Fate DxD Vol.7
Chapter 34
"Okay, so let me get this straight, overnight your arm got burned just like that?" Usui asks, taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"Pretty much yeah..."
"Hmmm, you've done a stupid thing mostly."
"If you want yes."
"Well, I can see I wouldn't get anything else out of it, so we'll move on." A mischievous smile spreads across his face. "So it's true, then? You and the Ryogi girl went out?"
I nearly turn the lemonade in my mouth into a projectile because of what Usui has just said. I have a coughing fit after nearly choking, but it gives me a few seconds to scan the classroom for anyone who may have heard what was just said. Everyone seems to be minding their own business at lunchtime.
"What do you mean?" I finally manage to say after swallowing my drink.
"Don't play dumb with me." Usui's face seems to want to shift the blame from himself. "It's no secret that you're leering at Ryōgi. Besides, judging by the reaction you just made, it looks like the only ones who don't realize it are you two."
I can't see myself, so I can't really tell, but I think I may be inadvertently making the most disappointed frown I've ever made in my life.
The icy winds and low temperatures show that we're in the middle of winter, which means it's been 4 months since I first met Shiki. The time and our tendency to hang out together must have given people the wrong impression.
"I'm sorry to say we misinformed you," I said finally. "We're just friends, if you can call it that."
"Is that a fact?" His persistent incredulity exasperates me. "You're on a first-name basis," he continues. "She doesn't seem like the kind of girl to let that go without warning."
"Shiki really hates being called by her last name. I called her 'Ryōgi' once, just to see what would happen, and she looked at me like I'd just killed her pet dog or something. She insisted I wasn't being formal with her, so I ended up calling her by her first name. Pretty boring, huh?"
"Yes, I suppose so," he finally concedes after a sigh and a five-second delay. He looks genuinely disappointed, and I wonder what kind of rocky story he was expecting. "So your appointment last time at the school entrance didn't work out either? It's a waste of time, man, talking to you waiting for details. I should have kept my mouth shut and eaten my lunch in the classroom."
"Wait, go back. How the hell do you know about this?"
"I told you, boy, you and Ryōgi are famous. Mostly because of Ryōgi, but whatever. Your rainy-day encounter is the talk in the hallways. Since it's about Ryōgi, every mouth in the damn school has been talking."
I let out a frustrated sigh and cast a dark gaze skywards, silently hoping that this mess wouldn't reach Shiki's ears. She'd kill me.
"They say this school has a lot of successful students, don't they? I'm beginning to wonder if the people here are really that smart," I say, half-joking.
"Well, if it's any consolation, at least some of the upperclassmen have found jobs at this school," he replies in a neutral tone. "Seriously, there's one thing that doesn't sit right with me: of all the girls in this school, why Ryōgi? However you interpret it, it doesn't sound like you at all."
I remember a discussion with him and the rest of the guys. They had told me that a more down-to-earth girl would suit me better, with the not-so-subtle insinuation that Shiki was altogether too strange. The words are different but I recognize the same kind of subtle insinuation in what Usui has just said, and it makes me a little angry.
"Oh, stop it. Shiki's not as scary as you say," I say inadvertently. Usui suddenly flashes a huge, stupid grin, as if he's finally won an elusive prize.
"'Just a friend,' huh? Easy, man, no need to raise your voice at me. I'm just curious, that's all. Scary chicks like her aren't a dime a dozen, you feel me? If you can't see how cold she is, you're already crazy about her."
He must mean "hard-headed and stubborn" when he says "cold", because that's the only way I'd describe Shiki.
"Anyway, all that to say that there's nothing between us, we're just friends."
"So what do you like about her? Her looks? What?"
(Why do I get the feeling he doesn't listen to me...)
But now that I think about it, there's no doubt that Shiki is beautiful. But that's not what really attracts me to her. Shiki always seems to be hiding an invisible wound, a fragile part of herself that's about to break and eat away at her from the inside, to kill her slowly. You see the emptiness in her face, her thousand-yard stare, and realize that this isn't just a convenient metaphor; it's real, in a way, and she needs help.
