Welcome to the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, but before starting the story. Let's answer some reviews:
Altair95: Thanks. Right, there was a flashback that showed the evil dragon that Sakura and Tetsuo fought against in their teens. It does speak volumes of the dragon since Yamata-no-Orochi was basically at half of his strength since Qlippoth using half his soul was enough to give the Gremory Team a hard time, just imagine him resurrected. Tetsuo is still beating himself up after what happened to Sakura and Kensei, in addition to him getting a letter from the Crimson Satan himself.
To be fair, Alice hasn't trained or moved around much since she was born with a weaker body compared to Kensei and Claire and her complaints in her natural language are just adorable. I hope that I got it right since I used Google Translate. Yes, Kensei has received word that his childhood friend/first fiancée was able to succeed in her dream of becoming an idol. Lena is now an official student, but she still needs to learn to hang out with normal people. And all of them are planning Claire's birthday.
In the end, Tetsuo and Natsumi did meet some of the best devils, and reincarnated devils appear inside the canon before having their conversation. And unfortunately, this is the introduction of one of the most arrogant and self-righteous Old Devils.
Rider126: Never have there been any more accurate words to describe his appearance.
Meetings of the Old I
Claire was dreaming about the past when she lived in the town that acted as her mother's territory far before she was born. Sitting inside the home she lived in with her mother and her peerage members, she was sitting on her mother's, Cleria Belial's lap. A beautiful young woman who looked to have been starting in her late twenties and bared the strongest possible resemblance to her daughter.
Claire looked to be five-year-old as she sat comfortably in her mother's lap.
Both were sitting on the couch as her mother's peerage members were dutifully all doing their own business for their King. In front of them was a television, there was a large-scale battle occurring in the middle of what looked to be an island. It wasn't a recording or from a movie, it was of a Rating Game that was occurring at the moment inside the Underworld.
[What a stunning battle against his opponent whose peerage is composed entirely of famous monsters! But, the Champion, Diehauser Belial himself, and his peerage are monsters themselves! Strategies! Teamwork! Solo! He is a man who's truly deserving of his position at the top of the Rating Game!]
The announcer seemed to speak excitedly as he witnessed opponent after opponent from the opposing side being defeated one by one.
"So cool!"
Claire whose eyes were sparkling as she watched the battlefield in front of her was unable to contain the sense of excitement that had been building up inside them.
"Hah, I see my darling daughter is enjoying watching Diehauser-niisama fighting."
"I'm related to someone that cool!"
"…I'm hurt. It feels as if my daughter forgot that I'm amazing too."
Cleria said in a faux-hurt turn but soon left her daughter wrapping her arms around her in a hug.
"Of course, I know I have an amazing mother and father. No one could ever replace them," hearing those heartfelt words from her daughter caused Cleria's heart to warm up as she returned the hug. "Kaa-san?"
"Ah, you're such a little angel!"
Cleria said overcome with emotions as she rubbed her cheek against Claire's who looked confused.
"Uh, Kaa-san. I thought I was a half-devil."
"Right, Cleria, you can't get your daughter's species wrong. Do you want people to think you're a bad mother?"
Cleria after hearing her Queen and a so-called best friend talking to her like that turned in her direction wearing an irritated look on her face. Her Queen was dressed in attire that one would see a female Witch wearing.
"Of course, I know that Eva. I'm just saying that my daughter is so adorable that angels would be jealous."
"Well, I do admit that Claire-chan is adorable…more so than our King."
Eva said that wearing a more mischievous smirk, which was hidden behind her hand.
"Ah, Eva-obachan, don't be mean to Kaa-san. She's a great King."
Hearing those words from Claire caused Eva to change her demeanor as she gave her a soft smile.
"Okay okay, Claire-chan. Geez, I can't resist that adorable graceful face of yours."
"Hah, if we keep doing that, then we might end up making Claire-sama a spoiled girl."
Cleria's Knight spoke up.
"That's right. She's so a cute and smart girl already," her Bishop spoke up. "We don't want her ending up anything aside from the best young woman possible."
[Right!]
"Hey, isn't that supposed to be my job? I'm her mother!"
Most of her peerage members seemed to shrug their shoulders and laugh at her reaction, which caused Cleria to feel almost left out of their thoughts in raising her daughter.
"Kaa-san?"
"Hmm, Claire?"
Cleria looked down at her daughter who pointed at the television, which revealed Diehauser and his peerage all standing victorious against their opponents.
"Do you think that I could be like that and become the Champion if I tried? And lead a peerage like yours?"
Cleria looked at her daughter surprised about that question, but despite knowing that some people inside of their world would allow that, she smiled.
"Yes," Cleria said as her honest words left her mouth as placed her hand on her daughter's head. "You were born with great potential from the clan I belong to and talent from your father. But, above all that you're the most wonderful child that a woman like me can ever ask for. I know that in the future even if you don't have a peerage, you'll find people that you trust and care for. And more than that, you'll be an example that two people from two different worlds can love one another."
Claire watched as her mother gave her a wonderful smile that caused her to smile as well.
"Yes!"
Claire found herself waking up in Kensei's bed as she always did with her arms wrapped around his left arm, and soon leaned up yawning and stretching her arms. It didn't take her long to realize that some tears were dripping from the corners of her eyes as she dreamed about that moment.
"Tears? Did I end up crying a little bit while I was dreaming," Claire asked before mockingly laughing at herself as she wiped away the tears that formed at the corners of her eyes and shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm crying, there's no proof that all of them are…. I mean, I learned most of what I know from Kaa-san and Tou-san, I know neither of them is weak. And there's Eva-obachan and the rest of Kaa-san's peerage, neither of them will leave their King's side."
Clare seemed to fight with herself about her parents' status and about the status of her mother's peerage who she considered a part of that family as well. After allowing one final breath to escape from her mouth, she slapped both sides of her cheeks lightly using her hands.
"There's no need for being negative, Claire. Either way, I need to get up and…."
"Nnnn."
Claire heard a light sound coming from the other side of Kensei, who was still sound asleep without being stirred up in the slightest. She stared at the lump under the covers, noticing that it was a little smaller, so it meant that it couldn't be either Alice or Hisui. After one more possible person entered her head, Claire reached her hand out, then grabbed onto the sheets to find the culprit herself.
Sleeping and curled up beside Kensei was Kunou who was still growing into a proper young woman as she was dressed in a kimono for sleepwear as her fox ears and nine tails were out. As she was asleep, anyone who saw Kunou would describe her as adorable. Around her neck was the jade magatama necklace that Kensei had given her almost over three years ago.
"Nnn, Ken-nii. Kunou is cold."
Kunou said in her sleep as she moved closer to Kensei and wrapped her arms around his right arm in an attempt to warm herself up. Claire seeing this happen right in front of her caused her eyes to twitch from irritation before noticing that Kensei started waking up.
After sitting up, he started yawning out loud before also rubbing his eyes.
"Good morning, Claire."
Kensei lightly said as he placed a hand on top of her head causing her some comfort.
"Good morning, Nii-san. Also, we have a situation."
"What situation?"
Kensei was confused as Claire pointed to the right side of him.
"There appears to be a wild animal in the bed."
"Ah, a wild animal?"
Kensei turned in the direction that Claire was talking about, then gave a wry laugh as he noticed that said 'wild animal' was Kunou. He didn't think that Kunou would be inside the bed, he almost thought that he would wake up to find Alice.
"Hmm, it looks like Alice is in her room working on something."
Kensei said after sensing her presence inside her bedroom before noticing that Kunou started waking up as she rubbed her eyes using her hand. After shaking off the sleep that remained after she woke up, Kunou glanced to the side and smiled brightly.
"Good morning, Ken-nii!"
