The Time of Isolation Hath Come
X
Finding out where Serafall Leviathan was, Romani found, was easy.
All he had to do was follow the crowds, they'd been pouring through one after another, pulled in by the whispers and the rumours of what exactly was in the school at the moment. He pieced together enough broken conversations.
Some were talking about a celebrity, others talking about some sort of performance.
He'd been impressed by the dozen or so theories he had heard before he even reached the main hall, and all of them centred around a small girl - who looked perhaps a few years older than the students - wearing a bright pink outfit and wielding some sort of magic wand.
Any other time, Romani would have been happy - ecstatic - about what was going on here. The chance to meet someone like Levi-tan, or an idol in general, to be there in person to see the legend come to life and establish they were just as real as he was, it would have been something he would have been at the head of the herd for.
He would have been charging in there with all these students, any other day.
Not today though.
All he could feel, aside from the underlying enthusiasm, was a profound sense of second hand embarrassment on behalf of Sona. Because every second that this was happening, he could almost see the statue that she had made up for herself crumbling away.
Romani shouldered his way into the hall, the door had been blocked up with bodies, pressed tightly together as they crammed their way in. The first thing that hit him was the nostalgic, but still off-putting, smell of perspiration.
It reminded him of the first time he'd ever been to a convention.
It was a memory that rushed to the forefront of his mind, it had been warm, a sickly warmth which rolled over his skin. The shuddering of some stranger pressing against him on one angle, only for another to fall into him from the other side. And the noise, that chaotic clamber of voices.
The shouts which brought incomprehensible demands, not because the speaker was incapable, but because there were just so many voices they all blended together. Mixing up to form a wall of incoherent sound, a bellowing racket that drummed away in his head.
It was just as unappealing then as it was now.
He blinked, the vision faded and he was back in the hall of the school, pressed to the very back and staring across the field of heads, varying in all sizes and shouting to try and get their own demands across. Flashes of light from across had his eyes wince and shrink, fighting the urge to raise a hand and cover his face.
If he could raise a hand at all.
Everything was so tight, so claustropic.
How anyone could stomach it for more than a couple seconds was beyond him, but then again, he had managed to do so.
That was how it worked.
Whatever idol you were looking at normally stole all your attention away, so much that you barely even realised the situation you were in in the first place.
He took in a sharp breath, the sound flooded through his ears, louder than any yell, and then he stepped forwards. Raising his arms up and above his head, sprouting them like branches from a tree and forcing his way through. Turning his body at awkward angles and glaring down to his feet where he could.
It was a blind fumble. From the waist down he couldn't see where he was going and could only guess based on the shoulder positions of the students around him. Hoping that he didn't step on anyone's toes or cause them injuries, he winced as he felt his foot connect with something a couple times, but he jerked himself back each time.
Like whatever he stepped on would burn or bite him if his foot lingered for too longer.
He briefly looked up and frowned.
Despite moving closer, he found himself staring at the same image despite no longer being at the back of the hall. The crowded heads and jumbled mess of bodies still blocked his path and they seemed to be getting tighter together, the flashes of light flared up with increasing intensity, the high pitched whistle of cameras and the electronic hum of phones being turned on.
Shouts for people to be let through so they could see, someone would occasionally let out a sharp gasp and when they did, Romani would whip his head to see if he could spot where the noise had come from.
He failed every time, as if their pain was forgotten and their faces changed back to that excited determination to get to the very front and see what all the fuss was about.
He could only imagine what it was like at the front.
No longer was he motived by a sense of second hand embarrassment, now he was working as a nurse. This was unsafe and it wouldn't be long before someone pressed a little too tightly, or someone slipped and fell beneath the crowd of people. His mind conjured such horrible images, of students being trampled.
So detailed, that for a moment he thought he was having another vision.
Thankfully, he wasn't, but he didn't need visions of the future to tell him how bad this would become.
He pushed forwards with renewed focus, giving less thought to getting to the very head of the stampede and already trying to think of a way to get everyone out of here and back to their classes. The very last thing he wanted, that anyone wanted, was for someone to get hurt over this.
The howling in his ears got louder, the shouts and the demands got clearer, though whether that was because he was growing accustomed to the noise or he was standing right next to whomever saw fit to yell never really occurred to him. He just kept on moving until eventually he saw a break, a faint gap in the lines and he stepped forwards.
It was only when he crossed into the gap, and the pressure around his chest and spine disappeared, when he was finally free of the weight of the bodies, that he actually realised he had been holding his breath.
A large gasp rippled out from the very depths of his throat, then he sucked back in just as desperately, drawing in entire mouthfuls of air.
"Eh? Ro-chan-?"
A muted voice, barely raising above the cacophony of voices, one that he did not heed and instead turned himself about. His words caught in his throat as he stared at dozens of faces, many more than he had hoped but quite a few less than he had expected from the noise and the density.
That wedge of something, the cold lump in his gullet, forced itself down and into his chest.
And then the words rose up.
His hands rose high and his lips turned dry, suddenly his mouth felt like it was full of dust.
Yet he still opened his mouth and raised his voice, unsure of whether he would have been able to get them to even hear them. Some of the cameras paused, when they saw his face, but it was mostly out of annoyance. Some of them said something, probably telling him to move out of the way.
But he didn't hear them.
He felt something deep within him, a sudden bubbling confidence.
