Disclaimer (Again): I don't own any of the intellectual properties referenced in this fanmade work, nor is this written for profit or any sort of monetary gain. In all cases,PLEASE support the official release. Seriously, I'm tryna see a PJO game get picked up. I used to play the heck out of that one for DS.
Chapter 2: A Twinkling Star
-Monday, August 27th, 2007-
"...and why can't you accept that? He's gone! He's not coming back for you! He threw his life, his family away for a weak little brat who can't even accept reality! You're worthless, you know that?! You're a burden! I wish Dad had left you behind instead!"
SLAP
I looked up at her in shock. The stinging sensation on my cheek only solidified the weight of her words. Dozens of thoughts ran through my mind, but all I could feel now was a void of emotion. The surprise had drained away, and I only felt empty instead.
She was right, in a way. Everything she said had been something I had thought to myself over the past years, and increasingly over the past few months. I looked up to see that I had wandered away in my trance, just to meet a face straight out of my own nightmares. An open maw filled with hundreds of teeth surrounded my body, and the darkness inside of the creature's mouth quickly closed in.
"You should have died in his place! But don't worry, you'll see him soon." My sister's voice echoed around me as the jaws closed in, and yet the emptiness remained.
I slowly opened my eyes, blinking away the exhaustion that stuck to me. The sun's light blared into my eyes from my open window, but its brightness didn't bother me. If anything, it was reassuring. It helped to chase away the darkness of the forest that stuck to me even in my woken state. Just another reminder that I was here, not back there. Never back there.
Before, those types of nightmares used to send me reeling. I would wake up in a cold sweat and spend hours in a bad mood trying to invalidate my demons. Now, they were like old friends. Just another sign of my nervousness in the face of potentially meeting my wayward sister again.
I was afraid. Afraid that nothing would have changed between now and back then. Afraid that she would shun my attempts to close the chasm that had grown to separate us. Afraid that she had severed the frayed threads that had once connected us. Afraid that she had fully washed her hands of me and our family. But that's fine. My fears were genuine, I had acknowledged them, and there was nothing left for me to do but to take them to heart and keep pressing forward. Fear wouldn't stop me from confronting reality. Not like it did before, and it never will again.
It was amazing what you could discover about yourself once you stopped running from the truth, and I had been done with avoiding the truth for a long time now. If I couldn't confront my demons, how could I ever expect to bear the weight of my family's? It was well beyond time I stepped up to be the man my family had so desperately needed after Dad died, which meant I had no time to waste struggling against myself.
"Heh, she would be surprised to see me acting so mature, even if the sentiment wouldn't last for long," I muttered to myself, relaxing back into my messy bed.
I enjoyed the quiet atmosphere for another few minutes, then I finally moved to get out of bed. No matter how tiring it was to face my internal fears, it didn't mean I could delay moving forward, especially on such an important day. It had been a rough weekend, but the time had finally come for me to take my first step towards reconciliation, and my next step towards proving that I was a changed man.
'If only they both didn't involve going to school…'
-1 Hour Later-
"Do you have all of your stuff? Your extra pencils? Your IDs? Your wallet? Oh, let me help you fix your tie…"
I rolled my eyes at my mother's rambling, and ignored the pop upside that head she gave me in return, but continued to let her do as she pleased. It was easy to tell that our nerves were just getting to the both of us. Still, it wouldn't do for me to take out my feelings on my mother, especially after all the times I know she probably wanted to do the same to me. So, I smiled and nodded along, answering all the questions she had and promising to keep her appraised of the situation.
After giving her one last hug, I waved goodbye and teleported to the outskirts of Kuoh Town. It was a small grove a little off the beaten path, with beautiful flowers scattered about the small clearing. I smiled at the scenery, already feeling nostalgic over the times my mother had teleported us to the same place in order to pick up my sister after school. Though, back then I was usually being too much of a moody brat to appreciate the stunning scenery, or maybe my nostalgia was making it easier to appreciate the little things.
The reminder made me even more appreciative of my mother's seemingly endless sense of patience. To manage homeschooling a bratty teen, arranging things for her other child to get the education she wanted in another ward across the country, then dragging herself to serve to the whims of one of the pettiest youkai I had ever met?
'If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she was some sort of Holy Maiden. That, or one of Goddess' Seraphim in disguise,' I thought in amusement.
I took a moment to take in the clearing I had teleported into, checking to be sure that the coast was clear. It was a few meters away from a road that led out of the city. A bus stop was about a minute down the road, which fit with my disguise of being someone who caught the bus into the city. It would probably be easier to just move into another place nearby, but I preferred leaving my mother back in Kyoto rather than uprooting her to come to a hotspot for multiple factions. I would just need to be careful about who I told what.
'Though I could just claim that I lived in an apartment nearby. Maybe I can ask Kunou what they decided for her to do, and piggy-back off of that? Speaking of, I should probably convince her to get a phone.' I thought as I pulled mine out to shoot my mother a quick text. I was lucky that we no longer lived in America, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use a phone in the middle of the wilderness. Not unless I had a deathwish, at least.
'But nowadays I could put up a much better fight than I had back then. No more running, right Caelum?' I mentally affirmed. Even with my newfound confidence, I couldn't help but take another cautious look around the area. I slowly maneuvered through the foliage and over to the road, then made my way to the town.
It didn't take long for me to reach the outskirts of what I mentally recategorized as a small city. I was surprised to see that the road I had followed ended up leading me to the edge of a park, and I could spot a fountain off in the distance to my left. I couldn't help but pause to take in what was such an important location in his memories. Similar to my special tree clearing, the fountain ahead of me was the place that changed everything for a certain someone else.
After I finally drew myself away from the fountain, I continued down the road, passing along the outer edge of the park and heading deeper into the city. I passed a few other notable places, like a large mall, the town plaza, and a side street that led to what I assumed was the pleasure district. At least, it seemed like it was based on some of the seedy posters along the route.
I was walking for so long that I almost thought I was heading in the wrong direction, but relaxed when I finally spotted a familiar large gate up the street. It looked just like it did in his memories, but I ignored the dread that rose up at the reminder in favor of checking out the premises of the academy. I was surprised to see how empty it was at the front of the gate, but my question was answered for me when I stepped inside of it.
The first thing that caught my attention was the size of the school's campus. I knew the place was huge, considering it served to teach students across a wide range of grade levels, but to see it in person was something else. What really drew my eye was the massive crowd waiting outside of the main building. It was mostly composed of boys, but I could spot more than a few girls waiting as well.
'Oh yeah, this used to be an all girls school, but to have this many still wanting to transfer? It's halfway through the school year! Are they all so sure they can keep up with an accelerated education?' I thought in disbelief. I could only wonder how many were there just to try and up their abysmal chance at getting a girlfriend. Considering how many boys were eyeing up the few girls around them, I was comfortable in assuming it was most of them.
"Hey, Seren, over here!" A familiar voice called over the crowd.
I turned around to see Kunou waving at me from the back of the crowd. Most of the kids were arrayed around the stairs in the front of the building, but Kunou was directly in front of the doors. There was a small gap between her and the rest of the group, except for three other girls standing next to her.