"Well, she has her cute sides," I say hesitantly. "If I had to compare her to an animal, it would be a rabbit, I suppose." No sooner said than done, I regret it. It's a big hit for Usui, though, who laughs heartily upon hearing it, almost reflexively.
"A rabbit? Dude, that's not even half true and you know it. If it was an animal, it'd be a hawk that could gouge your eyes out, or some crap like that. A rabbit, it's just..." He tries to find his words amidst bursts of laughter. "...too far from the ladder. Or, wait, wait. Maybe it's the kind of bird that dies of loneliness?" Another big laugh.
"It's over. I won't talk to you about girls anymore."
"You know what? Maybe a rabbit was a good comparison after all." Suddenly, Usui's laughter stops.
"Usui, such a quick about-face is rather suspicious, don't you think?"
"No, no, it's not that. I just remembered that there are rabbits that can rip your head off if you're not careful, man."
"Um..." (I guess nothing surprises me anymore.)
"Just kidding." said Usui, stretching his arms and leaning back in his seat. "I'm talking about video games, man."
Saturday, January 7, 2023
It's 7pm, the girls have gone out with Fuji-nee, leaving me alone with Chiyo-san, who didn't want to leave me alone. I start preparing dinner slowly. Then, seeing the food simmering, I turn to Chiyo-san, who is practically glued to the TV, which is still broadcasting the same depressing news.
"Chiyo-san, you don't need to be glued to the TV so much you know." I approach, turning up the TV sound a little.
"Here's the 7 o'clock news. After monsters attacked the land of Brazil, three cities were wiped off the map, and the few survivors still haven't found refuge..." That's what we hear every day.
"This woman ! She appeared in the morning show as well!" Chiyo recognized, pointing at her.
"Yeah, even though she changed her outfit, you still noticed that."
"Fufufu... I've gradually managed to differentiate between different human faces !" She said, proud of herself.
In the beginning Chiyo thought everyone's face looked the same and couldn't differentiate between anyone.
"I can tell between their genders, but sometimes it's hard when there's people who look like they could be either one!"
"Well, even I'm not sure sometimes..."
For us humans, it's the same as being unable to differentiate the faces of insects. In the end that's what we were like to her.
"Anyway, I made us some barley tea, by the time the girls get home, dinner should be ready."
"Thank you~ Come to think of it Senji-kun... When are you going back on vacation? We've been spending less time together since you went back to school."
"In a month or so, just tell yourself that vacations come around every two months or so."
"I see! There's still a lot of stuff for me to remember !"
Chiyo gradually learned about today's society through TV and books. I was astonished by her learning capacity.
'What about here ? What happens here, hm?'
'Hey ! Please don't look down there..!'
A totally extraordinary existence, which has been called either a goddess or demon, is sitting on a zabuton enjoying the warmth of the heated kotatsu, eating teacakes and casually watching TV. You don't get to see miraculous scenes like this very often.
(What a strange feeling, so this is what it's like to spend time with family?)
"Heyyy, Senji-kun!" She catches my attention, tapping her index finger on my shoulder. "Hey, look! I want to try this!"
She points to the screen, showing an advert for cotton buds featuring a mother gently cleaning her son's ears, his head lying on her thighs.
(Ear... ear cleaning?!)
My imagination runs wild, I see myself in that child's place, my head on Chiyo's thighs, cleaning my ears... I must be starting to blush, feeling my cheeks heating up.
"U-um, I've run out of cotton swabs at the moment..!" I'm trying to find an excuse.
"For moments like these, look!" Chiyo takes on her demonic form, she turns some hair into a cotton bud, with a big smile on her face. "My wrigglers will make you squeaky clean! It's okay! Leave it all to me!" Her sensual voice, as if attracting me, prevents me from thinking properly.
"I... Um... I have to watch the kitchen..." I try to run away but it's too late, her tentacles have already caught me and force me to get closer to her.
(In the end, I couldn't refuse her at all...)
