บท 72: Chapter 65
Shirone really wasn't kidding about Akeno's 'work', huh?
There are remnants of a fight, then there are remnants of straight-up torture, and I may not be well versed in the latter, but I can certainly tell the remains of the two apart.
My small white-haired cat girl led us across town too, as figures, an abandoned warehouse that showed signs of battle damage throughout.
There was an…extreme amount of scorch marks, and Kuroka wrinkled her nose the moment we stepped inside.
I couldn't smell it, but the cat girls could.
The smell of burnt flesh and ozone.
Fucking hell Lesser Suzaku.
"Your Queen is pretty…hardcore, nyah~!" Kuroka noted with a hint of disgust.
Shirone merely snorted at that.
Yeah, hardcore is certainly one way of putting her…tastes.
Anyhow, from that warehouse, we had to take a teleportation circle out from there to where the barrier field truly is.
They needed Sona and her Bishops to help with following the magic used to snatch away Akeno…so I guess they helped?
We took the circle they had set up and appeared right in front of the barrier space.
…And holy fuck, was it huge.
As in, the size of a town and the surrounding area, huge.
Shirone briefly explained that this barrier space was encompassing a small abandoned town, and its surrounding area, like the forest and such.
Kuroka took one look at this, and idly noted with a deadpan, "...We aren't that far from Kuoh, nyah."
"Abandoned warehouses, factories, mansions…why not a whole ass town?" I add with the same tone.
Shirone sighed and shook her head and sighed, "Honestly, at this point…I don't even try questioning stuff like this anymore."
For all our sanities, that's probably a good idea, kitty.
Without further ado, Shirone walked right up the barrier, the thing a massive multicolored crystalline wall like all other barriers, just on a much larger scale, and punched it.
Flickers of a dull golden color flaked from her knuckle as it collided with the wall, but otherwise, nothing of note happened.
The barrier didn't so much as shimmer.
Shirone huffed, and pulled back her fist, before turning back to me, "What do you think, senpai?"
I hum, completely ignoring Kuroka as she pouts off to the side at being completely ignored.
"I think," I start, reaching to my back for my sword as I look up at the barrier, "this shouldn't take long."
Before she could even think to try and sass me, I leaped.
Midair, I drew my sword, put it in reverse grip with the blade angled down, and focused the sword's aura and my powers right on the tip of the blade.
This caused the blade to light up, focused specifically on the very end, almost like a very long and stupidly bright plasma torch.
I brought it down, straight into the barrier as I landed upon it.
The point of my sword went straight in, like a needle-piercing flesh, but to my slight shock, the blade stopped sinking in after around a quarter or so, maybe a little more, got through.
Even still, with just that much in…the barrier space was already not looking good.
The crystalline appearance had begun to warp, waving and twisting from the point of the puncture wound, radiating out.
I grasp my sword's hilt with two hands, focusing intently on congregating the blade's aura along its cutting edge.
Through the sword, I feel the barrier as something inside of it starts trying to push the blade out, but unfortunately…it's far too late for that now.
My halo ignites into being behind me, and I breathe as I pull down, grunting with barely any exertion as I fly and cut a golden line down across the side of the barrier.
I tear my sword from the barrier, and in short order, sheath my sword before digging my fingers into said golden line, and promptly pulling it apart.
This opens a massive hole in the barrier's side, leaving a bright liquidity golden void in the space I pulled open…definitely not what I expected to see, but maybe this is a result of my power and barrier field interacting? Weird.
Ah, well.
I turn and look down at my cat girls, keeping one hand on the barrier, sort of holding the hole open, and call out, "See?" I give them a cheeky smirk, "Told ya I could do it."
Shirone rolled her eyes, but I couldn't not catch the small smile she flashed before she hid it behind a stoic grumble.
Kuroka also caught it and cackled at her.
Unfortunately for Kuroka, she gets ignored, as Shirone lets out her devil wings and flies up to me.
Shirone doesn't even hesitate, she comes right up to the void…and promptly slams her head through the light.
I couldn't help but stare after her, slightly aghast.
"...Huh." I mutter out, watching as her tails sway back and forth.
Well, she seems fine, so…still, I probably wouldn't recommend doing that.
I make my displeasure known by swatting her right across her rear, the way she's bent over as she's poking her head through making it easily visible under her skirt.
As soon as my hand meets her ass, she perks up, her tails shooting straight up and holding still.
I'd imagine she probably also squeaked or mewled or something, but I couldn't hear it through that void.
