Author's Note: So apparently it takes the entire world shutting down for me to get off my ass and actually write something. I'm sure that comment won't date this chapter at all. But nonetheless, I wanted to apologize for the unreasonably long wait. I have absolutely no excuse. With that out of the way, thank you to anyone still reading this and once again, I'm sorry. -End of Author's Note
Such a mundane task as waiting after having his first real taste of combat led him to furiously tap his foot. "I can't rest… Can I honestly do this?" See, silence and solitude gives people time to reflect. When people reflect, what stares back at them may be far uglier than what should be there. The human, or demon in this case, has a way of tearing itself down. It's own ability to perceive things allows it to witness firsthand how fragile it is. As he approached the empty field surrounded by heavy clouds, his legs shook more than when he was walking back to the club. Not because his body said it was injured, but because his mind decided they were. "Goddam-" A shock went through his brain immediately, causing him to duck for cover, tearing at his scalp. "Okay that's new. Avoid saying Go-" At that point, it became his fault "You know what. GOD." His voice became a roar that pierced his lungs. That was until the pain made him squeal and roll all over the floor, leaving rough green stains all over his clothes.
"He's filthy." Hanzo mumbled from a safe distance, right outside of the rain clouds.
Dressed in nothing more than a robe, Akeno flew up to the sky. "Wait I thought we couldn't fly."
"Who told you that?" She chuckled audibly before practically disappearing into the clouds. "Don't answer I have an idea." The clouds spread off into the distance, pulling Hanzo into their radius, who looked up with a concerned laugh. "Look, all you have to do is dodge the lightning using your gear in anyway or something. Really I just want to see what one of these bolts does to you."
"Help." He squealed again. "Wait no one is going to help me."
"Shut up and get ready to fight." The voice from the gloves commanded. "We aren't exactly light speed. Let's just hope that she uses the first few to test the magic out. You aren't strong enough to use any other abilities."
"Great another inconvenience… How do I know when the lig-" His answer came in the form of a blast strong enough to cause his body to twitch violently on the ground.
"That shouldn't have been enough to do that." She laughed. "So you can't really take a hit. Okay…"
"Wait," His eyes began scanning the clouds as he ran frantically. "I didn't get to see the sky. This isn't fair."
Her voice echoes from far away. "Too bad. An opponent won't let you figure them out before the fight."
Soft soil was being kicked up with every single desperate step he took. "Okay calm down Naegi. Just think about it for a second. Electricity is attracted to metal. So if I can make her strike…" His eyes look across the whole field. "There's no metal here." Horror reached his fingertips, causing them to twitch rapidly. "Her voice sounded far away." His breathing was growing heavy by this point. Lightning struck a few feet behind him. "Maybe she can't see me." His spit felt heavier than ever as he swallowed down. He tore a sleeve off of his shirt and threw it behind him, hearing it get vaporized. "The clouds…" Wanting to test his theory more, the boy began moving in circles, paying close attention to the sky while measuring the distance between blasts.
"I'm going to stop holding back now. Don't take it personally though. Can't have any weak pawns." Once again, that bone chilling chuckle echoed in his ears. With chuckling slowly turning into cackling in the distance, Naegi shut his eyes for a mere second out of fear. One wet tear slipped off of his face and flew behind him, mixed in with the sweat.
His feet came to a screeching stop after a bolt struck directly in front of him. "Yeah that's… um. Fine." Sparks in the clouds directly above him grew far more intense. Once they concentrated on one point he jumped back, this strike was much larger than any before it. The skin around his leg was charred to the point where he was afraid the wind would blow the ashes away. Putting pressure on it was no longer a feasible action. "I don't…" Two streams began flowing down his face out of fear of what he could potentially lose. "I don't want to die." This time he could hear the electricity in the clouds as well as his heart thumping in his ears. The lightning fell down.