It was small, like a faint flicker of flame, but he gripped it tight and held it close.
He needed them to hear him.
"Settle down!"
The room fell silent.
Even he was shocked, not because of the words, but because of how loud they had been. Some of the ones closest had actually clasped their hands over their ears from the volume. Given he was standing right at the epicentre, he was little exception to this.
Yet with that momentary pause, he continued on.
"I know we're all excited about…this." He stepped to the side, sweeping a hand behind to where he presumed Serafall was, but he didn't trust himself to look away from the crowd.
As if, in the act of doing that, he would lose whatever momentum and confidence he had built up. As if they were just waiting for the moment he turned away and then it would all start back up again.
"But if we continue on like this, then people are going to get hurt, if they haven't already."
He paused, letting the words settle in the air, taking measure of the faces.
"I'm sure you are all eager to get photos, but certainly not like this…come on. This isn't really any way to be seen to behave, is it? Especially not with your parents currently in the school."
The overhanging threat of parental judgement seemed to kick some of them into gear, he saw more than a couple flinch, others just put on sour expressions and quite a few looked shocked. Bewildered, as though they had not even considered that until right this second.
"Now can we please head back to our classes in a calm and orderly fashion. Anyone who is hurt or needs some space, you can wait behind and I can have a quick look at you, alright?"
He paused, then straightened himself up.
His voice turned softer, as did his expression. "Alright, you can all be on your way now. I'm sure something can be arranged later to get photos if Miss Leviathan is amenable."
The silence that came was deafening, he felt the flicker of courage leave him and suddenly he was stood in front of dozens of eyes. Each one of them staring at him, judging him. He felt as though they were sizing him up, searching for some sign of perceived weakness in his stance and then, when they found it, they would mercilessly tear him apart.
…Except that never came.
Quiet mutters filled the room, a few discontent murmurs but that was all, with a few forlorn looks, the crowd shifted and started to break apart. Opening up and letting air fill the space between them, he could already spy more than a couple breaking away and moving towards him, some of them holding their arms or looking to their legs, one or two clutched at their ribs and sending him rather thankful looks.
Romani exhaled, feeling a palatable relief as the room felt much wider than before.
No longer like it was the room was pressing down on him, the weight which had been upon his shoulders abruptly vanished.
With slumped shoulders, he gestured to the side of the room and led the students to the corner where he could check on them. Not before he sent a cursory glance towards Serafall and met her eyes. There was something there, some mixture of interest and perhaps a little built of guilt, but it had been quick and difficult to pin down.
He hoped it was guilt, but she could hardly be blamed for the reaction of the students.
They always craved something out of the ordinary like this.
Setting that aside, he went to work looking over and checking for injuries.
A throbbing spread across her temples as the first words from her vice president registered within her. That subtle dread she had been feeling since the day began, that promise of foreboding was coming true in the gravest possible way.
Somehow her sister had found out it was parents day and had shown up.
Which had, in turn, a rather large portion of students to the main hall, she had spied them herself as she marched towards that location.
It was only as she got closer, flanked by other members of the student council to coral the expected herd out of the hall and back to where they were supposed to be, that she slowed her steps until they were nothing more than a shallow crawl forwards, an unconscious action as the rest of her focus was on the curious sight in front of her.
The main hall was already being evacuated of occupants, she spied the disappointed faces amidst some of the ones that looked at a loss. A palpable sense of embarrassed shame washed over her, a lingering aura that permeated thickly above the heads of the crowd, so much so that they barely even seemed to notice her.
Sona stepped to the side of the walkway and onto the dirt path, watching with unblinking eyes as the slow march of the students plodded right the way past her. Brows furrowed and lips pulled down into a thoughtful frown, she considered what had actually happened and was at a brief loss.
All she could assume was that another member of the student council or even a teacher had managed to get in there ahead of herself and remove the students. While thankful, that opened up a different problem if it was the latter of the two. An unaffiliated teacher with her sister was just a bad idea.
Because it would ruin her image completely.
The mere thought of Serafall trying to hand out merchandise to the staff while also boasting about what Sona was like as a child…
It was a thought utterly too terrible to bear, the pain which had been nothing more than a slight ache intensified at that moment. A gripping feeling pressed against her temples, as though trouble itself had turned into a living being and was now trying to crush her head between its hands.
Student council member or Teacher, she could not allow anyone to learn about what Sona was like as a child.
The mere shame of it would make it impossible to ever look them in the eye again.
Briefly, she turned to her right and met the gaze of Tsubaki, the taller girl gave a nod of the head towards her before they continued onwards.
Only when they were moving again did Tsubasa opt to speak.
"They looked suitably brow beaten."
It was a rather dry witted comment, but one Sona could not help but notice as well. If it had been one of the student council, they might have been more aggrieved about it. Especially with how much of a fuss the photography clubs could kick up when it came to their work.
There was little secret just how often the student council and the club clashed over what was and was not appropriate for school content.
"Their current state aside, I shall deal with my sister. Until she is gone from the grounds, please ensure that there are no other students trying to sneak some capture shots of the two of us."
Sona ordered, keeping her gaze straight ahead as she came upon the now closed door, her eyes shut and she took in a steeling breath. There was always an urge to just cover herself up and hide when dealing with her sister. A truly childish notion that if she could not see her sister, then her sister could not see her and she would be saved from the shame of it all.
