Chapter 6: Chapter Six
*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP*
'Ow my head, someone turn off the sun,' I think as I reach to rub my face only to stop when I feel multiple things on it, small and hard objects on my face, and now that I think about it, they're irritating.
Opening my eyes I'm looking directly up at the sky as I squint from the morning sun, 'where the hell… the roof, of course, I fucking slept on the school roof, I'm an idiot'.
*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP*
Looking to my pocket I pulled out my phone to see Issei's caller id, I sighed before opening it, "yeah Ise I'm here what's up"
"Kenta, what the hell man, my folks are worried sick, you never came home last night, I checked every bar I could think of thinking you were out on a bender, where the hell are you!?" Issei yelled down the line as I took my phone away from my ear so as to save my hearing.
"Sorry to make you worry for nothing, but I'm fine, I just found another place to crash for the night" I said with a sigh, I didn't really want to tell him I slept on the school roof, 'thank whatever deity it didn't rain last night' I think as I start rubbing the gravel out of my hair and off my face.
"Why the fuck didn't you answer your phone when I called then, I must have called fifty times!" he yelled again making me sigh.
"It was probably after I was already asleep, listen Issei I'll see you at school I've gotta go take a shower" I said before hanging up on him and turning my phone to silent, my headache wasn't really wanting to listen to more of his yelling, plus I just wasn't in the mood for it.
Getting up I could feel myself stiff as a board as my joints cracked, after sleeping on a hard surface all night, the only thing I can think now is I need food and a shower.
'You feeling all right now partner'
'Yea, I'm fine, thanks for keeping the nightmares away again, I'm starting to get used to these nights of uninterrupted sleep'
'Sure thing partner, so what now? Your friends know all there is to know now, well accept about me that is'
'Yea I'll keep you to myself a bit longer, I always liked having an Ace up my sleeve,' I think as I make my way to the stairs down.
'You starting your training again today as planned?'
'No sense not to, nothing's changed I have to be ready, at most it could take him a few days to get here from where he's at so once my Sharingan matures I won't have long to get ready'
'But first, food and a shower, you stink partner'
I scoffed aloud, 'Yeah no shit'
Club room Rias POV
I sat behind my desk looking down at the paperwork on it, but not focusing on them, my mind was elsewhere. I couldn't sleep last night, too many thoughts were going through my head after the meeting with Kenta, and the revelations we learned about him. I can't even begin to imagine what he's been through, no it's more like I don't want to, to even think about witnessing something like would be devastating, I can't even imagine what I would do if Onii-sama did something like that and I witnessed it, I can't even begin to comprehend the things Kenta has gone through, it's no surprise he is the way he is, wanting to kill his own brother for so long, he has so much hatred in him it's no wonder he keeps himself so closed off, I honestly don't have a clue how to help him.
As I'm sitting trying to think I hear the door to the club room open and my attention is pulled to the target of my thoughts, Kenta, looking rather untidy comes into the room. What happened to him he looks like he slept in a bush.
"Good morning Kenta" I spoke getting his attention, "I wasn't expecting you in so early, rough night sleep?"
He looked at me obviously not expecting me, before rubbing his face and replying, "Oh Rias, I wasn't expecting to see you here. I was just hoping to use the shower here before I go to class, it was a rather long night" he says his tone more reserved than usual.
I nodded, "Sure, there are towels to the left of the door, take as long as you need," I said gesturing to the door to the shower area.
I watch as he nods and goes into the room and closes the door behind him as he walks in, the look on his face was one lost in thought. I can only frown as I hear the lock on the door click closed from the inside as I worry as to what his thoughts might be about.
Looking back down to the papers on my desk I sigh, these past few days since bringing Kenta and Issei into our little group have been some of the most challenging in a while, but then new peerage members often are, and with Kenta's life before things just keep getting more and more challenging with him, but I can tell he'll be worth it, there's just something about him ever since the moment I first saw him, there's a side of him that he keeps hidden away, always guarded, but that's to be expected after what he told us, it's no wonder he always wearing armour.
I yawn slightly as I'm starting to feel my lack of sleep get to me, I'll try to get some sleep before the others go out on their contracts tonight, it'll be Issei's first as Kenta hasn't even begun doing his leaflet routes yet and I haven't explained much about contracts to him, Akeno should have given Issei the run through back before he had that run in with the fallen that Kenta killed, that we still have no information on, which has me concerned as to what they're up to in my territory.
As I'm deep in thought I don't notice the door opening again until I hear Sona's voice speaking to me.
"Well, I see I wasn't the only one with trouble sleeping last night" Sona speaks as she comes into the room closing the door behind her, "are your thoughts as preoccupied as mine?"
I look up hearing the voice, "Oh Sona, I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in," I said before rubbing my eyes trying to wake myself up, "Yes it was a rather long restless night, I take it was for you as well"
Sona nodded, "indeed, but after finding out Kenta's past in yesterday's meeting I wouldn't find it surprising if anyone did, such a dark secret and cross to carry on his own, I can't imagine how he has done so all these years"
I nodded in agreement, "nor can I, but it explains a lot about why he is the way he is, I just wish I knew how to help him", I say while Sona nods.
"Yes, I've been thinking hard about how we might go about it, and the only idea that comes to mind is if we were to assist him in bringing his brother to justice for their parent's murders it might give him some piece of mind," Sona reasoned looking rather disappointed at the idea.
