—senses by treating their campaign against Takahashi-san as a matter of course. He didn't fit the mold of Kuoh Academy. He wasn't handsome or skinny enough. He just didn't belong. Inane reasons like that was more than enough to convince seventeen of my classmates that Takahashi-san needed to be removed somehow."
She took a breath, "And the best part? The best part was that it happened right under my nose! I could've helped Takahashi-san from the beginning. I had always known that Takahashi-san was suffering because of losing his parents… But I didn't do a damn thing because I was too afraid to use my magic talents on anyone!"
"I… I see," Sona did her best to not be too perturbed by the manifestation of Wrath in her Bishop. It was at odds with the normally polite and demure Reya. "And I assume that you used your magic to deal with those involved?"
"Yes, Kaichou." Reya took another, shuddering breath. She looked down, a bitter grimace clearly on her face. It was obvious to Sona and Tsubaki that Reya had most likely rewritten entire personalities while enacting her brand of justice. An act that was definitively illegal under Devil law. As a vassal to an heiress of a Pillar family, Reya would be protected from persecution. There's also the fact that nobody really needs to know about what Reya did this morning, which was just fine with Sona. What was not fine with her was Reya acting out without her counsel. There's an order to things, and Sona—as much as she loves her Peerage like family—cannot allow her Pieces to move without her saying so.
"Reya-san. While I understand your bias against oppressors, I do not approve of you using magic without informing me first."
"I apologize Kaichou. It won't happen again."
A brief smile touched Sona's lips, "As long as you understand."
"About Takahashi-san, will be able to check on him after school? He's been absent for a while and I'm worried something might have happened to him."
This time Tsubaki spoke up, "It'll have to wait, Reya-san."
"But—!" A hand stopped Reya from speaking further, "Tsubaki is right, Reya-san. It'll have to wait until at least tomorrow. This morning Rias and I received a missive from Lucifer-sama himself."
"From Lucifer-sama?"
"Yes. We have been informed that a group of Stray Devils who support the old ways have escaped capture in the Underworld and are making their way to Kuoh as we speak. Naturally as the overseers of this territory, Rias and I have the responsibility of removing these threats from our home. Estimates are that this group will arrive at Kuoh in the early evening, but we don't know from which direction.
Rias and her Peerage have already been excused from the rest of their classes in order to run a perimeter around Kuoh. In the meantime, I need you to help coordinate our efforts as I prepare our side for the upcoming conflict. Am I clear on this?"
Reya gulped, then nodded, "What do you need me to do Kaichou?"
"To start you can…"
A/N: First half is from Part 6 of the Old Chapter 1 with minimal adjustments. Second half is an expansion on that scene and was written in a sleepy fugue. Last chapter I said I'd explain the two day gap on the Milletian's side. I lied. Next chapter for sure. I don't know how I feel about the second half, actually. But that's just me, I never feel sure with what I write.
I'm sleepy, so I'll just skip to review responses.
MysticSpider: I don't know what you're confused about! You gotta tell me first!
LL: Nice analysis. I have something... Interesting (hopefully) lined up for the whole deal with Fallen Angels. Look forward to it!
Last...Anonymous Prince?: 'Destroyed' is such a strong word. On the other hand, I'm sorry you feel confused and at least told me why you feel that way. I'd also like to argue that the 3-in-1 deal that the Milletian trio has going on is not confusing at all. You can think of them as separate people, as one person, or both things at the same time. Then again, I'm the Author... So there is some bias.
ARSLOTHES: Thanks for the encouragement and... I think you might be onto something about that Gaia/Tobi comparison... Hmm.
To everyone else since the last chapter: Thanks for reviewing!
