Vol 1 - Chapter 6

"Issei-sama, something dire has come to my attention," Ashiya announced as their group met at the kotatsu. His face

was set into a severe frown as he stared at them.

"What is it, Ashiya?" Issei asked. "Have the fallen made a move?"

"Strange, my seals haven't noticed anything," Tamamo mused.

"Whose ass are we kicking?" Mordred demanded, slamming a fist onto the table.

"No, it is something far worse, I'm afraid," the white-haired man said, his voice grave. "I'm afraid that we've run out of

food."

…

...

...

"Is that all, Ashiya?" Issei demanded. "I'm sure we'll survive."

Ashiya suddenly stood and stormed over to the fridge, throwing it open.

"Then please explain, Issei-sama," he said bluntly. "How is it you intend to hold out until our next paycheck on nothing

but konjac jelly, cucumbers and milk?"

The brown-haired boy deflated under his lieutenant's ire. "Well… it's not like we're completely broke, right?" he asked

weakly. "I've still got some money left in my wallet… And I could always just grab some leftovers from work!"

Everyone glanced at the corner, where two large trash bags full of hamburger wrappers sat, as though mocking them.

"…We're gonna die, aren't we?" Tamamo wailed.

"Do you intend to live on hamburgers and fries until then?" Ashiya demanded, a vein popping on his forehead. "What

is this Supersize Me? All that high-calorie, high-cholesterol food while you're young? I look forward to seeing you ten

years from now! I just hope your lifestyle doesn't kill you before then! I'm sorry for my incompetence, but you're the

one who said we should swallow our pride until-"

"Okay, I get it!" Issei cried, leaping out of his seat. "I'll figure something out! So, get off my back!" With that said, he

stormed out the apartment.

As the door closed behind him, he let out a sigh and began walking in an attempt to clear his head.

There was just too much going on. What with the fallen angels, school, work and dealing with Rias' group. True,

Ashiya had a more stable job now, but teachers didn't make much either, especially with four mouths to feed. Ugh,

with Tamamo and Mordred, it was like having kids!

'Did Ashiya and I just have our first fight?' he shuddered at the thought and ignored the sudden urge to buy the whitehaired man flowers in apology. He couldn't afford them anyway.

He passed by a restaurant, and saw an older woman shrieking at a teenage girl about some debt.

'Poor girl,' he thought. As he got closer, however, he realized something. 'Wait… I know her!'

Walking over, he got a got a good look at her. Though she was kneeling in seiza position, he could tell she was short,

a little shorter than Mordred. Whereas the blonde girl was lean and willowy, this girl sturdily built. She had powerful,

toned arms and legs that spoke of years of training.

The girl had dark, fuchsia-colored hair and dark, pink eyes, accentuated by black Egyptian-esque mascara. Her hair

fell to her shoulders and was partially tied into a ponytail on the left side of her head.

Her attire consisted of a short, simple, off-white dress. She was barefoot, with only a pair of black leg wraps and a

beautiful gold anklet covering her legs. On her wrists was a pair of intricate silver arm-guards depicting a bird.

Although a little dirty, she looked like a normal, attractive, high school girl. He knew better, of course.

"Hey!" he called as he approached the one-sided argument. The woman turned and sneered at him.

"Oho, are you the 'guardian' this girl spoke of?" she demanded. Issei raised an eyebrow at the girl in question, who

didn't look at him.

"Indeed," he said after a while. "My name is Hyoudou Issei. May I ask why you are screaming at her?"

"She had the gall to eat here and leave without paying!" the woman shouted. Issei sighed before rubbing the bridge of

his nose.

"I'm sorry," the brown-haired boy offered before taking out his wallet. "How much does she owe you?"

The woman replied by showing him the receipt.

"T-T-Ten thousand yen?!" Issei shrieked. He looked up at the restaurant. It wasn't that fancy. "How much did you

eat?!" he demanded. The girl flinched and looked away.

"Well?" the woman demanded. Issei swallowed.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't afford that." He bowed to her.

The woman sneered at him once again. "Why am I not surprised?" she growled. She glared down at the still kneeling

girl before her. "Well, I can't let you just leave, can I?" Her eyes roamed over the girl's arm-guards. "Well, those

bracelets of yours certainly look nice. Perhaps I should take those as payment?"

The girl flinched, rubbing the ornaments nervously. The woman then spotted the gold anklet the girl wore. "Oh, that's

a nice piece of jewelry you've got there."

The girl, who had remained silent until now, suddenly let out a squeak of fear. She looked up at the woman. "No…"

She looked up at Issei, her pink eyes pleading with him.

