An Interesting Discovery

Washing my hands under the sink, I scrubbed the blood splatters off my knuckles. They hadn't gotten anywhere else, I had made sure of it. After finishing off Tsukuba and his goons I had left the alleyway, shoving my hands in my pockets to keep my bloody fists out of sight. There had been a few people out still at that time, must in a rush to get home so not paying attention to much else.

But I'm pretty sure seeing a young teen covered in blood splatters would have garnered attention. Even if it didn't, it would have still raised questions from Gorou and Ingrid who had been in the living room watching TV, both coming to see me when I came back.

'So Ragnarök is present.' I wondered to myself as I thought back to the 'conversation' I had with Tsukuba after our 'fight.' He'd been quite forthcoming with all the information I had asked for as Daimonji served as quite the comfortable seat for me to sit on. He was just the right size so that when curled up into a pitiful ball I could sit comfortably.

Turning off the tap I looked at myself in the mirror and felt a smirk come onto my face. 'Well, at least now I have something to occupy my time with for the next two weeks.' Much like how I didn't know how I stacked up against the supernatural forces, I also didn't know how the members of Ragnarök and by extension, YOMI stacked up against them either.

However I did know that they were martial artists.

The only real competition from someone close to my age was from Imai Cosimo and to be entirely honest, in terms of grappling I stood no chance. I could put up a fight, but in a purely grappling setting if we were both at a hundred percent I would lose. But in any other type of fight, I'd win yet that was expected.

Imai was a prodigy grappler and widely recognised as one of the best at what he did. I'm good, but I'm not that good.

Hearing a knock at the bathroom door, I opened the door letting Issei in while I stepped out to go to my room. I'd clean myself off fully, but I could still smell the scent of blood on my hands, it was faint so no one would be able to tell. Even so, I'd rather not hang around much as questions being asked was something I'd like to avoid.

I had broken down Tsukuba which would no doubt gain the attention of Ragnarok. They'd come for me, or at least watch me carefully. Having my own family look into me and ask questions would be something I'd like to avoid as much as possible.

But on the way, I passed by Ingrid who paused.

I carried on, pretending like I didn't notice and as I went to open the door to my room, I spared a glance down at her. She was looking directly at me, her face slightly flushed and her eyes glazed with desire. But it wasn't sexual desire, it was more like hunger, starvation. The look one got when smelling something particularly amazing.

'Did she smell the blood?' I wondered, closing the door behind me and collapsing on my bed. My ears strained to listen out for any sign of movement but there was none. 'It's possible, there was nothing sexual in her gaze. A Vampire then? Again, possible but I'm sure I would have sensed something. Oh well, I'll keep an eye on her for now, she can't be a threat if the heiress's have allowed her to live so close to Issei who possesses a Sacred Gear. Or at least not without keep a close eye on her. If I move now, I could draw unwanted attention to myself.'

Keeping it stored in the back of my mind, I closed my eyes. Sleep was calling for me and I was going to give into its demands. Rest was an important facet to ensuring you remained in perfect condition. It allowed one to rest their mind to avoid mental exhaustion, it also helped the recovery of muscle fatigue, not that I was suffering from either.

But best to stay on top of these things.

-X- Line Break -X-

Pausing outside the door, Ingrid tried her best to swallow only for the dryness of her mouth to make it such a difficult task to do. She could feel the rush building within her, the burning desire to feed for the first time in so many years. Yet she couldn't, not when she was close to separating herself from the past she was so desperately trying to escape from.

All the hardship she had endured under his grasp and she was finally free. She finally had a chance to live a normal life and Ingrid couldn't afford to lose control of her instincts now. Especially not against Mikoto.

If she did, if she killed him by losing control then that would devastate both Gorou and Issei, she couldn't do that to them. She didn't love her husband, but she did care for him. He had provided her a second chance and he loved Mikoto, same with Issei. The little boy so innocent had brought her many laughs and smiles over the years. He awoke instincts within her she had thought never existed, like a mother bear protecting her cub, she would protect Issei at all costs.