Kunou energetically said as she wrapped her arms around Kensei who laughed lightly before placing a hand on her head. Ignoring the deadpan look that Claire was sending in Kunou's direction, which was almost filled with a sensation of irritation.
"Morning, Kunou, I wasn't expecting you to be here this morning."
"Well, Kunou thought that she'd surprise Ken-nii. Oh, and Kunou has a surprise…."
"Ah, the wild animal can talk."
Claire spoke in a faux scared tone as she pointed at Kunou who seemed miffed about being referred to as a 'wild animal' by her rival of all people.
"Kunou isn't a wild animal. Kunou is a proud Kyuubi and princess, batgirl."
"Oh, is that right?"
Claire asked back wearing a dangerous smirk as she and Kunou started getting into one another's faces, giving off a dangerous presence.
"Alright, knock it off."
""Ah.""
Kensei said as he lightly karate chopped both of them on the head, causing both Claire and Kunou to stare at the person who both of them adored as an older brother and love interest.
"No more trash-talking one another's species or anything related to it. I won't have any of that, okay?"
""Okay, Nii-san/Ken-nii.""
Both Claire and Kunou obediently bowed their heads.
"Alright, Kunou what was this surprise?"
"Oh, right!"
Kunou said before jumping onto the bed, landing on her feet as she placed both hands on her hips wearing such a proud look that Kensei found it adorable.
"Well, Kunou has been speaking to Hahaue about it for some time and she believed that it would be a great idea for Kunou to get more experience outside of Kyoto. And Kunou decided that she wanted to move in with Ken-nii."
Kunou proudly declared that she was waiting for a response from the people she informed about it first.
"Oh."
"Ugh."
Kensei seemed surprised and Claire seemed irritated after hearing that.
"I wouldn't mind Kunou moving in here. We have enough room," Claire already realized that Kensei wouldn't turn down anyone who was in need, which was something that she admitted that she loved. "Besides, it would be the perfect opportunity for both you and Claire to get along better."
""Great~""
Both Claire and Kunou said in a faux ecstatic tone as both rolled their eyes.
"Neither of you sounds interested in it."
Kensei said smirking slightly as he placed his hand on both their heads in a comforting manner.
"Come on, can't the two of you manage to get along?"
Kensei spoke in his usual tone, but it sounded a little more serious to them, which both Claire and Kunou sensed as their respective gazes were turned from one another.
They realized that Kensei wasn't the kind of person who would make demands in this manner without the purest intentions behind them. Neither of them also didn't want to do anything that disappointed him and realized that it would be pointless and childish to fight like this all the time.
"Kunou-san, I want to graciously welcome you to the Amagiri Residence," Claire said as she stuck her hand out. "I will give my best effort in ensuring that you're able to adjust well here."
"Claire-san, I'm grateful to be allowed to live here and experience more about the world. I will give my best effort into contributing as much as possible."
Kunou said gasping Claire's hand as both of them shook hands.
"That's good," Kensei said as he surprisingly kissed both Claire and Kunou on their cheeks causing them to turn bright red from the suddenness. Not mentioning a single thing on the matter, he got out of bed and gave a slight smirk as he turned to face them. "I didn't want to come up with a punishment for one of the girls I adore."
Claire's and Kunou's faces turned brighter at the mention of that, but before Kensei could walk outside the room, he was stopped from stepping outside of the room.
"Oh, Ken-nii. There was something else that Kunou needed to tell you."
"Oh, what is it?"
"There have been some odd incidents in Kyoto for quite some time. But, it wasn't something that Hahaue and the others needed to be concerned about since it didn't involve or endanger youkai. However, most of the incidents started escalating into something that's starting to concern them."
"What happened?"
Kensei turned around sounding and looking more serious than before as Kunou started explaining the situation to them. As the words left her mouth, both of them stared at the Kyoto Princess surprised and stunned about the words leaving her mouth.
Minutes later, everyone found themselves downstairs, dressed in their usual school uniforms, and Kunou dressed in more casual clothing. Kensei and Alice found themselves sitting on the couch, while Claire and Kunou were in the kitchen cooking breakfast, although, based on their looks, it was more competing. However, Kensei had his attention directed toward the television, but he was instead watching the news media.
On the television, it was a male reporter standing in front of a populated location that looked to have been riddled with bullets and further wrecked using explosives of some kind. Kensei could also see policemen and ambulances dealing with the situation and taking the injured.
[Here behind me is one of the incidents caused by an unknown group of extremists who appeared suddenly days ago. Since then, their protests have started becoming more and more frequent compared to the first time that their group makes their depute. But, this is the first time that their protests have escalated into this level of violence. We have received information about their leader or where they're housed, but all we know is their varied motivations. Based on the first time they protested out into the open, which appeared to be disarranged, speaking towards the personal tragedies in their lives. However, there was a single name that came up.]
After the male reporter seemed to retrieve something from beside him, then pointed it toward the camera. It was a black flyer that has words printed out in white and insignia of a kind of phantom that looked to have the kanji for "darkness", which was Yami.
[Whoever these people work under, they appear to refer to themselves as the shadows who work under those who reside in the darkness. Whatever this means, the number of casualties and wounded from this incident is a tragedy that cannot be ignored. We have almost twenty people murdered and twelve injured through some kind of explosion triggered by a device on his hand, but police have yet to find anything.]
Having watched what happened himself, Kensei turned it to another channel before leaning back on the couch as several thoughts started going through his head. Based on what Kunou had told him, there were similar people around Kyoto doing the same thing and causing a ruckus.
"A lot happened in the days that we weren't here. I don't even know where these guys even came from, but now they're causing trouble in Kyoto."
Kensei said as he crossed his arms taking in what he heard from the news.
"Kensei, is this going to trigger something else?"
Alice questioned worried after hearing about the lives that were lost and the people who were wounded from that single incident.
"I don't know where these guys came from, whoever they are. But, there's no doubt that they're fanatics who have some kind of unusual reason behind their deeds. I might have to look into this a little more to find out what their motives are."
"But, they're normal humans, right? So, shouldn't this be left in the hands of the police?"
Alice brought up a reasonable point since none of them should get involved in every single situation that occurs in the normal world. However, if it was unavoidable or if it happened right in front of them, all of them would get involved.
"You're right, but Kunou mentioned that one of the youkai working under Yasaka-san was listening to the protest and sensed something inside the one leading it."
"Weird, how?"
"The person under Yasaka-san thought that the guy leading the protest at that time wasn't a normal human. But, they might have been someone with supernatural powers like us."
Hearing those words caused Alice to gasp as it meant that someone who had sacred gear or other powers was getting involved in the real world without caring about the result.
"If that's the cause, then we have to find out who this person is," Alice said feeling more determined as she leaned forward, but then looked to see that Claire and Kunou were more focused on cooking. "But, we also have to focus on planning Claire's birthday party at the same time."
"Don't worry, nothing is going to disturb that no matter what happens. Besides, if there's someone out there with supernatural powers stirring up trouble in Japan and involving normal people. Then there's a chance that the Five Principal Clans have already gotten themselves involved in this situation," Kensei answered Alice as he continued. "Knowing those guys, they're already looking into this situation since sacred gear users are already something that some of their members have a strong distaste for. More so, if it endangers the normal people and threatens to reveal the existence of the supernatural to the public."
"Do you think that they'll come here then?"
Kensei realized that question was directed toward all the people among their group and children who either had sacred gear or were a part of a different species.
"Despite being the Last Amagiri, even those from the Five Principal Clans wouldn't enter someone else's territory and cause trouble for the people. Besides, it would be in their best interest to remain on my good side more so if either of them plans on attempting to marry another one of their members in an attempt to build a stronger link to the Amagiri Clan."
