บท 66: Bucket List
The door clinks open, and I come into a bar. It's an old, vintage bar. Wooden seats line the counter, and there are a few tables hugging the other wall. Glasses of chilled beers stand just behind the counters, kept at hold by the sole bartender manning the place.
I step inside, and the bartender nods at me. I nod back, gently fixing my tie as I walk towards a very drunk man snoring at the end of the counter. There's quite a substantial number of empty glasses laying next to his head, with faint traces of various beers left behind.
I sit down next to the sleeping man. The noise wakes him, and he grunts as he turns to me. And blearily, he mutters, "Issei?"
"It's a nice evening out there." I say, sliding a few euros over to the bartender. The bartender swiftly takes it away. "Why are you wasting it all here?"
The young man tries to laugh jovially. It doesn't quite work. "I just-" He slumps down with a sigh. "I'm just tired, Sir." He plants his face into the counter. "Nothing works. No one wants to listen. Even G-Griselda told me off." He grits his teeth. "And now they threaten me with silence lest I be excommunicated."
"Dulio…"
"I…can't stay here anymore, Issei." He says, and there's a desperate shine to his eyes. "My brothers and sisters are no more. They have abandoned the decrees of the Lord." He titters. "I can feel myself slipping. My Faith-, I fear I might commit something truly horrendous if I'm forced to conform any longer."
I frown. It's the reason I'd come here to Rome in the first place. The entire city had been beset by rain and storms for the past few weeks, and even with a short glance using my eyes, I could tell that it wasn't natural. Further inquiries using my eyes showed something worrying, and I rushed here as fast as I could.
It's as the man said. His Faith in his fellow men had been declining rapidly for the past few months, and it'd begun to drag down his Faith in the Christian God as well. He'd managed to keep up his facade fairly well, but he never is the best at wearing masks. Even my big sister expressed some worries about him once she learnt that he and I are close.
"Then come with me." I say. "Stay in Kuoh permanently. There's no need to torture yourself anymore like this." He looks at me, and I give him a patient smile. "You've played the hero long enough. You've done enough. And besides," I grin. "My big sister misses you."
He laughs. "Isane…" He mutters, smiling lazily as he droops.
My glass of beer arrives just a moment later. The bartender nods, and I give him a soft thanks. "Look," I turn back to him, and I let my smile drop. "I…can't tell you too much, but it really is for the best for you to leave now."
His eyes suddenly sharpen. "What do you mean?"
I frown, debating for a moment whether to spill what I know. Eventually, I sigh. "As I said, I can't say too much, but there are rumors about…strange rituals."
And that's more than enough. His expression falls, and he looks truly disappointed. "I see." He mumbles. "How unfortunate."
…
"I want to go home, Sir." He finally says. I nod, and I give the bartender some more euros for his amicable silence.
"Then let's go." I say. I quickly drink the rest of my beer. Then I place my hand on Dulio's back, and I give the bartender one last thankful nod as my hand begins to glow. Calculations steam through my mind, coordinates settle in my consciousness, and my Mana grasps for both and consumes them from my mind.
Dulio and I suddenly turn white, and a second later we're gone.
When the white fades from our eyes, we find ourselves in Kuoh. Specifically, inside my home. And my big sister, who'd been lazing on the couch, turns to see us appear in the middle of the living room. "Hey, you're back." She says, and then grins as she turns to me. "Nice suit, by the way."
I roll my eyes. "Akeno forced me to wear it." I say, before I give Dulio a not-so-gentle slap on the back. "Come on, mate. Say something."
"Ah," He gulps. "H-Hello, Isane."
My big sister glares. "Hey, big guy." She says tonelessly, and Dulio flinches. "Been a while since you disappeared suddenly. Had a nice vacation?"
"It isn't-, I-"
"I'll leave this for you two to work out." I begin ascending up the stairs, conveniently ignoring the pleading look Dulio is giving me. "Have fun!"
I come up to the second floor, and I make my way to my room. I walk inside, and I breathe a sigh of relief as the warmth of 'Home' washes across me.
Years ago, I never would've imagined openly showing anything magical in front of my family. But my big sister has always been a curious person, and someone desperately wanting something more special in her life. And Dulio just happens to be weak to that enthusiastic curiosity. It didn't take much before he gave in and showed her his Sacred Gear.
Truthfully, I don't mind. My big sister wanted something more special in her life, and what excuse do I have to take that away from her? So, instead, I've done all I can to prepare her when something inevitably happens. If some upstart punk decides to go after her or something, then they'd find themselves very surprised indeed.
