Hello! Welcome to Chapter 4 of War Dancer! I know its been a while since I last posted something but I've been busy with University work.
To be honest, I am a bit unsure of who to put in Kana's harem. Honestly, right now Kiba and Reinhard are the only two choices. As for the others:
Saji – I only put him in the harem as a thought, but I want there to be an actual reason for him to like Kana which I haven't really talked about. I may take him out as he is very much loyal and in love with Sona.
Gasper – I think would be an interesting idea, I am just wondering to Kana would interact with his shut in attitude and stuff.
Vali – I have a slight problem with, since he turned down someone like Kuroka, who is smoking by the way. And though he is into butts and battle maniac, I am just wondering what kind of things would get his attention.
Cao Cao – leader of a faction supernatural killers basically the problem, though it would make for an interesting dynamic between certain characters.
Siegfried – Siegfried is a huge temptation though, but its his stance against supernatural is my worry. To be honest, he would have a good dynamic with Kiba due to their rivalry.
Chapter 4: She is a Holy Maiden
I had that dream again.
I remembered that in that dream I was 6 and was exploring the compound. I loved playing when I was small, no child would tell you any different. I had found myself in every corner in that lavish house, all except one. For as long as I can remember and still ongoing, there was a small, one room, building that only the head of the house was allowed to enter.
Well in that dream, I broke the rules and entered the building. The door was left ajar in that dream and curiosity got the better of me.
The inside was dark, it was dusty, as though no one had cleaned.
At the end of the room, where the light was shining like a spotlight through a crack in the ceiling, was…
Something…
I don't remember what it was.
I remember the dark, ominous feeling that thing gave out when I saw it but at the same time I felt the calming and bright light that radiates from it.
What was it?
I've been getting these dream since I became a Devil.
-x-x-
Ever since that night with the Stray Devils, I've been seeing a different side of my sister. Sure she was still nice and helpful but she was also strong willed and commandeering.
Today was one of those days.
"Keep your back straight and relax."
She told me, I was feeling nervous about today. My body was aching the past 24 hours and my right hand was feeling slightly numb the whole day.
"Remember what I told you? Due to the inactivity, you body are not used to the magical energy flowing through it." She explained to me simply. "When you used magic, it sent your body into a bit of a shock. What I am doing now is help regulate its flow and to calm it down."
Yesterday, I tried my first spell.
My first spell was a success though! I managed to do what Onee-sama wanted me to do on the first try!
It was a fire spell known as Ansuz. It wasn't a Japanese word, despite the Akizuki being part of the Shinto religion. Apparently this was from the old Runic Language that came over from Germany. Our ancestors were German magicians that came to Japan hundreds of years ago during the Warring States Era to learn about Shinto magic. One of them ended up marrying a Shinto Priestess and their descendants had the ability to carry magic from both sides of the family. So apparently the Akizuki family was fairly new by many standards.
In the past few days I've been given five scrolls to read, each scroll detailing the 5 elements in Shinto Mythos, Fire, Water, Earth, Metal and Wood. These scrolls of elemental spells… well not really spells, were just equations and how to derive these equations in your head to use them to create a magical phenomenon. So that was a bit of a sad revelation on magic, magic was not based on the imagination of the mind but on the mathematical formulas that it can use. It wasn't romantic at all.
We use the Runic Alphabets as a sort of gate to release the equations in the form of magic. These Runic Alphabets ranges in about 29 letters, and can be combined to form different types of magic. Apparently, to fully master all of them was a difficult thing to do and Onee-sama is considered a genius to master all of them.
After she surprised us at the Stray Devil hunt, she and Rias-buchou had a long discussion in regards about me. There were sparks flying off the two and I remembered seeing the worried look my sister had for me. When she came over to me, she would proclaim to me that I was going to learn magic under her.
Up until over a week ago, I didn't know that the supernatural existed.
Until 3 days ago, I didn't realised that other religions were real. I thought it was just Christianity.
Until 3 days ago, I never realised that my family was connected to the supernatural and practicing magicians.
Magic was real and was living right under my nose…
"Here we go." She pressed a certain part of my back. I felt a surge of pain that quickly subsided. I felt the flow of energy flowing through me. It was different from when I felt the demonic powers moving around me.
"You should feel better now. Though I surprised that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it must be the demonic power that was coursing through you veins. With this we can continue on with our training. Do you remember the other equations from the scrolls?"
I nodded simply. The equations themselves weren't too hard, it was trying to remember the shape of the mantra that came with it. I remember Ansuz well because it looked like the letter 'F' for fire. But the others I will have to get used to it.
According to Rias-buchou and Onee-sama, demonic powers and magical powers are different forms of energy. As a Devil, using demonic is quite natural to the point where you don't realise you are using it. Onee-sama stated that the reason why I was able to do well for my first time was because of the usage of Demonic powers in conjunction with the magic I used. Everyone has the ability to use magic, what separates normal humans to magicians is their individual potential.
I breathed in heavily, what I was going to do was the rune magic for water.
I drew the rune in the air. The rune itself transformed into a blue magic circle.
"Berka-"
The magic circle blew up on me.
What happened?!
I remembered the formula right! I remembered the energy conversion and the how much was required!
"It is important make sure that the shapes are exact," she chuckled lightly. "Since you are in the early stages of your training, this was to be expected."
I guess this was to be expected. I was learning a whole new different alphabet, which was to be expected.
-x-x-
It was like a scene from a horror film…
Earlier that night, sometime after Issei-kun left for another client, Rias-buchou and Akeno-senpai sensed something dangerous was happening at the client's house.
