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 05: Train of Thoughts
On July 20th, summer break officially started from today. Today was a day off for Sona and the members of her Peerage so they could prepare themselves for their journey to Underworld tomorrow. As such, he was now relaxing at the side of the pool in his house at Kuoh, leaning himself on the back of an outdoor chair while listening to music from his phone and smoking cigarettes.
Because of who he was in his previous life, he couldn't hold the temptation to not smoke. The only people who knew of this habit of his were his family and everyone who worked at their houses.
No one commented about it since the workers didn't have the guts to reprimand him and his parents didn't care about him as long as he didn't caught smoking in formal events.
His elder sister tried to make him stop. But since she failed after many attempts, she decided to just remind him that he was only allowed to smoke five cigarettes per day, to which he agreed.
Kenji wanted to keep this secret from anyone else. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if the student council members knew about his habit.
Kenji didn't fear Sona. Yes, she could be scary, but the one he feared the most was Momo. Their relationship was like an acquaintance at best, without any significant development. If she found out about this habit of his, then his chance of making her his couple would be crumbled to zero.
As he exhaled the smoke, his mind thought about the next event, which he most anticipated.
The Youth Devil Gathering.
It was the event for young heirs or heiresses from Pillar Clans to meet each other and showed their faces to the Four Great Satans and the Elder Council.
His mouth morphed into a smirk while hoping the event would follow the canon since he wanted to show off his skill to the devils in Underworld. No. Not only to the devils but to the other sides of the Biblical Faction as well. Especially, Azazel.
He met Azazel when Sona introduced him to Rias' Peerage and the Governor-General had managed to leave a bad impression in his eyes.
It wasn't a secret that Azazel was fascinated by Sacred Gears. It might be the reason he personally advised and helped the Gremory group in their training for Rating Game against Sona.
Azazel immediately lost interest in him when Sona said he didn't possess a Sacred Gear. Since then, he would have to hold the urge to scowl every time he saw Azazel and never talked to him outside class.
If Sona really faced Rias, Kenji would make sure to destroy them with just physical power. He wanted to see Azazel's face when a just-recently reincarnated devil who didn't possess a Sacred Gear defeated his favorite students by just using his fist and his feet.
Besides that, he wanted to look cool in front of Momo by showing off his strength. Another thing, it would give Sona an advantage in fulfilling her dream, if her Peerage won against the superior group according to the fans and critics.
At the end of the day, he wanted Sona to succeed. After all, Sona Sitri had become an individual who earned his respect by how she managed her Peerage and her critical thinking.
In addition, he didn't want to disappoint the cute little junior who he started to see as his little sister.
His mobile phone on the table beside him made a 'ding' sound. As he checked it on without pausing the music, he smiled at the notification which said that he received a message from Genshirou.
[Yo, bro! How is your preparation for tomorrow? Man, I can't wait to go to Underworld!]
He chuckled looking at the passionate message. He typed the reply and sent it.
[I packed my things already. You're getting too excited for someone who will go to hell, you know?]
He had finished a cigarette and was about to lighten up another one when the reply arrived.
[It's Underworld, not Hell! I thought Kaichou already told you that those are two different places! And you know it will be our first time to go there, so be excited about it!]
[Alright! Wayy~! Underworld is the best! There. Happy?]
[Fuck you.]
Again, he chuckled in amusement after looking at the short reply from Genshirou.
[LOL. Relax, Gen. I was just kidding. Truth is, I'm excited too. I want to see the Sitri's territory in Underworld. Bet it will be a sight to behold.]
It was true. Kenji was curious about Sitri's territory. He wondered how large their territory was considering Sitri had better income than Gremory from their high-ranked medical facilities and top-tier medicines that were the most needed items second only to Phenex's Tears.
A reply from Genshirou came in.
[Yeah. That, too. Right, man. Gotta go. Need to shop with my sister. See you tomorrow!]
[Right. See ya!]
Kenji smiled warmly as he thought about Kaho, Genshirou's sister. He had met her and her other sibling, Gengo when he visited Genshirou's home.
