No, Miracle Children don't fall. They just don't get as strong as they could be if they were virtuous.
"Is this going to be a common occurrence?" Rias-san asked while making a worried expression, sitting across the small tea table while Diodora-san sat on the opposite side.
Two long couches made the two Kings stare straight at each other, with Genshirou sitting to Diodora-san's right. A third, single-person couch was placed adjacent to the other two, taking another side of the table. And giving room for Kuroka-shishou to sit Shirone-chan on her lap and playfully mess with her cat ears while the devils talked.
Yuzu-san stood stoically behind Diodora-san, as did Yuuto-kun with Rias-san. Loup-san and Akeno-san talked about something magic-related further back in the room, a place filled with books. Closer to the dining table. While Benia-chan sat to Rias-san's right and stared holes at the person sitting to Diodora-san's left.
Valerie Tepes. Or, like a quick game of Yuzu-san's guessing the letter revealed, Abigail Bradley. Diodora-san's… No, Lucius-san's older sister.
"I guarantee I don't make a habit of picking up random girls while going out." Diodora-san chuckled demurely, and Valerie-san gave him a cheeky side glance.
They sat relatively close to one another, but Valerie-san kept to her space. Neither crossing her legs nor resting her arms behind the backrest. Whereas Diodora-san did use as much space as he was allowed, crossing his legs and stretching both arms behind the couch. Almost but not quite touching both Valerie-san's and Genshirou's shoulders.
She looked smaller than her actual height, while Diodora-san looked bigger. Taking the attention toward himself in spite of the conversation being about Valerie-san.
"Am I a bother?" Valerie-san's words made Yuuto-kun purse his lips, getting even Rias-san to stop for a moment in spite of the seconds of silence that the question brought "I… I don't want to go back. If there's anything I can do to be a little more welcome…"
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Rias-san gave her a reassuring smile "It's just that the last girl that Diodora brought was a little more…"
They both turned to look at Kuroka-shishou, who kept playing with her little sister's head without paying them any visible attention.
"Kuroka's been fine so far." Diodora-san scoffed.
"I… Yes, but it was still a surprise I could've done without. And she did take Koneko with her and I was not prepared for my cute Rook to suddenly be absent one day."
"Yes, I understand." Diodora-san nodded, giving Kuroka-shishou a glare while speaking "That was uncalled for and wholly on me. It won't happen again."
Valerie-san's eyes darted between the redhead and her brother, rapidly moving between blinks before she stopped altogether and got more comfortable in her seat. Trying to straighten her back a bit more by pushing herself further into the couch. Diodora-san gave her some wiggle room almost without thinking before pushing his shoulders back and making his spine pop.
"As long as you understand…" Rias-san didn't look that convinced, but she still gave Diodora-san the green light "If you need anything, we're here for you. Just remember to not cause any trouble, okay? We have a deal."
"Of course, Rias." Diodora-san smiled at her radiantly "I was actually hoping to do the swapping before the day's over, if you're okay with it."
Rias-san's mood dropped and her gaze fell upon Genshirou. He straightened his back without thinking, feeling under scrutiny as the devil that helped him out for two years straight oozed disappointment in him.
"I didn't know you had your pieces already." She gave him a partial smile, trying to stay positive about losing Genshirou like this.
She had dreams and goals, things that asked for Genshirou to help her with. Her marriage was one of them, and even if the whole 'experiment' of cohabitating with the Miracle Children had staved off most of the heat. She still wanted to officially break it off, not just have Riser be hushed away because of how important it was not to upset the frail balance between being friendly and wanting to strangle either of the half-angels for almost killing them. And while Genshirou felt bad about parting ways with Rias-san like that, he still held the belief that he had to do this.
Diodora-san recruited him for a purpose, and gave him back protection and a place to call home. Genshirou would never turn away the man that saved his life.
"They should be here already. It's just a matter of fetching them, unless I misread the day they'd be delivered to me."
"Misread?" Rias tilted her head.
"I wrote a letter to the Satans. I know that bringing Kuroka to my side would cause an uproar without proper explanation, so I wanted to kill two birds with one stone." Diodora smiled plainly.
