Disclaimer: I own neither High School DxD nor Demon Slayer. This story is purely fan fiction. Please support the official release.
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●Sona's POV●
Kuoh Academy. Arguably Kuoh town's biggest landmark.
It is responsible for training and educating young men and women to become great and reliable leaders who will shape the world's future.
Spanning several kilometers in land space, and with floors all made of marble to boot, it makes one wonder where it gets the money to maintain all its bells and whistles.
And the one who holds the prestigious title of Student Council President of this great educational institution, Souna Shitori, is currently...
"...What the hell, Rias?!"
...berating her best friend.
"Huh? Whaff?" The redhead asked with a mouthful of melon bread. She's lying on her back on one of the couches as if she owns the place!
"DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!" I slammed my hands down on my desk and all but shrieked at her behavior. She's a King for Satan's sake, she should act like it! She's even got her own peerage!
Ughhh, what a headache. This early in the morning too? It's not even 9 yet! I have enough on my plate trying to keep my sister's hands out of my pants...
"Ehhh~? Buf whaff's zha froblum~?" She even made sure to enunciate every syllable.
I swear, she's doing it just to piss me off at this point...
*Sigh*
I've all but given up correcting her habits at this point.
"Here, just take a look..." I hand her a piece of paper. It's a photo of a certain building's rooftop. Several deep gashes and craters could be seen on the floor. The latest of an ever-growing collection of similar photos.
"The rate at which stray devils are appearing around Kuoh is increasing." I pause for a moment to make sure she's listening. "That alone wouldn't be much cause for concern if it weren't for the directly proportionate number of stray devil corpses appearing in inconspicuous areas."
I hand her more photos my peerage had procured and notice her face take on a more serious expression. She seems oddly invested, maybe she knows something?
"Rooftops of buildings, empty warehouses, storage units, and dark alleyways..." After skimming through every picture, I choose one and pick it up. It's an image of a Mantis-like Stray Devil.
"..."
"Among all these corpses, I couldn't help but notice one tiny thing they all have in common..."
Taking a seat on the couch opposite her and putting on a thinking pose, I interlock my fingers in front of my nose.
""It's that they were all killed by a clean cut in the neck."" We say at the same time.
I knew she figured it out just as I did. Her relaxed mannerisms showed it. As expected of my Rival.
"And~ we both know someone's running around at night slaying stray devils, that he's a dangerous individual and we don't know his intentions~ yada yada yada~ what's the big deal? Why stress yourself out so much about it?"
She takes a sitting posture while patting the crumbs off of her uniform, unconsciously showing the biggest difference between us...
Kuuuhh-!!! Why is the world so unfair?!!
*Sigh* I pat my own chest to calm myself. It's okay, I'm gonna live a long life... I have plenty of time to grow...
"First of all, it is my duty as one of Kuoh's two rulers to stress myself out about it. Second of all, you are taking this too lightly!"
She's also a ruler of Kuoh! Did she forget that?!
I take another stack of photos out of my pocket and lay them all across the coffee table. All are close-ups of the sections of the necks where the cuts are.
"It's impressive to look at, even more so that the culprit is capable of multiple such decapitations every night. These cuts all exhibit no traces of resistance to the blade used. None at all! This could only mean one of two things."
I pause once more to emphasize what I'm about to say.
"A.: Whoever did this used some kind of magic to coat his blade, enhancing its cutting capability, or B.: He or she used a Holy Blade..."
Upon turning my eyes to meet hers, she seems to get my signal that it's her turn to give her perspective.
"...But both are impossible. First, there were no traces of magic in any of these "crime"-scenes. I suspect that there wasn't any Holy residue either?"
She holds her chin and focuses deeply on each photo. I give her a nod while providing some notes of my own.
"When these were taken, the bodies were still warm and the blood had yet to clot, so thoughts of whatever magic decaying and disappearing before they were discovered could be eliminated as well."
The whole thing was covered in impossibilities. I've seen and fought stray devils before so I know how hard it is to wound them with magic, let alone a bare blade.
To do that, one would have to be either exceptionally skilled with the sword or have impressive brute strength. Although brute strength is immediately out of the picture given the fact that all the decapitations are so clean. There would have been signs of tearing at least if that was the case.
"So we've got no leads to whodunnit? No paper trail, nothing?" She drapes her arms around the sofa and leans into the backrest.
*Bounce*
*Jiggle*
"None whatsoever. We're blind as to whoever is doing this." I lean back into my own.
*Stiff*
*Empty*
"..."
"..."
"Alrighty then, I'll see ya later Sona!" She gets up and skips her way out the double doors.
"...Alright..."
I swear they'll get bigger. I can feel the wry smiles of my peerage behind me from all the way here and I don't need them!
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●Muichiro's POV●
I could hear whispers all around me.
"Who's that on the swings? He's kinda cute."