Kaho was a cute little girl, but more mature and reliable than Genshirou himself. Surprisingly, she knew that her eldest brother was a reincarnated devil. When Genshirou found out about it, he had a dread on his face probably thinking that his little sister would hate her. But then, Kaho stated that she had no problem with who Genshirou was now and understood why he did it.
Turned out, Genshirou chose to be reincarnated as a devil in the hope to gain money so he could support his siblings after their parent's death.
Kenji offered himself to help them, but Genshirou refused since he didn't want to be a burden to his friend. Still, Kenji made a note to occasionally send some gifts to the Saji family.
Knowing Genshirou a little more, his respect for the young man soared to high heaven. He was willing to sacrifice his humanity for his family.
He is a real man. No wonder Momo developed a crush on him in the canon, Kenji thought while blowing a cloud of smoke out of his mouth and nose.
Yes, Kenji respected Genshirou now. But he wouldn't let him have Momo without a fight even after what he saw days ago.
After that, his phone was ringing and his smile reappeared when he realized who was calling him.
"Alright, Sis."
[Alright, Ken. How does it feel to come back to Japan? What about school?]
Yes. The one who called him was his elder sister. The second child of the Mizushima family. Mizushima Mari.
"Feels good. School is alright."
[It's great, then. Oh! Did you meet the daughter of my devil contractor?]
Kenji chuckled for a while. It seemed she was quite curious about Sona since she was the client of her mother. And now, it was time for Kenji to drop the bombshell.
"Not just met her. I become a devil under her."
Silence.
That was what happened for nearly fifteen seconds before an ear-piercing scream echoed from the other side.
[YOU WHAT?! W-When did that happen?! Why?!]
Kenji had to put his phone away from his ear. Well, the scream wouldn't really affect his hearing. He just did so out of habit. After putting his phone near his ear again, he answered,
"Relax, Sis. You can make someone deaf, you know? Well, I was turned on my first day at school. As for my reason, you know the stories Layla told me, right?"
[Yes. I know about them. Is there any connection?]
h"Yeah. I want to feel the thrill of supernatural life. Besides, becoming a devil under the direct Heiress of the Prince household will grant me independence from those pillocks."
Kenji could hear his sister sigh softly before she spoke,
[I get it now. Well, hope you are happy becoming a devil. And hey, you're a devil now. So you can marry me just fine, right? I know incest is not frowned upon in de–]
"Shut it, Sis! I won't marry you even if I'm a devil now!"
Kenji yelled while blushing wildly because of her sister's remark.
[What?! Why not?! I thought you love me, Ken!]
One of his eyes twitched at the desperate tone his sister was using. And because of Mari, now he could truly sympathize with Sona for having a sis-con sibling.
"I indeed love you, Sis. But that's just sibling love, you wally! You of all people should know that marriage between siblings is unhealthy! The children born from incest will have a high risk of having genetic disorders!"
[Then, can you tell me how humanity survives for long? You know, since the children of Adam and Eve must be doing some incests to populate the planet.]
"I don't know! Maybe God did something about it? On second thought, I also don't care about that."
He smoked his cigar while trying to cool off his brain from his sister's mild insanity.
[Hahaha. Alright. Geez. Oh, by the way, you seem fine after mentioning God. How so?]
"Because I'm not praying. For example, if I say OMG when I'm surprised, my head will hurt since it counts as prayer. Don't know why, and don't want to think about it."
[Hahaha. Well, Ken. I will visit you on the first of August. We'll be having fun together and I want to meet with your King.]
Kenji put out his cigar by crushing it with his hand before he answered,
"Sorry, Sis. My King will be back home tomorrow and all members of her Peerage, including me, have to accompany her for an important event. I don't know when we'll be back to earth."
[Eh? You will be visiting Underworld? Wow! Can I tag along?]
"Yeah, sure. If you want to be turned into a kebab, please take the front seat."
He laughed when he heard Mari was whining.
[So mean! Haahh... I really want to see the Underworld.]
"Don't worry, Sis. I'll send you some pictures. Hell, I can try to ask Leviathan-sama's autograph for you!"
[Really?! An autograph from one of the Four Satans?! Yes! I love you, Ken! Oh! I must go now! Have fun in Underworld!]
After that, his sister cut off the call. Kenji could only shake his head while chuckling in amusement.
His elder sister was really one of the best parts of his second life.