"They'll have to go after me, Claire, and Hisui first."
Alice uttered under her breath as she glanced to the side irritated after hearing that.
"What was that?"
"I asked, does the Amagiri Clan still have that much influence though you're the last one?"
"Alright," Kensei didn't know whether or not that was the first since from time to time, it can be hard to tell what was going on in Alice's head. "Well, even though the rest of the clan is going, it doesn't remove all that they were able to accomplish. And that alone is enough to earn the respect of other Japanese clans. So, don't worry about anyone from those five clans coming for you all."
After giving her a reassuring smile, Alice found herself leaning forward toward him and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to give a faint blush. More so after seeing the more genuine smile on her face instead of the usually faint one that he'd see from her, instead Alice looked to be showing more of her emotions.
"Well, that was unexpected."
Kensei said giving a slight smirk.
"Well, even I find myself wanting to show my feeling to you sometimes. But, it wouldn't be right if I was the first to go to that level."
Alice said somewhat knowingly as she smiled and tilted her head slightly, showing an adorable face.
""Nii-san/Ken-nii, Alice-nee/Alice-san, we're finished breakfast.""
Both Claire and Kunou called out in perfect unison, causing both the older teens' attention.
Hearing that from her, Kensei and Alice started heading towards the table, where both the younger teens placed breakfast. Having looked at the breakfast they prepared, it was more extravagant than what would be cooked by a single person alone.
"Wow, this all looks delicious girls."
Alice found herself speaking out loud impressed.
"Hmmhmm, Kunou has learned cooking from Hahaue herself."
Kunou declared proudly placing both hands on her hips and showing an equally proud smirk.
Hearing those words from Kunou caused Claire to roll her eyes, but not negatively as she also crossed her arms before all of them took a seat at the table.
[Itadakimasu!]
Having announced those words, the four of them started eating the food placed in front of them and relishing the delicious taste of the breakfast. For some time, all of them ate without speaking a word until Kensei, the house owner started speaking first.
"Well, Kunou, I'll arrange that you'll be transferred to the same school as Claire and Iris," he started before pointing out the obvious. "But, that might take me some time since I wasn't informed about it beforehand."
"Hehehe, Kunou's sorry about that. Hahaue mentioned that I should wait, but Kunou got too excited about being able to live in the same house as Ken-nii."
Kunou replied jokingly and almost embarrassed as she cutely stuck out her tongue.
"Well, the three of you won't be middle school third-years anymore and move on to being high school first years in Kibou Academy with us. So, all of us will be able to attend the same school for some time. There are some clubs that I think that you'd be interested in joining."
"Kunou wants to join whatever club Ken-nii is a part of."
That response was something that Kensei would have expected from Kunou due to the amount of affection that she has shown toward him.
"Well, not that I would mind. But, I'm the Vice-Captain of the Public Morals Committee and that means that I'm the school police. I enforce the school rules and give punishments to those who break them based on just how serious the crime was. And well aside from being able to leave classes whenever I want, I can move around as I like in retrieving students who broke the rules as long as I don't break anything."
"Well, Kunou doesn't care as long as she gets to be around Ken-nii. And besides, Kunou gets to witness Ken-nii being amazing firsthand."
"Alright, fine, then I'll consider you as a future member. All of the current members aside from me are third-year students, so I'll need to find some new members."
"Then could become the Vice-Captain if Ken-nii becomes the Captain."
"That position is already taken and reserved."
Claire spoke up as she continued eating her food with the adeptness of a noblewoman.
"Hah, Claire-san is always attempting to get one over on Kunou."
"That was already decided long before you decided to move in. I'm sorry, but you snooze, you lose."
In response to those words, Kunou stuck her tongue out toward Claire in defiance, which caused Claire to once again roll her eyes.
"Oh, Nii-san. Almost all the students in my classes and school were talking about your childhood friend. She looks as if she became rather popular among everyone in a short period."
"Well, that sounds like Minako. She always leaves an impression on people."
"Ugh, Minako-san."
Hearing that name, in particular, caused Kunou to allow a light groan to escape from her mouth as she leaned a bit forward. All three of them could tell that based on that alone that there was some ill will of some kind, which was between Kunou and Minako.
"Did Minako do something to you, Kunou?"
Kensei asked curiously.
"No, that's the thing, Minako-san hasn't done anything wrong to Kunou."
"Oh, so you're that kind of person?"
Claire replied and smirking lightly, which caused Kunou to blush.
"K-Kunou isn't that kind of person, b-but if K-Ken-nii…."
"We're not even going to walk down that road," Kensei said stopping Kunou from proceeding down that thought a faintly embarrassed look formed on his face at the thought alone. "Now, what did you mean, Kunou?"
"Well, before Claire-san interrupted Kunou. I was referring to the fact that there wasn't anything that Kunou could talk back about Minako-san at all," Kunou replied. "To be honest Kunou was sad when Ken-nii went missing and Minako-san came to console me, then talked to me since we were both engaged to marry Ken-nii. She continued to talk to me until I felt resolved that Ken-nii would return."
"Then why don't you like, Minako?"
Alice questioned after tilting her head causing Kunou to groan again.
"Because Kunou can't find anything to hate about Minako-san," Kunou admitted as she wined causing the three of them to stare at her confused. "Kunou is the second fiancée and Minako-san is the first fiancée, she is meant to be the greatest obstacle to Ken-nii's affection. But, it's almost as if she doesn't have anything that Kunou can hate about her, and that frustrates her more."
"Does there need to be a competition for my affection? I mean, it doesn't change the fact that I care about all four of you any more than the other."
Hearing those honest words from Kazuki caused the three of them to give a faint blush as the three started eating their breakfast in a more rushed manner. Seeing this from them caused Kensei to smile and shake his head from side to side before talking more about Kunou's living situation and moving her belongings inside the appropriate bedroom. Although, there was one thing that Kensei needed to handle….
"Claire, will this be alright?"
"It's fine, Nii-san."
After heading out to school, there was a slight difference for some of them. Riding on top of Claire's shoulder was Kunou who transformed herself into a nine-tailed fox small enough to fit on her shoulder. Kensei also made it so that anyone outside the supernatural world couldn't register her presence by altering her ki. And if there was an incident, then Claire could hide her using demonic power.
The reason for this was that Kensei didn't want Kunou to remain in the house alone and wanted Kunou to get a tour around the school first. So, this was the best option to solve that.
"I have to admit that Kunou-san is cute as a little fox," Claire pointed out feeding Kunou's pride before giving out her smug smirk. "Now, all she needs to do is remain like this and not talk."
"Hey, Kunou, won't…!"
"Shhh, it would be weird seeing a fox talking."
Claire replied smirking causing Kunou to keep her mouth closed as though it made people unable to register her, people might still be able to hear her.
"Now now, don't fight."
Having reached the point where all of them would be breaking off to head off to their schools Kensei and Alice stopped for a moment to face both of them.
"So, can I aspect that you two will get along?"
Kensei asked as he turned to face Claire and Kunou who seemed to have a different expressions on their face.
""Yes, we'll get along, Nii-san/Ken-nii.""
Both Claire and Kunou replied somewhat emotionlessly, but Kensei knew that the two of them would at least try to get along with one another. He then reached his hand out to pet both of them on their heads causing both the girls to glance at one another for a moment.
"Well, Kunou-san should be grateful that I took the time to make her a bento box too. You will be able to return to your normal size during lunch with a friend of mine who eats with me at a special place."
"And I guess that I'm grateful that Claire-san is doing this for me."
Both Claire and Kunou replied as the latter started heading in the direction of her school, which will soon become the school that she'll attend. Having seen both of them off, Kensei and Alice gave off a somewhat dry laugh as a single question left the latter's mouth.