The brown-haired boy sighed. He certainly knew why it was so important to her. He had been the one to give it to her,

after all…

A teenage boy sighed as he watched the sun slowly rise over the small desert village. He glanced behind him to see

Alciel still asleep on the cot.

'I wonder how long it will be before my power returns completely,' the former Demon King mused. He had modified

his appearance somewhat. While he still possessed his forever messy hair, it was now brown in color. His eyes were

also a dull brown. He had also modified his age, now in his late teens.

He glanced at Alciel once more before deciding to head out for a stroll.

'I can feel some of my power returning,' he thought. 'But nowhere near the power I once wielded. I'd wager I'm still

around a strong low-class devil in terms of strength at the moment.'

He was broken out of his musing by the sound of heavy breathing and frantic footfalls. He quickly ducked behind a

wooden stall that some merchant or other left behind. Once hidden, he glanced out to see a small, red-haired girl

running as though her life depended on it. Well, running wasn't the proper word; she appeared to be stumbling about,

more than anything. Curious, he glanced at her legs.

Iron shackles. She was a slave.

Suddenly a black-haired boy came barreling around the corner, a torch in one hand and a scimitar in the other. The

girl shrieked as the boy grabbed a fistful of her hair and threw her to the ground.

"Did you really think you could escape?" The boy sneered as he placed the scimitar at the girl's throat. "Remember

this, girl, you belong to me. You're a slave. You always will be, understand?"

"Please," the girl cried. "Someone… help…"

The boy burst out laughing. "No one's going to save you!" he cackled. "Even if someone were here, they couldn't do a

damn thing about it! You're a slave. You have no rights. You're my possession. An object."

"T-That's not true…" the girl whimpered. The boy spat in her face.

"It is," he stood and kicked her in the ribs. The girl shrieked in pain as he continued his assault. "You. Understand.

Now? No. One. Cares!"

"Excuse me," a voice called out. "But I care. I'd appreciate it if you stopped now."

The boy stopped and looked at the person who'd interrupted him. "Who the hell are you?" He hefted his sword at him.

"Listen here, this girl is my slave. I have every right to do whatever the hell I want with her." He looked down and

kicked the girl again for emphasis.

The Demon King glanced at the sword and scoffed. "Not anymore, because you're going to forget this girl ever

existed. You're going to go home and have a nervous breakdown from the guilt of mistreating your slaves."

The boy looked at him, ready to retort, but his eyes suddenly glazed over as an overwhelming presence invaded his

weak mind. Drooling slightly, the boy wandered off, leaving the devil alone with the girl.

"W-What did you do to him?" the girl asked, wincing from the pain. The devil kneeled next to her, and lifted her into

his arms.

"Just a little magic trick," he winked at her. He began walking off towards the ritzier part of town.

"Where are you taking me?" the boy didn't answer as they eventually came upon a large, fancy building. He walked

up to the door and barged in.

A fat man sitting at a desk with a large pitcher of wine in front of him glanced up at the intruders.

"Who the hell are you?" the fat man demanded. He glanced at the girl in his arms. "Isn't that Jamil's slave?"

"Not anymore," the devil said. He reached into his pocket and tossed a large sack of gold coins onto the desk. "I'm

purchasing her freedom, good lord." He smiled down at the now wide-eyed girl.

He left the fat lord to swoon over the amount of gold he'd just received. The sun was finally up in the sky and the town

was coming to life once again. He spotted a jewelry merchant setting up shop nearby and walked over.

Spotting a particularly intricate piece, he purchased it and carried the girl to a secluded alleyway.

Gingerly lowering the girl to the ground, he kneeled before her and muttered a small spell. The shackles binding her

legs shattered. The red-haired girl looked at her now unbound ankles in awe.

She watched silently as the boy who had set her free gently rubbed the sores left by the shackles. Delicately, he

clipped the beautiful anklet he'd bought in its place.

"You're free now," he said softly, smiling at her. "Those shackles weren't suited for someone as beautiful as you. This

is much more appropriate, don't you think?"

The girl flushed in embarrassment. She lifted her left leg and examined the anklet as it gleamed in the early morning

sunlight.

"And you are beautiful," he continued, placing a hand on her head. "A very beautiful person. Don't let anyone tell you

otherwise."

The girl felt her eyes sting and the image of her savior began to blur. Desperate to keep him in sight, terrified that this

was all just a cruel dream; she furiously rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"It's okay to cry," the boy said softly. "Tell me, what's your name?"

The girl sniffed, still rubbing her eyes. "M-Morgiana."

The boy smiled warmly. "Well, Morgiana," he said, helping her to her feet. "I'll take care of you from now on. So don't

you worry, okay?"

Morgiana looked up at him and for the first time since being sold into slavery…

She smiled.

