Chapter 58 : Tempus Fugit - Closed avenue.

++ENTRY: Alpha-270++
++ANNO:1 - LOCAL:2010++
++LOCAL DATE: FEBRUARY, 15TH++
++BEGINNING RECORD++

"Yet again, the reality of living in this fucked up world came at me with the subtility of drunk bull in a china shop.

"I… Didn't quite expect to have to off someone this week-end, since most of my focus has been on the competition, but, in hindsight, I should have seen it coming.

"From what I remember about canon, the Kendo club was depicted as a breeding ground for perverted antics and a tool -for the author- to show off Kiba's skill with a blade.

"Yet they went two years in a row to the young national cup's finals.

"I don't think my presence butterflied a loss, my replacement's skill would've been more than adequate to deal with my opponent, which means that, for the club and Kuoh Highschool at large to forget their past glory, something more sinister probably happened in the background.

"Like, say, a genius-level club captain getting enslaved in the dark of the night, and a general application of mind-whammy to deal with the consequences.

"...

"I'm not going to lie, I feel

sickat the idea. Probably because it concerns Sakura, so it feels more personal this time, but still.

"This is wrong.

"So fucking wrong on so many levels.

"...

"I think it bugs me even more since I know that I won't be here to act like a shield the next time it happens, and it got me thinking.

"Three Relics from an omniverse away are a bit too much for me, so maybe I could share the love? Repurpose raw

Anathema juice into a trinket to get the Devils to leave her the fuck alone and allow her to live a blessfully normal life?

"... I'll think about it. Maybe as a cheeky gift on White Valentine?

"...

"On other, less depressing and angsty news, I've noticed a trend with my 'cultivation' growth.

"To put it in simple terms, the Warpification's gains I'm making are getting slowly, but surely less pronounced as time goes on. The decline seems to be geometric. I should reach the twentieth percentile roughly at the canon start deadline, but going above thirty percent seems like a pipedream long term.

"Now, that's only for the 'physical' state of things.

"For the 'spiritual', well. My range just reached what I'm pretty

sureis the industrial district of Tokyo last night.

"Here, too, it seems that my progress is geometric. And, if my calculations are right, I should be able to cover the entirety of Japan, as well as the two Koreas, a slice of Russia and China's eastern coastline by the start of canon.

"One year after that, and assuming my growth keeps the same rate? I'd be able to cover the whole globe.

"I am… Of two minds after that particular factoid.

"On one hand, I successfully managed to cheat my way toward a high Beta - low Alpha Psyker potential, which is absolutely

nuts.

"On the other hand, I fully expect to have to burst a lot of heads each night if the Voices keep nudging me into dealing with everyone's problems like they did so far.

"Let's hope I'll eventually manage to find a trick to blunt their call, because I'm not sure I'll be dealing with that rather well.

"I really should not be forced into being humanity's savior. I already know how it went for the other guy."

++ENTRY: Alpha-270++
++ENDING RECORD++

"Congratulations, Prima-chan!" Rias excitedly chirps in my ears as soon as she sees me the next Monday morning, the bubbly redhead swallowing me into an enthusiastic glomp, to my begrudging acceptance and her eternal shadow's amusement.

"Thank you, Rias." I thank her while swiftly hugging her back, paying no mind to the sea of Looks the personal display of affection earns us from our peers, before putting a more conservative amount of distance between the two of us, "But it was a team effort."

"Umu!" The Gremory Heiress enthusiastically nods -and makes Akeno's eye twitch violently with her weebness, which I still find hilarious- before wagging a finger in my direction, "Still! The Kendo club and you won the youth national cup, that's still a lot!"

Cue a chorus of impressed gasps and exclamations all around, and my smile instantly turns a little plastic as the general amounts of Awe, Envy and Lust balloons in the vicinity.

I did not need more of this, thank you very much!

"Kiba-kun will probably pester you even more for a spar now, you know?" Rias informs me with a mischievous smirk.

I slump against the wall even more than usual, to the Half-Fallen's barely hidden titter of amusement.

I got to answer, but my words get lost as the bell rings.

I let the shrill sound wash over us, before giving my honest thoughts on the subject.

"Is he so determined to stop me from relaxing during the only day of the week where I laze around and rest?" I ask rhetorically while stepping into Kuoh High's courtyard, Rias to my right and Akeno to hers.

The Knight has already expressed quite a few times that he'd be interested in trading pointers, but even after nearly a year of the gym-bunny regiment I'm still not that much into physical exertion.

Which means I have kept politely blowing him off all those months, because while I'm willing to laze away at Rias' big mansion during my day off, I'm generally not in the mood to clash blades with the sword nut of her coterie.

"The poor boy is getting oh so pent up about it." Akeno 'helpfully' adds, a dainty hand on her cheek and a falsely concerned look on her face.

I throw her an annoyed glare, before huffing.