"Are you sure that those two will be alright together?"
Alice asked thinking about all the arguments that the two have had thus far.
"I'm positive that Claire and Kunou will be able to get along with one another as long as I'm not a part of whatever those two are talking about."
"Ah, so you are aware of that? I thought that most men would be oblivious about that."
Alice replied wearing a sly smile.
"I'm not an idiot, Alice," Kensei said as he glanced toward Alice. "I can't only see something so many times before I get the point. I was the kind of child who could learn something after seeing it once."
"Well, that's 'cause you're a natural battle maniac."
"You've been speaking up a bit more than usual, Alice. I'll have you know that my grades are above-average and sometimes better than yours."
Kensei pointed out as he poked Alice in her cheek to the point where it was pressed into it, which caused Alice to give a cheerful giggle.
"Whatever, let's head off to school."
Alice added as she started heading off toward the direction of their school without saying anything else.
"She's starting to become more cheeky, but there's nothing wrong with that. I guess."
Having arrived at school, Kensei found himself sitting inside the classroom during the third period with him, Zane, and Alice sitting near one another. Lena, on the other hand, was in the same class as Maria and Layla. Almost all the students were able to have some free time to talk among themselves until their next teacher walked inside the classroom.
"Ah, so the Kyoto Princess is now living with you all too."
Zane pointed out not recalling hearing those words from Kensei.
"Yea, well, it was kinda sprung on us at the last second. But, I don't mind Kunou living with us. Right, Alice?"
"It's no problem."
"But, doesn't she and Claire have some kind of rivalry."
"There's nothing wrong with having a rival. My dad and mom were rivals once."
Kensei replied to Zane, seeing no problem in having a rival as it meant both sides developed during the rivalry.
"Didn't you mention the two of them tried killing each other once?"
Zane questioned as he turned toward Kensei with a raised brow.
"Well, they didn't."
Kensei nonchalantly replied.
"I'd say that your family is weird, but I have no right to say that to someone else," Zane said recalling that he and most of his other family members are all eccentrics. "Well, I'll have an Oracle Phone prepared for her too. I'm thinking about making some modifications to make them easier to haul around."
"Hey, did you guys hear about those terrorists who killed those people over the news and online?"
"Yea, it was super scary."
"I hope nothing happens here."
Kensei, Alice, and Zane could hear some students talking to one another about the recent incidents involving the terrorists who were over the news. It wasn't surprising as the incidents started sometime after they traveled to the Norse World and Kensei recently heard about it from Kunou.
"Right, then there's that group who appeared, while we were gone."
Zane pointed out as he pulled out his laptop, then went to different pages that he previously tagged, then turned it so both Kensei and Alice could see.
"I searched through different news articles and reports that I procured from the police," Zane said as he showed it all to them, but by procured from the police, he meant hacked into their systems and copied it. "I'll send all that I was able to find out to the others. But, based on the reports from the people the police managed to arrest nearly most of them were completely destitute or had serious issues whether it was financial or familial. Also, almost all of them were almost catatonic, so the police weren't able to gather much intel about their leader or members."
"So, it might have something to do with the supernatural or the leader might just be that good at brainwashing. It looks like whoever the leader is, they're taking advantage of the most vulnerable of people."
"Is it something that we might need to get involved in?"
"There's a chance of that, but we finished business in the Norse World, fought against the Valkyrie Squad, then Niðhöggr. I know that I'm someone who loves a good fight, but all that happened on almost the same day. And we're planning Claire's birthday."
Both of them could see that despite Kensei being a battle maniac, he could, of course, prioritize important things such as Claire's birthday and not look for the next fight.
"Well, that's good to hear. We can do with a break until needing to work on anything else," Zane stated as he closed his laptop as their next teacher started walking inside the classroom. "Speaking of the Norse World, have anyone kept in contact with the Valkyrie Squad?"
"Rose and I have been talking to one another from time to time since then," Alice replied referring to Rossweisse by her nickname, showing how close the two of them had become. "She offered to teach me magic since it would make it easier to defend myself."
"I talk to Brynhildr sometimes too. She became more interested in the Shinto Faction since then and more about the swordplay here compared to here."
"That's good. After getting the Kibou Alliance built, it wouldn't be bad to remain in contact with them."
"I've been meaning to ask. What are you planning on making the cover for the new building? It would be weird if a new building came out of nowhere without a cover of some kind."
"I have that planned too. But, we'll talk about it later."
After saying those words, Kensei, Alice, and Zane focused on the lesson that their teacher was going them at the moment. As such, their school day proceeded from their class period and lunch until it was time for all of them to either go home or attend club activities. Zane and Lena, who joined Computer Club were attending their meeting. Maria and Layla had to attend Student Council meetings. Hisui and Rui were at their usual meetings inside the Newspaper Club.
And Alice who was a member of the Art Club was now at their usual meeting, but he heard several times that she could be the Vice-President. However, she wasn't the kind of person to take on that role even though her art skills were almost comparable to his skill in using a sword.
However, Kensei had the admit that being a member of the Public Morals Committee was the easiest compared to the other two among the Three Great Powers. Most of what the club members do was giving all their reports about the student's crimes to the Captain. And finally, the Captain would give his speech and respond to their reports, then they could leave.
"Well, that's one of the benefits of being a member of the Public Morals Committee. If there isn't anything serious to discuss, then we can leave and still have the rest of the afternoon free."
"Ah, Kensei-kun, perfect, you're still here."
Kensei stopped after hearing a familiar voice calling out to him.
He turned around to find a dark-haired young man who looked older than him, dressed in the school uniform and wearing the Captain armband for the Morale Public Committee. He was the Captain who looked the part of being a serious leader but could be gentle when he needed to.
"Did you need something, Captain Akimura?"
In front of him was Hideki Akimura, the current Captain of the Public Morales Committee.
"Well, it's not something important, I wanted to talk to you for a moment," the Captain said as stood in a posture that looked to belong to a soldier. "There aren't that many people who would want to join our club since it may end up making them disliked by the students. And I was worried that after we graduated, there wouldn't be anyone to take it seriously. So, I was surprised and glad to hear that a first-year wanted to join us."
"Well, it was anything important. It gives me some freedom to move around as I like. And besides, I don't like the thoughts of male students peeping on female students or anything like that. Plus, Kibou Academy has a great amount of importance to my family."
"Ah, right. It was your family who had a hand in building Kibou Academy a long time ago."
"Yea, something like that."
Kensei replied smiling lightly.
In actuality, Kibou Academy was originally where the Amagiri Clan's main shrine was located, which is the place where the leylines are most active. But, it was soon moved to another location after realizing that the leylines where it was currently located would be more appropriate. At some point, one of the Clan Heads had the idea of building a school on top of it and used the leylines under it to reinforce it. However, it was both rebuilt and remodeled to match the current period, which was finished sometime before the massacre.
"Well, I'm happy that I can leave things to you when the time comes for us to leave and head out to college. If a school is without people watching over the students' actions and keeping order, then things tend to fall apart. Well, I won't keep you here any longer."
Hideki started wearing a smile, resting a hand on his shoulder before walking away.
"Ever the dutiful Captain, huh," Kensei said as he was wondering what he was going to do next for the rest of the day. Before long, a thought did start crossing his mind. "Ah, I have an idea. But, based on their response, it might turn into a disaster."
Kensei reached inside his pocket after going to a discrete location, then pulled out his Oracle Phone.
[Hello, Nii-san.]
"Hello, Claire," Kensei started. "So, where are you right now?"
[Uh, me, Iris, and Kunou are heading toward Kibou Academy. Iris was called over by Maria so the three of them could leave home together.]
