The Next Day,
Bell's eyes lingered on the clock on the classroom wall. It was 3:10 PM. 5 minutes until he could leave for home. No point in hiding how giddy he was at this thought.
He glanced back down to see the homeroom teacher reminding his students to turn in their work on the date, giving a particularly nasty look to the perverts huddled in the corner. The man finished his lecture and slinked back into his desk to grade all the papers given to him by exhausted high schoolers. This was an indication to his students that they may leave.
Many Students huddled out of the classroom in a single file line that split off the moment they were out in the school's corridor. Bell was among them as he bounded down the hall and out of his class. With a few hops and a skip, he touched down on the courtyard with kick up of dust. Bell took in a big huff of air before exhaling. After taking in a few more breaths, he let out a hearty laugh. A laugh so spontaneous, plenty of students changed their paths to avoid the smiling classmate.
Moments later, he laid a bench. A Nintendo DS in hand playing one of the many Pokemon spinoffs. It wasn't particularly fun as without a guide or access to the internet he was flying in blind and making mistake after mistake. But it was all he had to himself until his sister came to pick him up.
Game Over. Those words popped up on the screen for the millionth time this hour. Bell pulled his head back from the screen in disappointment. He quickly closes the console and slides it back into his backpack. When he brings his head back up, he's greeted by a familiar face and voice.
"Hey. How's the wound holding up?" Bell sits upright to allow for Issei to sit next to him.
"Oh. You don't have to worry about it. I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yeah, but you had a basketball sized hole in your stomach! And you just healed it like it was nothing." Bell shakes his head in disagreement.
"Not nothing. I can't heal by myself… atleast not yet. I think."
The brown-haired boy is just more confused. Not yet? I think? What was going on?
"Look, Bell. You owe me an explanation. What's going on?"
That last part brought him back to the first time he was in this situation. Trying to come up with an excuse as to why this fellow classmate could hurt monsters with just a shovel and sheer strength. He already used the "I know magic" excuse, so trying to use it again to explain his regeneration would certainly be called out. Not to mention, there were no magic seals during the process. All that was left was the truth.
"Alright. So, I'm part demon."
"Oh, so you're a Devil?"
"No, no. Demon, not Devil. They're kinda like blobs of negative energy that pop out here and there. Like, that Frog we fought last night. Demons have this ability to heal their wounds by… uhm… well… I don't really don't know. I wasn't told much else."
Issei looked on with a mix of confusion and understanding. He understood about half of what he was saying but the gaps that were missing in his head had still went unfilled. But there wasn't much use prodding since Bell had already given all he knew.
"Glad to see you're ok. I was getting a bit worried something bad might've happened overnight. Anyways, what games did you have on your DS?"
Before the two boys could get to playing, they heard a voice call out for her brother.
""
Bell couldn't quite get anything she said past his name. Issei could. Quite clearly too. He gave a friendly wave to the approaching woman.
She throws back a wave before directing her attention back onto her brother. Not entertained by the lack of response for the past minute, Mors gestures to the gate right behind her. It was time to go.
"Right. We have a trip in 2 days to Tokyo!"
This was new information to the devil, but it was something he could get behind. Might be a family thing or a business trip for his dad. Best not to pry. Especially with her around.
A quick glance over her shoulder causes Mors to reach into her bag and bring out an object wrapped in tinfoil. She lazily tossed the item over to Issei, who caught as a spontaneous reaction.
"Here. An Empalme. Think of it as a kind of Mexican sandwich. I kept it a little too long in the oven… but it adds to the crunchiness."
It was a kind of peace offering, at least between Issei. She never paid much attention to him if she ever saw him, but from all the praise Bell kept piling onto him, this was a kid with a good heart. He had to if he could be around him.
With a goodbye wave, the two departed back for their home. They had some packing and training to start.
—-
"What do you have in your hands?"
The King looks at her entering pawn from her desk. He still had the wrapped Empalme, even all the way back to the ORC meeting room. Other than pre-occupied Akeno, the two stood in a brief silence. Eventually, it breaks.