Issei smiled slightly before bowing at the woman once more. "I'm deeply sorry," he said. "Perhaps I could work her

dept off? I'd be more than happy to wash dishes or do some heavy lifting."

The woman glanced at him and Morgiana at his feet before grunting. "Fine. Walk around to the back. I don't want you

disturbing customers, got it?"

The woman walked back inside. Issei looked down at the girl and helped her to her feet. "See? No sweat."

"Master, I apologize for this inconvenience." The girl immediately got back on the ground and groveled before him. "I

will accept any punishment you deem appropriate."

Issei sighed as people passing by began to stare at them. "Stop, Morgiana," he said, lifting her once again. "Ugh, and

to think you used to be so cute, too, running around screaming 'big brother, big brother!' Whatever happened to that?"

The red-haired girl flushed in embarrassment. "I just felt that it was inappropriate as I grew older."

Issei smiled and patted her head gently. "You'll always be my little sister, Morg."

Morgiana suddenly pouted at him and stomped her foot on the ground. The impact caused a small crater to form.

The brown-haired boy immediately backed off. Why was she suddenly angry?!

"Anyway, Issei-sama." She seemed to stress his name for some reason. "We'd better get to the kitchen before the

manager becomes even angrier."

Her master sighed before following.

Issei sighed once again as he led the way home. After a few hours, they'd finally managed to pay off Morgiana's food

bill. He'd had one hell of a time trying to explain how the tiny girl was able to lift entire piles of crates by herself.

"We're back!" he called out as they entered the apartment.

"We?" Ashiya asked in confusion before he spotted the red-haired girl behind him. "Ah, Morgiana!"

"Morg-chan?" Tamamo questioned. "Ah, you're finally here!" she leapt from her seat and hugged the smaller girl

happily.

"Bout time," Mordred grunted. "I figured she'd have been the first one here."

"Hello, Tamamo-nee-chan," the redhead greeted. "Hello, Mordred. Hello, Uncle Alciel."

"It's Ashiya in this country,"

Issei, however, was annoyed. "Why does he still get the 'uncle' while I get nothing?!"

The others turned to him pityingly while the girl in question pouted once again.

"What?!"

"Anyway, Issei-sama," Ashiya began.

"Don't change the subject!"

The white-haired man ignored him. "I apologize for earlier today," he bowed. "I should not have placed the blame

solely on you."

"Yeah, you're supposed to be his most resourceful general!" Tamamo cracked as she and Morgiana sat together at

the kotatsu. "If anyone should be blamed, it's you!"

Ashiya sputtered indignantly. "B-But it wasn't my fault either!" he exclaimed. "Besides, the biggest money burner is

Mordred buying gas for her bike!"

Everyone turned to the blonde, who just glared back at them, daring them to say something. They turned back to

Ashiya.

"This isn't fair!" the white-haired man cried, tears streaming down his face. "Why couldn't I have been a beautiful

girl?!"

…

…

…

"I never said that." Ashiya suddenly snapped, eyes glowing dangerously. "You didn't hear anything."

"Agreed."

"Why couldn't I have been a beautiful girl?! Why couldn't I have been a beautiful girl?! Why couldn't I have been a

beautiful girl?!"

They all turned to see Chachazero holding a tape recorder, a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Why couldn't I have been a beautiful girl?!"

Ashiya slowly fell to his knees, despair evident on his face.

"WHY?!"

A/N: Another servant appears! I pretty much summed up her past in the chapter, but I'll place another

summary, for tradition's sake.

Morgiana – (Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic) – Born somewhere within the vast Persian Empire to a tribe of renown

hunter-warriors called the Fanalis, the tribe was well known for their bright red hair and eyes as well as their

incredible physical strength. Morgiana was captured by slave traders at a young age and sold as the slave of a young

lord named Jamil. This boy was known to be sadistic and mistreated his slaves on a daily basis. One day, Morgiana

attempted to escape from her cruel master, but was quickly captured once again. Fortune seemed to shine upon her,

however, as this incident was seen by the former King of Demons, who would later go by the name Hyoudou Issei.

The Demon King purchased her freedom and promised to care for her until she could care for herself. As they

traveled together throughout the Middle East, Issei trained her to utilize the great strength she'd been born with in

order to protect herself.

Eventually, it came the time that she was old enough to care for herself. By this time, however, they'd simply grown

too close to part ways, and so Issei asked the girl if she'd like to stay together as a family. She'd agreed, as she had

long since forgotten where her true family was, and he was the closest thing she had.

On that day, Issei reincarnated her into a devil and the two have remained together since. However, it seems that

Morgiana has long since stopped seeing her master in a familial sense, but… something more.