"And you had an answer this quickly?" Rias-san blinked in surprise, more to her own words than anything "I mean no disrespect, of course. But I thought Lord Ajuka and you weren't so close… Well, like my Brother and I."
"Of course not." Diodora scoffed, looking somewhat resentful before schooling his features "But Lady Serafall and Lord Sirzechs have been kind to me, and told me to have the confidence to write them directly if I needed. I simply made use of their kindness for this."
"Yes, Brother has always been a kind person. It's still surprising that he got the time to answer your call so soon, though." Rias-san sounded proud, which made Genshirou wish his siblings would talk about him like that at some point.
He smiled, feeling a bit nostalgic as that inevitably led to thinking about his parents.
"Sounds like an amazing person." Valerie-san interjected.
"Oh, he is. He's smart, and kind. He always knows what to do, even under stress. He's lived for long enough that a lot of my problems would sound childish, but he always listens and he used to take care of me even while he was busy…" Rias-san stopped herself, blinking and blushing a bit "That's my Brother, he's someone I look up to."
"Sounds like your own personal Superman." Valerie-san replied, chuckling.
"I… Something like that."
"Rias-san's older brother is the Demon Lord of Lucifer." Genshirou explained "He's the reason the Underworld works as effectively as it does."
Valerie-san blinked in confusion.
"Lucifer is your older brother?"
"Not Lucifer, no. The original devil is dead." Diodora-san explained "Nowadays, four devils take the names of the four Demon Lords of old. Lucifer is the main one, and that's Lord Sirzechs Lucifer we're talking about."
"Sounds confusing." Valerie-san looked to the floor.
"It might be like that for normal humans but…"
"She's no normal human." Benia-chan cut off Rias-san without hesitation.
Rias-san stared at Valerie-san with some intensity, and then turned to Diodora-san for answers.
He turned to his sister, and she seemingly became a bit smaller under the scrutiny.
"Surprise?" She smiled awkwardly, earning herself a sigh from Diodora-san."
"Right. It might've been too much to ask to pick up someone normal."
"I am normal." Yuzu-san stated, expression still hard but obviously making fun of Diodora-san. Genshirou could now tell the subtle differences.
"You are so abnormal that, if you somehow became even more abnormal, you'd circle right back to being normal." Diodora-san replied gravely "Plus, you do not count."
"I am normal too." Genshirou added.
"You are." Diodora-san nodded.
Genshirou didn't know how to feel about that.
"That's not a bad thing, it keeps you out of trouble." Valerie-san smiled shyly, and Genshirou had to reminded himself that Diodora-san had warned him about his sister's ability to get under people's skin.
Her specialty was being well liked, so maybe a lot of her expressions and demeanor were fake. At least Genshirou knew that this whole thing of coming to meet Rias-san was so she'd accept Valerie-san in Kuoh.
The two worked together to create an image that was hard to shake off. If Diodora-san hadn't looked somewhat hesitant, Genshirou would've thought that Valerie-san got to him too. But he was also acting, making it seem like he hadn't known for sure if Valerie-san was trouble or not.
Without communicating, the two continued to wave their lie around Rias-san.
"I mean, I wouldn't know." Valerie-san cut herself off before anyone could add anything.
"It's okay, things haven't been normal around here for a while." Rias-san crossed her arms below her chest, frowning "This is why Benia's here with me."
"I didn't want to deceive you or anything…" Valerie-san trailed off, looking away sheepishly.
"Omitting information is as good as lying." Diodora-san moved a bit away from Valerie-san and gave her a stern look "Last time it almost got me killed."
"You don't look very alive to me…" Valerie-san murmured "I mean…"
"We should kick her out." Diodora-san clicked his tongue.
"No, wait! I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, I just…"
"It's not like it's a secret." Benia-chan snickered "You're basically a walking corpse already."
"Benia, please." Rias-san closed her eyes, looking aggravated due to the exchange "...Let's put a pin on this for now. Valerie, is it okay if we give you a small room for now? I'll…"
She shook her head.
"I'll contact Sona for her opinion on this."
Diodora-san pursed his lips.
"Fine, it's your town."
