Okay guys, chapter 3.
*Disclaimer: I own nothing, all credits go to Ichiei Ishibumi*
Chapter 3: Rematch! Shinji vs Perse!
*BEEP BEEP BEE-*
A loud rumbling could be heard beneath some bed sheets, from said sheets a hand popped up and shut the alarm clock resting on a nearby desk.
"Ok ok, I got it. I'll wake up now." A black haired teenager complained as he pulled himself up to a sitting position on his bed. Yawning and scratching his left, eye he looked to the windows in his room, the light piercing through the curtains and illuminating his bedroom, signaling the beginning of the day.
As he stood up, he started his morning routine of the day; he turned on the TV, took off his clothes and took a shower. He was fond of that routine, it was his everyday thing.
'Well, apart from that.' Thought the teenager as he made himself breakfast. Yes, Shinji Kouki was now a devil, that was his other daily routine from now on. Everyday after school he is told to go to the Occult Research Club, a place he was forced to join, he might add, to start his devil activities. They consisted of Rias, the president of said club, to lecture him about devil society and he taking contracts people asked for.
Yesterday he made his first contract, being as weird as it was. It consisted of him going to a cinema with a random woman, Amano Yuuma, she said it was her name. He still can't believe she made a pact with a devil for something as trivial as watching a movie.
As he sipped from his coffee he went to the living room to see what the TV was showing, the news channel showed another crime scene, said place was near the center of Kuoh; they were alleging the murder to the Midnight Murderer.
"So, you are real too." Said Shinji. Yes, the creature that turned him a devil, the one that changed his life forever was real as well. The Midnight Murderer, it's said that a psychopath came to Kuoh two months ago, in that span of time it created horror and fear throughout the city; it is not known who he/she is, nor why is the reason behind such atrocities.
But he knew why.
He knew who was behind it.
"Don't worry, I won't let anything of you go to wassste."
That voice, he always remembers that voice. Ever since the day he 'died' that voice has been tormenting his mind, more so each time he heard about the Midnight Murderer, he knew what 'it' was after all.
A monster, no, it was worse than that. No monster, no matter how vile they can be, would kill for the sake of it. That woman-that thing wasn't something normal, she wasn't something that could be real. Yet she was, just like him, Momo, Issei or now the devils and angels; that monster was made of flesh and bones, the personification of evil, of horror, of fear.
"-And it's seven in the morning already! Rise and shine Kuoh! Time to wake up and live another day!" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Damn, already seven? I need to get out." Said the teenager as he quickly washed his cup and got out of his apartment.
"I'm leaving now." He said to no one as he closed his door, marching to school and beginning a new day.
"At least I'm not bothered by weird people popping out of my bed anymore." Sighed Shinji as he walked to school. Two days ago a girl he didn't even speak to once appeared sleeping on his bed naked claiming to have saved his life. Said girl also claimed to be a devil herself and the Occult Research Club, the club she is the president of, was the place her devil friends use to hang out together in the middle of school day, she also said she resurrected him as a devil.
The same girl also seems to always know where he is regardless of him not telling her, he needs to investigate further and take legal actions if this climbs to more weird levels.
"Yo, Shinji." A voice said from behind him. As he turned around an arm wrapped around his neck as a brown haired teenager appeared next to him, said arm was holding him tighter each passing second.
"What's up buddy? Long time no see." An angry voice talked to him, they were walking faster while the black haired teen was strangled.
"H-hey Issei, how are you today bud?" Shinji said while trying to free himself, Issei letting go and facing him.
"Don't you dare salute me asshole! Do you know what the Student Council made me do!? They made me clean the whole damn gym man! I even ended up dreaming about it! Using a toothbrush to clean the gymnasium ain't a funny situation you know!?" Shouted the angry teenager to the other, the ruckus was starting to be noticed by several school students on their way to Kuoh Academy.
"Yeah, so I've heard." Said Shinji while scratching the back of his head. "But hey, look at the bright side, you spent the day with Sona, right? She is the third most popular girl in school."
"That won't work on me again, asswipe!" Countered the angry teenager. "And who are you to speak, Mr 'I spent time with the two great onee-samas and didn't invite my best friend to join'!"
"Huh? The hell are you talking about?" Asked Shinji as he faced his friend again.
"Don't you dare act stupid with me Shinji, rumors spread about you walking the other day with Rias-senpai to school and also joining the club she and Akeno-senpai are in! You bastard! At least invite me, dammit!"
"Oh-oh! That thing ... .well...you know ... .stuff happened.." Said the black haired teen as he tried to get himself out of this awkward conversation, more so when his friend was in his 'pervert and jealous' mode.
"What kind of 'stuff' involves you to become part of the most exclusive club where the two most popular girls of school hang out!?" Issei was infuriated. He, the one who tried from A to Z to form part of a club full of girls to only be rejected even before asking to join is in front of a guy that, in the span of two days, made it into the best club of the whole school!