When we had arrived into the house, there was blood everywhere. The room was dark and only lit by candles on the table. We saw the mangled up body of a man in the corner of the room. Was that our client!?
Issei-kun himself was lying on the floor injured. He had a big cut on his back. I could see Issei-kun looked like he was going cry when he saw us, as though he was grateful for us being there.
"Hyoudou-kun, we came to rescue you." Yuuto-kun smiled at him.
"Ara ara. This is awful." Akeno-senpai held a hand to mouth whilst keeping calm.
"Priest..." Koneko-san said quietly, eyeing the enemy in question.
The enemy himself was a young teenager, I think he was younger than us. He wore formal clothing to support the fact that he was a priest, as Koneko-san called him to be. He had silver hair and red eyes and it held such a crazed look to it.
The girl Issei-kun was covering was on the floor in shock, much like she was not signed up for this. She was a pretty foreigner, Caucasian with the blonde hair and green eyes to match. Her face held a form of natural innocence and the way she carried herself seemed to exude that brilliantly. She was petite, not like Koneko-san ad wore similar clothing to the priest.
"Here's a present for a group of Devils!" The priest started slashing his sword towards Issei-kun.
The sound of the metal echoes through the room. Yuuto-kun blocked the priest's attack with his sword using his super speed. "I'm sorry. He's one of us! We can't let you lay a finger on him!"
"Oh, oh! A mere Devil being concerned about their comrade? What are you guys? Devil Squadron, the Devil Rangers? That's nice. I can feel the heat. I'm getting turned on! So how is it? Are you the one sticking it in, and is he the one bending? So are you guys in that sort of relationship?" The priest ranted on and on whilst handling Yuuto-kun. They were evenly matched.
"Issei-kun!" I ran up towards Issei-kun to check in on him. That was when I noticed the bullet hole on his leg. "This is horrible…" I accidentally let those words slip. I ripped off a part of my skirt to cover the bullet wound. It was a clean shot and the wound needs to be covered to prevent blood loss.
"It's ok Kana-chan, it looks worse than it hurts." Issei-kun was trying to calm my nerves.
I flicked his head, "Issei-kun you idiot! Don't say things like that!"
My hands were shaking as I was doing trying to wrap the cloth around his leg, trying to remember what to do. I know days like this were normal and that as a Devil fighting was natural. I understand that!
Was I ready for this?
To be put into dangerous situations like this, constantly?
Rias-buchou told us the dangers and Onee-sama was teaching me to protect myself but am I ready to fight for my life like this?
They were exchanging swords but the priest was getting cocky and sticking his tongue out while he was shaking his tongue and his head.
This guy was completely crazy! I mean who in their right does that with their tongue! GROSS!
Even Yuuto-kun held an anguished expression. "What a vulgar mouth. It's hard to believe you are a priest…that's why you are a Stray Exorcist, right?" He ran up and threw a slash at the priest's mid-section.
The priest blocked the attack and began laughing like crazy, "Yeah, yeah! I'm vulgar! Sorry about that! That's because I went astray! I was kicked out! That's why, screw the Vatican! I'm all right as long as I get to cut Devils whenever I feel like it!"
He aimed a shot at Yuuto-kun's head. Yuuto-kun arched his back to dodge the shot and kicked the priest in the chin. The priest rubbed his chin before wildly swinging at Yuuto-kun.
Yuuto-kun had a calm expression as they fought on, "You are the type that is the most hard to deal with. Someone who feels like they are living by cutting Devils…the one who causes the most harm to us."
The boy priest, was still laughing and enjoying the fight. "You know, I don't want to be told off by a Devil? I'm trying to live now just like other people! I'm not in a position where pests like you can talk down to me!" he was questioning our standpoint and our current lifestyle. I could tell but it was still wrong to indiscriminately kill people!
"Even Devils have rules." Akeno-senpai was smiling, but her eyes were serious. It looked like she was going to jump in herself to deal with this priest.
The priest turned his attention to Akeno-senpai, his eye seemed to twitch. "Nice. I like those passionate eyes. Onee-san, you are the best. I can feel your urge of wanting to kill me. Is this love? No. I think it's a killing intent! Superb! This is great! I love the feeling of intending to kill and getting intended to kill!" his voice seemed to jump in octaves as he spoke. He returned to his fight with Yuuto-kun as he spoke those words.
"Then disappear." The person who appeared on our side was Rias-buchou, her voice was low and cold.
"Issei, I'm sorry. I never expected that a Stray Exorcist will visit this client's house." Rias-buchou, who was apologising to Issei-kun, narrowed her eyes after seeing his wounds. "Issei. Did you get wounded?"
"Ah, sorry… I was shot…" He tried to deceive us by laughing.
Rias-buchou didn't say anything to him and gave a cold expression to the priest. "Looks like you have been looking after my cute servant?" Her voice was low and sounds scary. Come to think of it, it was the first time I saw her pissed.
"Yes, yes. I have been playing around with it. I was planning to cut his body all over but I was interrupted and it finished as a dream." He continued his mad rant.
A section of the furniture behind the priest was blown away. Rias-buchou shot out a ball of demonic-power, I saw her aura was seeping out of her slowly and uncontrollably.
"I make sure I never forgive those who harm my servants. I especially can't forgive a lowlife like you damaging my personal possessions." Her intensity caused the atmosphere to feel frozen. Her killing intent lurked around the room. There were waves of demonic-power surrounding Rias-buchou, shooting out like crazy.