I slowly made my way through the crowd, excusing myself when things began to get a little tight. More than a few people turned to give me angry looks, but I ignored them in favor of continuing along. As I reached the front of the crowd, I had a tough time pushing down my amusement at the small group that greeted me.
At first glance, Kunou seemed to be in her element. When I looked closer, it became apparent how anxious she really was. I had only been there a few moments, and she had already flip-flopped between excitement, fear, and worry as she rambled to the others about her preparations for the test. Next to her was Shirone, who was clearly bored of her mind, but seemed to be partially listening to an unfamiliar girl.
The new girl had vermillion hair, bright eyes, and an odd necklace that seemed to be made from small ceramic skulls. It reminded me of some of the cartoony Day of the Dead decorations I had seen growing up in America. She was also talking Shirone's ear off, who was vacantly nodding along to whatever the girl was saying.
Behind them was what drew my amusement. Glaring at me with her arms crossed in a pout was Kuroka. While it was odd to see her there, I pushed that aside and instead focused on her hilarious outfit. She was currently dressed in a pants suit, but where I would have expected her to purposely wear everything a size too small, instead it was a size too big. She looked like a kid wearing their parent's clothes. Apparently, I was terrible at hiding my amusement, since her glare intensified as she noticed where I was looking.
"Why doesn't she just magic her clothes right, or something?" I asked Kunou, interrupting her in the middle of her rambling.
"Lady Magari forced her to wear it because of a small disagreement they had and did something so she couldn't take it off or change it," She reflexively explained, then levied me with an envious look. "How are you so nonchalant? Shouldn't you be worried about passing the test?"
"Me? I thought your entry was practically guaranteed? If anyone should be nonchalant about this, it's you guys!" I pointed out in disbelief. She winced at my question and, sensing another amusing story, I stared her down until she finally cracked.
"My mom made a bet concerning my exam scores with Satan Leviathan as part of the amendments to our agreement," She quietly whispered, but didn't elaborate.
Seeing how she didn't want to say more, I decided to leave things as they were in favor of finding out who her friend was. Kunou seemed grateful for the opportunity to change the subject, as I had barely moved to gesture towards the new girl before she jumped in to explain.
"Oh! She's my newly assigned bodyguard, Sha Wujing! She'll be attending the middle division with Shirone. Well, she will if I pass, that is…" She trailed off for a moment, caught up in her pre-exam jitters again, so I let her be in favor of heading over to introduce myself.
"Students! Please check in and report straight to your assigned testing centers! Middle Division examinees, please head through the left entrance! High Division examinees, please head through the middle entrance! Upper Division examinees, please head through the right entrance!" A melodic voice called out over the intercom.
'Well, there goes that plan.' I thought in irritation, but let it go in favor of following what we had been instructed.
I immediately turned and headed straight through the middle doors, taking note of how Shirone and Sha Wujing headed towards the left entrance, while Kuroka angrily stomped through the right. Kunou stuck to me like glue, shyly shadowing me as if I was her older brother. I gave her an amused smile, but frowned when she barely registered it.
"Hey, calm down. You have this in the bag! If I can be confident in passing then you should too, right? You helped me get up to speed, so have a little faith in yourself, Princess!" I finished with a pat on her head, hoping that it would be enough to shake her out of her funk.
She reacted just as I hoped, slapping my hand away and huffing in irritation at how I messed up her hair. She took the lead from there, pointing her nose up high and straightening her posture. After taking a moment to suppress my laughter, I followed her to our assigned check in desk. The check in process was surprisingly smooth. Before I knew it, we were both seated inside of our examination room.
We spent the next few hours taking various tests, with small breaks in between. The proctor told us that each test would help demonstrate our proficiency in classes available at Kuoh Academy, including ones that weren't required. Unlike normal entrance exams, we were being tested on how easily we would fit into the ongoing classes at our relevant grade levels.
Japan's school system worked differently than America's in that the school year stretched across a different time period. Part of the reason why I was homeschooled for so long, aside from my issues due to my father's death, was because of the adjustment needed to go from an American style education to a Japanese one. Of course, my sister had easily made the adjustment, which only led to more arguments between us over time.
'No, the past is behind you. Remember it, regret it, and use it to look towards the future,' I thought to myself as I walked out of the exam room.
I took a moment to stretch, popping my back and arms instead of using my normal method of circulating my physical energy to warm myself up. I didn't want to risk being discovered before I was accepted. While it might have ensured my enrollment, it could also lead to my sister being alerted to my intentions well before I was ready to confront her. Before I could get too deep into my thoughts, a pair of arms wrapped around me just as a familiar blonde head slammed into my chest.
"That was much easier than I expected it to be! I can't believe I was so worried! You were right, Seren!"
I smirked at the angry glares that were levied at us. Some of them were from nervous students who likely had a rougher go at the exams, while others were from guys who seemed incensed by my luck at having a girl pressing herself into me. I just brushed them off, since I never put much stock into that sort of stuff anyway.
"That's because I forgot that the transfer exams are different from the entrance exams, so we ended up over studying. Oh well, no harm no fou- I mean, uh, sorry about that!" I quickly apologized, seeing as she had glanced up from my chest and gave me a sharp look.
"But what if we had been underprepared because of your oversight? We could have been studying the wrong material!" She frowned when I shrugged at her question, and she pulled away to pout at me in turn. She seemed pretty dissatisfied with me finding amusement in how my mistake caused her unneeded stress.
She had a point, but hey, thankfully things hadn't turned out that way. There was no need to cry over spilled milk, but I knew not to say that unless I wanted to get smacked upside the head. For being such a proper and well-mannered princess, she was a little too comfortable in taking me to task over my 'bouts of idiocy,' as she called them.
"So, since it seems like you're so sure about your chances in passing, how about we go celebrate our inevitable acceptance?" I offered, knowing that she was going to try and trick me into making up for my mistake anyway. Seeing how quickly her demeanor switched, I knew my instincts were right.
She excitedly dragged me through the hallway, pulling me outside of the building and towards the gate in a hurry to get her promised peace offering. Though, I knew that she would just end up dragging me to yet another bakery. Still, I had to stop her before we left the school premises, considering that she was leaving her actual guard detail behind.
"Hey, Kunou, wait up! What about the others?" I asked as I pulled back on my arm to slow her down.
She looked surprised, and for a moment an uncaring look crossed her face. I was taken aback, since it almost seemed like she was going to brush them off. After another moment, she sighed to herself and turned back around.
"Fine, but I will decide where we go to eat," She said, dragging me back towards the entrance of the building. She eventually let go of my arm, leaving me to sit down on the stairs while she continued to pace.
I amused myself by guessing how well other prospective students did on the exam based on how they left the grounds. Some of them were bragging about how easy the tests were, but I could tell that most of them were lying. It's easy to pick up once you familiarize yourself with the signs. Things like their body language helped to differentiate real confidence from bravado. They also tended to change their stories in the hopes of provoking a certain reaction, with their confidence rising as their listeners gave them the signs they were looking for. Others were too nervous to even try talking, with a few flat out running through the gates as if they were embarrassed by their failure. It was interesting to see the difference between American and Japanese school-kids, though I was mostly relying on his memories for the comparison.
