The Time of Isolation Hath Come
I
His knuckles fell just short of touching the wood.
Seconds, minutes, hours.
None of that really mattered to him at the moment.
It was just him staring at a wooden door, that was all this moment amounted to. Whether he walked beyond the door or not, he wasn't even sure himself whether that was the right choice. All he really cared about was…
…Why was he even here in the first place?
His hand lowered back to his side, his gaze moved with it, turning himself from the door and moving away-
A click echoed through the hallway, he froze midway through his step. Keeping his eyes dead ahead as the door opened up, he caught sight of the figure pulling the door open. Their violet eyes flicked onto him the second that the door was opened, but there didn't seem to be an ounce of surprise on their face.
Magic, he supposed.
They probably knew he was standing around outside the door, that was probably why they were here now. They knew he was going to run off before actually doing anything. His body loosened, his legs cancelled their movement and returned to their usual straight stance, his eyes turned back to the hallway.
Neither one of them said anything, between the unflinching gaze levelled at the side of his head and his own unbroken gaze directed to the floor panels. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next. There was a small comfort in that, not knowing what would come of what was going to happen.
As it turned out, knowing didn't make things easier.
The door creaked further, swinging open until it was fully pulled.
A faint intake of breath, then the person on the other side spoke up.
"Is there something you need, Archaman-sensei?"
Archman-sensei.
Incredible how such a simple title could make him almost flinch, it didn't even sound cold. It sounded no different from how she usually spoke, but perhaps that was the problem now. He could tell it was the letter, but not the spirit. Maybe she really did dislike him now.
No mention of how long he stood there, maybe she did know, or maybe she didn't. It might have even been that she was trying to make an effort to spare his feelings, not that he was sure whether he deserved such a thing from her. Quite frankly, he wasn't sure what the standing between the two of them was now.
…They hadn't spoken in several days.
Neither the night everything changed nor the days that followed, none of them had really spoken to him.
"...Just…" He opened his mouth to speak, then rolled his lips inwards and pinched his brows. Moving his hands up, rubbing his thumb along his ring finger for some small measure of comfort. It worked, if only a little, as he found the strength to finish his sentence. "...Just stopping by to make sure that everyone was alright. Issei-kun hasn't been around the office for a couple of days, and I'm…well, I'm sure he's not stopped doing things that make the kendo club upset."
Slowly, but surely, he chanced a look in the direction of the other person.
They were giving him a polite smile, really it would have been difficult to tell that there was anything the matter with them in the first place. To everyone else, it probably looked as though there was no problem.
But he could tell, he wasn't sure how he could tell, but he could.
"Ara? Is this an odd way of phrasing your desire for students to get injured more often? I did not think that you would resort to such lengths because you were simply lonely, Archaman-sensei."
It took him a second, but the comment earned a tiny chortle from him. "No, nothing like that. I think I could handle some loneliness if it meant that no one was getting hurt…Just that a couple of rumours were that Issei-kun and his other friends were still up to their old tricks."
Moving his hand away from his ring, he placed it on the side of his neck and rubbed up and down. "Asia hasn't said anything, but…is…is she healing Issei-kun's injuries or something?"
Silence.
Then a gentle sigh, she moved out of the way of the door and gestured into the room. "Would you like to come inside?"
He blinked. "That…you don't need to-"
"Roman."
Her tone shifted, one that made it clear that it wasn't brooking an argument.
She very much reminded him of Leona, but it was only a surface comparison. Mostly one that was rather pushing. With a slow nod of the head, he turned about and stepped past the teenager.
"So long as I'm not intruding…and please call me Roman-sensei, if anything."
"Hmmm." He got only a light hum of affirmation in response, the door clicked shut behind him and the individual walked around.
His eyes flickered to the back of her head, then to the rest of the room. A brief flicker of confusion shot through him as he came to the realisation that there was no one else here. Which was more than a little strange for him, he figured that some of the others would at least have been-
"They're away on contracts."
"Huh?"
Turning to Akeno, he almost missed her comment as she moved about the room and towards one of the doors. The dark haired teen inclined her head in his direction, repeating herself. "The others, they're away on contracts. A simple matter of life and death never puts a hold on the Devils work, as they say."
"...Who is they?"
"The Devils."
"...Are-"
"Roman-sensei." With a sigh, the girl turned to him and raised a brow. "This is the sort of work that is expected of us. Many other peerages deal with life and death struggles more often than us and are expected to do this the very next day. Besides…that sort of simple work is good for focusing the mind, I have discovered."
Was it?
He didn't actually know what sort of contracts Devils actually did in the first place, he wanted to ask but didn't want to seem too intrusive into their jobs.
That and he couldn't really argue about them trying to move on from the whole thing, it was pretty…
…It was very changing, to say the least.
"If…if that's what works for all of you, then that's a relief." He replied after a moment, his feet carrying him further into the room. Casting his eyes all about the rather poorly lit interior and stepping around one of the chairs, lowering himself into it and folding his hands over his lap.
Akeno stepped through the doorway into the room adjacent, he could hear the sounds of ceramic a moment later, accompanied by the opening and closing of cupboard doors.
"What about you, Roman-sensei?"
"...I'm hanging on."