"Well...you know….stuff."
"I'm about to put my stuff in your head, asshole!"
.
.
.
"...I hope you don't mean it as you said it."
As the pair argued a familiar white haired girl walked in front of them, she was talking with other girls while smiling.
"H-hey! Momo!" Shinji shouted as he spotted his friend. The girl just looked at him one second before turning her head with anger and walking away with her friends.
"Huh, you messed up again?" Asked Issei as he watched the scene in front of him.
"Yeah, I don't know what happened now." Ever since their little discussion the other day, Momo evaded the black haired teen every time he tried to speak to her. "It's just that, every day she finds something new to complain about. I don't even know what I did or what I said to make her that angry."
"Who knows." Said Issei as he tucked his hands in his pockets. "Maybe you need to say 'I'm sorry' or somethin'. Girls do like when guys realize they did something to make them angry."
"Then why don't you try that trick instead of running like a freak each time a girl chases you with something." Joked the black haired teen.
"Hey, that's different!" Exclaimed his friend. "It's not my fault girls don't like when I try talking to them!"
"You do realize there are better ways to do that instead of creeping through a window, do you?"
"Those are two completely different things!" The teenager exclaimed as he made a 'humph!' sound. "The glory of oppai cannot be denied to humankind, but you can't mess with an angry girl, it will get you in trouble."
Shinji was taken back by his friend's declaration. Issei? Issei talking about girls like a wise man? When did that happen!?
"You know Issei-" His friend finally said, "-If you weren't such a pervert all the time, maybe you would get a girlfriend."
"You mean it?" The brown haired teenager said as he smiled proudly….then he realized what his friend called him. "Hey! Who you're calling a 'pervert', asshole!"
Shinji smiled, this kind of talk with his friend relaxed him. His mind has been on constant changes this week but Issei's laid back attitude and actions always seems to ease his mind, deviating him from his worries.
"Let's go Issei, we'll get into trouble if we run late to class, again." He said as he fastened his pace.
"Yeah, I've had enough with Shitori-senpai yesterday as it is." The brown haired teen sighed as he followed his friend.
Yes, the problem of that monster can wait, he will ask Rias later; now he'll enjoy his life as a high school student.
"So you're European? I knew that your accent wasn't from Japan." Said a black haired teenager while speaking to his blonds comrade. They were both heading to their club since school day was over; they were also the attention of everyone around them.
"Yes, I come from a faraway country, I met Rias-buchou there." Said Kiba as the pair walked down stairs heading to the exit of the main building.
"Coming from a foreign place, man that sounds cool." Said Shinji awed at the thought.
" So-" He continued, "-What does it feel like to be in Japan?"
"Quite the change to be honest." Simply said the blonde teenager. "It felt different at first, you know, with the language, food and all that but then you kind of get used to it."
"I see." Said Shinji as the pair exited the building, as this happens all eyes were on them, more so on Kiba. Each and every person started to stare at them, whispering to one another.
And thus, all hell broke loose.
"Is that Kouki!?"
"The hell is he doing walking with Kiba!"
"Why is Kiba-san walking next to that pariah!"
"No way! Are they together!?"
"It can't be! Not Kiba-kun!"
"Kyaaa! Boy love confirmed!"
Shinji couldn't believe it, what the hell were they talking about!? And why did they ship him with Kiba!? He doesn't swing that way!
"What a beautiful crowd you gather, Kiba-kun." Said the teenager as he watched with an irritated look.
"Yeah, they mean no harm though." Said his blond companion with a sweatdrop clear on his face.
"Yeeaah, I'm not sure about that." Responded the black haired teen while pointing to his side. Several girls were looking at him as if he just snatched their treasure, anger clear on their faces.
"That damn Kouki! Who does he think he is to walk so casually with Kiba-kun!" A girl shouted.
"They are good girls, Shinji-san, I mean it." Kiba's eyes were twitching, he wasn't one fond of this kind of attention.
Moreover with the kind of attention that could kill his new teammate.
'Is this what it feels like to be popular? I'd rather stick with my role of 'nobody' and just save myself the trouble.' The teenager thought as he was starting to get pissed because of all the attention.
As the pair walked away from the army of angry girls, they went to the ORC club. They kept talking about hobbies, school subjects, devil stuff and whatnot.
'At least I can talk with him and not feel an awkward silence.' Thought Shinji as they were getting close to the old school building. He still remembers how awkward it was to be with Koneko, her face not making even the slightest emotion and she incapable of cracking a conversation.
"We're here Buchou." Said Kiba as he opened the door to the club room. There were all the other members, Rias writing something on a paper, Akeno serving her friend some tea and Koneko just eating candies.
"Welcome back, Kouki-kun." Said Akeno as she watched his new comrade enter with the blond teen.
"Yo." The teen simply said while saluting with a hand.
"Good day Kiba, Shinji. Looks like you've got used to your routine of coming here after school." Said Rias as she looked up from the paper she was writing, offering a smile to both the teenagers.
