Highschool DxD: The Void
Chapter 2
Oh, come on, nearly 8 months isn't too long to have to wait for an update... oh... actually it is... sorry.
It was indeed Inori waiting for me at the door, dressed in a summer dress that was almost unseasonal. She still looked quite cute in it, and I told her I thought so.
"Really... thank you... you look nice too, if I'm being honest... you also look a bit sleepy. If... if you need me to leave so that you can rest, I will." She said.
"I'm alright... how'd you get past the landlady? She's a little mean and not usually one to allow visitors." I said.
"Oh! She was actually kind of surprised when I said that I was here to see you, said that you had been really quiet and a bit of a loner." She told me. "Other than that, she seemed pretty nice... maybe you caught her at a bad time when you spoke to her last." She said with a shrug.
"Maybe... so you're the one who asked me out... you have a plan for our date today?" I asked.
"Of course, you're pretty new here, right, I sort of figured that you hadn't had the chance to get to know Kuoh, yet." She said. "So I thought on our first date I could consist of me showing you to some of the fun places around here... since I doubt that you'd believe that there's anything interesting around here in bum fuck nowhere." She laughed.
I laughed in return, shrugging my shoulders.
"To be fair, this is genuinely bum fuck nowhere... but I guess that's kind of this place's appeal." I said.
"Yep, nothing important really ever happens here, so for people like me and my family, who really like the quiet, this place is wonderful to live." She said.
Her arm snaked around my own, pulling herself closer to me. I felt another shock run through my arm, I nearly pulled myself away, but managed to control myself. I shook my head to clear away the energy, then spoke.
"I guess you're ready to go, then?" I said.
She had a deep blush on her face, as though she had only just then realized how forward she had been. After nodding, I began to press on.
"So, where to first?" I asked.
"Hmm... let's see... how about the coffee shops? If you're this tired in the morning, you might need this sort of stuff." She giggled.
"Coffee, huh? Maybe you're really taking me to a coffee shop because you rushed to make it here and skipped breakfast." I said, adopting a rather silly grin.
I had only been joking, but a soft rumble from her stomach actually confirmed my faux suspicion. With an even deeper blush than she had before, she clutched herself a little tighter to me, and increased her speed.
"Okay... you're not wrong... I am kind of hungry." She said.
"Well then, I'm guessing you have a favorite place to get breakfast from?" I asked.
"Yep... I'll lead the way." She affirmed.
The rest of the walk was a blur, luckily, Inori seemed either too nervous to try to start the conversation back up, or too hungry to want to waste energy talking. After a few minutes, she pulled me off from the sidewalk and into a small coffee shop. After some deliberation, Inori and I decided on crepes as our food of choice, she choosing a strawberry crepe, and I a dark chocolate one.
As we slowly consumed our food, I asked Inori about her life in Kuoh. She told me about how she was born weak, and didn't do well in the lifestyle that her parents had in Kyoto. After she turned three, and hadn't gotten any better, her parents decided that she might do better in a rural area, and they moved off to Kuoh after some consideration. After they got here, she started doing a lot better, and since then, had grown up living a rather normal life.
Then... she asked about me... of course she did... it was only natural that she would.
"I... had a relatively normal family... my Mother, my Dad, and my baby sister. I, uh... lived a pretty normal life until I was about eight... then my parents got divorce... uh... shortly after that... my Mother died, dunno how, to be honest. My Dad had won custody of my sister, Kaia, and I in the divorce settlement." I started.
"Umm... after about three years... my Dad... and Kaia, died in a house fire when I was out... I uh... I ended up with my Grandmother on my Dad's side for a few years... but after I turned fifteen... I decided I didn't want to be a burden on her... so I asked her to take the money from my inheritance that my Dad left me, put it into an account, and just send me money when I asked her for it." I explained.
"Wow... so how'd you end up here?" She asked.
"Well... I did a search of more... remote, rural locales in the US... but didn't find much that seemed all that appealing... so I started looking outside of the country... eventually, my search led me to Japan... and then here, to Kuoh. After a bit of a back and forth with the Japanese government... they agreed to let me emigrate to Japan, as long as I enrolled in a school." I finished. "My sole intent was to move here to find some peace of mind... to learn to let go." I added.
"Oh... sorry for making you tell me, I should have thought before I asked." She said.
I grabbed her hand and shook my head.
"No... it's probably best that I tell someone, rather than letting the pain stew inside of me." I said.
"Do you... miss your Mom? I mean you were kind of young when she left..." She asked.
"Kind of."
No
"I guess no one could blame you for that... what about your Dad and Sister?" She asked.
"Well... I think... I've had enough time to start getting through it... I guess." I said.
I'll never get over it... not until... not until...
"Yuri?" Inori's voice broke my stupor.
"Sorry... thinking about when I need to ask my Grandmother to send money next." I said.
"Do you have enough money to get by?" She asked.
"Oh... uh, yeah... my Dad was really well off... I don't know the specifics... but I inherited a lot of money... I guess I got my frugality from him... I don't like the idea of spending a lot of money at once." I said.
"I see... well, at least you have enough to survive, right?" She said, offering a reassuring smile.
"Yeah... I guess you're right." I said.
I felt a pulse of energy nearby... definitely a Fallen Angel, from the feel of it. I stood up, having finished my food, and told Inori I wanted to wash my hands. I walked calmly to the restroom, and closed myself in a stall.
"Void: Atlas." I chanted.
A small, top down map made of dark energy formed on top of my palm. A small red dot flashed near our area, moving along the street.
"Wow, they're close... I guess I should just try to avoid them for now, considering the circumstances." I said.
I left the bathroom after actually washing my hands, then made my way to Inori. After continuing our conversation for a few minutes, I managed to convince her to leave.
The rest of the day was spent walking to different shops, a stop in a rather peaceful park, and finally getting dinner before I decided to walk her home. Her house was, fortunately, in a rather enclosed area, meaning that the Fallen Angel, even if they knew where I was, wouldn't try anything. Finally, she indicated that we were in front of her home.
"Sorry again, I didn't mean to dredge up bad memories." She said.
"No... not at all, I'm glad I talked about it with someone... I had a lot of fun today." I said.
"Lemme guess... but you think you'd rather be alone." She said.
"I think you managed to convince me that being with you is more fun than being alone... how about we do this again next weekend, since we have exams coming up, I figured we should probably use the week for studying." I said.
She looked at me, dumbfounded, with a rather large grin plastered to her face. She nodded wordlessly, then waved goodbye. With that, she nearly tripped several times trying to run back into her house.
I couldn't help but laugh as I made my way back to my apartment. She probably thought that she had done a terrible job of making the date interesting... but she was who I had been focused on during our little adventure... I wonder if she understood that.
Finally at my apartment, I showered, and contemplated why exactly that Fallen Angel had been patrolling around, but really couldn't think of any answer that was satisfactory. I left the shower, dressed, and hopped on my bed.
Girl... The Void said.
"Inori? What about her?" I asked.
Girl... Red... Vessel... Dark...
"Umm... Inori is... red? What the fuck does that mean?" I asked.
No answer, and any it refused to answer any query I posed after. I sighed, resting my head on my pillow, and letting a long yawn escape my lips.
"I'm tired anyway, and tomorrow's Monday... I need to be ready for class... fuck it... I'll deal with you later, Void." I said.
Well... at least things seem normal, for now.