"Naegi, punch now!" His glove turned a bright yellow color before a dragon flew from the fist and tore through the lightning, causing it to disperse. With a now more exhausted expression, the black haired boy kept panting heavily. His legs buckled and his body slumped over. Knowing that something was coming directly for him, he attempted to stand up straight only to trip over his own legs. Right before he fell back, he witnessed one last strike coming down, hitting him right in the stomach. His torso felt as though it was split in two forcibly. His weak body could hardly resist being torn apart and burned by the bolt. Convulsing muscles prevented him from even trying to stand up.
"That one shouldn't have killed him." She whispered during her descent.
Hanzo stood up, staring at the metal swords he dug into the ground to act as lightning rods. "She really included me in that. Good thing I made that…" He jumped from the area he was to right next to Naegi. "Hey, Kid. Get up."
He twitched rapidly and his eyes darted around. "Who's there?" Naegi questioned through obscured vision.
"Still conscious that's good."
"Well obviously. I held back. I just wanted to make him feel like he would die. If I wanted to, I could have made that last one vaporize him. But, it was just weak enough to not break his skin. Don't want to spread blood on the grass."
"Yet you lit it on fire." Naegi chuckled, staring straight up. "Demons make no sense."
"You're including yourself in that statement." Hanzo smirked. "Alright, training's cancelled."
"You don't get to decide that. I still have one exercise." Between each word, his chest rose and fell at an incredible rate.
"I do get to decide that considering you can't even move."
"No… not yet. First I can't teleport and put myself in danger. Then I can't even finish a training exercise. I'm not pulling my weight."
"You don't have to for now." Akeno gave what appeared to be a real smile before reverting to a serious, and rather angry look. "You need to learn to rest. Otherwise you're just going to end up worrying everyone around you. You can't move. Training is over."
"Then." Placing a hand on the ember latent ground, he attempts to lift himself. Vomit shot from his mouth faster than the orb he sent once he was upright. "I'm going to tell her myself." He uses the side of his fist to wipe the bit of vomit off.
"Chances are you won't make the walk. Your legs will give out before you get halfway up there. But that's your stupid decision. Come on Hanzo, we're going." In silence, the Knight and Queen exit.
"I probably won't." There were two worlds in front of him, both of which rapidly moved against each other, as if one wanted to become dominant. Yet, the two of them were evenly matched and equally relentless. An urge to vomit overtook him once again. This time he managed to stomach it and start moving. Each step burned holes through his calves, or at least that's what it felt like. An unrelenting desire to correctly finish at least one task given to him was all that was keeping him going. Deprecation loomed eerily over each thought that had the displeasure of wandering into the desolate wasteland his brain called home. Admittedly, keeping his mind off of the immense pain all over his body even if it was to emotionally harm himself, made the walk more bearable. "Did I make it?" Air was leaving his lungs faster than it was entering. Wheeze after wheeze bursts through his mouth before he takes a seat behind Rias.
"Just barely." She spoke seriously.
"Good. Training's cancelled by the way." His eyes shut tightly.
"I can tell." Her eyes wandered around the sky. "Sorry for how she acted. She took it way too far."
"Ah no worries. Will every day be this hard?" His chest fell and rose nearly one hundred times per second.
"Oh no this is just the introduction." She rested on her bent knee once again. "It'll get much harder from here on out. But you'll have plenty of rest in between. Especially considering you were nearly electrocuted."
"Thanks for the consideration." Her eyes still hadn't turned to see him. "Shit, I can't move anymore."
"Did I hear you can't move?!" Hanzo raised his voice in a cheesily heroic manner. "Fear not, for…"
"Please stop, this is more painful than my wounds."
"I must take you home! It's what heroes do." Hanzo's large arm felt as though it severed his torso from his legs after he lifted him up. "We will fly."
"No." With a raspy and deepened voice, Naegi cried out. "Seriously… put me down."
"Hanzo." Her bright hair folded smoothly over the back of her palm. "You'll probably kill him."
"Dying. Definitely dying."
"You really are no fun." He tossed him carelessly. "I didn't mean to do that. I uh- I'm gonna go." His voice was rife with triumph.