I nodded, "yes that does sound like the most obvious option as to helping him, but is doesn't exactly make for the easiest method, your forgetting all that Kenta told us of his brother, which wasn't much, aside from his obvious strength and skill we don't even know his name," I said rather depressingly.
Sona put her hand to her chin, "yes that is a problem, but perhaps finding him would be the first step, we can formulate a plan after we've located him. As for his name, perhaps if we just asked Kenta he'd tell us, he might be open to the assistance in finding his brother,"
I nodded, "Maybe he might be, but the only option is to ask him, we can do that when he's finished in the shower" I explained only to hear the door to the shower room open and for Kenta to come out of it with a towel drying his hair.
"Ask me what?" Kenta asked as he walked towards us, "Oh and good morning Sona," he said spotting Sona.
"Good morning to you as well Kenta" Sona replied a small smile on her face, that I only just caught before I looked to Kenta with some shock.
"Wow that was a fast shower, you were barely in there five minutes," I said looking at him as he lay the towel on the back of his neck and shrugged.
"Force of habit from a lot of fast showers in the mornings between morning training and school starting" Kenta said as he fixed up his uniform before looking to us, "now what was it you were wanting to ask me when I came out, I've got class in a few minutes," he said as he walked over picking up his bag and Bokutō that he left here the night before.
I blinked, "oh yes that" I said getting up, 'here goes nothing', "well Sona and I were hoping you could tell us the name of your older brother," I said before holding my breath as I saw him stop midway through fixing his bag before looking at us with shock in his eyes.
"Why do you want to know my brother's name?" Kenta asked his voice hardened, I could tell we were treading close to a nerve here, his brother is a sensitive subject.
"Well..." I started before stopping trying to think how to word it best, "we were hoping to help you in finding him," I reasoned hoping he didn't take it the wrong way.
Kenta blinked once as what I said appeared to register before we saw his eyes narrow in anger as he replied, "Find him, that's what you want to do" he said in disbelief before he rubbed both his eyes like he was having a migraine and continued speaking, "and pray tell what do you hope to do when you find him, because last I checked from what I told you yesterday Arashi isn't the type of person you just have a casual chat with, that's if you could even get close to him," Kenta said his anger evident in his voice when he spoke of his brother, Arashi.
"So Arashi is his name then?" I asked making sure.
Kenta nodded in response, "yes, but please do not mention him to me again after this, he is my concern, not yours. Now answer my question, why do you two want to find him," he asked his tone more forceful.
Sona was the one to reply, "it was my recommendation, we're hoping to help you resolve your past by helping you to locate your brother and then face him, so that you can exact whatever justice you wish," Sona informed him of her idea only for him to start shaking his head as she spoke.
"Let me stop you both right there then, as it appears I didn't make myself perfectly clear on just how dangerous my brother is the other day in our meeting" Kenta said shaking his head, "since that night seven years ago Arashi has a fully developed Mangekyō Sharingan, the powers of which I listed off to you, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tsukuyomi, he's had access to them for seven years, seven long years to practice and perfect their destructive capabilities, and you want to go looking for him when you have no idea what he's like or how strong he's become, do you two have a death wish" Kenta said his voice angry.
I flinched as he put it so blatantly, we were only trying to help him, this was the only way either Sona or I could think of doing so, but the way he made it sound was like we were only children compared to him. "We're trying to help you Kenta, this is the only way we can think of doing so since you declined my offer to help you mature your Sharingan through training"
Kenta sighed, "and that's for a good reason Rias, I have a plan that I intend to follow to get my justice, and the last thing I need right now is you two trying to help and just making things worse" Kenta said as he crossed his arms, "when I face my brother, I will do so on my terms alone, he is my problem to deal with "
"And just how do you intend on finding him," Sona asked as she stepped forward to his statement, "do you know for sure where he will be when you've decided on confronting him"
Kenta sighed, "No, I intend on him coming to me" Kenta said as he closed his eyes and opened them showing his Sharingan spinning in his eyes, "he'll come to me when my Sharingan matures, it's an internal sense that I was told about that when an immediate family member's Sharingan matures they can feel it, I have no doubt once my Sharingan matures my brother will come for me, to test my strength it's just the kind of man he is" Kenta explained as he clenched his fists.
"So that's why you wanted to mature your Sharingan by yourself, you wanted to do it in a way to get the most results from your training without maturing your Sharingan until you were ready to face your brother" I said as I put the pieces together, "if that's the case we need to start preparing for when your Sharingan matures and he comes to find you" I said as I moved back to behind my desk but I stopped when Kenta spoke again.
"You're still not listening, I said I will be the one to face my brother alone, meaning when my Sharingan matures I want both of you and everyone else as far away from me as possible for when my brother comes," Kenta said making us both look at him in shock.
"What!" Sona said in shock, I blinked registering what he said, "you can't be serious Kenta. You expect us to abandon you?"