I find myself lying on the floor, my head on her thighs, she tenderly caresses my cheek, preparing to clean my ear.
(Nevertheless, this position is...)
From where I'm standing, I can't take my eyes off it. Her soft, slender belly. Her big breasts, rising and falling with the rhythm of her breathing...
"Okay~ Well then, time to clean you up~" Hearing this, I tensed up. "My hair will now enter Senji-kun's ears!"
"Wait!" I panic, feeling her hair enter my ear, forcing her to back away.
"Heeey! Stop Moving!" I freeze, wanting to get it over with as quickly as possible. "Mmm..."
She enters her hair a second time, and gently scratches everywhere.
(What should I do about this... It's much more than I expected... How should I say it...)
"Ah, there, there ! Gently, gently..."
(I'm not sure I like what's happening, but the fact that she's doing it with so much tenderness and care... it's getting nicer and nicer...)
"Yeah... It's not going in as easily as I want it to... Then I guess I'll..."
Chiyo pauses for a few seconds, then suddenly her hair loses its cotton-tipped shape, resumes its tentacle-like form and wanders into my ear, causing me to let out an indescribable shriek.
"It's not scary, don't be afraid! It's okay! This way I can move it as I want it to!"
(Chiyo feelers are stroking the inside of my ears!)
"Gently... Gently..."
(Inside my body, Chiyo is...)
"Hey, between doing it yourself... and your girlfriend doing it for you, which is more sensual~?" She whispers in an erotic way.
Her wrigling feelers in my head, warm hands, and sweet voice. I'm trembling from within as if my brain's being directly caressed.
"There, there... Good boy, good boy... It's great feeling good all over, you know?"
(I don't know if I like it but... It's like my brain's slowly melting.)
"Oky! All clean~" She said, pulling her tentacles away from my head. "And to finish things off..."
She brings her face close and gently breathes on my ear, which startles me and makes me jump to my feet.
"Uhyah! Aawoo!"
"Pft-Fufufu... Ahahahah!"
"Ohh... That's mean, laughing that hard..." I complain, embarrassed.
"Oh Senji-kun, you're making a weird voice ! Fufu... Did your girlfriend feel that good ?"
"Why do you have to make it sound that way?" I blushed at her words and her smile.
"Well, time for the opposite ear !"
(Ohhh... I can't resist her...)
"That's it! I hope it wasn't too long..."
"Eh? Chiyo-san..?" I stand up, seeing her freeze, her gaze fixed on the TV.
I watch in turn, to see magnificent images of the ocean, divers filming schools of coral, full of life, illuminated by flashes of sunlight through the water.
"We just learned today that a coral bank has resurrected, bringing back many species of fish that disappeared a few years ago..."
Among all the bad news we get every day, it's rare to find a good one. I watch with amazement, seeing life slowly picking up here and there, while the world is increasingly on the brink of crisis.
"It's so beautiful... The ocean's merely big, so I thought it was similar to the puddles in the forest, but... If such a world exists, I want to see it with my very own eyes! An ocean that stretches far and wide, limitlessly..." Chiyo is absorbed by the images.
(If life can heal itself under these conditions, then why can't I...)
"...Yeah, you're right. The ocean... You'd like to go, huh?"
Sunday, January 8, 2023
"I'll let myself in." I said, walking through the door of the Joestar mansion.
"There you are Senji! Just wait a minute, I'll get something and I'll be ready!" Jojo announces, at the top of the stairs.
"Don't worry, we're not in a hurry." I greet him, sitting down on one of the many seats.
He smiles at me, then climbs the stairs two at a time and disappears into a corridor. Seeing no one there, I let my curiosity get the better of me and headed for that strange mask on the wall.
"Tsss, this thing stinks." Ddraig groans.
"Strange, I can't feel anything, not even the smell... Hmm? Are those fangs?" I'm about to touch it when I hear footsteps approaching.
"Interested in this mask?" I turn to see Dio looking at me with an amused expression.