"Yeah, I still need to make this quick because of my work Gremory-senpai. I hope you don't mind that I leave early from now on." The black haired teen simply responded. He has a job and needs to keep it to pay the bills, also he really liked working there for Hagiwara, there's not a better place he could've asked for.
"So you don't like hanging with us that much?" Said the red haired girl as she looked hurt, then a smile adorned her face again. "Although I can't order you not to. You have a job and a responsibility to keep, it's not in my right to prevent you from doing it."
"I like that we can agree on this." Said Shinji as he smiled back at his club president. He was happy that she was not going to force him to quit his job, he was not planning to do it anyway, if worse comes to worst he would just quit her club and get this over with.
"Alright then, now that everyone's here we can begin today's activity." Said the red haired woman as she stood up, walking to the center of the room so that everyone could see her.
"So, what kind of contracts do we need to accomplish today?" Asked Shinji as he sat down on one of the sofas, Koneko sat at the other edge while eating her candy; her expression not changing in the slightest.
"We won't be doing contracts today Shinji, given the opportunity that no one made a contract we'll have another work", she responded to her comrade's question.
'Nice, I won't be needing to see that woman again.' Sighed the teenager in relief. It wasn't that Yuuma was a bad person, it was the fact that he felt weird while close to her, his whole body always prepared to jump in action; aside from the fact he still can't believe she made a pact with a devil to watch a movie.
Mostly the fact she made a pact with a devil just to watch a movie.
"So, what's the new job for today?" Asked an intrigued teenager.
"We'll go devil hunting." Simply said Rias while smiling at him.
"...I'm sorry, what?" Shinji was dumbfounded. "Devil hunting? You hunt other devils?" Now he was scared. 'They hunt their own kin? The hell's wrong with this girl!?'
"Oh, I forgot I didn't mention this detail." Said the red haired girl as she made a 'silly me' face. "You see Shinji, remember what I told you about us devils using Evil Pieces to make others part of our own kin?"
"Yeah. That's what you did with me, right?" Asked the black haired teen. He still remembers how she saved his life after he jumped like an idiot the other day…...and then forced him to join her club, but that was aside.
"Yes, as you said I revived you with one of my Evil Pieces and made you a devil." The girl clarified. "With this process you can make those that you reincarnated into your personal peerage."
Yes, she told him that, when a devil reincarnates another one with their Evil Pieces, they turn into one of their peerage; having a bond with their leader or savior, so to say. They are tied to them as long as they live.
"You're now tied to your master and the devil society!" Momo's words from that day resonated within him. She was right. Was this the right choice? He was now a servant, the freedom he once had no longer in his grasp.
"Shinji?" His mind returned to reality as a voice called his name, a worried Rias was touching his cheek. "Are you okay? You zoomed out while having a worried expression there."
"Yeah, don't worry Gremory-san. I got lost thinking about something." The teenager smiled while scratching the back of his head, reassuring the girl.
"Okay, but if anything bothers you tell me okay? I'll do what I can to help you." Said Rias while turning back to her desk.
"Lets resume where we left. Shinji, when someone is resurrected as a devil by the Evil Pieces they made a pact to stay by its master's side. That is until they have matured enough to control their powers alone or rise to a High Class Devil." Rias explained again how the devil society worked.
"But-" She continued, "-There are times when a servant rebels against his master and betrays them, be it killing them or fleeing from their peerage."
Koneko twitched as Rias spoke.
"You see Shinji, the ones that betray their masters are called 'stray devils'; these beings often cannot control the powers they were given when reincarnated and thus, become corrupted from it. They run around berserk killing anyone and anything that stands in their way."
"Such is the fate of the one that killed you." Finished Rias. The teenager was shocked. 'She? A devil? It can't be. But, it makes sense too..'
Shinji couldn't believe it, if she was turned into that because of not being close to her master, what would happen to him if he just walked away from Rias? Would he turn into that thing too?
"I don't understand, if she just walks away from her master and starts killing people, won't you do anything to stop it?" He asked. He was still confused as to how the devil society worked.
"Yes. You see, when a devil becomes stray all the other devils are ordered to inform if they spot it and kill it if need to. We also don't become responsible from the harm it may do to the other factions or if they kill him before us."
"That's what we'll do today." Said Rias as she finished explaining her servant. "You see Shinji, the one that attacked you has committed serious crimes against us devils. Stray Devil Perse, being reincarnated into one of the Valad clan she soon went berserk and killed her master and comrades, escaping before the authorities could get to her."
"And she made it to Kuoh." Thought out loud by the teenager.
"Yes, two months ago she made herself into Kuoh, provoking chaos everywhere. We devils residing here were assigned by our Maous to stop her before this could escalate to more catastrophic levels."
"And who is she? Was she human before being reincarnated?" Asked Shinji.