"Buchou, there seems to be few Fallen Angels heading to this house. At this rate we will be at a disadvantage." Akeno-senpai detected something and informed us.
The Fallen Angels were approaching? Why would they come and help a priest? Wasn't the Church supported by the Angels?
Rias-buchou gives another stare at the priest. "Akeno, we will return to our headquarters. Prepare for teleportation. Kana, carry Issei over here."
"Yes." Akeno-san starts to cast a spell as soon as Rias-buchou urged her to.
"Y-Yes! Rias-buchou!" I carried him over.
Issei-kun then look at the blonde-haired nun. "Buchou! We have to take her as well!" he requested to Rias-buchou.
"It's impossible. Only Devils can use the magic-circle to transport. Also, this magic-circle can only teleport me and my servants."
Issei-kun's eyes widened and reached out his hand to the nun, "Asia!" he called out her name.
"Issei-san, let's meet again." she said kindly, there were tears in her eyes.
Next moment, Akeno-san finished casting the spell, and the magic-circle on the floor started to glow blue again. It was time for us to go!
"Like I will let you escape!" The priest came slashing at us, but Koneko-chan threw the sofa against him. By the time the priest smacked away the sofa with his sword, we were already teleported to the club room.
-x-x-
"There are two types of Exorcists." Rias-buchou was explaining to both Issei-kun and I while Akeno-senpai was healing Issei-kun's leg. "The first are the Exorcists who receive the blessing from God to perform exorcism in the name of justice. This group of Exorcist borrows its power from God and Angels to eliminate Devils. And there is another one, Stray Exorcists."
"Stray?" I questioned. Again with that "Stray" naming.
Rias-buchou nodded. "Exorcism is a holy ceremony that is performed in the name of God. But sometimes, there are Exorcists who starts to enjoy the act of killing Devils. They are beings who have found killing Devils as joy and as their purpose of life. So they get kicked out from the Church without exception. Or they get erased for being found guilty."
"Erased…so they get killed," Issei-kun interjected.
"But there are those who survive. What do you think happens to those Exorcists? It's simple. They go to the Fallen Angels."
"Fallen Angels are the ones with black wings, right?" he asked.
"Yes. Even though Fallen Angels are beings that were kicked out from the heaven, they still have the power of light, — the power to eliminate Devils. The Fallen Angels also lost a lot of their comrades and their men in the previous war. That's why they started to collect servants, just like us." I understood the situation as soon as she told us that much.
"So the Fallen Angels who finds the Devils a nuisance and the Exorcists who wants to kill Devils have the same objective, right?" I asked, looking for clarification.
"Yes. That's why they are called 'Stray Exorcists'. So the dangerous Exorcists who became addicted to Devil-hunts started to attack Devils and the humans with connections to Devils by borrowing powers from the Fallen Angels. The boy priest from earlier is exactly that. He's a 'Stray Exorcist' who belongs to an organisation with the support of the Fallen Angels. They are not proper Exorcists, but they are still dangerous like the proper ones. No, since they have no restrictions on them, they are much harder to deal with than the actual Exorcists. It's not smart to deal with them. So, the Church you went to before does not belong to God but to the Fallen Angels."
So not only do we have the threat of people from the church attacking us, we also have the threat of free agents with a grudge against us that wants to kill us?
Issei-kun then asked her. "Buchou, I need to save that girl, Asia!"
"It's impossible. How will you fight them? You are a Devil. And she is a servant of Fallen Angels. It's the two kinds that cannot coexist. Saving her means making the Fallen Angels your enemies. …If that happened, we would also have to fight." Rias-buchou told him sternly.
Issei-kun couldn't say anything back to her.
There was a lot of politics play in a situation like this. Since the Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils were having an uneasy and fragile peace treaty, it was important to treat this as delicately as possible. I guess it was important to stay clear away from the Fallen Angels in order to make sure nothing huge happens.
I was worried about Issei-kun when I saw that disappointed face of his.
-x-x-
The next day after school, Issei-kun didn't come over for school.
Poor boy…
Ever since last night, he was so down. What really caught him down was about that nun, it didn't matter to him that he was almost killed. He was worried about that girl…What was her name? Asia?
It was a nice name. If she was anything like anything that Issei-kun said she was, maybe we could be friends?
I've made up my mind, during lunch today I would ask Rias-buchou to skip the club activities for today, I wanted to check up on Issei-kun.
As I walked into the old building, I felt a familiar presence. I don't know what it was, but this feeling, though it was telling me to get out of there, it also told me that it wasn't hostile. The two contradicting feelings pushed my curiosity into walking towards the clubroom. When I got to the door, I swallowed my spit and opened the door.
I blushed.
I saw the figure of the knight that saved me over a week ago. He stood there arms crossed as if he was waiting for a meeting and looked over his shoulder to the door. He still wore his full armour without his sword.
"Reinhard-san," I let out the name without thinking.
He raised his hand, "Yo, new devil-san. Have you settled down?" He greeted back.
I blushed when he greeted back. What was he doing here?!
"Ara, ara, Kana-chan. What are you doing here?" I heard Akeno-senpai's happy go lucky voice. I turned around to see Rias-buchou walking in through the other door with Akeno-senpai behind her.
"I-I came to ask Rias-buchou about Issei-kun and asked if I could skip the club activities today to see him." I mumbled slightly whilst waving my hands.
What the hell, Kana!?
It's not like I was pretending to hide anything!
