Welcome back to Return of House Tenebris. As we continue into the story I am going to try and keep the posting schedule to once per week. I meant to post this earlier but I got a bit lazy. Anyways, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
I awoke the next morning alone in bed, which was very unusual for Akari. Since we started sleeping together I am usually the first to rise, or at least Akari won't leave the bed until I wake up. So when I realized that I was alone I couldn't help the feeling of concern that rose up within me.
Quickly throwing a simple robe on I cinched the robe closed with the belt as I stepped out into the hall in search of my two ladies. I heard no noise from Ayame's room. I didn't think she was ready for me to just be opening her bedroom door on her, so I moved downstairs to check elsewhere.
Eventually, I found both of them in the gym working out together. Ayame was spotting Akari as she squatted an impressive amount of weight considering how recently she had started lifting weights. I had the perfect angle to watch both of their pert asses as they squatted down in sync. Akari struggled with each repetition, but Ayame spoke encouraging words to her to help motivate her.
A feeling of pride washed over me as a smile split my face. Leaning against the door frame of the room, I decided to watch for a moment as Ayame helped Akari through the rest of her set. Knowing that they'd likely switch soon, I decided to leave them to their bonding time and moved downstairs to the kitchen.
Opening up the cabinets, I found the pancake mix and began to whip up enough batter for the three of us. Once the batter was ready I searched the fridge for fresh fruits and found strawberries, blueberries, and bananas.
I chopped up the strawberries and bananas and then began to make as many pancakes for us as I had batter for. Say what you want about devils, but a devil who was actively working out consumed a lot of daily calories. Put three of them in a single household and now we went through enough food each week to feed a human family of 8.
I whistled a jaunty tune as the smell of freshly cooked batter mixed with the sweet scent of warmed fruit quickly suffused the kitchen. As if summoned by the smell, both ladies made their way into the kitchen still wearing the clothes from their workout.
"Good morning ladies," I called over my shoulder as they entered. Akari pouted since I spoiled her fun, she had tried to sneak up on me, and Ayame returned my greeting.
"Good workout," I asked after exchanging a rather heated kiss with Akari. Ayame's soft yelp at seeing that made us both smile into our kiss. She reached into my robe and ran her hand up my thigh and across my stomach to tease me, so I rewarded her by biting her bottom lip in the way I know she loved.
"The best," Akari gushed as she began to set the table for us, "Ayame is the best workout partner ever. And great eye candy." I could practically feel the heat rising off of Ayame's cheeks from my spot at the stove.
"You're one to talk," Ayame countered and stuck her tongue out at Akari. Akari and I both paused and looked at the shy girl, shocked that she actually teased Akari back. After a moment Akari giggled before placing a kiss on the top of Ayame's head, returning the girl to her usual crimson-faced state.
"Alright, pancakes are ready," I called over my shoulder before I carried three plates piled high to the table, "We got strawberry, blueberry, and banana with peanut butter."
Ayame practically grabbed the entire plate of blueberry filled pancakes while Akari and I took a mix of the other two. Both girls moaned in pleasure as they ate, having worked up quite an appetite from their workout.
I ate slowly, making sure not to over eat since I planned on working out after I cleaned the kitchen up. We talked about nonconsequential things, mostly just teasing Ayame because that blush? So cute!, and soon most of the food was cleared. Akari tried to begin cleaning up but I waved her off.
"Go clean up, you stink," I teased her as I collected the plates and brought them over to the sink. Akari rewarded me with a smack on my ass before they drifted upstairs, hopefully to go wash up.
I mindfully cleaned the kitchen, making sure it was spotless and all the dishes were put away, before I returned to the bedroom and changed into gym clothes before I started my workout for the day. After just over an hour of leg workouts I was finishing up with the torture machine, a.k.a seated calf raises.
Finishing up by cleaning the machines I had used, I practically limped my way up the stairs towards the washroom. I didn't hear either of the girls inside when I cracked the door open so I decided it was safe and made my way inside. I quickly removed my clothes and stepped through the screen towards a washing station.
So lost in the sweet, sweet bliss of sore muscles after a good workout that I completely missed the sharp intake of breath and giggle from the bath as I sat down at the washing station and turned the water on.
Once the water was warm enough I wet myself and then began to wash myself. I took my time cleaning up knowing that it was a Saturday and still only late morning. When I finally finished, I turned the shower head off and turned towards the bath.