"No, we don't know much about her since the Valac clan decided to not respond to any questions we made when his son was killed." Said Rias as she sighed. "But from investigations it's known that she is the daughter of Echidna, the feared monster of Greek mythology."
"Oh wow so she's a monster after all-wait, you said Greek mythology? They actually exist?" Asked the black haired teen.
"Hmm? Why yes, you see, just like the biblical factions, all the mythological gods are real. Take the Greeks or the Vikings for example." Responded Rias as she was surprised his servant asked such an obvious question.
"...you are saying they all exist? Like, for real, for real?"
"Yes. Is there something weird about it?"
The teenager just looked at her like she was crazy, you can't just tell someone powerful beings that science can't explain exist so casually! The hell's wrong with this place!?
"I can't believe it." Finally said Shinji as he reclined on the sofa, letting the information sink in.
"You'll get used to it eventually, Shinji-san." Commented Kiba from the place he was resting, feeling a little empathy for his friend.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Responded the teenager as he recomposed himself on the couch. "Anyway, you know where we can find her?"
"Sadly, no." She responded as she sighed again. "She is too fast when she moves, the last time we found her was just by coincidence. We all know how that ended by now."
It was time for the teen to sigh. Yes, she was referring to when he jumped and got stabbed by that freak. Not his best idea if he could say, but he got out alive, being as weird as it was.
"So what's the plan then?" He asked. "Are we gonna sit down and wait until she pops up?"
"No." She firmly said, her eyes looking at him again. "We'll go out tonight and search for her, we may find her somewhere in the city streets. We need to stop her before she causes more damage."
As they all nodded their heads, a phone started to ring. The black haired teen picked it up and awkwardly laughed a little while shutting it off.
"Sorry, that was the alarm I set up to go to work." He said while scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry I interrupted you now Gremory-senpai, but may I leave to work?"
The girl in front of him blinked a few times, then she smiled at her servant. "Not at all, I'll call you when we depart for our mission Shinji. You're free for today."
"Okay, thanks Gremory-san. I'll be leaving now." He stood up and headed to the door.
"Shinji." A voice called from behind him.
"Hmm?" He turned around to find his king looking at him.
"You don't need to be so formal when speaking with me, you know? We are a team now after all. You can just call me Rias or Buchou if you want to." The red haired girl said as she smiled at her servant.
"Okay." He smiled back at her. "I'll see you later, Rias." He opened the dorm room and headed out, leaving the club and going to work.
"Quite the individual you got yourself, Rias." Commented Akeno as she turned to her friend.
"Yeah, he is unique in his own way." Responded the red haired girl.
"Dammit Hagiwara, at least tell me if you're gonna break me this training session." Shinji was now walking away from Hagiwara's dojo, having finished working and asking his employer to train him a little.
Little did he know his boss was in a bad mood today and made him pay for it.
"I don't feel my legs." He complained multiple times as he strolled down the streets to his home. The Sun long gone and the Moon high up in the sky, signaling the beginning of the night.
As he stopped his phone started to ring, picking it up he saw it was Rias. He saved her contact since he knew she was gonna call him from time to time now that he is in her peerage.
He needs to find out how she got his number yet.
"Hello?" The teen said as he accepted the call, there were loud noises coming from the other side.
"Shinji. Listen, we picked Perse's location, Akeno is going to her last seen place. I need you to join her and investigate together", his king bluntly said, not leaving a place for argument. She was not asking, she was ordering him to do as told.
"Yeah, sure. Where are you anyway? Is everything okay? I hear loud noises coming from your end." He asked while he stopped walking and looked around.
"Hmm? Oh! No no, don't worry about that." She said as the sound stopped. "I'm flying with Kiba and Koneko to an abandoned factory, we think she might use that place as her hideout."
'Makes sense if she's flying, that sound must be the wind I guess.' Thought the black haired teen while beginning to walk again. "Then why don't all of us go together then?"
"Because there was a magic signature coming from the downtown area, I sent Akeno to check it out with you while we investigate her possible hideout." Clarified the red haired girl. 'She is behaving like a general of some sorts, giving orders and all that.' Thought the teenager as he listened to his new team leader.
"Alright don't worry about it, where is Himejima-senpai now? I'll meet up with her." Finally Shinji accepted her request, meeting with his raven haired senpai should be easy and he also had a little score to settle with the monster. 'I'll get you back for the stabbing, freak.' He thought.
"Great! She is waiting to meet up with you near the Junjo Plaza." Said Rias as loud sounds came from her side of the phone, she was flying again.
"Okay don't worry abou-wait, what!? Junjo!? That's on the other side of town!" Shinji complained as he stopped and started to scream, the people nearby looking at him weirdly and walking away.
"C'mon Shinji! I need you for this one! Akeno is already waiting for you and this is an important matter!" She tried to reason with him.
'Dammit all.' Shinji thought as a migraine was beginning to form. "Okay, I'll see what I can do." He simply said.