"Ah, that's perfect," Kensei said smiling lightly. "I thought that Kunou would need some things since it was decided that she'd be living with us. And I have some free time, so I thought that the three of us can head out to the department store together to purchase some things."
[….]
There was a silence, on the other end of the line, causing Kensei to wonder as he couldn't hear anyone.
"What you don't want to…?"
[[No, I want to go out shopping with Nii-san/Ken-nii!]]
He could hear Claire and Kunou responding to that on the other end of the line without him needing to put them on speaker. Kensei was sure that Iris had to cover her ears, although, he couldn't see her for himself.
"Alright, both of you can head back home to get dressed if you want to, then I'll come and bring Iris to the Student Council Room."
[Alright!]
Both Claire and Kun replied in unison again, causing him to give a faint laugh about it before handing it up.
"Alice might be sad that I didn't invite her, but most of the time she remains in the Art Room until it's time for them to leave. Even if the club president wants to leave, barely we can get Alice to move if she gets in the zone. Well, I should go and pick up Iris."
Kensei said to himself as he started heading out to meet Iris who was already en route toward Kibou Academy.
Afterward, Kensei found himself standing inside the department store of Kibou Town, dressed in his casual attire, looking around at the three floors and stores, as light shined down from the glass atrium. Standing right beside him were Claire and Kunou, both of whom were dressed in more showy attire. Claire was dressed in a much more Gothic Lolita outfit that fit her facial features. And Kunou was dressed in a cute white dress that matches hers.
Kensei was honest about what he thought about their dresses and told them such, which caused both their faces to turn bright red. All three of them continued walking through the department store as both Claire and Kunou held onto his hand smiling brightly. The moment they started walking past a crowd of people, several of them were caught staring at them.
After staring at Claire and Kunou, most of the normal people believed that the two of them looked too adorable to be human almost like they were being bewitched.
"Well, I wasn't expecting these two to go this far in wanting to go out with me. It almost makes it difficult for me to control myself from staring at how adorable and beautiful these two look," Kensei said smiling unsure about what he was supposed to be feeling at the moment. "So, where should we go first?"
Kensei decided to ask Kunou that first since this entire trip for the most part was ensuring that she had what she needed in moving inside the Amagiri Residence.
"Oh, uh, I think that Kunou needs to find a bed and sheets first for her room."
"If that is the case, then I think there's a store that sells both of that on the second floor," Claire pointed out as she glanced towards the second floor of the department store. "It'll be possible for them to deliver it to our house and I think that the same place sells things that you can decorate your room with."
"Then let's head there."
Kensei said smiling that Claire was assisting Kunou without showing their usual intense rivalry.
Instead, both of them decided to leave that aside for now and enjoy the time that they were spending with the one person they adored. As Claire said, the store that was on the second floor sells beds, sheets, and other things used to decorate one's bedroom. Once there, Kunou went through different beds until finding the one that felt the best for her.
She and Claire later went through different sheets and decorations that could go along with her new bedroom. Of course, Kensei couldn't do much to assist them in choosing them, not that he'd ruin the moment the two of them shared. Having paid for the bed, bedding, and additional items, the three headed towards their next location, which was almost impossible for him to enter without feeling a little uncomfortable.
A woman's clothing store, although, he didn't want to enter it, Kensei was dragged inside by a giggling Claire and Kunou. At that moment, he believed that they were doing this on purpose to embarrass him. Having met a female clerk who overheard Claire and Kunou referring to him as "Nii-san" and "Ken-nii". He could have sworn that she said, "Ah, so they have that kind of relationship", before leading the two girls to the clothes.
There were moments when they asked what he thought about the clothing and he was honest with them, which stirred them into purchasing them. The reason was that neither of them looked bad in the clothing picked up by them, but he tried ignoring the comments from the female clerk. However, during that experience, Kensei had an odd feeling that someone was looking in his direction.
It wasn't an uncomfortable or unpleasant stare or feeling, but it was something that broke his concentration when he was out with Claire and Kunou. Each time, he had turned toward the source or tried sensing out for their ki, he couldn't sense anything aside from normal humans. Most of them were students Kensei recognized from school, causing him to become somewhat curious.
However, as time passed, nothing happened and was allowed to just spend his time with Claire and Kunou until the three found themselves sitting outside of a food establishment eating. They're sitting at a table outside with all their orders being brought to them a couple of minutes ago.
"Hah, I had fun hanging out with Ken-nii and Claire-san today."
Kunou said as she smiled cheerfully after finishing the food that she purchased, then moved on to the crepe.
"I do have to admit that it was fun hanging out with Nii-san and Kunou-san. Although, it would have been better if it was the two of us alone."
Claire started wearing a light smirk as she bit into the crepe that she had eaten, not noticing that there was some cream from the crepe on her lips.
"Well, I wouldn't act so smug," Kensei laughed as he extended his finger toward her lips, surprising Claire. "More so, when you have cream on your lips. You got to be more careful, or you'll stain that cute dress."
"…!"
She flinched as she felt him wiping the cream off her lips and brushing past them, which seemed to be in slow motion for her. Kunou, who was staring at the scene wore a stunning look like the people who happened to glance in their direction did the same. After witnessing him eating it without hesitation, Claire felt her entire face heating up almost as if it were on fire.
"…!"
Claire couldn't come up with a single response as she looked down at the table without even glancing at him. It was the first time that he had done something like that and it was an experience that her mind couldn't process immediately.
"Ken-nii, look!"
Kensei laughed wryly as he looked to see Kunou's cheek smeared in cream from her crepe, but it wasn't at all accidental. He decided to humor her anyway, then wiped the cream from her cheeks and ate it, causing her to giggle and gained a faint blush too.
"Ah, I swear," Kensei sighed before pulling out money and placing it on the table. "I'll be right back. I need to head to the bathroom, and then a shop for a moment. But, if the clerk comes back before I come back, then just pay for the meal using this, okay?"
"J-Just leave, Nii-san!"
Claire replied still flushed about what happened moments ago.
Kensei walked away laughing after hearing that demand from her, as Claire tried calming herself down after that sudden reaction; even as a couple of minutes passed. After seeing Claire's reaction to what Kensei did, Kunou started wearing a smug smile on her face and giggled.
"Ah, not so high-and-mighty now, huh, Claire-san."
Kunou said causing Claire to look more embarrassed after that was brought up.
"W-Well, at least, Nii-san did it for me first."
Claire replied covering somewhat from what had happened.
"Oh, well, at least, I didn't turn brighter than a tomato."
Kunou countered as she smirked towards Claire wearing a smugger look, causing sparks to occur between both of them. It seemed to become more intense by the moment as their faces started getting closer to one another, it stopped after hearing a light laugh coming from the table behind them.
"I'm sorry, if I interrupted," a girl could be heard laughing behind them. "But, you two are just too adorable."
The two girls turned around to find a black-haired girl with brown eyes, dressed in a loose blouse and jeans, as well as a hat. Neither Claire nor Kunou could deny that she was beautiful, as she appeared to be the same age as Kensei and the other first-year high school students. However, she didn't recognize her from around town or from some of the other girls in school.
"Ah, I apologize if we interrupted you."
Claire apologized, but the girl waved her hand.
"I should be the one to apologize, but I couldn't help speaking up."
She replied still laughing a little bit before turning herself around revealing the three empty crepe packets on her table, but couldn't see anyone else at the table.
"To be honest, I was born with a sweet tooth. So, I tend to also favor things that I find sweet and adorable."
"…?"
Kunou stared at the girl as there was a slight feeling that she knew her from somewhere and heard those words.
"So, I couldn't help overhearing you all. So, is that person who walked off your older brother," she asked pointing in the direction where Kensei had walked off. "Oh, I mean older brother figure."
