XXV

Family

"This is the most delicious thing I've ever consumed…" Amy was practically lost in a world of flavor as she ate Kouji's roasted pig.

"Right? Right?" Winter smiled. "Isn't it amazing? Lord have mercy I have missed this."

"Please don't ever let me eat instant ramen ever again," NingNing devoured another plate of pork.

Kouji smiled as he sliced up another piece for NingNing. Thanks to their little excursion with Irina and Xenovia, the pig had plenty of time to properly cook and get some more flavor. As soon as they got back to the church, the aroma of pork filled the area as everyone rushed to the back of the church to begin their feast. NingNing even created a large table for everyone to sit at while Kouji served out plate after plate.

"Please tell me we're really not staying here," Giselle's eyes wandered over to the church. "Even for us…this is a new low."

"What about the time we got lost in the Appalachian Mountains and had to-" Winter was cut off when NingNing and Giselle collectively slapped their hands over her mouth.

"We promised to never speak of that," said NingNing.

"Seriously Winter, I'll literally sew your mouth shut if I have to," said Giselle.

Karina smiled as she walked over to Kouji. "Let me help."

Their leader was as beautiful as Kouji remembered. NingNing and Winter had changed their hair color but Karina still remained the black haired beauty he remembered from her idol days. She wore a puffy black jacket over a pair of baggy sweatpants that somehow matched with Giselle's, but there was something graceful about her casual clothes that Kouji never understood.

"Sure," he smiled.

"Winter the pork!" cried Amy. "You're freezing it!"

"No!" Winter jolted away from NingNing and Giselle. "Guys stop! You made me freeze my dinner!"

"Then don't bring up the Appalachian Mountains," Giselle smiled. "Chef! Can I get another plate?"

"Coming up," said Kouji.

Kouji watched as Karina effortlessly sliced off the pork with light coming from her finger as it dropped on the plate. "It's easier when you use magic."

"Takes all the fun out of if you ask me but whatever," said Kouji, sliding the plate over to Giselle.

"I see someone's gotten sassy over the past year," said Karina. "Don't make me chop that mop you call hair."

"Love you too Rina," Kouji smiled.

"No but seriously…" A pair of arms shot out and grabbed Kouji by his shoulders. Amy's head peered over his shoulder with a devious smile. "You need a haircut."

"W-What?"

"Now!"

Working as a perfect tandom in ways he had never seen before, Aespa and Amy completely subdued him. NingNing tapped his mouth shut as golden chains shot out as Karina pushed him down onto a chair. Winter's brute strength kept him down as Karina walked towards him, devious smile and all, with a pair of scissors made of light.

Kouji tried to scream out but it wasn't any use. He couldn't do a thing but sit there and take it as Karina expertly gave him a haircut. He watched the hair he had spent all year growing out fell onto the ground, strand by strand as a tear fell from his eye.

After what felt like eternity, he and the girls turned around as footsteps approached them. It was Issei. He had brought along the rest of Rias's peerage save for Rias herself. Issei nearly dropped his trays of food as they all laid their eyes on the horrifying sight before them.

"W-What's going on?" asked Issei.

"Oh my…" Akeno held a hand up to her mouth. "Are we interrupting?"

"Not at all," Karina stood up, smiling as she snipped her scissors. "We were just giving our darling little brother the haircut that's been a year coming."

Kouji finally loosened the tape enough to scream for help.

"Don't just stand there you moron!" cried Kouji. "Help me!"

Issei's lips cracked into a smile. "Sorry man…they're right. The long hair was not it for you."

"I think you look great now!" cried Asia.

"Doesn't he kinda look like an idol?" asked Kiba.

"Not with that outfit," said Koneko.

"I'm sitting right here!" cried Kouji.

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist," Giselle finally released him. "She's right, you do look good."

Kouji scrambled off of the chair before casting a scale to use as a mirror. His hair…it used to go down to his shoulders, but it was so short now. Karina had cut it like a mullet, lengthy in the back but short on the sides. He…

"You gave me bangs?" asked Kouji.