Kenta narrowed his gaze on me as he spoke, "I've never been more serious in my life Rias, I have no idea the level of power my brother will possess when I finally fight him, all I can do is go by what I have read and been told, he's had seven years to master the Mangekyō Sharingan and its powers, against that power you wouldn't last a minute when with a single glance from his eyes and you would know a level pain you've never even imagined existed"
I gulped slightly hearing Kenta's words he was stone cold, deadly serious, but his voice behind it all I could hear it, fear he was frightened, I looked him up and down in a glance and I saw what he was really feeling his hands were trembling slightly, his Sharingan eyes faded and his charcoal black eyes were steadfast but I could see the fear behind them the prospect of facing his brother alone terrified him but he hides it well, he needs our help, "Kenta you can't expect ups to just leave you to someone like him if he's as bad as you say, then let us help you" I tried to reason with him but he just shook his head.
"No Rias, that's exactly what I expect you to do, he's my problem and my responsibility, I will not allow anyone else to get hurt on my accord, I'll be damned if I'll let the final pillar of the Sharingan break after all this" Kenta said his tone sounding more confident and determined with each word.
That was when it hit me the final pillar of the Sharingan the tenants he lives by Honour, family, friends, he doesn't want to see us get hurt that's why he wants us to leave his brother to him, he's doing it for our protection to keep us safe so that his brother doesn't take us from him like he did their parents. I looked to Sona and it looked like we had both come to the same realisation as to Kenta's motives as to why he wants to face his brother alone, but we both looked by to Kenta as he continued speaking.
"Since that night seven years ago I keep finding myself falling short of the three pillars, I failed to protect my family, I lost my life and with it, my honour, but I will be damned if I let my friends get hurt when there's something I can do to stop it. That's why none of you will be there when I face him, I can't protect you from him so this is all I can do to prevent me from having to do so" Kenta said before turning and heading towards the door.
I stood in shock watching him go, he cares for us that much that he wants us as far from the harm as possible not because he sees us as weak, he wants to proceed us and this is his only option for doing that, you truly are a caring person Kenta and it's a tragedy that such a fate had to befall your past.
Sona stepped forward before Kenta left and spoke, "Kenta, if you're living by those pillars as you call them, how can you justify killing your brother for his crimes, doesn't that go against your own principals"
Kenta stopped at the door hearing Sona's words which seemed to make him think for a seconds before he replied, his tone was one that made me flinch more than his others, it was full of sadness and pain but steady, I don't think he knew anything but that, "There's a lot more to family than just blood, Sona," he said before turning to look at us both the pain masked by a hardened look in his eyes, "it's the bonds you share, the memories you hold dear, the trust in them, you share, to always be there, to have your back in the good times and bad" he said before he clenched his fists and turned back to the door, "Seven years ago he tore all that makes us family apart, and let it burn along with our parents, for what he has done, I will never consider that man family" he finished before tossing the towel from around his neck to the side as he walked out the door closing it behind him.
After Kenta left the room his words were stuck in my mind, what Kenta's brother did went far beyond just murdering their parents, it was a complete betrayal of everything they shared together as brothers, it's no surprise how someone could have gone through what Kenta has and come out like he is, most would have broken but Kenta didn't, such will, such resolve, it's frightening.
I looked to Sona, "so what do you think we should do, he doesn't want us to be involved, and to be honest I'm a little hesitant to get involved until we know who we're dealing with if Kenta's brother is as strong as he suspects he is"
Sona nodded at my word, "Agreed, while he may not want us involved, it would be negligent not to do something, if he is as strong as Kenta suspects then we must act when his Sharingan matures and get him somewhere safe, the underworld, would be the best, somewhere humans cannot travel to easily. If not then I fear the worst should he and his brother come to blows, it may be the only way to keep Kenta safe from his brother".
I nodded, "yes, although I don't think Kenta will like the idea of running, the underworld would be our best bet when his Sharingan matures. But that still leaves us at a disadvantage information wise, we have no idea how strong Kenta's brother is or where he's located, he could be right under our noses and we wouldn't even know it"
Sona looked to the window for a moment before replying, "Perhaps we should both reach out to our siblings, you to Sirzechs and myself to Serafall, they might have connections to better source the information we need"
I blinked at the sudden recommendation, it was drastic for Sona to even consider contacting Serafall unless the situation was life or death, but then it was similar for myself, neither of us liked contacting our older siblings unless we had to, but then what other options were there.
"Rather a big step isn't it," I asked raising an eyebrow, "Kenta's not even one of yours and you're willing to contact your sister for him, I thought that was the one thing you didn't like doing unless you absolutely had to, would you go that far for him to risk Serafall coming to visit?" I asked curiously.
Sona's eye's widened at my opinion before she turned quickly as a light blush started to form on her cheeks as she pushed her glasses up, "W-well I don't really see any other options here, do you? They might already know something that might help us in this situation or know of some information that might aid us, I can't imagine something as powerful as this Sharingan was unheard of until now, perhaps for us but such information might be known to our siblings" she said in a rushed tone trying to change the topic, before she cleared her throat and turned back to me, "Anyway, I still have my mistakes to make up for, I failed to aid him when he needed it if this is how I make it up to him, I'll do it, it's my responsibility even if it means contacting my sister and risk a visit from her"
I smiled, there was clearly something else more there, but I wasn't going to press, I can see she has an interest in Kenta, but he was my pawn and not hers, and if she wants him she's going to be in for one hell of a fight for him. "Well alright then, if you're sure, let's contact them both now before we go onto class and see what we can find out and we'll strategies in class and compare ideas later"
Sona nodded to my idea, "very well then shall we" she said as I stood up and walked to her side before holding out our hands as the communication circles extended out on the floor as we attempted to make contact.
