On The Bench (AOT/DxD)

[ReadingDangerous]

"Buchou means well," Kiba told Issei as they walked through the small forest behind the Occult Research Club. "She's not trying to limit your freedom or anything, but going near a church like that is risky. Devils, angels, and fallen angels have been at war for thousands of years. Even now, during a cease-fire, it isn't rare for each side to kill the other with the appropriate pretense."

"I was just helping Asia," Issei defended himself with a frown at the blond boy.

The Damn Handsome!

"Who is the enemy," Kiba pointed out, but not unkindly. "If you had actually stepped foot on church soil, then any priests would have an excuse to kill you, and there would be nothing Rias could do to get justice for you without restarting the war or putting all of us at risk. It's the perfect place to lure a new devil to kill them before they grow in power."

"I don't understand all this!" Issei rubbed his hair with frustration. "It wasn't some sort of trap! Asia wouldn't hurt a fly. She was super kind. She healed this kid in the park and didn't even complain when his mother was rude."

"Healed?" Kiba paused in his tracks. He stared at the other boy with an intensity that Issei didn't like.

Issei wasn't like that. He liked boobs!

"It was just a scrape," Issei shuffled uncomfortably under the blond's gaze. "Said it was a blessing from god- ow! Gah, I'm still getting used to that. Anyway, it's a Sacred Gear, right? Like mine?"

"Probably," Kiba said absentmindedly, seeming lost in thought with a deep frown. "But healing Sacred Gears are rare. As in 'only a few every generation' rare. For the church to bring one to Kuoh, and with the Fallen in town..." Kiba trailed off in thought, and this time, Issei's shuffling was for an entirely different reason.

Would you die for me?

A phantom pain lanced through his chest even though the wound had healed days ago.

"Anyway," Kiba shook himself out of his thoughts. "I'll tell Rias about this later. For now, you need to be aware that just because someone from the church seems nice doesn't mean they are. You only spent a bit of time with her. Asia could have been faking it, trying to get you to lower your guard."

"But... aren't nuns supposed to be nice?" Issei tried to dredge up what little he knew of Christianity.

Most of his exposure to nuns came from porn.

While Issei wasn't the brightest, even he knew porn was not reality, so he delved back to his childhood. His friend had been Christian, but most of the lessons and lectures had flown over his head in favour of playing games. He remembered some lessons about the bible and stuff, but it had never seemed important.

When would you need to use biblical knowledge in daily life if you didn't believe it?

"It is not as simple as that," Kiba explained patiently. "Not all devils are bad. There are some bad apples, and you must be careful when dealing with most pure-blood devils, but some, like Buchou, are kind. The church are not the good guys either." Something in the Knight's voice caused Issei to flinch. "They've done terrible things. Everyone knows about the crusades and witch hunts, but they've gotten away with much worse in the supernatural world that's never taught in school."

Issei was sure Asia wasn't like that. Something about the girl, a vulnerable nativity, convinced Issei that the blonde nun wouldn't hurt anyone.

But Kiba had never met her, and Issei didn't know enough about the subject to argue the point.

On top of that, Kiba was trying to help Issei, to teach him about this world he had been thrown into as he had been doing all week.

It had been Kiba who met him the day after his reincarnation. Issei had been searching desperately for proof that Yuuma had been real, and Kiba brought him to Buchou, who explained things.

Now Issei Hyoudou, one of the perverted trio, was part of the famous Occult Research Club and working on the basics of being a devil to become a High-class devil and gain a peerage.

Issei now had a viable path to becoming a Harem King!

And the other boy in the club had been the most helpful of his new companions so far. Kiba spent time guiding his fellow second year, answering his questions, and helping him try to practice with his Sacred Gear.

It had been Kiba who helped the pervert teleport to his first contract and waited outside while Issei tried, unsuccessfully, to make his first deal.

When Issei had asked why the boy was doing all this, Kiba had given that damn handsome smile, shrugged his shoulders, and said something about 'getting to know a new comrade' and a few light mumbles under his breath.

Issei appreciated the sentiment, even if he didn't know what 'weights' had to do with anything.

Issei would have also preferred it if Himejima-sempai or Buchou guided him. They had magnificent oppai. But they seemed super busy, so he didn't hold it against them.

Koneko-chan was super cute too, but she didn't seem to do much. And she was brutal in calling him out.

Despite being a Damn Handsome, Issei could grudgingly say he was coming to like Kiba.

So he followed the blond when he asked Issei if he had any free time.

Since he didn't know how to argue about Asia, Issei instead asked the question that had been bugging him for a while.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to introduce you to Senpai," Kiba said, restarting his walk.

"Senpai?"

"Eren Yeager. He isn't actually a student. I just call him that. It's a bit complicated," the blond gave an awkward smile. "Think of him as our club's advisor and friend. We go to him for advice, talk, or spend a relaxing afternoon."

"A devil therapist?" Issei asked, surprised such a thing existed.

"No, Eren is human. There are devil therapists, but he isn't one. He doesn't even know about the supernatural, so don't bring it up," Kiba gave Issei a look that had the pervert nodding quickly.

"If he's normal... what advice can he give?" Issei struggled to slot this new piece of information into the puzzle that was his new life.

So much was happening so fast over the last few days.

His first girlfriend was a fallen angel who killed him on their first date.

Devils were real, and he was now one.

He had power now, some sort of secret power-up like in Dragon Ball.

The church and all its members, including the cute girl he helped, might try to kill him.

And now he found out devils went to regular humans for advice?

"You'd be surprised," Kiba's smile tightened slightly. "Eren's been through a lot. Even if you don't follow what he says, he gives us a unique perspective to understanding our problems."

"I don't know," Issei hesitated. "Most of my questions are about being a devil. I don't think he can help."

"You don't have to ask him anything," Kiba said with a pat on Issei's shoulder. "Koneko doesn't. Most of the time they're together, they're just napping and not talking. As I said, he's a friend. I just figured I'd introduce you now. Better this way than if you stumble on him by accident. The last time we surprised him... well, better he knows you just in case."

"So he goes to Kuoh University?" Issei asked, starting to get curious as they neared the halfway point between the two institutions.

And jealous.

Napping with Koneko-chan! The lucky bastard!

Issei bet he was another Damn Handsome. All the people he had met these days were either beautiful or handsome.

Issei was sure being related to the supernatural made someone at least an eight on the hotness scale.

"He's old enough but isn't currently in school," Kiba hedged. "He is still learning Japanese and isn't... traditionally educated. As I said, he's had an interesting life. If you want, I'll tell you more later, but here we are."

As they turned a corner on the path through the wooded park, Issei saw where Kiba had been leading him. It was a small clearing in the dense foliage of the trees, allowing the spring sky to shine down on a bench and its occupant.

The bench was plain and boring, consisting of wooden planks held together by iron bands. The luxurious extra amenities around it highlighted the commonness of the bench.

A canopy with a flat, retractable solar panelled roof had been set up to provide shade and give power to what looked like a small heater below the bench and a... mini-fridge? Behind the setup, a few hammocks had been strung between the trees.

It looked less like a bench in a park and more like some sort of long-term camping area set up by rich people.

But the occupant on the seat held Issei's focus more than the amenities around it.

It was an older boy, sleeping with his back reclined against the bench, a cane lying across his lap.

His facial features were obscured by thick bandages wrapping around the top half of his head. Long, dark brown hair fell to his shoulder. He wasn't wearing the Kuoh uniform but regular clothes that hung lightly on a skinny frame to be healthy.

He didn't look like a Damn Handsome like Issei had feared, but like a nursing patient who escaped the institution.

"Senpai!" Kiba called to the sleeping boy as they approached. He wasn't shouting, but his voice carried, and the blind boy woke with a start, hands tightening on his cane.

"Yuuto?" Eren asked, relaxing slightly and facing their general direction. "Who's with you? I don't recognize those footsteps."

"This is Hyoudou Issei," Kiba introduced as he gestured to Eren. "Issei, this is Yeager Eren."

"Please to meet you, senpai," Issei said with a formal bow. Then he froze and stood up straight again, feeling very foolish.

"I'm not your senpai," Eren said simply, his Japanese halting and accented but understandable. Issei noted that his voice had no particular inflection, as if he had no emotions. "Call me Eren."

"Yes, sen- Eren," Issei nodded, not used to the habit of using first names right away, but Asia had been like that too, so it wasn't entirely new.

"Issei is the newest member of our club," Kiba explained lightly as he took a seat on the bench. There wasn't a lot of room left, so Issei just stood there awkwardly rather than crowd the pair, wondering what to do with himself. "I'm sure Rias' told you all about him."

"She did spend a few hours bragging about him, yes," Eren somehow made his voice even more deadpan, but Issei couldn't help but puff his chest out in pride.

"Really?" He asked, eager to know what Buchou had told the older boy about him. He hadn't gotten a lot of time to spend with his King, even if he would love to. She was seriously hot. "What did she say?"

"That you are honest, cheerful, and have a lot of potential," Eren answered with a shrug. Issei stood taller, pride filling his chest. "Also, you are a massive pervert, want a harem, and have much to learn."

Issei wilted slightly. He wasn't embarrassed about being a pervert or his dream, but to hear it put so bluntly was kind of insulting.

Though he did agree, he had a lot to learn.

"That about sums him up," Kiba nodded with a chuckle that had Issei shooting him a glare.

He took back all the good things he had thought about the blond earlier. Raijuus should explode!

"Rias also said you got hurt recently," Eren continued.

"Ah," Issei looked to Kiba for advice on what to say, not knowing what Buchou told the young man. The blond gave a shrug. "Yes. But Buchou helped me."

"Rias said as much," Eren nodded but with a frown. "I prefer to verify things than trust one side of a story. Even if it comes from friends." Kiba's polite smile widened at Eren's words, though Issei didn't know why. "But you are alright now? Happy with your situation?"

Again, his words were halting and slow, but Issei got the gist.

Would you die for me?

"Yes!" Issei declared passionately. "I am super happy. Buchou is great and so is Himejima-sempai. Koneko-chan might have small oppai and be a little mean, but she's the school mascot and super cute. Kiba's alright, I guess, for being a Damn Handsome."

There was a pause as Eren tilted his head.

"I only understood part of that," the blind boy admitted, speaking in English to Kiba. "What does 'oppai' mean? And 'kuso?'"

"Oppai means breasts," Kiba answered without a hint of shame. "'Kuso' is a swear, though not a serious one. The best translation is 'damn.' I am not surprised you didn't learn them, given your teacher. Feel free to speak English. Issei will understand you."

"Sorry," Issei said with another bow of apology. Then he was embarrassed again since Eren couldn't see it. "I answered without thinking."

It was still hard to control Language. With Asia, it was easy since she only spoke Italian to him and one or two words of Japanese. Still, Eren had been trying to talk in Issei's native tongue with some limited success, so he had responded instinctively.

"It's fine," Eren said with a sigh. "I need the practice. But I understood enough. At least you aren't being forced into anything."

"It was a surprise to be invited," Issei admitted hesitantly, wondering what was okay to say and what wasn't. "And I am still getting used to everything. It's new, confusing, and scary. But I am happy Buchou rescued me."

"Rescued?" Eren said with a tilt of his head, and Issei winced at the slip.

"Rias found him pretty hurt," Kiba hurried to explain. "He could have died if she didn't get there in time. Thankfully, she got him to a hospital in time."

"From what she told me, she felt like it was her fault," Eren pointed out. "Did she hit you with her car? That happens a lot in Japanese schools, as I understand it."

Kiba chuckled, but Issei looked confused at the pair.

Buchou had apologized that she hadn't been paying more attention to the Fallen, but Issei didn't really understand how it had been her fault. It was Yuu-... Would you die for me?... Raynare's fault.

"Buchou helps him learn Japanese by reading Light Novels and Manga to him," Kiba explained to Issei before returning to Eren. "Despite what she tells you, a real school in Japan has very little in common with those."

Issei didn't know about that.

He was now part of a school club filled with devils after becoming one after his first girlfriend killed him. That sounded like a light novel to him.

He hoped it was an ecchi harem novel or a hentai rather than in the horror genre.

"I didn't know Buchou read manga," Issei said. "What does she like?"

"A bit of everything," Kiba shrugged.

"Rias is a massive japanophile. Has been since she was a child."

It was not Eren who spoke but a feminine voice coming from behind Issei that made him jump in surprise.

Whirling around, he noticed that Souna Shitori, the student council president, had somehow managed to sneak up on him. The other two boys didn't seem surprised.

"Kaichou," Kiba greeted as he stood from the bench. Issei echoed him a moment later.

"Souna," Eren nodded at her. "You're later than usual."

"I have a new member in the council," she apologized without actually apologizing. "He needed guidance with his tasks. Yuuto, I see you are introducing Hyoudou to Eren. Good initiative. Will you two be joining the lesson?"

"I am afraid I have more to help Issei with. I just wanted to let them meet, so I will leave you two alone," Kiba said. "Come on, Issei, let's head back to the club. I'll talk to you later, Eren."

"Very well," the girl nodded. "Let Rias know we will do formal introductions between our new members at a later point once they are both settled in."

Kiba gave a polite bow and headed back to the club room.

Issei, still surprised by the sudden and unexplained appearance of the older girl, gave a hurried goodbye to Eren and a bow to Souna before hurrying to follow Kiba.

"She goes by Souna Shitori in Japan, but her real name is Sona Sitri," Kiba said once they were far away. "She's the other devil King in Kuoh, and the Student Council is her peerage. She and Buchou are childhood friends and rivals. She rules the school by day and Buchou by night."

"Are there any more devils in Kuoh?" Issei couldn't help but ask, worried now.

"A few, but none that you need to worry about," Kiba patted him on the back. "Both of them are here to gain some independence and fill out their Peerage, so the territory is pretty much theirs until they finish their studies."

"What was she doing with Eren?"

"Teaching," Kiba said with a smile. "She was the one who first met Senpai and started tutoring him in Japanese. Don't say anything about it to her, but we are all pretty sure she has a crush on him."

"That lucky bastard!" Issei shook his fist at the sky. "A beauty like that! Gah! I am so jealous."

"Don't ever say that again," Kiba cautioned, and Issei froze at the gravity in his voice. "You shouldn't be blindly jealous of people without knowing what they went through. And definitely don't say anything like that about Eren around the others."

"Sorry," Issei said softly, chastised.

"It's fine. You didn't know," the blond sighed. "It's no secret, but Eren is sick and getting worse. He only has about a year to live."

"What?" Issei asked, shocked. "Can't Buchou heal him like she did me?"

"It's not that simple," Kiba sighed regretfully. "The short answer is that neither Sona nor Rias can make him a Peerage member at the moment. Apart from Evil Pieces, we devils have very few healing abilities. We've been looking for a cure or way to heal him for over a year now, but no luck."

"Damn, that sucks," Issei cursed. He was jealous, sure, but he didn't want people to actually die. "Do you think Asia could heal him?"

"Maybe," Kiba hedged. "I actually wanted to stay longer and let you get to know each other, but I need to talk to Buchou about that, and she'll want to hear from your perspective. As I said, healing gears are very rare. And the church is extremely protective of them. A nun healing someone on behalf of a devil? That is extremely unlikely."

"She'd do it," Issei said instantly. "She's nice like that."

Kiba didn't say anything but didn't look convinced by Issei's words.

Still, the quick introduction and departure only gave the new Rook more questions about the boy on the bench.

********

A big thanks to my beta: Old Man of the Mountain/Darklord331

Fun fact: before writing DxD, Ishibumi wrote horror. It comes through with the sometimes much darker tones of the story despite it being ecchi fun.

Speaking of, writing Issei is fun. While I am not so much of him as a protagonist, as a character alone, he is a breath of fresh air. He is self-aware to a degree that most don't give him credit for. A considerable portion of the reason people dislike him is less because of his character and more because he is, unfortunately, trapped in a light novel that needs to keep things PG. I think the industry really missed out on a deep exploration of the harem genre, sexual dynamics, and societal examinations of how we contextualize 'love.'

Then again, Oppai makes brain go BRRRRRR.

This story is not about either of those two subjects. Like all the characters I choose to focus on, Issei will have his time in the sun. I do want to clarify that this unfortunately means other characters will not get much attention. I will only focus on specific characters unless I want this story to go on for 25 light novels. Unfortunately, Sona's peerage, some major cannon characters, and even some of Rias' peerage will have to wait for another fic if I decide to write one.

Either way, I hope you continue to join me on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

It was a scene right out of a horror movie.

The body of the client Issei had been sent to, Koneko recognized, was crucified to the wall of his house. His limbs spread wide, and his face frozen in a silent scream of pain that told her he had not died quickly.

The smell was the worst. Blood, old and new, filled the air. And that was some of the more pleasant scents.

It made Koneko angry.

Minato had been kind. Most of his requests usually revolved around having Koneko help with moving things he couldn't due to his bad back with her enhanced strength.

And he baked some fantastic macaroons.

Koneko wanted to punch someone. Minato hadn't deserved this.

The culprit was the madly cackling man waving around a light sword and gun in priestly robes, making rude gestures from behind his compatriots' backs.

Whoever this fallen priest was, he was clearly a psychopath, and Koneko shuddered at the thought of what he might have done to Issei and the girl he was blocking if Kiba hadn't been there to call for backup and Issei didn't have a Rook's durability.

Four fallen, three women and a man, stood opposite the Gremory Peerage. Issei was behind his comrades' backs, a blond nun clutched protectively in his arms as he angrily glared at the black-haired woman.

Koneko was sure Buchou had said her name at some point, but she hadn't been paying attention.

Mooks didn't get names.

"We are not leaving without the nun," the black-haired woman said with a smirk, a lance of light in her hand.

"You can't take Asia!"

"Issei!" Rias cut off the Rook with a chastising look before returning her attention to their enemies. Kiba softened the blow slightly by patting him and the blonde nun on the shoulder. Asia just watched everything with wide eyes and tear marks on her cheeks. "I am well within my rights to kill all of you right now."

"You can try, bitch," the goth lolita reject laughed derisively.

Koneko was going to punch that one's teeth down her throat.

Rias didn't get angry, at least on the surface. Koneko knew her King was absolutely livid inside but was maintaining control for the moment.

"I have already alerted your superiors of your previous actions in my territory," Rias said, her voice a careful monotone, unlike her usual passionate speech pattern. Her face was also wholly blank. "The killing of a client and harming one of my Peerage on top of it are reason enough to do whatever I wish."

Koneko smirked slightly at the unnerved look in the Fallen's eyes.

The Rook liked Eren. She really did.

But there was no denying his way of speaking could be... off-putting. Not all the time, and it was getting rarer these days, but sometimes it was like he was completely empty.

Like all joy, hate, or emotion had been drained from him by the beatings of the world.

And when that expression was directed at you? It was like your entire existence was irrelevant.

As if you were nothing but a bug to be crushed underfoot.

It made for an excellent intimidation tactic, even if Rias would have to back it up a bit more.

These fallen seemed especially stupid.

"Big talk from a bunch of kids," the man in the trench coat sneered.

Koneko had been warned about people like him. She hoped he was wearing clothes under there. She already had to deal with one pervert on a day-to-day basis... Well, two.

Akeno was a different kind of pervert.

"I will give you this last chance," Rias declared impassively, crimson orbs of destruction centimetres thick filling the destroyed living room. They floated in the air like red raindrops, and the fallen stepped back at the sight. There were hundreds of them in the destroyed room. "Leave. Leave the nun. Leave this house. Leave my territory. Leave with your lives."

The black-haired woman looked like she was going to argue, a snarl forming on her lips, but the other Fallen with blue hair placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"The ritual," was all she said.

Koneko's sensitive ears picked it up, and it was likely for that reason they kept their words to a minimum, out of caution that the Peerage had someone like her. Enhanced senses weren't rare in the supernatural world.

"Fine," Head-mook snorted, whirling around and grabbing the crazy priest roughly by his neck. "We'll leave. For now."

"Hey! Let me go! I wanna gut the fucking devils! And the bitch! I want her!"

The wacko priest continued to his stream of expletives as the fallen angels carried him by the neck as they fled through the hole they made in the house when they arrived.

There was a moment of tense silence as the devils didn't relax their guard.

"Gone." Koneko eventually spoke.

Rias untensed, whirling around and pulling Issei into a hug.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, but don't scare me like that!" She chastised the Rook. Rias pulled the boy back, his face set in a derpy grin as she searched for injuries. "Are you hurt anywhere? Why didn't you run?" Eventually, she looked at her Knight when Issei continued to not respond. "Kiba, what's wrong with him?"

The blond Knight awkwardly scratched at his cheek, unsure how to reply.

Koneko didn't have that problem.

"Pervert is being a pervert."

"Oppai," Issei murmured as if in a trance, a goofy smile on his face from the hug.

Koneko felt her point had been made, so she yanked her fellow Rook away from their King. He stumbled but managed to regain himself to avoid falling to the bloody floor.

"As long as you are okay," Rias sighed with a smile before looking around. "We should leave. I'll have a few agents come through, clean up, and make an official story. Let's head back to the club."

"I'm not leaving Asia," Issei said, standing in front of the nun who had watched this interaction with confusion.

She hadn't understood the language but recognized the intent and care in the room, which was at odds with how she expected devils to act.

"Bring her along," Rias said easily. The redhead turned to the scared blonde for the first time and spoke in her native tongue. "We're not going to hurt you. Will you come with us?"

Asia looked at Issei, who nodded and stood up from her kneeling position. Blood was on her clothes, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Um," she stammered. "I don't want to sell my soul."

"We don't want your soul, don't worry," Rias reassured her. "We just want to ask some questions, that's all."

"Like why you are with the fallen," Kiba said with an easy smile. "You've been expelled, haven't you?"

"Yes," Asia said, looking dejected.

Koneko elbowed Kiba in the side for being so blunt, and the Knight grunted in pain.

"We should have killed them," Akeno argued as they left the building. Koneko could still smell the lingering scent of ozone from the Queen as they walked the streets. Teleporting with Asia wasn't possible, so they were walking as a group for safety's sake. "We had justification, and there is no way they will let this go."

"I don't want to fight in the middle of the suburbs," Rias argued back. "And not without knowing Issei's state. I am not worried about them. 'For now.' Pss. That is a mook line if I've ever heard one."

Koneko nodded sagely, glad her King was as good at identifying scrubs as she was.

"You saw how they looked at her," Akeno cautioned. "They will not leave Asia alone, no matter the warning."

"I know," Rias sighed as she slowed slightly to walk closer to Asia and Issei. The blonde flinched, but Issei tried to reassure her it was all right. "But an area filled with sleeping civilians is not the place for a showdown."

Issei gained a point in Koneko's book for how chivalrous he was being in this whole thing. Seeing how protective he was of the nun was quite cute.

That still put him at a negative nine hundred and ninety-nine points.

Out of a hundred.