I was not prepared for what I saw in the slightest. Ayame was squirming in Akari's lap as Akari's left hand explored between her legs and her right massaged Ayame's right breast. Akari grinned and winked at me, but Ayame had yet to realize I was turned around as she was currently lost in the throes of a violent orgasm.
I stood there in mute shock as her entire body shook, now at full mast and very turned on. Finally, Ayame settled down and opened her eyes. She made a very cute squealing noise at seeing me standing there with a throbbing erection. She quickly separated herself from Akari and bolted from the room, not daring to look me in the eyes.
"Ayame, wait!" I called out after her, but she didn't return. I turned to give Akari a sharp look and a raised eyebrow.
"What? She loved it," Akari grinned at me, but my look of consternation remained. Akari only grinned further as she rose from her seated position. She turned around and stuck her ass out at me, "I've been a very naughty girl, master."
I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I approached her. She was starting to become incorrigible and I was beginning to wonder if maybe she was gonna enjoy my harem more than I did.
Later that afternoon, just after lunch, the three of us teleported over to Rias' clubhouse so that I could ask for a favor.
We found her and her entire peerage lounging in the meeting room, "-eed you to not go so close to the church again, Issei. I need you to be more careful."
Issei went near the church? What would make him do that,I wondered to myself as we strode into the room.
"Good afternoon, everyone," I greeted as we made our way over to the only available couch. We received greetings from everyone except for Issei, who froze in open mouthed shock as his eyes darted between me and Ayame.
He's probably shocked that I've added another woman to my peerage, I grinned internally and winked at him. That seemed to push him over the edge as he started whining loudly about wanting to be a harem king already.
"I didn't expect to see you today, Leo. What brings you over?" Rias leaned forward onto her elbows.
"Well, I was thinking. With Issei being new in your peerage and Ayame in mine I was wondering if we could do some cross-training between our peerages? I know Kiba is an esteemed swordsman, Akeno is practically a prodigy in magic, and Koneko is likely the physically strongest person in this room. I figured we could all get something out of it."
Rias thought about it for a minute before asking, "And what would I get out of this exactly? As you stated, I obviously already possess the necessary tools to train Issei on my own."
I rolled my eyes at the grin on Rias' face, knowing that she just wanted to see if I had anything to offer her, "Well, I do have a fully equipped weight gym in my house you all are welcome to use whenever you like," Koneko and Kiba both seemed interested in that. I imagine they both liked the idea since they could hardly go all out using weights in public.
"I would also like to offer a 'good for anything' favor for you Rias. Whatever it could possibly be, I will do my absolute best to help you in any way I can."
Rias grinned predatorily at me, "Deal."
After working out a schedule, we agreed that Ayame and Kiba would lead all of us through fighting lessons, both hand-to-hand as well as with swords. Akari and Akeno would lead in teaching us magic lessons, though Rias would likely not attend since she was likely further ahead in magical knowledge than the both of them.
Ayame was practically bouncing in excitement so we decided to move outside to start right away. Kiba used his sacred gear, Sword Birth, to summon plain, wooden swords for us to practice with.
For the next hour Kiba and Ayame paired us up and had us walkthrough spars together, focusing on our footwork and form more than anything else. Despite the slow pace of it I was drenched in sweat when we finished.
Knowing I had access to magic; I didn't intend to be on the front lines fighting when I could be in the back slinging spells, but being prepared to deal with a close-combatant was always a good idea.
I was sitting against a tree slowly sipping on a bottle of water when Akeno called everyone to gather around her and Akari. Issei was practically bouncing in anticipation at learning how to cast magic, mumbling something about 'fun bags' and 'all for himself'. I simply shook my head at his antics and focused on Akeno and Akari.
Even though they began to teach the very basics of using devil magic I still paid attention. Ever since my last lesson with Akari I had still been struggling to master the control of my magic. I was able to cast only a single drop of water from my fingertip. However it always blasted out of my finger like a bullet, which gave me a lot of future ideas, but was clearly still too big for what I was attempting.
I had had a few close calls, if you could count a close call as the single drop only going about three feet. I groaned in frustration when they broke us up and told us to begin practicing.
"Hey, Leo. If you're so powerful already, why are you here learning with us," Issei asked me innocently.
I gave him a look of frustration, but it was Akari who answered for me, "To put it simply, Leo here has too much power. It overwhelms his control and prevents him from being more precise with his magic."