We didn't get an immediate response which I thought was strange given that Sirzechs would have normally responded immediately to my call and I could imagine Serafall was the same for Sona, they much have been attending to business, because it took a further twenty seconds of trying to make contact before we got connected, as the circles grew brighter and the astral projections of our older siblings formed, Sirzechs was in his formal clothes as was Serafall so I guess my suspicions must have been correct.
Sirzechs smiles warmly seeing me, "Ah, Rias, Sona, to what do we owe this call, Serafall and I were just finishing up some matters, is everything alright"
"Son-tan~ it's so good to see you, how's school, are you doing well, are you missing me, cause I'm missing you, oh I just want to hug you and squeeze you, and kiss you oh sooooooo much~" Serafall started to squeal getting hyper from seeing Sona, who seemed to be getting slightly red from embarrassment, well her sister can be a handful at times.
"Enough, Onee-Sama we're calling on a personal matter, now is not the time for your antics" Sona snapped in a stern tone as Serafall stopped jumping and pouted in disappointment, I could see Sirzechs was blinking at the statement before he looked to me.
"Rias, would you care to tell us why you called now that that's out of the way?" Sirzechs asked me as Serafall sniffled.
"Yes, Onii-Sama, It's about one of my newest additions to my peerage, last week I inducted two new pawns both taking four pieces each, but it seems that I got more than I expected with one of them, his name is Kenta Maki" as I informed my brother of this I could see him nod.
"I see, you inducted a Sharingan user then" Sirzechs spoke as both mine and Sona's eyes widened.
"Onii-sama, you know about the Sharingan," I asked not sure what to make of this new information.
Sirzechs nodded, "Yes I know about the Sharingan, it was once a very potent power in the world that has faded into the history of the world over time for fear that their eyes might be used for great evil, one of the few that I believe still exist, although I haven't heard of any surfacing as of lately, the only reason I know this Kenta possessed it was because of his name, Maki was one of the names the Sharingan users took when they broke apart and went into hiding"
I put my finger to my chin, "I see", it matches in a way to what Kenta told us about his family breaking apart and taking different names, perhaps it was also to prevent themselves from abusing the power of their eyes for evil.
"If you don't mind me asking Rias, how did this Kenta come to be in your peerage?" Sirzechs asked with some curiosity.
I frowned, "Well I was originally planning to approach both Kenta and Issei, that���s my new second pawn, about joining my peerage on Monday past, but before I could arrange a meeting, Issei was confronted by a fallen angel posing as a love interest and asked him out on a date which of course was a trap, Kenta must have suspected as such because he followed Issei on his date and when the fallen sprung her trap to kill Issei Kenta intervened in an attempt to prevent it, judging from the area the fight took place in I can only assume Kenta put up a hard fight against the fallen whether she got a lucky shot in at the end I don't know, all I do know is that I found Issei a short while from the destroyed area with a wound resembling a light spear in his chest and Kenta smack in the middle of the area with multiple broken bones that looked to be from a fall of some kind and a hole in his chest as well, again inflicted by a light spear, I brought both into my peerage that night" I said remembering the sight of Kenta and Issei that night, and remembering the destroyed area around Kenta, he never did tell me the details of that encounter.
As I spoke I could noticed something that I could see Sona noticed as well, both Serafall and Sirzechs were clenching their fists as I spoke about how I brought Kenta into my peerage, but before I could say anything Onii-sama spoke again.
"I see, well it was a good thing that you were close by to reincarnate them both, and it's a substantial gain for your peerages power, if I recall some of the abilities a Sharingan user possesses he should be quite strong when his Sharingan is fully matured, if I remember right they also specialise in life energy manipulation or chakra as they referred to it, the Yōkai refer to it as Ki or senjutsu, perhaps Koneko would benefit from him should the time comes that she is ready to accept her heritage again" Sirzechs recommended as I nodded, I had thought as such.
"Yes he should be helpful if such a time should arise, but that's not why we called you," I said as I tried to get the conversation back on track.
"We're calling to ask for your assistance involving finding someone involved with Kenta's past, his elder brother" Sona spoke from beside me.
Onii-sama nodded, "I see, and why do you wish to find this brother, is there any particular reason why he is so difficult to find?" he asked in an unusually formal tone for such a request.
I nodded in response, "Yes, several years ago this brother, Arashi, killed both his and Kenta's mother and father in an attempt to awaken the next stage of his Sharingan in a thirst for the power it would bring him, Kenta plans to confront him when his Sharingan matures, but until that happens I want to know where exactly this brother is and if he would pose a threat to my newest servant"
Sirzechs looked at me and then looked to Sona, "and why are you asking this Sona, Kenta has nothing to do with your peerage, are you just trying to assist a friend?"
Sona looked to the ground with a frown, "I'm just… trying to make up for a past failure involving Kenta, I didn't recognise the signs when he was troubled at a time that I should have, I see him as a friend that I have wronged that I wish to help make right" Sona said before looking up to her sister, "Please Onee-sama, if there is any possible way that you could aid in finding Kenta brother, please do so"
Serafall looked at Sona shocked at the plea for help, and to be honest so did I. it wasn't very often that Sona would ask for something so passionately, she really did want to help Kenta that badly.