"Why are they so set on you?" Rias asked the nun bluntly. "Most healing spells of the church don't work on the Fallen. What's your Sacred Gear?"

Koneko wondered if spending so much time with Eren was a good thing or not. Her King was clearly taking after him with how blunt she was being.

"Twilight Healing," the nun said softly after Issei gave her an encouraging nod.

"I see," Rias sighed as she and Akeno wilted slightly. Asia looked like she would cry, so the King hurried to answer. "Nonono, it's a good gear. Great, in fact. It's one of the best healing Gears out there. There are only a few active users, and all factions are looking to recruit people with it; it's just..."

"You can only heal injuries, right? Not diseases or sickness?" Akeno interjected, getting a hesitant nod from the nun. "One of our friends is sick. We had hoped you had a gear that could help him."

"Sorry," Asia apologized with a bow.

Now Koneko felt like they had kicked a kitten.

The others also clearly felt that way, as even Akeno looked guilty.

"I think your Gear is awesome," Issei interjected with a broad smile, trying to cheer her up. He exaggeratedly rotated his shoulder. "I don't feel any more pain after being shot."

"You were shot!" Rias whirled on her newest Rook, looking him over more intensely than before. She noticed one of the holes in his uniform, over his left shoulder, was circular and covered in blood.

To be fair, much of Issei was covered in blood from rolling around and scuffling with the fake priest before the rest of the Gremory Peerage had arrived. That hole was one of many in his clothes, and there was no wound, so Rias hadn't missed anything.

"Twilight Healing also works on devils?" Kiba asked himself, but Koneko heard him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rias fretted over Issei, poking at his body for any other unmentioned wounds. "Light energy is poison to us. Did he get you anywhere else?"

"I'm all good now," Issei defended himself with his arms raised, not looking like he minded the attention at all. A pervert's gotta pervert, after all. "Asia's got me."

Rias narrowed her eyes at the boy as if daring him to lie to her but eventually accepted his words as the truth.

"Thank you for healing him," Rias said as she bowed to the nun. "Issei's new, a bit clumsy, and a pervert." "HEY!" "But he is my cute servant, nonetheless. So thank you for taking care of him."

"Uh..." Asia stuttered, eyes wide with panicked surprise. "NO! I, uh, I mean. Issei has been very kind to me, even if he is a devil. It was just... the right thing to do." She said the last part with a flush on her face as she looked away, twiddling her thumbs in embarrassment.

"Still, thank you," Rias smiled cheerfully.

Akeno nodded in thanks as well. Kiba smiled kindly at the blonde, and even Koneko gave the girl a thumbs up.

The pervert was still a pervert, but she didn't want him to die for it.

Just get kicked in the nads a few times.

Asia looked utterly overwhelmed by this positive reinforcement, as if her worldview was being rewritten.

"See," Issei urged. "You Gear is super useful. Much better than mine."

"I think Issei's glove is cool," Asia disagreed.

"All it does is let me punch things without hurting my hand," Issei rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "And since I'm a Rook, I'm already tough enough, so it's useless."

"There, there," Rias patted his head consolingly. "You just haven't awakened it yet. Once you do, I think you will be happy with your... glove." The redhead and her Queen snickered as if they were in on a joke that the others weren't.

"Meaning?" Koneko asked with a frown, not liking being left out like this.

"I'll tell you later," Akeno smiled mischievously.

Koneko nodded. That was fine. So long as she wasn't the last to know.

"Hey! It's my Sacred Gear! Tell me," Issei protested.

"I don't want to get your hopes up, so you will have to awaken it yourself to find out," Rias denied. "I'll just tell you that Sacred Gears are known to respond to emotions. Try focusing on what you really want."

Issei took her advice to heart, closing his eyes and muttering to himself as he walked.

"Harem King. Harem King. Harem King. Harem King. Harem King. Harem King. Harem King."

Koneko sped up a bit, so she was in front of the boy and held out one of her feet.

Issei tripped, smashing his face on the pavement and getting chuckles from the rest of the Peerage.

"Issei!" Asia, on the other hand, rushed to aid the boy in rising to his feet. Her hand glowed green, and she pressed it against his face.

"Don't bother," Koneko said with an imperceptible smirk. "He's a Rook. He's not hurt."

True enough, apart from some dirt, Issei stood unharmed after his fall.

"That was mean, Koneko-chan!"

"Git good scrub."

That got a few more chuckles from the group as Asia looked on in confusion. Rias must have taken pity on the poor girl because she decided to shift the topic.

"Do you know what you want to do," the redhead asked the nun. At her bewildered expression, Rias explained. "You are technically my prisoner of war, but I don't have any plans for you. You can stay at our clubhouse in one of the spare bedrooms tonight, but eventually, you will have to decide what comes next. The fallen did not seem to want to let you go. Once they leave my territory, I'll let you go if you want to follow them. Or you can stay here."

"If I want to stay," Asia asked softly, looking at the ground. "Do I... Do I have to become a devil?"

"It would make things easier," Rias admitted. "I think you would enjoy being in my Peerage, and I want you to join us. Your Gear is very useful, and I think we'll get along. But no, it is not a requirement."

"What do you want, Asia," Issei asked with far more gentleness than Koneko thought possible from him.

"I want... I want to go to school," Asia said softly as if admitting to a sin. Then her words started to pick up speed, sounding more determined than ever. "I want to have friends. I don't want people to be mean anymore. I don't want to hurt people. I don't want to return to the church with Freed, Mittelt, Kalawarna, Dohnaseek, and Raynare."

The Peerage shared small smiles at the small, simple, selfish wish.

They were devils, after all.

Granting selfish wishes was their job.

"I can arrange that," Rias smiled kindly.

"Thank you," Asia bowed, tears in her eyes as Issei cheered.

"But nothing comes for free in the world," Rias cautioned. They had arrived before school by then, making good time as the client's house was pretty close by. "There is a price for everything. I can make you a student, find you a home, help you make friends, and protect you from the fallen. But you will need to do something for me."

"Hey, that's not fair," Issei complained.

"What do I need to do?" Asia asked, eyes still wet with tears but looking far more determined than before.

"All I want you to do is to try to heal my friend. The one we told you about earlier."

"But," Asia looked sad and regretful. "I really can't heal diseases. I've tried before, but I can't."

"Maybe not," Rias acknowledged. "I just want you to try your best. Maybe you can't heal him completely, but you might be able to reverse some of the symptoms. Give us more time to find a permanent cure. Can you promise to do that?"

"I can!" Asia declared passionately. "I'll do my best. I promise."

"Wonderful Asia," Rias said gently. "I'll introduce you to him tomorrow. Until then, get some rest. Akeno, can you show her to one of the available rooms?"

"Of course," the Queen agreed. "This way. I have some old clothes that might fit you."

Asia looked at Issei briefly, but he just nodded for her to follow Akeno.

"Do you need me to teleport you home," Kiba asked Issei. "It's pretty late, and your parents will wonder why you're covered in blood. I can get you in unseen."

"Thanks, man," Issei sighed in relief. "Asia healed me, but I am wiped, and I soooo wasn't looking forward to that conversation."

"Get some rest as well," Rias frowned at the boy in concern. "If you find any other issues, let me know immediately. Rogue priests are no joking matter for new devils."

"Will do Buchou," Issei said with a salute as he and Yuuto teleported away.

Koneko was also going to head to her place but paused when she saw Rias's face as her King sat behind her desk to finish the paperwork she had been working on before getting the emergency call.

"Buchou?" Koneko asked.

"Oh, Koneko," Rias said, emerging from her thoughts. "Sorry, I thought you had left. Be safe on your way home, okay? I don't think the fallen will pull anything tonight, but be careful just in case."

The smallest of frowns crossed the nekoshou's face as she looked at her King.

"You alright?" She asked the older girl.

"Hm? I'm fine," Rias said. She didn't look fine to Koneko. "Just a letter from my parents, that's all. Issei's recruitment has some... implications I needed to inform them about. I'll give you the details tomorrow. For now, get some rest."

Despite her King's assurances, Koneko maintained a frown as she wished Rias a good night.

Her last sight of the heiress, before she left, was of Rias holding a letter in her hand. Instead of reading it, she repeatedly tapped it on her arm, lost in thought.

Rias stared out her window into the dark park and the bench that lay within.

********

A big thanks as always to my beta, Old Man of the Mountain.

It was always hinted that Rias knew Issei had Boosted Gear before anyone else, likely because of how much it cost to reincarnate him and seeing its 'base form.' And, seeing how much of a BIG DEAL it is in canon, I find it perfectly reasonable that she alerted her parents and brother about her suspicions. It would also explain how quickly the news spread.

For those curious, yes, Twilight Healing cannot heal diseases in canon. That is explicitly stated. (I don't know if Asia's balance breaker is the same since it's never mentioned.)

I won't be showing a lot of the 'canon' events, just enough to give my readers a glimpse into what changed. For example, in this world, Rias not only had the political grounding to stand off against the fallen when they attacked because she already started the process, but she was also strong enough to scare them away. Issei is also in better shape because he is a Rook, not a Pawn, so she isn't as worried.

Anyway, this will probably be one of the only times I explicitly call out what changes in my AN. Everything else will be up to you all to read and puzzle out. I just want to be clear that things will be different. More and more so as the story progresses. Simple changes now will have tremendous effects later.

The next handful of chapters are some of my favourite written so far, so I look forward to that.

I will meet you all next time on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

Akeno watched the rest of the Peerage leave the little clearing with a frown as she set about cleaning up.

Rias was consoling her new Bishop quietly as they left. Asia was particularly distraught over her failure to heal Eren despite only meeting him today.

Akeno was sad but unsurprised that even Twilight Healing, one of the best healing Gears out there, couldn't help. There had been hope, but not a lot of it.

Seeing Eren trying to interact with the naive and kind Asia had been funny, though.

The Queen got the feeling that Eren was not used to dealing with people who were genuinely that kind, as opposed to faking it as Akeno, and to a lesser extent, Yuuto did.

"What's wrong with her," Eren asked bluntly as Akeno gathered the plates and silverware they had used for their lunch. It had only been a few hours, during which they had Asia subtly try and heal the blind boy.

"Asia is a dear," Akeno lightly chastised with a chuckle. "She really was trying to help."

"I know none of you believe in that 'miracle healing' shit. I am not just going to be healed suddenly because of a religious prayer. That's not how reality works."

Well, as 'subtle' as they could be.

The official excuse was that Asia, a new student at the school and club member, had been a nun and 'faith healer' before moving here. Rias claimed it was 'worth a shot,' and despite his doubts, Eren had gone along after they all urged him to. Nothing they said was technically a lie, so even Eren, with his almost supernatural bullshit radar, hadn't caught on.

Nothing had happened.

Koneko reported no change to his life force as it continued to dwindle. Nor had his eyes healed, his strength returned, or any indication of the healing having taken place.

Akeno was seriously starting to suspect Eren wasn't simply sick but under some divine-level curse.

Only the complete absence of any magic or power around him prevented that notion. They had been around him long enough that they would have noticed even the faintest trace if it was there.

If it had worked, or at least healed the side effects, like his eyes, it would have been a perfect time to introduce him to the world of devils, magic, and so on.

Rias had a whole speech planned and everything despite considering it to be a long shot. Akeno had seen her practicing it in front of a mirror.

It mostly boiled down to, 'I am a super powerful devil heiress trying to heal you. Please don't die. And if you do die, please let me bring you back. Yadda yadda, power of friendship, yadda yadda, anime protagonist, yadda yadda, JoJo.'

It had been quite cute, even if Rias had referenced the manga, she read to Eren a bit too much, in Akeno's opinion.

Shame she didn't get to use it.

"Is it so hard to believe she simply wanted to help you?" Akeno reprimanded him again as she continued her work. "Asia is a very kind girl. She sincerely believed she should have been able to help you."

"I believe she believes," Eren answered. "But belief does not save people. Belief does not fill hungry stomachs. Belief will not kill your enemies. People do. I have seen people of faith before, and I can't stand them. 'Flock' is but another word for livestock."

Akeno didn't bother to hide a smile, knowing the blind boy couldn't see it.

Eren was sometimes more devil-like than any of them.

"If medicine doesn't work, other options should be considered. Who knows what's out there? A miracle could happen."

"I know what's out there," Eren answered plainly. "And no miracle will stop my death."

Akeno's smile faded back to a frown. Eren didn't know about magic or the supernatural, so he would understandably hold that view. But the Queen was tired of his cavalier attitude towards his impending demise.

The conversation lapsed as Akeno fished up, storing the blanket. She put the leftovers in containers for Eren to take home later.

"What's bothering you?"

"What do you mean?" Akeno asked a sudden question.

"You're quiet. You've been quiet the last few days, and so has Rias. You didn't even tease Asia and Issei today."

Akeno snorted a small, unladylike laugh.

Eren was blind and only met the nun for a few hours today, but even he could tell the girl's crush on the perverted boy.

Then again, Asia could do a lot worse.

Despite his perversion, Issei was the Red Dragon Emperor of the generation. Even if he was the weakest holder of Ddraig ever, that would still put him firmly in the Ultimate Class once he grew a bit.

On top of that, the boy was unbelievably sweet to the girl.

As in, his friends and the school would literally not believe their eyes if they saw it.

Not only had Issei largely kept Asia out of his perverted antics, but he had stood up for her and defended her against the fallen when they came to reclaim her.

Asia had tried to sacrifice herself to get them to leave him alone, but Issei had managed to awaken his Gear in time to fend them off, combined with his Rook strength and durability. He had held them off long enough for Rias and Akeno to arrive and help finish them.

Their aid and desire to stay with Issei had been enough for Asia to approach Rias about her open offer to join the Peerage.

It was an adorable story, like one of Rias' anime.

A not-so-small part of the Queen also liked the idea of the fallen being some two-bit mook in the story. Characters killed off in the first season to establish a romantic interest.

Akeno would be genuinely happy for the pair if they ended up together.

At least some people deserve to find love.

"Are you going to answer my question or sit there and sigh all day," Eren asked, tapping his cane on the ground impatiently.

"It's not my secret to tell," Akeno eventually said.

"Rias' then," Eren nodded. Akeno smiled wryly as she once more reaffirmed how sharp the boy could be. "Something to do with her family? She's been complaining about them a lot more than usual."

"It does," Akeno acknowledged but didn't provide any details.

If Rias didn't share, she wouldn't either.

"And since she hasn't told me, she doesn't think I can help with whatever it is," Eren sighed.

"It is something none of us can help with," Akeno said lightly.

No. That wasn't true.

They all could help. They could and would fight Riser in a Rating Game.

That was where this was leading, after all. It was a transparent ploy Akeno, and her King could see coming a mile away.

Rias' family was pushing the engagement forward, despite their promises to wait till she graduated, because they feared her new Peerage members.

The Red Dragon and its hosts had killed numerous members of the Phenex clan in the past, and giving Issei time to grow was a surefire way to ensure Rias was strong enough to get out of the deal by the time the original deadline arrived.

They had been content to let Rias finish her schooling, confident that the rebelliousness of youth would wear out as she grew and came to accept their decision. There had been no binding agreement for that promise, so nothing stopped them from deciding to change the date on a whim except their genuine care for their daughter and desire to have her see things their way.

The Boosted Gear changed everything.

A King with a fully realized Red Dragon Emperor in their peerage could dictate whatever they wanted in devil politics.

Someone disagrees with them, like, say about their marriage? Challenge them to a Rating Game.

That was how central the games had become to devil life.

It would be like a Satan suddenly being allowed to participate in Rating Games. Entire political careers had been built on the Rating Games.

Once Issei had a few years of experience under his belt, the Gremory would have no control over Rias. She could go centuries without marriage if she wanted, and nothing they could do would stop her. She'd just challenge her own parents to a game. It wouldn't be the first time factionalism formed within a Pillar house.

And that would ruin the Gremory.

For devils, with their abysmal birthrates, starting young wasn't just recommended. It was almost a requirement.

Just looking at Rias' parents proved it. Despite being a very loving couple over a thousand years old, they only had two children born centuries apart.

It was one of the reasons arranged marriages were so common, to ensure devils had at least one child before they inevitably did something that got them killed. When you are one of three parties in the greatest war ever fought, you need to keep up the numbers.

Especially if you are a devil with a bloodline.

For Rias, who had the Power of Destruction, one of the most coveted bloodlines in the underworld, the idea that she wouldn't have a child for centuries or millennia was terrifying for the remaining Pillar families. Already, they were being outnumbered by reincarnated devils ten thousand to one.

Rias's parents cared for her and loved her. They really did. They were kind to her, spoiled her, and took her Peerage in as family.

But they also had a duty to see that the remaining 31 Pillar houses did not shrink further. They still loved each other and had been in an arranged marriage when they were young. They did not understand her reluctance, but they were out of time to try and convince her.

So they pushed and pushed and pushed.

And now, pushing was no longer enough.

Instead of nagging, they were being more overt. Forget letting Rias graduate college. They wouldn't even let her graduate high school.

That was how terrifying a Boosted Gear holder was.

There was only one thing Rias could do now. The one recourse all High-class devils had.

A Rating Game.

Everyone knew it. The question was how long Rias could delay it. To give the Peerage more time. There were other more desperate ploys, but that was the only one that was sure to stop the marriage and not lead her into disgrace.

Right now, the entire Peerage was strong. Rias' added practice in order to grow strong enough to reincarnate Eren had spurred on the growth of the rest.

Akeno had no doubt that even without Issei or Asia, the four of them would absolutely decimate Riser's little 'harem.'

But Riser himself?

And his sister?

None of them were strong enough to ensure they'd be able to beat him enough to force him to retire. Especially not if they had to deal with his Peerage as well. Even if Rias could beat him a dozen times, it didn't matter if he healed two dozen times.

The extra power and training gave them a chance, but it was increadibly small.

If only...

"You're lying."

"Hm?" Akeno asked, having fallen into deep thought once more.

"You're lying," Eren repeated, fully frowning. "I know your bullshit when I hear it. There's something we, or at least you, can help her with, isn't there?"

"Yes," Akeno admitted with a cavalier shrug of her own. What was the harm in admitting that? Eren already knew she was a rotten, terrible woman. "There is something I could do to help my best friend. But I won't."

Safe in the knowledge that Eren couldn't see them, Akeno let her wings free.

One of them was bat-like, leathery and angular. The wings of a Devil.

The other was larger. Black as night, with soft feathers that glittered in the sun like polished obsidian.

The wings of a fallen angel.

As with every time she saw that... thing, accursed proof of what she was, Akeno could not stop her hands.

Blood flowed across her fingers as she tore fistfuls of feathers from her flesh.

The pain was an old friend.

"Why not?" Eren asked in that empty voice of his. There was no judgement in his voice but no curiosity either. Akeno didn't know what he was feeling.

All she was feeling was the familiar sting of self-disgust.

"Because I am a terrible person," Akeno said airily like she was talking about the weather, as she tore another handful of soft feathers from her wing. She was not gentle. They floated to the ground, slick with blood. "I would rather let my best friend, my sister in all but blood, be consigned to a terrible fate because I cannot stand the idea of using anything from that man. Because I am the worst woman to ever live."

"No. You are not."

"I am," Akeno laughed hollowly—another fistful. The wing was gaining bald spots now. From experience, Akeno knew she wouldn't stop until it was completely bare flesh with no feather in sight. Until there was no proof of what she was. "I am a terrible woman. The worst, vilest creature to exist. I am my father's daughter."

"The parents' crimes should never be passed onto their children," Eren sighed, unseeing the self-mutilation happening on the bench beside him. "I cannot claim to not hate people due to their ancestors or where they were born, but children are guiltless. Simply casualties in the wars and sins of grown-ups. Whatever your father did is not your fault, no matter what people have told you."

"I hate him," Akeno bit out, glaring at the boy. "I hate him. He wasn't there. My mom died because he wasn't there to protect her."

"I don't know the circumstance, so I can't say if it was or wasn't his fault," Eren shrugged.

Sometimes, Akeno absolutely despised how blase he could be. As if every story he was told was one he had heard before.

"He should have been there!" Akeno insisted, voice rising despite Eren's serenity.

"All I will say is that a husband not knowing his wife is in danger doesn't make her death his fault. Even if he could have stopped it if he were there. He didn't kill her."

There was something there.

Under the cavalier attitude and blank voice, there was something Eren was hiding. It was only because she knew him so well that Akeno could notice.

It was what prompted the next words.

"He didn't," Akeno laughed bitterly, tears of anger, loathing, and resentment filled her eyes. "I did."

Eren froze.

"What?"

"I killed her," Akeno repeated, the words falling out of her. Years of built-up guilt and disgust burst out of her. "They came for her because of me. Because she married my father and had me. They killed her because she wouldn't give me up."

At her core, Akeno was a rotten woman who hated herself more than she hated the fallen or Baraqiel.

It was her fault her mother was murdered.

Her existence had pushed the clans to send their assassins after the family while her father was away. If her parents had simply been wed and never had a child, Shuri Himejima would still have been an outcast, but she would have lived. The taint on their legacy, the mixing of 'sacred' blood with that of the fallen, had caused her death.

And now?

Now, Akeno could help Rias if she was willing to use her unique heritage.

Holy Lightning.

Baraqiel's signature ability.

It would counter Phenex's regeneration and practically guarantee their victory and Rias' freedom, turning a ten percent chance at victory into a ninety percent.

Yet every time Akeno tried to pull up that part of herself, tried to will even the tiniest of sacred energy into her electricity, all she could think of was her mother's murder, of her dying face, and the guilt would sap everything from her.

Akeno could still hear the blades entering flesh, the scream of pain, the urging of her dying mother.

Begging her to run.

To live.

In her nightmares, she was still on the streets of Japan. Barely surviving as her mother's last words rang out over and over and over in her mind.

Those were the better ones.

Others were just a repeat of the event. No changes. No embellishments.

Shuri Himejima never blamed Akeno, not even in her dreams.

The worst of the dreams was when Akeno saw what could have been. The 'what if' of her parent's lives if she had never been born.

They were happy. A loving couple living out a quiet life of seclusion.

A happy life without her.

Akeno would never use Holy Lightning. She could never use it.

Rias never forced her to or even asked her to, even after all this time. Even if it would solve her problem.

Akeno loved Rias as much as she hated herself.

Hated how her continued existence ruined the lives of those around her.

Truly, "Akeno Himejima should never have been born."

...

The punch came out of nowhere, so lost was the hybrid in her self-hatred and guilt.

Akeno flew off the bench, tumbling to the ground below, wings splayed in the dirt.

"Don't say that!" Eren shouted at her. "Don't you dare say that!"

He was standing, Akeno thought in a daze of shock.

He was off the bench.

For some reason, that fact shocked her more than the punch.

"Don't you ever say that again!"

Eren's face, the part not covered in bandages, was twisted in a snarl of fury. The greatest show of emotion Akeno had ever seen on his face.

"Just when I think you can't piss me off anymore, you go and spew this crap," Eren snarled.