Shame that.
After a moment, she finally moves again, this time to try and kick out at her side…toward me, of course.
Unfortunately for her, she's short, so she can't reach.
Heh.
She gives up after coming up short on a third kick, and instead slides forward, the rest of her body going into the void.
But not before she flipped off my general direction.
Cute~!
"Eh!?" Kuroka called out from below, "Darling! Aren't you going to follow Shirone nyah~!?"
I wave her off, "Nah. She'll be fine…if she thinks she can handle whatever she saw in there, she can handle it."
Kuroka twitched slightly with a poorly hidden twinge of worry, "Well…okay."
I chuckled good-naturedly.
Yeah, she'll be fine. There are very few things that Shirone couldn't fight right now if I had to bet.
Even if Kokopuffs himself showed up, she could probably solo him rather easily at this point.
Senjutsu, Touki, Youki, and Rook Strength all stacked on top of each other…isn't exactly easy to deal with.
So, I'm not at all shocked when the entire barrier begins to, seemingly, deflate like an oversized blow-up plastic pool.
I hop off the thing as it collapses into a kaleidoscope of hazy colors and light, leaving behind a stretch of run-down and abandoned townscape…exactly as prescribed.
Seriously. Why so much abandoned shit?
Quickly discarding that thought before I run down my sanity, I run a cursory glance over the decrepit town, and quickly find who I'm looking for; people.
Two, my cat girl, and…woah.
I quickly make my way down to them, calling out as I do, "Hey! Is she okay!?"
Because holy hell, does Akeno not look okay.
She looks like she's been living homeless, on the streets, for at least a little bit. She's dirty, her outfits scruffy, and probably most importantly, she looks downright depressed.
She barely glances at me as I float down, before returning to looking down at the ground.
Shirone is at her side, kneeling to look at her, hand placed gently on the older girl's back while frowning hard, but not in anger, I can easily tell it's concern.
"...she doesn't look hurt, physically." Shirone notes, before calling, softly yet urgently, "Akeno-senpai. Hey."
Akeno gives her a sideways glance, before actually talking, so quietly, so softly, that I could barely even hear her, "I'm sorry you have to see me this way…"
Shirone's frown, somehow, got even stiffer.
"Did that dick hurt you?" She powers through and asks.
Dick?
I blink, and look around slowly, finding nearly directly across from the girls a building that is in…significantly worse state than the others.
And by that, I mean it's completely caved in like something fast and heavy slammed through its roof and smashed the building atop itself.
This is probably exactly what happened because if I focus, and look closely enough, I can see…legs. Probably a guy lying in there, courtesy of Shirone herself.
Akeno meanwhile, doesn't answer Shirone and continues staring off into the distance, blankly.
Shirone's eye twitches as her gaze shifts to where I was just checking out, her frown twisting into one of anger.
"Don't worry, Akeno-senpai. I'll take care of it." She states, before standing up, fists clenched tightly as she starts striding forward.
Ah. She's going to beat this guy into a marshmallow like she did the others trying to get stuff out of him, isn't she?
That…will probably not be the most effective method of doing things.
So I quickly move to follow her, coming right up to her side and matching her stride.
Shirone doesn't even look at me as she points up at my face, and states rather harshly and no-nonsense, "Not. Now."
I huff, "I know. I also know you're about to punch a guy into paste, but if you want info from him, it'll be much quicker and more concise if you let me do a thing again, alright?"
Shirone's finger drops, "...Fine. But I'm still probably going to beat him into paste."
I couldn't help my light chuckle, followed by a quick petting of her head, "I kind of figured."
Shirone's face flushed lightly at my touch, a light dusting of pink across her cheeks, before her tails lashed up and whipped at my hand, making me quickly withdraw.
We very shortly thereafter arrived at the crumbling building, and Shirone didn't waste a second in going right in, grabbing and dragging this guy out into the open grass in front of the building.
She pretty much threw him at my feet, then stood there, arms crossed, waiting as patiently as she could.
Looking down at this guy, I'm slightly shocked at how much older he looks compared to pretty much everyone else in the Hero Faction.
This guy is pretty clearly a man, not some sort of high school student. He's even wearing a suit, like an office worker's suit.
Despite looking more like your average office worker, it's still notable that he's in the Hero Faction of all groups. I feel like he'd stand out more considering they all tend to share a uniform, a theme.
He clearly breaks that theme though.
Still don't recognize him at all, no name, to him or his Sacred Gear…
Well, let's change that then!