After a few moments, Serafall smiled and nodded her head, "Ok, Son-tan, all you had to do is ask, I'll get right on it"
Sirzechs nodded as well, "As will I, we'll pool our resources to start looking for this Arashi Maki and we'll be in contacts as soon as we find his location, however I wouldn't think to find him soon, Sharingan users like the Maki's are notorious for keeping a low profile, if he doesn't want to be found it may take a while"
We nodded accepting that fact, "If it helps any, Kenta was able to pull a bit of information from a fallen he killed the other night," I said with a slight grim-face remembering how particularly brutal Kenta was in combat, "the fallen said that he saw a Sharingan user in Norway, it might be a place to start"
Both Serafall and Sirzechs nodded, "thank you Rias, we will be in touch as soon as we find out anything" Sirzechs said as he gave me a small smile, "take care Rias, I'll see you soon" was the last thing he said before both his and Serafall's holograms faded and the magic circles disappeared.
I looked to Sona and sighed, "Well, all we can do now is wait" I said in resignation.
Sona nodded in response, "Indeed" she said sounding as exhausted as I was from that conversation, the wheels were in motion no turning back now.
The underworld
As their sisters holograms faded both Serafall and Sirzechs turned to each other both with worrisome looks on their faces, Sirzechs reaches up and rubs his brow as Grayfia comes to his side, "Grayfia, send out a message to Azazel someone in his ranks dropped the ball, tell him to find out who it is and I want their head on a pike for this"
Grayfia nodded her head, "It shall be done as you command Lucifer-sama" she said before moving away and leaving the room to follow her orders.
Sirzechs sighed as he moved to take his seat and rubbed his brow again to try and get some relief from the headache that was starting to grow, "so Arashi is in Norway, I wonder what's brewing there"
Serafall shook her head, "I'm not sure but chances are it will be over by the time we get anyone there to look for him, what do you want to do?"
Sirzechs shook his head, "I don't know, I never expected Rias would ask me to help in finding Arashi, this had put us in a predicament of sorts, and for you to be asked by Sona to do the same"
Serafall smiled, "I know, I didn't think she'd ever ask me for anything like that, it's so nice, but I wonder what her real reasons are for wanting to help" she said before her smile grew, "oh maybe she's falling for Kenta as well, he-he, wouldn't that be awesome~"
Sirzechs chuckled amusingly at the idea, "Yes it would be. Perhaps Rias might be doing the same, but only time will tell"
Serafall nodded, "Yep all we can do is wait and see"
Classroom
I sat in the classroom my feet on my desk as I tilted my head back and kept my eyes closed, my emotions were still running rampant after Rias and Sona's request earlier, the conversation had only served to pour salt on the problem as I tried to meditate to bring my emotions back in check the last thing I needed was to lose my cool and snap at a friend or an unfortunate fool to draw my anger.
Taking a deep breath I slowly pushed the emotions down like I had so many times, it had gotten easier over the years, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt.
'You ok partner?'
'Yeah I'm fine Ciro, just hoping that everyone decided to drop all the talking about my past, getting sick of it being brought up'
'They are just trying to help. What did you expect to happen when you told them?'
'I knew what would happen, but it was either that or put up with their constant pushing to find out what's wrong'
'And now it's better how?'
'I don't fucking know' I mentally replied in defeat as sighed in annoyance, 'but at least now I can focus on my training'
'Might I recommend working on your sacred gear some, it would make a goof trifecta when combined with your life energy manipulation and your devil magic, you'd be a force to be reckoned with all three at your disposal'
'True, but I can't let my other skills fade, I'll work on the sacred gear shortly but now I need to arrange a sparr' I thought as I opened my eyes and looked to see Yumi was sitting at her usual seat writing, "Yumi-chan, could I ask a favour?" I said in a low tone getting her attention as she looked to me and nodded.
"Sure think Kenta, what's up?" she asked looked at me with her usual smile.
"You up for a training session on the roof, I need to keep my skills with my sword sharp, and you're the best swordsmen around other than myself," I asked giving her a smirk.
She smirked back, "Sure thing, there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about, just let me send a message to Rias and get it cleared so we can head up to the roof" Yumi said as she took out her mobile and sent a text to Rias, after a few minutes we got a text back that everything was arranged and we were good to go.
School roof
I launched at Yumi, my Bokutō and hers clashing as we met again and again both our speed on foot were a match as we clashed over and over, I was pushing myself to move faster on strength alone rather than use my energy to speed myself faster as I began to work up a sweat from my exertion, we met again in the middle as I swung from the left and she the right as out weapons bounced off each other hard.
"Impressive as always Kenta," Yumi commented as she dodged one of my slashes before returning one herself.
I blocked with a smirk, "You're not so bad yourself" I said in retort before I swung around and our weapons clashed as we found ourselves in a deadlock.
"So, Kenta, what's with the different colour of Bokutō, normally you carry a white one, why the change," Yumi asked with a confident smirk as we fought over dominance in the clash.
"It's so I can tell my regular ones from my specially made ones," I said through gritted teeth before putting more pressure into my push and forced her back as she rolled away before I stuck downward.
"Oh, and what's so different about these specially made ones," Yumi grinned as she thrust at me.
