12 Chapter 12: Need any help?
Beta read by n1ch, check out his fic it's amazing!
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-Kuoh Academy, after class hour-
Slide
I opened the door to my soon-to-be club room.
The inside was large enough to fit in a large table for six people in the middle, a whiteboard near the windows and storage space on both sides.
It looked exactly the same to the service club I once knew. I had to hold back a few tears when I envisioned phantom images of Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, Isshiki, Totsuka and Hiratsuka-sensei all gathered around the table.
Their smiling faces were all looking at me, patiently waiting for me to join them.
By my side were Sona and her Queen, both inspecting the room to make sure everything was in order.
"So, how do you find the room to be?" Sona inquired shaking me away from my pained nostalgia.
"Yeah, it's perfect."
This is all I could ask for. My club room may not be as fancy and gothic as Rias's Occult Research Club, but to me, it held countless memories.
"Thanks again, Shitori-san and you to Tsubaki-san."
I hoped to be able to recreate even just a sliver of what I once had. The setting was perfect, the school was an ideal place, and all that I required now was new members.
'Akeno will be busy for today, she and her fellow peerage members along with Rias got a request for a Stray hunt.'
Normally I would join them and familiarise myself with combat and tactics against supernatural beings even more. It would've also been a good opportunity to get to finally meet the rest of her peerage.
Rias mentioned them countless times, though she never went in too much detail.
There was her knight Kiba, who was a sacred gear holder like me and Tsubaki.
Koneko, her rook, who also happened to be a Nekomata!
Because of course this budget hentai world would have cat girls.
She was the newest member and Rias spent a lot of time taking care of her. Apparently, the girl went through something tragic before she met Rias.
And lastly Gasper Vladi, her bishop and a vampire.
I was told that he and I would get along well by both Akeno and Rias as we supposedly shared some similar traits.
'Though the vampire part does make me hesitate to meet this individual. Don't want to get sucked dry.
'…'
'That came out incredibly wrong.'
"Hikigaya-san," Sona called out to me impatiently, "Are you okay?"
Shaking my head free of my inner musings I quickly replied.
"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts. Thanks for everything, Shitori-san." I thanked her sincerely.
"Well, that's the least I could do after my nearly fatal oversight."
Ah, I think I may have gone too hard on guilt-tripping her. Now, even after allowing me to open up a club on my own, she still seemed to be sorry.
But I had an idea that would surely cheer her up.
"Want to play some chess?" I offered, "To commemorate this special occasion."
That eased her up a bit and she put on a smile, her eyes glittering with joy.
'She honestly looks like a child that was offered some free candy.'
It was so cute in fact, that my brotherly instincts kicked into gear and I started patting her head.
"Now, now don't just stand there empty-handed, we need a chessboard So-tan."
Huh? She just froze up all of a sudden, her previously blush from the head pat disappeared and her face become stark white, almost as if she saw a ghost.
'Does she not like that nickname?'
I wasn't usually one for giving out nicknames, and even less inclined to instigate physical contact, so perhaps I'd overstepped some unwritten social rules?
Akeno and Rias were surely rubbing off on me (no, not like that reader-san) and I wonder if that's for the better. Time will tell I suppose.
Sona jerked away from me while looking me right in the eyes, "Hikigaya-kun, I would ask you to NEVER call me that ever again."
Ouch, that hurt.
I expected some light anger but not this kind of intense reaction, she looked like the Christian God himself manifested in front of her. Was I mistaken about something between us?
I thought we were close enough to count as friends or business partners, so some joking and teasing would be expected.
Tsubaki-san, the ever-helpful devil came to my help, sensing my confusion.
"Do not mind her behaviour; she's just had a bad experience with that nickname from her elder sister."
Oh, the Maou? I have read about her before, never got to meet the person but she was one of the most popular Maou—and idol—not just in the underworld but the entire supernatural world as well.
Why you might ask?
Well, it was not only because she is another super broken character that could control ice for some reason despite being a Sitri. A clan more known for its water magic. But also because of her side job. A very interesting side job.
Maou Leviathan, full time Satan, part time magical girl.
I thought Sona was messing with me at first. But after Rias confirmed it, I had to again add another thing to my list of 'Things that don't make sense and might kill me in the future.'
What was her name again? Seras? Seraph?
Hmm, almost there... oh yeah! Serafall Leviathan!
I dreaded the day where I would inevitably meet her, and I hope the corporate slave life of a politician forces a professional attitude during her work.
'The universe is laughing at me again, isn't it?'
{Break}
-Sona POV-
"Check."