Though I still crack up slightly every time I remember how Dulio prostrated himself before me, begging me to forgive him for exposing my big sister to the supernatural world.
I take a moment to relax. I did go to Rome mostly to bring Dulio back here, but I'd also gone there for some reconnaissance. The church has been acting suspicious for quite a while now, and I wanted to go and record some stuff for potential future blackmail.
It was supposed to be a quick trip. A swift in-and-out once I've finished my recording.
It was not a quick trip. The whole thing ended up being four hours long, and I came out of the Vatican with nearly two hours worth of evidence now stuck in my video recorder.
It wasn't a fun trip either. Like, I've seen terrible things in my time in this world. My eyes aren't shy at showing me the worst this planet has to offer. But seeing those 'pious' men conduct those horrendous acts in the name of a deceased god?
It sends shivers up my spine.
A minute passes, and I take a quick breath to refresh myself. It's the early afternoons, and I still have half a dozen more things in my mental bucket list.
So my Mana responds once more, and I disappear from my house in a flash of light.
And I reappear in the teacher's lounge of Kuoh High. Despite how many Devils have occupied the staff, the lounge looks as normal as it can be. Except perhaps that potted plant sitting just next to the door. That's a plant that also acts as a sensor, allowing me to constantly sense anyone who enters the room.
The lounge is nearly empty right now. Which is expected. It's Saturday today; most of the Devils are back in the Underworld.
The lounge isn't empty though, not with Misla Bael sitting on of the few couches in the lounge, with a pair of glasses over her face as she intently reads over the material she'll be teaching for the first month or so.
"Good afternoon."
The woman blinks, and turns up to see me. "Oh! Hyoudou-sama." She smiles. "What brings you here today?"
I shrug. "Just checking in." I say. "I have a lot of work to finish before the new year starts and all." I smile. "Are you doing alright? Anything you need help with?"
She shakes her head. "I'm doing well. I believe I've settled in as much as I can." She stares at me for a moment, before she frowns. "But are you alright, Hyoudou-sama? You don't look so well. Have you slept at all?"
I laugh wryly. "I've…rested." I say.
She raises an eyebrow. "And when's the last time you slept?"
I look away. "...a month ago?" I say. It's a complete lie—I haven't slept in three months. And she seems to know that, considering the disapproval she's showing only grows the longer she stares at me. "I-, it's not like I can help it." I reason. "I have work to do."
She sighs, knowing there's nothing she can say to dissuade me.
Doesn't stop that maternal disapproval from stinging though.
"Anyway, how are you doing lately?" I quickly say. "Any problems with my gift?"
She finally smiles, and I silently sigh in relief. "I'm doing well." She begins. "And I must again thank you for your generosity. This Infernal Arm I now have—there was no need for you to go so far."
I huff. "For my people?" I smirk. "I'll go overboard any day."
Really, I hadn't done all that much for her. I mean, I helped her recover from the Sleeping Sickness, but even then I didn't do all that much. She was the one who trained herself, forcefully wrangling back control over her own Demonic Energy. She was the one who constantly went to therapy to deal with all she went through back in the Underworld.
She doesn't think so. And once she was fully safe from ever falling to the Sleeping Sickness ever again, she began devoting herself to Kuoh. She became the one who dealt with the new missions given to Team Slash/Dog, helped keep Kanada's orchard pruned and healthy, organized all visiting Devils, and even applied herself as a teacher in Kuoh High.
Really, she went above and beyond, and so I gifted her an Infernal Arm.
It wasn't even all that hard. Fitting an Infernal Arm for a Devil was a much smoother process than I was expecting. Demonic Energy isn't all that different to Curse Energy at the end of the day, and so there wasn't that much conflict when I tried changing an Infernal Arm's energy source.
More than that, Demonic Energy responds much better with Mana than Curse Energy does. I had a much easier time creating the Infernal Arm's special power using Magic instead of drawing thousands upon thousands of Japanese characters.
And so, in just under a week of nonstop engineering, Misla's Infernal Gear is made.
Clockwork Accel is its name. It allows its wielder to dilate their personal time, allowing them to experience time at their choice. They can make themselves move at a faster speed, or slow down their time to halt some harmful effects they might be suffering.
Of course, at the moment, its effect only works on the wielder. The world outside is unaffected. But, perhaps, with time and effort, that can change.
"Well, I should go." I say, looking away lest I see the disappointed glare Misla's sending my way. "I have more work to do."
She sighs. "Take a rest soon, Hyoudou-sama."