I swiped the attack away as I reversed my grip and came at her from an upward diagonal right to left slash, "they're made with a harder wood and a special metal core that has certain qualities that allow me to channel my life energy through for attacks"
Yumi blocked my slash, "So you're carrying a lethal weapon everywhere you go now, isn't that a bit much?" she asked as she pushed my slash to the side
But I capitalized on her over stretch to do so spinning my bokutō around my hand with a twist of my wrist and caught it before I pressed forward putting it to Yumi's open throat with a smirk, "I don't think so, I call it just being prepared for any situation" I said as we both stood in position both of us trying to regain our breath after a few moments I stepped back, "But something tells me that my change in bokutō colour isn't what you really wanted to ask me about" I said as I headed over to my bag taking out the two bottles of water tossing one to Yumi before I took a drink.
Yumi caught the bottle taking a drink immediately before looking down, "Kenta, we've been friends for how long now?"
I shrugged, "I don't know, I think it was the second week of the first term when we first spoke why," I asked taking another mouthful of water.
Yumi nodded, "Exactly, that was four months ago, and in all that time you never told me you were an orphan," she said sounding slightly hurt.
I shook my head, "It's not exactly a conversation I like having, and it's not as if I could just bring it up ideally in conversation, the fact that both my parents were murdered and by who is something I try frequently not to think about, but yet it's something I can never forget" I said as I leaned against he chain fence before sliding down it and sitting on the ground
Yumi came over to me and leant on the fence beside me, "Is that why you drink?"
I nodded my head, "Wouldn't you, my mother's scream still echo's in my mind from that night when I was returning home, so I try to dull the memories with drink, not the wisest idea I know" I said trying to make light of the subject and failing,
Yumi sat down beside me, "does it help" she asked looking at me with sadness and understanding in her eyes.
I sighed, "Sometimes, but it always comes back," I said before looking up at the sky as I remembered her face of how happy we all were, I felt a tear in my eye and I rubbed it away, Yumi must have seen as she took my hand in hers.
I looked at her and she gave me a small smile, I just nodded in thanks before I leant back as I closed my eyes, and we just stayed like that until the next bell rank signalling the end of class for the day.
Club room
After our time on the roof, Yumi and I left for the clubroom, knowing that's where the others would be going, opening the door we noticed that we were the next to last to arrive as Issei was still to show up, Rias smiled to us as we came in.
"Ah Kenta, Yumi, how was the training session, beneficial I hope" She smiled
"It was much needed Buchou, Kenta is as always quite the swordsmen" Yumi smiled
I grinned back, "Gotta keep our skills sharp" I joked as I noticed Rias smiled a bit more.
"I'm glad, I'll try to schedule a break in the future where we can all get away for some group training, I'm sure we could all benefit from it, especially you and Issei, both of you have much to learn about your new devil powers" She said from behind her desk as the door opens again as Issei comes in.
"Yo, sorry I'm late," Issei said as he came in, and Rias stood up.
"Actually your timing couldn't be better Issei because I've come to a decision that it would be better for you to start your career as a devil tonight," Rias said as she came around the front of her desk.
"Does that mean no more handing out fliers, because that sucked ass" Issei complained, Rias giggled slightly at his description and shook her head.
"No Issei no more handing out fliers, it's time for you to do your first contract," Rias said gesturing to Koneko who was sitting on the sofa, "Since you're still new and Koneko is double booked tonight, you can take one of her contracts to do" Rias said before looking to me, "and while Issei is out on his first contract, I will be giving you a crash course in all things devil related, like you should have gotten when you were first brought here before you left, Akeno gave Issei his in my place so I'll give you yours personally"
While Rias was explaining Akeno had moved to Issei and had taken his hand and started moving her finger over the back of it as her finger glowed slightly before she took her hand away showing a glowing mark on the back of Issei's hand that I recognised as the same mark in the centre of the circle on the fliers we were both given.
"That mark is the Gremory crest, it identifies you as a member of my household and allows you to travel via our magic circles to and from contracts" Rias explained as Issei looked at the mark with intrigue, and I noted down everything that she said mentally for later reference.
Akeno moved to the open space in the room and she held out her hands as a magic circle appeared on the ground and expanded out before she stepped back, Rias looked to Issei, "step into the circle Issei and you'll be taken to the contracts location" she explained as Issei put his bag down and quickly followed suit.
I moved over to beside Koneko who was sitting down watching, as I joined her she held up a cookie to me and I took it with a smile before nodding back in thanks as we watched Issei go into the circle.
"Alright, I'm actually going to be ahead of Kenta for once in something," Issei said sounding cocky making me smirk.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Ise. You could still screw this up," I said in amusement as he gave me the stink eye.
Rias moved to just outside the magic circle, "Ok Issei once you arrive at the contract location, you should establish a pact with the client, a verbal agreement of what he wants from you in exchange for a payment or sorts, be it money or objects, make sure you charge fairly for whatever you're asked to do" Rias explained as Issei nodded signalling he understood, "Good now, get going, the circle will bring you back here once the contract is fulfilled,"
I smirked seeing how pumped Issei was for this and gave him a thumbs up, "good luck ya perv, hope you get a good contract"
Issei gave me a thumbs up right back as Rias crossed her arm's, "its' time for you to go Issei, get ready" she said as Issei nodded to her and held his arms out to the sides as the magic circle beneath him started to glow.