"I can grant you that. Kana, you and Issei-kun, go way back right?" Rias-buchou asked.
"Y-Yes." I nodded.
"Then can I trust you to make sure he is ok?" Rias-buchou requested. I nodded in response, she was always fair to us, her servants. She then smiled, "Whilst you are here, you might as well stay." She turned to the knight in the room and said, "Shall we get this meeting started?"
Rias-buchou and Reinhard-san sat on opposite couch, facing each other. Akeno-senpai and I stood behind the Rias-buchou's couch.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Rias Gremory and members of her peerage." He started, he seemed polite.
"Welcome, Mr. Reinhard, to my territory." She greeted back, returning the gesture. She then decided to bring up a different subject, "I would like to say thank you for saving a member of my peerage, though I do wonder what made you decide to save my new servant."
He replied with a simple chuckle and rubbed the back of his helmet, it looked like it was a habit of his. "Well I just happened to be in the area whilst coming back from a job. My job as a mercenary tends to bring across the world, so I was crossing through Kuoh to pick some stuff when I came across her."
Rias-buchou crossed her arms under her breast and leaned back even further, "So what brings you here now?"
"Recently there have been a rise of Fallen Angels working in your territory," his voice changed, putting on a more serious tone.
Rias-buchou's eyes squinted. "Yes, I've begun to realise. We had a meeting with a few of them and their followers, they even had the nerve to nearly kill my servants more than once."
Reinhard-san looked up to both me and Akeno-senpai, "I see." He returned his attention to my master. "See my objective was what they were carrying over, a human cargo."
"Human cargo? You mean like human trafficking?" Akeno-senpai asked.
He nodded, "Yes. For what purpose, I don't know. I've been tasked by a certain someone to retrieve her and bring her back safely. It took me a while, but I've managed to track her here in Kuoh town from a little town in Italy."
"So that's why you want a meeting with me? To grant you permission to operate here for this job?"
"Whether or not I have your permission does not affect me the slightest, but out of respect for you, your house and your brother, I chose to come here to pay them."
"You seem confident in your skills," I could see the slight interest peeking in Rias-buchou's mind, "So what? Will you cause a ruckus whilst you are here?"
"It depends on the Fallen Angels themselves and whether they would let me go with their target," he joked.
"But if she is here with the Fallen Angels, it doesn't mean that she will go with you without any problems."
"I understand. I am doing this as a favour for my client as he was worried for her well-being," he explained. He seemed very much invested in this job.
"Um…What makes her so special then?" I asked, curious about this person.
He turned his attention to me and answered, "She was a member of the church with the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing and was regarded as a 'Holy Maiden'. When she was excommunicated, apparently she was taken far from Italy into this eastern country."
"So we have your word that this girl is your only objective?" Rias-buchou questioned.
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard from my Queen and Knight that you carry a very dangerous weapon to us devils and you also carried a cross on you," Rias-buchou explained. I also did remember that, his sword was insane, it was like things you'd see in a shonen anime like Bleach. What was that sword? The aura itself was intense, it was similar to the light weapons by the Fallen Angels. And as for the cross…If I remember right, crosses are considered effective against us Devils. So was he equipped to fight against Devils?
The knight took on a thinking pose, "I see, you want to be certain of how much of a threat I am. I'm sure you understand, I had talked to the head of Akizuki Clan to get through to you?" he questioned, countering to Rias-buchou's question.
"You talked to Onee-sama?" I accidentally let out.
"So you are a member of that Clan?" he was genuinely surprised and after a few moments he said, "I see, you certainly have interesting members here Rias Gremory."
What was he thinking about?
"The family watches over everything you do in this territory whilst you do as you please as part of the agreement. I went to them to get a meeting with you and they were the ones that made sure I wasn't threat in the first place." He explained before he added, "If you still don't trust me, do you not see that I am currently unarmed? I am just a normal human having a peaceful meeting with devils without my sword and cross on me. You could kill me without a second thought."
Rias-buchou disputed, "So why didn't you come here without your armour if this meeting was to be peaceful? So why don't you take off that helmet of yours if you want us to trust you?"
"Don't get me wrong, Rias Gremory." His voice deepened, switching back to an authoritative state. "It is not that I don't trust you. I've heard many stories about the Gremory and their generosity. It's one of the reason why I am here today. If you ever lived a like mine, a life of a mercenary, I am sure you would understand the kind of enemies you gain along the way." He brought a hand to his helmet, as though remembering an important fact. "The name Reinhard itself is an alias to make sure no one knows who I really am, and the helmet helps reinforce that. So allow me to be selfish and keep this."
"I see." Rias-buchou was seemingly convinced with the answer. She then changed the subject, "So now that I have assured your objectives, what are you going to do from here?"
"I have a broker here that I am going to see after this meeting on the far end of town." He explained simply, "If anything happens, here is my contact information. I'll take my leave." He stood up after leaving a business card, similar to a salaryman. I guess that how you create a network.
Though I wonder what you would write on a business card for a mercenary.
I could just imagine a cute super-deformed of him holding his sword with the words. "If you need someone to kill, I've got the skill." Along with *INSERT RANDOM NUMBER HERE*.
I like to have a fun imagination ok…
"Oh I see you are part of Nazarick. I heard about the Guild Master, he is well respected member of the Magician's Association." Akeno-senpai said, inspecting the card.
Out of curiosity I took a look at the business card. It was a simple one, written on it was Nazarick Guild in big bold letters and he had his named printed on it too along with a set of numbers that I didn't understand. A phone number?
