Chapter 10: A Way Forward part 2
The silence in our small Kyoto house was thick with unspoken words. Each rustle of clothes as I folded them, each soft thud of a book hitting the bottom of a box, felt amplified in the stillness. Mom moved with a quiet efficiency, her usual humming absent, her eyes holding a distant, almost resigned quality. The news had settled over us like a heavy blanket, a familiar comfort tinged with the unsettling knowledge of change. Back to Kuoh. The place of my fading memories, the ghost of Ren, and now… the looming presence of devils and fallen angels.
(Flashback)
The air in the tatami room, still carrying the faint scent of incense, had shifted from tense curiosity to a fragile sort of understanding. Azazel, having dropped his bombshell of advice, had taken a thoughtful step back, his brow furrowed as if contemplating the complexities of my bizarre existence. It was then that Yasaka, her golden tails swaying gently behind her, had stepped forward, her usual serene presence radiating a quiet authority.
"We have decided that Kyoto isn't the best place for you to live and grow for…" Her gaze flickered towards Tohru, a silent acknowledgment of the draconic chaos that now permeated my life, before she continued, "Reasons… but both Azazel and I have burned some favors to allow you to move back to Kuoh under the protection of the Devil Kings that rule the area. In return, you'll help them out on occasion."
"Wait," I had blurted out, my voice laced with disbelief. "Devil Kings? Why does it feel like every time I listen to someone speak, my worldview is destroyed?"
My outburst had elicited a dry chuckle from Azazel and a small, almost apologetic smile from Yasaka, while Mom had simply turned her head away, a flush creeping up her neck in embarrassment.
"When we say Devil Kings," Azazel had elaborated, a hint of his old flippancy returning, "we mean high-ranking Devils that own a peerage. The two kings of Kuoh are decent enough. They won't try to steal your soul or enslave you… at least." He'd offered that last part with a shrug that did absolutely nothing to reassure me.
I had stared at him, searching his weathered face for any sign that he actually believed he was making me feel better about this development. "Right," I'd managed, the sarcasm thick in my voice.
(Back to Present)
Kuoh. The thought hung in the air, heavy with the weight of the past and the uncertainty of the future. I carefully placed the worn copy of Dragon Ball into a box, a relic of a simpler time, a time before terminal illness and dragon maids and dead twin sisters. A time before I knew I was a walking, talking celestial battery.
The silence stretched, broken only by the soft padding of Mom's footsteps as she carried a stack of folded clothes to another box. I glanced at her. Her face was a mask of quiet acceptance, but I could see the faint lines of worry etched around her eyes. Another move. Another uprooting. Another attempt to find some semblance of normalcy in a life that had become anything but.
"So," I said, breaking the silence, my voice flat. "Devil Kings, huh?"
Mom didn't meet my gaze. "They're powerful, Takumi. We'll be safe." Her voice was small, lacking its usual firmness.
Safe. The word felt hollow. Safe from what? Demons? Fallen Angels? My own exploding light?
I closed the lid of the box with a sigh.
The familiar clutter of our small house felt both comforting and suffocating. Each packed box was a tangible representation of our uprooted life, another layer added to the strange tapestry my existence had become. Mom moved with a quiet determination, her lips pressed into a thin line as she secured the last of the kitchenware. Her silence was a heavy blanket, mirroring the one that had settled over me since the… revelations.
Looking towards the shadowed corner of the living room, I saw our newest, unwilling houseguest. Raynare. She sat perched on the edge of the worn dining chair, a study in dangerous beauty and simmering resentment. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, framing a face whose delicate features were marred by a perpetual scowl. Violet-pink eyes, sharp and assessing, flickered around the room, landing on Mom and me with undisguised scorn. Her attire, or lack thereof, was still jarring – intricate leather straps barely containing her generous breasts, paired with tight leather pants and heeled boots. The massive black wings that sprouted from her back twitched occasionally, a silent testament to her impatience.
Flashback:
About an hour after the bombshell meeting, I'd found a semblance of peace with Tohru in the tranquil gardens of Yasaka's palace. The scent of blooming flowers filled the air, a stark contrast to the turmoil within me. For the first time in years, a flicker of something akin to excitement had sparked within me. Kuoh. The ghost of a normal life, friends, familiar streets… the thought had quickened my pulse. But that warmth had cooled with the arrival of my newly discovered progenitor.
Azazel sauntered down the stone steps from the palace entryway, now clad in a plain brown kimono, his usual flamboyant attire exchanged for something surprisingly subdued. "Yo!" He'd raised a hand in a casual greeting, his gaze flicking between Tohru and me. A knowing smirk played on his lips as he addressed Tohru. "I thought I recognized you earlier."
