CHAPTER 19 – Consolation

A migraine on my head, dryness in my eyes, pain in my ears… A feeling of unescape guilt and regret.

An ache in my heart.

I felt all of these and more, as I woke up the next day. I sat up straight, barely able to hold my own body up and looked around my room.

Those kids would never get to experience the next day.

…

'Could I have prevented this' was the million dollar question that plagued my mind.

I knew that a Sigurd Project existed, but if I went back and hunted down Freed knowing he is a maniac; I would just be changing the executioner.

I knew that the church did experiments on children on multiple occasions, both the Hero Sword and the Sigurd were two that the show put emphasis on. But if I were to spend my time hunting church members, trying to find clues to who the leaders were, I wouldn't have been strong enough to even hurt the leaders.

Me and Linda both knew that there was something fishy going on when we visited that house. Could we have done more to find out from Kepler's house what was going on. But if we did, how many 'safety' conditions would they have to blow up to church if someone with unfamiliar auras entered the vicinity.

No matter how hard I thought about it, I just lacked the necessary knowledge to put a stop to this. I couldn't have changed anything, was my answer.

… I hated it.

All of these kids were dead, and my logical mind wouldn't even let me take the blame on myself. I wanted to hate myself more.

I saw mom and Cathy enter my room slowly,

" Aether-chan, how are you holding up? "

I looked at them, putting on the best smile I could muster.

" I am doing better I guess. I'm sorry for the messy… situation, last night.

They came up to me and slowly hugged me from the side. A consoling act, one that I needed, yet one that I didn't deserve.

" There is nothing to be sorry for, and nothing you could have done more either my baby. You know things, you are not omniscient. " I nodded at her.

" I- I want to train for a bit you two, could I ask for you to leave me alone for a while. I need to blow off some steam, I do not want you to see an ugly sight. "

They looked at each other and then back to me.

" If you eat something first, let me heal afterwards… We can leave you alone for now, if that is truly your wish. "

I nodded.

…

I agreed with their conditions, and found myself eating away at a plate of food. I couldn't even taste it anymore. While I did that, my mother inspected my health with Senjutsu.

" I don't know if you want good news now, but it appears to me you have grown in strength, and I don't mean the usual jump. "

I looked at her in curiosity, wanting her to explain.

" Your reserves are much, much bigger than before. I'm guessing around three times the size of last week. Your Ki has gotten stronger and another one of your chakras has opened. Same thing with your muscles and internal organs. "

My second chakra huh, a topic for another day.

" I'm done with my healing baby, there was damage in your ear drums… and nail scratches that went pretty deep. Your hearing should go back to normal, you can go do your training now. "

" Thank you, both of you. Enjoy your breakfast. " I got up from my seat at the small table

" It is never a problem, Aether-kun, you can always lean on us alright? "

" I know. "

My training room had a few dozen punching bags that were just pieces of metal. Enchanted metal would act slightly more cushioned than its usual form.

I removed the enchantments, and started punching away.

… It wasn't even an hour into the session when the first one broke to bits and pieces. Time for the second one.

I couldn't even fully break my bones, just some blood came out from my efforts. I had become 'too tough' from constant training.

Too tough, my ass.

I needed to hate more.

I recalled everything that happened this past week. My first meeting with Linda. Starting to slowly trust each other, having banter, having fun, going on training runs, going on a date.

… Then the kiss.

Then the mission, the knowledge, the race against time to reach the church,

The failure of a mission… the burning remains of a church… blood… dead and maimed kids… insane brother… dead brother.

Then burying all of them, trying to stay strong and be a pillar of support for Linda, then hearing everything that brother went through…

….

{Then the thrash at the church.}

I felt my veins popping from throughout my body, as if my blood was begging to be free. The thumping pain in my head got stronger.

I subconsciously activated my Touki, my enchantment magic on my own body, and released any self control I had.

The next punch I landed on the bag made it fly away towards the wall that was almost a hundred yards away and shattered like glass.

I kept punching away at the bags, their remains, and once even those were just pieces of dust, I moved on to the wall of my training room.

I didn't even know how many hours that went on and on for, maybe days.

I was utilizing a full day boost, to a degree I was never able to do before. So for me, it was probably longer than a few weeks.

I screamed my pain and suffering, my anger and hatred out.