I squat down in front of him and place a hand on his chest.
It doesn't take long for a pure white light to pulse out from my hand, and across his body, causing him to sparkle.
And like a defibrillator, that light jolts him awake immediately, his eyes flying open as he moves to sit up abruptly.
I see, out of the corner of my eye, Shirone starts to move…probably to play whack a moron with his head, but I move first, grabbing the guy's jaw as he's halfway sitting up, and making him look my way.
My way, into my freshly activated, spinning eyes…
"You–! Wha...What…" The man tries to cry out, muffled as he is, before slowly tapering off into dazed nonsense, as his eyes morph to match my own in appearance.
Shirone stops, confusedly looking on.
Hmm. I healed him a little bit, so he'd wake up…and so he wouldn't die. He's purely human after all, and I'm fairly certain Shirone caved in his chest with a punch earlier.
In any case, I healed him enough to where he wouldn't die and could maintain consciousness, but not enough to where he'd be able to use his gear effectively.
That's just to be safe, but especially in case the guy has a really powerful gear.
Judging by the scale of his Balance Breaker, he might have something like a New Longinus, and in that case, I'd need him weak so he can't resist my hypnosis.
Though, considering mind whamming him was only slightly more difficult than Freed was, which was barely noticeable…probably not anything like a Longinus.
After a second or two more of pumping his head full of Holy Spirit Power, I released his jaw, letting him slowly sit up.
Regardless, entrapment is successful, let's begin.
I start by asking, "Now then, buddy…what did you do to Akeno Himejima?"
"I…" he began, voice slurring slightly, "Trapped with…My Sacred Gear's…[Dreamlike Curse] Balance Breaker…[Palaselene Utopia]."
I blink.
That…wasn't helpful whatsoever. I don't recall a gear by that name, and that Balance Breaker name sounds more like a Tongue Breaker name if I'm being honest.
"...Elaborate on what exactly that means." I prompt.
"[Palaselene Utopia]...creates an illusionary world…within the space." He mutters out in response.
An illusionary world? That doesn't sound so bad, though…
"What, exactly, do you use the illusionary world for?" I press on.
"Suppress their powers...fake a parallel world…crumble victims mentality." He answers dully.
Oh. There it is.
I wince in realization at just what that can be used for.
I take it back, that's kind of scary for a non-Longinus. Less direct attack power, more psychological…that stuff is always kind of scary because it requires a different type of defense that most lack.
And considering Akeno's state, I'd wager she doesn't have that type of defense. In fact, I'd say she's especially weak to that type of attack considering her…mental state pre-daddy issues being solved.
Which she's arguably in a worse state here than in canon?
Yeesh. Poor girl.
Shirone, it seems, also came to a similar conclusion, as she comes up from behind the guy, grabs him by his hair, what little there is, ouch, and pulls him down to the ground, slamming his head into the dirt.
The shock of which is enough for the mist in his eyes to clear, and revert to normal.
"Ugh!" He grunts in pain and shock, "Wha–" But he can't get out his next word, as a small fist pounds his head further into the ground, snapping his jaw in the process.
I stand up, and step away, as my small white cat proceeds to lay into the man's face.
Yeah…I'll be back for that in a bit.
For now, I should tell Akeno that whatever she saw here was fake, simply illusions.
Not sure how well that'll help, but hey, Suzaku would probably be very mad with me if I didn't at least say something.
I can't fix Akeno's daddy issues, after this, I think Rias will probably be able to get through to her.
But some small comfort? That I can do.
So, I leave the sound of beatings, to the sounds of silence, where Akeno sat still, not having moved from her spot even an inch.
I squatted down in front of her, and although she couldn't meet my gaze, I tried my best to look her in the eye regardless.
"I dunno what you saw in there," I began, gently, "but whatever it is, it was all fake. The guy claimed it was a parallel world, but it was all fake; smoke and mirrors, illusions."
That caused her hand to twitch, before she slowly, slightly, shook her head.
"...Doesn't matter." She muttered, ruefully, "What I saw…wasn't incorrect."
My eyebrow twitched before I breathed a sigh out through my nose in response.
Do I play therapist right now? The way she is, she'll likely respond like her Dad did.
Heh. Ironic.
The point is, it probably won't end well…
At the same time though, who else is going to say what needs to be said here?
Rias might. But she's a little too soft for that.
Shirone probably would, if she had the emotional intelligence to figure it out.