That had never worked before.
"And if you could ensure that the students return to their classrooms without problem."
"Of course." Tsubasa responded, she heard the footsteps turn and walk off soon after, fading away to the background.
She could ignore it no longer, Sona supposed.
Then she gripped the door handle and pulled.
"-worst you'll get a small bruise from where you got elbowed, but that should be the extent of it. It probably helped you were so packed together in this one time, any more space and it might have been worse."
She stopped in the doorway and stared, watching in surprise as Romani Archaman fussed over a small group of students, the latest of which was pressing at their side with a tight frown on their face. One of the track and field girls, if she recalled, though quite why they were there was a mystery to her in the first place.
Romani stepped away from her, then turned to the assembled group of five students.
"That's about the last of you. There won't be any other problems…Except for perhaps you, but getting your toes stood on is never easy or fun."
He pointed across to the smaller of the group, a first year boy with light brown hair, the boy nodded his head before glancing down to his feet once more. She noticed immediately he was favouring one side of his body over the other, if only marginally.
"Alright, the rest of you can head back now."
Without turning, he waved his hand towards the direction that she was stood in - probably not even realising she was there - before he glanced towards something else in the room. Sona mutely followed his gaze and was surprised by what she found, but what did give her brief pause was the nature of it.
Was it her sister? Yes, she had been expecting Serafall there from the beginning.
What she had not been expecting was for her sister to be oddly silent, where she would have been expecting loud shouts or some other form of cheering. She was instead greeted by the silent form of a person who was trying their best to blend into the background.
Akin to a child who had dropped something in a shop and was now trying to pretend there was no problem in the world. The sight was so utterly alien to her, so far detached from the image that she was used to, that for a moment, Sona forgot what she had even come here for in the first place.
That was, until she saw Serafall turn and lock eyes with her. The dull orbs brightened with such joy that Sona thought for a moment her sister had flashlights for eyes. Then she was rooted to the spot, already seeing her sister step forwards and raise her hand, a breath being taken in and doubtless preparing for a loud shout of greeting.
Whatever her sister was going to shout, whatever childish nickname was going to pass between her lips, it stayed where it was.
"I'm a bit upset at the moment."
That was, perhaps, the sternest she had ever heard Romani.
So caught up in that, she barely even noticed herself step to the side and let the students who had still been in the hall walk past her, but even then, she saw their bodies turn and cast glances over their shoulders into the hall, their pace slowed enough that they could still catch an ear of what was going on.
Tsubaki hurried them away with a few pointed looks, or so she assumed, judging by the way the scrape of footsteps rapidly retreated away.
"Eh?" Serafall looked equally caught off guard, then turned and blinked as the nurse placed his hands on his hips and looked down at her. "But-"
"Listen…I get what you're here for and I'm fine with the idea of it." Romani began, his voice even as he brought up a hand and held it out, keeping the Satan silent. More shockingly, she actually obliged and closed her mouth, letting the nurse speak. "You want to support your sister and that's great. Though…I'm not sure this is the best way to do it."
He waved the hand towards the outfit her sister wore, that bright pink magical girl costume.
"Especially when it can cause scenes like this, now that isn't your fault either because the students can get rowdy all on their own, but at the same time…"
Romani exhaled, the hand lowered back down and she watched him take in a short breath, he stepped closer and she imagined his expression was softer now, more patient than before. As if he was speaking to someone decidedly younger than they actually were. It was as baffling as it was heartstopping.
If only for the sense of shock she felt that this was happening.
"Sona has worked very hard with her image. I told you all about that when we spoke and she's done wonderful. Really, you should be very proud of her but kids are…they latch onto things and they can be a little mean at times."
Serafall opened her mouth to say something, probably to argue or declare she would beat up anyone who bullied her. Because that alone would have sent Sona into a state of panic and immediately have her hiding names just so they could be saved from her sister's wrath. If she knew even half of what she had been called in the heat of the moment, then Romani would have more than a few bruises to deal with.
"And you running around as your idol self, rather than as an older sister…it would probably turn a lot of heads and pull out a lot of not very nice comments."
Now Serafall looked angry and the temperature of the room felt as though it was dropping.
At first she assumed it imagined, then when she watched a puff of a cold breath stream from between Romani, a haze of frozen mist, she knew what was happening.
"Who would say such things about So-tan-"
"Well, I'm certainly not going to tell you that." Romani responded, but he now sounded a bit more nervous than before. "Look, if you want to be here to help look out for Sona then that's fine. At least wear something a bit less flashy and a bit less likely to cause her some problems."
Serafall looked as though she had swallowed something sour, her expression pulled inwards and twisted tight. The temperature of the room remained low and for a few bated breaths, Sona did not know what was going to happen next.
Then the warmth flooded through the room abruptly, the chill which had started to creep across her skin, which had been pulling at her hairs, was yanked away and back to the direction of a sister. A sensation of the air being tugged and then it was gone. The cold vanished as suddenly as it had arrived.
Her sister slumped her shoulders, pouting rather heavily. "I thought you were a fan of mine?"
Romani nodded his head. "Well, yes. But there is a time to separate work life and personal life. Just think of it as being there to support your sister. Really, the clothes are about the only thing that I would change, you'll find no shortage of parents around here who want to show off their kids or talk about them."