Tohru's golden eyes had narrowed dangerously, a silent warning, but the old Fallen just chuckled in response. "Tell me. How did the Daughter of Demise become the maid of a sickly high school student… How is Damocles…?"
He hadn't gotten to finish the question. Tohru had moved with lightning speed, a blur of blonde hair and white gloves, her fist cocked back, ready to strike. I'd been caught completely off guard. Tohru was always volatile, but this felt different, raw. It hadn't mattered, though. Azazel had caught her fist with effortless ease, his calm smile unwavering even as the force of the near-collision had almost blown me off my feet and sent a shower of flower petals swirling around us.
"Stop. It," Tohru had ground out, her voice a low, guttural growl, every muscle in her body tense. But Azazel remained unfazed.
"I'm not sure why you are hiding your origins, but if your reasons turn out to be harmful…" His grip on Tohru's fist had tightened, and the very air around us had thickened, the weight of his power pressing down, a tangible force. Light, the same unsettling light I now knew resided within me, had begun to pour out of the Fallen Seraph. Even Tohru, the ever-confident dragon, had been visibly strained, sweat beading on her forehead. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pressure and the light had vanished. He'd released Tohru's hand, and she'd taken a step back, her breathing just a little more labored than normal. I'd never seen Tohru winded… ever.
"Was that really necessary?" I'd asked, trying to calm the frantic beating of my own heart. This asshole was outrageously strong, a fact I'd already deduced, but seeing it firsthand was a different beast entirely.
He'd just laughed in response, a low, rumbling sound, but hadn't elaborated, electing to change the subject with a casual wave of his hand. "Since you have one helper already, it shouldn't be much of a change if you get another one as well, right?" A smirk had stretched across his face, a smirk that made me simultaneously want to punch him and run in the opposite direction. Whatever his idea of "help" was, I had a bad feeling about it.
"You don't know much about light, and while Tohru can help you with physical training and Sacred Gear training, your light still has to be managed." He'd then gestured towards the now barren patch of earth where the flowers had been moments before (Yasaka was going to murder him), and a flash of light had blinded me for a second. When my vision cleared, a beautiful woman with an angelic smile on her face and pitch-black wings stood before us. My eyes had been glued to her… interesting clothing choices.
"You called for me, Lord Azazel!" she'd exclaimed in a sing-song voice, brimming with an unsettling level of excitement and endearment. It reminded me of something… a particularly clingy dragon.
"This here," Azazel had somehow appeared next to me, draping an arm around my shoulder in a gesture that felt both invasive and utterly unwelcome. I'd tried to shrug him off, but his grip was surprisingly strong. "Is my son."
Her violet-pink eyes had gone wide with shock. "And I need you to take care of anything he asks of you while he lives in Kuoh. You're stationed there anyway, right?" She'd looked at me, still clearly processing the information, before turning back to Azazel, trying so hard not to let her forced smile slip as she confirmed her orders.
"Just to be sure, Lord Azazel. You want me to babysit your son." Her tone was flat, devoid of any real enthusiasm.
He'd smiled, still not releasing his unwanted hug even as I'd started kicking him in the leg while hissing, "Let go, you fucking asshole!" He'd just continued discussing things with his subordinate as if I wasn't even there. "You see, we are very close, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to him," he'd said, his smile widening.
"Fuck you!" I'd retorted, my voice tight with suppressed rage.
"Riiight," Raynare had confirmed, her forced smile wavering, a hint of something akin to pity in her eyes. "Anyway, if he tells you to jump, you say how high." Once again, the woman had looked towards me, her gaze lingering as if trying to gauge my very existence, before sighing and introducing herself. She'd placed a hand over her chest and given a slight, almost mocking bow. "I am Raynare. Fallen Guardian."
"Guardian?" I asked, not sure of the title.
Tohru had interjected, her golden orange eyes narrowed suspiciously. "It means she was a guardian angel before she fell." She'd harrumphed after her explanation, muttering something under her breath about a stupid master getting another woman. Apparently, Raynare had heard her as well, because her forced smile had vanished for a moment, and I could have sworn I'd seen a tick mark appear on her forehead. Good old Tohru, getting under even Fallen Angels' skin.
"Kobayashi Takumi," I'd introduced myself, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but if she worked for the old crow… she couldn't be all that great.
End Flashback.
Raynare shifted in the chair, her leather outfit creaking softly. Her gaze flickered to me, a flicker of something unreadable – perhaps annoyance, perhaps a grudging curiosity. Whatever it was, it was clear she wasn't thrilled about her new assignment.
I almost went to talk to the black-winged woman, to try and break the ice of her perpetual scowl, but the insistent knock knock knock on our front door shattered the fragile moment of contemplation.
"Honey, can you get that?" Mom called out from the muffled sounds of the bathroom.