"Now get practicing Leo," Akari said as she strode over towards me until she leaned in close enough that her lips were against my ears, "I'll reward you with something special tonight if you can manage to do it."
Her hot breath on my ear sent chills down my spine and her words motivated me in a way few other things could. My look of frustration quickly morphed into one of determination as I made space for myself and began to focus my intent into a spot on my fingertip.
Looking inward, I tried to calm my magic and allow it to slowly trickle out of my finger tip. I could feel the flow of my magic down my arm and into my index finger. I could feel its desire to be unleashed but I forced it to calm itself, to heed my demands. I felt my excitement grow as a small bead of water formed on my fingertip, suspended from the tip without falling. I was about to shout in joy when suddenly my magic rushed out of me and the bead was propelled at high speed away from me.
It shot straight through the air before colliding with Akeno's left breast as she was in the middle of demonstrating something for Issei. Issei got an up close and personal view of Akeno's supple flesh jiggling as Akeno's instruction was interrupted by a soft moan escaping her lips.
I swear I could see blood spilling from Issei's nose as the sight and sound of Akeno proved too much for him, causing him to lose his balance and fall over sideways. Akari shot me a silly grin and Ayame seemed put out. I felt heat rush to my cheeks as Akeno gave me a sly look before helping Issei back up and returning to her demonstration.
I shook my head to clear the image of what just happened from my mind and redoubled my efforts to complete my task. I had been so close, but my emotions got the better of me. If I can't even do this in a practice scenario with no pressure or stakes how could I possibly do so in a combat environment?
I made sure to aim away from the rest of the group on future attempts, but lost myself in my efforts so much that Akari had to gently shake my shoulder to get my attention.
I finally became aware of my surroundings again to hear Akeno speaking to Rias, "-tray devil has been causing trouble nearby."
"We should deal with this as soon as the sun goes down," Rias began, "Everyone, practice is now canceled. Go rest up. We will fight tonight."
A few hours later Rias teleported all of us to the woods just outside of Kuoh. Ayame and I were going along just to watch, Rias refused to let us get involved in protecting her territory, and Akari went to make sure we stayed safe. I was confident in Rias being able to take care of this in a way that Ayame and I were not in danger, so I'm pretty sure Akari used it as an excuse to try and get in a fight.
"Every now and again a devil goes crazy and kills their master to gain their freedom, causing them to go stray," Kiba was explaining to Issei as we made our way towards an abandoned house.
"According to the reports, the stray has been tricking people into joining them in this abandoned house and eating them," Akeno reported.
"What," Issei yelped, "That's gross!"
"That's what happens when you become a stray," I teased Issei, "so make sure to always follow your master's orders."
Issei once again reaffirmed his absolute loyalty to Rias, making Rias giggle and reminded Issei to focus.
We slowly made our way into the abandoned house. Rias' peerage took the lead while Akari stood in front of Ayame and I in the back.
Ayame was clutching tightly to my arm and shaking slightly in fear, "Remember Ayame, we are only here to watch. We don't have to get involved."
Akari glanced backwards at us and winked at Ayame, "I'd never let anything happen to you, cutie."
Ayame hardly seemed reassured, but she definitely blushed once again as we stepped deeper into the abandoned house.
"Something sweet smelling draws near. I wonder if it tastes just as sweet," a voice called from seemingly all around us.
"Be on your guard. Issei, make sure you pay close attention to how my servants fight for me tonight," Rias called out.
Suddenly, a tall figure appeared from around the corner of a pillar. The top half of a gorgeous woman slowly became visible out of the murky gloom of darkness.
"Woah! I see big boobies," Issei called out, a blush already appearing on his face, "She's so gorgeous!"
As more and more of her appeared out of the darkness, Issei seemed to eat those words. An amalgamation of body parts revealed itself to us. Much like how a drider in fantasy novels was half spider, half women, the stray devil appeared much the same.
"I told you it could get ugly!" Kiba laughed at Issei's horrified reaction to the monstrosity in front of us.
"What a waste of such a perfect rack! She deserves a thousand punishments in hell for this," Issei called out as the stray devil began to attack in earnest.
She shot lasers at us from, well, her breasts, causing all of us to have to dive for cover. Kiba quickly reacted by seemingly vanishing from where he was and then appearing in front of the monster.
He made short work of separating a few of the monster's limbs from its body before he jumped backwards towards us. The monster screamed in feral rage as her teeth suddenly became longer and sharper. It seemed like her mind had completely lost itself further in its rage as it lunged forward, disregarding everyone in favor of striking at Kiba.