Nazarick?
What was that?
So there was no hook or cute drawing? That ruined my imagination.
He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Take care, the supernatural is a dangerous world."
-x-x-
After school, I made a call to Issei-kun, asking him where he was. It took me a while, but he finally picked up. He was in the arcade, but he seemed a bit apprehensive about me coming to see him.
When I arrived, I could see why. He was in the arcade with the nun, Asia-san, and the two were having fun. I was surprised when I saw him and the girl together. When I came up to him, I pulled on his ear for ignoring Rias-buchou's orders. Asia-san, being a nice person tried to stop me by explaining what had been going on.
After a while, we both left her to play a racing game as we both had a small conversation.
"She seems nice." I started as I watched her play. I adjusted the bag holding my bokken to sit comfortably on my shoulder.
"Yeah, Asia is a really nice person. Nothing like the priest we met last night. She is calm, clumsy, sweet and sincere in everything she does," he held a proud smile on him when he said that as he looked at the foreign nun. She was happily playing and was truly enjoying herself. You could tell he cared for her very much.
"I see," A long silence befell us. I worked up the courage to bring up his injuries, "Ho-"
"I want to get stronger." He said suddenly, he was looking down to the ground away from me. He took a deep breath before he explained to me.
"If I do things on my own, it will cause a lot of trouble to Buchou and the others. I want to get stronger. That's the only thing in my mind right now. There are many things that are possible to do only if you are strong. In my short life as a Devil, that is the only thing I'm sure of. It seems like I have to be stronger in order to achieve my dream. Since then, I've learned how to make my Sacred Gear appear whenever I feel like. But since I don't know how to use it, it's a waste. But maybe relying on the Sacred Gear makes me a weakling."
He beat his chest, and stood proudly, "All right. Once my wounds heal, I'm going to start building muscles! I'm also going to ask Buchou and Akeno-san how to use demonic-powers. I'm not happy, but I'm might ask Kiba and you to teach me how to use sword. Anyway, I have my plans now, I'm going to get stronger than that shitty priest. No, I need to be strong enough to run away from the Fallen Angel on my own. I'm a Pawn, but I can do it as long as I work hard. I want to believe that."
I couldn't help but smile at that. I understood where he was coming from. He was talking about last night's incident. I remembered his look of despair and his worry for Asia-san.
I smiled before I looked up. "I understand that, I really do. I am also a Pawn and new to this world. The world is big and full of dangers, that's what I learnt. In preparation for this, Onee-sama is teaching me how to use magic to protect myself. I also want to ask people for help."
"I forgot to ask, how was Shizuka-san feeling about us being Devils?" he asked when he heard about Onee-sama. Like me, he was deeply surprised about Onee-sama's and in turn my family's affiliation to the supernatural.
I lightly giggled, "She was a bit pissed but after hearing from both me and Rias-buchou, she was ok. She said she wasn't surprised that you being a Devil, seeing how lustful you are."
"I-I'm sorry! I am a healthy boy!" his face was red, embarrassed. He had his back turned towards me.
I giggled some more before I returned to the original subject, "But yeah, I also want to learn how to use my Demonic Power from Akeno-senpai and Rias-buchou and I want to improve on my sword skills. So I think it's better if we both ask Yuuto-kun in the future."
I looked to his back and remembered that cut he had from before. "When you were lying on the floor injured, to be honest, I was scared. It was nothing like you see in the anime that we watch. My hands couldn't stop shaking when I wanted to help you. That was when I realised that I wasn't ready to face such a world. Do I have the resolve to fight?"
"Kana-chan…" Issei-kun began. But I cut him off.
"You're great, Issei-kun. You have a dream that you could jump head first without a worry, to become a Harem King. It's simple and you're willing to do what it takes and even fight for it."
A small silence fell upon us.
"Sorry, I made you listened to me go on." I started, not wanting to make the situation about me.
"Its fine, we are both in the same boat. Thank you, Kana-chan. You helped me when I was feeling down. The two of us have our journey from the bottom." Issei-kun smiled as he said that. "So Shizuka-san has been teaching you magic?"
I grinned at the question, "Hehe. Yup, and I made my first spell two days ago and it was a success!" I stuck my chest out to say that I was a proud woman.
"Woah that was fast!" I saw he too was excited. Hehe. He always joined in on my antics.
"Just you wait, I'll be like a Magical Girl one day soon!" I raised my right arm and tensed the muscles.
"You mean like a Magical Devil?" he deadpanned.
I started playfully hitting him, "No! Don't ruin it for me!" I hate it when he burst my bubble, it's no fun.
"I get it! Stop!" he said whilst weakly stopping me from hitting him.
Then we both lost sight of Asia-san. When we looked around, she was standing in front of the crane game.
"What is it?" Issei-kun asked. She looked like she really wanted something.
"N-No… I-It's nothing." She did not want to tell us.
"Is there something you want?" I asked. Then I looked to see what was inside the crane game.
When I looked inside the crane game, there is a doll of 'Rache-kun' inside. It was a cute mascot based on a mouse. If I remember correctly, this character came from Japan but it was popular across the world. So I guess Asia-san must have seen it somewhere before.
"Asia-san, do you like Rache-kun?" I asked.
"Eh? N-No, t-that is…" Asia's face went red, and she nodded her head shyly.
"Okay. I will get it for you!" Issei-kun then spoke up.
"Eh? B-But…!" she was trying to protest against it but Issei-kun stopped her.