And Yuuto…yeah.
Fuck.
Why is it always me…!?
"I doubt that." I found myself saying on reflex, "That guy showed you what he did to break you mentally because he couldn't fight normally. It was tantamount to torture, in a sense."
Akeno actually chuckled at that, "...Still doesn't make it wrong…some say, the worst kind of torture is the truth, after all…" She waxed on wistfully.
I snorted, "I think you convinced yourself that what you saw was the truth because of your feelings."
For a second, Akeno didn't say anything, or even move, didn't even look like she breathed.
Then, slowly, she looked at me, eyes wide, trembling with something I couldn't quite decipher.
"...And how the hell would you know that?" She practically hissed back, dangerously.
"Because you hate yourself." I state, nonchalantly, even as her eyes widen further, "So, of course, people can't love you. Why would they? You hate you. Why would others love you? Except, you know, that's wrong. Like your Dad for instan–"
A hand grabs my jaw tightly.
I didn't stop talking because it forced me to stop, I stopped to listen to her bullshit for a second before tearing it back down.
It was Akeno's hand, of course. And it flickered with golden lightning…which would be about as effective as her physical strength against me.
I've got nothing to worry about.
"You…" she breathed out shakily, "know nothing…so don't you dare…try to say anything about how I, or that man, feels!"
She wants to shout. I can tell, because her voice is near breaking just trying to talk louder.
She probably can't though, likely due to a lot of crying, and lack of sufficient liquids.
I hum at her words, before reaching up and grabbing her wrist, pulling it from my jaw.
"I know he attacked the Himejima to take revenge for your Mother." I try very hard not to smile as she instinctively sucks in a breath at that, hard, "I also know he was prepared to die doing it. That he probably wanted to, to atone."
"Then he should have just fallen on his spear if he wanted to atone so badl–!"
This time, she's the one that gets cut off, as my hand meets the side of her face, and she's looking off to the side from the force of the blow.
I didn't slap her too hard, but I made sure she felt it.
She blinked, minutely, before slowly looking back at me, mouth slightly agape, "Y-You…" She stuttered in confusion.
"Listen." I start, firmly, putting on my best impression of a very done Dad, "I won't say he's blameless. That he didn't fuck up. He did…several times. His first, and most egregious mistake though, in my opinion, was letting you run around, alone, letting that hate inside you fester and boil.
"I dunno why he did it. For whatever reason he did though, he was stupid, and a coward. And I called him as such before I broke his nose.
"But, as for you? You're blaming the wrong man. You're forcing your hate on the wrong man, the wrong person, people, and blood.
"And look at what it's turned you into. A spiteful bitch that hates herself, her father, and her blood.
"Almost a decade, and you haven't even tried to get over it, have you? Content to stay, hiding inside your pain, and look at where it led you.
"If you keep this up, I promise you, not only will it continue to hurt you, but it'll hurt everyone you've come to love now." I let go of her wrist and stood up.
"So, to you, I say…get the fuck over yourself. Your Dad does love you, he's just a coward. And not all Fallen, and by extension, you, are shit because of him."
And that's that.
Ugh. That entire rant just soured my mood, damn it.
Granted, there's a part of me feeling intense catharsis getting out a good chunk of most of what I despise about this girl…
But at the same time, ew, I'm playing therapist.
I suck at playing therapist. In fact, I hate playing therapist. It feels legitimately awful.
Akeno just sat there, staring up at me, absolutely flabbergasted, seemingly unable to say anything.
At the corners of her eyes, tiny little tears poke through, yet despite that she doesn't seem sad…just completely lost.
I sigh.
Rias, I leave the rest up to you.
Don't fuck it up.
Thankfully, sweet relief comes in the form of Shirone finally coming back from using that guy…I just realized I never asked for his name…as a punching bag.
She's shaking her bloody hands off as she approaches, sees the two of us, and deadpans.
"...I don't want to know." She promptly says, before looking at Akeno, "Akeno-senpai, are you ready to head home?"
Akeno looked at her, "I…Y-Yes…I think…" She stuttered out, barely sensical.
Shirone merely raised an eyebrow at her, before sighing and walking over to me.
She quickly gets on her tiptoes, and pecks me on the cheek, prompting me to blink in surprise.
"Your place, after…all this is done." She mutters to me.
…Odd time for a booty call, but I can dig it.
She playfully slaps my chest with a huff, "Not like that, pervert."
Aww.
Shirone walks over to Akeno, and with one last wave, teleports away with her using a magic circle.
