Chapter 21

Junichiro looked up from his work as the alarm he set went off. Today was the day he was going out on his first, of hopefully many, date with Mittelt. There was no need for them to spend the whole day on the date, rather they decided on a nice evening date. With that being the case he'd spent a good portion of the day working on projects. The one currently in his hands look like nothing more than a small sphere about seven and a half centimeters in diameter and absolutely covered in runes.

After quickly shutting off the alarm clock, he finished carving one last rune on the sphere and placed it inside of a small wooden box where it joined three more spheres that were identical to it in every way. It was a small project he was working on for when he became a devil, so something to spend a bit of free time on here and there and not something he felt the need to rush.

Once the sphere was set aside, he left the workshop to head into the house and his room. A quick shower and shave, yeah he needed to shave the annoying peach fuzz off of his face now, and he was looking through his clothing for something nice to wear.

Ever since he'd started selling his items to the wider supernatural world through the Grigori, he'd started to really make a lot of money. He had literally billions of yen sitting in his bank account now. His wardrobe reflected that wealth as it contained clothing from simple blue jeans all the way to a custom fit suit. He one day wanted to own a nice Armani suit for himself but refused to get it until he was an adult. There was no deep meaning behind the suit being Armani other than it was a fantasy he'd had in both lives. To him it was a sign of wealth, prestige, and maturity.

He decided to go for a mix of formal and casual for the date. To that end he grabbed a pair of higher end black jeans, a nice dark blue button up shirt that would look blue under lights and black in low light conditions, a lighter blue necktie, and a black vest. He wanted to dress nice for Mittelt, but he also wanted to be comfortable. It was nearing the end of fall so he grabbed his favorite leather jacket as well.

Once he was dressed and his hair was appropriately styled, he looked himself over in the mirror and smiled. He'd changed a lot physically over the last year since he'd moved to Kuoh. A steady diet, working out, sword training, and his Artificing work, had transformed him quite a bit. His face had sharpened up a little showing a surprisingly nice set of cheekbones that had been hidden under what baby fat had remained to keep his face round. Even living on the streets he hadn't gone hungry too often so malnutrition hadn't had much of a chance to set in.

Aside from his face becoming leaner and starting to look more mature, his body was also changing. He'd grown up a fair bit gaining enough height to be taller than Mittelt. At the same time his shoulders had broadened some and his muscles had seen a definite increase. Not as much as a true muscle head would have gained in a year, but enough that it would be patently obvious in a set of before and after photos. He was definitely strong for his age and had would likely be getting a lot stronger a lot faster now that he was a Sacred Gear holder.

Finished examining himself, he grabbed two more items to finish his outfit. The first was a pocket watch with a golden chain. When wearing a vest one must always have a pocket watch with a nice golden chain draped along the front of it. It was just common sense. The last item he grabbed was a knife with a sheath covered in runes to keep it from ever being noticed by anyone or anything that wasn't sufficiently strong. He could even walk through metal detectors with it. It might be slightly odd to carry around an enchanted knife when he had Sword Birth but he would feel naked if he didn't have at least one solid real weapon on himself when leaving his home. He was forgoing his revolver and utility belt as it was and was dearly hoping that wouldn't be a mistake.

He double checked to make sure he had his wallet, cell phone, and keys before leaving his bedroom. Stepping into the main area of the house he spotted Mittelt and came to a stop. Like himself she wasn't fully dressed to the nines but she clearly put a bit of thought into her outfit. Her style was heavily influenced by the Gothic Lolita style and that was reflected in almost every outfit she wore.

Tonight she wore her hair back in her preferred twin styles with something he couldn't quite name that looked similar to what a high class maid might wear on their head. Her main outfit was a black dress with thin shoulder straps and a white petticoat beneath the skirt to give it more volume. From beneath the skirt he could see the straps of garter belts holding up her pure white stockings. The outfit was finished off with a pair of, surprisingly, red shoes with seven and a half centimeter (three inch) heels.

After raking his eyes up and down her body, Junichiro gave Mittelt a bright grin and a thumbs up, "Nice!"

Mittelt calmly looked him over in return before smiling, "You don't look so bad yourself."

He walked over to her and offered her his arm, "M'lady."

Mittelt snorted and gave him a playful slap before linking her arm with his, "None of that."

Arm in arm, the pair of them left the house and made their way over to a small sports car that Junichiro had gotten Mittelt to purchase for him. While he loved his Vespa, he'd long outgrown and and needed larger vehicles for his mundane shopping needs. To that end he'd bought a nice sedan with plenty of interior space and a large trunk. Shortly after that he'd felt a bit of a need for some speed and bought a sleek black two-seater sports car. Due to his age, both were registered in the name of Mittelt's mundane identity.

He guided Mittelt to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Once she was inside he made his way over to the drivers seat with a wide grin. He didn't drive this particular car all that much so it was a bit of a treat to get behind its wheel. Slipping the key in the ignition and giving it a twist caused the engine to roar to life and then purr as it idled. Like most things he owned, Junichiro had taken the time to do some rune work and add some enchantments to the car. It was essentially a rolling notice-me-not specifically target at law enforcement. Despite his ability to drive without issue and obey all traffic laws, he was still noticeably young and having multiple layers of charms would keep him from getting pulled over.

Aside from that, he added more safety features to the vehicle. There was no way he was going out because of a stupid car crash! He also enchanted the gas tank to conjure premium fuel using ambient mana. He never had to refill the tank, ever, and his car had zero emissions as the conjured material all reverted back to its original matter, usually air.

He drove the car, obeying all traffic laws to keep from breaking the notice based enchantments, until they arrived at a nice restaurant. It wasn't the classiest high end place in Kuoh by any means, but it was still a nice place that was perfect for a first date. He could have taken Mittelt to the best restaurant in town, but he couldn't justify it to himself. He actually felt a little uncomfortable with what he would be paying for the food they'd eat on their date. His time living with hardly any money and eating whatever he could get his hands on had made it hard for him to ever feel comfortable paying huge prices for something he knew he could just make himself.

Once they were inside and seated with menu's, Junichiro glanced at Mittelt and gave her a smile. Asking her something stupid like 'how was your day?' was out of the question. Rather, he focused on trying to get to know her a little better, "You know, I don't think I've ever asked you this before but, do you have a dream or something you want to accomplish?"

Mittelt looked at Junichiro and studied him for a moment as if to ascertain if he was being serious. After a few moments she answered, "There are two things I'd like. Both impossible."

Junichiro gestured for her to go on. She let out a sigh and looked a little despondent, "The first is I would like to get stronger, only more skilled." Seeing his confusion she elaborated, "Without outside interference, Angels cannot get stronger. We are as god made us and no amount of effort on our part will allow us to get stronger. That only changes when some outside influence is introduced, such as a Sacred Gear or being reincarnated as a devil. Things like that."

Junichiro frowned at that. He had no idea if that was how it worked for Angels, Fallen or not, within the canon show. All the angels were either strong or weak when introduced and either died or never got stronger. Akeno was the only one he knew for certain got stronger but she was only half fallen angel, half human, and then reincarnated as a devil. So she wasn't exactly a good measure to place against other angels. He also couldn't recall if Irina got stronger and gained more wings after being turned into an angel with the Brave Saints thing. Even if she did it didn't matter since she wasn't an angel made by God but rather made in a similar manner to reincarnated devils.

He really only had one reply to that, "That sucks."

Mittelt nodded, "So for my entire existence I can expect to be fodder unless a miracle happens and I get something to change my circumstances."

After a rather annoyed sounding sigh, she moved onto her second dream, "The other thing I'd like it to look older, to physically be older. I've looked like this since the day I was created and will look like this until the day I die. Angels don't ever die of old age, we are ageless and unchanging. Again, unless there's some sort of external influence. Take Kokabiel as an example. Back in heaven, before the war, he was actually rather handsome, a lot like the others. Except, once the war broke out he became increasingly violent against the devils and brutally slaughtered them, practically bathing in their blood. It only got worse after his violence caused his fall. Eventually he bathed in so much devil blood on the battlefields that his looks began mutating from the bloods influence. Now he doesn't look all that different from some devils. Anyone looking at him would be able to just nod and go 'yup, that dude's evil' based on nothing but his looks."

Junichiro listened and enjoyed learning a bit more about the world and its inhabitants. He wondered at using the example of Kokabiel for the angels, but then couldn't recall any angels that didn't look at least somewhat decent. Kokabiel really was a massive divergence from the other angels. Even the fedora one from the beginning of the series at least looked like a normal guy and not an evil elf. When she wound down he smiled at her, "Well, I'm not sure what to do for your first dream other than put out the word that I'm looking for a second Sacred Gear. I could maybe run some scans and see if there's anything else that I can maybe do to help you break the limits placed on you at your creation."

