55 Merry Christmas

A month goes by peacefully. Or as peacefully as it can with entitled Devils trying to forcefully induct me into their ranks.

A month has gone by since Misla Bael's treatment began. She's fully moved into Kuoh, living in the quaint house I provided for her. Her son's joined her as well, and though initially wary, Sairaorg Bael quickly became one of my close friends.

He's the eldest son of Lord Bael, though he joined his mother in exile after it was discovered that he can't wield the Power of Destruction. A young man with jet black hair and violet eyes. His body is toned and built like a brick house, but he's perhaps one of the kindest people I've ever met.

We spar from time to time. He never wins, but his speed of improvement is insane. He doesn't use his Demonic Energy all that much, and he doesn't need to. Despite being a Devil, Sairaorg has an incredible talent when it comes to Ki, and I'm more than happy to teach him.

He then proceeded to learn how to use Touki in about two weeks. I mean, it isn't perfect, and his control over what Ki he has is still painfully poor, but the fact that can even use Touki in the first place speaks of his immense talent.

What a shame it is that Lord Bael can't see this.

Hmph. I'll make sure he never sees this either. Let that man rot on his own throne. One doesn't deserve something they never worked for.

Anyway,

A month has gone by. I've slain just over 300 Devils during that time, absorbing their energies to grow mine. It's begun to slow recently; not because they're learning or anything, but because a festival will soon take place in the Underworld, and most Devils are going to be busy for the next month or two.

Both a shame and a blessing. Less Devils mean less Primal Energy to absorb, but it also means I won't need to ingest stomach medicine like a madman for a little while.

I never hid the fact that the Devils are disappearing because of me. Sona knows this, and is understandably wary of me. Though not afraid, because it wasn't her fault in the first place.

Rias knows this too, and is understandably terrified. After all, this isn't her territory, but mine. And disclosing important information, even to people she considers friends and family isn't something one should ever do.

Because some may be tight-lipped, but a single rumor can spread like a wildfire. It was a nurse that worked in the Sitri Hospital that began it all. Rias considers her a close acquaintance, and spoke about it. I'm not sure whether by intention or by accident, but the damage is done.

A whisper becomes two. Two becomes four. The whispers become rumor, and then rumor becomes fact once the second and third steps I advised began working, even if they can only go so far without my help.

Now, I'm not so mean to take it out on the girl. She knows she made a mistake, and the nurse that spread the rumor in the first place has already been punished. It's not a surprising mistake, considering her young age and her lack of experience.

But it isn't a mistake I'll be letting go for a while, if ever. She'll need to do something big to make up for all the 'inconveniences' she's caused me. Rias knows this, but she isn't sure what she can do to make up for it.

Why, maybe it'll even escalate to the point that Lucifer himself might have to move. Who knows, perhaps I'll manage to gain a personal favor from him as well, much like I did with Serafall. Wouldn't that be nice?

Well, I can leave those thoughts for later.

After all, a month has gone by. It's late December now. Snow is falling for once, and the air outside is cold even for me. It's late evening, and I'm eating dinner with everyone.

I do mean everyone. I've decided to splurge a bit and rented out an entire restaurant for the night. I invited everyone I know; from Nurarihyon and Yasaka, to Suzaku and Genbu, to Rias and Sona and their peerages, to Sae and the rest of Team Slash/Dog, to Dulio and some of the refugees, and even the recently arrived Misla and Sairaorg.

And, of course, my family, Kanada, and Akeno as well. Because there's no way I'm leaving them out.

To say that many were surprised when they saw the two leaders of the Youkai stroll in would be an understatement. But this only cemented my connection to them, and of my position as their 'Heir'.

Ugh. I still don't like that term.

It was a little awkward at first—the guests I invited all came from differing backgrounds—but it didn't last too long. Dulio challenged me to an eating contest, and I agreed. Sairaorg then joined in, and so did Akeno and my big sister.

And from there, everything fell into chaos. A good kind of chaos though.

It's been a couple hours since this all began. I'm sitting on my lonesome at a table just by the corner of the room, occasionally munching on a bowl of pretzels. I'm watching the rest of my guests enjoy themselves. That initial awkwardness still lingers, but the atmosphere's a lot warmer now, and livelier as well.

But, of course, my social battery isn't all that high, and I found myself beginning to run ragged minutes ago. So I stealthily escaped, moving to the farthest table in the restaurant and slapping an 'Illusion' Ofuda on my shoulder.

No one knows I'm here. Or, well, everyone but one.

"Are you alright?" Akeno asks as she walks into the 'Illusion' barrier surrounding us. She's carrying a bowl of salted nuts. "You've been alone for a while."

I smile wryly. "Noticed I went missing, huh?"

She huffs. "I'm not so dull to notice you disappearing. And," She winks. "Well, I've known you for a while. I know parties aren't really your thing."

I sigh. "Guilty as charged." I say, as I pull back the chair to my left. She whispers a soft thanks as she sits down next to me. "How about you, though? The night's still young, and I doubt you'd want to spend it with boring ol' me."

She snorts. "Please, you're anything but boring." She pushes her bowl towards mine. "Want some?"

"Don't mind if I do." I take a few handfuls and drop them into my bowl. I then push my bowl to hers. "You?" I ask in turn, and she smiles as she grabs a few dozen and places it into her bowl.