"Um, yes."
"That's sooo cute. So, you wouldn't mind me asking what makes you see him like that?"
Claire could hear that question seemed to be more directed towards her instead of Kunou who was still staring at the girl wondering if she knew her. But, there was something about her that seemed to be neither negative nor oppressive, instead, it made her almost want to talk to her. However, there was soon a collective scream that came from another direction catching their attention.
Almost seconds later, there was the sound of gunshots being fired into the air, causing more people to scream at the sounds reaching their ears. Claire, Kunou, and the girl all looked worried about what had just happened right at that moment. Rushing inside the department store from the entrance and where the people were all gathered was an entire group of armed men dressed in full black equipment, which covered their faces, and walking in front of them all was a man who didn't bother covering his face.
"This isn't good, Nii-san."
Claire said not expecting this situation at all as she realized who these people were.
On the second floor, Kensei was inside the bathroom washing his hands and had used the restroom before he checked on the item in his pocket.
"Well, that wasn't difficult at all to find. But, it was kinda awkward talking to the female clerk about this," he said in an embarrassed manner. "But, I'm just happy that I was able to find…."
As Kensei was standing in the bathroom alone as he heard what appeared to be…no, it was gunshots, which reached his ears. It didn't take him even a second to react to the sound as he rushed toward the bathroom entrance to leave. Seconds later, he noticed that the bathroom door was opening forward causing him to stop in front of the door suddenly.
"Huh, ah! I found someone in here!"
A man dressed in black and armed with an assault rifle aimed squarely at Kensei's head.
"…."
Kensei remained silent as several men started walking forward, from what he could count it was seven men with their guns pointed at him after entering the bathroom.
"Huh, there was someone inside the bathroom?"
"Whatever, just get him downstairs with the others."
"Come on, get moving."
"…."
Kensei remained silent and motionless as one of them ordered him to move, but he didn't seem fazed at all.
"Didn't you just hear me? I said to get moving!"
"Tch, I guess someone here doesn't know the position he's in."
"You know, you remind me of this guy who stole my girlfriend when I was still in high school," one of the men in an aggressive tone as he holstered his rifle and approached him cracking his knuckles. "You look nothing alike at all, but he was this arrogant asshole who felt he was better than me. And I never did get the chance to give that arrogant jackass a good walloping."
"Come on, seriously."
"At least, hurry up, we got a schedule to keep. Just beat him up, then drag him over with the others."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't want to make Dougal mad."
The man said as he cracked his knuckles and approached Kensei who remained in the same spot, then aimed a straightforward punch at him.
But, without reacting, Kensei stopped his punch with the palm of his hand, causing the man to react as he wasn't able to move it an inch.
"W-What the hell?!"
"Come on, I thought that you were going to give the kid a good walloping."
His comrades started laughing at him as he struggled to get in one punch at Kensei, then screamed as he felt his hand tighten around his fist and put more strength into the grip. He placed his hand on Kensei's wrist trying to pry his hand off him, but it was pointless.
"L-Let go of me, y-you piece of…gah!"
The instant that he freed his hand, the man was shocked as Kensei wrapped his hand around his throat, then lifted him into the air. Seeing that surprised me since the man had a bigger build compared to Kensei, but he was now being lifted into the air using a single hand.
"Shoot this…waah!"
Kensei flung the man toward the wall behind him, causing a hard impact that forced the air from the man's mouth as he was knocked unconscious.
"W-What the hell?!"
After seeing that several of the men tried pulling the trigger, but was stopped as Kensei appeared in front of them kicking three of them into the left wall and knocking them out. Another man pointed the gun at his head, preparing to pull the trigger, and sprayed bullets at his head. Kensei avoided them all by moving his head back, then reached a single hand out and broke the rifle.
"Eh? Kuh!"
The man, who had his rifle broken spat blood out from his mouth as his palm was slammed again his chest and it blew him backward into the wall. This left one man behind as he shakily pointed his rifle at him, but didn't pull the trigger as Kensei stared at him with cold eyes.
"Get away from me, you monster!"
The man pulled the trigger, spraying bullets at him, but Kensei simply raised his hand as he shined with a blue aura without fearing the bullets. At that moment, all the bullets stopped in front of his hand before they came into contact with his hand and fell to the ground.
"W-What the hell?"
"I'm going to give you the count of five to explain who you people are before I show you something that might not give you a shock. You know, kinda like this."
Kensei said showing the man his hand, which shined with a blue aura as he started extending outwards forming a blade without a definite shape. He pointed the makeshift blade at his neck threateningly.
"Who are you, people?"
"We are the shadows forsaken and forgotten about the people living under the sun. We decided that if the people living under the sun decided we should remain in the shadows, then we'll become the shadows. And drag all the people who forgot about down to our level!"
After hearing that from the man, Kensei could tell there wasn't the slightest hint of rationality behind his words. A sigh escaped from his mouth as he made the makeshift blade vanish causing the man to point his gun at him for a second time. But, the moment he did, he couldn't find Kensei behind him and felt an impact on his neck the force behind it knocked him unconscious.
"These guys are fanatics," Kensei said as he retrieved his Oracle Phone, then contacted Zane, Maria, and Hisui, all of which should still be in their club meetings or at least finishing them. "Guys, we have a situation."
[Huh, what?]
[What happened this time?]
[Does Ken Ken need our assistance?]
He heard the response from Zane, Maria, and Hisui.
"Do you know the guys from the news," Kensei replied as the three of them seemed to nod their heads. "Well, I think there's a group of them inside the mall at the moment. At most, I can count at least twenty people…well, twenty-seven if you count the people I knocked out right now. One of them looks to be a sacred gear user."
[Great, I didn't think that we'd run into those guys here of all places.]
[I thought that those people were reported to have been found further from Kibou Town. There should be all other towns closer to the places they were originally founded. Unless this is another group different from the ones who were reported over the news. There's even a sacred gear user among this one.]
Kensei could hear in Maria's tone that she was going over the situation with herself.
[What do you need us to do?]
Zane asked prepared to do anything to assist them.
"I want to get this settled as fast as possible before these guys start taking lives," Kensei started as he started to approach them and sensed outside of the building. "I can sense that some people were able to escape, but a lot of them are being held in the middle of the first floor. There are also some armed men attempting to find more hostages on the second and third floors. I can sense the police arriving here, so there shouldn't be much time until they attempt to negotiate with them. Before that, I'll leave talismans, one on the second floor and another one on the third floor that'll allow Maria and Hisui to transport them there. Zane, if possible can you take control over all of the cameras inside of the department store to remove anything supernatural."
[[[Got it!]]]
The three of them replied, agreeing to the plan that he devised for them.
"I'll place one of them inside of the second-floor girl's bathroom and another one in the third-floor girl's bathroom," Kensei explained as he could hear the snickering sound from Hisui, but decided to ignore it. "I'll inform Claire too so that she'll be prepared to act too. I'll keep the telepathic link on in case something happens."
Having placed the Oracle Phone back inside his pockets, then used a spell to ensure that neither of them would be able to leave or move using their strength. Finally, he exited the men's bathroom and proceeded with their plan of leaving talismans inside the female bathrooms on the second and third floors.
Meanwhile, on the first floor where all the people were gathered together in a circle with five armed men who had stood around them. Among them were Claire, Kunou, and the black-haired girl who remained beside them silently, merely surveying the entire situation.
"Claire-san, what're we going to do?"
Kunou asked as low as possible since she couldn't converse with her telepathically using an Oracle Phone.
"Nii-san and the others are moving fast to take care of the others on the top floors. Kunou-san, would it be possible to transport all the people here inside another space using a Sunshower Barrier?"