I was distracted from my people watching when the rest of Kunou's group exited the building. This time Kuroka was the one who took up the task of talking Shirone's ear off, loudly complaining about her clothes and why she had to take some dumb tests. Shirone was nodding along every now and then, but it was obvious to everyone that she had totally checked out of the conversation. Well, to everyone except Kuroka, that is. They were followed by Sha Wujing, who seemed to be nervous over her potential results. I remembered that before the test she had been eagerly talking at Shirone, similar to what Kuroka was doing at the moment, but now she was almost dragging her feet in defeat.
"Over here! Seren said he was going to treat us to lunch!" Kunou called out from the bottom of the stairs. I rolled my eyes, but said nothing to correct her.
"Really?!" Sha Wujing called back as she ran down the stairs, perking right up at the news of free food. "Oh! Can we get those cupcakes you brought back last time?" She asked Kunou, who seemed to be considering her words.
"Sweets shop," Shirone simply said as she walked closer. I was surprised to see her give me a nod in greeting, and smiled back at her. Kuroka seemed incensed at being ignored by her sister and turned to glare at me, but I just winked and turned to address the others.
"Well, I could always take us over to the bakery outside of Urakyoto. Unless you guys want to explore the town a bit and see what's good here instead?" I offered.
Sha Wujing rapidly nodded her head as she jumped up and down. I almost regretted funding her inevitable sugar rush, but relaxed when I remembered at that point she would be Kunou's problem. Shirone gave a thumbs up, which seemed oddly expressive for her, while Kunou just motioned for us to follow her.
"Wait! Don't I get to vote?" Kuroka yelled.
"Nope!" I replied over my shoulder as we followed Kunou out of the gate and down the street. It didn't take long for me to realize we were heading towards what seemed to be the residential part of Kuoh. We ended up stopping at the back of a large community, in front of a large manor across from yet another stupidly large manor. Both manors were secluded, with a large forest surrounding the edges of both of their grounds.
"Courtesy of the town's overseers," Kunou explained, having seen my shocked expression. She pressed her palm against the door, and a small magic circle appeared. It glowed then dissipated, after which Kunou opened the door and led us in.
"This is where we'll be staying during the school year. It'll be easier to just teleport us from here instead of trying to find somewhere discreet," Kunou happily said.
I decided to ignore the proud look on her face, knowing that her true intentions were to show off the place where they would be staying. I couldn't blame her, since their place was pretty snazzy. The nearby forest would also make for a great training area, not that I expected Kunou to use it as such. Kunou never had the same draw to combat that I did, seeing it as, 'A barbaric art pursued by those who used their fists more than their brains.'
"Nice place. Do you need to key me into the wards or anything?" I asked, but Kunou just shook her head.
"Good, then everyone please gather around me! Next stop, the bakery!" I quipped as I pulled on some of my physical energy and wrapped it around our group. With a thought, we reappeared in the alley next to Kunou's favorite bakery.
It didn't take us long to get settled and order, with our food being brought out in no time. Of course, it took a bit longer for conversation to start flowing. Kuroka still seemed to dislike me for whatever reason, while Sha Wujing, Kunou, and Shirone were a little busy stuffing their faces with assorted slices of cake, cookies, and cupcakes. Still, I was surprised to hear the first topic brought up.
"So, you're Seren, huh? You know, Kunou just loves to talk about you. It's always 'Seren this' and 'Seren that,'" Sha Wujing mimed with a mischievous look. Kunou was waving her hands, but Sha Wujing continued to bring up more examples. I tuned out a few of them, since it was mostly just stories of Kunou waxing about a new thing she picked up about humanity from helping me study, but my attention was pulled back in when she mentioned their training sessions.
"Yeah, and she was even trying to convince Magari to help her learn how to cast inescapable illusions like some technique you used, though Kuroka refused to explain more about it. Then, she tried to copy some fancy thing you did with your sword to cut through Kuroka's claws, but ended up melting her sword instead!" Sha Wujing laughed, slamming her hand on the table as she wiped tears out of her eyes.
As amusing as her retelling was, I found it funnier that Kunou had ended up stuck with someone who seemed to her polar opposite. Where Kunou tried her best to be reserved and princess-like, Sha Wujing seemed to be more of the rambunctious sort. I wouldn't call her a tomboy, but she clearly didn't care as much about propriety or manners like Kunou tended to. I already liked her.
"While I'm glad to hear you're finally taking your training seriously, Princess, copying me is probably one of the worst places you could start," I said. Seeing the indignant look in her eye, I decided to explain a bit more before she could get the wrong idea.
"My powers are a bit out of the norm when compared to most of the common abilities you can find in our world. Why, some might even call me an abomination!" I cheerily said, mentally laughing to myself at her confusion. Deciding to have some mercy on them, I turned to Kuroka to get some help in my explanation.
"Kuroka, you can use senjutsu right?"
"And how do you know what that is?" She responded with a narrow eyed gaze. I just waved her off and continued.
"Reasons. Anyway, what did my power feel like when we fought? Hell, try and get a read on me now if you want," I nonchalantly offered. Yet instead of calming down, her eyes narrowed even further.
"What, trying to trick me again?" She angrily asked, baring her teeth in a feline manner.
I was taken aback for a moment, then remembered the odd occurrences I always had with nekomata. I realized that she had probably asked Magari about me after our fight and had gotten the rundown on their people's odd reactions around me.
There was that incident with her smelling me, her inability to shake off my reversal of her illusions, and even her odd reaction to my physical energy at the end of our little fight. While her reactions were much tamer than what usually happened when I ran into other nekomata, I guess it was still something for her to be concerned about. Especially if it seemed like I was baiting her into embarrassing herself.
"My bad, I forgot about that stuff. I usually keep a tight grip on my power anyway, so the worst that would have happened is what you experienced when we first met outside the bakery," I explained, then turned towards the others to elaborate.
"Anyway, my abilities are a bit different than what normally comes from my mother's clan. You know the Principal Clans and their predisposition to Touki manipulation, Shinto Magic, and their precious Sacred Beasts. Well, I don't have any of that. For some reason, my ki, or life energy, mutated into two separate forms of energy.." I held up both my hands and took a moment to concentrate. The others leaned back in surprise as two different coloured auras manifested around my hands. My left hand shined bright with an intense yellow light, while my right hand glowed with a much softer and inviting purple light.
"Wow!" Sha Wujing oohed and awed as she tried to look closer.
"How captivating…" Kunou trailed off, instinctively reaching out to the aura around my right hand. Just before she touched it, she flinched back and gave me a questioning look. I nodded at her with an inviting smile, and laughed at the way she tried to prod the flickering auras of energy.
"Hm." Shirone hummed, but her eyes seemed to be locked onto my left hand. I was tempted to move it and see if she would react like a cat would to a laser point, but resisted the impulse.
Kuroka was silent, but her eyes rapidly flitted between both my hands. Her mind seemed to be racing as she took in the expressions of my two pools of power. I wondered what, if anything, she could pick up from the portions of my energies that had her attention, but wrote it off for the moment.