Silence descended, the sound of clutter stopped entirely.
It was rather deafening, he got the feeling that if Akeno had been in the room with him, he would have been faced with a rather pointed gaze that didn't believe what he was saying for a single moment. The judgemental silence continued for a few more seconds before the noises resumed.
"Is that so?" There was a slight hum in her tone. "Well, so long as you continue to hang on, then all should be well."
"Yeah, that's the plan."
Another brief silence, then Akeno's head emerged through the doorway and stared at him. "Perhaps the plan could do with a touch of improvement to it, hmmm? I realise your standards might be a little lower than average-"
"I think that I'm setting them pretty high." He admitted quietly, dragging his lips into a wry smile, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. Returning to rubbing his wedding ring for comfort. "...At least I haven't been shooting off any death beams since then. No more blackouts as well so that's…that's alright at least…then again, I haven't been in any more life or death struggles so there's been no reason for it."
He glanced up, meeting the gaze of Akeno.
Loudly clearing his throat, he pulled his hands apart, trying to look less anxious than he felt. "Leo thinks it could be down to stress triggering it or something but she…she doesn't actually know and that bothers her. She likes to have an answer for things so…I think she's a bit more worried about all of this than I am so-"
He cut himself off as he realised he was rambling, giving another short cough and waving his hand. "Sorry, probably not interested in all the rambling. So how has school been going for all of you?"
Akeno didn't say anything.
Not really.
She didn't need to, the blank stare she levelled at him was more than enough.
Her head retreated back into the room, her voice rang out a moment later. "School has been going rather well for me, personally. None of my grades have been slipping and, as I'm sure you have noticed, I have avoided needing to take a trip to the nurses office because of any scraped knees."
A snort escaped him. "Thank goodness for that, I would be rather concerned if you got hurt on purpose just to visit me."
"Do you find my company that offensive?"
"Ye-no! What?" He jerked at her question, then exhaled as a light giggle echoed through the room. Dropping his head into his hands, the brief panic quickly fled from his body and was replaced with mild relief. The feeling about being mocked aside, he was rather happy that Akeno was still comfortable enough with him to actually tease him in the first place-
Wait.
What was with this switch around all of a sudden?
"Hang on…what was all that earlier?"
Akeno reappeared, wheeling a trolley along with her into the room. Romani's efforts to repeat the question were quickly stumped as he stared down at the trolley, a small tin of what he presumed were biscuits sitting next to a couple of plates and a boiling tea kettle, accompanied by matching plain cups.
"What was what earlier?" Akeno inquired, regarding him with a tilt of the head and a series of innocent blinks.
"H-huh? What…uhm…" Raising a hand, his gaze switched between the curious look of the teen and the trolley. Debating which of the two questions he was supposed to ask first, his raised hand lowered until it was pointed at the trolley. "Uh, what is up with that in the first place?"
An affronted look came upon the girl, she leaned back and rested a hand over her heart. "Roman-sensei…do you mean to imply that I look like the sort of girl who would make for a poor host? Is your opinion of me truly so low…whatever have I done to deserve this low estimation of my character?"
Huh?
What?
When?
Who?
Why?
"...What is happening right now?"
A beat passed.
Another giggle escaped the girl as she resumed pushing the trolley until it was beside the table in front of him. The girl gently procured the china set from the top and started to pour, briefly he was struck with the weird epiphany of what was happening, but by the time he realised what was going on, it was much too late.
"I…You didn't need to-"
"Need and want are two very different things, Roman-sensei." Akeno cut him off without missing a beat, not even meeting his eyes as she poured out a cup of tea. He furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to speak again- "And I consider it my personal role to be a courteous host to whichever guest appears in this room. It naturally reflects well on the reputation of the Gremory family."
She smiled down at him. "It would hardly do if they considered Rias to be the sort who brought philistines into her peerage."
"...I don't think that anyone would really think of that if you didn't serve them tea."
He found himself more troubled by the fact she was actually serving tea in the first place, rather than anything else-
A scent caught his nose, his eyes shifted down to the small mug as the liquid was poured out.
That was decidedly not the smell of tea, rather there was a much more bitter aroma about it. Slowly raising his finger, he pointed down to the mug while turning his eyes onto Akeno, rather unsure about what that was supposed to mean. All he got was an innocent smile from the young teen as she poured out a second mug for herself.
"As I said, I strive to uphold the reputation of the Gremory family when it comes to entertaining guests…and I believe that the first step would be that they are served beverages that are actually palatable to them."
"...You really didn't…" His words fell short from the pointed look of the girl, one that made it clear they would be arguing about the point for ages. "I didn't think that any of you would drink coffee in the first place. I wouldn't be all that surprised about the tea, but coffee?"
Akeno hummed, then shrugged her shoulders. "Once you were involved, Rias decided it would be smart to bring something to serve you in the event either yourself or Mrs Archaman stopped by. I figured that the two of you would have more or less the same tastes as one another."
Well, she wasn't wrong about that.
And going through all of this trouble for him would make it rather rude if he outright refused her.
"Be sure to tell me what you think, I boiled only the freshest bathwater this time."
He levelled her with a flat look, there was no way that he was going to fall for it a second time.