With a faint chuckle, the amused laughter of the nurse bounced off the walls, visibly relaxing now.
"That's just about normal." A beat, then he added on. "Also dealing with stampedes is not what I'm paid for, nor what I ever wanted to deal with…I'm actually shocked you could stand there and stare at all those faces, I thought I was going to pass out."
He gripped at his chest, leaning forwards and unleashing a long withering sigh, as if something had reached down and taken hold of all the air in his lungs and slowly started to pull it out. The wheezing sound of a man who would rather be anywhere but the place right in front of him.
Though all Sona could do was stare.
"...I think So-tan is quite lucky to have people like you, Ro-chan."
"Ro-chan?" She heard the nurse speak, his voice strained and disbelieving. "I…what's with that cutesy nickname? I mean…I'm happy about it but…I'm just gonna need a couple seconds, this has been a rollercoaster for me…"
Romani turned around in her direction and then froze, for a moment she assumed he might have seen something else. Only when she saw him immediately straighten up to his full height and make direct eye contact did she recall that she wasn't a passive observer and was well and truly in the room.
Sona glanced between the nurse and her sister, unsure of which of the two of them she would address first.
"...I feel the need to parrot the words of Archaman-sensei." She began, stepping forwards and pushing the rim of her glasses up. It was an utterly pointless action, but one that brought a sense of familiarity to her. There was some small comfort in the subconscious act. "Although there is no established dress code for guardians, there is the expectation that they come wearing appropriate clothing when visiting the school. Family members are not exempt from this."
Her sister recoiled and then put on a rather saddened frown, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"She didn't even say hello to me! That's so mean, isn't it Ro-chan? And she never even told me about the parents day-for that matter, neither did you!"
A beat.
"And you hung up on me when I phoned!"
Sona felt like someone had just slapped her in the face, whatever she was going to say next was utterly pulled driven from her mind when she comprehended the words. Although she wasn't sure which of them she was supposed to address, so she went with the first one that she could come up with.
"Why do you have Onee-sama's phone number!?"
Romani's skin lost it's hue, turning so white it nearly became translucent.
Then he immediately swung an arm down and pointed at Serafall.
"I never gave it to her! She just called me out of the blue!"
Sona turned her eyes onto her sister. "How did-Did you look through the school contacts to get his phone number?!"
"...Te-heh?"
Her eyes snapped shut and she felt air rush into her nose, it was a long and sharp hissing sound as she struggled to control her temper at the blatant admission of what was actually illegal. Her eyes peeled open and she mustered a glare towards her older sister, the utter lack of remorse very nearly made her eye twitch.
"Sister…I am rather upset with you-"
"NO!" And all of a sudden, the world was a rush and she could feel hands gripping at her collar, dragging her back and forth as the loud weeping of her sister filled her ears. It was a shrill noise, one that made her grimace, at both the noise and the image it presented.
"Don't be mad at me, So-tan! I couldn't bear it! I was just making sure that you had friends at school and you weren't being bullied!"
Sona looked down at her and frowned deeper, though now there was a tinge of second hand embarrassment as she peered down at the crying face of her sister. Already she could see the tears glistening in the eyes of the smaller woman, a desperate and pleading look in her eyes, like a terrified animal.
"A-a-and Ro-chan said such nice things about you! I thought you approved, that's why you eavesdropped!"
Sona froze on the spot, suddenly she felt the eyes of the nurse on the side of her head.
"Huh? She did what now?"
He sounded genuinely shocked.
Sona whipped her head towards the nurse and opened her mouth to say something, yet her words caught in her throat. Now she was torn between lying or admitting she had used her familiars to listen in on what was doubtless a private conversation between Romani and her older sister.
And why had she done it?
Because she was worried he would let something slip about the parents day, he hadn't and she had felt a touch guilty about not trusting him but he was a massive fan of her older sister and Sona would not have put it past either of them to cause this scenario. Romani being too weak to resist her sisters influence, and Serafall using Romani's weakness against him.
Sona forced the lump in her throat down, it was a deeply unpleasant weight that settled in her lungs, her words felt stiff and she avoided making eye contact with the nurse. Just meeting that gaze felt as though she was shaming herself further.
"I was…concerned…that my sister would…do something…to you."
There.
That wasn't a lie and it was the truth!
It made the weight feel a little bit easier.
"Oh." Romani blinked and then gave her a smile, "Well, thanks for looking out for me but I don't think you had much to worry about. Your sister seems like a decent person, if a little over enthusiastic which is great! No problems at all so I'm just gonna…you know…"
"No! You can't leave yet, Ro-chan!"
Quick as lighting, Serafall detached a single arm from Sona's collar and all but leaped towards the nurse, yanking Sona along with her hand snapping her fingers around the back of the white coat. Romani let out a strangled gasp, the sort of sound a trapped animal would have made when it found itself caught.
He jerked backwards and turned, looking down with wide eyes at the hand which had grabbed him.
"You need to explain to So-tan that it's all a big misunderstanding! You don't have a problem with me knowing your contact, do you? Aren't you supposed to know the contacts of guardians of students?"
Romani looked stumped then responded in stuttering voice. "W-well yes but that's for school nor for private contacts-"
"But what if you needed me for Devil reasons and So-tan couldn't reach me!"