"I could, but it might take some time for me to concentrate since I would also need to do it without these people noticing what I'm doing to do. Kunou will have to move behind you."
Kunou replied as she started shuffling back as she went behind Claire without letting either of the people around them notice her move, then made a seal using her hands and released youki without anyone noticing.
At the same moment, a man dressed in a long hooded cloak and a necklace with a black gem around his neck. A man walked behind him wearing an almost dangerous look on his face. The cloaked man stepped in front of the people before removing the hood, revealing his blonde hair with black tattoos on the right side of his face as both his sadistic eyes stared toward his hostages.
"Gahaha, I wanted to welcome you all to our little presentation here in this wonderful store. I, am Dougal, among the leaders of the shadows who work under those cloaked in darkness," Dougal had introduced himself to their hostages. "I'm sure that you all have heard about our little group over the news recently. Well, I am among one the unfortunate who has been an outcast in the current world we live in due to unique circumstances. But, it wasn't until our benefactor advised me of the truth. There's no reason that I should be the one who's an outcast among the cretins even though I'm superior to you all!"
All the people forced into becoming his hostages started becoming more concerned as he started talking about a lot of things none of them could understand. Dougal started wagging his fingers as he placed his left hand on his right hip, then he started giggling to himself sadistically.
"Well, as our benefactor said that ignorance is bliss since neither of you can comprehend what true power is," he started speaking as he directed his hand toward the right. It caused his sleeve to be rolled down, revealing a ring that had magic inscriptions on them and a red stone placed in it. "But, I believe that a demonstration is in order."
His left hand released an odd aura as the ring shined a single color, which caused one of the stores that were in the direction of his hand to explode. After witnessing and hearing such as event the women started screaming as they witnessed the building being destroyed. All the men guarding them started laughing at their reaction.
"Well, isn't this great? He's a sacred gear user and insane."
Claire said worried as normal humans shouldn't learn what sacred gears or supernatural powers are since it may put them in a dangerous situation. After seeing them panicking after witnessing his powers firsthand, Dougal was laughing out loud with his voice echoing across the area.
"Hahahaha, this is what true power is. Did you see that my Variant Detonation combined with this ring that I received from our dear benefactor allows me to blow up anything without needing to touch them?! I can finally kill all the people who looked down on and abused me! Hahahaha, I love this! But, it appears as if there's a little one attempting to spoil the fun."
Having said those words, Dougal tilted his head as he sadistically turned his attention toward Claire. No, he was referring to Kunou who was sitting behind Claire causing the fox girl to shutter since she put in her best efforts to ensure that she wasn't found out.
"Keep working on the Sunshower Barrier. I'll do my best to…."
"That won't be needed."
Claire was stunned after seeing the black-haired girl sitting beside them start standing up.
"Wh-What're you doing? These people aren't normal…."
Claire attempted to convince the girl to return and sit down, but she stopped after noticing that the black-haired girl winked at her.
"Come on, I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye if I let you two handle things alone."
Having said those words, the girl stood up and waved her hand forward wearing a cheerful smile on her face with Dougal staring at her confused.
"Huh, I wasn't referring to you."
"I know, I know, I was just wondering if you could please overlook that girl," she requested as she placed both of her hands together. "You can't blame her for being scared and concerned for the innocent people. So, could I do something to make you overlook her?"
"Huh?"
Dougal looked confused as he stared at the girl standing in front of him. Despite the situation that she was in, she wasn't afraid of anything even when she was pleading for him to overlook Kunou who was still behind Claire with her hands together. Claire herself was staring at the girl shocked about what she was doing, but she couldn't get up since Kunou was still working behind her.
"Can you do something to overlook her, huh?"
Dougal said as he tilted his head and perversely stared at the girl before him. He could see her midriff due to the blouse that she was wearing and the jeans that seemed to fit her slender figure.
"Hehehe, how about you strip yourself naked and beg for that girl's life?!"
Dougal said out loud shocking the people who stood behind her started to feel concerned about her at this point as the girl remained unaffected about it. However, the men who were guarding them started to shout and whistle after hearing that.
"Hahahaha, that's an awesome idea!"
"Come on, start stripping!"
All the armed men started getting enticed by this idea.
"W-Wait, you d-don't have to…."
One of the male hostages tried standing up to defend the girl but was silenced as he was knocked back on the ground by the armed men.
"Oh, I'm afraid that I cannot do that," the girl said as she placed her hands together. "If I did that when I wouldn't be fit to become a bride and I wouldn't be able to look a certain person in the eye if I stripped in front of all these people."
"Huh, listen here, bitch! You're the one who suggested this idea! If you don't do this, then I start…."
"I meant that I wouldn't do it myself. I am still a woman with pride," she said surprising him as she smiled. "But, if one of your men tried stripping me themselves, then wouldn't that make it more interesting."
"…!"
Dougal was surprised about the words leaving her mouth, there wasn't even the slightest hint of neither fear or shame about the words. It honestly almost unnerved even him how she said all that without hesitating in the slightest as if she believed no one can touch.
"G-Gehehehe, hahahaha, fine, fine! I don't know whether or not you have a screw loose or something, but fine I'll grant you your wish! You go and do it."
Standing beside him, the silent and serious man pulled two different knives from his side, then spun them around in his hand. There was nothing more than an emotionless look on his face as the act of doing something like this to a girl didn't even phase him.
"Ah, please be gentle with me."
The girl said as the knife-wielding man approached her giving no hint of hesitation.
"What's she thinking?!"
Claire thought in her head as watched as the man stopped for a moment, then sped forward at the girl swinging his knife upward in an attempt to slice her blouse open. But, much to their surprise, the girl stepped back without letting it even graze the fabric. It wasn't even a normal movement, instead, it looked almost like a movement of a self-defense expert.
"Ah, I guess that that attempt didn't work~"
"Huh, what the fuck?! You said that…."
"No, I recall saying that they could try to strip me, but I never said I'd stay still and let them."
She casually replied as a vein seemed to appear on the surface of his forehead as his eyes glared at her.
"Do, whatever it takes to strip that bitch. I don't care even if you violet her in front of everyone!"
As if following that command the knife-wielder held out both his knives, then started making more honed, but also an assortment of erratic swipes at her. But, the girl seemed to anticipate the path of each blade as it was aimed at her and avoided them almost as if she were dancing. And that wasn't all there was to it, she was even able to put her hands on his wrist several times forcing them in several directions.
"Come on, is that the best that you can do?"
She taunted him as the man seemed to become mad for the first time since the fight started.
"W-What is…?"
Claire was shocked as she watched the teenage girl fighting off a knife user who should be someone that even a normal martial artist would have trouble with. But, that wasn't what shocked her, it was instead all the movements that she was using. She focused on the path of the knives, pushed on his wrists to redirect their paths, and used unique steps to ensure that she avoids them.
"All those self-defense movements, they're the same as what I learned…from Nii-san."
Claire knew that some martial arts had similar movements, but these were unique from the Amagiri Clan and were purely meant to be used on battlefields. After getting irritated by all the movements from this girl, the knife user made one final swing toward her. However, she avoided it and he left his back wide open, which she had taken full advantage of. She stepped right behind him, then at the same time aimed a kick for his side where his ribs were. Although it looked to be nothing more than a tab, there was a light wind blast as he was launched towards the wall and crashed into it.
"Well, is there anyone else who wants to try to strip me?"
She asked as shrugged her shoulders still smiling cheerfully, then turned around to find Dougal standing behind her pointing his left hand at her. She could see that he was irritated from all that happened from all of her taunts and egging them all on, which made no sense in his eyes.