"That went fine." Valerie-san spoke up once they had left the devil apartments and had gone into the commercial side of the town. She took a pair of heart sunglasses and checked herself in the mirror, seemingly more lively now that some hours have passed after the last power injection "She's kind, isn't she? The kind of people who will be fooled easily."
"This is her town, Sis. Be careful with what you say." Diodora-san spoke neutrally, paying for the glasses that his sister took without saying anything about it.
The older woman smirked and made a couple of ballet turns while Diodora-san caught up to her, being helped by Yuzu-san to walk at a decent pace.
"Rias-san is very kind, but she's also very smart." Genshirou pointed out, seeing Kuroka-shishou moved along in her cat form "I don't think she's easy to deceive."
"Nonsense, little Gen." Valerie-san smiled brightly "Kind people are easy to take advantage of, bonus points if she's also in a privileged position."
"That's…"
"Rias is the little sister of the strongest devil in history, comes from a noble house, and inherited the Power of Destruction… Oh, and most of her servants are basically handpicked from the most special places too." Diodora-san explained, looking around as if he expected someone to appear out of the blue "Take it from what we learned from Star Seeker. No matter how smart, that sort of life leaves a mark."
"But that's unfair, isn't that just painting Rias-san in a negative light?" Genshirou knew that Diodora-san had to have reasons to talk about the red haired devil like that, but he couldn't figure them out. And that pissed him off.
"No. That's just to say that she's easy pickings for Sis." Diodora-san shook his head.
"I love curvy girls with money and pedigree." Valerie-san cupped her cheeks, moving around like a high school girl in love "I love brute men with more muscle than face, and more money than sense. They never see it coming, it's always people like Lu… Like my cute brother that get them to raise their guards. It's never good ol' me, who's just so enraptured by them it makes them feel even more special."
Valerie-san spun around, giving Genshirou a smirk that made him see the girl that must've been behind the half-vampire. The slightly asymmetrical way she smirked, the confidence and mocking undertone that creeped out made Genshirou draw the connection to the way Diodora-san made that expression. They looked the same, even though nothing else between them did.
It made him stop, considering how this girl had fundamentally changed Genshirou to amplify his powers. Right before they arrived at Kuoh Town.
"Calm down." Diodora-san stated "It's rare to see you come out so bluntly like that. What's wrong?"
"That's what I wanted to ask." Valerie-san smiled cutely "You're so awfully tense, lil' bro. What's wrong? Did being called about by that funny little girl strike a nerve?"
"He's doing that strange thing with his mind, isn't he?" Yuzu-san asked, eyeing Diodora-san with suspicion "Should I undo it?"
"No." Diodora-san oozed anger now "I'll snap if you do."
"Why?"
"You've been like this since I finished with Yuzu too." Valerie-san walked up to the half-devil and snuck her arms around Yuzu-san's right one "I didn't want to bring it up, but it's gone for a few hours now. That's not like you."
Diodora-san closed his eyes.
"I kind of realized that, the two of us being here, makes it likely that someone else is with us." Diodora-san stated, eyeing his sister neutrally "And that that someone might be responsible for a lot of the problems I've faced so far."
Valerie-san's good mood dropped completely.
"Isn't that just jumping to a lot of conclusions?" She asked, but her tone didn't leave much room for doubt.
Somehow, Genshirou also couldn't bring himself to doubt Diodora-san's idea.
"Fate Weaver." Yuzu-san seemed to follow the same line of thought, blinking in surprise as Diodora-san balled his fists at the mention of that name "Is that…?"
"I think he's our brother." Diodora-san interrupted her "And that really, really makes me mad."
Valerie-san's expression became unreadable.
"How sure are you?"
"How sure can you be?" Diodora-san ignored the question.
Valerie-san frowned.
"I can be a 100% sure." She assured him "This chalice messes up with my perception of reality, but I was certain it was you the moment I saw you. Or rather, I knew precisely because this thing makes me see things that I shouldn't."
Diodora-san nodded.
"Can we hurry up with my modifications?" He sounded unsure, but probably didn't want to let go of the topic. Or rather, he wanted to change the previous one no matter what "I know you said it's complicated, but if we start small…"
"I think I can give you one of the two things you asked." Valerie-san sighed, scratching the back of her ear as she talked "If you're sure you know what you're doing. The other… I need the material."
