Her hair smelled of smoke and ash, but her skin felt smooth and tender. Comfortable, electrifying. Lucius felt her hands take his head, her lips caress his hair as she seemed to coil around him. Not like a snake, but like a snail shell… Perhaps a rather awkward comparison to make in such a situation, but his mind played funny tricks like that whenever he got nervous.
He hated feeling nervous, feeling out of his depth. But he didn't really mind it here.
Miyuzuin's hair covered some of his vision, leaving it with white lines letting some light in for him to see. The girl's face made a weird shadow because of their sideways position, resting on his back and her left respectively. One of her eyes was visible through the mess of hair and sheets around them.
Lucius smiled without thinking, feeling incredibly warm as he noticed Miyuzuin looking at him; and the recognition of his own stare. It felt… Right. No anger, no emptiness, no distrust. He let his left hand creep up her shoulder, feeling the smooth skin that he couldn't see. Doing it slowly to give her a chance to respond in case the contact wasn't welcome, and feeling a bit of excitement when he didn't feel any clothes around her shoulder or neck.
Through her hair, he thought he saw a bit of a cheeky smirk. But he couldn't be sure. Lucius felt emboldened and tried to lean closer.
"Meow."
L****s opened his eyes as his face pushed into Kuroka's breasts, making the catgirl shiver a bit as he lifted his head in confusion. Trying to figure out where he was and what he was doing.
The room had two bunk beds, with a small desk on the farther wall from the door, and a small closet just beside it. L****s occupied one of the lower beds, apparently having Kuroka hugging him while she slept, while his sister and Star Seeker slept above him, with Miyuzuin on the other upper bed.
Once the devils and fallen angels started arriving, and Azazel got to pick up Genshirou to give a good look at his Sacred Gears, L****s and the others decided that they didn't want to deal with anyone else for the day. Miyuzuin got them out of town, speeding through the next one they arrived at, and stopping at the second town they passed. Where someone let them into an establishment not too far from the main commercial side of the town.
That's where they were, where Miyuzuin got them towels and brushes and told them to clean themselves. And where they finally called it a day and hit the bed without a second thought.
L****s gritted his teeth.
"Meow?!" Kuroka complained as L****s pushed her off the bed and had her fall on her back "Ow! My head!"
He turned around to face the wall, more annoyed than angry. And tried to go back to sleep. He dreamed of flame and pain this time.
Of all the places that Miyuzuin could've shown them, a maid cafe called 'The Bunny Girl' was not in L****s' bucket list. The name was written in english and cursive, with the silhouette of a girl with bunny ears replacing the 'B' with her chest and folded legs. But otherwise it appeared to be a normal establishment with girls dressed as maids but with bunny ears instead of that weird cloth that maid cosplay usually has.
"I didn't know Yuzu had these sorts of preferences." A*****l murmured as they got inside, led by a blonde girl smiling brightly after calling them 'masters'.
L****s shook his head.
"Me neither."
"You two shut up." Miyuzuin didn't turn to look at them, but L****s suspected she wouldn't be smiling if her cold tone was any indication.
He felt… Weird. The last time he had one of those dreams, he might've been 14 or 15. Still going through puberty, and probably a lot more hormonal than now; especially since part of his body was destroyed. So he didn't really know what to think.
They didn't know each other for that long…
"You okay, Cricket? You're… Quiet?" A*****l tilted her head. Not quite smiling, but also not really showing much worry.
"Someone's in a bad mood." Kuroka growled while looking away, glaring at any guy that stared at her. As there weren't that many girls within the cafe.
"Y'all are acting like we didn't almost die yesterday." L****s tried not to look too annoyed, but he didn't know how much he succeeded. So he changed the subject instead "Sorry for not being used to that sort of stress."
"It's fine." Star Seeker chimed in even if she hadn't been invited into the conversation "You get used to it the more you get exposed. Give it some time."
L****s glared at her, but her cheeky smile made him realize she got the exact reaction she wanted out of him. He scoffed.
"Okay, fair. I won't get on your case." A*****l looked away as Miyuzuin led them into one of the private rooms farther into the establishment, staring at the walls in puzzlement "Hey, Yuzu. Not to keep annoying you, but what's up with this?"
"It's for private conversation." Miyuzuin took a seat, a big circular table standing in the middle of the room "This place is a cover for us to move around more effectively, so there's room above and meeting rooms like this one."
"True, it's too big for private sessions with the bunny girls." A*****l shrugged and took a spot directly opposite to Miyuzuin while the Belial girl glared at her.
The table was too big for L****s to sit close to one of them without being far away from the other, so he placed himself right in the middle.