Koneko stepped forward and halted the monster dead in its tracks. Winding up a right uppercut, Koneko delivered a shockingly powerful blow as the monster was launched backwards into the wall, shaking the house's foundations.
"See you on the flip side," Koneko deadpanned as she readied herself to receive the monster's next attack.
"Remind me not to piss her off," Issei whispered to himself, though a twitch from Koneko revealed that she had heard him.
Akeno stepped forward next, smiling as she slowly approached the still downed monster, "It's my turn! Oh, I do love such games."
Suddenly, one of the dismembered limbs of the monster lunged out of the darkness straight for Rias. Being closer than anyone else and reacting faster, Issei summoned his Sacred Gear and smashed the limb back into the darkness of the room that it had come from. It crashed hard against the far wall and made no further noises.
"Thank you for that, Issei," Rias slowly got up from where Issei had pushed her out of the way.
"No problem! My body reacted for me," Issei admitted.
"Now it's my turn to play with you," Akeno called out as she summoned a massive amount of electricity into the still recovering monster. It screamed in pain as it was shocked with thousands of volts of electricity.
"Is she getting off on this," Issei mumbled incredulously from next to me. Upon listening closer, Akeno's moans of pleasure could be easily heard alongside the stray's screaming.
So Akeno is a sadomasochist, I thought as I momentarily pondered acts like that in the bedroom
Rias giggled at Issei's reaction, but chose only to tell Akeno that the stray likely had had enough already. Akeno expressed her disappointment since she was just starting to enjoy herself, but canceled her attack and turned to face us. An obvious look of arousal on her face made it clear that she had really enjoyed inflicting pain on the creature.
Rias finally stepped forward towards the stray devil, who was still convulsing on the floor in front of us, and began to prepare a spell. A large enhancer floated in the air in front of Rias' forehead. After a moment to gather her power, a red and black beam of energy launched out of the enhancer and engulfed the monster in front of her.
It barely had time to scream before the destructive power of the spell blasted the creature into nothing, literally. All that remained was a green beam of light. Not even a mark on the floor from the power of the spell that was just launched. I'd have to ask Rias about that one in the future.
The next afternoon I was out for a stroll by myself to clear my head. I had awoken before the sun came up to practice my shadow magic further, but progress still eluded me on that front as well. My family grimoire said that by now I should be ready for the next step, a step I was supposedly ready for for a while now, but it continued to escape me. I kicked a pebble in frustration and watched it skip across the pathway until it shot off into the grass.
Heaving a sigh and looking up, I found that in my aimless wandering I had somehow ended up in front of the library. I pushed the doors open and walked inside for the first time, taking it in. There were plenty of tables and chairs between the front doors and the shelves filled with a kaleidoscope of books.
On the other side of two rows of neatly lined up tables was a veritable wall of books with only a single path in the center. The shelves extended both ways all the way to the wall, and several ladders were on both sides to allow access to the books too high up to reach. From my position on the far side of the room from them, the shelves appeared to be at least fifteen feet tall.
The singular pathway led deeper into the bookshelves almost as if it were leading to a hidden chamber of knowledge. From where I was I could spot a few students sitting at tables in the center of that chamber. Off to my right and left were staircases that led upwards to the second floor.
On the far side of the room the second floor overlooked the first like a balcony. I flared my sacred gear for a moment, a habit I was slowly forming as I walked around new people, and then made my way to the right and ascended the stairs. After learning that the fallen angels had ways to detect humans with sacred gears and actively hunted and killed them for their sacred gears had me wanting to try and protect anyone on campus who also had one.
The second floor had secluded spots for small groups tucked into every nook and cranny. As I rounded the far corner towards the balcony on the backside of the building I counted six larger rooms on the exterior wall. Glancing through the thin window of the door that separated one room from the rest of the library, I realized that these were the classrooms that Rias and Sona had told me about on my first day here.
From the balcony I was able to look down into the center of the bookshelves to see that they mirrored the shelves that faced the front doors. The shelves formed a ring around multiple tables, each with four chairs and its own reading lamp. Sitting on top of over half of the tables I recognized chess sets as students hunched over them.
So this is where the chess club spends its time, I mused, counting no less than thirty different games of chess actively being played. Almost as many students stood by watching various different games, though no game attracted more attention than the one at a center table. There, a blonde woman played a man with short, brown hair and glasses that hid his eyes from view.