"I think he broke my spine…" Rias sighed in response to his comment.
"Feeling any stronger?" She scooted closer.
"Not at all."
"Figured, it's only the first day. Just don't give up, I'm sure you'll get stronger." She stood up, looking down at him.
"How am I gonna get home? I can't teleport."
"No need to worry, we have beds over here. Did you not see the house on the way over here?"
"I couldn't see anything thanks to that monster that dragged me over here. He also came here slowly so I would think he couldn't move fast. That bastard." She helped him lift up to his feet.
"It's the least I could do."
His eyes were gently shut. "I can barely feel the ground under me." They didn't speak during their walk to the house. He couldn't summon the strength to inhale at times and grew winded with only a few steps. She had a distant look on her face the entire time and he didn't want to interrupt her thoughts.
Naegi threw himself onto the bed, not even bothering to cover himself up. The mattress beneath him accepted him as one of its own and they fused together, making it admittedly difficult for Naegi to breathe. It was as though he was inside of a capsule. There was nothing but a void surrounding him with a rather clear seam down the middle being the only source of light. A consistent and heavy sound ricocheted off of every wall surrounding him. Gusts of wind sharp enough to slit his cheek yet strong enough to make him fall back slightly.
"Hello there, I believe this is our first time meeting face to face." A grumbling voice bellowed.
"Hey." The dragon exhaled and a sort of energy fell out, illuminating the ground below them. Glorious yellow flames erupted beneath them, finally giving Naegi a chance to view the creature in front of him. Its scales were jagged and sharply pointed in every direction. Most of them were a reflective and bright yellow. The dragon's stomach and chest was a deep black that almost drowned out the light around it.
It moved its head closer and let off an exhale that sent his hair flying back. "You're an odd one. No fear in your eyes or even much interest."
"Of course not, this is a dream. You can't hurt me."
"Yet weirdly rational." Fafnir surrounded Naegi with his jagged body and closed in on him. "I can harm you in the real world though, remember how many times I've saved you."
A thousand thoughts ran through his mind within seconds. He brought up his hand gently and dragged it roughly against the scales, flinching after feeling his hand burst open. Blood gushed out before trickling down his forearm. It pooled up against the bottom before falling into the careless void beneath them. "Normally something like that would kick me out of a nightmare. You're real aren't you?" His face contorted in pain and he felt his hand twitch.
"Nevermind, you are nothing but a fool." Two mighty yellow eyes shut, completely ignoring the teenager in front of them.
"You know it's not very kind to insult people you just met. Especially when your body is bound to that person. But I guess it was dumb of me to do that… If I wake up with this cut, I'm gonna be pissed. You're not really paying attention to me are you? Is it because I'm not letting you ta-" With another skin splitting gust of wind, the dragon sent Naegi flying back, slamming against the edge of their dimension. Weightlessness similar to the feeling of teleporting overcame the half of his body that stuck out of the world. He screamed as his left side atomized and was removed from the world. A cold sweat poured over him and he sat up in bed, fighting to not let out a scream. He lifted his shirt to witness the broken skin around the lightning wound, along with a few burns. "Is it really too late for me to leave?" Nauseousness overcame every other sensation and he heaved into his hand. His new found demonic agility wasn't nearly enough to save him from slipping out of bed and smacking into the ground. Shaking hands barely managed to lift him to his feet, where he proceeded to breathe heavily. Every exhale burned the inside of his lungs. Sneaking around wasn't too difficult as his body refused to move any faster than a snail surrounded by a ring of salt.
"Sneaking out are we?" He heard a voice that was way too cheery to catch him call out.
"Kinda yeah. I mean you people did almost kill me yesterday. I was also hoping you"
Her purple eyes shut and opened rapidly. "But you were strong enough to live that big one at the end. Even if I did hold back."
"Oh that makes me feel so much better. You're way more dangerous than you let on, honestly it's terrifying."
"My my, as long as Rias doesn't want me to, I won't hurt you. As a matter of fact, how would you like to go shopping with me right now?"