"Hmmm... Not really, it's just that he makes me frankly uncomfortable. I wouldn't know why, though. Because it's just a stone mask... an ugly one at that." I rest my hand on my chin, pondering.
"Hmpf." He approaches, saying nothing, then takes it in his hands and inspects it.
"I'm sure he's hiding something, you can feel it, can't you? This object, I'm sure it's magic." He looks me straight in the eye.
"Um... Not really no..."
Then other footsteps are heard. We turn at the same time to see Father Joestar, pipe in mouth, watching us with a smirk.
"Excuse us, Mr. Joestar. We shouldn't have allowed ourselves. But that mask is so sinister..." Dio apologizes directly.
(Why he adds me in, I didn't touch it.)
"No, no, I don't mind. This stone mask would have been discovered in Mexican ruins..." Mr. Joestar begins to explain. "We were out of town and Jojo had just been born. We liked it and bought it from an art dealer in London. On the way back, we had a car accident... I lost my wife... But it was your father Dio who saved Jojo's and my lives. Painful memories... But it hangs there, in place of a photograph of my wife..." He said, sitting down in an armchair.
I notice Dio scraping the dust marks off the mask. I motion to him to turn it over, curious to see inside. Seeing this, he immediately understands and executes, surely as curious as I am. I wasn't expecting anything, but surprisingly, there are unknown engravings on the back of the mask, taking up the entire forehead.
"Some kind of words are engraved inside the mask?" Dio asks, equally surprised.
"Hmm. This would be the writing of the Astec civilization. But the meaning has never been deciphered."
"Is it a valuable item?" I ask, seeing Dio put the mask back on the wall.
"Not particularly. Are you interested in masks?" He asks us both.
"No, not at all." Dio replies, walking away.
Mr. Joestar watches Dio leave in question, then looks at me, waiting for an answer.
"Oh, um not really, I'm just curious."
"Ah curiosity, what a beautiful thing isn't it?" He said as he picked up his newspaper.
"I'm ready! Sorry for the delay! Is everything okay?" Jojo asks, approaching me.
"Hmm? Yes everything's fine, let's go."
Today, I'm accompanying Jojo as he explores the city, closely followed by his dog. After a fair distance from his mansion, Jojo looks around, then takes a pipe out of his bag and starts smoking.
"What are you doing?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm smoking a pipe! My dad would never allow it at home so I do it whenever I'm out."
"I see, you're smoking on the sly basically."
"Want to give it a try?" He asks, holding out his pipe.
"No thanks, I'm not interested at all." I reply, waving my arms negatively.
Then I notice the bandages on his right eyebrow.
"What happened to your eye?"
"Hmmm?" He touches it before giving an embarrassed smile. "Well you know Friday there was a boxing competition at school. I decided to take part and I ran into Dio..."
"Okay I see, he beat you..." (Just having muscles isn't enough.)
Then his gaze suddenly turns to a group of young people our age, surprised to see them.
"Hey, guys! Do you want to come with us? We're going for a ride in Fuyuki!" He exclaims, greeting them.
The three guys look at him without emotion, then turn back.
"Hey, it looks like the weirdo is talking to us." Said one.
"Let's go somewhere else. It's risky hanging around here. We might get reported." Adds another.
Jojo seems to have taken it personally.
"What? W-Wait!" He runs to them. "What do you mean, it's risky!? Tell me! Who would tell on you?!"
He charges at them and knocks one of them to the ground. Then one of them takes a stick from the ground and hits Jojo on the back, knocking him over in pain.
"Hey you!" They turn to me, pointing. "You shouldn't be hanging out with Jojo the snitch! Come on, let's go! He'd tell everyone if we played with him!"
Jojo crouches down, rubs his upper back, then leaps to his feet, seeing them off.
"Who's a snitch? Come back here! What would I have gone and said?! What would I have done?" He shouts, crying.
(What the hell is going on... Say Ddraig, am I the problem or are they acting like children?)
"I don't know what to tell you, partner, except that it's pathetic."
I let out a long sigh, joined Jojo and hit him on the head with the palm of my hand, bringing him to his senses.