"Though I was rather surprised how easily Leviathan-sama agreed for-"
"Wha-!?"
He realised he had been caught the second he fumbled, his expression tightened and his head dropped low. Sure enough, the rather pleased chuckle of the young girl echoed around the room and as happy as he was that she was laughing about something, he would have preferred if it wasn't really at his expense. "...Really?"
"I'm sorry, but the opportunity was there."
She didn't sound very sorry in the least.
With a sigh and a shake of the head, he resumed his action of taking the coffee mug into his hand and bringing it closer to himself. Not quite going for a sip yet, instead he just sat there, holding it in his grasp. "...I can't remember if I asked how everyone was getting on or not."
"You did." Quiet confirmation, then a faint sigh. "But I do not recall answering you directly or not, I suppose you have already been around to the student council and asked them…or are we your first pick because we're your favourites?"
"Hmmm." He didn't answer her question, mainly because he felt he just had a better repertoire with the ORC than with the student council. "...Just more concerned about all of you, I suppose…and I don't want to give Sitri-san the wrong idea that I'm just bugging her about her famous sister…which I'm still trying to wrap my head around, actually."
Akeno giggled, moving a hand up to cover her lips. "Yes, Sona does get rather flustered when her sister becomes involved. Though to think that you were such an avid fan of her…I believe there was some mention of a shrine?"
Closing his eyes, he groaned and moved his hand up to cover his face. "It wasn't a shrine…I just collected a lot of memorabilia. Though it makes sense now why I couldn't find anything out about Levi-tan. Though when someone thinks of hell, they don't think of a magical girl tv show."
"Leviathan-sama does have her proclivities…I believe you might actually be a larger fan than the actual Devils who watch her show." With a hum of amusement, the teen cupped her chin and regarded him with thinly veiled amusement. "That's quite the achievement you have there, Roman-sensei."
"...I literally have a poster on my wall with Satan's autograph…what has my life turned into?"
"Do you mean to imply you were not an impassioned fan before you discovered she was the Leviathan?"
"...That isn't the point but whatever…" He chuckled, bringing the mug to his lips and taking a short sip of it. A brief pause, he pulled the mug back and stared into the coffee with pinched brows, frowning a little at the taste.
It earned a look from Akeno. "Is there something the matter?"
"...This coffee just tasted really good…you didn't use magic or something, did you?"
A blank stare from the girl. "I am torn between being impressed that you believe my skills to be so good that they are impossible for you to believe otherwise, or a touch insulted that you are taking my abilities so lightly that I cannot create an excellent cup of coffee without the use of magic."
He opened his mouth to apologise, a second too short as the girl shrugged her shoulders and offered an innocent smile.
"Well, that aside, the Gremory family spares no expense when it comes to entertaining guests." She smiled, gesturing behind herself in the direction of the offroom. "We have a small collection of rather premium products for when we are called upon to entertain important individuals."
Romani looked at her.
Then to the coffee.
Then back to her.
Slowly, the coffee was lowered onto the table, drawing his hand away from it and setting it back on his lap, rolling his lips inwards. "How…er…how expensive was that coffee?"
"...Roman-sensei?"
"Hmmm?"
"It is better not to think about it and just accept that, because Rias is a very rich young lady, she is going to buy expensive things."
"...Yeah, but that was before I found out that I was drinking coffee that was probably more expensive than my house…" A small nervous laughter bubbled up, rubbing his nape with his free hand.
Akeno wasn't laughing.
Rather she sent a small glance at the coffee and then glanced to the ceiling.
"...I-it isn't more expensive than my house…is it?"
She started to whistle.
"H-hey, h-ho-how expensive was that-"
"Oh…about nine-thousand yen."
That was…
…That was like...well, that was a bit expensive but he was actually expecting it to be much worse by the rate that Akeno was leading him on.
His eyes narrowed slightly at the girl, whose lip was now twitching up and down in a clear effort to avoid bursting into laughter.
"...Hey, I thought you were all about making your guests feel comfortable rather than bullying them."
"You seem to be taking it all in good faith, so where is the harm?" Akeno inclined a brow at him, which brought him up short. He was rather content that she was comfortable enough to actually make these jokes.
"...I don't have an answer to that, other than respect for your elders."
"Ah, my apologies, Roman-ji."
"..."
"...I'll stop." She smiled in such a way that made the 'for now' all but apparent.
Slumping his shoulders, he turned his head from the girl and looked straight ahead, falling into a short silence.
Only broken when Akeno spoke again. "...Have you had any more contact with your…acquaintance?"
"You don't need to try and pretend to like them if you don't want to-"
"No, but it would be rude." Akeno replied with a perfectly straight expression. "Whatever feelings I hold towards them as a whole, they are, for whatever reason, your friend. Insulting your friend to your face would be rather disrespectful, even if I do not personally understand or agree with it."
She exhaled, folding her hands over one another. "There have been other characters whom I had little affection for in this very room, I am not so…instinctual as to act upon my every dislike."
Romani stared at her for a moment, then slowly shook his head from side to side. "She left the same day, Leo said that they had some things they needed to talk about with their boss and then took off…she did say that they wished me a swift recovery."
Akeno thinned her lips. "That sounds somewhat troublesome for you, Roman-sensei."