And they both loved and cared for Mikoto and so she would protect him as well.

But she also knew the truth, she had seen it when Mikoto first arrived. He possessed no magic, but there was a sense of danger laying within him. An aura that projected out from him like a predator looking upon those around him as prey. The skill she saw from him early this evening when he was confronted by those Karate thugs only proved to her that he was skilled, incredibly so.

Even though she knew Mikoto wouldn't be in any real danger from the threats in Kuoh, Ingrid was more wary of the teen himself. He was just like how she used to be in the past, looking at those around him as tools.

As she had looked upon Gorou and Issei until bit by bit, she began to change. Something similar was happening to Mikoto, even if he tried to deny it and he was. 'I can't let myself lose control, not when I'm so close to breaking free from him.' If she was able to break free, then perhaps she could help Mikoto escape from whatever was controlling him.

It was not possession, it was not telepathy.

What controlled Mikoto was ingrained instincts that he had developed over the course of many years. Instincts and habits that he couldn't ignore or resist. She was fighting so hard to ignore hers and had come close to failing so many times in the past. If she could escape them fully, then perhaps she could help Mikoto to ignore his own.

Gripping hold of her arm tightly, Ingrid looked upon the brand that appeared upon her skin. The brand that marked her as property, as a slave. A brand that would forever stain her soul, one that would forever connect her to the monster that had taken for his own.

Reapplying the seal, Ingrid leaned against the wall biting down upon her lip in an attempt to restrain her urge to feed. She wouldn't let this brand defy who she was, she wouldn't allow him to control her forever. Ingrid would break free from the control her had over her and then do what she had never done before, help another from the instincts that controlled them.

-X- Line Break -X-

The next day I awoke early as I usually did, heading out to get some practise in. I had long since reached the peak of my martial skill, the only way up for me now was though experience. However, that didn't mean I could just laze around and do nothing, if I did that then my fatigue would atrophy and my skills would deteriorate.

No, I'd still need to go through the katas, shadow spar and also do plenty of exercise. So everyday at five in the morning I'd get up and start my exercises.

Everyday.

Exercise was never something I had enjoyed, but I had found a particular taste for fighting, especially winning. Training meant getting stronger, getting stronger meant winning and winning meant surviving. A nice little cycle that served to keep me motivated through the tedium of repeated training.

Though I suppose comfort could be found in familiarity, and what was a routine if not familiarity.

By the time it was seven o'clock, I was just coming up the drive of my house. Gorou's car was missing meaning he was already at work, normal for him. He was a hardworking individual and I admired that.

As I approached the door though I paused as I heard the chattering inside. Usually it was quiet, Issei half asleep and Ingrid cooking breakfast, but there was a lot of chatter going on inside today. Meaning that there was more people inside, I didn't like being caught off-guard and I had certainly not prepared myself mentally to interact with so many people.

'This isn't like the Inside or the Kengan Association. This is the civilised world and you have to get used to this. Especially if you don't want to attract attention.' I'm arrogant, I'm fully aware that I'm a good-looking guy that was highly athletic.

That type of person had a stereotype and connotation attached to it.

A cliché if you will.

I knew full well that was I going to attract attention for those said things. I also expected questions to be asked about my relation to Issei and where I've been considering people didn't know or believed me to be dead. However if I fit the stereotype, if I played the cliché role expected of me, the questions would eventually die down and people would stop paying too much attention to me. Or at the very least, stopping looking to deeply into who I was.

If I went against the cliché I would stand out and in the way that would gain far more attention than if I went with the flow. That wasn't what I wanted just yet.

First I needed to know where I stood in the context of the wider world. Then depending on that I could change the way I acted because I had no intention of conforming to the way the world expected me to act for very long. I fully intended to break the mould and go out on my own, but survival was paramount.

'But I doesn't mean I have to like it.' Taking a deep breath and suppressing my irritation, I opened the door and stepped inside.