{RAAAAAAAGH-}

I felt a hand touch my shoulder. Turning sharply at who was it that disturbed me in anger,

" Whoa there champ, you don't plan on attacking your uncle, do you? "

The demonic aura that I was letting off in waves without realizing, diminished, and my Touki followed after it as well.

My veins returned to their normal state, as did my heart. I felt myself calm down, and give out a sigh in an attempt to further calm myself.

" It is good to see you Uncle, what is it that brings you here? "

" Heh, nice control on that 'wrath' of yours kiddo. Your mother let me know the gist of what happened, so I thought maybe I could come cheer you up- "

" You did not need to waste your precious time for such a thing. "

" My time isn't as important now, thanks to you in fact. Of course I will make time for you. Also, you are about to punch the enchantment I put on this room into breaking. If you do that, you will start to damage the protection on the Chateau. " … damn.

" Oh. "

" 'Oh' he says… C'mon go take a shower. You have been going at this for more than a day, since that watch I gave you is reading 25x, you have been here for more than a month now. You smell like shit, is what I'm trying to say. "

" I- … fine. "

I decided to listen to him, and walked towards the shower rooms that we implemented. Taking off my clothes, I walked into the freezing spraying water.

…

When I dressed myself up and went back out to the training room, I saw my uncle waiting there. He was making a signal for me to go to him.

" Let's fix the enchantment again, also strengthen it further. I wanna look at some structural weak points, so that my nephew doesn't end up bringing the house down. "

" Sure then, also Uncle… Thank you. "

" Not a problem Ace-kun, wanna talk to me about what happened? Not as a Satan, I will not be creating a report on it, just as your uncle. "

I went on to tell him about the events as well, not really focusing on the week but just the mission. It was nice to talk through it with someone when my brain was still active.

It didn't exactly 'help' or 'lessen the pain', it just felt like the burden on my shoulders were one tiny bit lowered. It felt like someone cared.

" It never ever ends well when one side decides to get kids involved in the cold war. I mean the best case scenario is, the kids end up being heavily traumatized. "

" I now know the worst case scenario- "

" Nope, I'd say that was a middle case one. "

I felt my anger bubbling to the surface again.

" HOW? HOW IS THAT NOT THE WORST CASE? "

" You know how, idiot, you did with these two hands a day before! "

Oh. Right… I did that.

" That is why I do not allow the Great King Faction to cover people with political power if it is about kids. I've seen them use their power to reduce sentences for even pedophiles. So when I learn about those types of activities, I act as the executioner before the whole thing can turn into a trial. "

" I will gladly follow your steps then. "

We spent some more time talking about the enchantments for my training room, and he showed me how to layer them over time to keep making it slightly stronger.

We talked about more 'daily' things after that, our plans for new motorcycles, maybe turning it into a business for the Underworld, some other projects of mine for the future…

It was enjoyable while it lasted, and after a few hours I thanked him once again as he left.

Now where is that notebook of mine?

Being prepared and trained, didn't amount to shit. That I understood very well now.

I needed to be proactive, I needed to be on the case, before the case ever came to be.

So reaching my room,

I started writing down dates and locations of events from what I knew.

I knew that the Naberius Clan had Koneko and Kuroka by now since Koneko would be two years old. She was old enough to talk and remember what happened when Kuroka 'went insane', so according to my knowledge, I should have more than a year for that.

… I do not trust my knowledge on such an issue, so I will be starting a personal investigation on them to gather proof.

They have extreme political protection and manpower. I can't just knock down their doors, save the damsels, save the day, and be happy ever after. Not only would I be opposed by the Great Kings, I might even end up being painted as the bad guy.

Now, for Kiba's case… I heard that 'Sellzen' guy say something like 'Do what Galilei did.' so I might have been too late already. Either he was referencing keeping the children in an abandoned church, or he was referencing killing them in the church.

If the latter case was true, I knew that Kiba was three now, so the Holy Sword Project ended up happening earlier than my knowledge of it.

What if Kiba's wasn't the first Holy Sword Project though? Then everything would line up.

I was guessing that from Rias having Evil Pieces by then, so she had to be 7-

… Unless Sirzechs was using one of his high-class peerage members' own unused pieces to Reincarnate them, and later traded them with Rias's unused pieces…

I could totally see Sirzechs doing that actually.

But either way, for Kiba's case I was in the dark for now. I didn't have a date, I had zero clue about the location, I had no way to reach and question Valper without it turning into a political mess and causing another war. I'd just have to keep an eye out and hopefully figure it out along the way.