His cane tapped hard on her leg to find her, and he bent down, grabbing the stunned girl by her shirt. The cane fell to the ground as he used both hands to hold her in place, a few inches from his face.

"Listen here, you pathetic woman," he growled, practically spitting on her in his intensity. "I don't care about any guilt you feel, how much you hate yourself, or whatever pathetic excuse you have for those words. That crap only matters to you. We're all guilty. But never, and I mean never, say you shouldn't have been born!!"

Eren punched her in the face again.

Akeno could have dodged it.

She didn't.

Akeno fell again as Eren continued to yell.

"No matter who you are, what you are, what you do, who you kill or don't. None of that crap matters. It didn't matter to your mom. It might not matter to your dad. It doesn't matter to Rias. I certainly don't give a shit. But no matter what, there is one thing that does."

Ah.

That face. That rage. Had that always been there?

Hiding under a man beaten by the world?

Had Eren always been... this?

"We all deserve to be born," Eren snarled, smashing a fist to his heart in emphasis. "We all deserve to be free to live. That is the only thing owed to everyone in this shitty world. We all deserve that just for being born into this world. Our sole birthright. Even you, the rotten woman that you are."

The shouting, the rage, seemed to leave him then as Eren sagged, almost collapsing back to the bench.

For a long second, Akeno lay on the ground, utterly shocked.

Her hand rose to her cheek where she had been punched. Twice.

It didn't hurt.

Eren was human and sickly on top of that. As well as being born half-fallen, Akeno was a Queen of a devil Peerage. Queen's didn't get the total bonus to toughness as Rooks, but they got a part.

It had been momentum more than force or pain that had caused her falls.

"I don't know if your mom died because of you or not," Eren admitted, panting for breath after the exertion. "You didn't kill her. Others did. So get that stupid idea out of your head. If you can't or don't want to use whatever has to do with your father to help Rias, fine. If she needs you to, she'll ask herself. But if I ever hear that Akeno Himejima shouldn't have been born, I will punch you again. And I don't think I'll stop."

He was serious, Akeno realized. He really would try to beat her up if she said that again.

Akeno couldn't help it.

She laughed.

She laughed and laughed and laughed and cried.

Akeno cried in the dirt, wings splayed wide for the world to see as tears streamed down her face.

No hug. Not a single kind word.

This wasn't some romantic gesture of acceptance. This wasn't Eren acknowledging Akeno for being Akeno, comforting her with the knowledge that he saw her as her instead of her race or heritage.

Eren didn't know about fallen angels, about Baraqiel and the sacred clans of Japan. He had no idea that Akeno could fry him before he could even throw a punch.

And Akeno was sure that even if he did, he'd still punch her.

It was so... Eren that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Ufufufufu," Akeno chortled, getting to her feet and wiping herself down. She also put her wings away, glad the older boy hadn't noticed. She wiped her tears as she took a seat on the bench. "What a brute. To hurt a delicate lady such as myself." Eren snorted. "Still, if I remember correctly, I did promise you a reward if you could punch me. What do you say? Want to help me explore my M side?"

Eren sighed, but Akeno was happy to notice it was a familiar one of fond exasperation instead of anger or disgust.

"I wasn't lying, you know," Akeno admitted softly as she pulled a twig from her hair. "It really was because of me that my mother was killed. That isn't hyperbole but fact. I couldn't have stopped it, but she would still be alive today if I had never been born."

"That doesn't change that nobody's birth is a sin," Eren answered just as softly. "No matter what you are or what you become. We all have the right to be born. To live free."

"What do I do then?" Akeno asked helplessly as she collapsed onto the bench beside him. "With the guilt? With these memories?"

"The only thing you can," Eren shrugged. "You live with them. How you live is up to you, but that doesn't change what happened. So you carry it as you move forward."

"You make it sound easy." Akeno could admit her voice sounded petulant even to her.

"It isn't."

Eren paused as if giving his following words careful thought.

Then he sighed and tilted his face to the sky.

"I killed my parents."

"What?" Akeno asked, the statement coming out of left field. "I thought you were an orphan."

"I am," Eren acknowledged. "That doesn't change that I killed them. I don't mean that they died protecting me or anything like that. I mean, I, myself, killed them. Nobody else."

"Did you... hate them?" Akeno asked, wondering if it had been revenge for leaving him on that church's stoop.

"No," Eren shook his head. "I loved them. Dearly. And they loved me. Wanted the best for me. Worried about me and cared about me. And yet I still killed them."

"Why?"

Akeno could see it in her mind. Eren, maybe a young teen, tracking down his parents to demand the truth. Finding them and finding out they had some reason to leave him at that church. A reunion filled with emotions, maybe even a hint of that rage she saw. But then love. Acceptance. Perhaps Eren had been happy.

For a time.

"With my father, it was an accident. Completely unintentional. He knew it would happen and chose to let me do it anyway. That's how much he loved me. But my mom..."

Akeno noticed the slight dampness of the bandages over Eren's eyes but didn't comment. Nor about the thickness in his voice or his clenched fists.

"I killed my mom. Directly. On purpose. Knowing who she was, what I was doing, and what it would lead to. No matter how much I loved her."

Eren paused, teeth gritt tight enough that Akeno could hear them as his hands tightened on his cane.

"Her last words to me were, 'Don't go.' I don't know if she didn't want to die alone, wanted someone to save her, or wished to see her son one last time. I will never know. I still remember her face as I killed her. The fear. The pain. I will never forget that sight."

That... Shuri's last words had been the complete opposite.

Run, Akeno. Run and live. Please live.

"When I say you will carry the guilt for the rest of your life, I speak from experience," Eren's voice was as heavy as it had ever been. This was a confession to a friend. For all that he claimed that Akeno angered him, Eren would not be confiding in her this terrible secret if he didn't want to reassure her in some small way. To tell her she wasn't alone in her guilt. "Not a moment goes by where I do not feel guilty for all I've done."

"Then why did you do it?" Akeno couldn't help but ask. "Why did you kill her?"

"Because it was necessary," Eren answered immediately with a gasp that choked a sob. "Because it saved the life of a child that I hated. Because I chose a few friends, the future I wanted, over the mother I loved. Because Carla Yeager's death was the start of it all, and it needed to happen if I was to move forward."

"That's it," Akeno said as she held a hand in front of her face. It was slick with bloody dirt, and a half-torn feather was caught in her nails. "Just move forward, no matter how much it hurts? That's terrible advice."

"It's the only advice I have," Eren shrugged, the emotions of the moment bleeding out of him into that familiar weariness. "I can't see your future. Or Rias'. I have no idea what problems you will face or are facing right now. I'll die soon, but I hope you won't. I hope you all lead long, happy lives. To do that, you need to walk forward. Guilt. Fear. Regret. You will carry them with you all your life, but you must continue on. One step at a time. No matter what."

For some reason, her own anger flared at his words. An emotion joining the guilt, the pain, and the self-disgust.

"You don't get to die," Akeno shook her head as she stared at the dirty blood in her hand. "Souna, Rias, Koneko, Yuuto, and I won't let you. Even Issei and Asia won't once you get to know them better. After everything you just told me, you don't get to go off and die. If I have to live with the guilt, so do you."

"I told you," Eren sighed. "I will die alone."

He said it with the certainty of a prophecy, a fact that would come true no matter what.

"No, you won't," Akeno denied fervently. She clenched her fists. "You said you couldn't see the future. I'll let you know I come from a long line of Miko, so I will make a prediction right now. Eren Yeager will live a long, happy life. Just you wait."

Eren clearly didn't believe her, but Akeno didn't care. As he had told her earlier, that was his problem, not hers.

If Akeno Himejima deserved to live, then so did Eren Yeager. If he was going to be selfish, so was she.

Even if he was a mass murderer who killed his parents, a terrible person, that didn't change who she was. Akeno was a rotten woman to her core.

Akeno wasn't going to let anyone else be taken from her.

Even if it meant dirtying herself further.

The blood and feather disintegrated in a quiet crackle of divine lightning. The tiniest of sparks darkened her flesh and stung with pain.

Rias was trusting her. Yuuto and Koneko were trusting her. Even Issei and Asia trusted her, looked up, and went to her for guidance. She could hate herself, but she could not let them down. She needed to be there when they needed her.

Akeno couldn't be Baraqiel.

The trauma was still there. The self-loathing, hatred, guilt, and disgust still filled her. It wouldn't disappear with one conversation or affirmation of conviction.

If Akeno wanted the strength to keep hold of her family, she would need to face those emotions every day. Over and over again, for months, years, potentially for the rest of her life. It was a war of attrition against her own emotions.

She'd always carry that guilt. A part would always hate herself.

But Akeno took that first tiny step forward.

And that was enough, she realized. For now, that tiny, shuffling step was enough.

The worst woman in the world sat with the worst man, companions in culpability, in self-hatred, and in pain.

Guilty? Innocent? It didn't matter in that moment.

They were alive.

They shared the same birthright as they sat together on the bench.

********

Beta: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331

Canonically, Rias' parents ramped up their efforts once Issei was reincarnated, despite their previous agreements. It isn't a stretch to think they are related. At the same time, if Rias had any other recourse but offering her virginity to Issei or a rating game, she probably would have taken it. Outnumbered and outpowered as she was in canon, she didn't think she had a chance. Thus, she only suggested a Rating Game when she felt she had no choice. Something everyone expected, based on Grayfia's words in the book.

Rias has a better chance in this world, thanks to all the extra training, but it is by no means a surefire thing. It was never Riser's Peerage that she worried about, despite their larger numbers. It was his regeneration. Power doesn't matter if the opponent can endure until you run out. Remember, despite having Balance Breaker, Issei only won using holy instruments that he boosted and after he sacrificed an arm. Something most devils would never, could never use.

Akeno's Holy Lightning, despite only being revealed later, recontextualizes a lot of things. For one, it underscores how much trauma is actually there, bubbling under the surface. I don't think she wouldn't have at least tried to use it, but couldn't do it, even to help her best friend.

I liken it to when Eren tried to turn into a titan but kept failing because he couldn't gather the determination properly, too many conflicting emotions.

One thing I love about AOT, and that I am trying to portray in this fic is how characters can have conflicting emotions. They feel guilt for their actions, but they'd do them anyway, even if they hate themselves for it. They'd be determined to do something but vacillate, fear, or second guess themselves. It is an inner conflict that we don't usually see in anime, and I wish to convey, if in some small part, in my stories.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

Two figures appeared from a clump of mist in a ruined church's basement.

"Exact coordinates as always," the shorter figure in glasses said with pleasure.

"Let's get this over with," the taller, much more muscular man grumbled. "I hate his assignments. No excitement."

"I like them," the shorter figure argued lightly, stepping over a ritual circle and looking at the large metal crucifix in the center. "Perfectly laid out step-by-step guides. Like a walkthrough. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find a Sacred Gear extractor outside Grigori control on our own? Even this one would have rotted in the basement of this no-name town whose only special feature is the devil heiresses playing house."

"Can I at least go fight them," the large man asked, hoisting the metal construct on his shoulder. "They're the Satans' sisters. They should give a good fight."

"Hm," the glasses-wearing boy hummed as he flipped through a book, reading its instructions. "No, Herc, you can't."

"Did he at least tell me why this time?"

"He doesn't. But I can guess. There is no other supernatural force in this town currently. They are all out. That's why we only came now. Apparently, the entire plan falls apart if we are discovered in Kuoh."

"Fine," Herc sighed. "Vali should be visiting soon anyway. He's always good for brawl."

"I would prefer if you didn't start fights you can't win."

"Nobody's asking you, Georg."

"Maybe I should leave you somewhere on the way back? What was that strip joint called again? 'Wangs Wonderful Wangs?'" Georg said to himself. "I heard you had fun last time. Maybe you'll actually get lucky and find someone 'man enough' for you."

"You wouldn't dare," Herc said confidently. "You won't do anything against the plan."

"I might," Georg said casually. "He'd know I'd do it. That would be part of the plan in the first place, wouldn't it?"

That seemed to stump the muscular man.

"I wish the boss was back," Herc grumbled. "At least I knew I could try and sock him one when one of his plans screwed me over."

"And achieve nothing," Georg said lightly. "But yes, I do agree. Most of us miss him. But what can you do? Wherever he is, we won't find him until he wants us to."

"That better be soon," Herc continued to grumble as they were swallowed by the mists, Gear extractor and all. "That damn cat is getting on my nerves."

********

"Surrender, Rias!"

"AAAGGGHHH."

Rias closed her eyes, biting her lip hard enough to bleed.

Anything to tune out Issei's screams.

It had been going so well.

Better than her wildest dreams.

Her Peerage had made quick work of their enemies, Koneko and Yuuto, retiring due to surprise attacks but only after clearing most of the way. Asia had fallen while healing Issei, and Riser took the field himself.

Despite that, the Gremory faction was winning.

Easily.

Their additional power, coordination, and Rias' help as a long-range Wizard-Type had wiped the floor with Riser's Peerage. The Phenex had obviously chosen them all for their looks rather than skill, power, or synergy.

The only risk they faced had been the Bomb Queen, the one who took out Koneko.

Akeno had toyed with the rival Queen. Played with and tortured her. Taunting and mocking her into frothing rage. Even the Phenex trump card, their tears, hadn't helped as Akeno had been glad to 'have a fresh toy.'

Issei had been stellar. Above and beyond what could have been expected of a new devil.

Responsible for half the total retirements on the other side, his durability and strength as a Rook boosted to absurd degrees thanks to Boosted Gear, which made him an absolute unit on the battlefield. A wrecking ball on the field.

Spells, blades, and fists had bounced right off him. His most significant contribution had been getting Ravel Phenex to give up after she took out Yuuto.

Somehow.

Rias still didn't know how Issei had done it.

The four of them, Akeno, Asia, Issei, and her, had faced Riser together. With his immortality, it would still be a long shot, but Rias had seen hope.

Losing Asia early to the Phenex had been a blow, but it had galvanized Issei to new heights, and he discovered he could transfer his power to another person. Taking the healer out had given Akeno a straight shot at Riser.

"I can do this forever!" Riser crowed with malicious glee. He was taking pleasure in the pain he was inflicting. Revenge for the reversal of his fortunes and the pain he had already suffered. "Surrender!"

"GRRRGK." Even though her eyes were closed, Rias could hear Issei try to grit his teeth against the pain.

"Rias?" Akeno asked softly.

Opening her eyes, the heiress looked at her Queen, her best friend, her sister in all but blood.

Akeno looked back, their eyes meeting in silent communication.

Words could not express how thankful she was to every one of her Peerage fighting for her freedom. Everyone, especially Issei, had gone above and beyond what could be expected of them.

Yet Akeno was the one Rias was most grateful for.

Not only had her Queen been with her every step of the way for years, every minute of training, blood, sweat, and tears, but Akeno had done the one thing Rias could never ask her to do.

Holy Lightning crackled around the 'Priestess of Thunder.'

It was raw, uncontrolled, blackening Akeno's skin in places where it touched her body. She hadn't practiced much with it, but that she was using it at all spoke of her commitment.

It proved that Akeno was part fallen angel to everyone watching, or would watch, this unofficial ratting game.

Akeno had borne her deepest wounds, her greatest shame, to the Underworld.

For Rias.

Rias Gremory was so Satan-damn lucky to have such a wonderful family.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

Which made her failings as King all the more apparent.

With Akeno's Holy Lightning, boosted by every ounce of power Issei could give, they had trounced Riser. The divine spell weakened his healing, leaving him vulnerable to all three of them.

Riser was an older devil on the cusp of reaching Ultimate Class.

Yet a teenager and her Peerage had beaten him into the ground.

And Rias showed her immaturity. Her weakness.

Her failure.

She had been too kind.

All it would take to clinch the victory was to get his surrender. Despite being beaten badly, he was still a Phenex. A devil house famous for their stamina and recovery, even outside of their immortality.

She had underestimated his pride and the wounds inflicted on it. She had overestimated her own control of the situation.

Intoxicated with victory and the promise of freedom, Rias failed in her duty to her family.

Rather than let Akeno torture the man into unconsciousness, as she should have done, she had told her Queen to stop. His cries of pain had been getting to her.

Rias hated Riser. Despised him with every fibre of her being.

But it had never been about Riser himself.

It hadn't been his man-whore mannerisms, his disregard for humanity or his foppish attitude that angered her so much. Riser was actually one of the better young devils out there. Harems weren't rare in the Underworld, and he clearly cared for his family. More than that, his Peerage clearly cared for him, which was more than many devils could claim.

It hadn't even been about her duty to marry someone to carry on the Gremory name and lineage that angered Rias. Riser marrying into her family would have been an acceptable choice, all things considered. Even if he was not a good devil, he was not a bad one either.

Rias had never hated Riser Phenex for who he was.

Rias Gremory hated Riser Phenex because of what he meant to her.

It had never been about Riser himself but about Rias. It had always been about her freedom and ability to choose her path.

Riser was the chain she needed to shake off, the physical representation of everything she hated about being Rias Gremory instead of Rias.

So, she wanted to give Riser a chance. The chance to surrender and spare himself the pain all devils felt when assaulted by Light. Riser hadn't chosen this engagement either. He was as bound by this promise of their families as she was. Riser lusted after Rias and desired her; that was clear, but maybe he loved someone else or didn't want to marry at all.

Maybe he, a third son of a prominent family, didn't want to be married off to the Gremorys.

Riser could have withdrawn in grace, clearly outmatched, and having held on longer than expected when exposed to Holy Lightning powered by a Longinus.

A grace. A hand extended.

A kindness.

And now?

Issei was paying the price for her failure.

A devil's pride was a terrible thing indeed.

"Gaw!" Issei gasped in pain, writhing and twitching in Riser's hands as more fire burned away at his skin.

Riser's face, twisted in a pained grimace yet still smirking, differed from his usual pretty boy demeanour.

He had been beaten but had never given up. He'd seized his one chance, the Gremory's famous soft spot for their Peerage. And he was relishing the impending victory.

The pride of the Phenex had been trampled, but he had not let it down.

The older devil held the Rook between him and Akeno. Rias was behind the Phenex, making an effort to flank him and free her Rook.

Riser didn't care.

All he cared about was keeping Holy Lightning away. Rias' attacks? They could hurt him, but he'd still regenerate. Any attack Akeno tried to throw would hurt Issei just as bad.

Rias was stuck, victory at her fingertips, yet unable to clench her hands around it.

If Sona was here? She was sure her rival would have some cunning ploy, tactic, or trap to get Issei out of Riser's grip. She could imagine Sona watching the match right now, adjusting her glasses as she did when nervous while complaining about Rias' mistakes and still hoping for the best.

If Eren was here? Well... Rias was sure he wouldn't have given Riser a chance to speak, let alone escape and capture a hostage. Eren would have been entirely merciless.

Rias was glad he wasn't watching.

She didn't want Eren to see her like this.

This weak.

This pathetic.

"Choose!" Riser insisted with another pillar of fire. The longer this continued, the higher the likelihood that Issei would pass out and retire.

"AHH," Issei screamed.

Rias wished Issei was a Pawn. He would have retired by now. But he was a Rook, and none of the damage he had taken was fatal.

Should she use Casteling? Switching places with Issei would save him but would be the same as surrendering. Riser would have her in his grasp, and he'd eliminate her.

Rias had a choice.

Victory or defeat.

No matter what she chose here, Rias would lose something.

Rias knew what she would have chosen a year ago. She would have surrendered and gone on to get married to this odious man in exchange for the safety of her Peerage. Her life in the human world would have been over.

Her freedom would have been gone.

From a certain standpoint, it made no sense not to chase victory. Issei wouldn't die from this. It was just pain, not debilitating or anything. Even the Holy aspect, which severely affected devils and skirted around the rules of Rating Games, could be cured by Asia later.

But could Rias be the one to inflict that pain on Issei? The boy she had already wronged? The boy who had trained, fought, and was being tortured for her freedom?

Could she give an order which might mean he lost what little trust he had in her?

Issei, like all her Peerage, had scars.

If she hadn't been paying careful attention, she would have missed it in their frenetic training, too caught up in her own drama.

But spending so much time training had forced her to be much more observant with her Peerage in what little time she did have with them.

Rias saw it.

She saw it when he flinched from female touch, even as he craved it.

Saw it when Asia practically threw herself at him, and he stood befuddled.

As if the idea of being loved was alien to him.

Issei was an honest boy. Honest about his feelings, his dreams, and his perversion.

That honesty, that baring of himself, had been betrayed by someone he had poured his heart out to.

Could Rias Gremory scar her Rook again? For a selfish desire for freedom?

"Do, grrrh, IT!" Issei shouted in a moment when the fire lessened.

Riser lit him up again, and coherence left the boy who had been a regular human only a month ago. An ordinary boy thrust into exceptional circumstances through no fault of his own.

"See," the Phenex said with a smile as he looked over his shoulder at Rias. "Even the Red Dragon Emperor wants you to surrender. Cease your struggles. Become my bride. And I will stop hurting the boy."

That hadn't been what Issei meant at all.

Rias closed her eyes again as the tears fell.

She didn't deserve such a wonderful Peerage.

'A person who cannot sacrifice everything cannot change anything.'

'Choose what you cannot sacrifice. Hold on to it. No matter what else you lose.'

She couldn't give up on the happiness she had found in her freedom.

Watching anime with Gasper. Training with Akeno. Cooking snacks for Koneko and napping on the couch. Reading with Yuuto. Teasing Issei. Helping Asia explore the world.

Rias could not give up the hope she held to eventually be strong enough to reincarnate Eren, to show him a life far from the pain of war and loss.

At that moment, Rias Gremeory wanted nothing more than to be on that uncomfortable bench.

She wanted her greatest worry to be whether or not she could accurately explain the wacky hijinks of the latest Jojo chapter in a way Eren could understand.

At that moment, Rias Gremory was not in a ruined facsimile of her school, facing a man who threatened to be her husband. She wasn't fighting for her freedom under the eyes of her family and the Underworld.

She wasn't deciding whether or not to torture one of her newest family members.

At that moment, Rias Gremory didn't exist.

'Rias' was on a bench, talking and laughing with her friends as a blind, sickly boy listened in quiet contentment.

That was what she could not sacrifice.

She would do anything to return to that bench and what it meant for her.

"Akeno," Rias said, opening her eyes.

She needed to see this out to the end.

To see what her kindness and failure had cost.

"Rias?" Akeno asked again, waiting for the order.

Rias stared not at her Queen or the blond man who had haunted her nightmares for years.

She stared at the scorched body of her Rook. Issei weakly met her eyes over his shoulders, barely able to lift his head.

Rias stared into those brown eyes as she gave the order.

"Do it."

The crackle and thunder of Holy Lightning.

The shout of surprise and pain of a man whose plan had failed.

The weak cries of a boy already on the brink.

The sounds of the death of a love that could have been, should have been, but now never would be.