I had to admit he looked pretty sweet standing like that as the circle glowed brighter until finally, it was so bright I had to look away as the light filled the room, I looked back expecting Issei to be gone, but to our surprise he wasn't he was standing there in the same pose as before and continued to do so for a few seconds as he opened his eyes and looked around, "Um what just happened"
"A big fat nothing is what happened," I said with a smirk "See I told you Ise, you could still screw it up somehow"
Issei groaned at my jibe as Rias rubbed her brow while Akeno was giggling slightly behind her hand, Yumi seemed amused at the sight with a more than happy smile as Koneko just took another bite of her cookie.
"It would seem you lack the amount of Demonic energy required for even using magic circles" Rias sighed, "something that even a six-year-old devil child can do," Rias said in deadpan.
I scoffed before I burst out laughing hearing that, "so his power levels are so weak he can't even pull off a technique a six-year-old can do, oh that's hilarious" I said as I clutched my gut laughing, while Issei grumbled.
"Well it would appear there's no other choice, Issei you'll have to use your bike. You can't keep the client waiting" Rias said as she moved to lean on her desk again.
"W-what, my bike," Issei said in disbelief, "what kind of devil uses a bike?" he asked thinking it had to be some kind of bad joke.
*Point* *Point*
In another strike of twin genius, both Koneko pointed at Issei as he fell flat on his face as we gestured to him as a devil that has to use a bike.
Issei groaned getting up as Akeno brought him a small device, which he took as Rias sighed, "this will direct you to the one you're meant to have the contract with, now get going" Rias said in a serious tone that made Issei jump before he took off running out of the room heading for his job.
I chuckled seeing him move like that, normally he'd need a group of girls chasing him to move that fast.
After Issei had left Yumi stood up, "well it's about time I left for my contract as well, I will see you later Kenta, everyone" She said as she stepped out into the open space as a magic circle extended beneath her feet and she disappeared into its light.
Koneko stood up as well and handed me another cookie, which I took as we exchanged smiles before she stepped back, "…. Contract time….. Be back soon, Buchou, Akeno-sempai…..Kenta-sempai" she spoke before the same magic circle extended out beneath her as she took another cookie and disappeared.
Once Koneko was gone Rias moved forward from her desk and sat down on the sofa opposite where I was sitting, it was just me, Rias and Akeno left in the room, as she cleared her throat as Akeno nodded, "I'll be right back with some tea" she said politely before leaving the room also.
Rias sat back in her chair, "Now Kenta I want you to listen carefully because everything I'm going to tell you will be important in your career as a devil"
I sighed as I leant back and crossed my arms, "Alright Rias I'm listening" I said as she smiled.
"Ok then, you already know that when you were brought back as a devil under my service that you are listed as a low-class devil, and that you can assent through the classes to become a high-class devil like myself which is the second highest rank there is after Ultimate class, but I neglected to inform you of what methods you can follow to progress up the ranks" Rias said as Akeno came back in with the tea, "Firstly there's the Contract method, devils who successfully complete a large number of contracts and gain substantial reward and recognition for them are made candidate for promotion to a higher class. Another Method is through Rating games, it's something that came about after the evil piece system were introduced, in the games two peerages face off against each other in combat, magical wards are always in play so lives are rarely at risk, if a devil is viewed as powerful or has had great success in numerous rating games they also would be considered for promotion, and after that there's only one other method and that's accomplishing a large achievement in war time, but given how things are at the movement with the three-way war in a perpetual stalemate, that option isn't viable as any such action might re-spark the war, and at this point none of the sides can afford that to happen"
I listened to Rias's explanation as she talked about the way's I'll be able to advance in my devil career and I sighed when she finished, "So contracts and Rating games are the currently only available options for promotions, it that it?"
Rias nodded, "yes, most devils use a combination of both in order to assert the ranks faster, complete multiple contracts and fighting their hardest in the rating games, it normally takes anything from two to several years for a low-class devil to make it to Middle or Higher class and once recognised as a higher class they are given evil pieces of their own so that they can start peerages of their own."
As Rias spoke Akeno poured our tea and handed me my cup I nodded in thanks, "I see, and what do contracts normally maintain too, I assume nothing illicit or illegal"
Rias sipped her tea before replying, "it all depends on who wishes to form the contract, before you take on one, you first have to spend a period of time handing out fliers to people who might want to form a contract with you, after that you wait for a summon, contract can be anything and can vary from person to person, once summoned it's up to you to discuss what the terms of the contract are and agree on a price or agree that one will be paid as fair compensation for the service rendered, but any contract can always be turned down should you not feel comfortable performing it"
I finished my tea setting it down as Rias continued to talk, "It seems like a lot of trouble to go through, and how many contracts can we possibly do in a week with school, training and still having a life, and then what if you turn up at a contract only to find out you can't complete it, aren't there always to specialises in certain services"
Rias nodded, "yes it is a lot of trouble to go through and can take a long time, usually we each try to complete as many as we can, but usually about ten or there about, is the normal, Akeno had twelve last month, and Yumi had eight, Koneko had nine, so we still have time for training and keeping up our social and school lives, as for specialising in certain area's most devils do that it and even have clients that keep them on retainer to use multiple times and have regular appointments, Akeno has a client that calls for her services once a week or more who asks for nothing more than a massage to relief his stress, Yumi has a contract with some dojos teaching some kendo classes as well as a few older gentlemen who ask for someone to make them a warm dinner, Koneko also has a few select clients who require her services as well"
I nodded, "I see so on average it's about a hundred or so contracts a year at most", 'no wonder promotions take so long' I thought as I reached into my bag taking out my laptop and notebook.