Gasper's situation was fucked when he was born anyways, I'd just have to reunite him with his childhood friend. Which that childhood friend could also use.

There wasn't a child experiment there, so the 'stake's weren't as high, as sad as saying that out loud made me.

What else… Akeno, I probably can't help either. There is a cadre level Fallen risk and one of the five clans risk. I would try and leave a message of warning to Baraqiel though, maybe that would help.

I have never read Slashdog, so I have no clue as to what happens to Tobio Ikuse and that whole side of the Grigori.

Man, I know way less than I thought when coming to this world.

So I can help the cat sisters, the dhampyr friends, and hopefully Kiba and that group of kiddos but that's it.

I really need an informant or something around the human realm to feed me information and whispers of what might be happening.

With those thoughts in my head though, I fell asleep on my desk from not sleeping for a month in my time.

It was a day after that when I felt one of my summons calling for me during training. The desire was 'save me'.

I didn't waste a second, teleporting immediately.

When I arrived at my location, I saw-

… A tall man in his early thirties in bathrobes, looking at me while smirking. A man that has a scruffy goatee, black hair, and golden bangs.

Laying all comfortable in his couch with a beer in one of his hands and my summon sign in the other hand, the Governor of Fallen Angels was a lot less intimidating to me then I would expect.

" What can I help you with this evening, Sir? " I saw him chuckle to himself.

" Well, shouldn't you tell me your name first, devil? Call me… hmm… Nellaf! "

Really dude? Fallen but backwards?

" My name is Aethernum, I am from the Agares Clan of the 72 Pillars, it is a pleasure to meet you Sir. Now would you be able to tell me about your mission for me, as I remember clearly hearing a SOS signal? "

" Oh that, that is because I have way too much paperwork to do, and my underling is trying to find me and force me to do those, I need you to 'save me' from the paperwork. "

This bastard…

" Maybe you should be doing your job then. "

I felt my left eye twitching at his antics.

" Naah, too boring. I'd much more enjoy being here and enjoying a beer, want one? "

He pointed to one of the unopened cans on the coffee table. Good choice, actually.

" Thank you for the offer but I'll have to decline. I also don't waste precious time on things like paperwork so I will have to decline the job as well. So If that's all, I should be taking my- "

" Isn't that selfish considering you can manipulate time as you like, Aether-kun? No one has more time than you do. "

I sighed, hearing the bastard finally drop the act of not knowing who I am. Of course he did, I was an up and coming new devil that showed promise similar to Satan's, my powers held a lot of potential if I was similar to the Satan's, and the knowledge that Ajuka and Serafall turned up for my showing was circulating around.

I wasn't shocked at all, the only question was, 'how much did this fucker know?'.

" I firmly believe that, those who refuse to make the best of their time, and live each moment in a worthy way;

… Do not deserve an extra second. " I narrowed my eyes at him accusingly.

" Hahaha! You really are amusing. Can I call you Ace-kun as well, like your uncle does? "

" Yes, yes you can, also cut the crap already Azazel. What do you want? If you brought me here to waste my time, I will be taking my leave now. "

I heard him sigh and rest his beer at the coffee table. He signaled me to sit on the couch on the opposite side of the table.

" Why did you have to be the serious type, sad. I do have something for you though, sit down for a bit, let's enjoy a little chat. "

This was the strongest cadre, so of course I sat down.

" Now, for the most important question I have for you,

… Are you an ass-man or a tits-man? "

" Ass all the way, there is nothing more holy than the Hips-Thighs-Cheeks trinity. " He looked up and laughed loudly.

" HAHAHA, no hesitation whatsoever, we can make this work then. "

" Can we move this along-"

" Hmm, are you a virgin then, devil boy? " I looked at him with a deadpan stare.

" That depends on what you consider virginity to be I guess. "

" One for the definitions, are we? Very well, than the biblical definition of it. "

Realizing that I really was too sober for this man, I grabbed one of the cans and popped it open. I drank half of it in one go in hopes of the alcohol affecting me at least a little bit.

" I am. "

" Then, would you accept one of the girls- " " Denied. "

" … ED problems? I won't judge. "

" I am simply not in the mood to fulfill my carnal desires. I am also not in the mood to keep this little game going, so move it along Pimping Cadre. "

" Haaah fine~ I was curious about you and wanted to see what you were like, what I could use to get your interest and things like that. It's not everyday my rival in sciences just decides to take in a pupil after all.

