Disclaimer :

I do not own High School DxD.

High School DxD is owned by Ishibumi Ichiei.

Warning: Bad Grammar

Dialog Tags:

「Spells/ Skills/ Abilities」

thoughts

[long-range communication]

SFX

Chapter 04: Two Days Since

It had been two days since Kenji turned into a devil by Sona. His attempt to make up for the stupidity he showed to Momo when they first met hadn't gone well. Though, he couldn't say that the situation was bad since Momo still talked to him. Unfortunately, there was no sign of affection and their relationship was like a colleague at work.

For his duty as a devil, it could be said that he was doing well as he had managed to gain five contracts so far.

After doing some contracts, Kenji finally understood the reason contract with humans was quite important. Besides monetary gain, there was another benefit. Per the contract signed by a human, he would be stronger even a tiny bit. Of course, the amount of contracts he made wasn't enough to give him considerable growth. If he wanted to have considerable growth in power by contract signing, then he would need at least 2,000 contracts or 100 contracts with the soul as compensation.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the new devil law stated that devils couldn't receive a human's soul as compensation unless the request is on a global level like stopping wars or curing infectious diseases that managed to infect many nations. It seemed the law was made in the hope that the next generation of devils didn't get lazy and needed to train themselves in order to get stronger.

Well, Kenji didn't make a big deal of it. After all, he was someone who preferred moving his body to train rather than making contracts.

Right now, he was dragging the members of the famous perverted trio on the floor, literally, to the Student Council Office after he caught them attempting to peep at the girls of Kendo Club. How did you ask?

Well, he was dragging Matsuda and Motohama by holding the back of their collars with one hand and Issei on another hand.

He didn't bother to hide his strength since almost everyone in the school believed that his physical power came from his well-built body.

"Kyaa! It's Mizushima-san!"

"Woahh! As expected, he's so strong!"

"We finally have a strong guardian from the perverts!"

The female students squealed in admiration as he passed by them in the hallway. Of course, he ignored them and just walked to his destination.

"Die, bastard! Now, let us go!"

"It's unfair! And yeah, let us go!"

Matsuda and Motohama suddenly shouted and started to struggle to free themselves again while Issei was crying for he too felt that the world was cruel to him and his perverted friends.

Kenji sighed and immediately lifted their body which choked them out a bit since his grip on their collar was quite tightened. And because he showed off his strength, the girls were squealing louder than before.

He let out a bitter smile, between looking at the female students who admired him and thinking about Momo who didn't show interest in him. Not that he wasn't happy about gaining attention from them, it was just sad for him since he was admired by other girls, but the one he liked wasn't even looking at him.

Finally, he arrived at the Student Council Office. Now, he had to think about how he could open the door as he didn't want to release the perverts who were now groaning in pain.

Fortunately, someone he knew approached the place with a shout,

"Giant-Aniki!"

His eyebrow rose as the girl, Ruruko, ran up to him. When she stopped at his side, he asked,

"Aniki?"

Ruruko nodded passionately and answered,

"Yes! You are my big brother now! You have proven that you are indeed strong and I hope by becoming your little sister, you can teach me how to become strong!"

Kenji understood what she was referring to. It was yesterday that Tsubasa asked to spar with him. The result was he completely destroyed her while he fought using only one hand. Not just that, he knocked out Tsubasa after toying with her a bit.

He smiled happily as he saw Ruruko come to respect him.

She looks like Odajima back then. Although she is much cuter than that scarface.

Yes. He thought she was similar to the junior he had in BBC who admired him because of his strength.

"Sure, Shorty. I will train you. And could you please open up the door for me? I need to take these three to Kaichou."

Ruruko frowned at him as she asked,

"Could you stop calling me 'Shorty'?

"Not a chance. Now, open the door for me, will you?" He said while grinning playfully at her.

"Mouu!"

She whined, yet still complied, and opened the door for Kenji before she followed him from behind.

There was only Sona in the room as the other members were patrolling the town. When Sona looked at Kenji who lifted the members of the perverted trio on his back, she immediately asked,

"Peeping, again?"

"Yes, Kaichou. Kendo Club," answered him as he dropped the trio to the floor.

Sona sighed in exasperation while massaging her temple and shaking her head tiredly. She then glared sharply at the perverted trio, making them flinched in fear.

"Continue your school patrol, Kenji-san. Take Ruruko with you," said Sona without looking at him.

"Understood. Let's go, Shorty!"

"Okay, Giant-Aniki."

The pair left the office walking side by side and didn't notice Sona who suddenly turned her head to stare at the two with confusion, yet had a slight smile on her face.

"Giant-Aniki, are you hungry?"

That was the question Ruruko asked as soon as they left the office.

"What? Do you expect me to buy you something, Shorty?"

Ruruko looked away as she answered,

"O-Of course, not."

Kenji looked at her and grinned as he ruffled her hair.

