Chapter 50 : Seriously?
I, very woodenly, look away from the sheet of paper between my hands to lock eyes with a Very Proud Of Herself Heiress of Destruction, her nose up in the air, a cup of tea held elegantly in one hand and her back straight as she sits in one of the plush sofas of her living room.
"Seriously?" I ask, not really believing it.
"Umu!" She happily chirps, radiating happiness as she gives me a big nod.
"Even your brother?" I ask, more than a bit suspicious, "The one you keep selling me as the biggest sis-con this earth has ever seen, he agreed to this?"
Her smile doesn't falter, and she doesn't twitch, but I can still taste the very light touch of a bluish tinted Lie in the Immaterium.
Figures.
"He did!" She hastily nods, the corner of her mouth a little too high as she forces a smile, and I'm now certain that she's one hundred percent bullshiting me, "That's the only thing I asked for, erh, you know?"
"Christmas." I drawl, making every devils pause, before nodding.
Weird.
Did they really not know, or just assumed that the name was under the same umbrella as God's name?
"Yes! I always forget the name, ah ah!" Rias once again lies, giving me an apologetic smile.
I don't even have the mental strength to troll her.
This Sunday had started normally, and I had been invited to Rias' home as an odd 'end of the year celebrations' mashup, despite it now being the Sunday the 3rd of January. Having expected something along those lines eventually happening at some point, I came while bearing four black and white drawings of the members of the house -I still haven't been properly introduced to the Neet in the basement, after all- and we exchanged some gifts.
The crimson headed devil surprised me a little by giving me a top-of-the-line smartphone, one which I strongly suspect to be a Devil PhoneTM and I already thanked her profusely for it.
All was right as rain as we talked about our respective vacations, until the Gremory Heiress handed me a bonafide contract, signed by every member of her house who truly matters, allowing her to get a tattoo.
Which, coincidentally, was making me something of a dead teenage psyker walking, because I am fairly certain that she wasn't as successful in asking Sirzechs-Fucking-Lucifer's blessing about this particular endeavor.
And I can't reasonably refuse her because, well, she took my terms, the ones I explicitly stated to her as the reasons why I wouldn't ink her, and found a way to invalidate them in a believable manner.
So, I low-key played myself here, and I have no legs on which to stand on to refuse her.
Which means that I'm going to have to do it, not that the proposed reward isn't enticing enough for me to strongly question my self-preservation instincts.
"That's a lot of money." I cautiously point out.
"Umu!" She weebs at me, and I have to refrain myself from twitching in annoyance, her quirk not being as cute right now as usually is, "But you're a one-of-a-kind artist, so it's worth it!"
I give her a slightly annoyed look, before sighing, bending over the sleeping form of a certain white haired catgirl using my lap as her personal pillow to drop the contract on the table.
"Do you…" I start, feeling the beginning of a headache rising, "At least have a design, an idea, beyond just wanting a tattoo because it's cool or something? Friendly reminder that those remain for life, Rias."
At least, it's the case with humans. I'm not entirely persuaded it is the case for a species that commonly demonstrate a low level of shapeshifting.
Admitting that she doesn't one day decides to just Power of Destruction it away before swallowing a Phenex Tear.
Rias gives me a te-he routine, making Akeno titters in amusement next to her.
"Well, I kinda hoped that we could talk about it, Prima-chan?" She starts, apologetically, "You are the artist, after all."
I hum under my breath consideringly.
"Do you have a theme in mind, something which speaks to you?" I probe, one of my hands coming to comb through the white locks pooling on my lap, "It doesn't really need to be something really elaborate. Just a few key words for starters, we can refine it over a few weeks. There's no rush."
"A theme?" She finally echoes after my tirade, tilting her head to the side, "Well, I'd like it if it was about freedom. And with some roses."
Freedom and roses?
I guess I can work with that, then.
"I think I can work with that." I reiterate my thoughts aloud, "You got a particular spot in mind, yes?"
She answers, still Very Proud Of Herself.
I pale a little.
"R-Really?" I ask, a little disbelieving.
"Umu!" She affirmatively chirps.
I look toward Akeno, who's only answer is to give the patented 'your problem, not mine' look, and I swear eternal revenge against the half-fallen.
"Let me come back to you with a preliminary design in a few days, then." I finally give up on changing my ditzy friend's mind about this particular subject.
She gives me a blinding smile, but it kind of feels like I'm walking to my death as I go along with her antics.
I'm content with busying myself with my food in the cafeteria as Rias looks at the five preliminary design ideas I got for her ink with the kind of focus I've never seen the Heiress pull off.