What did?
The part where they wished him a swift recovery?
Unsure of what he was supposed to respond to that point with, he silently brought the mug to his lips and took a slower sip of the expensive coffee. Privately noting that he shouldn't get too attached to the taste of it, otherwise he would either be tempted to stop around here more often, or he would get drawn into buying it.
Neither of which was something he was really comfortable with.
A short sigh from Akeno. "I assume you don't quite understand the ramifications of what you did, beyond what they have done for you…while there is no doubt that most of the attention will fall upon that of the Satans for their timely intervention, as well as the rumours of combined efforts from the Church and Grigori…your participation will be noted."
"What participation?" He grunted back with a flat tone of voice. "I passed out and then sleep walked into shooting a dragon out of the sky…everyone is telling me I fired off this big death beam or whatever and the most I can remember is being absolutely terrified and trying to appear as low to the ground as possible."
"Whether anyone believes that or not, there will doubtless be those who believe you have been playing a long con, as it were."
It took him a second to realise her words, when he did he all but choked on the coffee, hastily lowering it down onto the table while his other hand beat against his chest, swiftly turning his eyes onto the girl and searching for any sign of joking, which there was not.
She was being serious.
"W-wh-what? Me?"
Visibly unaffected, she nodded her head up and down. "Quite so, though I would admit that if you were some manner of spy, then you would doubtless be one of the best ones I have ever heard of. Given that you appear to have convinced even yourself that you are the bumbling fool that all in school know."
Bumbling fool-? Wait, no, this wasn't the time to be put off by some silly nickname.
What did she mean when she talked about being a spy?!
"Spy?! Wh-"
"Though that is likely a theory to fall to the wayside." Akeno dismissed, sweeping her hand through the air as though to brush his words down. "The more likely theory is that you have woken some manner of Sacred Gear or previously latent potential due to the stress of the situation."
"T-that-what?" His head felt sore, bringing his hands up to nurse his brows. "Hang on a moment-"
"It is quite a bit more common than you would imagine." She continued on, gesturing towards him with a slight frown. "Though I admit to be drawing a blank on whatever Sacred Gear could be as destructive as yours revealed itself to be, even through a Balance Breaker…But I suppose there would be time enough for you to discover that."
Discover?
What?
"Can…can I just get a time out quickly." He muttered, leaning forward and resting his head completely into his hands. Fortunately Akeno said nothing more to him that would have shattered his world view.
He supposed it really was too late to go back to how things were before.
"Did…" Akeno hesitated for a moment, then continued on. "Forgive me but did Mrs Archaman not…discuss this with you?"
Did Leona discuss it with him?
He didn't think there was anything to really discuss, he didn't even know what he was supposed to have done.
Maybe she had been waiting for him to come to a decision all on his own rather than force him into anything, all she had really said was that they would speak when he really got a hold of everything. She probably didn't want to drop all of this on his head too quickly and have him all freaked out.
That was probably it.
His hands fell down onto his lap with a thud, his eyes remained fixed onto his shoes for a few seconds.
"...She was trying to give me time to really let all this settle, I suppose. She's probably been freaked out all in her own right as well…"
That and he didn't want to try and freak her out.
Neither of them really knew what was going on, that was the feeling he got from her.
Clearing his throat, he raised his head and looked at Akeno. "...So then, what would be the problem?"
Akeno grimaced lightly. "If…I believe this is a topic better suited for your wife to handle-"
"You've already started now." He waved off. "Best to get the plaster pulled right off, yeah?"
"...The act of shooting a dragon from the sky will undoubtedly put you in the crosshairs of some very important people." Was the slow response he received, Akeno looked rather perturbed by it. "If it had just been the Devils who knew of it, then it would have fallen to Rias to deal with and that would have been…simpler to manage. She has the Red Dragon Emperor as one of her peerage and can call upon the aid of her older brother."
It felt as though there was an implication there, one that he was better off ignoring.
"Though it was not just the Devils, it was the Church and the Grigori as well."
A wince.
"The Church is not liable to make any further moves, their influence in Japan is limited at best and downright non-existent at worst. They can dispatch agents from time to time, but they have a greater foothold in Europe and would be rather unwilling to force a matter over you…more likely than not, they will make a note of your identity and place you into the category of a…Devil ally."
That sounded foreboding.
…Oh.
"...They'd kill me, wouldn't they?"
Akeno looked rather uncomfortable with the question, he was as well.
She placed her hands together, taking a deep breath and then exhaling. "Not necessarily…Given your proximity to the younger sister of the Lucifer, you would doubtless fall into the category of an important individual that causing harm to would be…tenuous to a ceasefire, especially after your actions have earned you the favour of both Lucifer and Leviathan."
…Oh.
Well.
…They wanted to kill him but couldn't because it would be too much of a hassle.
"I…I see."
He didn't, but he felt the need to say something.
From the looks of things, his efforts weren't all that convincing either, given the face Akeno made, it lasted for a moment or two before her eyes closed. "In regards to the Grigori…they would be much less forthright, initially. As they have managed to ingratiate themselves into your personal life to the point where you consider one of their highest members a friend…they will likely use that link in the future in an effort to draw you into their faction where they would exploit your talents."
That sounded cynical.