Curious and welcoming a distraction to my internal turmoil, I made my way back down to the first floor and into the crowd of students watching games. At first, I approached the match that garnered the most attention, but then I noticed a woman sitting alone. She had a chess board set up in front of her and a book in her hands.
"Anyone sitting here," I asked as I approached the table. She glanced up and shook her head in the negative before putting her book down.
I took the seat opposite her in front of the black pieces and waited for her to make a move. She quickly moved a pawn forward and I settled in for our match.
"My name is Leo," I said as I made my first move.
"Misaki," she answered simply as she made her next move almost instantly. I took her short answer for what it was and focused on our match. We each moved a few pieces without taking any, but as we set up our pieces I realized that it would only be a matter of time before we would be forced to begin exchanging blows. I always preferred to be proactive in chess, so once I spotted a series of exchanges that were favorable to me I made my move.
Black knight takes white bishop. White pawn takes black knight. Black rook takes white pawn. White rook takes black pawn. Black bishop takes white queen. Check.
The girl grimaced at her mistake for losing her queen early and backs her king closer to the corner. A few more moves were made without anyone losing a piece. Suddenly, she took one of my pawns with her own. I could take her pawn with another of mine, but that would open that file up to one of her rooks.
I scanned the board for an answer for nearly a minute before it came to me. I slid my bishop closer to her king, putting it in check. She looked at me quizzically but took my bishop with her rook. I grinned and moved my knight forward, putting her king in check and causing a fork with her rook.
She had been protecting her rooks very well all game, and I could tell that she relied on them heavily to close out games. By causing a fork she was forced to move her king so I could take one of her rooks for free.
Eight moves later I put her in check again and she conceded the match, knowing that she was in an unwinnable position.
"Good game, Leo," she shook my hand before scooping her book up and finding another game to watch.
A taller boy with blonde, spiky hair sat across from me almost immediately as I spun the board around and began to return the pieces back to their proper places.
"Ren," he introduced himself as he extended his hand to me.
"Leo," I replied just as simply. After shaking hands, he helped me finish setting the board up and waited for me to make my first move. I quickly developed a few pawns in the center of the board before getting aggressive with my knights.
I danced both of my knights around the board, looking for targets of opportunity, while also slowly developing the rest of my pieces. Eventually, he made a mistake and left a pawn unprotected. My knight was there in an instant to take it away.
The boy grimaced at his mistake, but said nothing. He thought for a solid minute before making his next move. This time, I left my knight there in the center of the board instead of retreating it like I normally would. I did this so I could instead open up my queen side bishop so it could get more involved.
A few turns later, I offered him a queen trade which he gladly took. As soon as we completed the trade, he castled his king and rook and looked up at me for the first time all match. He seemed pretty confident in his position, but I was quick to dissuade him of that notion by moving my bishop to put him into check. He growled slightly at being forced to move his king and placed it in the corner.
With him in such an untenable situation, I knew I had to capitalize quickly. So, I pushed my knight towards his king, leaving his king without a square it could move to. Ren smiled and quickly moved his rook, putting me in check. I swiftly took his rook with my own and waited for his next move.
In his excitement to finally put me in check, it seemed that he hadn't noticed my rook on the other side of the board. His frown proved my theory correct as he searched for a move to dig him out of this situation. Finally, he moved his only remaining bishop into position, challenging my knight. I simply smiled before sliding my other bishop next to my knight.
"Check mate," I declared. Ren scanned the board for a possible answer. After two full minutes he found none and offered me his hand in silence. I shook his hand and quickly began to set the pieces back up for another game.
This time, a short blonde girl with striking blue eyes and long twintails sat across from me.
"That was a good win. Ren is a very good chess player," she commented as we moved the pieces back to their ready positions.
"He was. I'm surprised he missed my rook there at the end. Leo," I replied as I extended my hand towards her. She simply hummed in reply and waited for me to make my first move. Her right hand rested on her chin and she stared at the board intently.
Shrugging, I made my first move. This time, I decided to open by moving my knight towards the center of the board. She immediately mirrored my action. I pushed a pawn forward and she immediately did the same. For three more turns that continued until finally on the fourth she lashed out with her knight taking one of my pawns. I was forced to take her knight with one of my own, which she immediately traded with her remaining one. I took that knight with my other one as well, which she then took with a pawn. I captured that pawn with my bishop, stopping the trades.