Kenji who wore a white plain shirt with a black leather jacket over it rode his Yamada VMAX to Kuoh Station. He had his backpack on his back and black sunglasses put on. He wore black long pants and covered his feet with a pair of black loafers shoes. Of course, unfortunately, he rode the bike without wearing a helmet.
He entered the parking lot and parked his bike there before he took off his sunglasses, placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket, and leisurely walked to the station's convenience store which was the meeting point for Sona's Peerage.
Reaching his destination, he held his breath when he saw something that was so beautiful for his eyes. There, sitting on the bench, was Momo Hanakai who wore a white sundress along with white shoes.
He got his eyes fixed on her as he stopped his pace, ignoring the presence of other members who were watching him with amusement except for the stoic Sona, the frowning Tsubaki, and Reya with a blank expression on her face.
As she noticed Kenji who seemed to have been struck by lightning, Momo rose from her seat and gave him a bow. Fortunately, he could react without delay and bowed at her too.
Just then, Ruruko dashed and tackled him with a hug.
"Giant-Aniki, you're late!"
Kenji chuckled a bit and ruffled her hair, which became a habit before he said,
"Haha. Sorry, Shorty. Got things to take care of. You already ate breakfast, didn't you?"
Ruruko grinned at him as she released her hug and nodded passionately.
"It's good that you remember what I told you to never skip breakfast."
Sona steadily went to him and spoke,
"Good morning, Kenji-san. As you can see, you are the last one to arrive. How's your morning?"
Seeing Sona smiling, Kenji did the same to not appear rude in front of his King. He responded,
"Good morning, Kaichou. It's alright."
"I see. Well, I'm sorry to you, but we must get going before we're late from the schedule. You haven't eaten breakfast yet, so please eat on the train. The staff will serve you."
Kenji slightly widened his eyes, surprised that Sona could tell that he hadn't eaten anything. Ruruko also widened her eyes but for a different reason.
"H-How can you tell?"
"You skipped breakfast even after reminding me so much about not doing that?!"
He chuckled nervously as Ruruko pouted angrily at him. Then, Sona put her mouth close to his ear and whispered,
"Secret. And I must warn you to stop smoking as well. Or else, you won't have a chance with Momo and I will give you a harsh punishment at a later date."
Now, Kenji was pale as a corpse. How could Sona know about his smoking habit? That was the question in his mind.
However, he knew that Sona won't give him an answer so he didn't voice out his thought. Instead, he chose to lie in the hope to escape the punishment.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kaichou," said Kenji while scratching the right side of his neck.
"You know what I'm talking about. Stop lying, Kenji-san."
Kenji gulped at the sweet tone Sona used to say that to him. Now he was sure that lying wouldn't work. So after Sona pulled herself away from him, Kenji could only say,
"U-Understood, Kaichou."
Ruruko who felt left out asked him,
"What are you talking about with Kaichou, Aniki?"
Kenji didn't answer and just looked away while ruffling her hair once again. Meanwhile, Sona satisfiedly nod before she looked at the other members of her Peerage.
"Alright. Everyone, we will depart to my home. Follow me."
They nodded to Sona and followed her. Sona was walking with Tsubaki on her right side, the other girls were just behind them closely, while the two boys were quite separated from them in the back.
"Hey. What's wrong with you? Your relationship with her hasn't developed well," whispered Genshirou to Kenji as he walked on his left side.
Kenji smiled bitterly as he answered,
"I know. Still, I won't give up yet. I'm sure there will be a way to make her put attention to me."
It was a half-truth. He already thought of a way to impress her in the Rating Game, but he clearly didn't have the knowledge to appear cool in other areas besides fighting strength.
Genshirou put his hand on Kenji's back seeing his bitter smile. He could sympathize with him as he had the same issue.
"Well, let's talk about other things."
Kenji quickly agreed with Genshirou as he nodded his head.
On the other hand, the girls were having their conversation as well.
"So, has anything changed, Momo?" asked Tomoe while grinning at Momo.
Momo shook her head and it made all the girls frown slightly.
"He's handsome and wealthy, but I haven't seen anything else besides his crush on me. Instead, f-for some reason I grow a feeling on Saji," whispered Momo to the girls so the boys couldn't hear the conversation.