It all drowned out another sound.

[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]

********

Beta: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331

One thing that is rarely shown in Shonen shows is how much kindness can cost. The power of love and friendship conquers all yadda yadda. I like kind characters, but there is a price for kindness. Stories that show that price and force the characters to pay it to rise above the easy path are generally better, in my opinion. More real. Look at AOT or Vinland Saga.

Before someone points out that Riser is acting out of character, I will remind you that he does hold Issei hostage in the Rating Game for Rias' surrender. He's better than a lot of fanfiction likes to portray him as, but he is still a dick. He also has his pride, not backing down from the pain Issei inflicts on him with holy instruments. He could have, and would have, kept fighting if Issei hadn't knocked him out with boosted holy water.

As I said, I try to stick to the canon characteristics as much as possible. The good and the bad. For Rias and Riser.

I will see you all next time on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

"I did it again," Rias admitted, her voice laden with guilt and self-disgust.

"Did what?" Eren asked.

"I hurt Issei."

Issei said she did the right thing. He said he was all healed, thanks to Asia.

He said getting hurt was better than her marrying the Yakitori. She shouldn't feel bad. He had asked her to do it.

He meant it, too. Issei couldn't lie worth a damn.

But Rias saw.

Rias saw the way he'd flinch away when their eyes met.

Rias saw him shudder in quiet moments when he thought no one was looking.

Rias saw him stare at hers and Akeno's bodies in his usual, perverted manner. Then the memory would return, and he wouldn't look at them for hours.

Akeno had stopped teasing him.

Even her sadistic Queen understood that there were some wounds inflicted on the soul, not the body, that should never be touched.

Asia hadn't left his side once. The former nun confided in Rias that he had nightmares.

Asia had wanted advice as to how to help him.

Rias didn't have an answer for her.

"Accidentally?" Eren asked.

"Not this time," Rias muttered, staring vacantly at the page of the manga she had been narrating to Eren when her confession had slipped out. "I didn't want to hurt him. I really didn't. But I had a choice, and I did anyway. And now... I don't know if things will ever be the same."

That youthful nativity of Issei's that she found so endearing, that boundless desire and hope, was now tempered by pain.

Issei still proudly proclaimed his dream to be Harem King, still determinedly focused on gaining his own Peerage, training, and strength.

But it was not with certainty that he spoke anymore. His dream was something Issei worked for but was unsure he could achieve.

"Things are never the same," Eren responded in that complicated tone of voice he got when he reminisced on his own past. "Time passes, and things change. Whether we do anything or nothing, that is how the world is. The only thing we can do is try and change it in a way favourable to us. So, you hurt Issei? Was it worth it?"

"It was."

It was a terrible, sad thing to say, but Issei's pain had made the world a better place for her.

Rias was free.

Free of her family's machinations, free to choose her own path and her own future. Free to live in the human world as Rias, to establish herself as her own woman before taking up the mantle of 'Gremory.'

Free to try and save her friend's life.

In some twisted way, it was also worth it for Issei.

He had always possessed potential as the Red Dragon Emperor of this generation. His future would have been boundless if he could live long enough to realize his growth.

But Issei's starting point had been so behind the curve that he was practically handicapped.

Issei had been the weakest holder of Boosted Gear.

Ever.

His magical potential, an essential factor for all supernatural races, had been less than that of a baby devil.

His body had been lacklustre. When he became a Rook, his physical abilities were the absolute minimum of the type. Even Koneko had been stronger when she had been reincarnated, and she had been a little girl, starved and without training when she was reincarnated.

Issei had no special talent. No skill with weapons or genius intellect. Nothing to make up for his lack of magic.

Issei had been weak enough that a devil, one not fully grown, had been able to reincarnate him with one piece, even though he possessed one of the Twelve Longinus. Something that had never happened before in the history of the world.

Now?

Now, Issei Hyoudou was the Red Dragon Emperor who achieved Balance Breaker in the shortest time ever recorded.

Words could not express how much a Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker changed things. The name gave it away.

It broke the balance of the world.

It was something against the system of the Creator. An aberration was never meant to exist. Even a low rarity and low power Sacred Gear could become a threat to Ultimate Class beings when it achieved Balance Breaker.

Issei had done it with a Longinus in less than six weeks.

Issei might not grasp what that meant, but everyone else did.

Kiba, who had used his gear for half a decade, hadn't achieved Balance Breaker.

Asia, who had used hers daily for most of her life, hasn't attained Balance Breaker.

Rias knew reincarnated devils, centuries old, who had never achieved Balance Breaker. Most Sacred Gear holders died without ever reaching that level of power.

Issei had gone from the weakest Red Dragon Emperor ever to the one with the single greatest potential ever.

And people, devils especially, noticed.

Issei, if he wished, didn't need to become a High-Class devil to start his harem. All he had to do at this point was go to the underworld, and women would be throwing themselves at his feet, begging to join his harem.

Devils craved power. Admired it. Lusted for it.

In wealth, fame, influence and, especially, direct power.

Issei had that in spades now.

Rias wouldn't allow some magic-digger floozies to exploit Issei's nativity. She owed him that much, at least.

But it didn't change the fact that Issei was better off after the Rating Game than he ever was before.

Except...

Sacred Gears respond to emotions. They grow, change, and adapt as the user's emotions do the same.

Issei standing up to and defeating Raynare had been enough emotional upheaval to awaken the Boosted Gear.

What must he have felt, only a few weeks later, that propelled him all the way to Balance Breaker?

Rias shuddered to think.

Because if she did, she might cry at the thought of what she had done to her darling Rook.

"If it was worth it, you just have to do it again." Eren shrugged, taking Rias from her thoughts.

"What do you mean," she asked, knowing Eren wouldn't suggest hurting Issei again.

"You changed the situation," the blind boy explained. "It will never go back to the way it was. That is the simple truth. But if it was worth it, if the outcome was worth the cost, then your new situation is still acceptable. You should not seek to undo what was done. You should seek to change the situation again. To make it better in some way. We might never be able to return, but we can always move forward. You just have to work for it."

"How do I do that?" Rias asked, well aware of Eren's limit to his advice.

Eren never gave an exact, step-by-step plan. He always left things open-ended. Over the last year, Rias realized it was because he wanted them to think for themselves.

"You know Issei better than me," Eren shrugged. "You know how you hurt him. I don't. All I can tell you is that hurting your friends sucks, but it is sometimes necessary. So long as they are happier in the long run. Your actions were worth it to you. Make it worth it to him."

Because of Eren's lack of knowledge about exact situations, thanks to the supernatural, his advice was always vague. But it gave her a good place to start.

What had changed? Not for her but for Issei.

The easy answer was that he had been hurt again. But where was that pain coming from? What could Rias change to try to make things better for him?

Again, there was an easy answer. Issei was not a complicated boy, despite his hidden depths. But throwing women wouldn't help him.

... Or would it?

Rias and Akeno had hurt him. That was a fact. But it didn't have to be them, did it? Koneko was more likely to noogie her fellow Rook than she was to hug him, but there was a much more willing participant in any plan nearby, wasn't there?

Rias was all for supporting her Peerage's dreams, wasn't she?

Rias might be unable to heal Issei's wounded heart, but Asia had been asking for advice, hadn't she?

Maybe it was time to be more proactive in her Peerage's love life.

Issei was kind of dumb on top of being traumatized, but even a dull nail will eventually bind wood if you hit it often enough.

But how to go about it?

Again, there was an obvious answer.

"I have an idea," Rias said, but then paused as she realized what she would ask her friend. "Have you talked to Issei before?"

"A few times," Eren nodded. "It's mostly just him venting. He is... lively."

"But you talked to him alone?" Eren nodded again. "And, uh, if he asked you for advice, you wouldn't mind giving it to him."

"It seems that is all I'm good for these days," Eren said in his usual, plain tone, but Rias could detect a hint of wryness in it.

"Even about love?" Rias asked softly, taking Eren's hand in hers as she asked. The blind boy froze for a moment but eventually relaxed.

"I don't think I am the best to talk to about that."

"I wouldn't ask you this if I had anyone else I could turn to," Rias admitted. "None of us, or his usual friends, have any experience with love or romance."

"No experience is better than bad experience," Eren pointed out gravely. "She... we didn't part on the best of terms."

There was the slightest tremor in his hands, Rias noticed.

It had been years since he had seen this woman, whoever she was. Yet talking about her was troubling this normally unflappable boy so much. It made what Rias was asking all the more challenging.

"That," Rias winced as she cut off her sentence. She chose her following words carefully. "It's not my secret to tell, but Issei's first relationship didn't go well. She tried to kill him."

Eren tensed once more at her words. He was silent again, once more giving the situation careful thought.

Sometimes, he seemed so brash, so violent, like a force of nature. In others, he was cautious with his words, like he was afraid a single sentence would destroy the world.

Rias wondered which was the 'real' him and which had been forced upon him by circumstance.

"Ah," he sighed. "If he asks, I'll talk to him. It wouldn't be the first time I gave love advice to a young boy. Just so you know, the last time I did so, the results were mixed at best, and I never found out how it ended."

"Thanks," Rias smiled and gave his hand a thankful squeeze. "That means a lot. I think he needs a male role model."

"You really don't want me to be his role model," Eren shook his head.

"I believe you are wrong," Sona's voice chimed in, and Rias looked over.

Eren, too, looked in her direction, facing her exactly. He was much better without his eyes now than when they first met.

Sona was walking towards them, a portable chess board under one arm.

"If you can instill some sense of propriety into that boy, the entire school might cheer your name," Sona said with a smirk, and Rias chuckled.

Just because she knew Issei's issues didn't mean that others did as well. There might be a parade if the Issei stopped being a perv in school.

"Then again," Sona's eyes narrowed as she looked down at where Rias' and Eren's hands were joined. Her glasses flashed ominously. "I am afraid some of his... eccentricities might rub off on you."

A part of Rias wanted to flinch her hand away, to separate from Eren as if she had been caught doing something to be guilty about.

A much more significant part of Rias felt a surge of competitive antagonism at her old rival and refused to do such a thing. Instead, Rias leaned further into Eren's arm, pressing her breasts against him.

"Hey, Souna," Eren raised his free hand in greeting, unaware of the silent conversation between the young women. "I didn't think we had a lesson today."

"We do not," Sona responded, adjusting her glasses once more as she glared at the redhead. "But I wished to spend some time with you outside of lessons. I would like to also teach you to play chess."

"Chess?" Eren asked with a tilt of his head. "Why?"

"It's Souna's favourite hobby," Rias chimed in before Sona could answer. "I enjoy it as well. If you learn it, we can play sometime."

"I already know the basics," Eren answered, gesturing to the bandages over his eyes. "Can't play like this, though."

"You can," Sona said, holding up the packaged board. "I purchased a set with large pieces distinct in shape between black and white. You should be able to feel the difference with just a touch. Rias, please move so I can put it down and set it up."

"Why don't I hold it in my lap? I can help describe things to Eren until he knows which pieces are which."

"That will not be necessary. I am fully capable of describing the situation to him without aid."

"But you might cheat. I'm a neutral party he can trust."

"I would never cheat, and neither would Eren. I intend to win honestly and fairly, using my own abilities."

"Your abilities as his teacher? He can trust me more. I'm his friend."

"I believe we are both his friends. I have known him longer, and thus Eren can trust me more."

"Are you two going to do this for a while?" Eren asked, his tone annoyed. "It's just chess."

"Just chess?" Sona asked, almost offended.

"Chess is very important to our culture," Rias hurried to explain, not wanting to seem petty in Eren's mind. "We've both been taught it since very young. Souna got out of her arranged marriage using chess. She said she wouldn't marry anyone who couldn't beat her."

"Rias!" Sona squawked in outrage at the spilling of her secrets. Then she looked at Eren, worried about his response.

"Really?" He asked, but with a nonchalance that told the pair he didn't give it much thought. "Weird way to determine a partner, but if it works for you."

There was a brief moment of silence before Rias broke it.

"That's it?" She asked in disbelief. "You don't have any thoughts about the arranged marriage?"

"No?" Eren half asked as he shifted uncomfortably in the silence. "Why would I?"

"What I believe Rias means," Sona said, clearing her throat and regaining her equilibrium. "You have expressed many times your views on freedom and the like. We simply believed you would express similar passion against such an antiquated practice of marriage for benefit, political or familial, rather than for love."

"What does that have to do with freedom," Eren asked, audibly befuddled.

"Isn't it wrong to force someone to marry they don't love," Rias asked passionately. Out of everyone, she believed Eren would have been the one to understand her.

"I still don't understand," Eren shook his head. "It's wrong to force anyone to do anything against their will. But that isn't the case here. Sona wasn't forced to marry someone she didn't love. She got out of it. And with chess of all things."

"I was lucky," Sona admitted. "Not with the victory, as that was my skill, but that my family would accept my conditions. Others are not so fortunate and are forced to marry or face expulsion from their family or worse."

"Then be expelled," Eren shrugged again. "If they don't want to be married, don't get married."

"What if it's under threat?" Rias asked, trying to parse Eren's stance now that the initial shock had worn off. Eren was the type of man with increadibly simple beliefs he stuck to, but they were based on layers and complexity that sometimes popped up unexpectedly. "To their life or to others they care about?"

If she had been alone, Rias might have chosen the expulsion option if it came down to it.

But she wasn't alone.

She had a peerage, one that she would lose if she lost her High-Class status. At best, the rest of Gremory would take them in as their own pieces, and she wouldn't see them again. At worst, they would become Stray Devils, hunted by all factions to follow her.

"Then die, fight, or get married." Eren tilted his head as if the answer was obvious.

"Now, I do not understand," Sona admitted. "Is using threats or coercion to enforce specific actions and responses not the definition of depriving someone of their freedom?"

"I'm not explaining myself properly," Eren muttered lowly. Then, louder, he started a story. "I knew this girl, Historia. She loved another girl, but that one died. Years later, some bigwigs wanted to use Historia as a pawn. They'd use her and eventually kill her after getting a bunch of children from her." Both girls' voices hitched the horror at the idea overtaking them. "I had a plan, one that could save her. But I needed time. I told her this. You know what she did?"

"What?" Rias asked.

"She did exactly as those bigwigs wanted," Eren said, and both girls frowned. "But she did it on her terms. They wanted her to produce children? She got married and got pregnant. She chose a man she didn't love but could live with. In doing so, she had control over her future, and I had time for my plan."

"Why did you not help her escape?" Sona asked. "You just mentioned it as an option for others, and that would have given you the time you needed."

"I would have if that was what she wanted," Eren shrugged. "I owed her everything. I cared for her. We all did. But she was the one who suggested the plan, not me. By doing things this way, she kept peace and saved lives. If she had run or fought or killed herself, it would have been a civil war."

Seriously, Rias thought. Right when she thought Eren's life couldn't sound more like an anime, he went and said something like this.

"It wasn't an ideal outcome. Nothing ever is. But it was one she chose. That's what I mean when I say an arranged marriage doesn't necessarily take away freedom. Because you always have other choices. Only when you refuse to choose, to fight, do you lose what makes you free."

"By that logic, everyone is free," Sona contemplated with a frown.

"Everyone is," Eren shrugged. "They are born free. The only ones who aren't are those who choose not to be. Those who choose to be cattle in a cage. Freedom is not doing whatever you want. It's having the ability to choose. There might only be terrible choices, which all cost something, but that doesn't make you any less free."

"I don't like it," Rias said with a glare. "I don't like the idea that someone will force others to marry just for some benefit. I don't like the idea that death or flight are the only options."

"Bad options are still options," Eren shrugged. "To Historia, the prospect of marriage and motherhood were better than death and war. I would choose the opposite in her circumstances. Some others, men or women, might make the same choice as her. Maybe the marriage is worth the benefits. People will do crazy things for money or power."

"What if someone is just trying to kill you," Sona asked Eren, focusing less on the marriage aspect and more on the 'freedom' idea. "Are they free to do that?"

"They are," Eren nodded gravely. "But they are also trying to take away your freedom to live. Anyone trying to take your freedom should have theirs taken. The freest man in the world is the one without any surviving enemies. But seeing enemies that aren't there, fighting to attain a freedom you already have, is not being free."

It clicked for Rias then, where the disconnect was between her and Eren.

To Rias, freedom was just that. It was the ability to live how you wanted, without anyone influencing you—freedom from negative consequences.

To Eren?

Freedom was life itself. To be deprived of freedom was the same as dying, if not worse. So long as you were alive, you pursued freedom in your own way. If you weren't chasing your freedom, you were just waiting to die.

And if anything stood in his way?

He destroyed it.

No matter the cost.

"If you need to fight for your freedom? Fight," Eren intoned lowly. "If you need to kill? Kill. But never, ever forget why freedom is important. If you do, you will be chasing an empty word. You are not free. You have simply chosen a different set of chains. Always chase freedom. Never become a slave to it."

The mood remained sombre even once the girls set up the chess board and started playing against each other and occasionally against Eren.

Their thoughts revolved around freedom, its pursuit, what price they'd pay for it and what it had already cost them.

Dreams, regrets and memories weighed heavily on their backs as they spent another day together on the bench.

********

Beta: Old Man of the Mountain/Darklord331

I have always been interested in Eren's perspective on 'freedom' after the Rumbling. It would be completely against his character to give up on it, but I think that he would take a more philosophical approach after his pursuit of it led to what was, essentially, the ultimate prison.

Many people will think of that image where he stands in the clouds, has just started the Rumbling, and says he's free. I've seen many people say he isn't, but they fundamentally misunderstand what Eren considers freedom. To him, 'freedom' is having no walls. Nothing to stop him from doing what he wants. With the Founder's power, he can do whatever he likes.

He is free from all walls and all fear.

But it comes with consequences. And I think that would force him to confront Eren's own personal belief on 'freedom' and what it was he had been chasing for so long.

The same with Historia. A lot of people gave her shit in the last season because she 'chose' to marry and have kids. They ignore the subtext that, if she didn't, there'd be another civil war over her bloodline. Eldia needed the Founder, and they would kill for it. Historia was just the womb the bigwigs required to produce more of Fritz's bloodline to ensure the Eldian legacy. They'd never allow her to fight again. If she didn't want herself and her children to become titans, Historia's only choice was to give Eren the time for the Rumbling.

Historia chose both the kindest and cruellest option, which is perfectly in character for her.

Historia has always been the type of character who chooses an option she can live with. She's a survivor and a kindhearted one at that. Far from her character being 'ruined,' she did what she always did. Historia had shitty choices, but she chose to do things in her own way, which saved the lives of those she cared about.

Those are just a few of my thoughts; I hope they are conveyed well enough. Enjoy the holidays and I will see you all next time on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

There was silence on the bench.

Both young men were lost in their own thoughts. One of them stared sightlessly at a sky he couldn't see through thick bandages.

The other stared at his left hand, held up in front of his face with a complicated expression.

Not a word had been exchanged in over five minutes.

Issei, usually the one to talk when he visited the sickly boy, hadn't even felt the time pass.

To be fair to the pervert, he had a voice in his head he could talk to—a real one.

[Partner. The boy is trying to talk to you.]

"Sorry," Issei said, snapping out of his funk to look at Eren, who, in an uncharacteristic move, had been the one to break the silence. "I didn't hear that Yaeger-senpai."

"Don't call me that," the blind boy said for the dozenth time, but there was no heat to it anymore.

That was something Issei still didn't understand.

Eren allowed Kiba to call him senpai without comment but tried to stop everyone from doing the same. The Red Dragon Emperor didn't know why. Even after reading his file and talking to the others, much about the dying boy was still a mystery to the high school student.

They had talked a few times in the last couple of weeks, primarily Issei trying to get to know his Peerage's friend.

It mostly devolved into the pervert talking about women and harems and providing in-depth descriptions of various girls' breasts since Eren couldn't see them.

(It should be noted that once she found out, Sona bribed Issei to lie about her cup size to the older boy.

Issei steadfastly refused.

To lie about Oppai was blasphemous of the highest order. He might be a devil now, but he wasn't evil.

Turning down the student council president's offer of all previously confiscated contraband was one of the hardest things the Rook had ever done in his life. Issei really missed his limited edition copy of Milky Paradise 3: Olympus Mons. He never collected all the scenes.

But doing God- ow- Satan's work was often unrewarding, even if it was the right thing to do.)

Today, the younger boy had picked up where he left off last time, comparing the merits of size, firmness, perkiness, and bounce versus body types. As Issei rambled, Eren had listened, even though he was not very engaged.

Sometimes, Issei thought Eren just liked the company. But once Issei had finished proselytizing about the merits of the 'Oppai Loli,' the Rook didn't continue.

Instead, he started to talk to Ddraig in his mind.

"I asked if you were all right."

"Ah," Issei awkwardly rubbed the back of his hair, trying to devise an excuse. "Sorry. I, uh, got lost in thought. I'm fine."

Eren didn't say anything, but his lips did press slightly in a frown.

"Really!" Issei said with cheer. "I'm great!"

[Partner.]

Issei ignored Ddraig's sigh in favour of keeping a focus on the older boy, who looked even more displeased than before. But rather than calling Issei out on whatever he wasn't happy about or continuing to press him about his silence, Eren shifted the conversation.

"You talk about girls a lot."

Even Issei knew that was an understatement of the century, but he stared at the other boy in confusion, wondering where he was going with this.

Eren was speaking slower than usual, even if it was in his regular, plain voice. Was he... embarrassed?

"Have you, um, been with a girl? Do you have a lover, I mean?"

The questions were so out of character that Issei stared, mouth slightly agape in surprise. Only when Eren smacked his leg with his cane did the student stutter out an answer.

"Uh, no. No, I don't."

"Why not?" Eren frowned. "You want one, don't you? Or do you not have a girl you like?"

"I like all girls! Big girls and small girls. Milfs and Lolis. There are no girls I don't like! No Oppai is wrong!" Issei declared passionately before deflating. "But... it's complicated."

Would you die for me?

Akeno. Do it.

Phantom pain pulsed through Issei's chest. Only part of it was physical.

Nobody achieved Balance Breaker without strong emotions.

"Why is it complicated?"

"Well, um, I, ah," Issei stuttered, trying to think of what to say. Direct questions like this were not really common among Japanese social norms, where feelings and circumstances were usually kept quiet. Throw in the secrecy of magic, and Issei was seriously panicking. "I'm not very well-liked, you see."

"And?"

"And girls don't want to date a pervert."

It somewhat hurt to admit it out loud, but Issei knew what people thought of him and his friends. But he didn't regret it. He might be a pervert and an idiot, but he was true to himself. He refused to hide who he was.

It just made finding a date difficult.

"But you want to make a harem?" Eren asked doubtfully.

"Of course! I am going to be a Harem King!"

[Partner.]

This time, Ddraig's sigh was less of sympathy and more of exasperated exhaustion.

Eren surprised Issei then. Unlike everyone else who had heard his dream, he didn't mock Issei or laugh at him. Instead, the older boy asked a simple question.