"The closest comparison I could make is that they're like a watered down version of your youki. This is what I like to call my physical energy." I paused to raise my left hand, flaring my power to the yellow aura briefly intensified. "On the other hand, literally, is what I call my spiritual energy." I copied the same act with my right hand, repressing a smirk at the way Kunou's eyes tracked the purple light.
"So that's why your energy felt so familiar, but wonky at the same time…" Kuroka muttered to herself, but I answered as if she was talking to everyone.
"Yup. It's also why the Youkai Factions are pretty accommodating for me, outside of the debt they owe me and my mom. The amount of similarities between my abilities and the average youkai's are uncanny. Nurarihyon likes to call me the human youkai, and keeps trying to prove that my father wasn't human. Magari, on the other hand, likes to try and send nekomata to seduce me. She said something about how your species can create offspring with the powers of both sides of their parent's lineage," I said nonchalantly. I forced myself to ignore how Kuroka's face turned red at the unsaid insinuation, along with how Kunou glared at Kuroka. She was always pretty defensive of me when it came to Magari's tricks.
"But yeah, the downsides are that I don't have any capacity for traditional techniques. Things like Touki, a common way to manipulate life energy into a shroud that empowers the user, or any sort of human magic are completely out of my reach. Even the Shinto Magic my mom tried to teach me didn't work out. That doesn't mean that I can't reinvent them by leveraging the unique properties of my powers, but it makes copying anything I do extremely difficult since I'm working under different rules than you guys," I finished with a snap of my fingers, dissipating the shrouds of energy coating my hands. Sha Wujing groaned at their disappearance, but Kunou seemed a bit more preoccupied by a eureka moment.
"Is that also why I have never seen you utilize magic circles?!" Kunou excitedly asked. I nodded in response, ignoring Kuroka's muttered curses as I continued my explanation.
"Take the illusion I cast on Kuroka as an example. She wasn't able to break out of it due to the unique properties of my powers. I didn't name them that way for shits and giggles, you know. My physical energy is the manifestation of my body, while my spiritual energy is the manifestation of my soul. The density of spiritual energy turns even my lowest ranked illusions into the equivalent of a high tier illusionary spell cast using another method. It also makes casting illusions that much easier for me. Less energy put in for an exponentially better outcome. On the other hand, my physical energy can be used in a much more direct manner. Like so," I said as I held up my hand.
Everyone watched the yellow aura re-manifested around my hand, then flinched back when a burst of heat filled the room. Before anyone could panic, the flames shifted as a loud crackling filled the air. An electric aura replaced the flames, before it shifted again. The electricity slowly coalesced, steadily flowing as it shifted into a winding current of water.
"Even the trick I pulled with my sword is something that is most likely beyond your current capabilities. I can almost instinctively manipulate and control my powers, and easily shift them across a wide variety of forms. Using the elements to enhance my sword's cutting potential, or any of my other capabilities, is child's play. Though, I think it might be a bit of my Shinra Clan heritage carrying over. Anyway, you would still need to account for things like the durability of the weapon, maintain a tight control over your chosen element, and remain aware of how it affects your environment as well." I once again left out a few important bits, like how those things were only easy for me in small amounts. Anything bigger, and my sense of control suffered.
With a flick of my wrist, the water disappeared from around my hand. I glanced back at the others to see Sha Wujing and Shirone giving me looks of respect, Kunou pouting at my display, and Kuroka giving me an oddly blank look. An awkward silence began to fill the air, ao I verbally stepped in before things could get weird.
"But enough about me. I already know Princess pretty well from our previous misadventures, but I don't know much about the rest of you guys. So, Sha Wujing, how'd you get roped into this?" I asked, smiling when the younger girl eagerly began to ramble about herself.
She talked about her time spent training to join Urakyoto's Defense Garrison, and how she was approached by Yasaka to help guard Kunou. Apparently she was the next inheritor of the title Sha Wujing, one of those who journeyed with the original Sun Wukong. She also put a lot of emphasis on how Sha Wujing wasn't a kappa, therefore she wasn't either, which I noted for later teasing.
Shirone wasn't as easy to get to talk, but she chimed in every now and then to comment on something or volunteer bits of information about herself. Nothing important, just small things like how her favorite type of music was heavy metal, or that her favorite sweet was a rare brand of lollipop. It took everything I had not to crack a joke about strangers and vans, but I couldn't hold back my laughter when Sha Wujing made it instead.
After a while, even Kuroka began to relax and join in the fun. She told a few stories about her and Shirone's time spent training under Magari, along with some of the missions they've completed. Though, every now and then, I noticed that her eyes would settle on my hands again, as if she was still thinking about my mutated energy. Eventually, our conversation circled back around to the last elephant in the room.
"I still don't get why I needed to enroll in that stupid academy! I would prefer to be a maid of all things rather than be forced to go to some stuffy school!" Of course, Kuroka was the first one to complain about it, considering she never wanted to join us at Kuoh Academy in the first place. How was I so sure of that? Well, after hearing her bring it up for the dozenth time, I thought I was safe to assume so.
"You. Promised. Go. Together!" Shirone angrily bit out, glaring at Kuroka with an intensity I hadn't thought she'd be capable of. Kuroka flinched at the harsh look her sister gave her, but continued to whine all the same.
"I don't know. That test was pretty hard. I'm not even sure if I passed," Sha Wujing admitted, giving Kuroka a commiserating look.
"Don't worry. I'm sure if you pay attention in class, do your best on assignments, and spend some extra time studying, you will have no problem with your school work!" Kunou promised.
"Work hard. More time for fun," Shirone added as she calmed down, which immediately swayed Sha Wujing. Seeing Kuroka was still pouting, I couldn't pass up the chance to taunt her.
"You hear that, Kuroka? Maybe school won't be as boring as you think!" I teased with a wide grin, taking delight in the angry look she shot me.
- Monday, September 3rd, 2007-
'This is way more boring than I thought it would be…' I thought in exasperation. I couldn't believe I had ever thought this would be a good idea. I groaned to myself at the sound of the teacher droning on and on about another subject I couldn't be bothered to remember, and I suppressed the desire to just cut and leave.
'Just tough it out, Caelum. You're here to rebuild your relationship with your sister and to get back to having some semblance of a life. You can't do that if you're just going to wimp out at the first sign of adversity!' I tried to sit back up and pay attention, but my motivation instantly drained away at the sound of the teacher's mind numbing voice.
'Forget it, I'm going to sleep.' I eagerly laid my head down, and let the teacher's dull tone lull me back to the sweet escape of the dreamworld. Sadly, just when I started to drift off, a finger poked me in my side. I glanced up to see Kunou was glaring at me with a stern look, but I just turned the other way and scooted my chair a bit further away from her. Without her to distract me, it didn't take much time at all to drift back to La La Land.
It hadn't taken long for Kuoh Academy to send us our results, and I was happy to see that I had done well enough to be placed in a class alongside Kunou. That happiness had been dulled by the realization of what type of student Kunou was. She spent the few days we had left before the first day dragging me around to buy things in preparation for class. New uniforms, school supplies, various backpacks to match with small alterations in her outfit, and everything else she could think of.