And a little bit mean-spirited.
"Akeno-san…" He began slowly, rolling his jaw and waving a hand. "I know you don't like Penny, but that seems a bit-"
"That is a logical course of action for them." The girl cut him short, but didn't shift the tone of her voice. It felt a little as though he was a child getting talked down by a teacher or something. "That is their modus operandi, as the saying would go. They find members of strong promise and then sweep them into their organisation, a slow and insidious indoctrination."
"...Indoctri-what? No, she hasn't even come back to talk with me yet-"
"Because she has been passing over everything she knows about you to her superiors and deciding the best path forwards."
She…she really didn't trust Penemue at all, did she?
"...She did save your life-"
Akeno narrowed her eyes at him in challenge, he met her gaze head on.
Neither one of them said anything, then the girl clicked her tongue, an irritable expression flickering across her features for a brief moment before it was replaced with exasperation. "Quite why they saved me is something I'm not entirely sure, but I suppose I can guess the reason behind it…and believe me, it is not one I am going to thank her for. I doubt she did it as a favour to Rias."
Once more, the urge to ask was countered by the fact it was clearly a deeply personal issue.
"...But that is beside the point, whether you believe me or not, the simple fact remains that you would be an individual of interest to the Grigori and that woman would most certainly be the one selected to bring you into the fold."
Romani nodded along with her words, while not accepting all of them, he did get the gist of what she was saying, and what she was saying was that there wasn't a chance in either heaven or hell that he was going to be able to go back to them point in his life where he was nothing more than a regular school nurse.
It had been…slightly easier with the whole future sight thing, but this was completely different.
"There is…something else." Akeno wet her lips, looking apprehensive for some reason. "Is this the first time you have blacked out?"
The first time he blacked out?
"...I've been knocked around a lot these past few-" It struck him a second later what she was implying, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped at the possibility. More so with the idea that he couldn't actually dismiss what it was that she was saying. "Do you…do you think that this weird thing has happened before?"
She slowly nodded her head up and down. "It is hardly as though you have been uninvolved in such situations before, as you said…you have been put in a life or death struggle several times in rapid succession, it is possible that this has happened before on a much less…grand scale."
He couldn't think of anything specifically off the top of his head, nor could he really place anything.
Well…
…There was one thing that sort of stuck out to him, if only a little.
"There…there was this one time with the…" He leaned forwards, frowning to himself as he recalled the details, it was remarkably easy. "The Fallen Angel woman who sort of beat me up…I think she knocked me out but I…she looked dead set on killing me and then next thing I know she's about to leave and you arrive."
He glanced up at her, noting her blank gaze.
"Did…did you see me do anything weird?"
Akeno interlocked her fingers, rising from her own seated position and moving around the table towards the desk, her eyes lingered on the windows for a brief period. The lack of a response was telling him that she had seen something.
"...It was less what I saw and more what I heard, and what I heard was hardly something I could describe, mainly because my memory of it is…jagged." The girl twitched, turning back around to face him. "There is no doubt that you did something which managed to ward off the crow, but I do not know what that would be. Something about your words was…physically offensive to the hearing of myself and Rias."
Romani grimaced. "Did I say something bad or-?"
Akeno's lip gave a minute twitch. "I meant physically offensive in the most literal way. Your words were akin to nails dragged along a chalkboard. Whether the crow understood what you were saying or not, they clearly had their fill of an encounter with you and made to retreat…Which is when I happened upon you."
Wait.
Something about that seemed odd.
"...How long were you there?"
"Not long." Akeno replied rather quickly, he supposed she would be a little indignant about his subtle jab.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that…" How was he supposed to word the idea that he was implying she had stood back and let him get beaten to a pulp or something. They probably just arrived towards the end before he blacked out. "...How come you didn't bring this up before?"
Akeno sighed. "While I understand that you would have appreciated such information earlier, for Devils it is a far more complicated situation. Words that cause physical harm to the likes of even Rias are not to be taken lightly…we needed to be certain that you were not a threat, given your wife was an unknown until recently."
So they were just worried?
He…he was a little troubled by their lack of faith in him, actually.
Then again, if they had tried to broker the topic before the whole death beam, would he even have believed them in the first place? Probably not.
"Which is what we have been doing these last few days." Akeno continued on, making him blink at her words. "We needed to see what you would do, hence we kept our distance for the most part without doing anything overt. Asia remained with you but the remainder of us kept our distance, not that we wouldn't have been in a position to do something…but we doubted you would do anything to Asia."
Romani raised a finger, pointing it to himself. "So you were…worried…about what I would do?"
"By all other accounts, to those who would not know you, it seemed as though you had dropped whatever camouflage you had created when your life was in real danger. If there was something to be guilty of, then it was suspected you would have fled as soon as possible using whatever methods you had gained entry with."
Was this what it was like living with this sort of knowledge?
Just one big game of who was hiding the biggest knife behind their back or who was the better liar?
Was that what they were having to deal with all the time?
That sounded really sad.
"Not that we believed such things." Akeno gave a reassuring smile, waving her hand down. "But it was necessary to convince detractors we would be prepared for a possible situation. It is clear that you are in much the same position as Issei, forced into a situation you were ill-prepared for and are having trouble navigating."
"Issei-kun managed to adapt easily enough." He muttered, not that he was really jealous of the teenager, but it was an observation all the same. For the most part, he noted that Issei seemed to be a little more confident than when everything first kicked off, but he couldn't truly be sure of it one way or the other.
They definitely got into the swing of things, at least.
"Issei is a…slightly different case." Akeno replied diplomatically. "Rias has experience in acclimatising such individuals into the life of a Devil and his situation was quite a touch slower than yours."
That earned her a frown.
"He died. He was murdered on his first real date." Drumming his finger into his chest, he carried on. "That wasn't really slow. He came into school the next day convinced he was going insane and that none of it happened. Then he went looking for answers and was nearly killed again."
"The term 'reincarnated devil' is not just used as a title. It is often taken quite literally." Akeno argued with a shake of the head. "But you are quite right, I should have chosen my words more carefully. What I meant to say was that after the initial shock, Issei received support to fully engage with his newfound responsibilities."
Was she saying he didn't?
His mouth opened, ready to defend Leona.
"You were mostly kept on a need to know basis." Akeno continued on. "From what I can gather, we were all content with giving you the basic levels of information and leaving it at that. You being aware of more than needed would have made you…in no unsimple terms, a liability."
The word hit him like a punch to the face.
Yeah.
It settled in his gut like lead.
A liability.
Yeah, she was right.
"I do not say this to sound cruel-"
"No, no…you're right…" Cutting her short, he adjusted his posture in the chair and hummed to himself.
There was no denying her words, it was something that he had known himself for quite some time but having it said out loud was…it felt a little different and especially from someone who was a little over half his age, if that.
He couldn't counter her argument in any way, not without letting slip some deeply troubling secrets about himself that he promised to keep hidden. Not that he had been able to achieve all that much with the knowledge though…he supposed he did actually save those exorcists from dying, so that actually made him feel a little good.
But a single sliver of good news…not to mention that if it hadn't been for the arrival of everyone else at that time, not only would he have died but he would have also led Issei to yet another death and this time…
"Guess it just took a while to settle…not really used to being incapable of doing anything…" It was a mirthless chuckle that escaped him, hands moving up to press down on his nape, his eyes lingered on the floor. "...I can't actually do anything, can I? Not really…huh. I haven't really said that out loud yet…so thanks for letting me know-"
"Roman-sensei."
He glanced up, meeting the violet gaze of Akeno as she walked across the room towards him, moving onto the sofa by the side of the chair and lowering herself down into it. "You cannot be blamed for being weak, the same can be said for everyone else…especially in recent events. There are certain aspects of myself that I would consider a liability…"
"Yeah, but you can at least do something more than…" He dropped his hands down, falling back into the chair. "...Nevermind. I can't even help you if you scrape your knee…what the heck is the point of a nurse who can't do anything?"
"You can do plenty for the other students of the school-"
"But I can't do anything about you."
She went quiet.
"Not you, not Asia, not Issei-kun…none of you…you're all students as well and I can't even do anything to help you if you run into trouble. The whole point of being a teenager is that you can still rely on adults but…" He waved a hand. "The Student Council is more mature than me, you're all these magic people who can just fight monsters and stuff and…if you ever scrape your knee you don't even need me."
A shrug.
"...Just didn't really notice it until…the one time I actually do something that does help you and I can't remember doing it? What if I need to do it again and it doesn't happen? What is the point of being in a position to help you if you need to try and save me when it comes down to it? Doesn't that seem weird?"
The girl regarded him silently.
He cringed and rose up from his seated position. "Sorry…must be a little embarrassing to watch a grown man whine about-"
"Not at all." Her words were quiet. "...What you speak of is the same feeling that I got when becoming a Devil. I am to be the Queen of Rias and yet there was no doubt that she was better than me in every way that mattered…not even my previous experience as a Miko was able to close the gap between us in the beginning. She was just…better."
A what?
"A…Miko?"
The girl gave a light giggle. "Ah, I suppose you wouldn't know about that. I was and might still be regarded as a priestess, though only in training. I'm afraid I never managed to get that far into my work…I can deal with the odd lingering spirit consigned to the mortal realm. Weak apparitions and the like."
"...You mean…like a ghost buster?"
"Fufufu~" With a rather amused smile, her eyes gained a little bit of a twinkle. "Yes, I suppose so. Though it wasn't quite as visually impressive…a few talismans to banish away the lingering spirits and then heal the building. I might have been rather skilled if I continued…though, I did have a touch of an affinity for lightning…I…just lost interest in it."
An odd inflection in her tone of voice, as though she was trying to keep something secret.
"But when I heard of what the responsibility of a Queen was and then looked to Rias, I was rather…flustered about it. I saw the gap between us and then looked to my own talents and saw that there was something of a gulf between us. An impossible hurdle that I couldn't quite cross."
"...But you did so well."
"It took a great deal of time and effort to get to where I am." Akeno lightly chided him, raising a brow but then exhaling. "And complete focus from me. I wanted to be at a stage where I was useful to Rias, in the beginning at least, but then…I just wanted to help my friend. I suppose the same falls to you now, Roman-sensei…what do you want to do?"
What did he want?
"...I just want people to rely on me a little…" He mumbled out quietly, clasping his hands together. "Or at least not have to worry about me so much…I walk around all of you and it's like I'm the one made of glass…"
"Then you already have your answer of what you want to do." Akeno replied with a light smile. "Though you do not need to cast thunderbolts from your hands or turn summer into winter…sometimes the best support you can give is just being around someone when they need it. I'm sure that Issei and Asia would be rather lost without you."
He jerked his head to her, pulling a faint smile of his own. "They have you as well…but thanks for…thanks for being their friend. I know it means a lot to both of them."
"Your concern means a lot to them as well. I'm certain there are many students who look fondly upon the man who can be there to patch up their cut knees or put ice-packs to their bruises…And having you remain so indifferent to our nature as Devils is…An open mind can be just as useful."
An open mind, huh?
Speaking of which.
"How are you doing, by the way?"
A blink from the girl, they leaned backwards and gazed at him with a rather bewildered expression. "Did we not cover this already?"
"Yeah but, it feels a little mean for you to listen to me go through all of this without offering you the same chance…You were talking about an open mind and all that so…just anything in general that might be bothering you."
He reached forwards, taking the mug into his hands and bringing it up for a quick sip. "...I know that you didn't like Penny and I can…I can accept you have your reasons and I'm not going to criticise you or push you for them. Just…I could see she was making you uncomfortable so…how are you feeling about it all now…are you alright?"
Akeno straightened. "...She is your friend, Roman-sensei. You've made it clear you still see her as a friend so for me to speak my true thoughts-"
"I wasn't planning on playing a big game of he said and she said." He gave a gentle shake of the head. "If you were really bothered by her, just tell me and I'll make sure you're never in the same room again in case she stops by."
"...Just like that?"
"Yes."
A raised brow, a slightly dubious stare. "I assumed you would have pushed me to try and treat her better-"
"I asked you to give her a chance." He reminded her. "If you still can't stand being around her after that, then there's nothing I can say that will change your mind. It is ultimately up to you whether or not you want to change your opinion. Whatever prejudice you have…it's clearly personal and that's understandable."
Akeno remained silent for a few moments, then turned her head away, expression blank and eyes distant.
"I did not like how personable that thi-" Cutting herself short, she made a sour face, then continued on. "How she acted so personable. I don't like how she flaunted the generosity of Rias and the others by strutting around without concern…and I do not like how she…I know why she saved us. Myself and Issei…it was because that was the mission but she barely looked at Issei. She was looking at me."
Her eyes flicked onto him. "I know why she saved me. I do not like why she saved me. I do not like a single ounce of it…it makes me sick that she could act so…friendly. That she could get so close to myself and the people in Rias peerage, my friends…and there wasn't anything I could do about it."
Moving her hands forwards, she clasped them together.
"...But there is more than that…I used a spell and haven't stopped thinking about it."
Silence.
"...It is a revolting spell. Utterly disgusting and that I…I did not even mean to use it in the first place. It was just something I used before I even realised it and…"
Romani frowned, wetting his lips. "...Is it dangerous to you?"
Akeno pulled a mirthless smile. "Not in the way you would consider. Not physically dangerous but it is…the fact I was pushed that far, the fact that for even a single instant I considered such a revolting power to be an option…" the smile dimmed, her eyes moved down to her hands. "I shudder at the thought that such a time could come again. That I could lose myself and call upon it is…"
"Why did you use it in the first place?"
It seemed like a question worth asking.
More so than the stuff regarding Penny.
"It seems like you hate this spell so…what pushed you to use it?"
Akeno rolled her jaw, glaring down at her hands. "...The dragon was about to eat Issei. I just saw him about to die and then…I reacted."
A hum escaped him, nodding his head up and down and then smiling at her. "Then that is all that matters."
Their head whipped towards him, brows furrowed. "Excuse me?"
"You saw your friend in danger and used a spell to save him, it sounds like thats the sort of thing you should be focusing on."
"It isn't that simple-" Akeno growled, though whether she was angry at him or herself was something he couldn't quite tell. She looked like she was angry at him, but it didn't feel like she was. "That power comes from the most vile place imaginable-"
"And you used it to save your friends life." He finished her sentence, then furrowed his brows. "Is it like this cursed magic that changes your soul? Does it corrupt you?"
"No, but-"
"Then that's all I need to know about it and…that should be all you need to know about it as well."
"You-" Another growl and she turned her head, "You do not understand, Roman-sensei. It is-"
He exhaled. "Look…what you're telling me is that you used a supposedly evil power to do something good with it. I don't think that anything is immediately good or evil, otherwise…well…you're a Devil. If I believed that, then I would never have come back to school after finding that you."
Her jaw clenched but she said nothing.
"Right…maybe the power is evil and cursed or whatever…but I think that you should look at from another angle. Supposing that it is evil, then you broke it when you saved Issei's life with it." He shrugged, his shoulders. "That has to count for something, especially if Akeno Himejima is strong enough to make evil magic do something good…"
The shoulders of the girl dropped, turning to him with a rather exasperated gaze. "Is that your opinion of me? That I am strong enough to make something evil turn good?"