"Hello to you too, Himejima-san." I answer snidely, which doesn't deter the jade-black haired girl as she lets out an amused giggle, before locking eyes with Rias once again, "I take it he won't take no for an answer the next time I come over?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" The Gremory heiress emphatically waves her hands in a negative gesture, before sheepishly adding, her hands clasped in front of her, "But if you could find it in yourself to entertain him at least once…"

I keep giving her an unimpressed look for a couple more seconds, before sighing.

"Fine!" I grumble aloud, "I'll spar with him this Sunday."

"Thanks Prima-chan!" Rias beams at me, and I feel my annoyance at the ordeal diminish a little.

Her smile is that powerful, after all.

"So kind of you to help him get some much needed release, Hanako-san." Akeno 'gently' smiles my way, her Mirth radiating in the Empyrean.

I barely stop myself from braining her with my handbag.

"I heard that congratulations are in order, Hanako-san." Someone says after approaching our usual trio in the cafeteria.

I blink, before putting back my chopsticks to look toward my interlocutor-

-only for my eyes to land on the rather stiff form of one Sona Sitri and her entourage.

I squint minutely.

Entourage whichapparently gained one additional member if I'm not mistaken?

The newcomer is a rather slim girl with long brown hair and matching eyes, her pretty feature topped off with a blue headband.

Most notably, contrary to Momo's slightly distressed expression and Tsubaki's barely hidden glower, the new girl is smiling amicably my way.

Ignoring the mounting Annoyance of a certain redhead and the rather cold look her Queen is throwing the Sitri heiress' way, I dip my head minutely in Sona's direction in acknowledgement.

"Thank you, Shitori-san." I answer formally, deciding to acknowledge the olive branch for what it is, "But, as I've said earlier today to Rias, this was a team effort."

"It may be so, but you were the youngest member of the team." The glass-wearing devil points out, "And I reckon you'll be the only one left of this dream-team next year."

Which is, in fact, true, since Sakura and my three seniors are all third years.

"What of it?" I ask, playing 'dumb'.

"Have you given any thoughts of taking over the Kendo club's presidency next year?" Sona asks curiously.

I sigh softly, feeling the beginning of a headache rearing its ugly head.

"As a matter of fact, I did." I answer, my voice leaking just enough of my annoyance to convey that I'm not too enthused by the idea, "I'm afraid Koryu-Buchou beat you to the punch in that regard."

"Interesting." The Sitri heiress hums, crossing her arms under her chests as multiple pairs of eyes zero on me, "May I be so bold as to ask you what you intend to do, then?"

I narrow my eyes at her, before turning away to look back at my plate while picking my chopsticks back.

"I'm still thinking about it." I grumble.

Thankfully, the overbearing devil actually takes my surly tone for the dismissal that it is and ends up leaving after trading a few words with her fellow King.

"... Fuck." I grumble dejectedly, slumping deeper into my couch, the letter previously clutched in my hand fluttering to the ground.

I end up staring at the ceiling for an unknown length of time, and the evening is well on its way when I finally find it in myself to get up to pick the letter back.

I finally received an answer to my -very politely worded- demand to change high school.

The very dense page of legalese that I just got sent my way from the Japanese Ministry of Education in the guise of an answer basically boils down to 'lol, no, get over yourself you dirt-poor orphan and thank your lucky star for what you already have'.

Which means that, unless I just up and hightail it from here on my own, I'm kinda shit out of luck.

Feeling my frustration and annoyance boils over I viciously crumple the letter, before throwing it away in a fit.

I huff, combing my hair away from my eyes while sitting back on my couch, arms crossed over my bust.

I take a big inhale, before exhaling slowly.

"Alright, Prima." I mumble to myself, eyes closed, "That's one avenue of dodging canon closed. What can you do?"

I remain immobile, furiously thinking, the Voices whispering in my ears insistently, trying their best to pull my focus away from the problem at hand.

… Truth is, I'm kind of fucked, aren't I?

I could just quit the schooling system and go my merry way since I'm sixteen, but it would absolutely murder my future.

I mean, I'm still stoked about my future tattoo parlor, and I'm not sure I could manage to emigrate away from Japan while being obviously underage, no matter how much money I can throw at the problem.

That, plus the fact that while living in Kuoh has its disadvantages, it still grants me some modicum of protection, if only because I personally know the overseers in charge of the area and have a good enough read on them both.

Which is also inconvenient.

Because there's no way Rias will let it go if I suddenly vanish in thin air. And considering her mind-boggling amount of resources, she will inevitably succeed in finding me.

If I could just mind-whammy the official in charge of my file into going along with my wishes, it would be a breeze to deal with my current problem, but…

… I'm still absolute dogshit with my telepathy, and I seriously doubt I'll be able to make enough progress before the second year begins.

So, yeah, I'm officially fucked.

"Rotten bones!" I grumble, pressing against my eyes with the meat of my palms in frustration, "Why did I have to spawn in that town, fucks' sake!"

[AN: We get officially told to suck it up and ride the canon train, after angsting about hypothetical scenarios and what to do about them.

Oh, and suffering from fame, I guess.

Hope you enjoy, xoxo!]