When it came time for our first day of class, Kunou hadn't even waited until after we finished introducing ourselves to make herself at home as the new resident teacher's pet. She volunteered to hand out assignments, raised her hand for practically every question, and was the first to turn in work. All of that was within the span of our first few classes! Even worse, everytime I started to zone out, or tried to go to sleep, she would do her best to stop me. From poking me in my side, to loudly asking questions before I could drift off, to even bumping into my desk as she left to the restroom.
Thankfully, the bell chimed just as I heard Kunou's chair shift. I eagerly rose from my desk, packing up the few things I had out as I went, and made my way out of the classroom. I moved to follow the flow of students heading toward the cafeteria, but was stopped by an expectant cough. I turned to see an incensed Kunou giving me yet another angry look.
"Why were you sleeping in class? What if you missed something the teacher said? Or you…"
I tuned out the rest of her nagging as I continued towards the cafeteria. She spent the whole walk there talking my ear off about school regulations and punishments for breaking the rules. For a moment, I was overwhelmed by nostalgia. Memories of a character he had liked filled my mind, and I could almost see a bushy haired girl rambling about being killed or, even worse, expelled overshadowing Kunou.
"...and you could be given detention, or even suspended if you don't pay attention!" Kunou finished.
I just nodded along, as if I had been listening closely the entire time, but knew I failed to look convincing enough by the way she frowned at me. She paused in her walking, forcing me to stop and give her the direct attention she was looking for. I tried to play innocent and avoid her piercing gaze, but my lack of any sort of comment spoke more to my guilt than anything else.
"Seren, were you listening to a word I said?! This is serious!" She stressed, but I just rolled my eyes at her.
"Kunou, relax. This is all just part of the student experience. It's just highschool, not a university or a military school," I said and turned to continue walking.
"Well it certainly won't be a university for you with that sort of attitude!" Kunou admonished. We spent the rest of our walk in silence, with Kunou staring me down every few steps while I pretended to be deep in thought over what she said.
As we finally approached the cafeteria doors and I moved to open the door for Kunou, I was surprised to see a certain someone turn the corner from the way we had come with a large group of students. They filed one by one into an office at the end of the hallway, but I only had eyes for one of the people in that group.
"...seriously, Seren, you don't need to be kicked out on your first da-"
"Hey, Kunou, head in without me. I need to talk to someone real quick!" I interjected and let go of the door in order to race back down the hallway. I could hear Kunou yelling something from behind me but ignored her in favor of slipping past a few lingering groups of students.
As I reached the office I had seen them enter, my hand stalled before it could touch the door. A thousand different thoughts ran through my mind of how this could potentially go wrong, and I hesitated on whether I was going about this the right way. Before I could wimp out, I was startled by the door swinging open for me. A short, brown-haired girl with twin ponytails peeked up at me and offered a wide smile.
"Hello! How may the Student Council assist you?" She asked, then paused for a moment to stare at me. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers, "Oh, you're one of the new transfer students, right? Are you having trouble navigating the school? I could always help lead you to your next cla-"
"Is Tsubaki inside? May I speak with her, please?" I interjected, trying my best to suppress my nerves and sound calm. The odd look she gave me did no favors for my rising anxiety. Her tone shifted, going from happily playful to wary and professional.
"Vice President Shinra is here, but she's also very busy. If you're here to make some sort of confession or-"
"What?! No! It's not like that!" I yelled, waving my hands in a panic. The smirk on her face told me how amusing she found my floundering, so I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself.
"Look, this is serious. I just need a moment to speak with Tsubaki. Is she free?" I asked again, pushing down the urge to peek over her head and find out myself.
"Nimura, please let our guest in," A soft voice chimed in from behind me. I turned to see the one person I should probably be avoiding had arrived. Sona Sitri, the heiress of the Sitri Clan and one of the overseers of Kuoh.
'Atleast, based on his memories she is,' I thought to myself as the brown haired girl, Nimura apparently, pouted but stepped out of the way for us to enter.
"After you," I offered Sona, who swept past me like she owned the place. Admittedly, she probably did.
She headed straight towards the desk at the center of the room and calmly took her seat in the comfy looking chair behind it. Nimura continued to hold the door open for me to enter, which I thanked her for as I took in the rest of the room. The office was a decent size, with a few other rooms attached. There were other people inside the main office, but I didn't spot Tsubaki nearby.
"Good Afternoon, Seren. My name is Shitori Souna, President of the Student Council. How may we help you?" She calmly asked as she shuffled a few papers around her desk. I tried to ignore the pit in my stomach that rose at her using the same false name he remembered.
"I was looking to talk to Tsubaki. Is she around?" I asked as I continued to look around the room.
"May I ask exactly what it is which you needed to speak with my Vice President about? If you require assistance, then I would be happy to help you in her stead," She offered, but I shook my head.
"Sorry, but it's kind of-"
"I found the documents you were looking for, Kaichou."
I instinctively turned around at the sound of her voice and couldn't help but freeze up at the sight of her. I hungrily took in her features, drinking in the fact that my sister was whole, safe, and right in front of me after months of worrying. She looked different than before. Her skin was clearer, some of her features had sharpened, and she looked happier.
Yet, the rest of her features were the same as I remembered them to be. She had on the same half-frame glasses that slipped down her nose whenever she moved her head, the same long black hair which she used to spend hours combing through, and the same heterochromatic eyes that made it difficult for me to hold her gaze. She calmly walked up past me and set a small stack of papers down on the desk, but I noticed her tense up when her eyes finally drifted towards me.
"Tsubaki! You don't call, you don't write, it's almost like you were avoiding me!" I tried to tease lightheartedly, even if I wasn't really feeling it.
The corner of her lips quirked upward, and I took that as a small victory. Then, she glared at me with the same look of distaste that she always did, and everything came crashing back. The arguments, the fighting, all of the downs in our relationship rapidly flashed through my mind. It took everything I had to swallow down what I really wanted to say to her, but I managed to do it all the same.
"What exactly are you doing here? How are you here?" She demanded, but I wasn't going for it.
"Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing? It's been months, Tsubaki. You didn't leave a message or anything! Do you know how worried we were?" I retorted.
Her eyes widened, and for a split second I thought I saw a flash of guilt across her face. I couldn't help but be heartened by her reaction. Guilt meant that she likely wished things hadn't turned out like they did, or that she missed us. Both were good signs, since they meant she might be agreeable to mending bridges that I feared she had intended to burn. Of course, things weren't that simple. Reading her body language was great and all, but human beings were more than their emotions. People said and did the opposite of what they truly felt all the time. Case in point, she grit her teeth and stepped forward into my space.
"Like you have the right to even think of judging me!" She angrily jabbed her finger into my chest, but her eyes widened when I didn't even stumble back a step. Before I could respond, someone else interrupted us.
"Enough."