"Last time I went shopping with a girl like you, I ended up getting stabbed." Visible anger spread across her face after being compared to a fallen angel. "That considered, I really don't know much about any of you and would like to learn. So just gimme a sec to change and please don't take offense to anything I say, I put my foot in my mouth a lot."
She smiled at him, "I'll be waiting right here."
"How the hell do I talk to her?" He whispered at a safe distance before taking a quick shower. His sore body greatly appreciated the freezing water. A lot of the pain alleviated aside from the burning on his stomach. He moved much faster than he did earlier. Sure enough, his dark haired senior was waiting patiently, taking the time out to enjoy the sky.
"You can't fly and carrying you around isn't too appealing… why can't you teleport yet?" She groaned.
"If you want, I can just walk to the grocery store."
She giggled, "As if, it's obvious that leaving you alone is never a good idea. Especially with two fallen angel attacks within such a short amount of time."
"You know it's not like I wanted them to-"
"Please stop mumbling," She spoke oddly respectfully. "It's okay, we can walk." With that, they went down a roughly outlined path through the forest and into the nearby town. She showed a general disinterest in talking about her past, or even any of the other pieces along the way. Anytime he asked a question about them, it was met with a quick and dismissive answer. Out of fear of saying something disrespectful again, Naegi gulped down the rest of his questions, and let them melt in his stomach acids. People in the town cheerily greeted the girl to which she waved back with a smile. His brown eyes fixated themselves on their surroundings. "Stop looking around so much, if anyone was trailing us, it's best we surprise them." She spoke softly, "and if anyone does come, I'll handle them. So try to relax a little okay? Rias wants to make sure everyone rests today."
"She did mention having rest between training." Walking for so long caused a bit of the pain to return, evident by the fact that he was limping. "All things considered, I think I'm gonna enjoy my time with you guys. Even if I am a lowly pawn."
"Even that piece has its importance. You'll get used to your role eventually." Around them was a comfortable sort of farmer's market. Fresh produce was everywhere in sight, being sold by smiling people who genuinely enjoy the job they do. Akeno moved around with a familiarity that made it difficult for Naegi to keep up. She lost him within minutes and he ended up sighing loudly.
He wobbled into a short girl with flowing blonde hair. She squealed slightly as her body was thrusted forward and she nearly knocked over some of the fruit in front of her. "Shit, I'm sorry." He quickly apologized and grabbed a few of the fruits midair before placing them back into the display.
"It's okay, trust me." She smiled brightly at him, her small face only emphasizing how wide it was. "You walked in with the dark haired girl right? I saw that you're having trouble with your leg."
"Yeah… it's been bothering me for a bit now." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
"You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure the grace of God will heal you." She clasped her hands around his and for a second, he swore he saw a green light.
"Uhh sure yeah. Really no need to pray though." He tilted his head slightly.
"You have such an odd reaction to the blessings of our lord. Could you be a nonbeliever?"
Thinking for a second before responding, he spoke up. "Something like that, I guess. Never really got along with God."
The beam on her face only widened because of his response. "God can forgive you. No one is ever completely lost. I'm sure one day you'll find your way back to the light and I will be sure to pray for you. What's your name?"
"Naegi. But really, you don't have to pray for me. Even if I'm not lost, there's no need to save someone you don't know."
"As emissaries of God, it's our job to help those in need. Even those of us who have done wrong in the past." Her smile shook a little. "I should really get back to my home. Will I see you around?" She asks, cradling a brown bag.
"Maybe. What's your name?"
"Asia." She waved gently, walking off. As her back turned to him, Naegi felt a chill run down his spine. It was as though she faded before his very eyes. A call from Akeno snapped him out of his head. He took a deep breath and looked off in the small girl's direction, a black feather falling behind her. His heart sunk and his fingertips shook before he witnessed a crow flying above the feather. Naegi exhaled out of relief with shut eyes and smiled before turning back to Akeno.