Your intelligence has to be a factor, and so does your ambition. I was curious about what else it was that caught his attention though, there have been many talented, intelligent and ambitious people before and none of them got the offer. "

" You found the answers you were looking for then? " I took another sip.

" I have some theories. Do you have any interest in Sacred Gears boy? "

" I think they are really interesting, and I would like to take them apart to see the mystery underneath one day. My second best talent is in enchantment after all. However it is not in my priorities, or even my secondary or third plans as of now. "

I saw him smirk again.

" That is a good answer, what about weapons? Do you want a brother for that sword of yours? "

" If you want to poke around and find what I'm interested in, just ask normally. If you want anything that I might be able to provide,

I'd be willing to work with high tier artifacts, I'd accept strong wardstones or hexstones, any Sacred Gear that you managed to extract with that new device of yours, or information. For these, I'd be willing to do anything worth my time. "

I flexed a tiny bit of knowledge, making him aware of my own information on him.

" Straight to the point again. Well then, what kind of information though, compared to the other things on the list, that seems to be weakest if you don't have something specific in your mind. "

" … Information on some of the big players making moves, or on people that love to break the rules or risk the current ceasefire between our factions. "

Even his face could turn serious, I learned.

" Then for my first request for you, could you make me,

… a Ducati 998, Black and Gold obviously. "

I want to kill him. I want to kill him so bad.

" The Matrix? "

" The Matrix. "

" Haah, fine. I am probably too busy and too distracted this month though so you'll get it sometime next month. Also I need the actual bike, and some wardstones, I ain't paying- "

Both of those appeared next to me, in an empty part of the room.

" For the payment, I'm sure we can find an appropriate reward along the way. We will be keeping in touch, after all. I'm sure of it. "

Great, more headaches for me to deal with.

" Very well, for an early payment though, do you know anything about Valper Galilei? "

" The Holy Sword Project's culprit? How do you know about him, that information hasn't been released yet? "

" Let's just say I have a hatred for people like him, and one thing after another has led me to look into his deeds. "

" Well, I heard that he was excommunicated by the Church. He disappeared afterwards though, I don't really have a location. "

I felt my anger rising again, and a dark tone crept up to my voice.

" Thank you for the small talk then, have a nice day Azazel. "

" Take care, kiddo! "

…

'The' Holy Sword Project and he has already been excommunicated.

… I missed my chance to save those kids as well. If Rias ended up getting Kiba in her Peerage, Sirzechs truly was playing a big game here.

I don't think I could feel more useless right now.

I knew I wouldn't be able to prevent every disgusting event but man, I didn't think I would fail at all of them.

My self hatred only grew with each new piece of knowledge that came out, proving my uselessness in this world. While I was thinking myself to depression though,

" Onii-chan? Cathy told me that you were feeling down today. She and Mama-Vi told me to not bother you today, but… "

I grabbed her up from her armpits and put her on top of my desk.

" Thank you for checking up on me princess. I already feel a lot better thanks to you. "

" Would Onii-chan like to eat tiramisu with me? And maybe ride the speed afterwards? "

She was trying to come up with things that would improve my mood, truly this girl was my blessing.

" I'll have to skip on the speed for today, though let's go and see if our chef can make us some desserts. " She nodded and jumped to my neck, hugging it tightly so I'd carry her to where we were going.

Spoiled little princess.

…

That did bring my mood up a bit though. Cathy, mom, Gianna and pops were also there as we ate together as a family for the first time in a month after I got my Pieces.

Gianna and pops were also aware of what happened to me, but they didn't really bring the topic up.

I didn't tell anyone about meeting with Azazel, as that connection seemed to me as a great opportunity for information or useful materials and I was sure that my family would make a big deal out of it.

So it was a nice and warm lunch for us where we discussed day to day things and my father and I talked about my territory and how I was managing it.

Since the 'mayor' assigned by my father did his job really well, I mostly got reports each week, read them to see if anything irregular was happening and send a reply back on what we could be doing better or where we should improve or cut out the budget.

I talked with Gianna on how my abilities were improving, getting a nod of approval and a 'Just like you to break any common sense, gremlin.'

No one uttered the word 'monster' to me this time around. Apparently, I screamed out that I was one, when I was sleeping the first night.

Mom checked up on my health to see if I was eating or sleeping properly. I told her not to worry, not because I didn't feel like a useless piece of shit and not because I didn't want to starve myself.