"Great! Be quick, keeping a lady waiting is bad manners, you know?" Joked the girl as she hung up. The teenager just sighed and started to walk the opposite side to catch a bus to meet with his senpai.
"I need to ask her for a bike or something." Thought out loud Shinji as he was waiting next to a couple for a bus to appear.
He wants that license as soon as possible if this kind of situation keeps up.
As a bus stopped near a plaza, the passengers got down and minded their business, probably heading home from another exhausting day. Waiting there next to a light pole was a raven haired girl, she was still wearing her school uniform, her eyes were not looking at said bus, they were situated to a family walking near the fountain.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Himejima-san." Said a black haired teenager as he caught the girl's attention, bowing in apology. "I lost a bus and had to wait for another one."
"Don't worry about it Kouki-kun, I didn't wait that long." Responded Akeno as she turned to him. "Shall we go?"
"Sure." He responded. "Where is the place Rias was talking about?"
"Somewhere around here." The girl began walking while the teenager followed her. "The signature came from the downtown area, we traced it to this part of the town, so it's close to the plaza."
"So we have to walk around and find it huh?" Thought the teen out loud.
"Pretty much." Smiled at the girl in front of him. He shrugged and followed her while they walked around the place.
The park was big, it took quite the time for the pair to investigate every corner of it. The fountain in the middle served as a meet up place when they separated, Shinji would walk around the bushes and trees while Akeno investigated the most crowded places since she could sense magic. Midnight followed them as soon as they regrouped.
"They sure like to hang out here." Commented an exhausted Shinji. They were now walking together out of the park, there were several benches nearby with pairs kissing or hugging.
"It's a common place for couples after all, Kouki-kun." Akeno said as they kept walking. She clinged to his shoulder while grabbing his hand. "If you want we can try it too, I don't mind."
"E-Eh!?" Shinji stumbled back, getting free from Akeno's hold.
"Himejima-san." Whispered a black haired teenager while grabbing his senpai from her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"No, Kouki-kun. Don't be so harsh." Complained Akeno although she wasn't stopping him at all.
"W-W-What the..!" Shinji couldn't even finish a phrase, his face red as a tomato and steam leaving his ears, his head spinning while he became redder with each passing second.
"Ufufufu, you actually imagined it, haven't you?" His raven haired partner giggled while covering her mouth. "Rias was right, teasing you is quite funny".
"D-Don't make such jokes Himejima-san, I almost had a heart attack there." The teenager said as he recomposed himself, he was still blushing a little.
"I won't be able to hold back if you keep having such cute reactions." Her partner said while teasing him.
"Anyway! Where are we going now that we know she wasn't in the park?" He tried to change the topic to something more important…something that she wouldn't joke about.
"The park was just where the strongest readings came in, the area surrounding it's also where we must investigate, Kouki-kun." Akeno finally said, focusing on the matter at hand.
"Ok, so a walk through the city it is." The teenager said as he sighed.
"Oh, don't be like that Kouki-kun. Think of this as a date." The raven haired girl teased him as she got closer to him.
"Cut it out!"
As they walked through the city, the pair soon stopped to take a break and relax a little.
"Here." A voice said to a girl as a hand holding a water bottle extended to her
"Ara ara, aren't you a considerate one. Thanks Kouki-kun." Responded Akeno as she gladly accepted the bottle, opening up and drinking from it.
"Don't mention it." The teenager sighed as he sat down on the bench her friend was on. "Man, what a day." He said as he looked at his phone. '3 in the morning…I can forget about my beauty dream now.' He thought.
"Another day without clues it seems." The girl finally let out a sigh, as Shinji watched her closer she looked tired; probably from all the time they walked.
"How long have you been following her, Himejima-san?" The black haired teen asked to try and start a conversation with his senpai.
"We've been following her for a while now but each time we get close she just disappears and leaves a mess. Most of them we couldn't clean in time."
'I imagine she's talking about all the murder cases that appear on TV.' The teenager thought. "We should call it a day by now, I think Rias wasn't lucky either."
"Yeah, it's better to just-" Before she could finish, Akeno turned her head. "Kouki-kun! Look out!"
"Wha-" He couldn't react as she grabbed him and jumped back. At that moment two spear-like objects hit where they were sitting.
"The hell!?" Was all he could muster to say after witnessing such a thing, when the two spears collided with the bench it exploded, sending debris flying everywhere.
"Looks like I missssed. Don't worry, It won't happen again." A voice erupted from the smoke the explosion left. As the smoke started to fade a figure was getting visible, a human-like figure with a snake tail, she didn't need an introduction.
"Kouki-kun! Are you alright?" A sudden voice interrupted his shock, next to him was a girl looking worriedly. "Yeah, don't worry Himejima-san. Just a little bit shocked, that's all." He said while getting up. "What was that anyway?"
"Trouble, that's what it is." Akeno responded while looking at the figure, concern clear in her eyes.
"Ahh, if it isn't the loussssy devil brat. What brings you here?" The monster said while glaring at her.