To say that they were shocked was an understatement. Reya, Tomoe, and Tsubasa nearly froze in their step. Ruruko bit her lips while looking down. Even Tsubaki widened her eyes. And for some reason, Sona was frowning deeply while closing her eyes.
"Y-You're kidding, right?" Asked Tsubasa with a heavy tone.
Momo once again shook her head.
"N-No, I am not. Since I know his reason for becoming a devil, I started getting attracted to him. I-I am sorry, Reya, Tomoe."
Now, things were complicated. Momo knew that Reya and Tomoe had a crush on Genshirou since they both told her about it. And then, she started to grow feeling for the boy her friends had their crush on. To make things more complex, Genshirou had a crush on Sona. Not only that, he had become one of the closest people to Kenji, who had a crush on Momo.
Ruruko took a glance at Kenji who was chatting with Genshirou while laughing together. Even so, she could see that her senior would occasionally steal a glance at Momo during the conversation with his friend.
But then, Ruruko noticed that his laugh was void of joy. The eyes that glanced at the girl he liked were wavering.
She widened her eyes as she realized what caused him to look like that.
C-Could it be?! No! There is no way Aniki heard that!
Ruruko turned her head away and looked at the floor while biting her lips hard. Now, Ruruko was scared of what would happen to her big brother figure.
Realizing how heartbroken he was when he found out about Momo's crush on Genshirou, Ruruko could do nothing but be worried. She could feel her tears were forcing to pour from her eyes as she wondered the reason Momo had a crush on another guy instead.
Sure, Kenji wasn't perfect. His feeling for Momo could be categorized as too heavy. But, Ruruko knew that he was genuine in his love.
What should I do?
As Ruruko thought about what she had to do to comfort him, they arrived in front of an elevator that would go down to a secret station where the train to the Underworld would pick them up.
Genshirou had his mouth hung open as they saw the capital of Sitri territory, named Citrii, through the train's window. The city was like a place for different eras mixed together. For example, there were cars floating on the road as Tsubaki said they used gravitational machines as the replacement for tires, common cars from 1980, and even classic cars that seemed to have been produced in 1910. There were even some horse-drawn carriages passing by.
And surprise, Tsubaki said that the size of Sitri's territory was the same as the whole of Russia. Clearly much bigger than the one Gremory possessed.
As expected of Sitri, thought Genshirou while he observed the clothing of the citizens. They wore varied outfits ranging from something that could be called classic to modern.
Tsubaki who noticed where his eyes lay explained,
"You can guess the age of devils by looking at their clothing or their vehicle, even though it won't be a hundred percent accurate since there are devils born in the modern era who like classic things."
Genshirou nodded without looking at Tsubaki and said,
"I see. It's because of preferences for the era they were born and grow up. So that's why there are diversities in clothing, buildings, and vehicles."
"That's correct, Saji."
While they were enjoying their ride while looking at views of the big city, Kenji was in the dining car by himself. With a glass of wine on the table and a cigar in his hand, he just stared at the outside view with blank eyes.
He didn't care if Sona or anyone of her Peerage found out. After everything he heard on the station, he just didn't care anymore.
Why did I come to this World again?
He chuckled bitterly as he put the cigar in his mouth and started smoking it. Kenji did know that he had failed. Momo had grown a feeling for Genshirou when his relationship with her didn't grow closer even a step.
Kenji really wanted to try to create an ability to affect Momo's free will so he could make her love him. However, he didn't know whether the World would let him do that or not.
Besides, he felt that the immoral way was so low even for him. As such, he didn't do it and wouldn't do it.
Do I still have a chance? Is this really the end? Is it over when I barely even started?
The train of negative thoughts still ran through his mind even after he took a sip of his wine. He closed his eyes and rubbed them to stop the tears from flowing out. Tears didn't suit him, after all.
He then clenched his chest as he wondered,
Is this meaningless, after all? Even with these abilities I have, am I still fated to fail?
Then, the thoughts of the path that he should've taken in the first place.
If only I asked to be born as a pure-blood noble devil, I can make her as my Queen. If only I hadn't wasted my time trying to gain attention from my fucking parents in this life, I will have had a higher chance to approach her before she became a devil. If only...