I just didn't have the luxury to lay around like a useless sack of shit. My work wasn't done yet.

Seek-chan was still being her cute self, eating desserts one after another, making her cheeks pop out even more than usual. She was blushing so much when I squeezed both of them and kept playing with them.

By the end of our little gathering though, I felt a pull on another one of my summons.

The location of the signal was already familiar to me, as it had just been a week since I'd last been there, Berlin.

…

'I want to see you again.'

I was gone without saying goodbyes.

The desire had no sense of urgency, so I silently arrived at the room.

Immediately taking in the state of the room, it was… better than I'd guess.

The curtains were closed, making it a very dimly lit room. The floor and the furniture seemed mostly clean, probably thanks to room service. There was a tray of food on the table, half eaten and not collected by the service yet.

That meant she actually ate something today, fantastic news honestly.

The trash bin was filled with tissues, unsurprising. I didn't see any signs of falling or hitting. And the bath had just been used considering the vapor-

" Stop looking around like a sight-seeing tourist, Devil… " a weak voice…

I finally looked directly at the inhabitant of the room, and proceeded to chuckle.

She looked… devastated, for sure. There were clear signs of dehydration and lack of calorie intake for the last week. It seemed that she mostly cried, considering the state her eyes were in. Small steps, Aether, you know goddamn well how delicate this situation is.

The reason for me chuckling though, had nothing to do with the state she was in.

She just used her first sentence ever spoken to me, honestly made me really happy that she at least could make small jokes. Two could play that game though. I smiled at her and,

" Hello there, miss. How may I help you this fine evening? "

She jumped from her bed and hugged me as tight as she could. She was so much faster than my baseline speed that it wasn't even funny, it was really nice though, being able to hug her.

… Seeing that she hadn't hurt herself.

I hugged her back softly and buried my head on top of her shoulder, as she did that to my chest. She smelled of Magnolia flowers and strawberries.

Small cries, I could hear coming from her mouth as we stayed that way for a few minutes. When she was done,

" I was afraid you wouldn't show up, you know? "

" What a silly woman you must be then, of course I'd be here. I promised, didn't I? "

" I was so scared… " she repeated, her voice still muffled by her head being buried.

" I know. I'm here now. " I slowly raised my hand, not to frighten her, and rubbed the back of her head.

…

I carefully let her go once I felt her shuffle around and helped her sit on the bed. I sat on the chair right in front of her, our distance was probably less than half a meter now, and she was looking right at me.

A comfortable silence was present for a little while as I waited for her to collect herself, before she decided to break it.

" I- I wanted to thank you for… " Her quiet voice got turned down even more in volume with each word, as she looked down.

Grabbing her chin from the side, with my thumb resting on her cheek, I made her gently look up to me.

" Hey, I know. You don't have to force yourself, okay? "

I saw her nod quietly. I let her face go, and her knees curled up to her stomach. She used her hands to hug herself…

" W-what was… last week like, for you? " I looked at her in curiosity.

" Are you sure that's what you want to hear? "

" Hm-hmm, just want to hear… your voice right now. "

" Very well. After I left this room, I went on to take out some garbage. " I saw Linda flinch a bit,

BAD AETHER, BAD!

" I went to my home in the Underworld, and just… needed a lot of help. I have an assigned maid, Cathy, who has been my first friend since I was little. She helped me out with taking care of myself. "

I stopped and looked at her to see if anything I said was bothering her or not, throughout the talk.

" I was really angry for the next two days… like, if my uncle hadn't come to stop me, I would accidentally end up destroying our castle. " A small laugh escaped her mouth.

" I told you I was privileged right? Well my highest order privilege has always been those people. Mom, pops, uncle, Cathy, my pops' wife- " I saw her give me a 'what the fuck?' look.

" It's a really long story that is even weirder than what you are imagining, okay? Leave me alone, I haven't processed it yet. She is also like a parental figure to me basically.

Them and of course my little sunshine Seek-chan helped me quite a bit. That's how I was able to calm down after the first few days. I did a lot of training for the next two days. "

" … Anything else? "

" Well, I might have ended up meeting the Governor of Fallen Angels… " She started coughing.

Coughing like crazy in fact, I had to give her a water bottle for it to calm down. Her eyes told me to keep explaining.