"You know already, Stray. Under the orders of the Maous, I'll erase you before you harm more innocents." The raven haired girl was standing in front of the monster, her eyes not leaving the being while extending one hand to protect the teenager behind her.
A chuckle escaped from Perse's mouth, her lips widening enough to show the fangs beneath them. "Such confidence in your declaration little one, I'd like to see you try!"
At this moment Perse launched herself to Akeno ready to strike, her eyes solely on her target while her mouth wide open ready to devour the girl in front of her. The raven haired girl just stood firm there, she slowly raised her hand to her opponent, speaking in a language Shinji couldn't understand. In a fraction of seconds, a circle with various forms appeared in front of her; a burst of wind sent the snake hybrid flying to the other side, leaving the pair untouched.
"You are fast." Exclaimed the monster as she pulled herself up, a grin appearing in her face. "But not fast enough!"
She felt it, she felt a sensation, a thought, something telling her 'run!' but she couldn't. It was a blur, an object moving fast enough for her not to realize before it was too late. Akeno was stunned where she stood as a large tail made its way to her chest; she failed to protect her kouhai, to serve Rias as her queen, she failed again.
"Gotcha!"
Or that was what she thought.
Before she realized someone pulled her away from the tail heading her way, piercing the ground and leaving a hole where she stood. She was now laying on the floor, her head facing the sky above her; she was also aware of a certain two black orbs looking directly at her, a grin never leaving the face of the one in front of her.
"That was pretty close huh? I'm getting better at jumping in front of people." In front of her was none other than Shinji; his face close to hers while breathing hard, probably because of the sprint he just made. "I'll tell you one thing, Rias was right when she said she was damn fast"
Akeno was speechless, she blinked for a few seconds and then closed her eyes, a smile appearing on her face. "Yeah, thanks for saving me, Kouki-kun. I hope you don't mind but we have to defeat her. Then we can resume this little position of ours."
Shinji blinked a few times trying to get what she said, a blush appearing on his face as he jumped back away from his friend. "Y-yeah, sorry about it."
"Ufufu, I don't mind at all."
"Well well, if it isn't our hero from before. Glad to sssee you are alive." A voice interrupted their talk. "I see that little scar wasn't enough for you."
"Can't make our encounter so short now, can I?" The teenager said as he stood up, standing in front of Akeno trying to protect her from the monster they were about to face. "Although I do believe we have a little score to settle between us."
"Oh? Quite confident aren't we? I can sense a different aura from you." Perse rose again, lifted up by her long tail while looking at her prey from above. She also watched how he was standing in front of the raven haired girl. "Hm? I thought I went right through you with that attack, a human cannot heal that fast. So, she made you a devil after all."
"Yeah, so what about it? I'm going to beat your ass one way or another." The teen proclaimed while lifting his right arm.
"Devil or not it doesn't matter." Her nails now grew to match the length of a small knife, although they were sharper. "Even though you were saved by a miracle before I'll make sssure I end you now!"
She was fast, before Shinji could blink she was in front of him, ready to strike. As soon as she got close, he jumped back, way back to evade her attack, although his landing was not so elegant as he fell on his back. "Woah! How did I do that!?" Was his exclamation as he realized what happened.
"Those are your devil traits showing up, Kouki-kun." Akeno said as she also evaded Perse's attack. "Even though you weren't fast enough to evade it on your own, your body reacted itself as a survival instinct."
"Wait, you mean I can save my own ass even though I'm not paying attention?" Shinji looked at his hands, a gleaming smile appeared on his face as he chirped up. "Sweet! What else can I do?"
"You won't be so lucky this time!" A voice roared as a tail swung to smash the teenager, a thunder bolt struck it, making it fly to the opposite direction.
"Don't forget I'm also here to face you, Stray." Akeno said as she stood next to Shinji. "I contacted Rias to let her know we got her but we need to keep her busy until she comes with the others, Kouki-kun."
"Ok, so we have to buy time." The black haired teen said as he cleaned the dust on his shoulders. "I'll just jump from one place to another to keep her busy if I must."
"You insolent brats." Exclaimed the monster as she got herself up, the bruise on her tail clear to see. "I'll make sure you suffer before you die!"
Perse picked one of the debris caused when her tail pierced the floor and threw it to the pair, making them evade it and separating them respectively. Her plan was clear, separate them and take them one by one, the first one would be the girl since she was the strongest of them both.
As Akeno evaded the debris, the stray devil went head on to strike her. She conjured a shield to block but it was for none, the monster just smashed it with her speed tempo and went right through it. Before the raven haired girl could even react she was slashed by the enemy's strong claw-like nails and sent flying to a nearby wall.
"Himejima-san!" Shinji shouted as ran to his friend's side, her clothes torn where the monster attacked, showing the deep wounds she caused.
"Now that she wont bother us I can take you out, Hero." Perse licked the nails that pierced Akeno, enjoying the blood that was present on them. "I'll enjoy your flesh as I rip you apart!"