Sona, meanwhile, had to raise her brows in alarm at the sudden level of insight that her sister was showing. Finding loophole after loophole and diving through them before anyone could snap them shut. Suddenly the grip on her front felt much tighter, her eyes fell upon the nurse and she could see the gears turning in his head.
What was worse was that Sona could not dispute the point.
If they were incapacitated in some way and couldn't get a message out, if they had another incident like Fabro Rowan, then it would be invaluable for them to have the contacts of one of the Satan's…
"W-well…I…uhm…that is…"
Sona rolled her jaw, mind flying at light speed as she searched for a way to counter the argument…
"Be that as it may, onee-sama." Sona began, drawing the eyes of the pair to her. Confidence filled her voice as she straightened, ignoring the sudden look of panic that swept through the eyes of her sister. "You did not ask for permission and merely took the phone number of Archaman-sensei. In direct violation of an agreement I had with his wife regarding his involvement with Devils."
Now Romani looked puzzled. "Agreement?"
Oh.
Did he not know?
…That was decidedly more awkward now.
"The agreement was that we would not approach you regarding matters pertaining to Devils, there would be nothing to prevent you doing the same, however. Merely that we could not be preemptive. Meaning items related to politics or territories were not topics of discussion without you providing them."
Romani looked thoughtfully, his brows went tight and he looked away, slowly nodding his head but offering nothing on the subject.
With him distracted with that revelation, she turned once more to her sister and delivered the final blow.
"You have undermined me in my own territory, Onee-sama. Satan or no, this is a direct blow against the value of my word."
"Noooooo!"
Evidently that was all that was required, because now Serafall was bawling her eyes out and fumbling at the front of Sona, wrapping her arms tight around her, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable…at least in regards to the physical sense. All the while mumbling and sputtering incoherently and begging to be forgiven and how she didn't mean it.
Sona slowly felt herself grimace as she looked down at the pitiful sight.
Her heart started to thud in her chest, a deep hollow feeling reared up in her gut and the sound of her sisters crying was becoming painful to listen to. The longer it went on, the worse it was getting for her. Made all the worse by the fact Romani was now looking between the two of them with an expression of growing discomfort.
There was no doubt she was starting to wear the same sort of expression.
Slowly, she watched as he slipped closer and closer towards the door, then with a final shaky smile, he moved out of the room and left her to the crying Satan. Sona became aware of the dampness on her chest and pulled her lip, looking down and spying what she desperately hoped was not a trail of snot.
He was almost relieved when he walked back into his office and found Koneko already there, sitting on one of the benches with the cakes he had bought for her earlier opened up, wrappers strewn across like spoils of war, her face coated with evidence of her long campaign of raiding his desk for food.
Romani waved his hand towards her as he entered, she responded with a grunt and continued to chew on the food.
He slid the drawer of his desk open and stared, finding only the packet of crisps which had had bought around the same time as the weird guy from earlier. He barely even considered that encounter, probably nothing important, and took it out. Opening them up and slumping back into his chair.
The weight of the day pressed down on his shoulders.
"...Toujou-san?"
"Mmmh?"
"Never change."
"Mmmh." A beat, then came the ruffle of something. He turned his head to the noise and saw the girl looking at him with furrowed brows. If only marginally, then she grunted back and nodded towards him. "Back at you."
He snorted and shook his head. "You're just saying that because I give you free food."
"Yes."
A laugh escaped him at the blunt admission of her, if there was one thing he could rely on, it was for Koneko to keep things honest and simple. He didn't need to worry about saying the wrong thing around her, or awkwardly stumbling into some weird family situation and then make a complete buffoon of himself.
Slowly, he let out a breath as his laughter faded away.
The silence felt soothing, the weight remained but it no longer felt as pressing as before.
"So how has your day been?"
Koneko slowly tilted her head, then deposited another slice of cake into her mouth before chewing. It was a slow and monotone sound, the back and forth of her jaw followed by the muffled sound of teeth grinding against one another. Then the girl gulped and gave a single shrug of the shoulders.
"Not bad." She responded, then sent a pointed look down to the bed and the treasure trove of sweets that lay before her. With a gleam in her eyes, that was as close to pleased as he had ever seen from the girl, she looked back to him and nodded once. "Has it's moments."
He could imagine.
"Make sure to pace yourself." He warned, though with how often the girl did this, he supposed it was a pointless reminder. At this stage it was little more than a reflex at seeing her with sweets or chocolates. "...Actually, maybe I should start bringing in some healthier foods for you…maybe for myself as well."
In the corner of his eye, he saw Koneko stiffen and slightly widen her eyes, looking to him in shock before they narrowed. Her face turned and her cheeks puffed out, a frown on her lips as she made her disapproval clear with a pout.
It would have been adorable.
If he didn't know she could crush concrete cinders between her fingers.
"J-just a little break…" Romani straightened in his chair, hastily moving to defend his plan and keep the girl from getting upset. "Not get rid of all the junk food, just provide a healthy alternative or something, y-you know? Just so the student council don't come at me for doing the opposite of my job. Keep up appearances."
He was unsure how his smile looked to the girl, but it felt like someone had stretched his mouth and was holding it there. The invisible fingers which pinched his cheeks held tighter and it started to ache across his face.
When Koneko gave a single nod, he felt all the tension rush out of his body.
Slumping in his chair, he fell backwards with a groan and brought the packet of crisps up. Diving into it and pulling out the first of many.