" It was from a summon sign. He saw my family sign on it, and since he was interested in me from the rumors, decided to mess with me quite a bit. He is a weirdo by the way, one that definitely shouldn't be leading a whole faction. "

" As if you aren't a weirdo… " Her tiny voice spoke once again.

" Fair. Since I was born with energy levels similar to our Satans when they were babies, there were some rumors about me in the Underworld. He learned those rumors and wanted to pick apart my thought process a bit. Most of his questions were about women and their body parts and my preferences…

That should tell you enough about his attitude. We made a small deal to keep in touch and help each other out with some things, and he also gave me a custom order so that I could make him a motorcycle. "

She looked at me with eyes that said 'I knew you were a weirdo'.

" I was hoping that you would call for me the whole time, well other than the time where I was destroying things for like a month… Honestly though, I didn't expect you to call me so early. It made me really happy. " I smiled at her.

The setting sun outside filled the room with a dark orange light, as that light passed through the gaps of the blinder.

" It made me really happy as well… " The headstrong exorcist was no more, as only the unfortunate woman remained. It was… heartbreaking to see her like this, after getting to know the real her last week.

She was weak, no, she could be weak because she trusted me. I would not betray that trust.

" Can you wait for a second? " She nodded.

I brought my index and middle finger together to my ear.

…

" Hey, pops.
Sorry for disappearing like that.
Tell mom and Seek-chan that I'm fine.
Yes. I am actually fine, I'm not telling you to lie to them.
I'm gonna be crashing in with a friend for now, so tell mom to not go turning the Underworld upside down to find me.
I don't know for how long, I'll let you know though.
You take care as well, dad. "

…

I lowered my fingers and looked at her once again. She had a surprised face.

" Well, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you haven't been eating well. I need to eat some food as well, do you want me to order anything? " I saw her nod. Good, small victories.

" Anything you'd like? " She made a 'no' gesture.

" Well, I kind of feel like pizza, tell me your favorite toppings and we will order it. "

And she did, hers was a mushroom, pepperoni and olives. Classic. I went ahead and ordered a mostly vegetarian pizza so it would be a different combination if she decided to eat from mine.

" Now that the orders are done, let's see if there is anything else you need. " She wanted to protest, but the poor girl's voice was long gone as only a raspy breath came out.

I went into her bathroom to check for some necessities.

" Well, you don't have a toothbrush, a hairbrush, womanly hygiene items, the hotel gives shampoo and hair conditioner but let me write those down as well…

We should get you some new sets of clothes and underwear as well. Don't worry though, this three-size pervert ally of yours shouldn't have much trouble choosing. " I saw her blush in embarrassment.

" Some air freshener could also be nice, definitely a personal cup for drinks, some towels… "

I listed off what I thought she could need. And probably a little more than what she actually would… By the time I was done,

" I'll be popping out for two seconds, okay? In fact, if it's over five minutes I'll grant you one wish. No limit to what you might wish for either. " I saw a small glint in her eyes.

She wanted something.

I then left the room, from the window obviously, and flew over to the closest supermarket chain I could find.

By the time I was done with shopping, it had only been three minutes.

So, I did what made the most sense and went towards the snack aisle. I think the cashier was genuinely scared by the time I came back with three carts full of snacks.

Now, where was the packaged underwear section again?

" Did I make it? " I asked.

" You were late… "

" Aww, shucks. " … she gave me a deadpan stare.

" I did get everything though. They are in my storage so let me just put them away first. "

And I did just that.

I knew how much even the smallest 'task' became impossible to do, when everything felt shit and you felt like the whole universe was against you.

Back then I could use someone to just make things easier, small things, useless things… anything at all. A tiny burden taken from your shoulders, could be the tipping point of one managing to carry the rest of the weight.

Or in my case, crash to the ground.

Was I surprised at all about how quickly I grew to care about this person? … Not really no.

I always connected to small amounts of people, however each of those connections happened fast, and happened strongly.

I remembered my old best friend. I met him on the first day of highschool, by the end of the second week he was telling me about the abuse that went on in his household.

Same story with my first partner, we were together for four and a half years and that relationship happened over one visit to the movies.

I always connected very fast… Not even mentioning what the hell we've been through with this person.

We were stuck in this together now. Wouldn't matter to me if she stayed in her depressed state or kept falling into it forever. I'd pick her back up again.

…

" Room service! We have an order for your room under the name Lint! "

I grabbed the two boxes from the man at the door and brought them to the table. We ate in silence, sitting side by side.