Diodora-san nodded and threw a small flask at Valerie-san.
She caught it, and a bit of red liquid moved within.
"What the fuck? How did you do it so fast?"
Diodora-san shook his head.
"I knew Ajuka wouldn't answer my call. No matter what I did before, he never granted me an audience. So I used a bit of the good will I got from Sirzechs Lucifer." Diodora-san twisted his lips, uncomfortable "Next time I see him, I'll probably get a lot of questions. But for now, I have everything I need."
Valerie-san stared at the vial, puzzled.
"What is that?" Genshirou asked, feeling a bit of dread build up in his stomach.
"When I asked to get my Evil Pieces back, I didn't just ask Lord Sirzechs for them. I asked for a small favor, one that probably put me right back on his watchlist due to the sheer audacity of it but…" Diodora-san grinned darkly "He can't say no to the man that saved his precious little sister."
Genshirou blinked, unsure of how to process what he was being told.
"That's Ajuka Beelzebub's blood." Diodora-san finally said.
"That was incredibly stupid of you." Valerie-san sounded a bit pissed off, but she didn't stop looking at the vial "You'll definitely get in trouble for this."
"But I got it, didn't I?"
"Oh, you did." Valerie-san lifted the container, looking through it against the sunlight "I can tell there's great power here. It's like a pinky worth of blood, but that he was willing to give it out… What did you do? Who's this Rias girl?"
"I burned through all the favors I could've asked of the Gremory family."
"That doesn't explain anything." Valerie-san frowned "I know you're mad, but this is way too much for you."
"My anger has nothing to do with this."
"No, not in that sense." Valerie-san slapped her brother's shoulder "You're insane. But you've never been this careless. What happened? Why go to such lengths?"
Diodora-san tilted his head.
"I already won, so it's pointless to walk in circles on this."
"Eh?" Even Genshirou didn't get it. Diodora-san really must have been very pissed off, because he rarely made this little sense.
"When Fate Weaver failed to kill me or get me sentenced during the trial, I won." Diodora shrugged "Everything's in place. I saved Rias, so Sirzechs and her parents feel indebted to me. I gave them precious information about the Khaos Brigade which all turned out to be true, and now they also know that some of the organization's preparations were crippled by Stain… All I asked in return was a bit of blood of my uncle."
Diodora-san extended his arms to both sides, forgetting about his crutch for a moment.
"And now, you're here. I am mad, but that's only because I can't go ahead and punch that asshole right now. Even if Fate Weaver turns out to be some random guy with a bad attitude, I'd be mad. He ruined my life, as did Star Seeker. But she'll be in your care, so all I feel for her is pity." Diodora-san tried to grin, but the mental spell Yuzu-san mentioned prevented him from doing it right. So he chose to recover his poker face "I've grabbed the rug tightly with both of my hands. Genshirou's here, and I intend to change him from a Bishop to a Rook with your help… You know what I mean, right?"
"Is he always like this? I'm starting to get worried." Valerie-san turned to them for help, looking almost spooked.
"He's weird like this, yes." Yuzu-san nodded.
Diodora-san scoffed.
"I crawled and begged, made myself look small and pathetic, kept quiet and bowed my head. All the while, with all of your help, I took the tools I needed for the perfect two-hit push. I told Miyuzuin before," Diodora-san smiled, not stopping even when Yuzu-san told him not to use her full name "That all I needed was to survive the meeting. With Stain by my side, the Sephiroth Graal would eventually fall on my hands. And then…"
He shook his head, not looking happy as he chuckled. Not at all. He looked relieved instead.
"A way to bypass the difference in power, and a special ability that'd defy the way people fight in this world." Diodora-san motioned with his hands, as if saying 'see what I mean?', but they really didn't "Why hesitate now? Sirzechs and his family are kind and emotional to a fault. I know I'll pay for this, but that point is null now."
Diodora-san snapped his finger, and a Stain-body oozed and transformed into a bird.
"Stain, it's time for the curtain to fall." Diodora-san smirked "Prepare to draw back all of your bodies at once."
"This one heeds and obeys."