"It's okay, I will get it."
He put the coin in immediately and started controlling the crane. On his first try he dropped the doll on a good location, and on his second try he missed. On his third and fourth try he missed it again as well, but when Asia-san became worried on his fifth try, he finally managed to get it.
"Yeah!" he made a victory pose and took Rache-kun. He then gave it to Asia-san. "Here you go, Asia."
Asia-san became so happy that she held the doll to her chest. "Thank you very much, Issei-san. I will take care of this doll."
"Hey hey, if a doll like that makes you happy, then I'll get you more next time." Issei-kun said proudly, he had his good points too.
Asia-san smiled in an almost bitter way, but she was still smiling happily. "No, this Rache-kun that you gave me represents the wonderful day I met you. Since today is the only day I met you, I will take good care of this doll."
What was wrong with her? Why did she looked so sad? "Asia-san, wh-?!"
"Okay! We haven't started yet! Asia, we will play for the whole day today! Follow me!" Issei-kun stated before he took Asia-san's hand and went further into the game centre.
"Hey Issei-kun!" I called as I ran after them when I realised I was left alone.
-x-x-
"Ah, we played a lot today." Issei-kun said, it was already evening and we ended by the Kuoh Town park lake.
"Y-Yes…I'm a bit tired…" Asia-san said, she was getting a bit sleepy. It was fun to see Asia's reaction when we went to the game centre and other shops.
"Oh." Issei-kun almost tripped over. "Ouch." He winced.
I saw him grab his leg in pain. It's the wound from yesterday. Looks like the place where he was shot by that priest still hurts.
"Hey, Issei-kun, are you ok?" I asked. I grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to hold him up.
"Issei-san, are you injured? Is it from yesterday…" Asia-san's expression showed genuine worry. Asia-san kneeled down to check on his leg where he was shot, "Can you please lift your trouser up?"
"S-Sure." He lift his trousers to have his calf exposed. I could still see the bullet mark was still there.
Asia then places her palm there. A warm and gentle green light enveloped on his calf.
Was this a form of power? A magical ability?
I don't see a magic circle that my sister or Akeno-senpai would usually use.
Was this a Sacred Gear?
"How is it?" Asia finished her healing, and she urged him to move.
Issei-kun moved his leg a bit. "This is amazing Asia. I don't feel uncomfortable anymore! I don't feel any pain at all!" He separated himself from me and began jumping around.
"Hey! Issei-kun! Be careful!" I told him.
"Try and catch me Kana-chan!" he instigate me into playing with him.
Asia-san smiled happily when she sees us.
"You are amazing, Asia. The healing power, it's an incredible power. …This is a Sacred Gear, right?" Issei-kun asked. Looks like he had the same idea as I did.
"Yes, it is." She answered simply.
Just like we both thought. It's a great Sacred Gear.
"To tell you the truth, I also have a Sacred Gear. Though, it's not much of a use. Right now, that is." Issei-kun told her.
Though I do wonder, what was Issei-kun's Sacred Gear's ability?
Asia-san put on a shocked face after hearing his confession. "Issei-san, you also have a Sacred Gear? I didn't realise it at all."
"Hahaha, I don't even know its effect. And to compare it, Asia, your power is amazing. This can heal humans, animals, and also Devils like me, right?"
She put on a complicated expression, then a sad face. She then got down and started to cry.
What was going on? Why would she be upset about her power? Was she ok?
"Hey Issei-kun! What did you say to her?!" I smacked him lightly on the shoulder.
Issei-kun rubbed his head. "I don't know!"
"No no no. I thinks its better I tell you both." Asia-san told us, trying to stop me and Issei-kun from fighting.
We sit on the bench by the lake.
"When I was a baby, my parents abandoned me. They left me outside of a church in a small town in Italy. When the kind nuns found me, apparently I couldn't stop crying. I grew up becoming a strong follower of the Church and the teachings of God. When I was 8, there was a wounded puppy, and I prayed hard for its recovery and that God would spared the puppy. When I did, a miracle happened, the puppy had healed and a person from the main Catholic Church witnessed that miracle. I moved to a different church and I was called a 'Holy Maiden' because of my healing power. Many people had come to visit me when they were injured or sick and I was asked to heal them. I was so happy with the idea that I had possessed the power to help other people. I finally felt like I had a purpose in life. I wanted to continue the work of God and help many more people."
Her expressions suddenly changed, becoming gloomier as she entered a sad bit of her backstory, "One day, by coincidence, I came across wounded Devil. He was horribly wounded and looked like he was about to pass on. I couldn't ignore him, so I had used my powers to heal him. I had saved him, but in return a man from the church had witnessed the act and told the church. They were saying words like, "She had the power to heal devils," or, "something absurd like that has never happened before!" or, "The power of healing can only heal the followers of God!" and ended up calling me a 'Witch'. For them the power to heal Devils or Fallen Angels was not right and anyone with my kind of power is a heretic. So I was excommunicated from the church and I ran away."
"That was when you were found by the Fallen Angels?" I asked.
"Yes, but even then I still try and follow the teachings of God and I believe that my current sufferings were simply a test from God."
I could see the tears coming out of her eyes.
"It's because I didn't pray enough. It's because I'm clumsy. I'm so stupid that I can't even eat a burger by myself." The girl wiped her tears while laughing.
I didn't know what to say to her.
I couldn't help but feel horrible for her.
She was laughing as if she was talking to herself. "I'm sure I will make lots of friends one day. I have a dream. I want to go buy flowers with a friend, buying books and talk…" She was full of tears. It was such a simple wish.