I watched her scan the board with her eyes for a moment as she contemplated what to do next. She must have seen that I liked to get aggressive with my knights and manufactured an even trade in which we lost both of our knights.
She is really good, I admitted as she began to develop her queen side pawns. Knowing that she was likely going to try and get her queen or her rook involved next, probably both, I decided to do the same after I pulled my bishop into a safer position where it was protected by a pawn.
A couple of moves passed by without any trades again, but then just as suddenly as before she took one of my pieces. With her queen, no less. The move confused me, because it exposed her queen to my bishop which she wouldn't be able to take back after I took her queen.
Why sacrifice your queen for a pawn, I thought to myself. Unfortunately, I saw nothing on the board that gave me answers so I simply took her queen and waited for her next move. At this moment, I realized we had gathered a bit of a crowd as multiple of them made comments about her losing her queen so easily.
The next sequence of moves I could only describe one way, and only done from a place of hindsight. This girl proceeded to lure me into her trap with carefully positioned pieces all the while making me think that I was the one leading her to her doom. I should have seen it coming, honestly, seeing how confidently her eyes swept across the board after each of my moves.
Once she finally sprung the trap, taking my queen with her bishop, a series of trades proceeded that ended with me in check. I had my king, one pawn, and a bishop remaining. She had her king, three pawns, and both of her rooks. I refused to go down without a fight, but once she took my last pawn I knew it was a losing battle since she left her king on a black square and I no longer had a way to put her in check.
She slowly began walking my king into the side of the board as I desperately hoped for a mistake that would allow me to force a draw, but no mistake came. Eventually she put me into check mate and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.
"Mizuki," she finally said.
"Huh?" I looked up and stared dumbly at her. Her dazzling blue eyes were alive with excitement as she regarded me carefully.
"My name. Mizuki," she answered again.
"Oh, Leo," I replied lamely as I extended my hand to her.
She reached out and shook my hand gently, "You said that already," she giggled at me, causing a few to laugh at me and my cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.
"Right," I stood up and made room for someone else to play her. The games had been exciting and had been exactly what I needed to get my mind out of its downward spiral. As I stepped away from the table and the crowd parted to let me through, her eyes still regarding me carefully, I barely heard her voice over the others talking around us.
"I play here every afternoon, if you'd like a rematch," she said just loud enough for me to hear. I looked back over my shoulder, catching a quick glimpse of the small smile that graced her thin lips before my sight of her was blocked by the crowd.
As I began walking away, I flared my sacred gear once more. I was not prepared when I received a very strong reaction from my sacred gear. Turning back towards the crowd of people, someone in the center had a sacred gear. I focused my attention on it and received a very strong, emotional response from it. Whatever it was, I could tell it had to do with emotions on some level.
Scanning the crowd thoroughly, I realized with a sharp intake of breath that the sacred gear belonged to Mizuki. Maybe I will come back for that rematch after all, I promised myself. I turned away from the crowd again and made my way out of the library.
Feeling a sudden determination to further my control of my magic, I made my way into the woods just outside of my house. The sun was beginning to set and cast long shadows across the grass beneath my feet as I found a good spot to practice.
Multiple times now I had managed to summon a single drop of water that didn't immediately shoot off on me. But every time I realized I had done it, a sudden rush of excitement filled me and I lost control.
I knew that I had to suppress that emotional response if I was going to get a control of my magic. I settled my mind, coincidently facing the same cratered tree that Akari had damaged, and extended a single finger forwards. Paying focused attention to my emotions, I carefully allowed my mana to trickle towards my finger. I felt the mana begin to pool just inside the focal point on the tip of my finger, beginning to beg for release.
Carefully, I imagined a tiny needle piercing that resistance and allowing minute amounts of my mana to coalesce as water on my fingertip. Once a small bead of water formed I cut the flow of mana off and doubled down on my emotions. My heartbeat counted time for me as I stayed as straight faced as possible. Seconds ticked by into a minute, the bead of water still clinging on stubbornly. I carefully swung my hand towards my face to stare at the bead of water.
A shaky breath left my mouth as I took in the sight of this stupid little bead of water. A smile began to form on my face as I angled it so that I could see the last light of the day reflected on its surface. Suddenly, the bead shot off like a rocket, barely missing my cheek, and piercing through multiple trees.
A rage the likes of which I had never experienced before began to bubble up inside of me. At first, that rage was directed at the stupid bead of water that refused to stay on my fingertip. I swore loudly as I launched multiple wind based attacks at the first tree that it had pierced, stripping wide swaths of bark off of it.