After we were done, and I had eaten the remaining pieces that she couldn't, I threw the remaining pieces out. I said I wanted to brush my teeth, and very cutely, she joined me as well.

It was getting quite late so,

" Linda, I'll go down and get a room for myself as well- "

I would not be able to finish that sentence.

" Stay!...Can you stay? " her face was once again buried into my back.

This woman was fast when I wasn't activating my perception. Also these random hugs appeared to be something frequent from now.

You won't see me complaining, that's for sure.

" If you are sure that is what you want. " She nodded.

I separated from her and got a secondary pillow, the bed was already a two person bed after all.

I proceeded to turn off the lights in the room and changed into my sleepwear.

She did the same, however there was a problem.

We devils had exceptional night vision, and I had enhanced senses… Let's just say I couldn't turn the other way fast enough.

BAD AETHER! BAD!

I saw her climb into the bed after she was done, silently signaling me to join her. Before I did that, I grabbed a water bottle from the mini fridge and set it on the bed stand. This lady was way too dehydrated.

I got in bed after her as well, and calmed myself down.

She hugged my arm at first, trying to sleep. We shuffled around a bit in silence as the situation was… only after a few minutes we could find a comfortable position.

It was really wholesome, the struggle to find a position that you could sleep together in, kind of awkward as well.

I didn't feel embarrassed at all though. It felt right.

She used my left arm, my good arm by the way, as a pillow and hugged my torso from the side. My pillow arm was bent at the elbow to caress her hair and our heads were touching…

We fell asleep in a few minutes, holding each other close.

" Are you sure you want to stay with me Ace? "

I woke up in the bed, still in that position and looked towards the owner of the voice. Her voice had gotten way better.

" A good morning would be nice first thing in the morning, woman… " I took out a mint candy from my storage.

" Also here if you want, I don't wanna get up right now so this is my temporary solution to morning breath. I can't have you disgusted with me now. "

Devils didn't really have morning breaths. Fucking seductive aura and all that.

" I would say good morning if what I'm saying wasn't important. Don't change the topic on me, I don't wanna take away more from your time for my sake. "

" I've got all the time in the world, and when I don't, I can multiply it by like 200. Now come here. "

I hugged her again, destroying her attempts at getting herself up and bringing her closer to me. We laid there in silence for a few minutes.

She already seemed way better now. If I were to guess, crying non-stop for two weeks had let out some of the pain. And now she felt touch starved.

Not only touch either, she had this desperate need for just human connection, being alone at such a state must have left her scared. Her whole aura was completely different today.

" Good morning. "

" Good morning to you as well. "

I saw her looking around the room with… pain, pain was present in her eyes. This place probably made bad memories resurface.

" Linda, do you like Germany? "

She gave me a look of confusion, and a little bit judgement too.

" What are you on about now, weird devil? "

" Like, living here and such… If you had the option of leaving this place or this city behind, where would you choose to go? For a fresh start I mean, away from all of the bullshit you were forced to do, and just start living for your own sake. "

I saw her look at me with a sad yet happy smile, it was weird to explain what I saw exactly there… There was a tiny bit of happiness though, at least.

She thought for a while.

" A few places come to mind I guess. For one, it would have to be away from here. I have nothing left here to stay for… " I squeezed her hand to comfort her.

" Italy is a no go as well, I just don't want to deal with the Church anymore. For possible places though;

I guess the first option that comes to my mind is the US or Canada, it is far away from here and is basically a mish-mash of a bunch of cultures.

Another option is one of the northern countries like Switzerland or Denmark, they seem like peaceful people and the natural beauty there is almost unmatched.

For a completely new adventure though, one of the higher ups I had and one of the decent ones always spoke kindly about his homeland, Japan. From the food to the people to the nature to the historical monuments and just overall the traditions and culture seemed interesting to me when he spoke about it. "

Man, it was so nice seeing her being able to just speak. I woke up really easily from movement and noises, so I also knew she had a full night's sleep last night.

She even ate very well.

" … For what I would like to do though… "

Her voice trailed off, guessing that it was personal and a sore spot. I promptly stopped asking questions.

I got the answer I wanted after all.

" Yo pops, good morning. "

I saw her look at me again with confused eyes, as to why I was calling my father while we were still intertwined.

" Everything is very fine, correct. I called to ask you something.
Do we have any land with usable homes in Japan? Also in Switzerland, Denmark, Canada and the homeland of truckers and gun owners. "

I saw her eyes widen in surprise, understanding my plan a little bit too late.