"Hahaha. Don't worry. I will buy you anything! My treat!"

"Eh?! Really?!"

Ruruko looked up at him with big puppy eyes which made him more amused.

"Of course. You said that I'm your big brother, so I will treat you as my little sister, Shorty."

"Yes! I know that I'm not wrong for choosing you, Giant-Aniki! Let's go to the canteen, then!"

Ruruko took the hand he used to ruffle her hair and let himself be dragged by her. He chuckled as he shook his head in amusement because of her high tension.

Kenji let out a genuine smile as he and Ruruko ran passed through the students in the hallway who looked at the pair with different expressions on their faces.

Meanwhile, at the Student Council Office, Sona had let Matsuda and Motohama go after informing them about their punishment, which was cleaning all toilets – except for girls' toilets – and windows in the school building. Right now she was waiting for Rias since she needed to discuss Issei's punishment.

Issei was a devil under the red-haired girl, so she had to make sure his punishment wouldn't hinder his devil's duty.

The silence between them hadn't bothered her a bit. After all, she didn't really know Issei on a personal level. But it seemed he was quite uncomfortable being in the room with a beautiful girl like Sona since he was fidgeting while sitting in seiza on the floor.

As she was signing and filling out the paperwork, a knock could be heard from the door.

"Enter."

The door swung open revealing a gorgeous red-haired girl with a pair of green eyes. The red hair showed a bitter smile at Sona after taking a glance at Issei.

Sona immediately moved a chair to the front of her desk using her demonic power and said,

"Welcome, Rias. Please, take a sit."

"Thank you, Sona."

The girl, Rias Gremory, took a sit on the chair Sona prepared for her before she asked,

"So, what my Pawn did this time?"

"You guess."

Rias instantly understood and sighed tiredly. She turned her gaze at Issei who was gulping under the pressure of the sweet, yet deadly smile of his King.

"Issei."

The said devil now was sweating profusely.

"Y-Yes, Buchou?"

"Why did you keep peeping on girls when you usually see me and Asia naked in the morning?"

Sona choked a little before pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

She couldn't believe what she just heard. While she had no problem with Rias falling for Issei, she hoped that her best friend would refrain from doing such an intimate activity before marriage. After all, she was not an ordinary devil. She was the Heiress of Gremory, a noble lady that must maintain her reputation in society.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about it since that was the matter between Rias and her servant. And so, she chose to not comment anything about their activity.

Sona snapped out of her thoughts when Rias asked,

"So, what do you need of me, Sona?"

"I want your agreement on Hyoudou-san's punishment since it will be bad if the punishment hinders his duty as a devil."

Rias wanted to speak, but Sona who knew what she wanted to say immediately cut her off,

"As you know, this is a school matter, which falls on my responsibility. I call you here to discuss what punishment I will give to Hyoudou-san, not the one you will give to him."

Rias's brows curled up after hearing her words. Sona continued,

"He may be a devil under you, but he is a student first. I hope you understand, Rias."

"I will be the one who decides that. I am his King, after all," said Rias.

"No, you won't. I am the President of the Student Council and I will be the one who gives him his punishment."

They were staring at each other before Rias finally backed down, much to Issei's horror. Rias sighed before she said,

"I understand. I will back down on this one."

Sona nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Now, let us discuss his punishment."

After discussing it for about five minutes, Sona managed to get Rias' agreement that Issei would be cleaning the boys' toilets after school before he did his devil's duty for three days.

"Noo! Please! At least, let me clean the girls' toilet, too!"

Sona glared at him and immediately made him shiver and looked down in silence.

If only he's not perverted to a high degree, he will be a great man in the future.

Yes. Sona acknowledged Issei as a devil who deserved her respect since he had done so much for Rias and some members of the red-haired's Peerage.

He even dared to confront Michael about Asia's situation. Unfortunately, no one was perfect. Even the Sekiryuutei himself.

"If that is all, I will take Issei with me."

Sona nodded at Rias and then she left the Student Council Office while dragging Issei. She leaned her back on the chair as she let out a sigh and spoke to herself,

"I don't understand romantic feelings."

Just like Rias who fell in love with Issei, she also wondered about how Genshirou had a crush on her while there were two girls in her Peerage who liked him romantically. She didn't do anything to Genshirou that could make him love her, and as far as she knew, there was nothing Genshirou do to cause the girls to have a feeling for him.

And then there was her new Rook, Mizushima Kenji, who fell to Momo at first sight. Sure, Momo was beautiful, but he knew nothing about her, and in her eyes, it didn't make sense for him to grow a feeling for Momo.

Sona suddenly frowned sadly as she knew that his relationship with his crush wasn't advancing even a step. Momo made sure to always put a wall between her and Kenji.

What made it worse, Sona started to realize the different glint on Momo's eyes whenever she looked at Genshirou.