"Yeah, I got it!" I replied, pushing myself away from the doorway to the living room and heading towards the front door. I pulled it open, and for the second time in as many weeks, I was bowled over by a small, furry projectile.
"TAKUMI!" Kunou shrieked, her voice cracking with emotion, her small face crumpled and wet with tears. "Do you have to leave? You don't have to. You should stay with us in the palace. I'll make Mama understand!" She clung to my chest, her tiny arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her sobs shaking her small body.
Musashi walked up behind her, a wry smile playing on her lips as she gently pried the distraught fox kit from my chest. "I thought you were gonna send them off with a smile, Princess," she said softly, holding Kunou close. She looked back at me, her usual teasing grin softened by a sad but genuinely warm smile. "Well, it wasn't too long... but it was nice having you around these past few weeks." She knelt down, placing Kunou gently on the floor, and then extended her hand for a handshake.
When I took it, her grip was surprisingly firm. Her warm smile widened, and she surprised me by pulling me in for a tight, quick hug. "Get stronger," she whispered fiercely into my ear, her breath warm against my skin.
Before I could respond, Tohru stepped in, her golden eyes narrowed with possessiveness. "Okay... that's enough," she said, firmly separating Musashi from me. Musashi just laughed, a genuine, heartfelt sound, and immediately wrapped Tohru in an equally tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you too, Tohru!"
"Let go of me, you disappointment of a Samurai!" Tohru hissed, struggling in Musashi's surprisingly strong embrace, but a small smile played on her lips despite her protests.
I couldn't help but smile, watching the two of them. A strange mix of sadness and fondness welled up within me. These past few weeks, despite the chaos and the constant threat of the unknown, had been… nice.
But the bittersweet farewell was drawing to a close. Mom emerged from the hallway, her expression a blend of relief and a lingering sadness. "Alright, everything we're bringing is packed and ready," she announced, her voice slightly muffled. "Whenever you're ready to go."
The logistics were surprisingly simple, thanks to Azazel's efficiency. He'd left a slip of paper with Raynare bearing our new address in Kuoh, and Tohru, despite her earlier silence, was the designated teleporter.
Raynare, ever the picture of impatient elegance, rose abruptly from the chair. "Finally, I can stop wasting my time and get back to my team. Let's hurry up and just go." Her tone was sharp, bordering on rude, but beneath the abrasive exterior, a subtle weariness hinted at a deeper story. And yet, something still felt…off about her. As much as she projected annoyance, there was a restraint, a holding back that suggested she could be far more unpleasant.
Tohru, surprisingly, remained silent, her golden eyes narrowed as she watched Raynare. Normally, such blatant disrespect, especially from someone she clearly outmatched, would have elicited a fiery response. But Tohru simply tensed, her gaze fixed on the fallen angel, a silent, simmering intensity radiating from her.
"Well, this really is it," Musashi said, her arm wrapped around a still teary-eyed Kunou. The samurai had finally released Tohru from her bear hug, a genuine, albeit slightly watery, smile gracing her lips as she prepared to see us off.
The fallen woman, with a decisive grab of my arm, steered me towards the center of the room, clearly eager to be done with this detour. "Come on. Stop stalling."
A low growl rumbled in Tohru's chest at Raynare's touch, but she followed us, her hand hovering near my back instead of forcibly removing the fallen angel's grip.
Once Tohru, Mom, Raynare, and I were clustered in the middle of the room, we turned to face our two reluctant hosts. Kunou, her small face still streaked with tears, bravely attempted a smile. "Bye-bye," she whispered, waving a tiny hand. "Come back and play again."
Musashi offered her own farewell, her strong smile unwavering, her back ramrod straight. "Don't be strangers. If you ever need my swords, just ask."
Before I could even form a proper goodbye, the world dissolved into a blinding white light as Tohru's teleportation spell activated, whisking us away from the quiet sorrow of Kyoto and towards the unknown of our new home in Kuoh.
Author's note: And that is finally the end of the prologue. I feel like that took longer that I planned but also is shorter than i would've liked. I might comeback to these chapters at some point and give them some much needed love but for now. KUOH! I feel like from the last chapter most people can tell now that all of this has happened before the start or VERY early on in DxD cannon. Let me remind readers that this is an AU, so many things that you might remember from the anime or LNs may not be reflected accurately, do to having to fit in so many characters from crossovers while trying to slightly readjust the plot of DxD so I'm not just retelling the same story. I will try to tone down the pacing little by little in the future arcs as we are now getting involved with the main cast. I hoe everyone is enjoying the story so far. if you aren't, leave a review with some advice. I may or may not ignore it if the review doesn't have any real substance, but i always appreciate some real advice. Hope everyone has a great day!