I swear, if she was as motivated with learning her coursework, she could easily be top of the class.
But noooo, the devil who unilaterally 'adopted' me as a friend can become a right brat when not motivated to study.
Alas, nobody will ever know the kind of bullshit I went through the first time she asked me for my help to pump up her grades.
"This is certainly impressive, Hanako-san." Akeno ends up saying after taking an at first curious, then careful look at the designs I brainstormed in a few days time.
I give her a little shrug, taking the time to swallow my bite before answering.
"Those are only what came immediately to my mind when I heard Rias' 'ideas'." I eventually say, "As I said last time, there's no rush. I'd rather we take our time and end up with an idea that really speaks to her."
The Gremory Heiress, lost to the world, doesn't acknowledge my words, but they do provoke an emotion with the half-fallen.
"An idea which speaks to her." The classic Japanese beauty mumbles under her breath, a hand delicately palming her cheek and her eyes lost in thoughts for a beat.
"Well, yeah." I rebound on her words, making her focus snap back to me, "I mean, that's my personal philosophy, but I don't really see the point of getting a tattoo just for the fun of it."
I jab my chopsticks toward Rias.
"If she hadn't the beginning of an idea for it, I would have flat-out refused. I'm not going to lie, considering my finances, the money is enticing, but not to the point that I'd go for it if she hemmed and hawed for days on end before deciding to go for a basic bitch tribal on her lower back or something equally silly." I elaborate.
Akeno gives me a considering glance while humming under her breath.
"And why is that?" She probes, visibly intrigued.
I roll my eyes.
"Because she's my friend, duh." I drawl, "I'm not going to just nod along if she makes a stupid decision when I can stop her and tell her it's dumb."
The jade-black haired beauty gives me a thin little smile.
She goes to open her mouth-
"This one!" Rias inserts herself back into the conversation, eyes brimming with determination as she not-quite throws herself across the table, my preliminary drawing held in hands.
-but cuts herself as her King comes back to the waking world.
I give the design in question a glance.
"Uh, I wouldn't have put my bet on it." I comment aloud, carefully putting away my chopsticks to take hold of the drawing, "Remember, this is a preliminary design, so, if you want to modify a few things, now is the time to tell me, alright?"
Sky-blue eyes brimming with excitement lock with mine, and Rias begins to talk.
"Well, if you want to back out, now's the last time you'd be able to." I throw into the air while slipping my second gloves on.
I know that I don't really need to use so many precautions, considering that my client has a vastly more robust biology than a human, but it is my first time tattooing someone else, so I'm going to treat it as a practice run and do everything by the book.
From atop her position on the medical bed -one I actually made her bought in advance, as well as a few more things that I didn't really have in my tattooing kit, especially multiple needles heads- Rias' answer come a little muffled, her head in set in the crook of her arms.
"Just start already." She grumbles, "That's the fifth variation of the same phrase I've heard since you came here."
I snort in amusement, before shaking my head.
"Geez, alright," I answer good-humoredly, "I'm just making sure is all."
"I wouldn't have bought this thing-" The crimson headed devil points out while gesturing lazily to the bed, "-if I never intended for you to use it in the first place."
"Point." I concede, just as I finally steps closer to her, "Now, I'm going to start with cleaning the area-"
"But I'm clean!"
A meaty slap on a perky ass, a yelp, a pointed look and an aggrieved one are quickly exchanged, Akeno's giggles breaking the stalemate a few seconds later.
"I'm the tattoo artist here, and we're doing this right, or not at all." I sternly point out, "Which means sterilizing the area before applying the stencil, and so I will."
"Fine." Rias grumbles, before turning back her head to face forward, before flinching a little, "Cold!"
"Stop whining." I huff, lathering the area in disinfectant.
She blessedly remains silent as I finish my preparation and applies the stencil.
"Alright." I nod in self-satisfaction, hooking my foot on the bottom part of my new rolling stool to bring it closer to me while simultaneously pulling my station closer.
Taking hold of my needle after carefully opening the necessary bottles of ink.
"So, quick question." I start as I roll myself almost flush to the table, finger on the trigger of the needle, "Why do you think Himejima-san stayed with us?"
My question apparently brings Rias short as she takes a few seconds to ponder it.
"I don't know?" She admits after a beat.
I give an amused glance to the half-fallen who tries her best to look innocent.
"Because she knows it's gonna hurt, and she wants to see you squirm at least a little. So, brace yourself." I put the tension on, the ominous buzz of the needle making itself known and sabotaging any further attempt at making conversation.