I glanced back towards Sona, who was giving us both harsh looks. Tsubaki instantly spun around, standing with her back straight and giving Sona a look of deference. My stomach dropped at the sight of her bowing her head, and I frowned as my worst nightmare was slowly being proven true.
I had hoped that, in this case, the memories I received would be wrong. They had been incorrect more than a few times already, and this was something I just wasn't ready to accept. I knew my sister, and beyond the differences between her and the other version he had seen, I had faith in her to make the right decisions. Regardless of the circumstances, falling into the trap of selling her soul wasn't something I had wanted to believe she was capable of.
No matter how weak they were, there were plenty of reasons I could think of for her still being at Kuoh Academy or even being a part of the Student Council. She had been going to Kuoh Academy for over two years now, who knows what type of bonds she had forged while she was there? Maybe Tsubaki had entered into a partnership with them by becoming a contracted magician? Or perhaps they hadn't been able to give her their recruitment pitch yet. Sadly, all of those reasons crumbled in the face of her instant submission to Sona's command. My sister, relegated to acting as a dog on a leash at the whims of some teenage girl living out a highschool power fantasy.
I just couldn't accept it. I wanted, no I needed to prove my doubts wrong. So, I hurried to pull on some of my spiritual energy in order to find the truth. I haphazardly pushed it outward, feeling for anything that could clue me in to what I feared had happened. I ignored the emotions I could pick up, like Sona's irritation along with Tsubaki's shame, in favor of checking on my sister's life force. My patience snapped at the confirmation I had found.
"You left for this?! Really Tsubaki?! Have you lost your mind?!" I clenched my fist at the way she flinched at my words, yet she still refused to turn away from her King. I couldn't help the disgust that filled me when I focused on the little I could see of the connection I felt between Sona and my sister. Yet that was nothing compared to the vile energy I felt entangled in her life force, filling every area of her body with its disgusting taint. It was beyond sickening to me.
"I said enough, Seren. If the only reason you are here is to argue with my subordinate, then I will have to ask you to leave," Sona requested, but I could tell that she meant that as an order. Sadly for her, I was no longer in the mood to care.
"I understand you're confused, but I'm going to have to ask you to butt out for the moment. You've already done more than enough," I angrily retorted, dismissing her in favor of turning back to address my sister.
"E-Excuse me?" Sona stuttered out, but I continued to ignore her.
"You need to come back home and explain this to Mom. I'm not going to be the one to inform her that her daughter is a slave," I angrily said, trying my best to hold back my frustration at what she had done.
"Like you could ever understand! Mom did the same thing to provide for us, so how is it a problem when I made a similar choice?" Tsubaki said, but her voice wavered.
I stared at her in disbelief, which quickly turned into outrage. I couldn't believe the gall she had to compare her selfishness to what our mother had done for us. Exiled, widowed, and alone with nothing to her name, our mother made the best of a terrible situation to give herself the means to care for us. Tsubaki had everything my mother didn't, yet had the nerve to try to prop herself up on the same pedestal.
"Don't you dare try using her sacrifice as an excuse for your selfishness, recklessness, and pure idiocy! You did this to yourself, and for what?! You had a mother doing her best to provide for you! You had a home to rest your head! You had a family, and you gave it all up to bind yourself to a stranger? Do you understand what you've done?! You enslaved yourself to the will of someone you barely know for the rest of your life! Do you know what she could do to you?! What her people do to others like you?!" I demanded, but she still refused to look at me.
The room was silent as I glared at Tsubaki, but that only reminded me of the others in the room. Of the deceitful bitch who stole my sister's freedom, and the slaves who probably did their best to encourage her to join them. A cabal of lost souls forever damned to hell because of the narcissism of their progenitor, and now my own sister had been dragged down with them.
Tsubaki was cursed to live the rest of her life as a piece on someone else's board. A pawn in the sinister game played between wannabe immortals who couldn't handle the loss of their Father. She would be forced to defend a spoiled brat who was arguably the weakest of her generation. A lost child stuck in the shadow of her older sister. A walking target for any who would move against their faction.
"C-Caelum. Y-You need to calm down. Y-Your eyes…" I heard Tsubaki stutter.
My head began to ache, and my thoughts continued to race as his memories flashed through my mind. Example after example of the fall out from Tsubaki's asinine decision to give up her freedom played before my eyes. Even worse, I could feel the pathetic levels of strength that filled the room. I could feel the sluggishness in the way their disgusting energy lazily moved through their bodies. I could feel the weak resolve that filled my sister, along with the guilt she tried to hide behind her facade.
"...having another… trance… can't break him out…"
Her guilt had traces of a multitude of emotions attached to it, and I could practically read her thought process in relation to those emotions. The same emotions behind the motivation that fueled her to join Sona's peerage at any means necessary. To sacrifice the bonds she had with her family in favor of creating ones with some girls had only known for 2 years at that point.
Anger, towards the faction she blamed for constantly monopolizing our mother's time. Irritation and annoyance, towards me for wasting the rest of it with my own issues. Hatred, towards me for taking our dad away. Pride, in the opportunity that was given to her and in being recognized for her potential. Eagerness, at getting the chance to grow strong enough that something like what happened to me would never happen to her. Delight, at successfully pulling off her plan to get away.
"...hear me… Caelum… please…"
Even worse, the other's emotions only made me angrier. I could feel Sona's indignation from my words. Her anger at implying that Tsubaki was wrong for joining her peerage. Her slaves' anger at how my words pertained to their own choices. I just couldn't handle it. The pure lack of forethought and naivety filling the room made me sick. Yet the images only got worse.
Endless situations showing me how things could go wrong for them. Of Sona being put in a position where she would have to choose herself over them. Of ways in which my sister would be forced to take the fall because she sold herself to a weak master. Of my sister being caught in the crossfire because some jackass wanted to strike at the sister of one of the Satans. Finally, having had enough of being bombarded by their thoughts and my own continuously manifesting internal fears, I pushed Tsubaki's hands away from me and turned to walk out of the room.
"So you're just going to turn your back? Run away like you always did?" Tsubaki complained, but I could feel her underlying terror.
"You're a grown woman, Tsubaki. You made your choice, and now, well, you'll have to live with it," I said as I continued to leave, having said my piece, but a hand gripped my shoulder.
"If you think you can waltz into my territory, disrespect me and my servants, and walk away as if nothing is wrong, then you're as foolish as you are naive! Who are you, who sent you, and what relationship do you have with my Queen that makes you think you can verbally abuse her in front of me without repercussions?!" Sona demanded as she gripped my shoulder, but I wasn't in the mood to humor her power trip.
"Fuck you, Sitri," I simply said as I shrugged her hand off my arm and went to leave. I was surprised to see the rest of the girls had lined up to block the door. All of them gave me blank looks, and while none of them had taken aggressive stances, I could see how tense they were. They were all prepared to fight me if need be. It would've been a heartening show of trust and solidarity, if I had been in the mood to appreciate it.
"Move, or I'll move you," I threatened, wanting to avoid a physical confrontation if I could. I was barely keeping hold of my temper as I was. I didn't have the patience to play around like I did against Kuroka. No, I would be out for blood.