Star Seeker took the seat opposite to him with a small smile, whereas Kuroka simply took the opportunity to shapeshift back into her cat form and hid herself below the table.
Another girl entered the room, dressed as a maid with bunny ears but with none of the flair and charm the others displayed for their customers.
"You'll have to wait to order, sorry." She had long black hair and grayish eyes, which went back to Miyuzuin from time to time as she took the rest of the room in "I thought Kuroka got in as well?"
"I'm under the table!" The catgirl answered.
"Ah, I see." The raven haired girl's poker face was unmatched. It seemed like this wasn't the first time she dealt with Kuroka's antics "Miyu?"
Miyuzuin looked a bit embarrassed as she cleared her throat.
"Lucius, Abigail. This is Kurokami Miyuki, one of my closest friends and allies." Miyuzuin waved in the girl's direction "She helped me get the right rituals to control Stain, and is up to speed with our plans… More or less."
"Pleased to meet you." Miyuki nodded "I… Don't think I've heard of this girl? I know of Star Seeker and… Well, Lucius."
L****s frowned, mimicking Miyuki's expression. In spite of talking of Star Seeker, he had the weird feeling that this girl disliked him.
He sighed inwardly. Right, Diodora. Maybe today's dream made him more moody, but he didn't completely abandon logic. It's just, well, the more people called him by his original name the more he forgot who he was supposed to be.
"Thanks for the hospitality." A*****l almost sparkled as she talked, closing her eyes and giving Miyuki a big smile "I'm the current host of the Sephiroth Graal and Annihilation Maker, the pleasure's all mine."
Miyuki opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. L****s wanted to intervene, but he only just heard about that too. He knew that his sister had had something to do with how they suddenly didn't have to deal with the Annihilation Maker monsters, but he hadn't known how.
"Her Sephiroth Graal is basically hacks." Star Seeker helped the raven haired girl understand the situation "We got another Sacred Gear, but that was more of an accident than anything."
Miyuzuin blinked.
"Explain?"
"Rias has a second Bishop." L****s started.
"Had." His sister corrected "I found him already half beaten to death by the monsters that came out of the mist, I couldn't save him."
That had to be the worst lie that L****s had heard come out of his sister's mouth, but she spoke with such confidence that he needed a second to realize that it didn't make sense. Gasper was, or had been, a half-vampire. He could regenerate, and he had an abnormal power level for how much he actually went out and did anything. And this was like one year after the original timeline should've started. At this point, all that A*****l did by taking Gasper out of the picture was prevent the emergence of a new Longinus… And deprive Rias of a massive upgrade.
Hmm… Well, how useful had Rias been so far anyway…?
"I… See?" Miyuki looked rather lost, eyeing Miyuzuin for help.
The Belial girl had none to offer.
"And I'm here for the same reason." Star Seeker pointed at herself with her thumb "Although I'm kind of surprised that Yuni would go out of her way to out these two."
Miyuzuin didn't change her expression at the implicit accusation.
"We can trust Miyuki."
"If Yuzu says so…" A*****l nodded. It made Miyuzuin a little nervous. But pushed it away with a sigh.
She regarded her fellow Crossroad Hound again.
"Miyuki, we're meeting a couple of important people in a few minutes. Sorry to ask so much of you, but we'd like to have breakfast first." Miyuzuin stood up "I'll help if need be."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Miyuki gave her a thin smile "I'm glad to be of help."
"Really, I can…"
"No, no." Miyuki shook her head "...Stay with your peerage. I'm good."
L****s exchanged a glance with his sister.
"I see." Miyuzuin sat back down as Miyuki excused herself.
"She's mad." Star Seeker commented "Why is she mad?"
"I see that even my intellect can't save you at all." A*****l chuckled but cradled her head.
"It's now easier to understand others, but I'm still very confused." Star Seeker pouted "Leave me alone, I just realized why I was unable to connect to people. I'm basically a baby at this."
"It's not our place to say." L****s glanced at the door, trying to push his annoyance back.
At least he hadn't seen Olivia in the corner of his eyes while thinking of Miyuzuin. Though the calmness gave him more restlessness in its own way.
Miyuzuin shook her head.
"It's nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing." Star Seeker insisted.
"Double S, drop it." A*****l now sounded actually annoyed. It made L****s also stop thinking for a moment. When had he seen his sister actually mad? "Seriously, just stop."
Miyuzuin tapped the table with her finger. L****s felt the air lose some properties, some energy inherent to it. Was Miyuzuin exerting her Privilege Magic?
"Let's concentrate." She stated "We have a meeting, let's think about what we're going to say. Because I did not expect Abigail to just straight up steal two Sacred Gears while we fought to the death."