I grin helplessly. "I'll do my best." And saying so, I vanish in a burst of light.
When the light fades, I'm inside a massive factory, standing over a balcony that overlooks the entire place. There are all sorts of machines on the floor below, operated by workers garbed in clothing enchanted with protective charms.
I can see all chunks of wood, bundles of leaves, and tangles of vine being carted around. They're dropped off at various different places, and the people work on them, using both their hands and the machines to turn them into some sort of product.
It's a massive operation, involving tens of machines and hundreds of people.
"Hyoudou-sama." I hear someone say, and I turn to see Himejima Suzaku walk up to me, dressed cleanly in that red office dress she's come to like. "You're on time. Our meeting is just about to start."
I plaster a polite smile onto my face. "Lead the way." I say, and she nods as we begin walking.
Naturally, I'm in Hibana Town, and this factory is built underground. Hibana needed some sort of export to maintain its economic stability, and I had this factory built. The operation is run mostly by previous servants of the Five Principal Clans—those who've been freed from their shackles, but are unwilling to stay still even in their newly given peace.
The operation involves the manufacturing of products using the wood, leaves, and vines that are grown in the orchard dug out just a small distance away. Of course, all the trees grown there are enhanced with Primal Energy and Ki, turning them into powerful catalysts the Youkai are eager to get for themselves.
And now I'm stuck in a meeting with various Youkai representatives, discussing prices and distribution channels and all sorts of boring details. I would've loved to be anywhere else but here, but it's not like I can delay this meeting any longer.
The meeting lasts nearly three hours. Every second of it was hell.
We exchange some meaningless pleasantries for a little while after it ends. But once that's over, I bid them all farewell, and proceed to teleport right back onto my bed, planting my face straight into my pillow. What grace and regality I held myself with seconds ago falls away, and I practically melt as I sigh.
…
It's…been a long month-, well, no. It's been a long year. I'm not sure how it began, but things just kept on escalating. Plans began kicking off, progress sped up exponentially, and I'm left here to try and keep it all from tumbling and crashing.
Kuoh expanded. Again. It's an even more ludicrous expansion this time, and I can hardly classify Kuoh as a town at this point. Of course, Kuoh City now finds itself under watchful and suspicious eyes, wondering how a seemingly normal town could grow so quickly.
Some had tried to infiltrate my home to see what's going on. Hardly anyone came back alive.
Kyoto has grown as well. Youkai population practically skyrocketed once the Eastern and Western Factions officially melded into one. Having all Youkais under a single banner means more safety, and that apparently translates to a lot of…family miracles. Yeah.
More than that, the quality of Kyoto's workforce has increased tremendously. Yasaka and Nurarihyon's plan to create schools for the Youkai has worked wonders, and last I heard, they're planning to build their sixth school some time soon.
Hibana Town has been thriving. The space has been expanded even more, more buildings have been built, schools have been built, safety has been enforced, and a lot more things I'm not willing to think about right now.
It's genuinely frightening. Their respect for me borders on fanaticism. Any half-baked idea I randomly say somehow turns into an actual plan in record time, and anything that's perceived as even the slightest bit of inconvenience to me is fixed in mere days. I swear that the town changes in some way every time I take a visit.
And the less said about their Faith, the better.
I groan as I stare out the window. It's late afternoon, with the skies outside slowly turning orange. The weather's perfect today, probably courtesy of a certain Longinus wielder.
Silently, I lament how slow the day's been going. Because I've already done so much in the past week, and I still have more things I've yet to do. More people to visit, more plans to oversee, more meetings to sit through.
My bucket list isn't really a bucket anymore. It's a goddamn well of infinite suffering.
And my third year's going to start in just two days.
…man, I want to dive into an active volcano. A magma bath sounds awfully pleasant right now. It'll help loosen up some of my joints.
Trust me. It works. If you're lava-resistant, that is.
But I can't. I have work to do. Urgent work at that. I can't just waltz off into some random corner of the planet and become a hermit. At least, not yet.
So, with another pain-filled sigh, I raise my hand towards the ceiling, and I call forth my Mana once more. Calculations run through my brain, coordinates surge through my eyes, and my Mana responds as the world is awash with light.
And then, I disappear once more.
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Ventus889
Ventus889 Important note: Canon starts from now, but because of how the story's gone, Issei's "death" and Asia's arrival in Kuoh will be skipped. We'll technically be starting at the Riser Arc, but even then it won't be all that major due to the lack of relationship between Issei and Rias. You can say we're starting out on the eve of the Holy Sword Arc.
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