Nimura, the girl who had greeted me earlier, smirked at me and stepped forward from the group, but before she could say anything, my patience slipped. My tight grip on my powers frayed and, in my annoyance at Sona and her peerage, my spiritual energy flooded through the cracks. The unrestrained brunt of my turbulent emotions was unleashed in an instant, slamming them with the weight of my displeasure.
It wasn't about the amount of power pushing down on them, but the intent that flooded through the energy. My spiritual energy was the manifestation of my soul. It was the medium by which I could connect to the world around me. When I used to sense emotions or foreign energy, I was not only opening a connection to receive information, but I was sending some in turn. Usually, I had control over what got sent out, but in this case, I was too pissed to care.
All of my anger at Sona, Tsubaki, and this situation slammed into them. My intent to harm them, to brutalize them and everyone else who had a hand in stealing my sister away was broadcast to everyone standing in my way. The girls blocking the door collapsed in terror, and I quickly pulled back on my spiritual energy before things could get even more out of hand. Seeing how rapidly my control was declining, I moved to leave before anything worse could happen.
As I walked over to the door and opened it, I found myself glancing down at the girls scattered about the floor. I felt a little bad, seeing the looks of fear in their eyes, but my irritation at them for taking advantage of my foolish older sister balanced out my guilt. I still muttered an apology as I left and headed straight towards my next class instead of the cafeteria.
I couldn't stomach the thought of eating at the moment. I knew there was a chance that Tsubaki had followed the same path of the other version he knew of, but I hadn't wanted to believe it. My extra memories had been so many times before, and I hoped they would be wrong again. There were so many differences between my Tsubaki and what he had seen. I thought I had been justified in having faith in my sister. I could only imagine the look in our mother's eyes when she found out what Tsubaki had done. Especially when she realized her daughter's motivation behind her choice.
And wasn't that surprising. I had felt Tsubaki's motivations through their attached emotions. I had never delved that deep into someone's emotions. Hell, I didn't even know that I could! It was as if I was reading her mind. I could feel her frustration with our family, along with the pride and happiness she felt from Sona's manipulations. My love-starved sister had collared herself to the Sitri heiress' whims and traded us away like yesterday's trash in the process. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I remembered the worst part.
For months I had blamed myself for Tsubaki's disappearance. That because of my delusions and problems, I had pushed Tsubaki away to the point where she couldn't bear our broken family anymore. That if I had been more well adjusted then I would have been able to stop her before she disappeared. That if I wasn't so weak and used to running away from my problems, I could have been there for her when she was clearly suffering.
It was the whole reason I waited so long to go after her. I wanted to show her that I was different, and that things had changed. I wanted to speak with my actions rather than my words and prove to her that the days of the past were behind us. I thought she wanted space, and so I gave it to her. I even convinced our mother to do that same, and yet it turns out that she usedme and my own mental weakness.
She manipulated me into running off as part of her plan to abandon us, her own family. It wasn't an impulsive decision to run away. It was calculated, planned, and executed without a thought towards how her choice could affect us. Nothing about the turmoil she put our mother through, or what could've– no, had happened to me crossed her mind.
'And she was proud of it. Happily laughing with those bitches as if all is right in the world. Her little brother was almost left to rot in the stomach of a monster, and her twice widowed mother would have been left to mourn the loss of her only children. All the while she's happily living it up in the service of a fucking devil!' I clenched my fists so tight that I could feel my nails digging into my palms.
The pain brought a sense of clarity, as I realized that my energy was starting to run loose again. I hurried to bring it back under control, and resigned myself to a long training session after school to work things out. Just as I reached the classroom, the bell to signal that lunch was over had finished. I took my seat and prayed that school would be over quickly so I could go anywhere but here. I considered just skipping for the rest of the day, but knew I would come to regret the decision if something happened in the aftermath.
No matter how angry I was at Tsubaki at the moment, that didn't mean that I didn't want to work something out. It was why I still offered her the chance to come home. She owed our mother an explanation, or a goodbye at the least. That, and I still owed it to myself and my mother to attempt to go to school. I couldn't just be a shutaway loner for the rest of my life. While I could copy my dad and journey the world, I still owed my mother a few years before I could even think of leaving her behind.
So, I reluctantly stayed in my seat. The other kids slowly filed back into class, and Kunou pouted at me from the door. As she came closer, I could see a look of concern bloom across her face. She went to say something, but then the teacher came into the room. I groaned to myself when this one was just as boring as the last one, and settled in for what I knew was going to be a long class.
-Sona Sitri-
"W-Who was that?"
"What terrible power!"
"I thought he was going to kill us!"
Sona subtly wiped her forehead as she watched her peerage get themselves together. She was proud of them for recovering as fast as they did, even if she was suspicious as to why her newest pawn was rubbing her thighs together.
The power the transfer student, Seren, had let slip was beyond horrifying. Just the density of it shocked her, but the intent it contained was terror inducing. Even when she had convinced her sister to give her a taste of the power a Super Devil wielded, she hadn't been as terrified as she had been when she felt Seren's anger brought to bear. Even now, her legs still trembled in remembrance of it.
It was different than facing overwhelming power. Regardless of her sister's unfathomable power, she knew that her older sister would never harm as much as a single hair on her head. Rather than a sharpened sword pointed at her throat, Serafall's power felt like a tempered shield.
Seren's case was much different. He was not only leaking raw power outwardly, it was as if he was using it as a medium to project his intentions as well. His hatred towards her and her peerage. His desire to satisfy the need to harm them. To hurt them. To kill them. For a moment, she considered hitting her panic button. Thankfully, he vacated the room before a confrontation could break out. While she was confident in her peerage's chances of inevitably overwhelming him, she wouldn't want to risk any of her dear friend's lives in the process.
Sona glanced up at her Queen and was taken aback by the tears glistening in her friend's eyes. She had known Tsubaki for almost three years, and she had never seen her friend as torn up as she was now. Not even during the rough training session she had been subjected to after she finally joined her peerage had Tsubaki shed a tear. Yet now, her friend was clearly holding back sobs with tears beginning to flow down her face.
"Tsubaki, are you alright?" Sona hesitantly asked.
She wasn't ready for her Queen to drop to her knees in front of her desk. Sona glanced at the others in the room in surprise and didn't know whether to be saddened or relieved that they seemed just as baffled as she was. As the room quieted down, Sona relaxed at the sight of her Bishop moving forward to comfort Tsubaki.
"Don't worry, Tsu. We're here for you." Momo whispered into Tsubaki's ear as she leaned down to embrace her.
Sona turned away to give her Queen some privacy, but as she went to address her peerage the door slammed open. She didn't know whether to be relieved or indignant when she saw it was Rias standing at the door with some of her own peerage members.
"Sona, are you alright?! We felt that all the way in the Club building! Did someone try to attack you?! Who was it?! Where did they go?!" Rias ranted as she ran into the room.
'And she thinks shares no commonalities with her brother.' Sona thought in amusement. She could tell that Akeno was thinking the same thing from the way the young woman laughed behind her hand. Sona could tell that Rias' Queen was taking delight in her King's worrying. Rias' Knight, on the other hand…
"Thank Goddess you are alright!" Yummi exclaimed.