"What are you doing to become a 'Harem King?'"

"Uh," Issei stuttered once again, unsure how to handle the frank question. Too used to derision, the student was caught flat-footed. Even his fellow Peerage members, who didn't deride his dream, still didn't seem to get it and often joked about it to him. Koneko was especially brutal. "What do you mean?"

"How are you advancing toward your goal," Eren asked. "Having a dream is good, but you must work at it. Souna wants to be a teacher and is practicing with me. Yuuto is walking his path. Even Rias and Akeno have their own goals and ambitions they work towards, though I don't know what they are. So, I will ask you again. What are you doing to become a 'Harem King?'"

Issei floundered once more.

He did, in fact, have an answer. It just wasn't one he could tell Eren.

High-class devils received their own Evil Pieces, and it was common for those not interested in climbing the ranks of the Rating Games to fill them with lovers and make their Peerage into their own personal harem.

More than that, both Ddraig and Buchou had told him multiple times that dragons and their Sacred Gear holders tended to attract members of the opposite sex because of their power and presence.

The short answer to Eren's question was Issei was training to get stronger.

Every day, Issei worked with Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and Rias to take advantage of his Rook traits. With Asia on hand, they didn't need to worry about permanent damage, so they could go all out.

Every day, Issei grew stronger and tougher and could last just a little longer in his Balance Breaker Armour.

So he'd never be that weak, that helpless, again.

And Issei wasn't the only one to feel the hunger after the fight with the Phenex peerage. Everyone was training harder than ever.

They bled, they fought, and they grew.

But with the older boy's ignorance of the supernatural, Issei couldn't say 'training' and have it make sense.

Instead, to buy time, Issei asked a question of his own.

"Why are you asking?" Issei's eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Have you decided you want a harem as well?"

"No," Eren said plainly, and the Red Dragon Emperor deflated. "I'll be dead soon. It's no secret. I won't start a relationship with a girl for it to end in tragedy. Even if I had the chance."

"Oh," Issei wilted further. "Right. Sorry."

There had been something in Eren's voice, a regret maybe, but Issei didn't know the older boy well enough to say for sure.

"I am asking because you have been off all night," Eren said, not bothered by Issei's lack of tact. "And don't give me that 'I'm fine' bullshit. I've used that one enough to know when someone is faking it." Issei closed his mouth. Sometimes, he wondered if Eren really was blind. "You are not a complicated boy, Issei. That is not a bad thing. If you have a problem, it's most likely about girls."

Issei wanted to say that wasn't true but paused as he gave it some serious thought.

Yuum- Would you die for me? - Raynare had been the one to kill him, leading to his reincarnation.

Asia had been the one he had been defending when they tried to take her back.

And the Yakitori fight was because of Buchou's -Akeno. Do it.- forced engagement.

Come to think of it, baring Kiba, all the supernatural beings he knew of were female.

[Attracting attention, especially from the opposite sex, is typical for dragons.] Ddraig rumbled within his soul. [That isn't always a good thing.]

"Will you tell me what is wrong?" Eren asked.

Issei knew then that, whether he answered or not, Eren would accept his decision. So long as he acknowledged something was wrong, Eren wouldn't ask any further questions if Issei didn't want him to.

There was just one issue.

"I don't know," Issei said helplessly, looking at the older boy. Eren couldn't see the confusion, hesitancy, or fear in the brown eyes. "I don't know what the problem is. I don't know if there is a problem. I've been having... nightmares."

The young devil said the words slowly as if admitting it was a weakness, a sin he shouldn't speak of.

"I don't remember most of them, but they're bad. Really bad. I woke the whole house a few times. Asia has started sleeping with me so she can wake me up when I start... screaming."

Eren looked ready to say something, but he closed his mouth, gave his words more thought and eventually asked a simple question in his usual monotone.

"What do you remember?"

A spear of light pierced his chest. Red blood. Red hair.

Lightning. Fire. Pain. Red hair and green eyes filled with tears.

"Girls," Issei eventually said. "Familiar ones."

"Rias? She said she hurt you again."

"And others," Issei said lowly.

"Do you hate them?"

"NO!" Issei shouted in surprise at the question, looking at Eren in horror. "Buchou saved me. And she didn't want to hurt me. She didn't have a choice! I can't hate her for... what she did." He had almost let the circumstances slip but caught himself at the last second.

"And the other women?"

Issei couldn't answer.

He honestly didn't know.

It should have been easy.

Raynare had lied to him. Betrayed him. Killed him. Tried to kill him again. She hurt his friends and hurt Asia. Issei knew she had been a monster, and the world was probably better with her death.

It should have been easy to hate her.

Yet, Issei couldn't find it in himself to hate Yuuma Amano.

No matter what the circumstances, she had been the first positive experience with the opposite sex he had ever had outside his mother. For a few hours, while the fallen's mask had been on, Issei had thought about giving up his dream of a harem if it meant making this girl happy.

It was naive. It was stupid. But, for those few hours, Issei could understand why his father had given up on the same dream in order to be with his mother. Issei wouldn't do it after one date, but he could understand his father's choice for the first time.

To the fallen angel, it had been a fun game. Make pretend. A higher being toying with a hapless mortal.

To Issei?

It had been real.

"There's your problem," Eren sighed. "It is easy to hate. So easy. To rage and fight and kill. People say killing is hard. It isn't. Not when you hate your enemy. But when you don't? When you understand them, know about them, care about them, or love them? When you know why they are that way and why they do the things they do? Hatred is easy. To care is so much harder."

They were both quiet for a long moment.

Then Issei broke the silence in the most 'Issei Hyoudou' way possible.

"I want a harem."

"You've mentioned," Eren said dryly.

"It's been my dream for most of my life. I used to think it was going to be easy," Issei said softly, staring at his left arm again. "A previously all-girl school? It was like an anime or eroge. Even if most girls hated me, one or two would like me, right? I'd give it my best, and everything else would fall into place. In some way, I thought it was inevitable."

Becoming a devil had only made that feeling grow. A society with a system tailor-made for harems, accepted his perversion, saw him as valuable, and provided him a path to walk to his dream?

Issei had almost considered his inevitable harem as set in stone. He had entertained fantasies about who would be in it. Rias. Akeno. Koneko. Maybe even Asia, once she was more worldly. Maybe some classmates or other supernatural races.

Issei had imagined it. Fantasised about it.

Dreamed about it.

For a while, Issei Hyoudou had lived in a world where he was the protagonist.

Then it collapsed in a flash of light, a clap of thunder, and the searing of flesh.

Issei had spoken the truth when he said he didn't blame Rias. In some way, he didn't even blame Raynare.

Issei Hyoudou blamed himself.

He blamed himself for being a naive, perverted, too-honest, and too-trusting boy. Someone more intelligent, wiser, or better than him would not have fallen for Raynare's facade.

They wouldn't have gotten captured by a defeated enemy and used as a hostage against his friends. Someone else would not be this week and pathetic.

Buchou claimed that the Rating Game had shown the world Issei was one of the most promising Red Dragon Emperors to ever live.

Issei disagreed.

All it showed was a young, dumb, weak pervert in over his head.

"Now, I am not sure I will ever have a girlfriend again, let alone a harem."

"You might not," Eren nodded.

Issei stared at the boy.

That... was not encouraging. Far from comfort or advice, as the Rook had expected, the sickly boy had responded instantly and brutally.

And Issei couldn't deny the truth of the statement.

"But that will be for you to decide," Eren continued. "You have to decide what you want and what you fight for."

"I'm not that bright," Issei said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "But I don't think that's how love works. I think I don't get to decide whether girls like me."

Eren frowned, opened his mouth, leaned back, and looked at the sky. Issei wondered if he had put his foot in his mouth again and accidentally said something wrong when the sickly boy spoke.

His voice was heavy, slow, and deliberate, as if every word was worth its weight in gold.

"I knew a couple, once. Younger than you are now," Eren started. "Trained with them for years. They danced around each other's feelings forever. When they got together, they were inseparable. We always joked about their inevitable marriage. Teased them. If two people were made for each other, it was them." Eren grit his teeth as he spat the following words. "He died the first day on the job. We found Hannah cradling what was left of Franz, refusing to face reality. Refusing to acknowledge that he was dead."

Issei froze. It was one thing to read about Eren's history as a mercenary; it was another to hear stories directly from him.

There was a weight to them. Like Issei was being entrusted with something precious. But they were also far from what a boy who, only a few months ago, was a regular teen had any frame of reference for.

For all the conflict and trauma Issei had dealt with since becoming a devil, he had never lost anyone he cared about. He didn't know what to say.

Thankfully, Eren didn't expect him to say anything just yet.

"My experience with romance isn't great either," Eren's voice deadened as if all emotions had drained from his body, yet his words were as impactful as ever. "I never really thought about love. Too busy chasing my goals. Too busy running ahead. I never noticed her feelings. In my defence, I had always considered her an overprotective sister and never considered her a romantic partner. Still," Eren paused as if lost in thought.

Even if Issei didn't know Eren as well as the others, he still could hear the regret thick in his voice.

"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had understood her better. If I had known what she always felt for me. If I had known what I could feel for her. If we had more time together, would we have been happy? Or would it have been a greater tragedy?"

This time, when Eren paused, he did not continue to talk. He was lost in his memories, staring at a sky he couldn't see.

Issei had a lot of questions, but one floated up, interrupting the older boy's reverie.

"Who was she?"

"She was," Eren paused again, voice thick with emotion. Longing. Regret. Love. "She was quiet. Private. Protective. She would do anything for those she cared about. She was the strongest person I ever met. In body and in heart. But she never wanted to use that strength. She would have much preferred a quiet life than one of battle. But she chose to follow me. To protect me. She saved my life. So many times. Too many times."

Eren choked back something. Maybe a grunt. Maybe a sob.

"She was my sister. My family took her in after hers were killed by slavers. She was one of my best friends—someone I could always trust to have my back. I had always loved her. Not in that way. Not initially. She had been in love with me for years, but I was too dense to notice. To caught up in my own pain and rage. I didn't fall in love with her till later. Till it was too late."

"What happened?" Issei asked, fear making his voice tremble.

"She didn't die, if that's what you are asking," Eren said as he shook his head. "It was a close thing, though. That was how I fell in love with her, believe it or not. I had done something stupid and got myself captured. Again. People died to get me back. Too many people. And one of them was really dear to us, almost an uncle. We watched as he was torn apart. We almost died, too. We were about to. We were sure it was going to happen."

Eren raised his own left hand over his head as if to stare at it, unknowingly echoing Issei's previous position.

"All I could do was scream. Scream at myself for being helpless. For failing. For everything. It was all my fault. More than I realized at the time, it was all my fault. And yet..."

For the first time, Issei saw something else on Eren Yeager's face.

It was only a shadow, a hint of expression lost in his words, but Issei would swear up and down that Eren almost smiled.

"She smiled. She didn't care about my guilt, uselessness, or anything else. We were about to die, and she smiled as she thanked me. For being with her. For rescuing her from those slavers. For teaching her how to live. For wrapping that scarf around her neck. We were about to die, and all I could think about was how beautiful she was when she smiled."

Enraptured by the story and the emotions that so mirrored his circumstances, Issei couldn't help repeating his question.

"What happened next?"

"We survived," Eren nodded. "But things changed. My feelings had changed. Maybe she sensed it, but she no longer was as overprotective. And I no longer resented her concern, seeing it in a new light. It took me a while to sort out my feelings. I am not good with that sort of thing. But I realized what they were pretty quickly. But we had a final mission to do. After that, I would talk to her if we survived."

"Did she? Survive, I mean?" Issei asked eagerly before realizing how insensitive that question would be if she hadn't.

"We did," Eren thankfully nodded, but his face was set in a heavy frown. "Two hundred scouts died that day. Nine survived. The mission was a success, but my thoughts were... occupied. I put off confessing till we had a plan on what to do from there. But then I had one. A plan that would get me almost everything I ever wanted."

Despite his words, Eren did not sound happy. If anything, he sounded furious.

"I wanted it. I wanted that future so bad." Eren bit out, teeth clenching. "But it would cost me so much. The lives of my friends. And I would never be with her. Even if we loved each other, we'd never be together. I searched desperately for an alternative. A way to avoid that plan. To save lives. The lives of strangers and of my friends. To save the life I wanted to live with her. Even when I resigned myself, I was prepared to throw it all away if it meant spending those few years with her."

The fury that filled the blind boy fizzled out as he slumped against the bench in defeat.

"But that never happened," Eren sighed sadly. "Instead, I went ahead with the plan. We never so much as kissed. She probably moved on. I hope she moved on. I hope she is happy, even if it is not with me. I don't know what happened after I... left."

A creaking sound tore Issei's gaze from the older boy's bandaged face, and for the first time, the Rook noticed Eren's hands.

He had gripped his cane tightly, so tightly it had creaked under his white-knuckled grasp.

Unused to the overt display of emotion from the boy, Issei scrambled for a way to change the subject to something more positive, something that might bring back the hint of a smile he saw.

"What was the scarf you mentioned?" Issei asked hurriedly. "The one she thanked you for?"

It thankfully worked, and Eren's frown fell from his face for a softer expression as his fists unclenched. He took a deep breath as if to compose himself before he answered.

"I rescued her from slavers, and she saved me right after. But it was the middle of the night in the mountains. It was cold out." Eren idly raised a hand to his neck as if to adjust a scarf that wasn't there.

"I wrapped my scarf around her. It was a simple thing to me. She seemed cold, almost in rags, and I still had my clothes. She kept the scarf. For years, she never went anywhere without it. I didn't realize what it meant to her till that day. It meant much more to her than it did to me. I promised I would always wrap it around her."

Eren softly lowered his hand back to his cane as he whispered the last words, almost to himself.

"I hope she got rid of it."

"Do you regret it?" Issei couldn't help but ask, morbidly curious, as he remembered a small scrunchie.

A small gift purchased to commemorate his first-ever date.

"Since you can't be together, do you regret giving her the scarf?"

It was the wrong thing to ask.

"Listen to me, Issei Hyoudou," Eren said, voice quiet but intense as he suddenly leaned forward, turning to face Issei as if to look him in the eye.

All the Rook saw were bandages and a mouth set into a determined line.

"I am a monster. The Devil in every sense of the word. I have killed. I have murdered. I have more blood on my hands than anyone ever before or since. Throughout all my life, everything I have done has ended in tragedy. I have many regrets, far too many."

Eren stabbed at Issei with a finger, right in the heart, and the Rook flinched in surprise.

"There is one thing I have never regretted. It is the only purely good thing I have ever done. The only time I was ever a hero. No matter what happens, I will never, ever regret wrapping that scarf around her. Do you understand?"

Startled by the intensity of the blank gaze and the fervour in his voice, Issei hurried to answer as he nodded frantically.

"I do. I do. I understand."

Eren maintained his position for a few heartbeats after Issei's frantic answer as if daring him to take back his words. When Issei said nothing else, he relaxed back into his chair with a grunt.

"I got off topic," Eren said as he resettled. "I wasn't telling that story for memory's sake. There was a point. Did you get it?"

"Uh," Issei stuttered. He had honestly been too absorbed to think about the more profound implications or possible morals. "No. Sorry."

"The point was that there is no such thing as a fated love," Erin grunted. "If life were like Rias' manga, I would have ended up with her. I am not unaware that my past can be considered fantastic enough to qualify for entertainment. But this is real life, not fiction."

Issei remembered a few weeks ago when he thought that his life had become a light novel.

Had he always assumed he was the protagonist? Or had it just been the exceptional circumstances getting to him?

"There is no such thing as destined love or soulmates," Eren bit out. "If there was, I would have settled down and married my childhood friend whom I loved and who loved me. My friends would not have died as soon as they got together. Another of my friends would not have had to find love in a marriage she never wanted. We would have lived happily ever after." Eren grunted in derision. "But that didn't happen. Because nobody is certain to end up with anyone else."

"I get it," Issei said morosely. Eren had a point, but it still hurt to have his naive dreams thrown in his face like that.

"I don't think you do," Eren said. "Because if you did, you would not sound so sad."

Issei blinked, unsure why he shouldn't be sad.

"Didn't you just say I am not fated to be with anyone?"

Eren smacked the boy on the back of his head.

"You aren't destined to be with anyone," Eren said roughly. "But that applies to others as well. They are not fated for anyone else, either. That is the freedom of it. I know nothing about your love life, about harems, or romance. All I know is that no romantic or otherwise relationship happens if you don't work for it."

Issei almost bit out something sarcastic about Sona but held it in.

Maybe Eren did know about the devil's crush and chose not to say anything because he did not want to start something doomed to a tragic end.

"Do you have a problem with someone? Fight! Do you like someone? Ask them out! Do you want a harem? Work for it! You will stumble, fall, and get hurt as you move forward. I can't promise you will achieve your dream or even have one girl, let alone many. All I will promise is that you will have none if you stay still."

Issei took a deep breath and looked at the older boy. Sickly, dying, and regretful.

Yet still living, still fighting in his own way.

"You're right," Issei said, smacking himself in the cheeks with both hands as he stood from the uncomfortable bench. "Your right! I've been too lazy. If I want to be a Harem King, I need to be better. I have to pursue more girls. I've been rejected a thousand times. I can handle a million rejections if I achieve my dreams. Even if it hurts, I can't just sit still!"

"Before you run off to get yourself hurt again," Eren said dryly. "I have some advice I wish I had received myself. It might help you get started with your... harem."

"What is it?" Issei asked eagerly, still fired up.

"Look to the ones beside you," Eren said gravely. "Instead of running ahead, slow down. You will reach the same destination, but you will have fewer regrets. Those who want to travel your path with you will thank you."

Issei left the clearing with the bench, pondering the older boy's parting words.

He left Eren Yeager alone on the bench with his memories of a love that never was.

Issei would continue to have nightmares, but they lessened over the coming months.

It might have been thanks to Eren's words, or it might be because, a week after that talk on the bench and turning the words over, Issei puzzled out what the dying boy meant.

A few days after that, when he gathered his courage and after a hefty amount of pep talk from Ddraig, Issei Hyoudou asked Asia Argento out on a date.

Asia's smile, as she agreed, was angelic.

Maybe Issei would get his harem, or perhaps he wouldn't. He'd been hurt. He would be hurt again, Issei was sure.

He had a long road to become the Harem King of his dreams. He didn't know the future.

All Issei knew was that for that smile, for that light in his life, he'd name his first child after the boy on the bench.

********

Beta: Old Man of the Mountain

Issei isn't an edge lord, vengence-driven type of man. That is his problem. He blames himself for most things that go wrong. That is half his trauma, always wondering if it was him and not Raynare that was the issue. The closest you get to that type of Issei in canon is when he goes Jugernaught Drive, and even then he is explicitly not in control then. Issei went through trauma, yes, but he is still Issei.

One of my pet peeves in Fanfiction has always been characters going OOC for no reason. AUs are fine, excellent even, but there needs to be a thread of logic I can follow, or I lose my investment and see the hand of the author. It can be subtle, but it has to be there. Ironically, AOT is one of the best examples of quiet character growth.

One of the most common complaints I've heard about the end of AOT is that 'Eren suddenly loves Mikasa? Where did that come from?' I respond that Eren didn't at the show's start, but he changed. Mikasa did, too. I can point to the exact moment where Eren fell in love. You can, too. Just read Chapter 50, 'Scream.' They are pages 21 to 26. That's what I always point to. I dare anyone who knows the ending of AOT to read that and say Eren didn't fall in love with Mikasa.

Between that point, throughout the entire ordeal with Historia's family and the battle to retake Maria, Eren never lashes out at Mikasa, and she never babys him, yet she is still concerned about him. It is a subtle realization of love without the 'daisuki' or overt displays of affection so common in anime. Neither of their characters is the type to be overt with that kind of emotion. After Maria, Eren sees the Rumbling and spends years searching for a way to stop it. When he can't, and Mikasa is too shy to say she loves him, he goes on to what we see post-time skip.

Do not get me wrong, AOT is not without fault. I have many issues with it myself. But the Eren/Misaka love thing was never one of them because I saw that love grow throughout the entire series. I just never understood why others couldn't see it, either.

Characters have reasons for their actions, or they aren't compelling characters. I hope to get that across with my writing.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and I will meet you all next time on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

The familiar voice cut through the red haze of rage and pain.

"What is going on here?"

Everyone froze, Excalibur Destruction inches from Kiba's neck.

""EREN!"" From his place on the ground, the Knight heard Akeno and Rias shout in surprise. It was the King who continued. "Sona! Get him out of here!"

"A human?" Kiba heard the executor with the sword at his neck mutter in confusion.

"Have you tried talking him out of something," the student council president asked rhetorically with more than a little bit of anger. "We heard a commotion, and he insisted on checking it out."

"I recognize a fight when I hear one. Especially one with metal blades." Kiba heard Eren say dryly.

Only the Knight's long experience with the dying boy let him understand that much of his tone.

Eren was speaking in that dead way of his, like nothing in the world mattered. From his position, the Knight couldn't see the boy's face to know his expression.

"Now, will someone explain what is going or will I have to start hitting things with my cane?"

"What have you done, Sitri?" Xenovia snarled, finally pulling the hateful blade from Kiba's neck and pointing it at Sona. "A hostage? What have you done to him? Torture? Is there no low your kind will not sink to?"

"Sitri? And Rias called you Sona?" Eren asked, and Kiba could finally look at the boy and notice him tilting his head in question.

The blind boy was off the bench, standing with the Sitri heiress on the far side of the clearing they had their fight in. Sona had kept him clear of the fallen trees and holes they had torn through the dirt.

Of all the exorcist said, only the names had given the former mercenary pause.

"I told you my family is foreign, right," Sona hurried to explain, a note of panic in her voice. "When I moved to Japan, I went by a Japanese version of my name. Souna Shitori, rather than Sona Sitri."

"Huh," Eren grunted. "That explains a lot. You should have told me. I'd have called you Sona."

"I'd like that," Sona said, relief in her voice at Eren's easy acceptance of her words, but she still glared at the exorcist. "And no. He is not a hostage. He was simply resting on a nearby bench when we heard your fight. If you are done, we will leave."

"Ah, Lord." All the devils winced in pain as the other exorcist, Irina, recited a prayer. "Please save this lost lamb from the devil's clutches and return him to the flock."

Eren's face was still set in his placid expression as if all emotion had drained from him. Still in a daze, Kiba noted that his friends hurriedly looked at each other, trying to communicate silently.

This was bad. They needed to get the boy out of there. If things devolved even further, they wouldn't be able to keep Eren safe if the exorcists attacked.

"If nobody will explain what is happening, I will have to get involved." Eren started to draw his blade, but Kiba's ragged and rough voice stopped him.

"Senpai," he croaked. "These are my juniors. They have my goal. It is right here."

All eyes looked at the fallen Knight.