There was nothing the teenager could do, his body again paralyzed as the stray was in front of him. 'Dammit! Why can't I move!? I need to do something or Akeno will die!' His legs shaking, his fists trembling as he felt the killing aura the enemy emitted.
"Don't fear-" his eyes snapped wide as he remembered one of his sensei's teachings, "-Fear is one of the limits we man put on ourselves, to fear means we can't reach true potential. As long as you have fear inside you, you won't be able to overcome yourself."
'Dammit Hagiwara, that's not useful now.' He sighed. "But-" Shinji prepared his fighting stance, firm in his position, "-If I don't face her now Akeno will die."
"Talking to yourself, eh?" Perse was rising again, her eyes red as she watched her prey. "Looks like fear has finally drawn you crazy. Don't worry, I'll end you now!"
She went head on, just like last time in the blink of an eye she was in front of him. Like before his devil instincts reacted and moved him away just in time to evade the attack. "You won't get lucky again!" Was all the teenager heard as a hand caught his leg, Perse throwed him to a nearby pillar, breaking it apart from the sheer force.
Shinji felt bad, his sight faded for a second as his head spinned, he coughed blood as he tried to stand up. 'I don't think I'll be able to handle another one of those.' He thought as blood trailed from his forehead.
"Oh? You still have strength in you?" The stray's grin grew wider each passing second. "You're tougher than I thought, I'll enjoy ripping that strength out of you!"
"I'm not an easy nut to crack, 'thing.'" The teenager was standing up, holding his weight on his left leg while doing so. The monster threw herself at him again, ready to finish her job. "And this is why." He prepared himself again. 'If I can do it in the right time-' He thought; his eyes caught her, where she was heading, '-Now!' "Eat it!"
He jumped to the right, evading Perse's claws ready to strike his chest. At that moment he was next to her, his right arm clear to strike her open spot. It all happened in a second, he threw himself at her and struck her jaw, sending the stray flying away from the impact.
"Wow, how did I do that?" Shinji exclaimed as he landed on the floor, looking at his right hand. He had more strength than before if he could just hit someone and send it flying the opposite way. "That must be one of my devil traits that Himejima-san said, sweet!"
"You worm…!" Perse rose again, her right cheek wounded from the recent strike, her lips having blood on them. "How dare you lay a finger on me!?"
"Heh, you liked that?" The teenager gave her a cocky smile, making a 'come on' sign with his hand. "'Cuz I've got more where that came from." 'I hope those classes are worth something now, Hagiwara.' He thought.
"This insolence won't go unpunished!" She launched herself again, this time she was faster than before.
Shinji was prepared this time, he ducked as he evaded the first attack, his instinct telling him where to go. As he recovered, Perse turned around to slash his gut and finish him. He reacted just in time to jump back and miss her claws, tearing apart a bit of his clothes; he wasn't aware of the monster's smirk.
A large object hit his back, sending him flying to a wall nearby. The world around him spinned as he tried to recover, something grabbing his body and lifting it up like a paper.
"Looks like this is the end, Hero." Perse said as she got close to him, he realized her tail got him. "I'll make sure this time you lay down."
'Dammit! I can't move!' He struggled in vain, searching for some way of releasing himself. 'I can't die like this, not again…!'
'You are weak…'
Thunder strucked the monster as her grip on the teenager loosened up, as he fell to the floor he saw a wounded girl lifting herself to a sitting position, her left arm covering the wound present on her chest.
"Kouki-kun! Are you okay?" Akeno shouted.
"Yeah, Himejima-san. Thanks." He stood up and gave her friend a thumbs up, calming her down.
"You damned devils!" Perse gritted her teeth. Those two were getting the best of her! How could they, some lousy low class Devils, damage the elegant skin of one of the feared monsters of Greece!?
"Kouki-kun, we need to keep her busy until Rias arrives!" The raven haired girl stood up, taking distance from the snake woman, lighting dancing on her fingers.
"You are not walking away from here!" As Perse's tail grew larger, blocking their surroundings.
"Screw it, it's up to us then." The teenager sighed, preparing himself for the most difficult fight of his life. He had to beat this monster before one of them died.
Debris was sent to their way, they separated from each other as they jumped back to evade it.
Perse was using the same tactic as before, she was taking them separately, the girl was dangerous at long distance while the other had a good luck hit on her, there was no doubt who shall fall first.
As she evaded an attack sent her way, Akeno cursed herself, how did it get so bad so quickly? She and Shinji were just patrolling the area and now are facing someone more powerful than both of them. 'Anytime now, Rias.' She thought while thinking about what was delaying her King so long.
"Stop moving around you pathetic devil!" The monster exclaimed as she slashed the place the girl was standing, moving away and evading it. Her speed was not something the raven girl could match up with so she tried to gain distance and attack with lighting.
As the monster threw herself at Akeno again, she received an object directly striking her head, making her stumble back in surprise.