"This is an Empalme, President. It's—"
"—Two tortillas covered in lard with beans and salsa between it. A kind of Mexican sandwich."
Rias didn't even look at the meal, just focusing on the heaps of paperwork she was shuffling through. There was an empty cup of coffee on the table. The insides were stained with a black ring after multiple pours. In the zone was the best way to describe the crimson-haired devil as she were right now. It was going to take something significant to knock her out of this trance.
"Did they open a diner nearby that sells this? Just asking in case I want to try it."
"No. It was a gift, President. From Mors."
Dead Quiet. Rias takes her eyes off her papers and looks dead at Iseei. Akeno, who was just deep in a good book, is also parroting her King's sentiment. The pawn is clearly uncomfortable with the energy these two are generating right now.
The two exchange glances before Rias looks inquisitively at Issei.
"Do you want me to check for any toxins in the sandwich?"
"P-President!"
"She's right. You don't know what kind of tricks she maybe have snuck in there." Akeno sarcastically chimes in.
"G-Guys! Why would she bother making food to poison me when she could easily kill me with her magic?"
"Why do snakes you poison? Makes the kill easier."
What Akeno just said made absolutely no sense. From a biological perspective at least. He didn't bother to correct her, though. The sentiment was all the same.
"I just don't want you to get in the crossfire between me and her. It's already rough to manage our clients when other people just keep leasing out services to monster hunters. Having to actually go and fight her to save your life would be… something else."
Immediately, she realizes there might be some negative implications with what she's saying. Embarrassment runs on her face as she goes to apologize.
"N-Not that your life wouldn't be worth saving!"
Akeno chuckles at her president's accidental wording. A comforting hand on the shoulder allows her to calm down from her embarrassment.
"I think he understands what you meant, President."
"R-Right. Anyways, if anyone is going to put their life at risk in this conflict, it shall be me. Hand me the Empalme!"
A chunk of the sandwich is thrown into her hand and within seconds, she taking a bite. Akeno is immediately prepared to remove the sandwich from her president the moment anything seems off. Issei just looks a bit perplexed with how serious she's treating this.
Chew. Chew. Chew. Rias moves over to a trash bin and spits out the chunk. Her queen and pawn move over to the side to see what went wrong.
"President! What happened? Was it poisoned!" Visible Concern stains Akeno's face.
"N-No… it's just overcooked. Too crunchy as well."
Relief washes over them both of them. Rias returns to a more serious demeanor, asking Issei what he knows about Bell. He gives her what he was told.
"Demons… Well, thank you. You are dismissed."
Once that door closes shut, Rias stands up and turns to her friend.
"Best to keep a close eye on him… If he's as troublesome as his sister, things are going to get messy." Rias commands.
"Understood. Shall I look into these Demons he speaks of?" Akeno replies.
"Hmm. Yes. I want to know what they really are, and what they can do. Don't know if what Issei was told was the full side of the story."
With a nod and a few steps, Akeno out of the room as well. The President of ORC decides she best finishes her work before making any real big decisions. She takes a glance at the discarded sandwich, clearly disgusted. She remembers at how crisp yet tasteless it was.
"Way too overcooked."
—-
"No, it wasn't too bad. No one's gonna choke on a sandwich." The elder sister reprimanded her brother's critique on cooking. She found it especially ironic coming from someone who couldn't even make a PB without Emergency Services on speed dial.
"Devil do have extreme tastes. Something so… workedshopped might cause some sensors to ring through their head."
Workedshopped? She would take the insult even further if it wasn't for them being already up the stairs and in front of the door. Best save it for inside.
The two siblings stumble back into the familiar cramped apartment. The sound of bags falling to the floor reaches the ear of a familiar face.
Azrael is unmoving on the couch. A phone is gripped in his hand with a stone-cold hold. Immediately, the two rush over to their dad. Worry strikes their face as the man struggles to form words.
"Dad, what happened? Why do you look like that?" Bell asks.
"Did you miss a sale or something?" Mors tries to bring a sense of levity, but all manner of joking around was dropped the minute that her father looked up with strained eyes.
"Kids… Mr. White just called… there's been an incident in Shibuya."