Then, my rage became geared towards the stupid task that I was made to complete. I followed up my blades of wind with a large lightning bolt that struck down from the heavens into the tree. It caused no visible damage to the tree, perhaps it did to the branches above that I couldn't see, but it did feel good to feel like I had smited it.
Suddenly, my enraged thoughts shifted towards Akari for setting this task upon me. I physically recoiled at these thoughts as I formed a solid sized stone in my hand, wound up, and threw it like a baseball pitcher. The stone flew through the air, smashing into the tree where my drop of water had pierced it, creating a larger hole as it also pierced straight through.
Finally, my thoughts turned inward at myself. I fell to my knees and screamed a silent rage at the sky. My veins bulged in my head and I swore I could feel blood vessels in my eye threatening to pop.
If I couldn't get control of my magic, how would I ever return my family where it belongs in devil society. How could I ever pay my parents back for their sacrifices just so I could live?
The shadows around me began to come to life as my frustration, my anger, my rage, and my deep seated despair clashed within me like a raging sea. They combined until they became whole, my vision turning red.
How can I take revenge on the ones who killed my parents if I'm too weak to achieve it, I screamed internally. Suddenly, the shadows began to remove themselves from the surfaces that contained them. Strong arms with grasping hands emerged from the ground, the trees, and the bushes that lined the clearing I was in.
Finally, I understood my emotions for what they were. Within me was a massive well where all of my negative emotions swirled together into a terrible, living concoction of power. The source of my power, what had previously been limiting me, was now enhancing me. Using this power, I allowed it to drive me forward.
Despite emotions like rage, despair, pain, frustration; I didn't lose my mind to it. It filled every essence of my being and filled me with purpose. Harnessing this power, my Wrath, the arms suddenly morphed into blades. Jagged, broken blades with wickedly sharp points began to swirl around me. I imagined that if any of my enemies were within this sphere of my control they would have been cut to ribbons.
The sudden realization was intoxicating. I could do this. I could avenge my parents and take my rightful place in devil society. At some point I began to laugh. The type of laugh that was not from humor, or even excitement; but the type that was purely unhinged.
The blades around me spun faster at the slightest thought. The ease with which I could control them shocked me. After days of struggling so much to separate a single shadow from a wall, suddenly I had a veritable tornado of shadow-derived death at my beck and call.
Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders and my eyes focused on two green orbs glistening in the dying rays of sunlight. As my focus on my surroundings returned to me, I realized that it was Akari kneeling on the grass in front of me. Her eyes seemed to be pleading with me and shouted words escaped her lips that I couldn't hear over the rush of power in my ears. My eyes left those glistening orbs in horror as I took in the rest of her visage. Small cuts that trickled blood littered her cheeks, shoulders, and arms.
Oh no, my mind raced at what I had done. But I hadn't known! I hadn't realized she was even here. Panic began to fill my mind as I worried that maybe I didn't have control over this power. Maybe I had dipped into something I wasn't supposed to.
Akari cried out, the first noise I heard from her, and arched her back as if she had been struck in the back. Tears began to fall down her cheeks, the salt in which probably made the cuts on her cheeks sting more, as she focused back on me.
"Leo. It's okay. Come back to me," Akari begged. Her words were muffled like they were spoken underwater. "Please."
Akari released a choked sob as her desperation slowly turned to panic. I never wanted this. I would never hurt someone I care about, right?
I clamped down hard on my emotions and slammed the lid shut on that well of power. I secured a figurative lock and chain to it for good measure and began to practice intentional breathing. I could feel my pulse slamming in my veins all over my body and I realized that the power I had unleashed was in my very being. I could close the lid on that well all I wanted, but it was too late to get rid of the literal pure Wrath that lit my veins on fire.
I focused back on Akari's eyes as I brought my hands to the sides of her face. I couldn't speak, couldn't convey anything to her. All I could do was focus on my breathing and stare into her worry filled eyes.
At some point my personal storm of shadows must have stopped because all of a sudden Ayame crashed into Akari's back. She threw her arms around her waist and hugged her tight, but her chin rested atop Akari's shoulder and her eyes were locked on mine.
I couldn't hear a word either of them were saying over the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. I could tell that they were begging for me to return to them, to calm down and to come back.
I couldn't stand to see the worry in their eyes and so redoubled my efforts to calm this power rushing through me.