The sound of the two of them eating junk food was the only noise to be heard, if anyone had been around.
Leona hummed, hands falling to her hips as she examined the warding before her.
It was far and above anything she had seen before and given the company she found herself within, it was well within expectations. She could immediately see the difference in scope between the spells which kept this contained and the spells which had been placed around Kuoh.
With a slow glance to the left, she felt a faint smile will itself into existence on her cheeks.
Sirzechs stood there, unblinking, with an aura of utter confidence. Yet on that face he had, beneath that smile which looked completely devoid of worry. She could see the slightest hint of expectation. The faint twitch as his eyes subtly fell upon her and within those deep orbs, she could see the patience as he waited for her next words.
They were both aware of what she could see and equally, they both knew she couldn't let this go without a comment.
"...This is certainly some of the best warding I have seen."
"A high compliment, for one as learned and travelled as yourself." Came the response, smooth as silk. The twinkle in the eyes showed that the Satan was unsurprised by her words and truly was just fishing for compliments, perhaps not on his behalf but on others? She could not say, but one did not rise to the rank of Satan for power alone.
There needed to be a certain level of intellect.
"I give out praise where and when it's needed." With a wave of the hand, she stepped closer towards the door and leaned forwards, eyes gliding over every nook and cranny, searching all of the carvings and markings that made themselves visible. The warding was designed to contain a very specific type of effect, cutting off whatever was within the room from the outside world.
She leaned back and hummed.
Separating the planes of existence and cutting out a section of the room from the greater world. It was a bounded field which was certainly approaching the realms of what could be achieved with them.
This wasn't a prisoner, but they were a captive.
If she were to assume.
"...Ahhh, so that's how it is?" She mused, feeling a wry smile pull on her lips, turning around and dropping her hands down onto her hips, mounting them either side of her and looking up to the Satan as he looked back. The twinkle in his eyes seemingly brightened as he noticed she had come to a conclusion.
"Oh?" Sirzechs inclined his head, folding his hands behind his back. "You seem to have thought of something, perhaps you would care to enlighten me?"
From the tone of his voice, he knew she had worked it out and just wanted her to show off.
…He really was pandering to her, wasn't he?
Well, she wasn't going to disappoint.
With a snap of her fingers, she jerked a thumb over her shoulder and towards the door. "When combined with your earlier question, and now examining this warding, you have someone who can effect time on a grander scale but cannot control the power with their current ability. Therefore, you need a stopgap measure which is potent enough to match the room while also allowing for mobility beyond this confined space."
She watched his reaction for any sign of a twitch.
The man did nothing more than smile patiently at her, then he gave a subtle raising of his chin, a signal for her to continue.
She took it eagerly.
"And given everything related to that…I would assume that whomever is beyond this door is the current Holder of Forbidden Balor view, and having them run around with a time manipulating ability without control is risky…but after what happened recently, you feel as though having them on your side is too great of a boon to ignore?"
Leona paused only for a moment, then chuckled and corrected herself.
"Sorry, I mean having them as a guardian for your sister and her peerage would make you feel a bit safer?"
Sirzechs did not react to her, then he slowly brought his hands around to the front, with three short movements he clapped for her thrice and then dropped his hands down. "That was certainly an accurate dedication. I suppose this is where you tell me that it was nothing more than elementary?"
"You're too kind, Watson."
"Hmph!" A huff of mirth and a nod of the head. "Since you accepted already, I can say that you are correct. The one who lies beyond this door is the Bishop of my younger sister and I have come to the belief it is time for her to truly start utilising their abilities…She is strong enough for it, but any shortcomings can be dealt with now that she has…potent allies."
Leona raised a brow. "I'm not her contracted magician."
"No, but you are a connection and your professional record speaks volumes for itself. There are few who would decry her for making use of your talents. For her current position, she requires all the help that she can get her hands on, after all."
"And does she know we're here right now?"
Sirzechs smile twitched for a moment, but that was all Leona really needed. The answer was a resounding no, which meant she was undertaking this assignment in secret until the Satan wanted to present it personally. In however long that would mean.
"What sort of time frame were you considering?"
"As soon as possible, within reason." The Devil raised his hand and shot her a wry look. "I would much prefer Rias to have to wait for excellent equipment, than rush and make do with substandard…and I would certainly wish to avoid having you ruin your reputation with shoddy craftsmanship."
Leona could not resist it, she snorted and showed a wide smile. "It's good that you're such a considerate customer, because I was going to do that anyway. Quality first with me…But I would still need specifics, I could draft up some plans but nothing more than that, I am afraid."
"Oh…" Sirzechs mused with a tilt of the head, then took a step towards the door. Leona took notice and moved to the side, watching curiously as the Devil extended the flat of his palm towards the door. His eyes darted down, meeting hers as the smile took on a more mischievous edge to it. "I'm sure that we could arrange for a small meeting between the two of you. It should be enough to get the specifics of his Gear from just a couple of minutes, shouldn't it?"
"Aren't you being much too confident in my abilities?"
Sirzechs fixed her with a knowing smile. "And yet you have not said you are incapable of it."
"True." Leona hummed and glanced at the door, feeling her heart quicken with excitement. "And I do so love a challenge…Besides, it would be interesting to meet someone who holds a rare sacred gear. I know of another who would be green with envy over this chance."