"Bulls-eye!" Shinji exclaimed as he had a grin on his face. "Don't forget I'm here too, freak!"
Perse's head was a mess, not from pain, but by the fact she was getting tired of this duo. They weren't even the best devils sent to hunt her down and they were already getting on her nerves, the trash can lid the kid throwed was just the last straw.
"Enough." She proclaimed as she rose again. "I've had enough of you two, I'll make sure you die today." She closed her eyes for a second and, when she opened them again, a green light emitted out of them.
Shinji couldn't move, the second he looked straight into her eyes he was paralyzed, there was something on them that kept him looking straight at her, they were tempting him with the light they emitted. 'Not again!' He thought. 'Why can't I move again!?'
"And now that he won't interfere again, you are next, devil girl" She turned to face Akeno, naturally the raven girl stood up and tried to gain distance to evade her attacks.
'Damn.' Cursed the devil queen as she jumped to her left to evade the monster's tail. 'I can't attack her while she moves so fast…!' Her thoughts interrupted as she was stricken by the monster's claws, crashing her to the floor.
"This is the end, little girl." She heard as she tried to recompose herself, as the raven haired girl looked to Perse's face she was received by two orbs emitting green light. 'Ngh! I can't move!' She shouted in her mind, desperately trying to move a limb only to end up in vain.
"Don't worry, your friend will soon join you after I'm done with him." She extended her tail, a pointy end, sharper than a sword aiming straight to her chest. 'No, I can't let her get away with this…!' She tried, she tried in every way to make her body respond to her command, it simply didn't want to move. 'Sorry Kouki-kun, I wasn't able to protect you from her. I failed to save someone again…'. She braced herself for the end.
She heard the attack reach something, a second passed, then two, after she considered it long enough Akeno opened her eyes only to be shocked by what was in front of her.
"The third time's the charm, I finally got you."
There, in front of her, stood a teenager giving her his back. His stomach was pierced by the tail aimed at her, he was grabbing it as if his life depended on it.
"Y-you." Perse said, astonished, " How did you break free from my spell?".
"Surprised, eh?" Shinji responded, a grin present on his face even though his mouth had a trail of blood from the impact of the tail. "I don't know what was that or how you paralyzed me, but I'm not gonna sit still while you harm my friends."
The monster struggled, she swung her tail back and forth to finally be free from the teenager, he complained about the pain, but never let go. "Let me go, you worm!" She screamed.
"Not planning to do that, freak." He just said, his mouth clear with a bigger trail of blood on it, his vision getting a little blurry because of the blood loss. "I told you I'm a tough nut to crack, more so when my friends are in danger."
"And this is why." He reaffirmed his grip, all his strength containing the desperate Perse from fleeing. "Now! Himejima-san!"
From behind Shinji a figure got airborne, her fingers with lightning tickling from them, each passing second the lighting got more powerful, much larger. Akeno shouted, her attack was with all the might she had, thousands of lighting bolts were sent to the monster, making a direct hit on her.
Perse shouted from pain, her body constantly receiving more damage than it could handle, her once perfect skin started to burn, bleeding from the impact. Sadly as the lighting kept coming, Shinji, because of being holding the monster still, also received a little of his team mate's attack; grunting as he felt the sheer vibrations and burning from lighting going through his body.
Not being able to handle anymore, the teenager finally let go of the stray. She was sent flying to a nearby wall because of the raven haired girl's power. As soon as she impacted on a pillar, she collapsed to the floor.
"Heh…heh, take that." Said the black haired teen as he breathed to catch some air. Even though the worst part of Akeno's attack was received by Perse, he, because of being stuck with her, received a vast amount from it.
"Kouki-kun!" He heard from behind. His legs were giving up, his vision getting more blurry as the pain of the open wound of his stomach hurt again. As he fell to his back a pair of arms got him.
As he looked up he saw it was Akeno who caught him, her face clear with worry, he then turned to see Perse lying unconscious. "We did it Himejima-san, that was one hell of a blast you shot there." He said while cracking a small smile.
"Yeah, it was." She responded while sighing, him talking to her seemed to calm her down. "What were you thinking of getting stabbed just to grab her?" She scolded.
"Sorry, not my best plan, I know." He just said while making an apologetic face. Soon a red circle appeared on the ground close to them, the light emanating from it getting stronger each second.
As he got blinded by it he tried to look to where the monster lay defeated, only to see that she wasn't there. 'Dammit! She must have escaped. After all it took to finish her…' He thought.
As he looked to the sky, he was getting sleepy, his eyes closing before him, his body giving up its remaining strength.
While the feeling of getting stabbed and being almost dead returned to him, a migraine was forming on Shinji's head.
He started to think he might as well get used to this feeling.
Author's Note
And there you have it folks! Chapter 3!
Anyway guys, this sums it up for today, let's get this story rolling with another chapter next week (or so I pray)
Please read and review to your heart's content, it helps me a lot!
See ya!