Sona winced at the mention of the leader of Heaven's faction. Ignoring her for the moment, Sona turned back towards Rias to explain the situation. "We are fine. It was only a false alarm. One of the new transfer students had a minor disagreement with my Queen, and expressed a modicum of their dissatisfaction before vacating the area."
"Amazing! A student did that? Was it the princess? Oh no. Please, don't tell me it was the princess!" Rias begged, but relaxed when Sona shook her head.
"No, it was-" Sona began, but was cut off by her Queen.
"Seren. My brother, Seren Caelum." Tsubaki muttered, but her voice carried throughout the suddenly quiet room.
"Seren, huh? Maybe he would be open to joining my peerage?" Rias wondered aloud. Sona glared at her airheaded friend, but could see the desperation underneath Rias' facade. Still, she knew that her friend would only find herself neck deep in trouble if she attempted to bark up that horrifying tree.
'I need to speak with Serafall,' Sona thought in determination.
-A few hours later, Caelum Seren-
As soon as the last bell rang, I hurried out of class, ignoring the sounds of Kunou calling my name. I had too much on my mind, and needed to have a long conversation with my mom. I tried to continue forward through the front gate but was stalled by a hand on my shoulder.
"Sorry, Kunou, right now just isn't a good tim- huh?" I was rendered speechless by who I turned around to see.
She was a little shorter than me, with dark hair and violet eyes. She greeted me with a nervous smile, but I could spot the cracks in her facade. Her eyes were slightly tight, and her body was tense in a way that made it obvious how she was ready to pounce on me if need be. On top of all that, she had reached out to grab me. Someone who was actually shy or nervous, probably would have let me go. The worst part was that I recognized her from his memories.
"H-Hello! My name is Amano Yuuma! Would you please go on a date with me?!" She practically screamed the words at me as she bowed her head.
I took advantage of her bowed form to glance around the area as quickly as I could. At the same time, I racked my memories of the school day for any sign of the boy she should have been approaching. I could see Kunou angrily pouting as she glared at Amano, Tsubaki arguing with Sona at the front entrance of the school, and dozens of other small groups of students milling about. It wasn't until I looked over at the side of the building that I spotted the trio I was looking for, and I felt my stomach drop at the sight of a blonde boy standing in place of who I was looking for.
'Well, shit,' I thought in frustration, 'This changes everything.'
A/N: Anyone from the PJO Fandom might get a little hint as to where this fic is going from the date I used at the beginning of the chapter. Sorry to anyone who hoped this would start at a different point, but come on now, most Percy Jackson fics start here for a reason. Plus it's my favorite book out of the series!
Foreshadowing aside, I hope you guys enjoyed that! So to explain some things you guys may have missed, or may not have been clear, that first part was a nightmare rather than a 1 to 1 recounting of what actually happened. Part of it was things Tsubaki had really said to him, other parts were generated by his fears of why she left.
Caelum's exam was a transfer exam, not an entrance exam, due to the Japanese school year operating off of a different schedule than the American school year. Back in good ol 'murica he would've caught the beginning of the school year, but in Japan he missed the first few months, or in this case an entire term, and was testing to transfer in post summer vacation.
Summer vacation ends at the end of August, so he had like a week until school starts, which I thought was a good time if anything. I wanted to at least try to match things up with how they should be, even if I cut corners in other places. It's good practice for trying to get my mind around the UA school year in MHA at the least…
When Caelum was having a little mental freakout and mentioned God, yet throughout the fic I mentioned Goddess, wasn't a spelling error. In that moment, he was experiencing a recurring issue which was part of why he became a traumatized and depressed runaway after his dad's death. It all relates to his dad's side of the family, specifically his exact heritage. The clues are there to guess it, and I'm sure people will.
Anyway, he was seeing a mix of his other set of memories and something else, while relating his Tsubaki to that one. He was almost disassociating in a way. He was mixing up his Tsubaki with the other one because the image he had of his Tsubaki was shattered by what he saw as her being out of character and what he thought was a dumb decision to become a devil. On top of that, his little issue went on to give him visions of scenarios in which things could go horribly wrong for Tsubaki.
Which seems like it would be easy to just say, no? But remember that it's in Caelum's POV. I can't just explain what's happening if he doesn't realize that something is going on, doesn't know what exactly is going on, doesn't know why it's going on, etc. He could organically realize what was happening, but at that moment he was a little preoccupied with being in denial. On top of that, he doesn't have all of the facts. It's going to be explained as time goes on through the story itself, but since this is a fanfic I know how easy it is for people to see something, get the wrong idea, and leave a scathing review because they don't have all the facts. I would know, since its happened to me more than a few times! Nothing worse than tilting over something, just for it to be addressed/resolved in the next chapter/arc. Hopefully this'll help anyone jump past the misunderstandings and get to any real mistakes they might spot. I know I have a bad habit of also leaving some things out that may seem obvious to me, but probably should be explained to the reader. So feel free to ask for clarification! You never know if its a plot issue, or an actual error!
Anyway, I was actually having some trouble with how I wanted to do things because of my selected timeline, then I realized the easy solution. So instead of wasting time deciding how I was going to deal with Issei, I deleted him XD. Which is funny, since now that I'm reading the reviews to the first chapter it seems some people liked the expressed sentiment of canon being dead, and one person even commented about wanting to remove Issei.
Originally, as in when I was first planning out this fic, I was undecided between making Issei a girl, completely changing Issei due to the fall out of his encounter with Raynare, or just having Caelum beat some sense into him and take him under his wing because he wants to leave all of the DxD plot stuff to the guy who's apparently already dealt with it. There was even going to be a point where Caelum helps Issei use the evil pieces to turn himself into a dragon and make him a rip-off dovahkiin, but I haven't played skyrim and didn't feel like researching too heavily into it.
I decided against making him a girl because I'm already using that tactic elsewhere, case in point: Yuumi and Goddess and who knows where else wink wink, and I decided to leave the second plan for a future fic. Why waste a good plot on a side character, you know? And for the last point, I realized the scope of the story I wanted to tell, and that I didn't want to deal with the headaches that came from having Issei around. I was also considering pulling an Inchoate Gamer and having Issei get picked up by the Church with some crazy backstory added on top involving the incident that killed off the old overseers of Kuoh, but that's also best left for another fic.
Now before anyone gets the wrong idea, no, Caelum is not about to get backdoored by plot and turned into a Devil to replace Issei. It's just not happening. Like I said before, canon is dead. Mostly. Sort of. That's it for now, head on over to the next chapter!
A lot of this note is from the OG version of the chapter, but since I didn't change much there wasn't a need to change much of anything here as well. But to give a status update, this is chapter 2/4 of the old chapters that were getting a face lift. The next two should be coming quickly. Who knows, I might finish the 3rd before I fall asleep early as fuck, again. Covid SUX dog. Anyway, expect chapters 3 and 4 soon. Chapter 5 still needs to be completed since it's where things start getting interesting. A lot of new character's povs to delve into, and we get into the first big arc of the story. But that's then, and this is now!