"Then it will be amusing to see Azazel looking so distraught at you having beaten him to the punch."
"That's not a peaceful thing to say, is it?"
"No." Sirzechs replied, but not without his own sense of mirth. "I suppose it is not."
Leona waited patiently as the man reached out and swept his hand to the side, with the same casual motion as one would brush aside a cobweb from their field of vision, the warding twisted and opened up.
Sirzechs was the first to step into the room once opened, the first thing Leona noticed was how utterly dark it was, the light from the hallway immediately casting a dull feel into the chamber. She raised a brow but said nothing as she followed after the Satan, feeling a faint sensation wash over her skin.
"I am merely shielding you to avoid getting you caught in his power." The Devil explained without much prompt. "But that aside. I am sorry for dropping by unannounced like this, Gasper, I understand it might come as a bit of a shock for you."
The sentence was directed to the seemingly empty room, Leona stepped out from behind the Satan and glanced around.
She could feel something in here, shifting around in the darkness.
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as the room seemed to look back with bated breath, it was only when she squinted that she noticed in the far flung corner, the pair of glowing eyes, reflecting the light back towards her. She was sure they saw with such detail and she was eerily reminded of a cat or some other manner of nightwalker…
But those were not Devil eyes.
A vampire?
No, they held a Sacred Gear which mean they were…Oh.
Now wasn't that interesting?
"Rias certainly likes has a string of luck for her, doesn't she?"
Sirzechs chuckled ahead of her, "She is quite fortunate, that much goes without saying."
The eyes in the dark stared back, Leona was more keenly aware of the shocked feeling they all but bled. She had seen that same look of panicked trepidation once before, when being met with a sight so surprising that all one could do was just freeze up and hope that it was a hallucination.
Romani looked at her the same way they first met.
"L-Lucifer-sama?" A faint gasp from a light voice, the eyes moved back and pressed themselves closer to the far end of the room. "Wh-what are you-why-?"
"I've brought along a friend of Rias." Sirzechs gestured towards her. "I believe that you have already heard of Romani Archaman by now? This is his wife."
"Archaman…t-the nurse?"
The eyes darted towards her, the unease remained.
Leona softened her own features and brought up a hand, waving to the younger Devil. "Yep. I have the privilege of being married to the goof. Trust me, I am being quite honest about that, I'm already sure that a few stories have been spread about my husband by now…tell you what, could you let me know which of them is the most prominent?"
There was a noticeable pause.
Then a short reply. "Koneko-chan says he gives her food…"
Sirzechs let out a small muffled snort, bringing his hand up to cover his face as he did so.
Leona pinched her brows and made a noise, then rubbed her chin. "That makes sense, I suppose…So, I suppose you're wondering why I've come out here…Well, the simple matter is that I've come here to help you with a little problem."
Stepping around the Devil full, she lowered herself towards a crouch until she was eye level, or near enough, with the figure cloaked in darkness. Keeping her distance and ensuring they were not ill at ease because of her presence. She didn't want to frighten then away.
"I understand that your Sacred Gear is a little hard to control, yes? So I've heard about that and I have come to help you find a little solution that will help you."
A beat, she hummed and rested her arms on her knees.
"You know about bikes, don't you?"
A slow nod of the head.
"Good. Just think of me as attaching some training wheels to yours. Until you're ready to go, we'll be making sure you don't cause any accidents or do anything you don't want to do. Does that sound alright to you?"
There was a brief pause, then a small shuffle.
"...I…I could control it?"
Leona smiled, nodding her head. "A bit more than you currently are able to, yes…Before that, I'm going to step a little closer, alright? I just need to have a look at you and see what we're going to be working with."
A pause, then she looked over her shoulder towards Sirzechs, then back to the eyes and brought up a hand, covering the right side of her face and lowering her volume into a shouted whisper.
"And you don't need to worry about him. He's paying me to make sure you're very comfortable."
There was another shuffle in the dark, then slowly, the shadows peeled away as a figure stepped into the dim lighting of the room. Leona felt her brows rise ever so slightly as the blonde child emerged. Pale skin, pointed ears peeking from beneath the mop of hair and the dull ruby eyes. He certainly held all the characteristics of a vampire.
"There…Pleasure to meet you face to visible face."
Gasper, as she overheard the name, merely fidgeted on the spot from the words and glanced past her.
"Do I…Do I have to go out…?"
"Not immediately." Leona calmed him with a wave of the hand, he seemed comforted by the confirmation that he didn't need to leave the room. "I'm just going to be checking out some of your Sacred Gear aspects and then we'll find the best way to help you. Though I do have a couple of ideas already, but we'll sort through all of those and you'll get the final say on what we do."
The vampire boy perked up. "I…I do?"
"You do." Leona chuckled, then puffed out her chest. "What sort of inventor makes something that her client wouldn't like? I have my pride after all!"
Gasper was silent, Leona let them have the time to find their own words. She figured she had the young boy pegged fairly accurately as being quite shy and - given his words regarding his power - he was probably fairly worried about using it by accident. Rather, she couldn't be sure he hadn't used it by mistake during the time they had been speaking.
Finding out what triggered his usage of the Sacred Gear…
That would be the first thing to consider, and from there they could move on to something else.
Like some fancy little gizmo that would make the vampire's life easier.