" DO NOT BE STUPID ACE- " I shut her mouth with telekinesis.

Would that count as physical harm?

… Nah, probably not.

" Oh, you must have heard the wind father. "

She tried landing a punch to my face, which I dodged swiftly.

" MHHHH MMMMMMMMMMM! "

Another punch was dodged as I put my weight on that arm.

" So we do have homes in Japan, Canada and Switzerland, cool cool cool. Which cities do we have land in for Japan? " An important question.

I subdued her hand that was free with my pillow hand easily.

" Kyoto, Tokyo, and Saitama huh… Well Kyoto would be a big mess right now so would you mind selling me that land in Tokyo? "

Her eyes grew even more.

" Yes Father, I want to buy it, not just visit it. It will be fully my responsibility then, making everything easier for me.
Yes I do have the funds do not worry, Devil Cycle business brings in the big bucks. "

She tried to cast Light magic.

" Thank you father, I shall send the money in a day or so.
Okay, I got the address, I'll handle the rest. "

I blocked the Light dagger flying to my face with a barrier magic.

" Oh, no no no, I don't need you to send Cathy or other maids there to clean, I'll handle it.
Yes father, I'll make sure to be careful… and not do too much gremlin-ness…
You take care as well, tell Seek-chan that I love her more than anyone. "

I let the psionic control over her mouth go and-

" YOU! " She was just pointing at me with an accusatory finger.

" Yes, I am me. " Hai-hai, kazuma-desu.

I think this might have been too much of a shock to her though, oops.

" Why? Why are you like this? " I saw her tear up.

" My dad made me comatose while training, breaking my skull and slicing my liver and stomach. I'm thinking that was the point of no return but could be anything else as well. "

She slowly hit me with weak punches while tears flew down from her eyes. Man, I was so used to having a fuck ton of money at this point that this type of 'gift' wouldn't even put a dent in my account.

I forgot how different her life was to mine, and kind of messed up I think.

" Hey, calm down okay? If you have trouble accepting a home from that land, I'll just rent it to you so it won't be a favor. I was already looking for a place to settle in the Overworld. "

She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

" A-are you lying to me? "

" No, I am dead serious. I hadn't decided which country to settle in yet, it was most likely going to be between Japan and the US. And like I said, if accepting a favor like that is going to be hard for you, we can just not make it a favor. I'll only start collecting the rent after you find a job. Do you know any Japanese by the way? "

She got up, grabbed a tissue to wipe her tears and also cleaned her nose. She liked the sound of the second deal way more.

" A little bit. I am good at learning languages though, give me two weeks and I'll master the spoken language. "

" Bold claim, I like it. When do you wanna go there? I was guessing that you might be tired from seeing this same tiny room for two weeks straight. "

She walked towards the bathroom, so I got up as well. We washed our faces while talking.

" For your information, Mr. I-wipe-my-ass-with-money, this was the best living conditions I've had my whole life. "

She jabbed me with her elbow. Ow.

" That would just be wasteful, I don't waste money. Also doesn't answer my question. "

I saw her annoyed face, from dealing with me most likely. She tried slapping my shoulder-

" Fucking fine, take me today if you want you bastard! I don't even care- "

I grabbed the flying hand and hugged her.

" Hey, I don't want to push you to do it, okay? If you are comfortable here, we can just stay here. I have no rush. "

She leaned into the hug as well. Still shaken up from… well everything, it was no surprise that she had trouble catching up to my speed.

I needed to remember how much of a gremlin I could be, and how most people weren't used to it. I rubbed her back.

" No, I, I'm happy alright? Just… not used to… this. " She let go of the hug, and held her elbow with her other hand, a small blush on her face.

" You are just a bit too much… in every way. "

" Sorry, I might have been trying a bit too much… "

" It's fine, you are doing this for my sake. I know. Your 'too much-ness' is what allowed me to trust you, before… and also what kept me going, you know, afterwards. " I nodded at her.

I started moving around the room, taking our belongings into my storage.

" Well then, why don't you change in the bathroom while I handle the packing up? I'll pack the bathroom up and change in there after you. "

She nodded at me and entered the bathroom, right at the entrance though,

" …You can peek if you want. "

…

…

…

The door was left with a tiny little gap, and I don't remember having to fight my urges this much before.

…

Damn.