"Yuuto!" Rias resumed her rush to his side, paused by the arrival of the unexpected guests, and began worrying over him and checking for injuries.

Even a little nick from an Excalibur was fatal to most devils.

"I see," Eren said, returning his blade to his cane with a click. He poked around a bit with his cane till he found an exposed stump and then, unmindful of the dirt, sat down. "Are you going to kill them?"

The casual way he asked the question, the complete disregard for human life, sent a shudder through the spine of the newer members' backs.

Both exorcists focused more intently on the older boy, reevaluating him.

"Who are you?" Xenovia asked bluntly. "Are you also a survivor of the project?"

"I have no idea what project you are talking about," Eren denied. As he spoke, Kiba was glad to see Akeno, Koneko, and Sona circle around the boy, ready to protect him in case things went bad.

"The Holy Sword Project," Kiba spat out as Rias lifted him over her shoulder. "It took in orphans. Ran experiments on us. And when they were done with us? They killed us. Guns. Gas. They killed us all. Except for me."

Kiba was laughing bitterly, even as tears fell from his eyes.

He felt weak.

Impotent.

His vengeance was right here!

And not a single blade of his survived a clash.

Rias tightened her hold on her Knight even as Asia gasped and Issei's gauntleted fist clenched. The others already knew about it, but they all still looked angry. Even the executors looked uncomfortable.

"They're from the church," Kiba rambled. "All the pain we went through? They got the reward for that. This is my chance for vengeance."

Eren snorted.

"There's no such thing as a holy sword," he denied, unable to see the blades glowing power. "All swords exist to kill. It is as simple as that. But the church doing something like that, I can believe. Religion is for the mad, the desperate, and the cattle."

"Who are you?" Xenovia asked again, anger filling her voice. "Who are you to question God and his followers?"

"The Devil," Eren deadpanned as the actual devils winced in pain again from the exorcist's use of the word. "And I've never seen proof of god or that he cares about his followers. I have seen a few churches, though. I saw one collapse, killing all the 'followers' inside like bugs. No god saved them. I've destroyed a few myself. So who are you, followers of a god that isn't there?"

Sona and Rias hurried to share a few looks, and the redhead sent a few subtle directions at her Peerage.

The devils were tense, ready to act at the first sign of actual conflict, but they were also quiet. More than anyone else, they understood that Eren had a way with words.

For good and bad.

So long as everyone kept talking, killing time wouldn't be too bad.

More than that, it gave Asia time to heal the fighters and for them to recover. Every second that passed, the devil's side was in a better position if it did come to a fight.

Irina Shidou didn't seem to care.

"Shidou Irina," she introduced herself cheerfully, waving her whip-sword around. "Nice to meet you, Heretic-kun."

"Xenovia Quarta," Xenovia said with displeasure, much less exuberant than her companion. "I should not be surprised by your blasphemy, given your company. Swine lays with swine."

The devils bristled, but Eren simply hummed in thought. He still didn't express any emotion. Like he was going through the motions rather than feeling anything.

It was incredibly off-putting.

The last time he had been like this for so long was almost a year ago.

"Quarta? And with the church?" He tilted his head, idly tapping his cane. "Any relation to Griselda Quarta?"

Everyone stared at the blind boy in shock.

Except for Issei, who whispered into Koneko's ear.

"Who's that?"

"Exorcist," Koneko whispered back. Low enough that Eren couldn't hear, but Kiba was still a devil. "Top five."

"How do you know her?" Xenovia bit out, hands tightening around her sword handle. Irina looked from the blind boy to her companion in confusion.

"We've met. At a church, believe or not," Eren deadpanned. "How's her leg?"

Kiba was the fastest person there.

He had been on guard ever since the exorcists had appeared. His eyes tracked the Excalibur's like a hawk watching a mouse.

He was still almost too late.

CLANG!!

Eren didn't flinch as Excalibur Destruction was deflected less than a foot from his face.

The devils lept into action, surrounding the boy even as Xenovia retreated from her failed blow.

"Xenovia!" Irina cried in surprise as the blue-haired girl snarled.

"That's him!" The exorcist spat. "Eren Yeager! The Child of Evil!"

Irina's eyes widened, and Excalibur Mimic returned to its sword form.

Kiba didn't see any of it. He was too busy staring in shock at the black sword in his hands.

He had summoned it on instinct.

It hadn't shattered.

"Griselda should have survived," Eren said blandly, still not emoting. "If she got help quick enough, she should have even been able to save the leg. If she died, it was not my fault."

"She's still alive," Xenovia spat. "No thanks to you. You left her for dead."

"She shouldn't have gotten in my way."

"She was protecting people!"

"The people she was protecting were mercenaries and sex traffickers."

"They had surrendered! They were asking for sanctuary! From you!"

"I'm sure that matters to their victims."

"You blew up a church!"

"It should have been better protected if it didn't want to get destroyed."

Was he dreaming?

Was this real?

It was too surreal that Kiba wondered if he had actually died under Destruction's blade.

On one side was the shouting girl, waving a sword larger than herself and shouting accusations.

On the other was the blind boy sitting on a stump, answering blandly without any emotions.

It was like a twisted parody of Kiba's recent outburst of hysteric rage.

And the subject matter was even more unbelievable.

Eren, young, sickly and blind, knew Griselda Quarta? Had fought her? Beaten and injured her?

It was like Kiba was in a world where up was down, left was right, and his swords could suddenly stand up to an Excalibur.

Nothing made sense anymore.

But his body moved all the same.

CLANG!!

Excaliber Destruction bounced. Kiba did it again.

His sword deflected Excalibur.

This time, the attack didn't go without response.

"ENOUGH!" Rias shouted, glowing with power as Issei placed himself in front of Kiba and Eren. "You got what you wanted. Leave. Now! Another attack like that, and we will respond with lethal force."

Xenovia looked like she was ready to argue or even put up a fight, but she wasn't the first to respond.

"Why don't you?" Eren asked Rias. He was still speaking in that cold, plain monotone. "They're here. You outnumber them. I can help with the bodies. So why don't you kill them? They're Kiba's enemies, aren't they? Targets of vengeance who hurt him? So kill them."

Everyone looked at the boy, some in horror and others with consternation.

"Just as I would expect from the Child of Evil," Xenovia spat as she lept back towards her partner, facing the group side by side. "Bring it on. We are not scared of any of you."

"We are not killing anyone," Rias insisted as she glared at her friend. "If they were the ones who hurt Yuuto, I would. But they aren't. They're no older than us. So long as they leave us alone, I promised not to interfere and will not break my word."

Eren didn't know anything about the politics involved, Kiba could understand. He couldn't even see who he was threatening to kill.

As far as the blind boy was aware, there was a fight. He approached and found out it was the target of the Knight's vengeance. Everything Kiba knew about Eren Yeager told him that Eren would not hesitate.

But...

"I..." Kiba said, voice low with realization. "I didn't want to kill them. I just wanted to destroy their swords. Those cursed things. They're the reason all my friends died."

Both exorcists looked at the Knight in surprise, and Rias' eyes glowed with pride.

"Mmmh," Eren nodded. Then he pulled out his sword again. A sense of familiarity once again struck Kiba, like he had seen the flat blade somewhere before.

Eren held the thin sword before him, parallel to the ground.

Then he brought his elbow down on it.

It snapped.

The thin sword could not hold up to even the sickly boy's strength.

Bending down, the blind boy pawed around momentarily before finding the broken blade and picking it up. Without a handle, the razor-thin sword cut into his fingers and palm.

"Eren!" Sona shouted in shock, reaching down to get the boy to drop the blade even as his fingers bled. By the time she held his wrist, Eren had already thrown the sword at Kiba.

It missed. By a wide margin.

Eren was still blind, after all.

But it sank into the ground in the middle of the clearing, feet away from the Knight.

"If you are going to be stupid enough to believe that, use that sword. It will do you just as well as anything you might have," Eren said as the others fretted over him. He ignored them, pulling a roll of bandages from his pocket to wrap his hand.

Asia was already healing it, but he could not see the green glow.

"If that one breaks, I have dozens of the things," he said. "They're sharp. Made to cut through flesh. They'll cut you just as easily as any other blade."

"That will shatter in a second in a real fight," Xenovia said derisively.

"A sword is not meant to break swords," Eren replied. "A sword is made to kill. Ask Griselda. That blade is sharp enough to kill your actual target."

Then, the blind boy faced Kiba again, who was staring from his white blade to the razor in the ground.

"Hating inanimate objects is stupid. I know. I hated those walls for years. I still do. But your vengeance should never be against the walls but against the people who built them. It doesn't matter if you tear a thousand walls down if they are rebuilt."

Kiba started laughing.

He laughed and laughed and laughed.

Of course.

Of course, Eren was right.

So Kiba laughed and cried.

Excalibur had been broken before. That's why there were multiple swords now. Made from its fragments.

Kiba could break them and break them and break them, and there would still be fools who would torture children to reforge them.

Killing their wielders wouldn't even accomplish anything, either. There were always more slaves to the church to pick up the pieces.

It was all so pointless.

"Senpai," Kiba choked out through a sob. "What am I supposed to do?"

"That is your choice," Eren said simply. "I can't see your Path. I don't know what you will do or how it will end. All I see is my own. I had my vengeance. And I ended up alone for it. I would do it again, but I have regrets. Will you?"

Kiba looked at the exorcists. These girls had everything he had been promised. He looked at their swords. Those blades he and his friends had died for.

Then he looked at Rias, the girl who took him in even though he might not have anything to offer.

Akeno, who took care of him, taught him and cared for him like a sister.

Koneko, who looked up to him and held his hand on the first day of school because she had been scared.

Issei, the clumsy junior he took under his wing. Yuuto hadn't been called a Damn Handsome in weeks.

Asia, also betrayed by the church, yet so devoted to caring for others still.

And then he looked at the sickly boy on the stump.

At his Senpai.

At a twisted mirror of what he could become.

The black sword dissolved into motes of light.

"Now that this... disturbance has ended," Sona said with a sigh as she adjusted her glasses. "You can take your leave. We will not interfere with your search."

"Ah," Irina gasped and bowed in farewell as she spoke cheerfully. "It was nice to see you again, Issei-kun. Take care of yourselves, you filthy heathens."

Xenovia looked like she had swallowed a lemon, but she understood that further conflict would not help her mission. Still, she had a question she needed answering.

"How did you do it?" She asked, looking at Eren. Since he didn't respond, probably because he didn't know she was talking to him, the exorcist continued. "How'd you beat her? She never said."

"Beat her?" Eren asked. "Griselda? I didn't. I was nine. Nobody expects a child to stab them. I tricked her. It's why I went for her leg, to stop her from being able to fight in the first place. You can fight with one arm but not one leg. She was in the way of my mission, and I got rid of her threat. As simple as that."

"Why didn't you kill her?"

"Why would I? She hadn't wronged me. She wasn't even my enemy. I might have if she had a gun, but all she had was that stupidly oversized sword. She wasn't worth the loss of time it would take to kill her when my prey could run at any second."

Despite himself, Kiba couldn't help the snort of amusement that left his lips, mirrored by Akeno.

The idea that Griselda Quarta, famed exorcist and terror to devils everywhere, had been tricked by a human child and left to die because she 'wasn't worth killing' was too damn funny.

Xenovia's fingers twitched, but she swallowed her words and turned on a dime to stomp her way out of the forest. Irina hurried to follow with one last cheerful wave towards Issei.

There was a beat of silence as everyone waited for them to gain some distance.

"Dramatic." Koneko deadpanned.

"I only understood half of what just happened," Issei said, raising his hand as if in question.

"That's more than I expected."

"Hey!" Issei cried in self-defence as he whirled. Then he froze as he realized who had spoken. "Did you... Did you just make a joke?"

"Help me back to the bench," Eren said in his monotone, utterly unaware of the looks of disbelief he was receiving. "You haven't told me how the date went yet."

"Ah," Issei gasped and hurried to pull the boy up, slinging an arm over his shoulder. His face, as well as Asia's, was flushed completely red. "Hehehe." He laughed nervously as he led the boy back the way he came. Asia hurried to follow.

Those who remained watched them leave with a mixture of emotions.

"That boy," Akeno muttered, placing her hand on her cheek as she shook her head in silent laughter. "I can't tell if he's a good influence or not."

"Should I bake a cake?" Rias asked out of nowhere. When they looked at her, she explained. "For Eren's first joke with us. He's opening up. We should celebrate."

"He just told us to kill a couple of girls he had never met before," Kiba snorted, but he was smiling.

"I think it was sweet," Akeno giggled. "He was defending his Kohai."

"What do you think, Sona," Rias asked her rival, who continued staring after the departed boy. "Chocolate, vanilla, or ice cream?"

"I am not interested in cake flavours, Rias," Sona said as she removed her glasses to rub her eyes tiredly. "What I am interested in is how a nine-year-old human boy was able to injure one of the most dangerous women in the world enough that she couldn't fight anymore?"

"Anybody can be defeated if they are taken by surprise," Akeno shrugged. "I wouldn't expect a kid to stab me in the leg, either."

"...Sneaky," Koneko said with a thumbs up.

"Maybe," Sona said lowly, looking thoughtful.

"What is it?" Rias asked.

"Don't you think Eren is being too... blase about all this?" Sona asked, looking around. "He hears a sword fight and goes toward it instead of away. In that entire conversation, only my name gave him pause. I think..." She trailed off, worrying her lower lip.

"Eren's life hasn't been normal by any stretch," Akeno pointed out wryly.

"But that's just it," Sona pursed her lips as she adjusted her glasses. "Everything about him is slightly off. Names that don't fit. Events we can't trace. A timeline that doesn't line up."

"Lying?" Koneko asked with a frown.

"No way," Rias denied instantly. "There is no way I will believe what he... That what he told us is a lie. There was too much emotion, too many details, and over too long a period of time. Maybe your family's agents missed some stuff, that's all."

"It's possible, but everything on that file was verified. We are missing something. Some key fact. Some clue that will make everything make sense. And..." She paused, giving the matter another moment of thought. "And I think he knows something is going on."

"What do you mean?" Yuuto asked.

"I don't think he knows about the supernatural, or at least not fully, but he didn't even flinch when Asia started healing him."

"If he fought Griselda Quarta, he probably ran into other supernatural beings while he was active," Akeno nodded in agreement with Sona's words. "He probably saw things he couldn't explain but never got a full explanation of how the world really works."

"Should we tell him," Rias asked eagerly.

"Eren... probably already knows something is up with us," Sona continued, worrying her lip. "He's sharp enough and known us long enough that I can't imagine he doesn't know we aren't regular students. Today would just be proof. But he hasn't brought it up. It might be best to leave it for now. Until he asks, at least."

"Fine," Rias pouted. "But I get to be the one to tell him. I already have a speech and everything."

"Fufufufu," Akeno giggled behind her hand, eyes twinkling in mischief.

"There is another thing, though," Sona said, her smile muted as she shook her head at her rival's antics. "We might need to be more careful from now on. Eren has enemies. And now, they know he is here. Or at least the church does. We need to get those exorcists out of our territory immediately. I will have my Peerage send out their familiars to search for the Excaliburs."

"Trouble," Koneko nodded as she punched her fist into her palm.

"Hm," Rias gave the matter some more thought. "I know we said we would leave those exorcists alone, but we can do that and keep an eye on them. Maybe subtly point them in the right direction if we find the swords first." She looked at Koneko, who nodded, and then to Yuuto. "Can you do this?" She asked softly. "I don't want to leave Koneko alone when Excaliburs are involved. Can I trust you to keep calm and back her up?"

"You can," the Knight said as he saluted with one of his swords. The black blade glinted in the light.

"Hopefully, we all get out of this intact," Sona muttered as she eyed the blade curiously.

The next day, Kokabiel, cloaked from surveillance and scouting the local leylines under Kuoh Academy, found a blind boy sitting on a bench.

********

Beta: Old Man of the Mountain

There's a lot I want to say with this one, but at the same time, I think this is one of the cases where I am better off letting the readers form their own opinion, so I'll keep mum on most of it.

All I will say is that my experiment with tones continues. The hard-hitting emotional moments shifting to light-hearted jokes, to serious concern. It is a whiplash, but I hope it flows well enough.

I wish everyone a very happy new year, and I will meet you all, in 2024, on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

Kokiabel felt a shiver of excitement down his back.

Was this it?

Was he going to die here?

Now?

Could his millennia of life of warfare, victory, and defeat come to an end today?

Would all his planning, his careful orchestration of events to his benefit, fail fruitlessly here, right before the finish line?

Kokabiel was one of the very few beings aware of how useless plans were before this foe.

With a mad grin, the Angel of the Stars stepped towards the bench and the young man sitting on it.

... When he wasn't immediately attacked, Kokiabel's excitement and nervousness started to fade, and wary caution replaced it.

Step after step, the fallen Cardinal approached. He made no move to quiet his steps, knowing it was pointless.

Yet no attack came. No ambush or trap.

It was just him and the boy.

Which meant...

"What do you need?" Kokabiel asked, sitting beside the sickly boy on the bench.

It was better to work with him. Trying to defy him would be pointless.

Kokabiel thought his plan was foolproof, but if there was one thing he had learned in his life of war, nothing was without flaws.

"From you?" Eren Yeager asked, not looking at the Fallen but facing the sky.

As if he was really blind.

"Nothing."

Kokabiel scowled but didn't lash out at the human.

"Then why are you here?" He asked instead.

If Yaeger was not here for him, then he had another goal in mind.

He knew the depths of the power within the human. Even if Kokabiel was not the reason he was in Kuoh, somehow, their meeting was part of his plan.

Whatever it was.

"I'm retired," Yaeger answered simply. "Just waiting to die."

Kokabiel couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips.

"Aren't we all," he chortled to himself. "And you chose here? In the town with the sisters of the current Satans? You are up to something."

The boy shrugged as if unbothered by the Cardinal's disbelief.

Kokabiel was no fool.

If Eren Yeager was here, it meant Kokabiel's fate was in his hands already.

This conversation was enough for the fallen angel to understand he had fallen into a trap.

Still, the old war veteran couldn't help but ask the question. The same question that had teased his mind ever since he set out on this course of action. This final plan.

"Do I win?"

For a long minute, Eren Yaeger remained silent. Then he gave his answer.

"Does it matter?"

Did it?

Kokabiel would restart the Great War and fight his long-time enemies until he died in glorious battle. It wouldn't be long, but it would be glorious.

Sirzechs Lucifer or Serafall Leviathan would stop at nothing to tear him to shreds.

Or he would die in the attempt, and Azazel would have the grounds for the peace he had always wanted.

Peace. Something Kokabiel couldn't stomach but was necessary for his race's survival.

No matter what happens, Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars and Fourth Watcher, would face his end.

"No," Kokabiel spoke, turning from the bandaged boy and staring at the sky. "It doesn't."

For a minute, both were silent, facing the sky yet not seeing it.

One was thousands of years old and responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of sapient beings.

The other wasn't even nineteen.

Both were terrible people by every metric imaginable.

Both had done everything they could for their people.

It was a silent moment of acknowledgment between two old soldiers, two men about to die.

That camaraderie, that resignation to an approaching doom, was why the words slipped out.

"I hate them."

The words were spat out with vitriol. Rage, despair, loathing, pain, and grief mixed in three words that failed to encapsulate all the emotions contained within.

"I hate them all," Kokabiel repeated, his fists clenching. The teenager made no sound. "They killed so many of us. My brothers and sisters. My comrades. My friends. Slaughtered. Tortured. Despoiled. I hate devils and their ilk. I hate the hypocrites that cast us out for doing our duty. I hate them all. Every one of them. I'll kill them all."

"Hate."

The boy tasted the familiar word, sampling it like one would a wine they knew intimately.

Then he shook his head.

"Old wars should be settled by old men."

The words of an old man in a young body.

Kokabiel knew that Yeager's abilities must be why he was like this. Why this mortal of only eighteen could speak on such subjects with such certainty.

Still...

"I know that," Kokabiel snapped, unwilling to be lectured by a boy in his teens. Even if it was Eren Yeager. "These kids," he spat the word. "They know nothing of war. Nothing of battles and death and destruction. They play their games. They fight for position and power. They only know peace."

"The goal of every war is peace." Yaeger was speaking, yet his words were light as if he didn't mean them, yet believed them to be true.

"THEN WHY CAN'T I BE AT PEACE?!" Kokabiel roared, standing from the bench and glaring at the boy. He didn't even flinch. "WHY CAN I NEVER HAVE THAT?! WHY DO I WANT TO FIGHT AND FIGHT AND FIGHT UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT BUT AN OCEAN OF BLOOD?! WHY IS EVERYONE ELSE ABLE TO FORGET WHEN I CAN'T?"

"They don't forget," Yeager spoke softly. "Nobody forgets war."

"Azazel is content to play with his toys," Kokabiel snapped, pacing in front of the bench as his wings flexed in agitation. "Penume drowns is sex. Baraqiel tried to play house." As if all the corpses at his feet were nothing more than waste. As if entire nations hadn't disappeared in a flash of Holy Lightning. "None of them care for the dead. Their grudges. Their wishes. What about their peace?"

Even as the fallen Watcher raged and paced, the boy sat still, unbothered by the being so beyond his league that fighting wasn't even a consideration.

They both knew who had the power here.

"We all move forward." Yaeger's voice was dry. Resigned. Words spoken a thousand times to a thousand people. "We all dream. But some dream of the sea. And some dream of what's beyond the sea. You and I? We dream of victory. They? They dream of a life after victory."

Kokabiel stop pacing.

"How?" He asked.

Not a plea.

A snarl.

Kokabiel would ever be the monster.

The fallen Cadre who tried to restart the Great War.

Whether he succeeded or failed, no one would ever celebrate his name. He'd be vilified by his own people, by his enemies, and the world.

A martyr nobody would celebrate.

But even monsters want to dream.

"I don't know."

Kokabiel barked a mad laugh.

He laughed and laughed and laughed.

His laughter was crazed, at once joyous as it was despairing.

It was the laugh of a dead man.

"If even Erin Yaeger doesn't know, what hope do I have of finding an answer," Kokabiel crowed in jubilation, arms spread up and wide to the sky as if to embrace the heavens. "If I shall never have peace. I shall have war!"

Then he rounded on the boy, marching with quick steps until he loomed over the tiny, sickly human. His shadow blotted out the fading light.

Yaeger did not so much as twitch.

Kokabiel longed to impale the boy on his spears, to force him to do... something. Anything.

Kokabiel wanted violence. He wanted rage and pain and death.

He didn't want this pitiful wreck of a man.

He wanted worthy foes.

Yet Eren Yeager was not one. Too weak. Too strong.

So Kokabiel sat down on the bench, his rage spent without an outlet to vent it on.

It left him... empty. Hollow.

What was he if not the rage?