I would never hurt them, became my mantra as I tamed the Wrath that threatened to consume me. Slowly, over what length of time I couldn't be sure, the power in my veins began to settle as I tamed it to my will.
I control myself. This power is mine and so I will make it mine, I thought as I finally brought my rushing of blood to a reasonable level.
"-lease, Leo. You can do this. Come back to me."
"-eo, don't go. Don't leave me. I need you. I love you."
The girls spoke over each other as their only focus was me. At some point Akari placed her hand over my heart and began to match my rhythmic breathing as she recognized me calming down.
"That's it, love. Just like that," she praised me.
The concern, the pure angst, in their eyes over my well being struck me deeply. With a final deep sigh, I could feel my pulse return to its usual resting cadence. The power was still there, I could feel it, but now it simply thrummed with desire. It wanted to be unleashed, but was willing to wait. For now, I thought as I leaned forward into Akari's shoulder, just below Ayame, and let myself get pulled into a hug. I suddenly felt incredibly weak, like all energy had left my muscles and I hadn't eaten in days.
Akari cried gently as she pulled me tightly to her as if she were worried I'd slip away if she let go. Ayame released a hysterical sob before spinning around Akari and turning our hug into a three person hug.
"I thought-sob-you were gonna leave me-sob-please, don't-sob-leave me," Ayame begged me as she clutched at the neckline of my shirt. Her tears began to stain my shirt and my heart broke in that moment. How could I have caused such pain?
"I promise you, Ayame. I'm not going anywhere. Not without you and Akari with me, okay," I pulled her tight to me and Akari, who shifted to comfort the younger girl after sharing a look with me that spoke volumes of how scared she had been.
I scooped Ayame up, letting her wrap her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, and followed Akari into the house. We moved upstairs and directly to the bed where I laid Ayame down. I laid next to her and let her get comfortable with her head on my chest. She wrapped me up with both her arms and legs and held me tightly. Her sobbing had lost its intensity by now, but she was still crying too hard to speak.
Akari spooned Ayame from behind and whispered calming, loving things into Ayame's ear as she held the younger girl close. I gave Akari an apologetic look, but she just reassured me that she wasn't upset by blowing a kiss at me.
Eventually, Ayame got herself under control and tried to apologize, "I'm sorry for reacting so poorly."
"You have nothing to apologize for," I shushed the girl.
"I was just so scared. I've been alone for so long that it's been hard for me to accept that I'm not anymore. You just entered my life and I don't know what I'd do if you left me," Ayame snuggled closer to me, as if that was even possible.
"You are a member of my peerage, my family. Like it or not we are stuck together forever. I'm sorry I scared you so much. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened. It was like I discovered some foreign well of power inside of me. Akari, do you have any idea?"
Akari thought for a moment with a frown on her face, "No, I honestly don't. I have never seen or heard of anything like that."
I sighed, but honestly had expected that answer. As excited as I was to have obtained such control over my magic, and such power, I was wary of opening that well again. Even now, I could sense the foreign power settling into me. I didn't feel stronger, rather I didn't feel like I had access to more power. It felt as if my magic were more potent now, like it would take less magic to obtain similarly powerful results as before.
"Maybe Rias or her father will have an idea," I pondered as I placed soft kisses on top of Ayame's head. "Whatever happened, just know that I won't be repeating it until we understand what it was. I don't ever want to put either of you in such danger again." Ayame nodded resolutely against me as Akari agreed with me.
It was sometime later after we had all washed before bed that Akari and I were laying in bed. I was idly playing with Akari's hair as we simply laid there in each other's embrace, not a piece of clothing between the two of us.
A knock on the door alerted us to Ayame's presence. "Come in," I called as I threw the covers over us. Ayame is wearing a white and red kimono that hugs her figure tightly, hinting at the soft curves beneath.
"I uh… couldn't sleep," Ayame admits with a cute blush, "Can I sleep here tonight?"
"Our bed is always open to you, cutie," Akari coos at her before sliding over and making room between us for her.
Ayame smiles shyly before climbing onto the bed and pulling the covers down to join us. She immediately deepens her blush upon realizing that we are both naked, but I noticed a look of resolve wash over her before she climbs in and lays her head down on my chest. Akari slides into her from behind, firmly sandwiching her between us.
Ayame sighs softly as Akari plays with her hair and falls asleep shortly after. I smile warmly down at my two lovely ladies before sharing a soft, tender kiss with Akari and sleep takes me soon after.