After a moment, I sigh, before calling out, "Okay Kuroka, you can come out now!"
Kuroka comes out from behind a nearby house, "Nyah!? Where's Shirone!"
"She took her Queen back home." I answer, getting Kuroka's sad meow in return, her ears drooping slightly at the news, before I then add, "We're staying at my home outside Kuoh tonight, she'll visit after this is all done."
It's astounding how fast her mood flips, as she perks up once again and does an excited little hop at the news, "Nyahah~! Shirone-chan~! Heehee~!"
I can only give her a small exasperated chuckle…it's either going to be poor Kuroka, or poor Shirone tonight and somehow I feel like I know which way this is going to swing…
~ A New Sun ~
Yeah, this figures.
I sit now, on the couch in my estate outside Kuoh, even later at night.
Shirone is sitting on my lap, leaning against my chest, while Kuroka pouts right next to us.
Kuroka loses again!
All being said though…
I wrap my arms around my white-haired cat girl, "It didn't take long for you to show back up…did everything turn out well back in town?"
Shirone huffed, her tails wiggling as she settled further against me, "...Well enough." She replied slowly, "After I told Rias-senpai that Akeno-senpai was back, she spurred on the others and pretty much all the fighting quickly resolved."
Ah, they got spurred on from Akeno returning then? That's good.
"Though…" Shirone shifts slightly, looking up at me, "I couldn't help but notice, but Akeno-senpai seemed…less depressed, more…distraught when I dropped her off at home. That was because of you, wasn't it, pervert-senpai?"
I simply smiled back down at her, "I did have a few…choice words to say to her, yeah. Nothing perverted though, those are saved for a select few~..."
I move my hands down, and take two big handfuls of her nice plump rear, making sure to give them a nice squeeze.
Shirone, promptly, perks up and gives a low shuddering mewl, her face flushing, even as she manages to remain stoic, batting up at my face, "Bad perverted senpai…! Bad!"
…Holy that's cute.
Kuroka to my side pipes up, leaning forward as she does expressly to show her cleavage, "Yeah! Bad! You're supposed to grab both of us, nyah~!"
Shirone swipes out to her side, slapping her tits away, or trying to at least, "Shut up cow."
"Nyah!? Shirone!?" Kuroka cries and flinches back, scandalized.
The white cat promptly huffs, "Seriously though, hold on…we can do perverted stuff later. For now…senpai?" She looks up at me, explicitly very serious as she reaches up, cupping the side of my face.
"...what's the story behind this scar?" She asks.
I blink.
Kuroka blinks as well, "Scar…?" She questioned, leaning back in to look at the side Shirone had a hand on.
I see her eyes widen suddenly, seemingly catching on to what Shirone is talking about.
I, meanwhile, have no idea what she's talking about.
A scar? Those are possible for me to get?
Although, judging by the side of the face Shirone seems to be focusing on…
"Oh." I utter in realization, before speaking up, "Yeah, I probably got that from the True Longinus. Fought its wielder earlier…and the wielder of Dimension Lost, Annihilation Maker…Ah. Is there something wrong?"
I suddenly find myself being stared at by the two cat girls like actual cats ready to pounce on prey.
…As the two get increasingly closer to my face with incredulous looks upon their own, I'm starting to think maybe I'm in danger.
Just…not from lightning, this time, eheh!
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
Karmic_Wizard
Karmic_Wizard Caaatthhhharrssiisss!
Finally, I can stop worrying about Akeno and her Dad's whole thing. It's done, no longer Nori's business, it'll finally, fucking, fix itself!
Woot!
Unfortunately, this isn't the time for celebration, because Nori's got two cat girls that are about to jump his ass for fighting...well, several Longinus users. Shame that.
Eh, he'll be fine.
In any event, with this chapter, I can officially say that we've got three more to go before this arc closes, and we move onto the next.
Next chapter will hint at where we're going next. Now that the canon is completely off the rails, not even Nori knows whats going to happen next.
The grand finale of this arc is going to be...! Kunou seggs. Yeah, that just happened on my , and if you recall, some chapters ago, I was talking about finishing a Yasaka Interlewd.
That's also coming, either later tonight, or tomorrow morning, whenever I get around to editing it. It probably won't be it's own separate interlewd though, since I don't think it's long enough for it, so what I'll probably end up doing is shove it in the chapter with the rest of the Yasaka seggs.
Until then folks?
See ya'll next week.
Peace.
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