"War is simple," Kokabiel spoke to the sky. "You kill your enemies, or they kill you. It brought out the best in us. The comradery, the passion, the bravery, the valour. It showed us who we were. We knew who were craven, duplicitous, and weak. It shaped us and forged us in the Holy Light and Demonic Dark. It was glorious."

He spoke the last word with a rapturous fascination. He would give anything to have those days back.

"We fought for something. A better future. And we were cast out. But we fought on. From one bloody battlefield to another. For centuries. And when He died? The victory was ours to claim. Our war was won. One final push, one last mountain of bodies."

That road to the top, paved with countless corpses, called to Kokabiel.

"But we didn't," the fallen spat. "We fled. Maybe if we had won, I would be able to close my eyes and not see them. Maybe I would not see their eyes accusing me. Why did they die if we would flee from victory? Why did we fight if we do not claim our prize?"

"Some soldiers die too young," Yaeger sighed, and, for the first time, his head turned from the dark sky to face the Fallen Angel. "Some soldiers live too long."

They sat there in silence for long minutes. The darkness of the park was contrasted by the city's light in the distance. Neither said a word. All that needed to be said had been said.

Then, when the time had come, Kokabiel stood.

"This seat is too uncomfortable to be my throne." Ten black wings flexed, and his almost vampiric features twisted in annoyance. "Irregular, too small yet too large. Old wood and steel. It makes me nostalgic for better times. It fits you, Child of Evil."

"This will be your last choice," Eren Yaeger said solemnly.

"I know not what your plan is, Yaeger," Kokabiel responded just as solemnly to the sickly boy. "Why you are here, nor what talking to me accomplished. I don't care. If you impede my plans, I will fight."

"I won't," Yaeger nodded.

"Then, no matter the outcome, I go to my last war."

********

It had been a good fight.

Two severed wings, a blackened stump of a hand, and dozens of wounds that bled freely.

Kokabiel laughed in glee.

More than he had ever wished, it had been a good fight.

The church executors had been barely noticeable, though a wielder of Durandal was a pleasant surprise.

No, it had been Gremory and her peerage that had been the real prize.

The Rook and Bishop weren't worth his interest, but the others?

They had gone above and beyond his expectations.

The Knight, a product of the Holy Sword Project, had achieved a mutated Balance Breaker before his eyes.

Holy and Demonic swords in a reincarnated devil.

The Old Man would be rolling in his grave.

Baraquiel's daughter was a gem and a half. It was crude, lacking the millennia of practice his comrade held with his element, but for a few moments, it was as if Kokabiel stood before the Lightning of God for one final time.

The Gremory herself was responsible for almost all the damage he had sustained. She didn't have the inborn instincts or power for the signature power of the Bael family as her brother did. She wasn't the monster Sirzechs was.

But she could be.

Kokabiel recognized it when he saw it. The hunger. The passion. The fear.

Rias Gremory wasn't born a monster. But she would shed blood until she became one.

The idea that the devils could gain a second Crimson Devil was so absurd that Kokabiel would have started a war just to stop it from happening.

But the greatest surprise was, hands down, the Red Dragon Emperor.

When the Cadre first heard that Ddraig's new host had been reincarnated as Devil, he immediately dismissed him as a threat.

Any Red Dragon Emperor that was reincarnated by someone not on par with a Satan, was automatically the weakest in history.

Vali would tear him apart in a heartbeat.

Then Kokabiel heard that he had achieved Balance Breaker in less than two months, and his hopes had risen.

Issei Hyoudou had surpassed even his wildest expectations.

The boy had not landed a single blow on the Fallen. In fact, Kokabiel's thoughts about him being the weakest Red Dragon Emperor ever were probably true if you just looked at his offensive capabilities.

But the Rook had not even tried to throw a punch once.

Instead, he had stood between Kokabiel and everyone else. All his Boosts went towards his durability or were passed to his comrades.

No matter the size of the attack, the potency of his Light, or how Kokabiel positioned himself, the boy was there—an impenetrable wall of red scale.

It was like seeing the true Red Dragon again.

So massive and powerful that even his greatest blow did naught but singe its scales.

Issei Hyoudou wasn't there yet.

He was too slow, and he couldn't leverage his body to counter properly yet, but with time to grow, he could be the greatest Red Dragon Emperor of all time.

Alone, they were impressive for their age.

Together?

Kokabiel had lost his wings when Hyoudou gained a hold, and the Gremory princess wrapped hoopes of Destruction around them. Reeling, he had blocked the Holy/Demon sword and Durandal with one hand and taken Holy Lightning with the other.

It had been his underestimating of them that had allowed them to hurt him, certainly.

But that they could hurt him at all was monumental.

Kokabiel hadn't been hurt at all in almost a century, and even that had been from the greatest exorcist the church had ever produced since the Great War.

Not even yesterday, he had cursed these children as not knowing war, of being addicted to peace.

He was right.

They didn't know the horrors of the Great War.

But they had it.

The killer instinct, the comradery, and the drive to push themselves till their bodies, minds, and souls cried out in pain.

Then they pushed some more.

Had they been born but a millennia earlier, Kokabiel would have been proud to give them a fitting death.

Instead, he would just make it quick.

He would despoil their bodies after they died, as had been done to his comrades during the Great War, to incite Sirzechs and Serafall further, but the children needn't be alive for that.

The fight had gone on long enough to know that neither Satan were coming.

Not even the revelation of God's death had drawn Heaven down or Hell up.

Were they so committed to peace that they would let these promising seeds die rather than take up arms again?

A shame.

With an idle thought, more spears of light gathered in the air. Unlike his earlier attacks, Kokabiel focused on them, carefully controlling their formation and angle of attack.

The children weathered the first volley well enough.

Baraquiel's daughter and the Ruin Princess dealt with many at range, and the rest of the group handled those that passed them well, deflecting and dodging those they couldn't destroy with sword or fist. The Red Dragon Emperor was solid, as ever, and the rest of the group slowly started to converge around him and the beacon of safety he provided.

That was their mistake.

It was easy to see the flaw in the Gremory peerage. They fought well, were more powerful than almost anyone their age, and were decently coordinated.

They had managed to injure him, after all.

But Kokabiel had not been entirely wrong about their lack of actual experience.

Tactically, they absolutely failed.

Even now, as they fended off an assault from hundreds of light spears, they failed to realize they were being corralled.

The Hyoudou boy was undoubtedly solid, but he was almost immobile because he focused on defending the rest. They, in turn, exacerbated the problem by giving more targets to defend.

The King and Queen of the peerage were powerful, but they lacked any sort of creativity with their magic. They were so focused on their attack magic that they failed to account for supplementary spells that would help the group remain mobile, hidden, or provide support.

Without the others to provide them opportunities, the sword wielders and Rook were unable to affect the battle in a significant way.

They had lost as soon as Kokabiel decided to take them seriously.

If he hadn't needed to keep their bodies intact, he would have simply blasted them and this town to pieces.

With all his enemies in a close grouping, another rain of spears fell from their hidden position in the clouds directly above the defenders.

With their death, Kokabiel would have his war.

[Divide!]

[Divide!]

[Divide!]

[Divide!]

[Divide!]

Kokabiel's war died with his spears of light as power flowed out of him and into a man in white armour.

It happened quickly.

Blink, and you'd miss it.

Kokabiel felt his remaining wings being severed. White armoured fists pounded into his body with stollen strength.

Kokabiel felt weak. Weaker than ever before.

In any other situation, he would have appreciated the irony.

Ddraig would rise to meet his foe.

Albion lowered his foe to his level.

As his plan came undone, Kokabiel felt rage well up within himself. He embraced the familiar fire as consciousness added.

Was this why nobody had answered his call to war?

Was Vali the reason why Michael did not descend from his throne?

Was the White Dragon Emperor, surely here at Azazel's behest, why the Satans were so sure of their sibling's survival?

Kokabiel could see it now. Could see the plan that had been woven around him. He had suspected but hoped to be wrong.

Kokabiel hadn't meant to restart the Great War. He had been a tool, a patsy, for his leader to have the justification to bring the other leaders to the negotiation table.

Even the Gremory peerage hadn't been in danger with the White Dragon Emperor nearby.

Kokabiel had been used to give them the experience he had just lamented they lacked, and as soon as it would cost them, Vali had descended.

The brat probably thought it was an excellent idea to toughen up Ddraig's wielder for their inevitable fight.

Kokabiel had been a puppet on a string dangling from the Scapegoat's hands.

A fitting name.

A scapegoat is what Azazael had made him. Like so many of his fallen comrades.

Scapegoats for peace.

Kokabiel had known that his failure would lead to peace, had expected it even, but still, he raged.

Raged at the vengeance he was denied.

Raged at the end of his war.

Then the rage, too, left him as he was carted back to the Grigori.

All that was left was amusement, wry and sadistic.

Kokabiel remembered the boy on the bench.

The boy who had known what was going to happen and known the foolishness of the fallen who visited him yet still offered an ear to an old soldier.

Kokabiel, Fallen Archangel of the Stars, was imprisoned in the ice of Cocytus, and, with his defeat, the great peace conference of Kuoh was called.

There, for the first time, a peace treaty between all three biblical factions was signed, marking the death of the Great War that had raged, on and off, since time immemorial.

One would expect that the fallen Cadre would lament or continue to rage in the wake of his failure.

Instead, the face below the ice of the Cocytus' frozen waters was light with laughter and mad joy.

Kokabiel's war died with him.

Eren Yeager's war had only just begun.

Kokabiel, as the ice consumed him, laughed madly, remembering the boy on the bench.

********

A big thanks to my Beta: Old Man of the Mountain.

It's been a while since I posed. Over a year. My, how the time flies.

I have seen Kokabiel portrayed in a few ways in fanfiction. Some added nuance to his character that was lacking in the books because of his short appearance. I like that, turning a two-bit villain of the week into a complex character. Something like that can only happen in fanfiction. I wanted to do something similar without sacrificing what was shown about his character.

I did not want Kokabiel to be a hero as he is sometimes portrayed. While a fascinating read, that is entirely at odds with his canon self, which I have tried to stick to this entire story. He isn't a noble soldier, no matter what he thinks of himself. Even in this fic, his perspective warps how he sees Azazel and everyone else. He is unable to recognize kindness, forgiveness, or anything like it.

Kokabiel is a monster. A warmonger who would drown the world in blood and fire. There is no excuse for that.

But there is a reason for it.

If you fight in an eternal war, where your enemies are literal devils, and you are cast aside by your leader/creator/dad, you bet your ass there is trauma there. It is why Fallen Angels are such a common enemy in the series.

As a society (before the Evil Pieces, at least), the Grigori were the best off after the war. But they were also the most scarred. Every Fallen we meet is deeply traumatized in some way. It does not excuse them, but it makes them understandable.

At least, that is what I am going for.

It is important to remember that even if someone has reasons for their actions, and everyone does, it does not make their actions acceptable. AOT is great about that, and I want this fic to reflect that a bit.

Happy New Year to everyone, and I will see you all next week on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

"I had my revenge," Yuuto said somberly, staring at the sword in his hand.

It was a familiar shape, flat and straight.

Designed to cut through flesh like a razor rather than the larger, more jagged swords he usually summoned. Those had been created to break other blades. It wasn't European or Japanese, his usual preferences.

This was the length of one of his usual blades, but its colouring proved it wasn't a standard sword.

One side of the flat sword pulsated with a black so dark it seemed to suck in all light.

The other side was radiant with white light, warm and bright as if to eclipse the sun.

Yuuto's Balance Breaker.

Something he had strived to attain for years yet had always been beyond his reach.

He hadn't attained it when he achieved his long-sought revenge.

"And?" Eren asked.

"And what?" the Knight asked, unsure what his Senpai was asking about.

Eren paused as if hesitating on the exact words to use. When he finally spoke, it was in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"What did it cost?"

Ah. Right.

Eren's vengeance had cost him everything, hadn't it?

It left him without friends and family, to live out his final years of life alone in a foreign country.

It had cost him the guilt of the innocent blood on his hands, the regret of the future that could have been, and the love of his life.

It made sense he would want to know what it had cost Yuuto.

Which made the words the Knight spoke all the more brutal.

Yet it had to be said.

"Nothing." There was disbelief in his tone as if even Yuuto couldn't believe them even as he spoke. "It was risky and dangerous, and things could have gone wrong in a dozen different ways." The blond laughed lightly as if the idea of him surviving was funny in and of itself. "But I did it. We did it. We all made it out, and it cost me nothing."

If Yuuto had expected Eren to be jealous or disgruntled at the younger boy's fortune, he would have been disappointed.

"Good," Eren grunted with a nod.

It seemed like the blind boy was prepared to accept that is the final word and end the subject.

Yuuto, though, was not ready to end it. He wanted to talk about it. Needed to talk about it.

Needed to be understood.

Even if he had to be vague about the details, Yuuto wanted to explain, to justify himself to the only person in the world he felt could understand him. He wanted his Senpai to know.

"I almost failed," he confessed, and the words came tumbling out from there. "My target was right before my eyes. Not those girls, but the actual man who had hurt me. Who killed all my friends and left me for dead. Valper Galilei." The name was spat with vile venom. Even now, the name tasted foul on his lips. "He was right there. But Koneko was injured." Before Eren could ask, the Knight hurried to answer. "She's fine now. But she was in danger. So were Issei and Asia. But Valper was getting away."

"What did you choose?" Eren asked somberly, understanding what Yuuto was trying to convey without needing it explicitly spelled out.

"I chased Valper," the Knight said, his voice flat. "Despite my promise to Rias, I chased him."

He paused and stared at the sword in his hand. Black energy pooled and swirled.

"But?" Eren prompted.

"But the weights on my scale were all wrong," Yuuto confessed. "I barely made it ten feet. My feet wouldn't move. He was right there, and I couldn't move. My feet. My back. My heart. It all weighed too much."

That had been when he attained his original Balance Breaker.

[Inferno]

A demonic sword subspecies. A blade of evil. A twisted, cruel sword meant to wreak vengeance on his enemies.

It had been HIS Balance Breaker.

For the short time he had it.

His first and only act with that evil sword was to save his friends.

"You made your choice," Eren nodded, and something in his voice tore the Knight's attention from his sword to look at the older boy.

Sympathy. Pride. Maybe... approval?

"Was it like that with you, Senpai?"

"No." Eren shook his head, and all emotion drained from his voice again. "I kept running. Not just once or twice. Over and over, I chose to keep running. I continued to run forward for my revenge even as people, corpses, were left in my wake."

"What changed?" The Knight couldn't help but ask, remembering their first conversation. "When did you stop running just for vengeance?"

It spoke of their friendship that Eren only paused for a heartbeat before answering.

"When I fell in love and saw what it would cost," Eren said gravely. "I never stopped running. I just saw a face I didn't want to leave behind. I just saw the people I would trample to get it. You know the rest. I discovered a way to have my vengeance and ensure they'd live long, happy lives after I was gone. A way to end it all. That made it worth it to me, despite the cost."

"Better than a half-assed reason like mine," the Knight laughed in derision at himself. "I just couldn't live with myself if I kept running."

"It was the right decision," Eren chastised lightly. "It is very rare and precious to be able to look back at a choice and say with certainty that you made the right one. We are always asking ourselves, 'What if.' You made a choice. You had your vengeance, which cost you nothing you couldn't pay. Take solace in that."

He was right, Yuuto knew, even if Eren didn't understand just how lucky they had all been to survive Kokabiel.

Not just survive, the Knight corrected himself. Benefit from.

And none more so than Kiba Yuuto.

Not only had he managed to kill the man responsible for all his pain and loss, but he had also managed to destroy a reforged Excalibur.

Most importantly, Yuuto had met his friends one final time in that remnant of souls harvested from their bodies.

He had seen their spirits, their Light, and knew they forgave him. For continuing to live, for surviving when they all died.

That Light was here. In Yuuto's blade. It always would be with him. It reassured him. Comforted him.

Absorbing that Light had led to a mutation in his Balance Breaker.

The dark, jagged and cruel blade of [Inferno] had given way to the flat sword in his hand.

[Purgatorio]

A sword for cutting and killing, but only what needed to be cut.

No longer HIS blade, it was now THEIR Balance Breaker.

A disposable blade perfect for someone who could forever remake it.

Perfect for children tossed away, yet coming back over and over until they had their vengeance.

Perfect for a man whose only salvation could come from the hands extended to him by others.

Staring at the sword in his hand, the Knight smiled wryly. His Balance Breaker imitated blades he had only seen three times in his life. He finally had a sword like the people he admired most.

Souji-sensei would be disappointed it was not a katana.

But Eren was right.

Yuuto dissipated the sword into motes of black and white light.

"You were right, in the end," the Holy Demonic sword wielder said. "My vengeance became a tangential thing. Something I wanted, but it wasn't all I wanted."

"Good," Senpai nodded. "Getting revenge is satisfying. Anybody who says it isn't is lying. But it is not all that the world has to offer. Men like us, sometimes find a new target when we have our revenge. A new grudge. That is where the danger is. Even if we claim our new target, it will never feel the same as the first. And like an addiction, you will always be chasing that feeling down. You need to find the beauty of life away from vengeance."

Yuuto could understand that. He still didn't like the church and the way they had turned a blind eye to the tragedies that benefited them.

It wasn't impossible that in another life, or if he had made another choice, he would have pursued vengeance against everyone involved or who had benefited from his pain.

But...

The Knight remembered a broken blade in the dirt, the blood of his Senpai still staining its razor edge.

Rias had taken that blade to have people examine Eren's blood, hoping for a cure, but Yuuto could still see that crimson-stained sword in his mind.

The Kiba Yuuto who pursued the path of vengeance to the end would have picked up that blade and sliced his new comrades' throats. He'd have gone Stray for his vengeance.

That Kiba Yuuto would not look at the lost, betrayed, and hurt Xenovia Quarta, his fellow Knight, and remember Eren's words.

Yuuto understood her in that moment of terrible realization.

God was dead.

Her entire life had been a lie. She was lost. Alone. Unsure what to trust and who to blame.

There was evil in the world. Kiba Yuuto still firmly believed that, and his blade was there to cut them down.

But people? People were just people.

So Kiba Yuuto extended his hand to the woman he had tried to kill.

Issei, Asia, and now Xenovia.

When had he become someone to look to for guidance?

The idea made the Knight laugh lightly.

Still, it was the role of Seniors, wasn't it?

To guide their Juniors.

"What's funny?" Eren asked, and Yuuto realized he had been silent for a while.

Yuuto decided to skirt the truth a bit.

"Xenovia, the girl we almost killed, whose guardian you almost laimed?" Eren nodded to show he remembered her. "She's going to school here now. She's part of the club. She might even visit you."

"I... see," Eren said slowly, clearly confused. "She here of her own free will, right? To join the club of the people she fought only a few days ago? She didn't seem to like you very much."

"She did," the Knight reassured the older boy. "She recently had a disturbing revelation about people she used to trust. Rias offered to take her in, and she accepted. I was laughing because I realized I had some really interesting Juniors. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me who they were a year ago."

"Ah," Eren nodded gravely. "Enemies can become allies if the cause is right and interest aligns. They can even become lovers. I think that is what happened to my best friend, though I can't say for sure. Just know it will take time if you want to pursue something like that."

"No, no," Yuuto laughed lightly, waiving off the idea. "I am still not certain I want anything to do with romance, to be honest. At least not now. And if I did, Xenovia isn't really my type."

The former exorcist wasn't unattractive by any standards. Issei had put it best, if crudely, while they were looking for the Exorcists the other day, before the whole mess with Kokabiel.

'Have you seen a pair of glorious Oppai hidden by an ugly cloak?'

"You don't have to fall in love," Eren allowed. "And romance isn't for everyone."

"I am not opposed to it," the Knight hedged, wondering how to put it into words without sounding like... well, like Issei. "It's just that girls my age seem so... immature. I don't think they're stupid," he hurried to clarify. "Just... There's a gap, a divide between how people my age should feel and how I usually feel. Am I making sense?"

"In a way," Eren tilted his head. "You know my situation as well as anybody. I might give advice when asked, but my experience with love is... bad. Or at least not normal. I can understand your feelings, though. For the longest time, I couldn't understand why everyone else didn't feel the same rage and passion as I did. It seemed so simple to me, so obvious, that anybody who disagreed with me wasn't just wrong. They were cowards. It took a long time for me to realize I was the odd one, not them."

"I know I am the weird one," the Knight said wryly. "The need for revenge always burned hotter with me than it did with the others. I couldn't help it though."

"I don't think that's wrong," Eren said plainly. "Especially now that you have accomplished your goal. All I will say is that you must find something that ignites that spark again, even if it is not as bright. Rias asked me to give Issei love advice, and it seemed to help, but that is for him. All he thinks about is girls. You can find anything you want that keeps you moving forward. Romance is but one option. There are others."

"I am not against falling in love," Yuuto said slowly, putting his thoughts together.

It was for reasons like this that talking to Eren was so enjoyable despite the dour topics they covered. Before sitting on the bench, the Knight hadn't given any deep thought to where he wanted to go from there.

"I even had a crush, once upon a time. I was younger. Barely a boy. And she is older, much older, so I never gave it serious thought."

Age differences weren't a big deal for devils, but Yuuto knew the woman was also a reincarnated devil and considered him a child. It had been the emotions of a troubled and unaware boy.

He hadn't seen her in years, so the feelings had long faded. He did remember the gentle curve of her lips when she gave one of her rare smiles. That had stuck with him every time he thought about his 'ideal' type.

"Love has always been something for others, not for me. A lot of things were like that."

"Now they are not," Eren said soberly. "Now you have an unknown future ahead of you. That is scary. But you are free to decide what you want to do. But what do you want? What future do you want to build?"

"I want to be a better cook."

Both boys had a moment of surprised silence as the words slipped from the blond's mouth.

"What?" Eren's voice wasn't filled with disbelief so much as bafflement.

Yuuto was just as surprised but started to explain himself as the thoughts came to him.

"I like cooking," he said as much to himself as to his Senpai. "Always have. But Akeno is better. I never thought about it before, but now I think I want to be better than her. Especially at baking."

"Ok," Eren nodded slowly, still clearly thrown by the unexpected admission but willing to go along with it. "It is not a bad goal. I... can't really help much with it. I am a terrible cook. Though I am very good at cleaning."

"You can taste test," Yuuto said absentmindedly. Now that the idea had come, inspiration flashed through his mind. "A bakery. That's what I want. One day, I'll open Isaiah's bakery. That's the goal I'll pursue for now. It might be a small one, and I might change my mind later, but it is something I can work towards."

"There is no dream too small," Eren said, and there was no mistaking the approval in his voice. "Only too big. A bakery is a fine dream. Why 'Isaiah'?"

"That was my birth name," Yuuto explained. "Before Rias took me in and gave me my current one. I still want to be 'Kiba Yuuto.' I am not Isaiah anymore, but I don't want to forget."

Isaiah had died with his friends, and Kiba Yuuto had been born from that child's body.