Even though I don't understand this kind of matter, I can sympathize with you, Kenji-san. For Satan's sake, I can't imagine how he will feel if Momo rejects him.

And the biggest problem she had to deal with, if things came to worst, was to keep her Peerage united. She had to think about that problem carefully if she didn't want the group to break apart from within.

She hoped that what Kenji felt was just a crush and he would forget about Momo after some time. Another one was to hope that he could be together with Momo. But the most logical thing to do was to strengthen his loyalty to her. Sona just needed to find a way for doing so.

Since Kenji hadn't yet opened up to her, she would make sure to talk to him alone to know more about him so she could form a plan to fully gain his loyalty.

Sona straightened her back and suddenly said,

"You must know that I do not appreciate when someone enters the office without permission, even if they are a teacher."

Behind Sona, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed on his chest, was the Govenor-General of Grigori who became a teacher at Kuoh Academy, Azazel. He flared a grin at her as he responded to her,

"I come here to check on Issei as Advisor of Occult Research Club. I must ask, did you really have to punish him that harshly, Sona Sitri? He was just peeping at some girls, after all."

"I'm just copying your Father, Azazel-sama."

Sona smirked as she turned her head to see Azazel scowling at her comment. Yes. One of the reasons Azazel fell from Heaven was peeping on some female humans.

"Where's your Mutated Rook, by the way?"

Sona raised an eyebrow at the question as she responded,

"Why must I tell you after what you did to him? He dislikes you because of that."

Azazel sighed exasperatedly.

"I know, I know. I don't know what was gotten into me yesterday. That's why I want to apologize by taking him to Grigori and giving him an Artificial Sacred Gear."

"Why that counts as an apology? I thought you are giving them to young devils as a token of compensation for Kokabiel's action as long as we agree to it. I even signed up so my Peerage can have Sacred Gears."

Azazel smirked before he took his back off the wall and spread his arms while he said,

"That's the thing. I want to give him the one I created myself. It is kinda special from the rest, as well."

"Oh? Are you giving him the Downfall Dragon Spear?"

He chuckled a bit as he answered,

"Hehehe. That's too much even for a joke. There's no way I give him that. And I won't tell you anything about that Sacred Gear since I want it to be a surprise."

Azazel ignored the irritated glare Sona gave him.

"I see. Good luck with convincing him to forgive you. Now, could you please leave this office? I kinda busy right now."

"Sure, princess."

With that, Azazel walked up to the door and left the office, leaving behind an annoyed Sona by herself.

While Sona was kinda disliked Azazel, she couldn't help but hope Kenji would take the gift from him.

Sona then continued working on the paperwork before she enjoyed her lunch with her Peerage.

After school, Kenji was patrolling the town with Ruruko walking beside him. As they passed the park, his eyes caught the view of Genshirou with Momo who sat themselves on the side of a fountain.

Momo was eating a crepe and happily talked with Genshirou who had a drink in his hand. His eyes widened as he saw Momo smiled happily when they were engaging in a conversation. It was a completely different sight whenever she talked with him, with she put stoic expression all the time.

Still, he kept thinking positively.

It's fine. She knows Genshirou a lot longer than me. She must be still uncomfortable when talking with me.

"Aniki."

Ruruko stared at Kenji worriedly as she also saw the pair who happily talked with each other. He ruffled her hair and smiled at her.

"Don't think weirdly. It's just a pair of friends talking with each other. Let's go, Shorty. After we finish our patrol, I will buy you some cakes if you want."

Ruruko returned the smile as she said,

"I'm not too fond of cakes, Giant-Aniki. Buy me some takoyaki, instead."

"Alright."

The pair then walked out of the place not noticing that an unseen being was looking at Kenji.

The being resembled of a man with long black hair wearing a red luxurious robe. He was smirking as he turned his attention towards Momo and Genshirou who were still talking to each other.

The man was Nolu. The same being who brought Kenji's soul to this World. To be exact, it was his small fragment that the real him sent to watch how things going on with Kenji.

"Hehehe. Looks like he won't get what he wants even with that much power on him. Well, as long as your bigger desire is fulfilled, you won't have a problem, right?"

He knew about his unconscious desire. The desire that he ignored as he dealt with the pain from the past and continued in this life. His desire was simple, yet it would be hard for him to fulfill it if he didn't recognize it himself.

"Will you break the limitation of the World because of your desperation or will you accept your unconscious desire so you can save yourself? Hahaha. I can't wait to see what route you will choose, child."

He hoped nothing from him. He just wanted to entertain himself with his story in this World. Although he didn't tell the full limitation of Kenji's creation ability, Nolu didn't really have a plan for him.

After all, Kenji was just like a character in a story for his eyes. Nothing more, nothing less. He was just chosen from billions of souls who had the potential to fill a certain role. That was why he gave him something that would make him the candidate for that role along with fulfilling his wishes.

And just like that, Nolu's fragment disappeared from the World.

To be Continued