I put a little more pressure than I did before on the meat of Rias' thighs so as to prevent her from flinching too hard as the needle meets her flesh for the first time.
She grunts a little, tensing in reflex.
"Unclench, try to be as relaxed as possible." I speak aloud as I start going over the contours, channeling Beauty in myself, "Otherwise it'll just hurt more."
The Gremory Heiress muffles a low whine as the prettied torture session begin, and, if I catch her Queen laughing herself silly at her master's dismay in the corner of my eyes, I pay it no mind.
The needle goes quiet.
"I-Is it over?" Rias asks, rather plaintively.
I hum consideringly.
"I'm afraid not, this was just the lining and details. Now comes the fun part," I answer while swapping the needle head for a broader, multiple ones, "Contouring, shading, detailing, all of this starts now. And, after that, we will still have to add the color in it."
A low whine is the only answer I get.
That, and Akeno's titter.
"And… Done!" I finally back away after hours spent bent over Rias' body, venting the essence of Beauty back into the Warp, and not even for a fun activity, shutting down my needle for good, carefully dropping it on its station and shaking my hand a little.
I don't really have to deal with the annoying consequences of the job, what with my body now being vastly more resistant than a baseline, but that doesn't mean that my hand doesn't feel a little cramped.
After all, the night did fall a few hours ago.
I admit, if my first client's constitution wasn't superhuman, I wouldn't have done it all in one go, especially because it's a big piece, but, considering she was literally healing herself as I went, I just decided to shrug the oddity off and be done with it in one session.
"Finally." Rias exhales in relief, going fully slack on the table, "...I'm hungry. And sore."
I snort a little, shaking my head ruefully, taking hold of a towel to scrub the remaining Vaseline and ink of her body.
"Not excited enough to see what it looks like first?" I tease while shrugging my gloves off once I'm done.
My vict- client turns herself a little to give me a gimlet eye, before huffing as she hikes herself up on her elbows.
"I mean, I am." She answers as she gingerly seats herself, only slightly wincing -man, Devil's constitution is patented bullshit- "It's just that I've been here since two in the afternoon, and my stomach is making itself known."
She steps out of the medical bed, and I wordlessly hand her over her underwear.
The Gremory heiress gives those a careful look, thinking hard.
I drop those back before handing her her skirt, a tad exasperated.
She takes it without a fuss and puts it on.
"So," I lazily start, "I don't know if you'd notice, but there's a full length mirror that Himejima-san brought in the room at some point. You're still sure…"
I don't even finish my sentence that the crimson headed devil perks up, her head snapping back behind me, eyes lighting up in childish excitement.
Figures she'd change her mind this quickly once it was implied that she didn't need to put an additional effort.
She moves faster than any human being, only stopping a few steps in front of the mirror, biting at her lower lip a little, her blouse only half put together, one of its half loosely hanging over the rim of her skirt.
I wordlessly steps next to her as she turns herself around, her head looking over her shoulder-
-and flip her skirt up.
Starting mid thighs, two roses' bouquets, one for each buttcheeks, greets her back, inked in shades of black and red -hello, Power of Destruction reference- rusted, broken and disintegrating chain links trying to contain them, but failing inexorably against so much vibrant life, the flowers' rods tastefully tied together with black sheer ribbons in the meat of her thighs.
Rias' jaws drop, coincidentally making her flesh jiggle a little, the roses' almost looking like they're dancing.
I smile proudly, go to open my mouth-
-only to have my breath knocked out of me as I get the stuffing hugged out of me by a very excitable and thankful devil.
How do I know?
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou-."
Because of that.
I snort softly.
"I take it that you like it?" I probe gently, giving her a quick squeeze.
"Are you kidding? It's awesome! Exactly how I'd wanted! You're a genius, no, a goddess!" She blabbers, eyes crinkled and a smile so wide it is almost blinding.
I laugh, before shaking my head.
"Well, I'm glad you like it." And that you will not have to deal with two weeks without being able to sit yourself properly because you're biology is bullshit, "But, hum, can you let go?"
"Don't wanna!"
"...May I remind you that you're still going commando?"
She was rather quick to let me go after that, but, despite Akeno's jabs and her tomato-grade flush, her enthusiasm didn't abate until well into the night.
Let's just hope that a certain brother isn't going to flip his shit, though.
[AN: And we're fucking back, baby!
And we're going professional, folks! Or at least I think?
Hope you enjoy, xoxo]