A*****l smirked.
"But did you die, though?" She asked in the same tone that Star Seeker would have.
Having both Sirzechs and Diehouser sitting in the same room as a bunny eared maid placed drinks and food was something completely surreal. The only reason L****s got away with glancing at the strange visage, was because he had been present when things blew up, so he didn't have to hear everyone out as they explained their side of things. He wondered how out of place Grayfia would look, but otherwise tried to actually pay attention.
He simply distracted himself while his team talked, nothing more and nothing less.
"I aided them a little in that last push." Diehauser admitted "I didn't get Ajuka's message at first, he has a way of overcomplicating everything. But when I managed to get to Kuoh, Team Diodora was already about to defeat the Prison Dragon. I helped weaken the power behind its abilities, but that's about it."
L****s nodded. It had been a little strange how they managed to clear out Genshirou's Imagine Dragon while the Hero Faction pushed back helplessly, even if they were trying to retreat. But it made some sense after hearing that. How they got double the Worthless power on their side.
As timings went, Diehauser could learn a bit. But L****s still felt grateful all the same.
Miyuzuin's allies were horrified, though. They served one of the Demon Lords and a very high ranking devil, and just learned that the Infinite Dragon God was real. And that she had plunged the Underworld in chaos by her mere arrival in the realm. L****s couldn't fault them, though. He hadn't seen it, but knowing that she was so much more powerful than Ajuka and Sirzechs combined made him want to give back his breakfast.
"Oh, that's how it is." Miyuzuin actually looked a bit surprised "That's why you were there so soon. Thank you."
"You're my responsibility, Miyuzuin." Diehauser spoke without hesitation. It'd become a mess sooner or later, but at least Sirzechs knew his priorities well enough to not bring up the way these two talked to each other.
Or their similar appearances.
Or how Miyuzuin had a devil-sounding name in spite of having appeared in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.
Devils have low birth rates, so maybe this sort of scandal would blow up a lot more than L****s thought. Or Sirzechs lived for long enough to just not be phased by these things anymore.
"So you saw the human faction retreat?" The red haired Satan kept the conversation from diverging too much, centering his attention back to Diehauser before Miyuzuin could answer.
"I didn't." The Belial devil lord lowered his head "The Prison Dragon blocked a lot of the landscape with its bulk and flames, I barely caught a glimpse of Team Diodora before they dived for the kill."
One of the maids eyed L****s with aprehension.
"We did not kill Genshirou." He elaborated "Simply got him out of his… Dragon… Transformation…"
"Right, Azazel is with him." Sirzechs nodded, maybe confirming the information he already had.
"Yes." A*****l nodded "We saw that."
"Yup." Star Seeker confirmed.
"And you are…?" Diehauser asked, giving the two girls his full attention "I mean, I know the Miracle Child. But I don't recall seeing you before."
"I was just rescued the other day." She explained with a hint of embarrassment "I… Can't recall my name."
L****s closed his eyes.
"Before Stain went stray, it found her amidst its infiltration of the Brigade." He explained slowly, feeling his shoulders tense as it became his turn to tell their story straight "We didn't tell Rias, of course. But she seems to be an important piece in the organization's goals."
Sirzechs nodded, moving his hand around to signal L****s to go on.
L****s stopped himself from sighing.
"Now, this is important. It's the reason why I asked the two of you to come to the human world instead of going straight to the Underworld. I'm not certain whether the public knows of my survival, but there are things that we simply cannot afford to show brazenly." L****s nodded to his sister, who nodded in return "Officially we're still in a cold war with Heaven and the Grigory, but I'm sure that the people that feed the Khaos Brigade information of the Underworld will be able to deduce that this won't be the case forever."
A*****l summoned her chalice, showing it to Sirzechs who covered his mouth with a hand. His eyes sharpened.
"Sephiroth Graal." The red haired devil stated "You found the host of one of the Longinus that even Azazel couldn't locate."
"More like the Khaos Brigade had her, and I was in a suitable position to take her back." L****s frowned "However…"
He gave Diehauser a side glance. He hadn't reacted to the summoning of the Sacred Gear.
"It's incomplete." The Belial lord stated "There's still two missing pieces, which are in the possession of two different people… And I know who one of them is."
L****s closed his eyes.
"Rizevim Livan Lucifer." The one that would unleash Trihexa to the world and rob Ophis of most of her power. Lucifer's descendant.
"Why hasn't the world ended?" L****s asked, still unwilling to open his eyes.
He heard Diehauser scoff.
"Because that would be no fun."
L****s felt a migraine building up.