"Thanks." She smiles as she begins munching on a pretzel. "So, what's up?" I blink, and she raises an eyebrow. "All this. I mean, it's Christmas and all, but you've never done anything like this before."

"Ah." I attempt a smile, hoping it'll hide some of the embarrassment I'm feeling. From the way she smiles, it doesn't seem to have worked. "It's not much, really. I just…" I wave my hand at the rest of my guests, all of them chatting and eating and enjoying themselves on this snowy night. "Yeah. You know."

And she does know. Her smile becomes a little warmer. "It's amazing, right?"

I smile as well. "It is." I look down at my bowl. "I just…it feels a little like a dream."

She hums softly. "Everything does." She gives me a bright grin as she chomps down on a couple salted nuts. "I mean, the fact that I'm still here and not rotting somewhere is amazing enough, but this?" She laughs. "My younger self would've probably fainted if she saw this."

I chuckle. The same probably applies to me as well. If I showed this to the me from my past life, would he have believed it? Considering who I was, I'd probably just chuck it up to me being drugged or something.

"How're things in Kyoto?" I then ask, picking up a couple salted nuts of my own. "I haven't been there in a while. Haven't much time with all the…'problems' I got saddled with."

She giggles. "More like 'food', you vampire." I laugh, not bothering to deny. She smiles. "But things are fine. The Youkai School's doing really well, and I heard they're planning to build a couple more soon enough. And, uh," She frowns for a moment, before she snaps her hand. "Ah! Right, I can cut magic now."

I smile wryly. "You are terrifying."

She huffs. "Says the one who killed a god."

"A fragment of a god." I correct. She huffs again.

A small silence falls between us, interspersed with the occasional sound of snacks being crunched. There's still a lot of things we want to talk about, but we have just as much time. This small haven of ours isn't going away anytime soon.

Then, suddenly,

"You know, I don't think I'm a Fallen Angel anymore." She says out of the blue. I still, a pretzel barely hanging on my index finger. She doesn't look especially worried about it. If anything, she looks kind of happy.

Which, considering her past, makes total sense.

Still, I quickly use my eyes to see what she means. Information begins flooding into my head, and immediately, I notice something…odd.

Horns. I can see horns hiding beneath her hair. They're still small—little more than little stubs barely sticking from her scalp—but those are definitely horns. They're pure white as well, and my eyes tell me they'll curve around her forehead as it grows larger, almost mimicking a crown of sorts.

"You have horns." I say dully.

"I do." She confirms easily, brushing away her hair to show the two stubs I'd seen. "Noticed it when I accidentally stabbed the walls with it some nights ago."

The absurd claim makes me chuckle a little. "Only you." I say, before I frown. "Still, horns, huh…"

My eyes continue digging deeper, pulling more and more obscure facts to find out just what's happening. Despite her horns, she's still technically a Fallen. But I can also see that it'll change sooner or later. She won't remain a Fallen for much longer, and she'll instead shift into a-

My mind freezes.

Horns. Not many races in this world have horns anymore, especially not horns as eye-catching as Akeno's.

A Fallen Angel. An Angel cast out from Heaven, their divine authority stripped and their Light tainted.

Primal Energy. A power that existed from the conception of planet Earth. It purifies all, catalyzes them, and breaks all down to their most primal form.

The most primal form of a Fallen Angel. The first Fallen Angel. Horns.

I decide to keep the revelation to myself, but I know it won't help much. Akeno's smart, and it won't take long before she herself pieces together just what she's becoming. Though I can't help but wonder what her reaction will be once she does find out.

"Pretty cool, right?" Akeno says, grinning all the while. I quickly shake my head, and I grin back as I give the white stubs a gentle pat. Her grin only grows. "I wonder if I can kill someone by ramming them with my head."

"I don't think that's an appropriate question for this scenario." I say dully, grinning all the while. "But, yes You probably can." She giggles as I give the stubs another pat. "Can you feel anything?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. They feel like…pieces of metal, I guess."

I give the stubs another look. The horns seem to be growing out from her skull. It makes sense why she can't really feel them; they're mostly just bones. Incredibly hard bones, mind you, but bones still.

I hum. "I wonder how I'd look with horns."

She blinks, and gives my hair a quick look. "I think you'd look positively dashing with black horns." She says, her eyes glinting with purpose. "And you'll need a suit as well."

"I'll make sure to commission a pair from the finest craftsmen." I say drily, mentally noting it down. I'll make sure to actually commission a pair the next time I come to Kyoto. Maybe I'll even turn them into artifacts of some kind.

I mean, can you imagine? Me having the Eyes of God, yet dressing as a Demonic Entity. That's just an irony I can't pass on.

She giggles, and then drapes her head onto my shoulder. I gently pull her chair closer to make sure she's comfortable.

Neither of us talk for a while, content with watching everyone celebrate. Occasionally, someone will ask where Akeno or I are. They'll then get an uncertain response, not knowing that we haven't even left the establishment.

And naturally, thinking that Akeno and I have left, they begin talking about us. It's nothing terrible, and they're all careful to keep their supernatural lives secret from my family, but they talk still.

It's interesting to hear just how many rumors there are surrounding us, and we get a chuckle or two from time to time.

Then, as the night wears on, and the snow outside begins to pile, Akeno holds my hand in hers and gently whispers, "Merry Christmas."

I turn to her, and patting her head, I smile back. "Merry Christmas to you too."

…

And then, just a day later, a building burns down.