"What the fuck Lu…?" Valerie-san shook her head "Hey, you're not just shooting yourself on the foot. You're probably gonna kill us all!"
"Oh, well. You said it yourself, I put myself on a timer." Diodora-san shrugged "Let's hurry up and get my modifications now. The fight is coming to us and I have to be ready."
"You're insane if you think I'll fight your stupid war." Valerie-san gritted her teeth "I thought we understood each other better than this."
"Miyuzuin made a good point, for this to work I need to show you what I'm capable of." Diodora-san pointed out "I'm sorry Sis, but I won't feel safe with you around if you can get it in your head that you'd be better off backing up someone else."
"D-Diodora-san…" Genshirou spoke up, horrified "If you do this, we will…"
"We're ready." Diodora-san interrupted him "Sis did her part, now it's time to do ours."
"You'd drag the Gremory group into this? Just like that?" Yuzu-san spoke up, still talking slowly. Without panic.
"They've had two years to train." Diodora-san pointed out.
Yuzu-san nodded.
"Are you okay with this?" Genshirou wanted to grab her and ask for answers, but the half-devil looked way too serene. Way too in control "Yuzu-san?"
She looked at her hands.
"I feel like I can take on the world right now. It's not just the Queen piece either, I just…" Yuzu-san balled her fists "Finally seeing all my work pay off is too alluring."
"At least give us a couple of days." Valerie-san looked ready to beg "Cricket, c'mon. This is insane. You said it yourself: They're basically worldwide terrorists, please don't do something that'll get us all killed."
"This one is ready." Stain spoke up.
Genshirou realized that no one else was on the street anymore.
Diodora-san looked at them, his eyes unfocused and his mouth twisting into something that Genshirou couldn't identify as a real emotion. He saw Yuzu-san tense, the way Valerie-san was beginning to panic, and the emotionless stare that the slime gave the fake devil.
Genshirou hurried to grab Diodora-san by his shoulders, before he could say anything.
"Snap out of it, Diodora-san! This is not like you! Please listen to us!" He shook the devil with vigor but trying not to hurt him too badly, trying to get his point across instead of just getting in his way "I trust your judgment! But I can also see that you're not thinking straight! Maybe it was the fight with Shiki, or that Fate Weaver's from your family or something…! I… I can't understand how you're feeling right now, there's so much that I don't get about you two!"
Yuzu-san blinked a couple of times, almost snapping out of her own thoughts. Kuroka-shishou had approached and put a paw on Diodora-san's thigh.
"What he's saying." Valerie-san moved the flask around "Stop being stupid, Cricket. I'll smash this if you don't stop being cringe."
"You said it yourself, we're so close! Your plan will work, Diodora-san. I know it will but…" Genshirou swallowed, seeing the man that took him out of one of the most miserable times of his life and gave him a new purpose; this hurt also made Genshirou unable to think clearly. So he did as his heart told him and hugged the devil tightly, hiding his face on Diodora-san's shoulder as he spoke "But don't be so hasty… Give us time. We'll follow you, just let us understand what we're supposed to do. Even this far… You can still lose."
"You out of all people should've called him out on his nonsense, meow." Kuroka-shishou told Yuzu-san while she used some of her senjutsu to release some of the dark aura surrounding Diodora-san "I'm disappointed in you, Yuzu."
Yuzu-san looked away.
"I understand you're hurt, that you've convinced yourself that we're on the right path. But this is why we're a team, meow. We listen, and if this ridiculous guy is up to no good, we stop him." Kuroka-shishou shook her head "You accepted the position of his Queen, meow. Even if we never turn out to be a real peerage, you accepted a role and the implicit responsibility that comes with it."
Yuzu-san didn't have anything to say to that.
Valerie-san separated Genshirou from Diodora-san.
"We're going back to your place, and you're getting a good night's rest. It probably doesn't affect you as badly because of your weird body, but you're sleeping and eating while I deal with Star Seeker's finishing touches." She pointed at Diodora-san's face, mere centimeters away from touching his nose, while he seemingly started leaving that dazed look "Then, we'll sit down and really talk this out. Okay?"