But just like he now carried his friends with him in his sword, he would carry Isaiah and his dream.

For hours, a Senpai and a Kohai conceived of the greatest bakery the underworld would ever know under the darkening light as they sat on the bench.

********

A bit on the shorter side of things, but volume 3 of DxD is such a significant turning point for Kiba that often goes overlooked in fanfiction that it didn't feel right to not give him the time to close things out.

For those whose only experience with DxD is the anime, in the light novels, Kiba explicitly remains as 'Kiba Yuuto,' unlike Koneko. The Bakery dream is also canon, and he expressly stated his favourite part of a woman is her lips.

Fun fact: The balance breaker Kiba gains in cannon, the Holy/Demonic sword, is explicitly only possible because he absorbs some of the Light from his dead friends' spirits. Without that, his regular Balance Breaker would be closer in keeping with a pure Demonic Sword, as he has a great affinity for that type of sword.

There were a lot of questions after the last chapter, which I expected. I won't answer most of them; as I said, I want people to be able to reread this after the end and go, 'How did I miss this!' like I did with AOT. Catching things like that was very fun for me, and I want my readers to experience that, too.

I will answer one misunderstanding some people have, though. This is not the end of On The Bench. When I said it would be 'short,' I meant in comparison to my other fic, which, at the time of writing this, is sitting at around 600k words. Volume 4 will mark the end of part 2 of this fic, roughly the halfway mark. The shortness is because of the size of the chapters and the smaller number. I fully expect to get to reach at least 150k in this work.

And if you are confused now? Well... *Mwahahahaha* It's going to get worse before it gets better. I just hope it is engaging, interesting, and, for those interested, it makes sense on the reread.

I look forward to it and will see you all next time on the bench.

 

[ReadingDangerous]

Sona felt the headache build behind her eyes, but she couldn't even rub her temples.

"SO-TAN!" Miracle-girl Levi-Tan continued to holler as she shook Sona back and forth in a tight hug.

"So-tan?" She heard Issei ask quietly.

At any other point, she would appreciate his helping Saji calm the students and parents when they came to gawk at the 'magical girl cosplayer.'

Right now?

All Sona wanted was to find a hole to crawl into to die.

"Levi-tan missed you!" The Satan continued to wail loudly as she flailed Sona around like a rag doll. "Did you miss me? Did you? Did you? Did you?"

"Ufufufu," Akeno giggled at the sight. "That is Sona's sister."

"But... isn't her sister..." Issei trailed off as he no doubt felt the horror Sona felt daily.

"The Satan Leviathan? Yes. Yes, she is." Akeno was taking far too much pleasure in this. Sona would have to get back at her later. "All the Satans are... unique. Lady Leviathan is much like Lord Lucifer and dotes on her sister."

"I 'id't 'no 'ot 'u' 'ere 'oming," Sona tried to speak, but it came out muffled against the most famous pair of breasts in the underworld.

Damn her sister.

She'd hit her growth spurt soon.

"I almost missed it," Serafall cried, hugging Sona tighter. Was that her spine or a rib-cracking? "Your message was intercepted. It was that bitch Gabriel! I was going to go 'Pew-pew' to get it back!"

There had been no message.

Sona had, very carefully, not communicated the date for Kuoh Academy's parent visit date. Despite wanting to see them, she hadn't even mentioned it to her parents or aunt, lest her sister find out.

"But Mi-chan told me we'd be late if I invaded Heaven."

Sona felt an odd mixture of gratefulness and spite toward her aunt.

On the one hand, her sister invading Heaven would no doubt restart the Great War, something they had gone through a lot of effort to prevent recently.

On the other hand, Serafall would not be here.

Then, a scarier thought entered the Sitri Heiress' mind, and she froze.

She hugged her sister back.

"Ah," Serafall exclaimed in joyful surprise. "So-tan? You missed me! Is it finally yuri-yuri time?"

"I missed you," Sona said, head finally peeking out from her sister's cleavage. She wasn't even lying. Despite Sona's considerable embarrassment at Serafall's antics, she did love her sister and was happy to see her. She just wished the Leviathan behaved more... appropriately, as befitted her station. "Are you here to watch me in a class?"

More importantly, going along with the Leviathan's antics was the best way to direct her attention from unwanted directions.

Like a blind boy on a bench.

Sona had been meticulous in only using Sitri agents when looking into Eren's background. If Serafall ever found out she was investigating a boy her own age...

Sona shuddered in horror.

Even her parents only thought she was scouting a potential new recruit for her Peerage.

"Mhmh," Serafall nodded, eyes sparkling in joy. That was literal. There were actual stars in her eyes. They twinkled. "I get to watch So-tan be all serious and smart and cute and cool. Mi-chan is also here. She was looking for you. She needs to refill her So-tanium too."

Sona felt a wave of gratitude at her honorary aunt at that moment. She knew her sister's Pawn did not like leaving her cottage, preferring to spend her days in peace in her territory, away from politics and combat.

The fact that she always visited when Sona went home for the summer and was here now filled the student's heart with warmth.

But that didn't change the fact that neither of them could learn about Eren's existence.

Her aunt would tell her King immediately. Despite their opposite natures, Serafall was her best friend, and the pair saw each other regularly. Serafall would know everything within a week.

Then Eren would die.

Or, worse, her sister would embarrass Sona so much that she'd need to die to purge her shame.

"Lunch is going to end soon," Sona half lied, trying to extricate herself from her sister's arms. She didn't succeed. "I need to get back to class. Why don't you find Aunty and tell her you found me?"

"But, but, but, but," Serafall stuttered, sounding like she would cry. "But I just found So-tan. And we haven't had yuri-yuri time."

"I will still be here," Sona said, ignoring the last part with the ease of long practice. "I want to see Aunty too. And then we can talk after school at the house."

Far from the park and the boy in it.

"Moouu, fine," the Satan pouted as she lowered Sona back to the ground. "But don't do anything cute till I get back with Mi-chan and the camera."

"I promise," Sona said seriously, and it was everything she could do not to deadpan.

"Gah," Serafall gasped in an exaggerated manner, stumbling back dramatically, clutching her heart. "Like that! Serious So-tan is super cute! Don't do that again, or Levi-tan will not be able to leave."

Sona didn't say anything else, unwilling to push her sister further.

"I'm going, I'm going," Serafall said, large crocodile tears filling her eyes as she looked at the student council president. "So-tan is a meanie."

Then, with a twirl of her too-short pink skirt, Miracle Girl Levi-tan disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

Sona pretended not to notice as Serafall Leviathan flashed the entire gymnasium her panties as she cast a spell to alter everyone's memories.

The crowd that had gathered blinked stupidly. Sona could have done without the need to hypnotize the entire gymnasium, as well as leave the sparkles behind, but she still admired the control of her sister's spell.

But now was not the time for that.

Sona needed to focus on crisis management if she wanted to go the entire day without being forced to join a convent out of shame.

Which was a much bigger deal for devils.

It took less than a second for Sona to adjust her uniform, control her hair, and align her glasses before she whirled on the only occupants of the room who hadn't just been mind-wiped.

Saji, Akeno, Xenovia, Issei, and Asia.

Rias wasn't there, likely dealing with her own visitors, which was good. Lord Lucifer or Lord Gremory would let Eren's existence slip to her sister for amusement if they found out about him.

"That was well done," Akeno giggled with a golf clap. "I was expecting you to run away crying and for her to chase you yelling 'So-tan, So-tan!' I am a bit disappointed you learned how to deal with her."

Damn sadists.

"Leviathan is a magical girl," Xenovia was muttering to herself in shock. "Lucifer is henpecked. Both are sis-cons. My entire life has been a lie."

Sona didn't have time to deal with the new Knight's trauma.

"Get Rias from her brother and father," Sona ordered the Queen. "Then tell her to take them home immediately after school. No dawdling."

"Uh," Issei raised his hand in question. "I still don't understand what is going on. Why is a Satan a Magical girl?"

"Not important," Sona cut him off with a swipe of her hand. "What is important is keeping her, my aunt, and Rias' family from discovering Eren."

"Why," Saji said with a pained grimace.

Sona felt sympathy for her Pawn. She really did. She wasn't unaware of his affection for her, and she had tried to let him down easily.

Unlike other devils, she never wanted to leverage her position as King to gain romantic favour from her Peerage.

Still, it didn't mean she would tolerate dawdling just because he felt antagonism towards Eren without ever meeting the boy.

"Lord Lucifer is already aware of him," Akeno shrugged, the sadistic smile still on her face. "We passed Eren's blood samples to him to give to Lord Beelzebub to try and find a cure. It seems like he has taken it as a personal challenge."

"And is Lord Lucifer aware of how much time Rias spends with Eren?" Sona adjusted her glasses so they'd flash ominously. "Or would you like me to tell Lady Lucifuge about some of the outfits you wear when meeting Eren? I haven't heard one of her speeches about propriety in a few years."

If Sona was going down, she wouldn't go alone.

They could all join the same convent.

"Nobody saw them," Akeno hurried to defend herself. "He's blind. And the thought of dressing like that where anybody can catch us... nnnngggg."

Akeno shuddered, and Saji stepped back, eyes wide in surprise. Both Issei and Asia shared beet-red looks.

Xenovia was still traumatized.

Sona was unperturbed, well used to the half-fallen's inclinations.

All the Sitri did was continue to stare down the female pervert until she got the message.

"Fine," Akeno pouted, crossing her arms under her bust so it bounced. "But we can't leave the school early. We're skipping the last classes to free Gasper today."

"Congratulations," Sona said immediately. She was genuinely happy for her friend. Being unable to control Gasper's power had been a significant thorn in Rias' side for years. It also showed she was nearing her goal of Ultimate Class. "But then we'll need to take Eren away for the day. One of us will have to slip away immediately after class without them realizing we're gone."

"Is the Child of Evil a threat?" Xenovia whispered/asked Issei, finally snapping out of her funk. "Can I kill him?"

"What? No!" Issei cried, aghast. "Why are you so set against Eren anyway?"

"He nearly cut off my guardian's leg," Xenovia said seriously.

"Yeah, but Asia healed her, didn't she?"

"It's true," Asia chimed in like an eager puppy sticking its nose into a bag. "I can't heal Mr. Eren, but Miss Griselda is all better. And Mr. Eren is really kind. Um, most of the time."

"He still almost killed her," Xenovia insisted.

Sona ignored their little by-play. She had much more important things to worry about than the former exorcist.

Like preventing her family from embarrassing her in front of the whole school, her friends, and her crush.

Not necessarily in that order.

"I will ask Koneko to sneak off after we let Gasper out," Akeno nodded as she leaned in to conspire with Sona. "She's been trying to get Eren to take her to a new snack store. It shouldn't be too hard. You know he has a soft spot for her. But I don't know how we will keep him hidden with the peace conference happening here."

"Peace conference?" Sona asked.

"Lord Lucifer let it 'slip,'" Akeno rolled her eyes fondly. "They're using Kokabiel's recent attack as an excuse to hold a peace conference between all three factions. It's going to be held at Kuoh."

"And I wasn't told," Sona hissed.

This was big.

Huge really.

The ceasefire had waxed and waned over the years, but all three factions were technically still at war.

That there would be a peace conference, and it was in her territory?

"You probably would be," Akeno shrugged. "Part of the reason Lord Lucifer and Lord Gremory are here is to evaluate the territory before it is finalized. But once it is, Kuoh will be crawling with security from all three factions. Eren will be found unless he leaves town."

"He won't leave," Sona said immediately, and Akeno nodded. Both knew how stubborn that boy could be.

Still, the Sitri heiress' mind was working a mile a minute.

She had never achieved such clarity of thought before, and Sona would have marvelled at it, but it didn't matter.

Right now, all she needed to do was to save Eren's life, her life, and her sanity.

Again, not necessarily in that order.

"But he's human. And the only supernatural aspect about him is his life force, which most can't sense." Sona quickly put together a plan. It was rough, but it might work. "After today, we stay away from him. No visits, no familiars, nothing. Just between when people start to arrive and the end of the peace conference."

"Any security will notice him right away," Akeno pointed out. "He's inside the wards."

"Most will only realize that we 'let' him through the wards of the park. If we don't draw attention, he'll be safe with all the extra security in the area. We'll exploit the blindness most people have towards humans," Sona explained easily. Devils, angels, fallen, or even anyone else of power simply ignored humans without magic, Sacred Gears, or something equivalent. "I don't care if they see him. They just can't connect him to us. Eren just needs to remain unnoticed for a few days."

The only risk would be the church. They might hold a grudge. Sona would keep an eye on them. They'd think of another plan if Griselda arrived as security, but that was unlikely. She was half retired.

More importantly, Sona didn't want her sister or aunt to find him.

It was for Eren's safety, really.

Would it also save Sona from taking vows of chastity and locking herself away from the world out of shame?

Yes, but it was mainly for Eren's sake.

Really.

"It has been a while since I saw Aunty," Akeno asked with a light smile. "Yuuto will be happy. He hasn't seen her in years, either."

Sona's eyebrow twitched, but Issei interrupted before she could say anything.

"Who's your aunt? Is she hot?" he asked eagerly, always happy to talk about women. Asia pouted beside him. "Kiba has a devil girlfriend? He never told me."

"He does not," Sona declared as she crossed her arms in a huff. "She is my sister's Pawn. My adoptive aunt."

"Yuuto had the biggest crush on her," Akeno giggled behind her hand. "He'd follow her around everywhere, asking for training or trying to help her. It was so cute."

"So he's into MILFs," Issei crowed triumphantly. "That's why he never went on a date with his fans, the Damn Handsome. I'm so proud. How's her oppai?"

"Uuuu," Asia whined piteously, looking down at her own modest bust.

"Leviathan's Pawn?" Xenovia murmured to herself. "I have never heard of her."

"She's pretty," Akeno giggled in answer to Issei as Sona's eyebrow twitch returned with extra force. "But I'm bigger."

Just for emphasis, Akeno put an arm under her boobs and bounced them suggestively while shooting a challenging look at Sona.

The twitching was getting worse.

Was everyone trying to anger her today? And shouldn't they be focusing on the crisis here?

Sona didn't want to join a convent.

"But yes, Aunty is beautiful. And you wouldn't have heard of her Xenovia. She was reincarnated before we were born and rarely leaves her land. She doesn't like to fight. And since Satan Peerages don't fight in Rating Games, if they don't take missions, they can go years without being seen if they want."

"Still," Xenovia crossed her arms in thought. "As exorcists, we needed to study all the Satan's Peerages in case we run into them in the field, as well as all well-known devils and their abilities. That I was never told about her is suspicious."

"It isn't," Sona denied, wanting to end this topic. "Aunty's last mission was years ago. One of her only ones. And the church would not want to talk about it to their younger members."

"Why?"

"I made them look bad."

Sona whirled, eyes lighting up with joy as she caught sight of the familiar woman. The small smile on her face, so rare and precious, lit up Sona's heart.

"Aunty," she said with joy as she hugged the older woman.

"It is good to see you, Sona," her aunt said softly, pulling her tight.

""Whoa."" She heard Issei and Saji say at the same time.

She couldn't blame them, even if she wanted to tell them to stop staring.

Mikasa Ackerman wasn't as voluptuous or sexy as most natural devils, but she was still very pretty.

With Asian and European mixed features, long black hair, and a body built from training, she fulfilled the image of classical beauty the Japanese had. Her conservative clothing belied the dense muscles and undersold just how deadly the woman really was.

Hers was an intense beauty, unlike the softness of Akeno, Rias or even Serafall. She held herself like a blade, accentuated by her training and form-fitting clothes. Sharp and ready for action.

The only extraneous ornament on her was the red scarf she never went anywhere without, and even then, it was tucked tight so as not to get caught by enemies.

"Um, they look alike," Asia commented with wonder.

Sona's cheeks burned, embarrassment warring with pride. Sona had always looked up to her sister's Pawn.

Mikasa's competence, her maturity and grace, and even her confidence, she admired it all.

Sona was self-aware enough to know that her honorary aunt had been the greatest female role model in her life.

She broke the hug and met her aunt's gaze.

"You've grown again," Mikasa said gently. That was true. Now, Sona was only a few inches, about ten centimetres, shorter than the older woman.

"It is good to see you," Sona said with a small smile. "Did sister find you?"

"I must have missed her," her aunt shook her head. "You know how she is. Especially today."

"You didn't have to tell her about visiting day," Sona said with a light glare. Mikasa must have remembered the date from last year after they had missed it.

"You should not have tried to hide it," her aunt glared right back, but it was softer. Sadder. "Serafall is a bit excitable, but she loves you. Do not lose precious time together because you are embarrassed."

Chastised, Sona reluctantly nodded. Her aunt smiled again and pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Introduce me to your friends?" Mikasa's smile fell to her usual expression of neutrality as she looked over at the gawking students.

"You already know, Akeno," Sona started.

"It is good to see you again, Aunty," Akeno said with a curtsy.

"You look... better," her aunt nodded, looking the Queen up and down.

"Ufufufu, thank you," Akeno giggled, placing a hand on her cheek and idly rubbing it. "I had a bit of a rough wake-up call, I am afraid."

Her aunt didn't say anything, just watching the girl with a critical eye.

"This is my newest pawn, Genshiro Saji," Sona gestured to the boy. He had only been reincarnated recently, and they would have been introduced this summer during the break.

"Pleased to meet you," Saji said as he bowed formally. Sona beamed with pride. Clearly, their etiquette practice had paid off.

"Please take care of Sona," Mikasa nodded, and Sona felt the tip of her ears turn red. She hurried to continue the introductions to distract everyone.

"This is Asia Argentio, Rias' Bishop, Issei Hyoudou, her Rook, and Xenovia Quarta, her newest Knight."

Again, the Pawn didn't say anything, just looking over all three critically. Sona knew she was a woman of few words, except when around those she was close to.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Issei said energetically as he bowed.

Sona noticed, with some schadenfreude, that his bow was far from Saji's in neatness or fluidity.

"Please take care of me," Asia tried to bow at the same time as curtsy and ended up tripping on her own legs. "Uuueee."

Thankfully, Issei caught her and held her in place as she regained her balance. The teenager held his girlfriend close and seemed lost in each other's eyes for a second.

Xenovia, thank the Satans, saved Sona from having to stare at the happy couple.

"What did you mean when you said you made the church look bad," Xenovia asked. Her aunt evaluated the girl for a long second before answering.

"I was the one that broke up the Holy Sword Project and a few others," she eventually said. "They wanted to deal with it themselves."

"No wonder Kiba likes her," Issei said under his breath as he released Asia. Then he tilted his head as if listening to something.

Her aunt didn't say anything despite hearing the Rook's words. Sona knew she knew of the Knight's crush but hadn't given it much thought.

Her aunt didn't deal with romance and was likely waiting for Kiba's infatuation to disappear rather than addressing it.

Mikasa didn't really talk about her past. All Sona knew about her aunt's life before Serafall reincarnated her except her unique birth location and the fact she had outlived all her friends and once had a child.

"Ddraig said I should be careful," Issei reported. "He says you're dangerous."

For the slightest second, Sona saw a grimace on her aunt's face as she looked at the boy.

"You are honest," the older woman nodded. "And I am not surprised. I killed the last Red Dragon Emperor."

That got some wide eyes from the group, even Sona.

"How come I never heard of this," the student council president asked.

"It was before you were born," her aunt said with a shrug. "It wasn't a big fight. The Red Dragon Emperor is only dangerous if you give them time to ramp up. I didn't."

"Ddraig wants to know why you finally took the challenge," Issei said, looking at his hand curiously. "They had been trying to get your attention for days. He said you were mad about a tree?"

It was only because of her long familiarity with the woman that Sona noticed the tenseness of her jaw. It made the scar on her cheek more noticeable.

"Something like that," Mikasa said simply.

There was less than a year between Sona's birth and her aunt's reincarnation. A newly reincarnated devil, without magic or a Sacred Gear, had killed last generation's holder of Boosted Gear?

"How did you do it," Sona asked, curious.

It had nothing to do with her inevitable Rating Games against Rias' Peerage.

Sona was all about self-delusions today.

"Surprise," her aunt shook her head. "The fight ended quickly. Only a few people heard of it."

"Why?" Akeno asked, morbidly curious.

She, like Sona, knew that getting her aunt angry was almost impossible. Whatever the last holder of Boosted Gear had done must have been vile to actually provoke the Pawn.

"She heard about me and was rampaging around my territory in the human world," Mikasa said, keeping her words short. "She killed the last devil to control the area and didn't like someone else taking over. I didn't care and left her alone. She found where I lived and tried to anger me. She succeeded. She destroyed something she shouldn't. A grave."

Sona shared a look with Akeno. They both knew the Pawn's unique situation, and that story didn't line up. Not when they knew she had been born and died beyond the Gap.

If it was before Sona was born, it must have been right after she was reincarnated. Mikasa wouldn't have known anyone who had died in this world. Her aunt didn't get close to people easily.

Coming to care for someone in less than a year? There was no way.

But at the same time, her aunt looked so sad, so lonely, standing there and touching the scar on her cheek that neither wanted to press.

"Everyone back to class," Sona said instead. "The bell will ring in a few minutes."

She had told a little white lie to get her sister to leave. Sue her.

"I'll follow you," her aunt said, snapping out of her funk. "Serafall will find us, I'm sure."

Sona twitched and shot a look at Akeno, who nodded.

"Will you be staying for a while," the Queen asked with feigned casualness.

"No. I am visiting today and will return as Serafall's bodyguard for the conference."

Sona read between the lines.

Bodyguard meant babysitter between the two friends. There was a possibility that Gabriel would come from Heaven's faction, and Mikasa was one of the only people Serafall would listen to.

This wasn't the worst outcome, Sona thought. Koneko would have time to get Eren off campus today and again on the conference day. So long as Eren was off premises, Sona's life (read: pride) was safe.

"Ano," Asia said hesitantly in the silence that fell as they walked back to class. "Are you Japanese, Miss? Your hair is really pretty."

"...Thank you. But, no, I am not Japanese. My mother was from the East, though. I got my hair from her." Almost self-consciously, the Pawn ran a hand through her long locks. "And you can call me Mikasa... or Ackerman if you want to use Japanese standards."

"That's German, right," Saji said, eager to show off.

Sona wanted to smack him but held her control. He had no idea how much of a minefield that was for her aunt. Sometimes, she questioned whether or not his friendship with Issei was good. He definitely seemed more interested in girls, rather than his duties, when around the Rook.

"No. I'm not German, either. It's not a secret or anything," Mikasa said, and it was like listening to Eren when they first met. Her voice was dead. Empty. "I'm Eldian. The only Eldian in this world."

********

Mwahahaha *Evil Laughter Intensifies*.

There is so much and so little in this chapter. I won't say anything more and will let you all digest it. Just that I will see you all next week on the bench.

PS: ...Mwahahaha.