"No need to make a big deal of it. what do you care about false rumors? It's really just a kid's thing, so don't let it influence you."
"Dio! It's Dio! He's the one who told them bad things about me! It's like he's doing everything he can to push me over the edge! I feel like he's invading my world more and more! Damn it, Dio!" He stamps his foot on a garbage can.
A gesture he immediately regrets, as he kneels down again holding his aching foot. I pinch the top of my nose, exasperated by what I see.
"Come on, let's sit down, we've been walking for a while." I hold out my hand to help him stand.
He accepts without saying a word and follows me to a playpen. There are very few kids playing here, as the heavy snow makes the playground dangerous.
We watched in silence as the children engaged in a snow battle, under the watchful eye of their parents, some fathers having joined the children in the battle. The silence of winter, pierced by the laughter of children, creates a pleasant atmosphere. I turn my gaze to Jojo, who is petting his dog, also enjoying the moment.
"So, it's still not going well with Dio then." I cut the silence, curious.
"*Sigh* Since he's been with us, my life has been a mess. I'm all alone! Father compares me to Dio and the slightest blunder and I get punished!" Jojo unloads all his frustration. "But, in this misfortune I have found a good friend." He said, looking at me. "Thank you for accompanying me today, I'm really having a good time."
"No problem." I reply simply, fully understanding how he feels.
"And you, too, at least you remain my friend, despite whatever Dio may do, right?" Says Jojo, getting up and playing with his dog.
I stand up in turn, preparing to follow them, when I notice a familiar girl discreetly watching us out of the corner of my eye. Well, observing Jojo from around the corner of the street. Seeing that I've noticed, she begins her approach.
"Jojo! Come and see." I call to him, immediately understanding what's going on.
"Hmm? What is it..." By the time he reaches me, the blonde is already at my side, waiting for him.
The girl holds out a fruit basket to Jojo, her cheeks completely red.
"Here, this is to thank you for saving me last time..."
"It seems to me that you participated too. So why doesn't she give you anything?"
(This whole situation is just an excuse Ddraig, take a good look.)
Jojo looks her up and down, not recognizing her. Then he looks into the basket. Black grapes and the handkerchief he dropped that day.
"My handkerchief! It's coming back to me! You're the girl who cried over her phone. Thanks for the grapes and for bringing me my handkerchief!" jojo suddenly bows his head, startling the girl.
"Well on that note, I must be going, thanks again!" She bows her head to Jojo, then to me, and takes off running.
"Weird, why is she leaving so quickly, did I do something wrong?" Jojo asks.
"If I had to deduce, I'd say she's rather shy."
"Shy about what?"
"Look at your handkerchief."
With a questioning look, he takes his handkerchief and undoes it to see a telephone number written on it.
"Huh? Why did she write that there?" Jojo asks the stupidest question I've ever heard.
"Are you serious?" I make the most disappointed face I've ever made.
Jojo starts to think, not understanding why I'm making this face. Then, after a few seconds, his brain finally connects the information and his chin drops.
"Did she...? Me?" He asks, pointing his index finger at his face.
"Yeah, looks like it's love at first sight dude, congratulations."
"Now that I think about it, she's awfully cute!" He picks up a grape and tosses it to his dog, who gobbles it right up.
"Well, shall we continue or do you want to go off in pursuit of your sweetheart?" I ask, picking up a grape.
"Don't! Don't say it like that! There's nothing between us yet! And yes we're going on!" He exclaimed, stepping forward in the opposite direction to the blonde.
(Why that reminds me of what Usui told me...)
Monday, January 9, 2023
I arrive at the school entrance with the girls and from the corner of my tired eye, I see Jojo and the young woman chatting and laughing together.
(Huh. Well that didn't take long, good for them.)
"Everything okay Senji?" I jump, hearing someone call out to me.
I turn to see Yugi looking at me with a puzzled expression.
"Hello Yugi, yes everything's fine, I'm just happy for a friend."
"Did something good happen for your friend?"
"Something good is happening, and I hope for his sake it lasts."