"A cosplayer maybe?"
"Mommy, mommy! Can you get me a sword like that one?"
"I will, sweetie, but only if you do great in your test today!"
Ignoring the chatter of people passing by, I recall how I got here.
Last night while the moon was at its highest, right when i laid my eyes on a gap between the buildings, a piece of information shot straight into my head.
A playground, it was called. Nothing more than that though. Within it stood some metal contraptions and devices whose purposes were unknown to me.
After that wild night I just had, I figured I'd find a place to relax and catch my breath. And what do you know? This place was just a few blocks down. It had a cozy cave-like thing with holes on the side that had enough room for me to sleep in, and even this swinging thing I'm sitting on right now. Using it is my current favorite thing to do.
*Sigh~*
This is nice. To see that humanity has made a place for itself in the world that they could build a place like this. A place purely for play and relaxation.
"Nya~"
"Hmm?"
How did I not notice?
Looking to my left, I see a cat. It sported silky, pitch-black fur and bright, golden eyes. The handle of my sword appeared to have gotten its attention as it kept pawing at it.
"..."
I reach out my hand and hover it over its head.
"Mrrraw?"
Perhaps it sensed something as it paused and lookep up before it pushed its head into my palm, then grabbed my hand with both paws as if asking me to stroke its fur.
"I see..."
Of course, I oblige. Even mixing in some scratches behind its fluffy ears.
*Rustle...*
The sound of leaves rustling while the wind blew calms my nerves.
"My apologies, Mr....." I flip the cat over to check. "Ms. Cat I don't have any food on my person at the moment. Maybe you'll have some luck going somewhere else." I pull her into my lap.
I could feel her go stiff for a moment in my arms, making me pause the stroking.
"Is something wrong? Are you uncomfortable?" I ask, concern budding in my chest.
"And why are you looking at me like that?"
I didn't know cats could frown like that. Even her ears are tucked to the back of her head.
"Hmm... I don't quite get why you're mad at me, but I apologize okay?" I say before I resume stroking her, prompting a "Nya~" from her as if forgiving my transgression.
Is this perhaps how husbands feel when their wives get mad? I'm not quite sure.
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??? POV
How rude, to turn me around and check me out like that! I may look like nothing but a normal cat to his mundane senses, but he should at least have some decency, nya!
I grumble in my mind thinking about this boy's behavior. Does he not know the do's and don't's when it comes to women?
But I am currently a cat so how could he have known you ask?
Even so, nya!
...No no, that's a good point. It is unfair to expect so much of him. I shouldn't hold it against him, given how he volunteers to stroke me.
But still.
What a weird boy, nya.
Laying my head on my paws, I purr in satisfaction at the strokes on my back.
Hmm, his palms are quite hard. Perfect for stroking, nya.
It must be because of this sword at his hip. I can only wonder for how long has he trained in swordsmanship for him to have calusses this deep. On the base of its handle was an emblem. I feel a weird aura coating it.
I used my senjutsu to perform a rough scan on him minutes ago and I couldn't find anything weird inside him besides his life energy. Yet that in itself is also weird, nya.
All living things possess a certain amount of mana in their bodies. Some creatures, such as demons and angels, even have their own unique energies, namely demonic and holy power.
I give him a passing glance, from top to bottom, and conclude.
He is an anomaly, nya.
Just as I thought, only life energy resides within him, no mana, no demonic power, no other kind of energies whatsoever. I do however feel a subtle aura covering his body, nya.
It's odd, but it feels strong.
*Shhhiiiiii....*
I am snapped out of my thoughts as I hear a hissing sound.
Is someone boiling water, nya?
I raise my head and my gaze wanders to find its source before landing on...
... his mouth?
What the hell? That was the sound of him exhaling?! What incredible lungs, nya!
*Huuuuuu....*
To produce steam from his breath alone, oddly impressive, nya.
Before I could reach out and paw his chin, my ears perk up as I smell someone familiar nearby.
Sitting up and craning my head, I could see a white head of hair out of the corner of my eye.
Shirone, nya!
With a start, I jump out of his lap and follow after my cute sister. But not before stopping, turning back and giving the boy a farewell.
"Nya~!"
"Oh? You're leaving? Alright then... do be careful on the way, okay?"
Goodness the expression, or lack thereof, on his face just makes me want to eat him up, nya!
I am perfectly capable of digging out your secrets right this moment, but where's the fun in that? I prefer the slow, more pleasurable approach, hehe.
Plus, it has come time for me to fulfill my duties as the older sister, nya!
I'm off! See ya next time, nya!
Little did I know, he muttered something as I happily trotted away.
"Hmm? Two tails? Evolution sure is weird..."
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A/N: The Onee-san neko enters the stage! How will things go for our protagonist?! Find out next time on O*e P*ece!
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...and also some stones if you have any...