I couldn't look at her any more. She must have been enduring it the whole time. I gave her a hug and held her in my arms. She had been waiting for God to save her the whole time.
I was stupefied by the situation. How could she have gone through so much? She was so sweet and innocent but she had gone through a horrible trial. Did no one tried to be her friend?
Now that I think about it, was she the Holy Maiden that Reinhard-san was looking for? If she was ex-communicated from the church, and Reinhard-san was going to bring her 'back safely', does he mean that he was going to bring her back to church? Won't she get killed for being called a heretic?
Issei-kun took her hand and said it to her while looking directly to her eyes which was wet with her tears. "Asia, I will become your friend. No, we are already friends. I am sure Kana-chan agrees with me!"
Asia-san stood there looking puzzled. I was also surprised at his commitment. I nodded with Issei-kun statement, then with reinforced vigour I told her.
"We're D-Devils, but it's all right. I won't take Asia's life, and I won't take any price! You can call me whenever you feel like it! Ah, and I will also give you my mobile number." He told her and gave her his telephone number.
"T-That's right! I wanna be your friend too!" I added as I grabbed her other hand.
"Why?" she asked, she looked like she was going to cry again.
"It's not why! Asia, you hung out with us for the whole day right? We talked right? We laughed together right?" I told her.
She nodded slowly out of confusion.
"Then we are friends! A human, a Devil, or God doesn't matter! We are friends!" Issei-kun added.
"Is that a pact with a Devil?" she asked.
Issei-kun shook his head, "It's not! Asia, Kana-chan and I are going to become actual friends! We will put other things aside! We will talk when we want to, we will play when we want to, and yeah, I will also go shopping with you! Whether its books or flowers, we will go shopping much as you want!"
"And we can watch films, do each other's hair and be there for whenever the other person needs it. Because that's what friends do together! Okay?" I told her.
Asia-san put her hand on her mouth, and once again starts to shed tears. Though, this time, her tears didn't seem sad. More like tears of joy.
"…Issei-san, Kana-san. I have no common sense." She said modestly.
"We could learn by going around the city! If you go around, you would learn eventually." I told her, trying to ease her worry.
"I can't speak Japanese. I also don't know about its culture."
"I will teach you! I will even make you speak using a proverb! Leave it to me! We could even go to museum to look at Japanese national treasure! Samurai! Sushi, and geisha!" Issei-kun added.
"I also don't know what to talk about with a friend."
I hold Asia's hand tightly. "You talked to us normally for a whole day. That was fine. We are already talking like friends."
"…Will you become my friend?" she asked both of us.
"Yeah, so let's get along from now on, Asia." Issei-kun nodded happily to her question.
She nodded her head and smiled.
Yeah, with this it will OK. We were friends! But this situation sure made me blush when I think about it.
If Asia-san will smile, then it's okay.
"It's impossible."
I remembered that voice all too well. It was impossible to forget the voice of someone who killed you.
When I look towards the direction of where the voice came from, I was speechless. A slender girl with silky black hair, the familiar visage of the winged woman who killed us.
That Yuuma was standing there.
"Y-Yuuma-chan…?" Issei-kun's voice was shaking.
What was she doing here?
She laughed when she heard Issei-kun's trembling voice. "Heh. You survived. And as a Devil? Seriously, that is the worst." She still had that voice that sounded more like a bewitching adult.
"Raynare-sama…" Asia-san calls her by that name.
Raynare? So that was her real name? Yuuma was not her real name? I guess that made sense. That person over there was a Fallen Angel. Her real name was Raynare.
"What does a Fallen Angel like you want?" I demanded.
She scorned when I said that to her. "I don't want a filthy low-class Devil like you talking to me." She stared at us as though she was disgusted at us, "That girl. Asia, is our personal belonging. Can I have her back? Asia, you know it's useless to run away?"
Run? What does she mean? Did Asia-san runaway?
"No. I don't want to return to that Church. I don't want to return to the people who kill other people. …Also, you people did things to me…" Asia-san replies back with disgust. She did run away.
What happened? What happened inside that Church?
"Please don't say that, Asia. Your Sacred Gear is essential for our plan. So please come back with me. I also took the time to look for you. Stop being such a troublesome bitch! " Raynare approached us. Asia-san hid behind both me and Issei-kun. Her body was shaking with fear.
We stepped forward to protect her. I pulled out the bokken in my bag and held it aimed towards her.
"What the hell did you do to her that made her run away?" I roared.
She slowly hovered towards us, "A little wooden toy like that would just get yourself killed." She ignored my question.
"Wait. Can't you see she doesn't want to? Yu-, no Raynare-san, what are you going to do with her after taking her back?" Issei-kun questioned further.
She took offence to Issei-kun's name calling. "Low-class Devils, don't call me by my name. My name will get filthy. What's between us doesn't have anything to do with you. If you don't go back to your master's place quickly, you will die, you know?" Raynare gathered light in her hand.
Was that a spear?
We were killed once because of it.
We needed to make the first move.
We need to get away from Raynare. We can't get to the school, Rias-buchou and the others would be in trouble. My house? Oooh…It's possibly the same. Considering political ramifications of something like this. Would an outsider like Onee-sama be okay?
"S-Sacred Gear!" When he shouted towards the sky loudly, lights covered his left arm and forms into a red gauntlet.
Seeing his Sacred Gear, Raynare showed a shocked expression for a moment and then started to laugh.