"What the fuck was the point of coming out like this?! If you were skilled enough to do all that, then you should've been smart enough to know I would have done this. You must be crazier than I am!"
"I'm not crazy, you see, I'm just a spoiled girl," she admitted holding her hands out, but a smile was still plastered on her face. "I tend to get into troublesome and compromising situations without fear because a certain someone is going to swoop in to save me."
"And who's…?"
Dougal stopped after sensing a presence, a threatening one at that from above them all, which distracted him to the point where he disregarded the girl. He looked up to the third floor of the department store to find someone on the metal railing, but what shocked him most was the blue shining eyes staring down at him. It was Kensei on the railing holding an already unsheathed Kurogane in his hands.
"Kunou, now!"
"Right!"
Having received that signal, Kunou unleashed her youki, causing a sudden downpour inside the mall despite it being inside.
"What the fuck?"
"Why is it raining?"
"Did the sprinkler system go off?"
The moment those questions left their mouths, all of their hostages, who they were surrounding vanished without the slightest trace of their presence. Leaving Claire, herself, and the girl who remained beside a shocked Dougal who was still staring at the third floor.
"What happened to everyone?"
"They were just here!"
"Forget about them. Open fire!"
Receiving that order, all the men started opening fire but didn't hit Kensei who was using Shinsoku to run along with the vertical glass that was situated underneath the metal railing without falling. Neither of the bullets was able to even reach his shadow nor were the armed men able to even catch anything aside from afterimages. Because all their attention seemed to be focused on Kensei, they forgot about Claire and Kunou. So, none of them expected to be blasted away using demonic blasts and foxfire, which was released from her revealed tails.
After seeing that Dougal wasn't facing the girl and the five guards, Kensei took a position to propel himself forward toward him. From the third floor, he propelled himself using Shinsoku, approaching Dougal at speeds that had let him appear inches from in front of him.
"Moron, why the hell would you appear in front of me like that?! I'll show you my explosive…."
Dougal shouted as he was prepared to unleash a close-range blast, however, his entire left arm was sliced off in almost a second.
"Eh!"
He shouted as watched his arm soar in the air, before landing on the ground.
"Amagiri-ryuu – Gouki Kiritsu."
(Heavenly Mist Style: Great Demon Cutting)
One of the fastest sword techniques taught among the Amagiri-ryuu, which most demons were unable to follow even using their eyes.
"Graaaaah, my arm!"
Dougal shouted as blood spilled from his wound, then Kensei slashed Kurogane, removing what blood stained it. Oddly, the girl seemed to let a light smile grace her face after seeing him land on the ground without making a mistake in his descent.
"You're lucky that all you lost was an arm.
"Do you even know whose town you attacked," Kensei said angered about the fact that these people attacked all the people who were enjoying their peace in the department store. And some of the younger ones might end up with some trauma from the incident. "I don't know what kind of situation you went through, but what gave you the right to do the same to the people who want to live in peace? If you want to get off with something lighter than what I'm going to do to you, then I want to know exactly who you people are."
Kensei said as he approached Dougal who seemed to fall on the ground, then attempted to get away from him, but his words somewhat sprang up something in his head.
"H-Hahahahaha, so you're the one!"
Dougal started laughing much to Kensei's confusion.
"What does that mean?"
"I was told that if I decided to attack the people in this store, then I'd end up angering the person who ran this town," Dougal laughed out loud, then he reached for the black jewel on his necklace and sent a sadistic smile at Kensei. He gathered aura around the black gem, which seemed to let an ominous aura exude from it. "You might've been able to defeat our shadows, but you'll never be able to handle the coming darkness that'll consume this entire nation. Hahahaha, I might die, but I'll bring down this…gah!"
Dougal stopped as he noticed a black katana piercing his heart causing his last breaths to escape from them.
"I'm sorry, but that thing was letting out too much ominous ki to take the chance in letting you live."
Kensei said as he approached the gem holding a talisman in his hand so he could seal whatever power was hidden in it. The moment that Dougal died an unknown magic circle wrapped around it, reacting to the presence it exuded, he stepped right in front of the three girls. Kensei could sense that it wasn't anything normal, as if it was composed of darkness, however, the moment that it vanished, the presence faded away as if it wasn't there.
"What the hell is going on," Kensei asked out loud as he held out his hand causing a blue aura to cover his hand, then Kurogane returned to his hand without needing to touch it and wiped off the blood. "Alright, Kunou are the people in that dimension all knocked out."
"Yes, Ken-nii. Kunou made sure that all of them were knocked unconscious, but she doesn't know whether or not they'll forget about things completely."
"That's fine. It's because of situations like this, there are some people, including even the police here who know about the supernatural. And the Amagiri Clan knows how to handle incidents like this. You can bring out all of them."
"Alright, Ken-nii."
Kunou said as she released the seal, which brought out all the unconscious people who had been sent inside the dimension that she created. But, nearly all of them had an uncomfortable look on their face almost as if they were having a nightmare. Claire then directed her attention toward the girl who witnessed everything that had occurred right in front of her eyes.
"Uh, but what are we going to do about her?"
"Ah, right about that," Kensei said as he sheathed Kurogane, then turned to face the black-haired girl who had a smile on her face. "Is see that you're still as reckless as ever? I mean, come on, what the hell was all that about letting that guy over there attempt to strip you?! Is there something wrong with you?!"
""Eh?!""
Claire and Kunou were surprised as Kensei started shouting at the girl since it was the first time that both of them have seen that from him. He has never exploded at anyone like that before and seemed to have much more of his emotions on display without caring and even pointed an accusing finger at her.
"Ah, I see that I was found out," the girl laughed holding her hands defensively. "Well, it's not that someone like him would be able to scrape my clothing. I can handle myself, you know. Besides, I knew that you'd intervene if something happened, Kensei."
"Of course, I would have. But, that doesn't mean that you have to keep egging people! You always somehow find out how to make things more difficult than…."
"Wait, wait, Nii-san who is this girl?"
Claire who remained on the sidelines watching the entire thing was confused about the entire situation at hand, but Kunou seemed to have realized who the girl was. Since there was no other person who could get Kensei to react like this by simply saying a couple of things.
"Right right, I'm confusing her. Well, let me introduce myself."
The girl said laughing lightly as she removed her hat, then placed her arms beside herself.
Seconds later, she started singing, resulting in a mysterious presence and aura that spread outwards. As such, they were able to hear the song in their dreams, causing a pleasant expression to form on their faces. it was almost as if Claire herself could feel that the music was touching her heart. But, what surprised her was the fact that her black hair started to turn into one matching cherry blossom.
"You're…."
Claire after seeing her hair changing color, realized who the girl standing in front of them was.
"My name is Minako Kushihashi," she introduced herself, before standing in a position with her hands on her hip and V-shaped fingers in front of her opened eye that matched her hair as she winked. "I'm also known as the upcoming idol, Sakura-hime, nice to meetcha."
Standing in front of them was the newly appeared idol named "Sakura-hime", but more than that she was Kensei's childhood friend and first fiancée.
A/N: And there goes the next chapter of DxD – The Last Amagiri, well, a lot happened in this chapter. All of it started from a dream Claire was having about the past, then it was revealed that Kunou was moving into the Amagiri Residence. It was also revealed that some people with sacred gears, have all been attacking people without the knowledge of the supernatural around Japan and attacked the department store in Kibou. But, Kensei and co were able to handle the entire situation.
At the same time, we got Minako who made the biggest entrance possible. Well, there will be more stores for Kensei and the others in the future.
Kensei's Harem: Alice, Claire, Hisui, Kunou, Yasaka, Lu Lingqi, Mirana, Sarah, Minako, Koneko, Kuroka, Ravel, Amaterasu, Brynhildr.