If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only...
If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only... If only...
His brain kept playing different scenarios that could've happened if only he took different routes.
So much lost in his thoughts made him not realize that someone was approaching him and then smacked the back of his head. Of course, he felt the pain of the smack like it was a light tap. But that was enough to cut him out of his thoughts.
Kenji turned his head and saw a small girl who was now busy blowing on her hand in pain standing beside his table.
With a blank face, he asked,
"What's wrong with you, Shorty?"
As she put down her hand, Ruruko growled at him and shouted,
"What's wrong with me?! No! The correct one is, what's wrong with you, Giant-Aniki?! You are smoking and drinking! You're still underage, you know?!"
Suddenly, Kenji glared sharply at Ruruko which made her back away a bit. He put his cigarette on the ashtray before saying coldly,
"Why do you care?"
That did it. All the tears she held back from the train station until now were flowing out from her eyes as she answered,
"Because I look up to you as my big brother! It might only be a week, but you are my brother in all but blood now! And I don't want you to be like this! Give me back! Give me back my brother who is always kind to me while having a stupid smile on his face!"
Ruruko covered her face as she cried loudly. Looking at her now, Kenji felt a lot amount of guilt. He bit his lips and stared at the floor, not having the courage to look at her. Her rant wasn't over though.
"I know! I know that you are hurting right now! I want to comfort you, but that's what I get?! A cold glare?! I hate you!"
"Ruruko..."
Then, Ruruko ran away from the place. Kenji tried to hold her by calling her name, but it was ignored as she tried dashing into the passenger car without even looking back.
Using his speed, he managed to catch Ruruko's hand and held it tightly as he had no intention to let it go.
"Let me go!" Shouted Ruruko as she struggled to release her hand from his grip.
"Sorry, Ruruko," Kenji said softly.
"No! I won't forgive you! I don't want to see you anymore!"
Ruruko didn't even look at him. She was still crying, and her tears were stabbing his heart just like the last sentence she said.
"I.. I'm sorry.. Please.. don't.. don't leave me..."
Ruruko stopped struggling as his tone was wavering. She then turned away to look at him and was shocked that she found him kneeling while having tears pouring.
"A-Aniki?"
"Please.. look at me..."
What is happening? Thought Ruruko.
Ruruko was stunned looking at the current Kenji. Even with all his strength, he appeared so weak right now. Even with his big body, he seemed so small compared to his fear.
He appears to be very scared. He seems like...
A lone child in the dark room, or someone who couldn't find his home. He seemed so desperate and lost.
Her anger might have not disappeared completely. But after looking at how fragile he was, Ruruko chose to immediately hug his head and gently ruffled his hair as she whispered,
"Sshh... It's okay, Aniki. I'm sorry for being angry at you. I won't leave you and will always look at you. I promise."
She still could hear his sobbing as she kept whispering comforting words to him.
"W-What should I do, Ruruko? I-I failed."
Even though he couldn't see it, Ruruko shook her head and smiled softly at him.
"Not yet, Aniki. Not yet. You still have a chance. You just have to need to fight harder than before. You have to show how strong you are once again."
Kenji then looked up at her. He was still wavering and still looked so vulnerable.
"B-But what if I fail again?"
"Just like you told me in our training, you still have to get up. For even if you lose once or twice, as long as you don't give up, you will still have a chance to win in the future!"
Finally, Kenji showed a smile, genuine smile, on his face.
"It's not that simple, but I will try. Thanks, Shorty."
"Geh! You call me using that name again, means you are better now! Oh! I can't wait to tell everyone that you were acting like a baby!"
Kenji glared playfully at her as he said,
"Don't you dare, you brat!"
Ruruko just stuck out her tongue at him, gaining a chuckle from their mouth afterward. And as Ruruko's embrace lessened, Kenji suddenly stiffened and said,
"Not yet, Ruruko. Let me stay like this for a while."
She sighed softly before she tightened her embrace and ruffled his hair once again.
"Sure, Aniki."
"Thanks."
He had a smile plastered on his face as the warmth melted a bit of all the negative thoughts in his mind. The pair stayed like that until the train they rode stopped at its destination.
To be Continued