"I was told that your Sacred Gear was a dangerous one before from the higher-ups, but it looks like they were totally wrong! It was just a simple Twice Critical!" The Fallen Angel laughed hysterically.
What? What's so funny? Sacred Gears are supposed to be awesome abilities endowed to us by God.
"Your Sacred Gear is one of the common ones. It's called the 'Twice Critical'. It doubles the power of the possessor for a temporally time, but having you double your power is not a threat to me. Truly, a fitting object for a low-class Devil like you."
The ability that doubles the possessor's power? Is that the power of his Sacred Gear? That still sounds good.
"Sacred Gear! Activate! You can double my power, right!? Then activate!" Then the jewel on the gauntlet started to glow upon his command.
"Boost!"
The gauntlet roared. Next moment, I saw a green light enveloping Issei-kun.
I could see the impressive power surging from him.
Next thing I knew was the spear of light pierced through his stomach.
He fell down.
"Issei-kun!" I cried but I couldn't move. I had my bokken still aimed at her. My hands were shaking again. I couldn't fully take my attention off her.
"Even if your power is doubled, you can't even evade this small spear I made. Even if the power of 1 is doubled, it's only 2. You can't narrow the power gap between us. Do you understand now, low-class Devil-kun?"
This is bad. Light is poisonous. It's poisonous for a Devil. If we don't get that treated he could die.
I saw her coming closer.
No!
I can't let him die again!
I gained back the resolve to fight, I tighten my grip around my bokken and roared.
I stood in front of Issei-kun and threw my right hand out and drew the letter, remembering the important formulas. "Anzus!" The letter itself transformed into a fiery red magic circle that fired a stream of flames at the Fallen Angel.
She easily dodged the attack.
"Oooh. I see the girl from before had learned a bit of magic since I last saw her." I saw her licked her lips in anticipation.
"I got more where that came from!" I drew a different letter, "Berkano!" the blue magic circle appeared and I aimed the circle at the water under Raynare's feet. The water shot up at her but the pressure itself wasn't strong enough to hurt the winged beauty. Instead she just looked like she had a shower.
What the hell?!
What is with that Water Spell!? I drew it right! I remembered everything I needed for it!
"Hahaha!" She was laughing at the pathetic attempt of a magic cast. "I see Rune Magic huh? But your element seems to be off. You should go back to school and learn about your affinity, little child!"
She threw a spear of light at me. I swiped the spear away from me but my bokken broke apart from the weapon.
"So what's that little toy supposed to do against me again?" She said as she readied another spear.
I cursed at the bokken being broken so easily. I know it wasn't much, but I prepared it for situations like this.
I saw a green light in the corner of my vision. I turned to see the green light enveloping around my body.
When I look, Asia-san was healing Issei-kun's wound. She was putting her hand on his stomach and was healing his wound for him. I saw that she had dropped Rache-kun on the floor. The spear of light in his stomach gradually got smaller, and it eventually disappeared.
"Asia. If you don't want those Devil to be killed, come with me. Your Sacred Gear is essential for our plan. Your power, the 'Twilight Healing', is a rare Sacred Gear unlike the Sacred Gear of the Devil over there. If you don't come with me, I will have to kill these Devil." Raynare gave a cruel ultimatum.
Was she using us as hostages?!
"S-Shut up! I can defeat you—" Issei-kun was defiant against a threat like that.
"Yes, I understand." Asia accepts the Fallen Angel's order. We were both shocked at her seemingly obedient answer.
"Asia-san!" I grabbed her arm. I didn't want her to leave. She didn't deserve to be treated like this.
"Issei-san, Kana-san. Thank you for today. It was really fun." She makes a big smile. After she confirmed that Issei-kun was completely healed, she gently pushed my arm off and walked towards Raynare.
I was too shocked to do anything.
"Good girl, Asia. That's it. Problem solved. With today's ritual, you will be freed from your suffering." Raynare put on a dark smile, her teeth even distorted to the point that her teeth looks like shark teeth.
Also what did she meant by ritual!? It only sounds like something bad!
I then shout towards Asia. "Asia! Wait! We're friends, aren't we!?"
"Yes. Thank you for being friends with someone like me."
"I-I have to protect Asia!" Issei-kun mumbled. He was visibly upset about this.
She turns around, but she is still smiling at us.
"Goodbye." She said her farewell.
Raynare held Asia with her black wings.
"Low-class Devils, looks like you two were saved because of this girl. If you get in my way again, I will definitely kill you. Goodbye, Issei-kun," she said the last sentence in a cutesy voice. The Fallen Angel sneered at us and flew up high while holding Asia-san. They disappeared into the sky. What was left were me, Issei-kun, black feathers, and Rache-kun that Asia-san has left behind.
I couldn't do anything.
Issei-kun couldn't do anything.
I could see the frustration building up in him, "'I will protect Asia'… what a laugh." Issei-kun got on his knees and started punching the ground. I saw him crying out with frustration. I bite my lips hard and ran up towards him and pulled on his arm.
"Asia…" he called out the name of my friend towards the sky but there was no reply.
"Asia!" Tears were falling from his eyes as he screamed towards the sky.
I was starting to tear up too. I picked up the Rache-kun on the floor.
Damn it, why can't we do anything?
-x-END-x-
There you have it Chapter 4! I know its been a slow build up to the end of Volume 1, and I promise the next chapter is the final chapter for Volume 1. By the way, Kana is physically based off Haruko Amaya from Maken-Ki. Thank you for being patient with me!