"Is that okay?" Genshirou interjected "I think it'd be better for him if you two had a good brother-to-sister talk…"
Valerie-san smiled at Genshirou like she pitied him.
"There's nothing to be said between us." Diodora-san murmured "There's too much to do…"
"We were cut with the same scissors for the same purpose." Valerie-san added "If he didn't pull this off, I'd have tried to subdue him in a similar way. It's just that he's being really dumb about this. That's what worries me."
"But… But you're siblings."
"We're selfish assholes first and foremost." Valerie-san sounded convinced, even though Genshirou didn't like the way she said it "We understand each other, and help each other because it's convenient. Nothing more, nothing else."
"She's the smartest girl I know." Diodora-san looked at the floor "I need her by my side."
"And as such, you ought to listen to me when I tell you that you're gonna regret this." Valerie-san crossed her arms "I'll beat you up."
"No, no you won't." Diodora-san sighed "I…"
"Shut up, Cricket. You talk too much." Valerie-san pushed him away "We're taking you back, so just obediently accept defeat for now."
Diodora-san pursed his lips.
"Okay…" He looked away "I'll snare you up properly next time."
Valerie-san scoffed.
"In your dreams little, bro." She patted his shoulders as they started walking together "In your dreams."
Genshirou blinked several times.
He turned to Kuroka-shishou.
"Is that normal sibling behavior?"
"Why are you asking me, meow? My relationship with Shirone is normal." Kuroka-shishou turned to Yuzu-san again "And you? What's wrong with you? Please focus, you'll become a hindrance if you're not on top of your game."
Yuzu-san pressed her hands against her cheeks and slowly ran them across her face, goin up until four red lines had been drawn on her skin due to how hard she pressed her fingers against it.
"I'm fine. Just a little drunk with power." She shook her head "It won't happen again."
"Are you going to go rogue on us, meow?"
"I…" Yuzu-san stopped herself, thinking "No."
"Yuzu-san would never." Genshirou assured the nekomata.
Kuroka-shishou eyed the white haired girl again.
"What did she give you?"
"Eh?"
"What power did she give you, meow? You're always so pragmatic about fights, you have to have something good now."
Yuzu-san stayed silent for a moment, but instead of answering she motioned with her hand in Kuroka-shishou's general direction.
Her cat form unraveled, forcing the human-like body to adopt a cat-like pose.
It startled Kuroka-shishou enough that she jumped to her feet, eyes wide open.
"Huh?!"
Yuzu-san smirked.
"I thought Yuzu-san didn't understand yojutsu…"
"I don't." Yuzu-san schooled her features again "That's the point. I can use Worthelss without that downside now. I… I sort of fell for it. I felt the same way as Lucius."
Genshirou's panic ceased, but he didn't feel any better.
"Yuzu-san…"
"So close, we're so close…" Yuzu-san balled her fists.
"Relax." Kuroka-shishou sounded very annoyed "I see how it is now. You two got drunk with power so quickly it's actually scary, meow. You'd make for very obvious Stray Devil candidates."
Yuzu-san blinked and looked away. She wasn't embarrassed, she often tried to face whatever made her feel that way, but instead tried to hide the building panic she now felt.
"The same goes for you, Yuzu-san. What I told Diodora-san… We're here for you." Genshirou gave her a wide smile "You're my precious Sensei who taught me how to defend myself, I won't abandon you now."
Yuzu-san gave him a lopsided smile.
"Thanks, Gen." She didn't sound too convinced, but Genshirou ignored that so she'd feel more comfortable "We should hurry."
Kuroka-shishou eyed Genshirou, but he chose not to address the change of subject either.
"Let's."
Kuroka-shishou sighed.
"Fine. I guess I'll walk like this now."
"You have to dress up normally." Yuzu-san said, sounding more calm now "You can't just go around with that short kimono and that big of a cleavage everywhere you go."
"Is that actually a kimono?" Genshirou asked more to help break the awkwardness tha anything.
"Wouldn't you like to know, meow?" Kuroka-shishou giggled. More teasing than actually amused.
Genshirou didn't know. He should've felt awkward but… He still felt worried about Diodora-san and Yuzu-san. He had to keep an eye on them, he couldn't just let them go back to that dark place again.
He'd do his best.