"Yes, about a hundred or more sounds about right" Rias confirmed, "um Kenta what are you doing?" she asked seeing me take out my laptop and notebook.
I shrugged, "just taking notes and jotting down some ideas," I said as I started brainstorming ideas on how to speed this process up.
Rias blinked, "Oh, okay then, do you need me to explain anything to you, is there anything you didn't understand"
I shook my head as I started writing up an idea that I had, "No not at the moment, but feel free to continue talking, I'm still listening, just got an idea for something here" I said as I started sketching out my plans of how to skip this whole contract business.
As I drew Rias continued to talk, as I heard everything she was talking about everything from where not to go and who to avoid, the main ones being fallen angels and anyone related to the church, and to stay off of church ground completely that it was enemy territory, all the way through exorcists and stray exorcists and the weapons they use, light swords, holy ammunition and holy water, even crosses and words from the bible would hurt me, which kind of sucked, and then the fact that blaspheming, prayer or saying god's name in vein was a no go, apparently heaven had some kind of system in place that inflicted pain on any devil doing so, which in my opinion sucks.
It was two hours later when Rias finally finished her little information bomb and was on her fifth cup of tea when I was finished as well and I set my laptop down on the table between us and turned it so the screen was facing her she blinked seeing what was on the screen.
"Um, Kenta what is that?" She asked seeing the screen and the menu on it.
"It the idea I've been working on," I said as I pressed a button and the animations started running, "A figured if I'm going to make any progress as a devil then I'll need to do a lot more than a hundred contracts a year, so I designed this application that automates a whole process, you said that a devil can specialise in a certain area, well with this I specialise in Information and intelligence gathering, background checks and facts and source checking, and statistics and survey information"
"What?" Rias asked confused as she looked at the screen
I smirked, "while you were filling me in on all the devil info, I got an idea to speed up the process of contracts for myself, it's called the pact app, using online services I was able to purchase a large database of email addresses as a client base which is spread out all over the world, then I got to work on the idea for what the app would do and that's when the simple idea of fact gathering came to me, so I used what coding I know to pull together a database that will compile all the information related to what the client is searching for and compact it into a compressed data packet. Once my system was operational I got in contact with a large server farm and rented one of their farm floors to handle all the traffic the app will get and run the servers, after that it was a matter of uploading the app for testing before connecting it to my online banking and publishing the application and using the Database of emails I purchased before as a marketing start sending out a notification email to each of them letting them know of my application and the services it provides, I'm willing to bet a fifth of those emails will go into the spam folder and another fifth will go into the bin without even being opened but even if half of them read and decide to use my app, I'll still have plenty of clients" I said as I poured myself another cup of tea, "the banking is set up so nothing over the equivalent of five thousand dollars are moved at the one time which would require government notification, and multiple of them wold strike up a red flag" I finished sipping my tea before taking out my phone and hitting a few buttons before I set it down showing the numbers on it, "As it stands I've already had multiple downloads and over three times as many uses of the application, with each use resulting in a complete contract, and money in the bank as payment"
Rias sat there blinking seeing the numbers rise so quickly, I had only posted in ten minutes ago and I have over two hundred downloads and over six hundred complete contracts in that time, and still growing.
"How did you know to do all this, it looks too good to be true" Rias said as she lifted up my phone seeing the numbers just pass three hundred downloads
I shrugged, "I have a lot of spare time, so I read a lot, and with my photographic memory I recall everything I read, coding isn't so hard when you have the "how to for dummies" in your head" I said finishing my tea as I reached forward and closed my laptop, "not if that's everything, I'll take my leave, I have a long schedule planned for training tonight and I'll like to get started as soon as possible"
Rias blinked, "you're training again, after half the day sparring with Yumi, aren't you tired"
I smirked putting my laptop away, "Not even a little bit, years of training has its benefits, while I was training with Yumi I was only using my muscles, not my life energy. After I simply used my energy to heal my muscles and I'm ready to go again"
Rias looked at me shocked, "that's a very handy trick" she said handing my phone back to me as I put it away.
"It has it's uses" I said as I slung my bag over my shoulder and balanced my Bokutō on my shoulder as I headed for the door, "I'll let you know the numbers on how many contracts I've done overnight tomorrow, cya" I said as I walked out looking forward to the training I had planned.
Clubroom Rias POV
I watched him go with slight amazement at how he could have done all of what he said so quickly it was still sinking in when I heard Akeno giggle behind me, "he certainly is an interesting one isn't he, never ceases to surprise us"
I smiled, "Indeed, in less than a few hours he came up with a similar system to what Gasper uses and made it better and made it his own, he'll definitely go far" I said as I felt a tinge of pride that he'd be successful, but also a little bit of me hoped he wouldn't, we were just starting to know him and it would have been a shame if he up and left so quickly, 'just hopefully not too fast'.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone