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TAMCG Chapter 33: A not so Quiet Walk in the Park
🕑 Added 2024-08-19 06:40:01 +0000 UTCRyuichi P.O.V
How many times have I thought that I am in an unfavorable situation in the last month? That isn't a rhetorical question, I seriously wonder how many times I have thought that recently.
You'd think that with all the crazy things I've learned and discovered I'd have some resistance to situations that give me headaches, or that I'd adapt to the situation like I'm that scp lizard or that damn Mahoraga, but it seems I'm not that adaptable.
Why am I thinking all this now? Well, to find out let's recap what happened not long ago, about 10 minutes or so, when I met a particular pair of individuals in the park.
A few days had passed after the conversation I had with Rias, and while I was walking through a park on my way to a store with a list in my hand, looking for the last things I would need for the mission I would have in another world, I ended up running into Issei, who was accompanied by a blonde girl.
Hadn't Rias said a few days ago that she would take him to train with the rest of her group? Furthermore, this girl's energy was that of a human, and wasn't she dressed like a nun?
A human nun and a devil? A curious combination if someone asked me, normally I would think that a devil would try to deceive, desecrate, or similar things, especially if his target was a nun.
But in the short time that I spoke with this boy, I was able to notice that despite his apparent fascination with girls' breasts (not that I blamed him for that, but I wasn't as enthusiastic as him either), he didn't seem like a bad guy, so I turned around to walk away and leave them to their business since it seemed like they hadn't seen me yet.
But of course that couldn't happen, because as soon as I turned around and took 2 steps a feminine scream sounded a few meters away from me, only for when I turned around again a piece of cloth covered my face.
"What?!" I said, I dropped my phone and removed the piece of cloth from my face as quickly as possible only to see both Issei and the blonde girl running toward me.
Looking at the piece of cloth I realized that it was the veil that the girl was wearing on her head, weren't those things attached to the rest of the nuns' dress?
"Oh, mi dispiace tanto, non ho sistemato bene il soggolo (Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't fix my wimple properly)." She said as she finished approaching, and I couldn't help but be a little surprised.
'Is that French? No, it sounds like how they talked in that movie, La vita è bella, so she must be speaking to me in Italian.
But before I said anything to express that I didn't understand the language, Issei spoke. "Hey, it's you." He said, and I was tempted to think that he didn't even remember my name.
"Asia, questo è Kaname Ryuichi, ma puoi chiamarlo ragazzo delle lampadine, non spaventarti se inizia a brillare (Asia, this is Kaname Ryuichi, but you can call him light bulb boy, don't be scared if he starts glowing)." He said looking at the girl, and once again I was surprised for a second to hear him speak Italian.
But that surprise died quickly, after all, even though I didn't speak Italian I noticed 2 things about what he said, first, it seemed like he remembered my name, and the second was that somehow I felt like he was insulting me.
But before I said anything, Issei looked at me and spoke. "This is Asia, she is apologizing to you"
I looked at him for a couple of seconds before speaking. "Tell her that there is no problem, but that she should adjust this thing better, if she is unlucky it could fly out again and get hooked on some car, then she would lose it." I said as I returned the garment to its owner.
Issei nodded and translated what I said, the girl nodded a few times before speaking. "Mi dispiace per l'inconvenienza (Sorry for the inconvenience)." She said and I assumed it was some kind of apology.
"By the way, since when do you speak Italian?" I asked a little interested, was this boy who seemed clueless some kind of language genius? If that was the case, then he had it hidden well, from the enthusiastic way in which he talked about breasts the last time we met you would think that he would spend his free time looking at racy magazines, hentai, and playing eroges, not studying some European language that normally the Japanese would not need.
"Oh, I noticed it recently in English class, but it seems like everyone in my club can speak every language automatically." He said rubbing the back of his neck.
Ok, so devils are better than the vast majority of humanity in physical and magical aspects, they are capable of turning humans into devils and can speak several languages, yep, it is not surprising that Issei seems happy to have transformed into one.
"What kind of trickster race are all of you? Are all members of the supernatural like this too?" I said quietly, but it seemed like Issei heard me, because he responded to my ramblings.
"I don't know, the president only told me about devils." He said with a shrug.
After he said that I put my arm around his neck and pulled him towards me to talk in a low voice. "Is it okay for you to say that in front of her? I don't know how your automatic translator works, but isn't that very risky?"
"Ah, no problem, Asia has a sacred Gear like me." He said, and I let go of him to look at the girl.
"Really? Hadn't they said that the users of those artifacts were very difficult to find?" I asked looking her up and down as I used my ki sense to inspect her, and I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, she seemed quite normal in both appearance and ki, except for the fact that, besides Rias and Sona, this was the first girl with such marked European characteristics that I saw in Kuoh.
“C'è qualcosa che non va? (Is there something wrong?)” She asked somewhat nervously as she took a step back.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized, raising my hands in an appeasing gesture before looking at Issei. "Please tell her I'm sorry, it's just this is the first time I've seen another human with special abilities"
"But I was human not long ago." He said pointing to himself.
"But when you were human you were normal, right? You were able to summon your gauntlet after turning into a devil, so you don't count." I explained, and he looked a little offended before relaying my words to Asia.
And after a brief exchange, the girl's eyes seemed to shine, and she looked at me. "Anche tu sei stato benedetto da Dio? (Have you been blessed by God too?)" And at that moment I saw Issei hold his head and express some pain.
And when Asia noticed it, her expression changed to one of concern, and she approached him. "Mi dispiace tanto, sono così goffo, ti curerò subito (I'm so sorry, I'm so clumsy, I'll cure you right away)." She said, and at the same time, a green glow originated from her hands along with a pair of rings that materialized on her fingers.
This startled me, and looking to the sides I sighed, noticing how there were only a couple of people at quite a distance, so they wouldn't notice this, but a second later, I put all my concentration on my ki sense to examine this girl.
And although her ki rose a little, it was negligible, and the only thing besides that I could tell was that she was quite focused and that her energy was interacting positively with Issei's.
'Healing? I guess that's something that suits a nun.' I thought as I looked at the girl.
A couple of seconds later, Issei motioned for her to stop.
"What was that?" I asked about both Issei's reaction and the girl's ability to confirm my suspicions.
"Ah, it seems to mention." He said as he pointed towards the sky with one finger. "It causes pain to devils"
"Oh, and that light?" I said, pointing to the girl's hands.
"That's her ability"
"I see, and, by the way, what is a nun doing walking with a devil? No offense, but shouldn't you be enemies? Besides, the only church here-." My eyes widened as I realized something before taking a couple of steps back, and although I didn't adopt a battle pose my muscles tensed, ready to respond.
"Is she with those in the church?" I asked Issei with a serious tone.
He noticed my mood and seemed to tense up a little too. "That's complicated, she's not like them, they attacked me last night, and she was the one who healed me"
I refused to relax my muscles and continued talking. "You're sure? Also, what is Rias doing, didn't she say that she would take care of the fallen?"
"I asked the president to let me stay until I improved a little, and Asia is not like them, I can swear on my life"
My gaze went from Issei to the girl, she seemed a little anxious looking between us, my ki sense focused on her once again, and when I delved into her nature, I shuddered a little, this girl's energy shone like no other I had felt before, but not in power, it was as if it was overflowing with only positive feelings, like a warm flame that no matter how close you got, would never harm you, one that offered kindness to everyone equally.
Instinctively, my posture and muscles relaxed, and I almost couldn't believe what my own senses were telling me.
'This girl could be the purest person I will ever meet in my entire life.' I thought as she abandoned my battle intentions.
The feeling she evoked in me was strange, if I had to compare it I would say that it was as if I saw a little puppy and wanted to protect her from anything that could harm it, it was... quite strange.
I sighed, still processing the fact that a person like that actually existed. "Please tell her I'm sorry if I scared her." I asked Issei, it was funny how discovering that there really were people with pure hearts had surprised me more than discovering that the devil in front of me had a weapon capable of killing a god.
Issei looked confused but conveyed the message anyway, the blonde nun looked at me for a few seconds and nodded with an understanding look.
"Well, once again, I apologize, to both of you." I said before giving them a slight nod of head.
"Eh? Oh, no problem." Issei said, it seemed that the fact that I had apologized to him had also taken him a little by surprise.
And although the blonde nun did not understand Japanese, she seemed to be able to grasp my intentions, because she moved her hands a little in front of her as if to say that it was not necessary.
But with that said I decided that it was time to continue with my self-imposed task.
"I have to go, there are still things I have to buy." I said, moving the large suitcase that I had on my back, the surprising but accepted extra payment I had received gave me the hope that I could equip myself a little better for the mission that the chat had assigned me.
"Ah, ok, see you then." He said before telling Asia what I was saying, then the girl gave a slight bow and waved her hand.
For my part, I raised my hand and waved it as I walked away from them.
######
Third Person P.O.V
Issei felt a little strange, this guy, Ryuichi, although at first, he seemed like someone annoyed by the way he spoke to his president, now he thought that he wasn't really a bad guy if he took into account everything that had happened to him.
He himself felt bewildered and somewhat scared when he discovered the type of world he now lived in, even more so when he remembered Yuma and how she...
The young devil shook his head quickly from side to side, he had done everything he could not to think about it since it happened, and he would continue to do so until the memory disappeared, after all, sooner or later it would go away, right?
"Issei-san?" The voice of his companion brought him out of his thoughts, and when he saw her curious expression, he felt better, Issei was really surprised that there was a person who gave off an aura that was so calming and adorable at the same time.
"It's nothing Asia, is there anything else you would like to do? Thanks to you curing me earlier, now I am full of energy!" He said, raising both arms to emphasize his point.
"I-I don't know, but is it really okay? You have done so much for me so far"
"Heh, it's natural, you cured me, and I also feel bad for not being able to help you yesterday in that house." He said with a slightly self-deprecating tone.
"Ah, don't worry about it, priest Zelsen didn't do anything to me, even if I didn't really want to return to them." She hurriedly said the first part, although the last part was said almost in a whisper.
But because Issei was a devil his senses were incredibly developed, so he was able to listen to her, and since he did so, an idea flashed in his mind, so he took her hands and said with enthusiasm. "I can help you if you really don't want to come back, I can talk to my president, she is very kind, I am sure that if we tell her everything, she can help you"
"A-are you serious? C-can you really help me?" Asia's tone, although it had doubts, was filled with hope.
"Of course, after all, we are friends, and that's what friends do, right? They help each other when they need it." He said, smiling before pointing in a direction. "Come on, we can talk to her now-"
"Well, well, well, look what I find here." A feminine voice full of sarcasm interrupted Issei, and the devil could feel a chill running down his spine.
"Y-yuma-chan?"
"Yuma? Ah, that's the name I used when we met, right? I'm sorry, your existence was so insignificant to me that I almost completely forgot everything related to you." She apologized, putting her hands together and with the same tone of voice that a happy and innocent girl would have.
"Although the fact that you are now a devil... disgusts me, and I had thought about keeping the cute gift you gave me, but you went and decided to continue clinging to life like a cockroach, making the inconveniences I went through for nothing, and now being part of the devils, so Issei-kun, do me a favor, okay?" She said with the tone of a pleasant schoolgirl, as if she were about to ask for an unimportant favor.
"This time stay dead." Her tone changed, this time being as cold as she was direct as a spear of light appeared in her hand.
The fallen angel launched the projectile aimed at Issei's head, but before it hit him, the devil raised his hand covered in a red glow, and at the moment of collision, the spear of light screeched before being destroyed.
Issei's arm shook a little for a couple of seconds before stopping. "Boosted Gear!!" The devil screamed before lowering his arm.
Reynare's eyelids opened so much that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Y-you, how do you have that? T-the red dragon emperor of this era, how is it possible that he is a worm like you?" She said in shock.
But as quickly as it came, her surprise left, and the light originated again in her hands, holding a spear in each, her killing intent was clear, and Issei, who saw that he was less than a couple of meters next to Asia, took a couple of steps forward to protect her from any attack.
[BOOST]
The glove made its characteristic sound, raising Issei's capabilities.
For a moment, Reynare seemed ready to attack him, but for no apparent reason, her expression changed, and a shadow of malicious intent covered her face, a smile making its way into her expression.
"Take this!" She screamed throwing both spears, Issei moved his gloved hand again, colliding with one of the spears, destroying it once again, while the other touched his cheek, this time his hand did not tremble because of the impact.
[BOOST]
The glove made a sound again, but before anything else could happen Issei heard a moan behind him, and when he turned he saw the spear stuck in the ground piercing Asia's habit near her leg, the little nun had fallen to the ground, and when the spear disappeared a small amount of red liquid fell down her leg.
"Asia!!" He screamed and turned around, running towards her as fast as he could, but before he could take more than a step the spirit of the dragon that lived in his glove screamed at him.
[Partner!! Behind you]
But it was too late, Issei felt a burning sensation on her shoulder followed by enormous heat.
"It's not okay to turn your back on the girl you're having a heated conversation with, especially if she's your ex." The fallen angel's voice sounded next to his ear as blood fell from his pierced shoulder.
“Now, go to sleep for a moment Issei-kun.” The black-feathered woman said before holding Issei by the hair and pushing him down with all her strength, slamming his head into the ground.
The dry sound of a thud was the only thing that sounded in the place before a small red puddle spread where Issei's face was nailed, the young devil's eyes turned, falling unconscious into the hands of Reynare, who picked him up and then took him in her arms, looked at him with a happy and satisfied expression.
"Nooo!!" Asia cried, seeing how the only person who had been kind to her was seriously injured. "Please Reynare-sama, don't hurt him, I will do what you say, I will go with you, I will not run away, please!!" The nun slowly stood up as she begged.
"Ah, Asia, don't worry, of course, you can cure him." Reynare said when she noticed Asia's intentions.
Bringing the unconscious Issei closer to the nun, Asia for her part began healing him instantly, without even worrying about her own injuries.
And once the wounds stopped bleeding and closed enough that it was not dangerous, Reynare slapped Asia, sending her to the ground once again.
"Perfect, with this there is no danger of him dying before the ritual"
Asia from the ground looked at Reynare in disbelief as tears did not stop flowing. "W-why? Why are you doing this? Please, just let him go, I swear I will go with you, I will never complain again"
"Stupid girl, do you really think you have real value to us? Your only attraction was that power, a healing Sacred Gear." She said, pointing to the girl's hands.
"But this." This time, she moved Issei a little. "The red dragon emperor's glove is worth 1000 times more than you would be worth in 100 lives, so I'm taking my little Issei-kun, after all, technically we never broke up, so I'm still his girlfriend, and I'm quite jealous, you know?"
"But don't worry, you can keep your miserable life, consider it a mercy, after all, you gave me one of the most wonderful gifts there can be in the world"
"No, noo!!" Asia shouted, raising her hand towards Issei as Reynare took flight with him.
The nun stood there noticing how the sky seemed to break showing that they had been inside a barrier, she never realized when one had been created, but she didn't care either.
The ever-present sparkle of life in her eyes dimmed, and she just stood there, crying as the barrier was destroyed.
And a few seconds later, while she was still crying, a new voice caught her attention.
Asia looked up with tears still flowing and saw the same person that Issei had introduced her to a few minutes before, he seemed agitated, his breathing was irregular, and he asked her something, but since she didn't speak Japanese, Asia couldn't understand him.
But that didn't matter, she had to let him know, he... he was Issei's friend, right? She had to ask him for help to save him, so she started to stand up, but the moment she tried, her leg gave out, and she fell back into a sitting position on the ground.
The boy seemed alarmed when he saw that she was bleeding from her leg, trying to hold it in place, and with the little knowledge Asia had about the human body she realized that the amount of blood she had lost could be dangerous, so she moved her hands now covered in a green glow to stop the bleeding.
######
Ryuichi P.O.V
I didn't need more than a few seconds to understand that what had happened here was very bad, while I was walking away from the strange couple of nun and devil, I extended my ki sense to keep up the practice.
The sooner I could feel all the energies of the planet, or at least all of Kuoh, the sooner I could begin the training of spirit control to learn the Shunkan Idō and use it efficiently.
And it didn't even take 3 damn minutes before I could sense that something was wrong.
First, there was the fact that even though I wasn't that far away from Issei and Asia's energies, feeling them was like trying to watch a picture on an old TV with terrible image quality.
This alone was very, VERY suspicious, but what ended up setting off all the alarms in my head was feeling one of the 4 peculiar energies that I had felt in the church, and it didn't take a genius to understand what this meant.
A fallen angel had arrived where the devil and the nun were, and the way Issei's ki rose and then plummeted was a clear sign of this visitor's intentions.
My body was paralyzed, and I didn't know what to do, should I get away and run away? Come closer and observe what was happening?
The thing which interfered with my ki sense made it impossible to correctly gauge the fallen angel's power level, so if I got close that might be the last thing I would do in this life.
I gritted my teeth, feeling how what was preventing me from feeling the ki was disappearing little by little, not enough to measure the strength of the fallen, but enough to notice how dangerously low Issei's energy was.
I clenched my fists, not daring to take a step, either away or closer, I... was I really considering putting my life at risk for a guy I had talked to a couple of times, and a girl I never even had a real conversation with?
"Damn!!!" I shouted, taking the backpack off my back and throwing it into one of the nearby bushes before running at full speed.
This had nothing to do with whether I knew them or not, it was because I knew the feeling of being in a similar situation, and when it happened to me I really wished that anyone would help me.
X-X-X-X
Well, here's a small divergence in the story, Ryuichi awakened Issei's Sacred Gear before canon and because of that Reynare began to drool at the idea of having it as soon as she saw it, how will all this turn out?
