"We're here!" Akeno and her friends excitedly announced their arrival in the Himejima household as Shuri gladly received them.
Today was the day for the teenagers who had a sleepover. The agenda for this sudden sleepover? To prepare for their autumn holiday road trip with the Himejima family the very next day.
While certainly not their first sleepover, and probably not the last, this felt special for them. Perhaps with the fact they get to wake up together and go out as if they were a family was the appeal of this particular sleepover.
"Welcome back everyone." Shuri greeted them. "I hope all of you are not too excited for the trip, you need the energy for tomorrow after all."
Issei held back from scoffing, not wanting to disrespect the Himejima matriarch's kindness but he couldn't stop his snark. "We definitely won't. We're not children anymore."
"Says the youngest among us." Sona countered him immediately which earned Rias a snort and Issei grumbling. "Only by one year, smarty pants."
Akeno giggled at their bantering. Even after many years, they seem to find ways to take a snipe at each other which leads to a comedic moment. "Come on both of you, we better wash up first then both of you can banter later at the dinner table."
Everyone followed her words and cleaned themselves up. Girls went to do so first at Issei's insistence, he reasoned that they would take longer which earned the ire of Sona once again; And Akeno laughed at his idiocy once again.
Shuri watched the teenager's interaction fondly, a part of her remembered the few great friends she had when she was around her age. Her mood soured when she remembered how it ended, especially one of them.
She was still glad that her brother and Suzaku still saw her in a favorable light.
When Issei had his turn to clean himself up, the girls quickly assisted Shuri in kitchen work which she didn't mind much. She had long been beaten by the determination and insistence of the teenage girls who wished to learn from her.
"Hey girls, I'm done" Issei entered the kitchen and announced his presence to them. He immediately could tell the girls had fallen into their familiar kitchen roles.
Rias would focus on preparing the meat and vegetables for Shuri to quickly cook them; Sona focused on making the soup as she excelled at making it at the right temperature despite her insistence of still having more to learn; And Akeno brewed a fragrant tea for all to share.
Their harmonious teamwork always mesmerized Issei, describing them in his own way as a team of doctors who were used to the field work.
Not wanting to feel useless, he went closer to the kitchen. "Anything I can help to set up?" He asked Shuri.
"You can help set up the utensils while we do the finishing touch."
Issei obliged, quickly setting up the necessary utensils. It's another normal thing that he would participate in whenever there was a sleepover.
If he were to think about it… sleepovers seemed to be quite normal between his childhood friends. None of them minded the implication of a boy having sleepovers or even being a great friend, being open minded about it too.
His parents neverminded it too so could they be abnormalities in Japanese society?
He smiled to himself at that thought. 'Well, the world can think that way and we still keep doing it. I wouldn't mind if this is our version of normal.'
"Incoming hot water!" Sona announced as she quickly approached the dining table with the massive pot of soup without breaking a sweat.
'Well… I'm still wondering what's up with the strength.'
Cleria Belial and Masaomi Taegaki slowly trudge through one of the many forests in Kuoh, this one connected from Kuoh High School all the way to the city.
With an oncoming assassination attempt on both of them, it was decided that they would be better off disappearing from the face of the world for protection.
Cleria grunted on one particular jump from a small cliff, her heavy backpack made the impact harder.
"You good?" Masaomi asked his girlfriend the moment she grunted.
"Yeah. I got the Devil's strength, remember?"
He shook his head; He does remember that his girlfriend has strength beyond a human. "I mean how you feel."
Cleria paused for a moment and Masaomi felt bad. The situation clearly affected her, but he was being insensitive to her and asked about it anyway.
"Sorry." He quickly apologized and only received his girlfriend shaking her head. "Let's sort it out once we get out." This time she nodded and they continued their journey through the forest.
They would only take a few steps forwards until Cleria stopped and glanced around. Masaomi tensed and became on guard, one hand on his holy saber ready to defend at a moment's notice.
A purple projectile came towards them at lighting speed yet it was parried with relative ease by Masaomi. The projectile flew back to its caster and hit true by the yelp of someone, probably the caster.
This became their que to leave faster, they increased their pace and ran through the forest as more projectiles came.
"Shit, how did they find us?" Cleria asked. They had taken all the precautions to ensure they would be able to leave unnoticed.
Unless there was a leak or a traitor amongst them, no one would know the escape plan.
"I don't know! Just be on your feet!" They ran and hopped through the uneven terrain, using any means to ensure they would at least throw some of their pursuers away. Occasionally, Cleria and Masaomi would have to deflect projectiles that got too close to them.
"There they are!" A devil appeared in front of them and conjured a magic circle. Masaomi coated himself in a white aura and pushed himself forward while thrusting his saber, by passing the devil. With a blink of an eye, the devil slumped to the floor with a gash on his torso.
Cleria caught up to him with a shocked expression. "What was that? I have never seen you do this before."
Masaomi, seemingly winded, took a deep breath before replying. "A bit of an experiment. I thought I could use holy power to give me a quick boost and emulate something I saw."
Before any words could be said, they heard footsteps and more devils revealing themselves. One of them pointed at them and shouted "Get them!"
Without any more words, the pair continue their escape through the night.
Night came and the teenagers had their fill of fun activities. As they were about to go for their Autumn trip the next day, they had decided an early sleep was needed.
Issei lay down on his futon with Rias on his right and Akeno on the left leaving Sona to be on the right side of Rias; A small mixup from their usual sleepover layout.
"First thing we do when we arrive in Hokkaido, try cupcakes." Rias declared.
"Food first. Of course." Sona let out an exasperated sigh, but the small smile on her face said otherwise to her feelings.
"Of course! Every region of Japan has distinguishable items and I want Hokkaido cupcakes." Rias quickly defended.
Issei, who was ready for bed, decided this argument can be taken to the next day. "Girls, girls, you're both beau-"
"Shut it!" Both girls immediately stopped him before silence took over the room. Everyone didn't say anything until a giggle escaped Akeno. A domino effect took place as everyone laughed.
"Alright, let's just sleep for good for tomorrow." Sona chuckled and lay down to sleep for real.
"Food first." Rias said and began to sleep.
All the teenagers peacefully slept, unaware of the world outside of their dreams.
In the hallway of the Himejima household, two ninjas sneaked into the house. Their steps were silent and they walked with purpose. They passed by most of the rooms in the household, eventually leading to the master's bedroom.
They opened the door into the room and found their target, Shuri Himejima.
The woman slept peacefully, defenseless to the ninjas who had one mission given to them: Assassinate Shuri Himejima. One of them pulled a tanto and aimed the weapon to Shuri's heart.
They stabbed the weapon towards their target, no emotion nor malice leaked from them as they performed their mission.
Yet the universe decided now was not the time as they immediately got pushed by an unexpected force. The other ninja quickly tried to finish the job yet they were stopped when they were hit by electric shock.
"Stay away from her!" Issei screamed as he punched the shocked ninja. The punch didn't do much damage but it allowed Rias to follow up with a kick that knocked them out.
Shuri jolted awake by the commotion and saw the teenagers and ninjas in her room. She scanned the room and the situation then wore a serious expression.
"Everyone get out of the house." Shuri commanded them and they obeyed, leaving the unconscious ninjas on the floor.
"What's going on Mrs. Himejima?" Issei asked. "I wasn't aware you're important enough to get ninjas to come here."
"How did you find out they're coming to my room?" Shuri immediately turned the questioning to Issei instead.
The boy, unaware of the deflection, immediately replied. "I was going to the toilet and saw them being suspicious, so I woke the girls up and told one of them to call the cops."
If it was any other situation, Shuri would laugh at how the universe seemed to conspire against the assassins. But with the appearance of the ninjas, her stomach twisted painfully and furrowed her brow.
'Who would send them to assassinate me?'
Their march to escape was intercepted by a group of men who wore Shinto priest uniforms. One particular priest stepped forward with a smile, but the teenagers shuddered upon seeing it.
The priest looked like a black haired young man out of college, his youthful look was further accentuated by his dark and thick eye brow making him look handsome. One look at him with his smile would make anyone assume he was a friendly fellow.
Yet his red eyes showed nothing but malice, like staring into a red abyss.
"A good evening to all of you, especially you Shuri." The man spoke smoothly, like there was nothing wrong about the situation. "I'm sorry for waking all of you up with my… incompetent men."
"What do you want, Kazuto?" Shuri sneered at the man. Akeno looked between her mother and the man in shock. "You know him?!"
"Ah, your mother never told you about me?" Kazuto chuckled. "You see, I am… what do you kids call?" He did a mock pondering before snapping his finger. "Ah yes, her amazing ex."
That made Akeno turn from shocked to angry, electricity coursed through her arms. "More like crazy! Who sends ninjas to kill their ex?!"
"Ah, that's where you were wrong. You see, I was hoping that Shuri would be how she was during her prime, capable of sensing oncoming dangers even while asleep." He sighed and shocked his head. "But unfortunately, it seems domestic life has made the strong and beautiful Miko dull."
"And I also believed that you should've left her alone." Sona fearlessly stepped forward with a glare of her own.
"I would, if a circumstance at home didn't catch my attention."
"A circum-" Realization fell on Shuri as she thought about it. "You bugged Suzaku?!"
"For information purposes."
Everyone felt sick by the admittance of the man and further fueling their dislike towards him.
"But enough small talk." Kazuto shook his head. "I am here to bargain, actually."
"What?" Issei uttered out in disbelief that Kazuto had the gall to say it. Issei could tell he was clearly a horrible person from the very start, which made Issei feel uneasy with the sheer calmness Kazuto had.
"You see, Shuri was supposed to be the next head of our powerful clan." Kazuto explained and then he sneered. "But she did something horrible to change that decision; She was brainwashed by the abomination of a Fallen Angel! Not just anyone but one of the heads of their race, Baraqiel!"
Issei tried to process it, completely flabbergasted by the man's words. 'Head of clan? Fallen Angel? Brainwash? What is happening?!'
Yet those questions were placed to the back of his mind and he latched onto the keyword of brainwash. Never once Issei doubted Shuri and Baraqiel truly loved each other. Both understood each other well and cared for the other so much that it looked like they were still in their honeymoon phase.
If Baraqiel truly brainwashed Shuri… the implication made Issei slightly sick.
"You knew that was not true! They're just propaganda spouted by my family!" Shuri quickly defended her husband. "You were there when I saved him! I was there when I saw your true nature!"
"And you should understand my circumstances." Kazuto growled before taking a deep breath. "But it doesn't matter. I will say it again: I'm here to bargain with you."
He snapped his finger and the teenagers immediately were restrained by a group of ninjas.
"Kids!" Shuri shrieked and turned to Kazuto. "Leave them alone! What do you want?"
The smile on Kazuto's face became wider, like Shuri's distress and the pain the teenagers were suffering was pleasurable to him. "What I want is for you to come back to the clan with me as my powerful and beautiful wife and take over the position as the head."
"... Are you still obsessed with power, Kazuto?" Shuri felt disappointed and disheartened, that the man before her never changed.
"That was not the only thing." He pointed at Akeno, who was still struggling to break free like her friends. "I want the head of Baraqiel and… that monstrosity's head on a silver platter."
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" Issei shouted before his head was slammed to the floor by his captor.
"No! Don't kill them please!" Shuri quickly knelt and begged. "They're innocent in this whole thing! I'll go back as your wife, just leave them be!"
Kazuto's smile fell and coldly looked at Shuri, towering over her both physically and metaphorically. "No. Unless you want all the children to die."
Despair took a grip on Shuri with that ultimatum. No matter the path there will be blood on her hands, paid because of one man's pursuit of power and obsession.
If she were to stay, the teenagers' parents would come to hate the Himejima clan and destroy them, innocents included. If she were to follow Kazuto… How will she live from that?
Tears streamed on her face and no words were able to leave her throat. Her heart slammed against her chest while the world slowly became dark and soundless, only pain can be felt.
Until a crimson glow filled and a painful shout filled the room. Everyone turned their attention to the source who had a dark crimson aura enveloping her while her captor was missing both of their arms.
"I HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLSHIT!" With the last word leaving her lips, Rias waved both her hands and a wave of power burst forth the room, disintegrating her captor first before anyone who was near her.
With her quick thinking, Shuri pushed Issei's captor from him and manifested a wall of light to shield him from the destruction. Sona and Akeno coated themselves in blue and white aura to protect themselves.
Once the wave of power passed over, Issei surveyed the room and found it shocking. Those people who couldn't defend themselves had turned into ashes. The only sign of their existence is the shape of their body plastered on any surface available.
Unfortunately, Kazuto was not one of them.
"Damn devil, of course the Gremory can do that." He sneered before pointing at them while fetching out a talisman. "Fine, the hard way it is! Get them!"
It immediately served as their que to run as they scrambled deeper into the Himejima home. The remaining priests chased after them and threw their talismans to them, serving as harmful projectiles to end their lives.
Internally, Shuri prayed to her gods that everyone would survive the night safely.
Merry (one-day-late) Christmas everyone! So like I promised, this chapter came out faster than the last update.
As you can tell, this whole arc is based on Shuri and Cleria's death in the series and I've always wanted to cover the event since the beginning. With both events being a turning point for the direction of how their loved ones (one having a happy ending), how will everything turned out since this AU diverged quite a bit.
If anyone is scared that this will turn this whole fic into an angst-fest or drama focused fic, don't worry. By my estimation, it would take another two or three chapters to wrap this arc up and we'll be back to the scheduled fluff.
For the next chapter, it would come out by next year January or February depending on how busy I am with my original novel that I am putting most of my time on. Who knows, I might as another burst of inspiration on this fic.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to all if you and have a Happy New Year!