Three slender fingers placed a white queen piece on the opponent's last line on the board, trapping the black king in front. Though she may have cornered her opponent, it was not a clear victory. Still there were different strategies her opponent could utilise.
She only narrowly escaped defeat.
Her opponent was a monster.
Hikigaya Hachiman had started to play the game for about a year or so. In fact, she was the one who introduced the game to him, to train his strategic thinking.
At first, he was what one would expect of a rookie. He lost his first game in less than 10 turns. But with each match, that amount of turns would increase and his strategy would evolve at an astonishing rate.
Her confidence in her skills was unquestionable, and at a young age she had defeated world champions more than twice her age. A rookie wouldn't even make her break a sweat.
She had underestimated him. Their previous game took her almost 100 moves to squeeze out a narrow victory. She had only intended for this to be a simple game. It was only a matter of time before he learnt all her tricks and method of play and finally he'd have his win over her.
A win that held more at stake than he would ever know. A win that would force her hand and uphold her promise to her family.
She enjoyed her time with Hikigaya-san, the young man being quick-witted, logical and a joy to talk with. His views on devil's society as well as humans were… interesting, to say the least.
The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their relationship with her own problems and politics.
Hachiman spent the last few seconds inspecting the board for a way to escape but found none.
"Huh, it would appear that I still suck as chess. You win again." He said, not looking the least bit upset with his defeat.
'Your statement couldn't be further away from the truth.'
If he considered himself bad at the game despite nearly being on her level then there would be no master chess player in existence.
"Well played, Hikigaya-san your skills have come a long way since we first played." She said.
"Congratulations on your victory, but I think we've played for long enough. It's already well past school hours now."
He yawned and stretched out his limbs before picking up his school bag and preparing to leave.
"I better get going before either Akeno-chan or Gremory-san destroy my house."
She stiffened in shock.
"Pardon? But it has only been a few minu-" The student president stopped herself when she looked out the window.
The evening orange-tinted sky was long gone leaving behind a dark horizon full of stars softly illuminating Kuoh.
'How did I not notice this?'
Sona gave a slight bow towards the boy in front of her, wishing him safe travels home and the strength to deal with a potentially irate heiress and her queen. Watching him leave, unbidden thoughts of 'what if' were quickly squashed.
That line of thinking was incredibly dangerous.
Tsubaki who at some point fell asleep using both her arms as a pillow on the table woke up.
"Ah! Kaicho, you finally finished having fun with Hikigaya-kun. You two were at it for hours!" She teased with a small smile.
The girl in question blushed in both embarrassment and anger.
"Tsubaki."
{Break}
-Kuoh streets-
"Man, my back hurts and I have a headache to top it off." Playing chess with Sona happened to be both educational and torturous.
I wanted to leave early but I couldn't just quit the game with how invested Sona was. The image of her thinking hard about her next move really reminded me of Komachi.
It was good to know the power of little sisters transcended dimensions.
"Better hurry home, I need to have a talk with those two before things spiral out of control."
As I continued walking down the streets, I decided to talk a shortcut through the park.
It was a beautiful place, with gardens of flowers and trees filling the area. The place was decorated with stone statues and benches were placed in every corner. Its main attraction was a huge fountain in the middle that attracted both tourists and the locals.
This place was very popular with couples who went on a date; even Akeno dragged me all over this place when we were younger. I had many fond memories here, even met a weird kid who couldn't stop talking about breasts and how he would become a harem king.
'Funny kid, I forgot his name though, I wonder how he's doing right now. Him and that orange-haired tomboyish girl that always followed him around.'
As I reached an area filled with vending machines, I stopped to buy myself a can of SUPER coffee. I had some leftover coins in my pocket, so why not spend it all here?
You may think that it was a bit late for coffee. Then you were not a true SUPER/MAX coffee fan like me.
It was always coffee time!
'I forgot to ask Sona to give me some of the bounty money.'
Deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice another person who came to my side.
"Yo."
Caught off guard by the unexpected greeting I nearly dropped my can of coffee out of fright.
A tall teenage boy, probably around my age, with unnatural silver-white hair and hazel eyes was facing me with a small smile. He looked foreign and not Japanese, his looks were downright criminally handsome.
If I wasn't so cynical and dead inside, I would certainly be jealous of his looks.
"Huh... Yo?" I was unsure what else to say to this guy so I just greeted him back.
"It's quite late at night for a student to wander around, don't you think so?" He questioned.
"Yeah, right back at you buddy. You look around my age as well. I could ask you the same thing," I shot back, "And also why are you here? Do you need my help or something?"
"Yes, well I'm on duty here. My caretaker asked me to look for a thief who stole something extremely valuable and important from him." He answered lazily.