"You look good," Karina ruffled his now short hair.

"I see you have new friends as well, Koujiro," said Akeno. "I don't remember meeting some of you guys yet. My name is Himejima Akeno. This is Kiba Yuuto and Toujou Koneko."

"Himejima?" asked Giselle. "Wait, as in the Himejima Clan?"

"H-How do you-"

Karina slapped a hand over Giselle's mouth. "We've been a live for…a long time. Sorry Akeno, we don't mean to bring up bad memories."

"N-No, not at all," said Akeno. "I just haven't heard anyone recognizing my family name in a long time…"

Mildly curious as he was, Kouji didn't pry. As sad as he was about his hair, he was happy that all of his friends were here to enjoy the meal. It was like a dream come true…well except for one friend.

Everyone got along surprisingly well. Kouji didn't know how well a group of Angels and Devils with an exorcist would get along, but everyone was having a nice time. NingNing was talking to Kiba and Koneko while Winter was happily chating away with Asia. Karina and Giselle especially took a liking to Akeno, even Amy found a place in their little party.

Kouji happily watched from afar as his friends, old and new, happily collided as if there wasn't a care in the world. He wanted to stay, however his eyes drifted to the makeshift grave he had made for King. Before he knew it, Kouji had snuck off from the party and sat down before his best friend.

"It's been a hell of a ride man," Kouji set a plate down before King's grave. "God the things I've seen, the things I've experienced…I really wish you were here."

Kouji still couldn't get it out of his head. King's lifeless body laying before him…something he didn't know if he could ever forget. It wasn't as if he never thought about it though, using the memory alteration capabilities of his eyes to forget. He wanted to forget the pain…but he didn't want to forget King. Even with all his friends here…the one person he wished could be here was gone.

"Winter told me you'd be here."

Kouji smiled. "That predictable, huh?"

Karina sat down besides him and looked down at King. "He was a good kid…I underestimated how brave he would be, even at the end."

"He never knew how to take no for an answer," said Kouji. "I miss him a lot Rina…Even with these eyes, I still can't find him."

"The Mystic Eyes can only see souls of the departed who died with regret," said Karina. "You know what the means, right?"

Kouji smiled. "The idiot died without a single regret…not a single one."

"He never regretted meeting you," said Karina. "Not for a single moment…not one line of it."

Winter, Giselle, and NingNing somehow found their way over to him, sitting down and leaning on one another. Giselle and Winter especially, grabbing his arms and wouldn't let go.

"This has been a year coming," Giselle laid her head on his shoulder.

"And it's a lot easier since he's taller now," Winter smiled.

"It'll be alright Kouji," NingNing got up and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "I'm so sorry we weren't there for you…"

"But we're here now," Karina smiled. "We're not going anywhere."

Kouji was more then grateful to Aespa. They had guided him out of that darkness, taught him how to live, how to be strong…shown him things he thought he'd never see and let him experience things he never thought possible. If it weren't for them…he wouldn't be where he was today.

"He called me by my name…didn't he," said Kouji. "Wrath."

The girls let go as the realization set in.

"Hadi…" said Winter. "That's your name?"

"Definitely sounds Mesopotamian," said NingNing.

"We found something…from the blood left in the sample Lord Azazel found," said Giselle.

"Kouji that blood was as old as your's," said Karina. "It's carbon dated from over 3,000 years ago…human blood from 3,000 years ago."

Kouji knew what they were all thinking…He was thinking the same.

"Wrath might be my brother," said Kouji. "My actual brother…my blood brother."

Karina took his hand. "We don't know anything for sure yet. But if you want to, and only if you really want to, we can ask the Devils for their permission for us to visit the site of where you were…experimented."

Kouji could hear his own heart beating. "Valak…"

"We have another lead too," said Giselle. "There's only one human I know who's even remotely capable of producing the curse woven into the drug. Lavinia Reni."

"Oh no," Winter rubbed her forehead. "Here we go again."

"Who's that?" asked Kouji.

"She's one of the Grigori's field agents," said Karina. "Or was. She's a powerful, powerful mage who's as skilled as Giselle is at magic and magecraft. She's one of the few humans who have obtained true magic. She has close ties to the Mage's Association so…if we look for her, we're gonna run into them."

Kouji knew of the Mage's Association. It wasn't until after he left London and South Korea that he found out that London was the headquarters for their activities. The monitoring and protection of all those who fall under the category of "mage". Kouji knew that normal humans couldn't use magic, which is way magecraft was an art form discovered and only used by humans as a means of mimicking true magic. If this Lavinia person really did achieve true magic as a human…that told him more than the others would have thought.

"So in other words," said Kouji. "We have to go back to London."

"So you know about them…" said Karina. "We've missed a lot, haven't we."

Kouji instinctively reached for his chest. He remembered the last time he ran into Mages from the Association. They weren't anywhere near as magically gifted as anyone else he had seen before, but it was their craftiness and cleverness that overcame their lack of gifts. The scar he has on his chest, from a cut from that stupid celestial dog. It's healed slowly over the months, but the faint scar still remains.

"Why the hell did that kid even have a celestial dog," Kouji sighed.

"What?" asked Karina.

"N-Nothing," Kouji took a deep breath. "Okay, so what's more important right now. Do we try to find out more about my past…or do we track down whoever created this drug to find out more about this prophecy."

"I would like to go at this in a two pronged attack," Karina sighed. "We have friends now so we can always split up and tackle both problems at once. One group can track down Lavinia, Lord help them, and the other can go speak to Lady Leviathan, Lord help them, and inquire visitation rights to go see Valak's manor in the hopes of uncovering more about Kouji's past."

"I'm…not so thrilled at either option," said Winter.

"I second that," said NingNing. "The choices are either death or death."

"Is…Is this Lavinia really that scary?" asked Kouji.

"She's a hack," said Giselle. "A voluptuous, manipulative hack. If none of you want to go track down the blonde bimbo, I can do it."

"Dear sister as much as I love and respect you," Karina smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you think even for a second I'm letting you anywhere near Lavinia without me, you might want to reconsider what happened the last time you two had a face to face."

"It was one time and they completely rebuilt Big Ben," said Giselle.

"The point isn't that it was rebuilt," said Karina.

"The point was the had to rebuild…" said Winter.

"No the point is that we finally have a lead," said Giselle. "Whether we like it or not, Lavinia's the only one who can help us."

"Okay, everybody just calm down," said Kouji. "Karina, Giselle and NingNing can go find Lavinia while Winter, Amy, and I can go see Lady Leviathan. Does that sound fair?"

"As fair as anything," said Karina. "Look at you calling the shots. I'm proud of you."

Kouji smiled. "Can we worry about this tomorrow or the day after? We're all back together, all of us. Can't we just…I don't know, enjoy our time together?"

"Second it!" Winter jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Can we just eat? This is getting way too serious for a party."

"Are you guys going to stay over there the whole time?" Amy cried. "We're all being polite and giving you your time but seriously, you guys are killing the mood."

…

Kouji cleaned up the church after saying good-bye to Issei and his friends, as well as tucking in the girls who had way too much to drink. It seemed like an incredibly stupid idea to bring out booze from the medeival age to a party with a majority of minors, but NingNing was deadset on drinking until she couldn't remember what day it was.

He didn't mind cleaning. The scales helped with the recovery process of scattered plates, tossed out cups, not to mention the entire pig carcass that was left from their feast. As fun as that whole party was, Kouji had to admit that even after all this time, being in a large and crowded place still didn't feel right to him.

Cleaning up didn't take very long, however Kouji did take his time in order to enjoy the moon. This time of night was always his favorite. In the peak of the moon's radiance, not a single other thing mattered to him. He was alone with his thoughts, and though usually that was a horrifying thing, this time he found himself smiling as he looked up at the star filled sky.

"I knew you'd be out here."

Karina covered herself with a blanket as she took a seat on the ground with him.

"Didn't feel like sleeping," said Kouji. "Honestly haven't slept in awhile."

"I'm not gonna tell you you should seeing as you don't listen to me anymore," Karina leaned her head on his shoulder. "I can't believe I missed you growing up like that…Tell me all about it Kouji."

"Well let's see," said Kouji. "There was a vengeful spirit in the Philippines, a woman in white in Egypt, and of course a possession in Rome when I ran into the White Dragon and saw Irina for the first time since I left. Oh and let's not forget the run in I had with that weirdo kid and his celestial dog."

"Celestial dog?" asked Karina.

"Yeah you should've seen it," Kouji shivered at the memory. "Big…on two legs, a fricking sword in its mouth. I didn't know anything could give me a scar."

"Ah…You ran into…Nevermind, not important," Karina smiled. "How are you feeling though? A lot's happened so I haven't had a chance to actually talk to you."

Kouji balled his fists. "He knew my name Rina…Wrath. How did he know my name? Do you really think-"

"Don't go jumping to conclusions," said Karina. "We'll figure everything out together Kouji…I promise."

"But my name…" said Kouji. "I've never even heard of the name Hadi before but actually hearing it…it made me feel like I was a kid being tucked in bed by Irina again. Speaking of being a kid again, why aren't you scolding me for what I did?"

Karina smiled. "I figured you had enough of that from Winter and NingNing. I'm genuinely surprised Giselle didn't try to kill you though."

"Honestly me too," Kouji gulped. "I hope you don't mind me taking in Amy. I know she tried to kill you and all but with everyone gone…"

"I get it," said Karina. "Though I'm more annoyed at the fact that both you and NingNing collectively agreed it was in any way, shape, or form a good idea to broker a truce with the Devils without me or Giselle. Kouji that's stupid, even for you."

"We didn't have a choice," said Kouji. "We're staying in foreign soil with a lot of powerful people on my trail. If we didn't, who knows what could have happened."

"Lord Azazel told me," said Karina. "Were you really planning on not waking us up?"

"After King…I didn't wanna lose anyone else," said Kouji. "I thought that I could do this on my own. Fight the good fight, live with Imugi, and eventually I'll die of extremely old age some few thousand years in the future. Eventually I'd just be a distant memory…"

"Do you think we care about you so little that we would forget you?" asked Karina. "Kouji we've been through too much for us to simply forget you. Whether you like it or not, your life is intertwined with ours now…you can't get rid of us that easily."

"I know that now," Kouji smiled. "Amy actually convinced me…I was determined to go at it by myself but she convinced me that I should see you guys again…my family."

"Then I owe her my gratitude and an apology," said Karina. "We'll figure out what happened to you, Kouji. We'll figure out this entire prophecy, put a stop to it, and everything will be alright."

"I know," Kouji laced his fingers around hers. "For the first time in a long time, there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not letting this opportunity get away."

"K…Kouji?"

That voice…

Kouji shot up to his feet and turned around. Irina was awake, stumbling her way out of the church and towards him and Karina. Giselle said she would be out for awhile while her memories came back. This was too soon…He wasn't ready to-

"Oh Kouji," Irina wrapped her arms around him and cried. "I'm…I'm so sorry…I can't believe I forgot…How could I-"

"I'll give you two some space," Karina smiled. "I'll be inside if you-"

"No," Irina parted and grabbed her wrist. "Please…stay. I need to know."

Irina's memories were jumbled. According to Karina, it was like piecing a puzzle together a puzzle that you don't remember the image of with random pieces fished from a heavy fog. Her brain was doing everything it could to put everything together but she needed…she needed a little kickstart.

As Kouji told her everything, he realized that her memory of him was completely barebones. She remembered he was her sister but nothing after London. He told her everything in the hopes that she would truly remember him. He told her of his time with Aespa, the family he had found in them, how he lost them because of his own mistake, how he spent the last year repenting for that mistake…even the prophecy and their encounter with Wrath.

"Kouji…" Irina's eyes completely exploded with tears. "I'm so sorry…How could I forget you…my baby brother…"

Her hug felt…warm. She always knew how to make him feel better. It felt like he was a kid again, a lost and hurt kid crying in the arms of his big sister. He never thought he would even be with her again let alone with her and Aespa.

"I'm okay Irina," Kouji smiled and hugged her back. "I'm really okay now, I promise."

"The kid's tough," Karina smiled. "I don't know how you dealt with him all those years."

"Thank you for looking after him Karina," said Irina.

"We're not done yet I'm afraid," Karina sighed. "There's still a few mysteries that need to be solved before a world ending prophecy comes to fruition…Mind lending us a hand?"

"What do you need?" Irina wiped her tears away. "Anything."

"We're launching a two pronged attack," said Kouji. "Well methaphorically, for now anyway. We have a lead on the enhanced drug that's being dealt out to supernatural creatures."

"Blacklite," said Irina. "I've heard about that…the church has been trying to figure it out for awhile but the dealers we managed to capture kill themselves before any kind of interrogation can be held."

"We might have a contact who can help us track down the creator of the curse woven into the drug," said Kouji.

"Or she might be the one who outright created the curse," said Karina.

"Okay so we track down whoever it is and get answers, okay good," said Irina. "And what's the other attack?"

"My history…" said Kouji. "We're going to visit the site of where Valak…where Valak tortured me. That masked guy from earlier…he knew my name Irina, my actual name from before dad gave me the name Koujiro. There's only one way he would know that."

Irina's eyes widened. "Oh…I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," said Kouji.

"Of course I am!" cried Irina.

"No he's right," said Karina. "Irina it's going to be hard enough to get visitation rights with Winter going with him…add on two exorcists and Lady Leviathan might outright kill them."

"Then…Then what am I supposed to do?" asked Irina. "My brother is going through hell and I can't do a thing."

"Karisma," said Karina. "We need to find out what happened to her. You and Xenovia have to go back to the Church and report to them that Kouji died."

"What?" asked Irina.

"Yeah I'm with her on this," said Kouji. "What?"

"Wrath wanted whatever weapon the Church developed that's strong enough to kill you," said Karina. "We need them to think that it worked…Tell them that Wrath came in during your fight with the Nephallem and killed Kouji himself. That you don't know whether or not the weapon worked."

"But why?" asked Irina. "Why would I-"

"Irina nobody knows you're his sister," said Karina. "I'm pretty sure your father has no idea either. Nobody knows your connections to him or us…which will make your job and our job a lot easier. You need to look through Karisma's entire life and figure out how she went missing...and if the Church really has been infiltrated by the Hero Faction."

"T-The Hero Faction?" asked Irina.

"The Hero Faction were the ones who killed Princess Alice," said Kouji. "At least Winter thinks so…I wouldn't doubt her on it though."

"We need concrete motives," said Karina. "You tackle it from one angle and we tackle it from another…"

"Okay…" Irina took a deep breath. "Okay, okay…makes sense. But you are never breaking contact with me again, do you understand? I want your phone number right now."

"I…I don't have a phone," said Kouji.

"You…What?" asked Irina. "You're 16 years old! What kind of 16 year old doesn't have a phone?"

"I don't know Irina maybe the ones who don't have a Snake Demon living inside their eyes that can literally see dead people!" cried Kouji.

Irina gave him a frowned look with glaring eyes, however he broke a smile and hugged her.

"God it's good to see you again…" said Kouji. "Like…really see you again."

"I…" Irina bit her lip. "All those things I said…"

"Doesn't matter now," Karina smiled. "What's important is that you guys are safe."

"I love you Kouji," said Irina. "I love you so much."

"Love you too big sis," Kouji smiled.

"Okay," Irina parted her hug and wiped her eyes. "Okay…What do we do about Xenovia?"

"I'll send word to Lady Gabriel of our current situation," said Karina. "With any luck, Griselda can help us out…you know once Lady Gabriel makes her remember you."

"It is so strange being friends with Angels," said Irina.

"Tell me about it," said Kouji. "You wouldn't believe how much money we spent on food alone in Korea."