She slowly came back up and let out another thoughtful hum, she could whip up something and regarding her knowledge of Sacred Gears, she was certain that it might have related to his emotional state, but she needed some concrete evidence for that.
For the time being, however, she was sure that there would be plenty of time to get to know the Devil.
After all, if she got a good grasp of his likes and dislikes, she could draft up some designs that he would actually like.
Insight of the customer was vital, after all.
Lowering herself further until she was sitting down, she folded her arms over her chest and inclined her head. "I suppose you've also been told about Asia as well? She'd be your counterpart on the peerage. I'm her guardian as well…do you want me to let you know about her so that you know what to expect when you meet her?"
Gasper jolted, "When?" His voice cracked a little a hint of worry crossed his features. "Does that mean-?"
"Oh, it's just in the general sense of the world." She casually waved off his growing fear, bringing it back down. "Could be in a hundred years, but you're bound to meet her eventually, you know? Same with the others on the peerage…I'm sure Romani would prefer to meet you himself as well, but…"
Gasper fidgeted, something Leona noticed the moment the topic went back to the Nurse, the boy looked around for a moment and then took a hesitant step forwards, still looking down at her and showing he was already wearing a uniform for the academy.
With the odd characteristic that it was a girls uniform.
But to each their own.
"Romani-sensei is…everyone says he's also very nervous."
Leona smirked and nodded her head. "Quite so. He's…he's got a bit of a similar problem to you as well. Recently with a power he doesn't quite understand and, to be honest, it has me stumped as well in places but we're working forwards."
She brought up a hand and pointed to the boy. "So this is a certified Leona promise. I will make sure that you get the same level of quality for any item you need that Romani would. Trust me, you can't get much better than that."
A brief pause, then she leaned forwards, not giving the boy a chance to respond as she switched topics.
"So tell me…What's your favourite videogame?"
Gasper blinked, then straightened up. "Eh?"
"Well, you have all this space to yourself so I assume you have something to keep yourself occupied with." A beat, then she nodded forwards. "And I'm certain that you play some sort of video game to pass the time. Just so you don't get bored, unless you read instead but I'm not spying too many books."
Further silence, but the more easy posture of the boy told her she might have hit the nail on the head.
"Romani likes the old Road Trip adventure-"
"That's a good one." Gasper responded, a bit of a shine in his eyes. "I do like how casual it can be and it's so friendly. The music is a bit catchy as well, some of the races can be challenging but it's fun. Has he managed to beat the president yet?"
Leona hummed. "Not quite yet, but Romani is more of the type to do all of the side-quests first rather than go right down the main story."
A slow nod of the head, Gasper stepped forwards further. "That…that's one way to play, I guess. I sometimes to the side quests but that's only when they make sense for the story. What other games does he play?"
Leona was aware of Sirzechs staring at them during the conversation, but she was sure they had time.
Besides, with how comfortable the boy was getting and without the worry she was going to become influenced by his power, the conversation came much more naturally than before.
"So how was today?"
"It was fun!" Asia replied back, a hearty smile on her face as she walked alongside him. "I was surprised by how good Issei-san was but I think it was very nice…though I believe Xenovia-san might have misunderstood something…"
He saw the way her brows furrowed and a slightly nervous frown crossed her lips.
Romani merely shrugged. "She's getting used to all of this on her own as well. Just give her a little bit of time to get used to everything and I'm sure she'll get there….How was she by the way?"
Asia looked up at him. "Xenovia-san? Ah, so that was why you stopped by, Roman. You were worried about her, weren't you?"
He scratched the back of his neck, it must have been really obvious why he was there then. There was a sensation on his back, he glanced to it and found that Asia was lightly patting him, though it was more of the petting motion. In the same sort of way that someone would have pet a dog.
Or small dragon, in Asia's case.
"I think that is very noble of you, Roman. Xenovia-san looked like she was doing very well. I'm sure she understood you were just looking out for her."
Romani hummed and nodded his head. "Yeah, but I just don't want to come across as being overbearing or too fretful. Because that would turn a couple of heads and I'd rather not be seen as suspicious."
He pushed the gate of the house open and stepped aside for Asia, letting her go ahead of him.
"Oh, I also met Issei-san's parents!"
"Did you?" Romani blinked, then exhaled. "I'm sorry I missed it. I wanted to get the chance to speak with them as well…maybe next time?"
"Leo was able to talk with them, she said that Issei-san would be a very promising artist in the future and they were happy to hear it."
He could imagine it still.
It also made him feel a little warm inside, both for Leona for being so encouraging and for Issei that someone would give him some genuine praise. Goodness knew that boy needed some sort of positive reinforcement towards a good direction. Not that being a Devil got him bad reception, but it felt a little…simple, to be praised for being a good artist.
And simple was best.
Entering the house ahead of Asia, he called out. "We're back!"
"Oh, hello!"
Leona sang from somewhere in the home.
"Guess what I did today?"
Romani hesitated for a moment, the way she sang that made it sound as though she was going to drop some deeply earth shaking revelation with the same tone of voice she would use as if she was unveiling her latest invention.
"...What did you do?"
"I met a vampire!"
He hummed and nodded along with her words. "That's nice-you did what!?"
"Well, a Dhampir." She spoke next, poking her head around the door and wearing a grin from ear to ear. "But I figured you'd understand the first one better!"
"...What?!"