"...I mean, you and the others are nice people but you're also Devils…so…" Another shrug of the shoulders, clearing his throat and turning back to the coffee. "I just think that if you can use something to save someones life then it can't be all that evil…unless its consuming your life force…it doesn't do that, does it? Because then yeah, please don't use that ever again-"
A quiet chuckle cut him off, the girl was smiling to herself and with her own gaze fixed on the table in front of them. Reaching across, she took one of the small biscuits and had a little nibble from it. "...I'm rather envious of how you can see things so simply, Roman-sensei."
"I don't know if it's so simple." He muttered with a shake of the head. "Everything seems much more complicated for me now. More so than ever before…If you don't want to use the magic then that's your choice. It makes you uncomfortable…but just remember that you did something good with your power. At the end of the day, it matters more what you do with something than where it came from."
"...As I said, an open mind."
"...Did it help?"
"...I'm not sure." Akeno remarked with a faint hum. "Though I do not believe I feel much worse about it."
Romani felt a small twitch of his lips. "Well…that's good. I'd hate to think that I messed things up so soon after you helped me. Or, well…made me see things a little clearer at least."
And if he was going to be honest with himself, that was more than likely the best he was actually going to get out of this, until he really decided on what he was going to do. That being said, he was rather sure he knew of some manner of path forwards.
No, for the first time since all of this had kicked off, he had a single idea of what he was going to do.
"I don't think I ever asked if you were in the middle of doing something."
"Just tidying up."
"...Need some help?"
Slowly raising a brow, the girl regarded him with an expression that asked if he was actually being serious.
It took him a few moments to realise what the problem might have been, namely that he was the one who was offering, and he really wasn't the cleanest person in the world. Not when it came to putting things away into their proper places. Actually, he would probably have been tied with Leona.
But she had her 'organised mess' system that she touted and it worked, somehow.
He just had a mess.
"...Actually, on second thought? Never mind, I think you would do a pretty good job without me."
A light smile. "The offer was still appreciated, Roman-sensei. Do you wish to remain until the others come back? It should not be longer than an hour or so…"
"...No, not at the moment at least." He stared down at his vague outline in the reflection of the coffee for a beat. "I've just managed to snag hold of some confidence to do something…or, well, ask someone something that is probably going to be a big deal for them. So I want to get home while I still have all that energy saved up."
With an amused grin, Akeno leaned into the sofa and raised her hand, giving a small pump of her fist. "Ah, in that case, I shall be cheering you on with your quest. I'm sure that it is rather important for you…I mean that, truly, good luck, Roman-sensei."
Her eyes gained a twinkle. "I could predict your fortune, if you'd like?"
His own eyes glazed over slightly. "...You know? I think that knowing the future is more trouble than it's worth." with a final gulp, he downed the rest of the coffee and set the mug down onto the table. "Especially if you can't do anything about it. I mean, even if you did predict my future with a hundred percent accuracy, what if it was really bad? What would I even do about that?"
Akeno jerked slightly "That was a touch more cynical than I was expecting from you."
"...Sorry, didn't mean to bring down the mood." Clearing his throat, he pat himself down and turned about the chair, moving for the door. "But thank you for just hearing me out…have a good rest of your day, Akeno-san…and good luck with whatever it is that you're going through. I'll be cheering you and the others on as well."
"...Thank you, Roman."
He paused at the door, glancing over his shoulder at the teenager, facing the other direction.
"...Anytime. You're still at the age where you can rely on adults a little. Devil or not, you're still a student, you know?"
"Yes." The girl hummed. "As you have so clearly made your opinion."
She didn't sound offended in the least, rather it was difficult to tell what she was feeling. It sounded as though she was amused by it, but there might have been something else in there.
Probably overthinking it as well, it more than likely sounded a little weird for her to be told be someone like him that he was reliable. Everything else aside, he was a pretty lousy adult in general.
With renewed confidence, he stepped through the door and began his walk home.
There was something important he needed to ask his wife.
Romani stared at the foot of his door, blinking several times as he tried to wrap his head around the image that was in front of him.
Brows furrowed tightly, his lip pulled itself thin as he stared down at the figure sat on his doorstep, their own eyes gazing back at him with a sense of…distance to them. Like they weren't really looking at him at all.
"...Sorry for the sudden arrival."
He didn't know why she was here in the first place.
"But I…I wasn't sure where else I was supposed to go."
Yet he got the strong feeling it was something he couldn't ignore.
Though he could have done with a little forewarning about coming home to find this on his doorstep.
The girl, blue hair with a stripe of green dashed through her fringe, gazed at him.
Arms folded over her knees and hugging them close to her chest.
Taking in a deep breath, he glanced left and right and frowned, the air was a little bit colder than he would have liked and there was no telling how long the girl had been there. Leo clearly wasn't home and Asia was away helping with the ORC, which meant that they were probably waiting for…he didn't want to think about it.
"...Alright, why don't you come inside." His announcement brought a flicker of surprise to her face, he offered a thin smile as he walked through the gate and towards them. "We can talk when you're out of the cold."
Xenovia - he believed was her name - nodded her head once and slowly rose up from her seated position, wavering on the spot like she suffered from vertigo. Recovering herself before he could even consider moving to support her.
He got the feeling this was going to be a long conversation.