Is his caretaker a mad man? Sending a boy around my age to catch a thief this late at night? That was just asking for trouble.
"You should go to the police and file a complaint about it. I can't help you with something like that."
This guy and his caretaker were both insane.
"Sorry I didn't ask for your name, you can call me Totsuka by the way."
Ha! You think that I would give my name away to just any stranger I meet on the streets even if they were around my age? Think again, I ain't that dumb. Speaking of strangers, I didn't like how he gazed at me like a hawk. It was extremely off-putting.
"My name's Vali, and there is no need for the police to be involved. I already found my target."
I didn't like where this was going.
"What?"
"Before I bring him in, I wanted to measure him up first, you know? See if he is worthy of my time and effort." Slowly a large grin started to form on his face.
'Test?'
'GET AWAY FROM HIM!'
[DIVIDE!]
Bam!
A heavy power hit me on the chest, launching me away like a ragdoll. My back hit against a tree trunk, splintering it from the force.
Thankfully, Rias healed my previous injuries or else I would have been incapacitated.
But seriously why was I being targeted!?
'Vritra! What is going on!?' I shouted at the dragon for an answer.
I didn't let my gaze drop from the leisurely approaching Vali, who this time had a pair of blue ethereal and mechanical looking wings.
'Who is he?'
'Listen to me closely, partner. That is NOT someone you want to fight right now! You have to concentrate on escaping him. He is the threat I was talking about this morning, the Vanishing Dragon, host of Albion.
'And the current White Dragon Emperor!' said Vritra in a sombre tone.
My heart stopped and my stomach twisted as I came to learn the identity of my attacker.
"Why are you doing this!?" I shouted at Vali, after standing and putting up my guard while thinking up of a plan.
The guy didn't even acknowledge my question.
"Ho~ You got back up rather quickly. I already told you my reason; I came to take in a thief," He flew towards me at such high speed that I couldn't even see him, "You!"
"Shit!"
[Restrict!]
I did not have enough time to use [Delete Field, so I used [Restrict] as a quick way to slow him down. He became visible again as a blur just a few metres away from me.
I blinked once and suddenly had to twist my neck to the side, his punch a hairsbreadth form hitting my face.
"Oomph!"
Too bad I didn't predict for him to act just as quick and follow up with a knee kick to my ribcage.
The strike nearly turned the lights out for me. As I sailed through the air, I knew I was no march for this guy.
'I need to escape!'
I used the distance that he created between us to use my sacred gear's strongest abilities.
[Delete Field!] [Absolute Silence!] [Restrict!]
Two spheres of deep violet and pure darkness expanded from the gem in my pauldron covering the area between Vali.
'That should keep him occupied for a few seconds.'
My musing was cut short by Vritra who did not share my opinion. 'That's not going to hold him down for long! Run!'
"I'm trying-"
[Divide]
A voice sounded off from inside the sphere which should have been impossible. I saw an unbelievable sight of my two fields shrinking down half their size and disappearing away, revealing a bored-looking Vali.
"Interesting abilities, but ultimately quite weak, I'm quite disappointed." Well sorry for being weak mister I have a heavenly dragon scared gear!
[Levitation]
I couldn't outrun him or outfly him, but I was far quicker in the air than on land.
'Any advice Vritra?'
'Try to lose him within the forest, It's our best bet of escaping. I don't think he's trying to kill you. Perhaps we can exploit his deserved overconfidence.'
Oi, that's not reassuring at all!
I pushed my flying abilities to their limit and weaved around the trees trying to lose him to little avail. Faintly, his footsteps echoed through the forest at an unhurried pace.
"Try your best to hide, it won't matter. I will always find you."
Well fuck you too bastard, I'll rip those pair of wings out your back one day for sure!
I soon found an old abandon house near the edge of the park. I dropped down and ran inside while clutching my chest, his strike giving me trouble breathing.
'Vritra, I don't think we can escape that guy.'
'Aye, if the host of Albion is dead set on you then escaping is no longer an option.We need to hide ourselves from the rest of the world.'
'How can I even do that?''
Hide from the rest of the world? Was that even possible?
'You forget your most useful spell, partner? [Absolute Silence] can not only negate all aspects related to the senses for our foes but it should work on ourselves if we try.
'And with me by your side, I can find a way to sense the outside while remaining hidden from Albion and his host. This will give us enough time to come up with a plan of attack.'
I really hoped this worked.
[Absolute Silence!]
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Edit: Accidentally wrote [Absolute Silence] as a Sacred Gear ability rather than a spell. It's a spell.
The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.