Seeing her look of surprise at the offer made him smiled more while he continued, "I can definitely help you with the second though. With a good scan and the right ingredients, I could make an ageing potion for you. It's something you would need to drink at least once a week, but it should physically age you just like a normal person for as long as you take it. Once you stop, you'll stop growing older and remain at whatever age you picked from then on."

If the first offer surprised her, the second floored her. Her eyes were wide open and lightly glistening as she stared at him, "You... can make me grow older? I don't have to look like a child anymore?"

Junichiro smiled and reached across their table to gently take her hand in his, "Shouldn't be all that hard. It'll take a few years and a potion that's likely to taste like ass, but yeah. I can turn you into the stunning woman that God failed to make you."

And wasn't that an ego booster? Taking a literally piece of God's handmade work and making it better. That was sort of irrelevant at the same time though. After all, making Mittelt a bit older wasn't about one upping Big G, it was about making Mittelt happy.

Their dinner proceeded from there with the pair talking about lighter topics. They didn't require small talk in their relationship anymore. There were times they would go days without really talking to each other as they got lost in their own worlds doing their own things. Living together for a while with someone will either bring you closer together or drive you apart.

As they began on their deserts, Mittelt looked across the table at Junichiro, "You know, you never really talk about your past all that much."

It wasn't so much a question as her letting him know she was interested and willing to listen if he wanted to talk. Junichiro let out a small sigh and set down the spoon he'd been eating his desert with, "There's really not a whole lot to say about my past before meeting up with Azazel. My mom was a whore and never really cared about me. I can't recall a single time she ever did more than the bare minimum for me. Dad? No idea who he even is. I don't even know if he's aware of my existence. I know I could make something to track him down, but what's the point? If I did what would I say to him? 'Hey! Remember that whore you banged something like fifteen years ago? Well, I popped out nine months after that. Surprise!' So, I've been alone for the majority of my life."

"When my mother died, I was only ten years old. Of course, I got shipped off to the nearest orphanage where I was beaten in the face with reality. No one ever wants the kid of a whore. I got lucky though. A few of the older kids with similar lives to mine took me under their wings and taught me about the real world. I grew up fast and ran away after a year. I decided if I was going to live a shitty life, that I was going to live that shitty life on my terms. From then on I lived on the streets, learned from other street kids, had some weird encounters, and was eventually found by Azazel."

He took a calming breath and let it out in a long sigh. He didn't like thinking about his past. The memories from his previous life's childhood weren't all that clear, just a few bits and pieces of good and bad times that any adult might remember. At least that childhood had been really normal, even if he hadn't known his father in that lifetime either. Maybe he was destined to never have one? It didn't matter to him so he stopped thinking about it and focused on Mittelt, "Your turn."

Mittelt let out a sigh herself and nodded, "Fair's fair. Well, obviously I have no mother and you know who my Father is. Life as an angel was... It's not exactly boring, working for father was fulfilling, but it wasn't anything like living on Earth. Then that shit head, Lucifer, got his panties in a twist and things went to hell. Father was never the same after that and the war only made things worse. Father was always a bit strict, but once the war began he lost it and became a thousand times worse."

She took a moment to take a bite of her desert and gather her thoughts before she continued, "It was a few hundred years into the war before I was sent to the front lines. I'd never left Heaven before then, I was one of the youngest angels. I think that's why I was made this way. The first time I saw a mature human woman, was the first time I felt jealousy. Sure, I had older sisters that looked more mature than me, but big titties Gabriel and the others never sparked jealousy in me because, like me, that was how they were made. But humans? They grow, change, mature. Something I would never be able to do. Before meeting humans, and Devils, and all other races, that wasn't a big deal. No angel grew and matured. But once I realized every other race did while I was destined to always be a child? I was consumed by jealousy and fell."

Junichiro reached across the table and gently grasped Mittelt's hand in his own. He gave it a gentle squeeze while she kept tears from leaking out of her glistening eyes. She squeezed his hand back and took a few deep breaths to get her emotions under control. Once she had herself back under control, she gave him a small smile, "It's been a long time since I even thought about those days. With your help I just might be able to put those thoughts behind me forever."

He gave her a comforting smile and a nod, "You can count on it. It might take me a little bit to track down the right ingredients, but I know I can help you with at least becoming more mature in body." He gave her a cheeky smirk, "I can't do much for your mind though."

Mittelt snorted at that and finally took her hand out of his, "Jerk."

"Brat."

The pair of them smiled and once more returned to their deserts and lighter topics. Both thought it was a nice first date.