Auuuuuuuuu! I can't believe thiiiiiiiis!
I was crying to myself on a bench in the park, feeling self-pity for my unbelievable humiliation.
It was the day after I had awakened my Sacred Gear.
I had been told a lot about my Sacred Gear and about the Vanishing Dragon, Albion, the other day. I was so excited, so AMPED to be involved with my first Devil Contract. I thought it would be easy, that I would get it perfect on my first try…
I was wrong… I was so wrong… I… I didn't know he was allergic to gauze…
Auuuuuu! I'M SUCH A FAILUUUUUUURE!
I absolutely FAILED my first Devil Contract!
Not only did I fail to complete it, but now the contractor never wants to summon a Devil ever again!
Senpai didn't get mad or shout at me like I expected, but I could tell she was disappointed and upset. Immediately after school today, I just ended up sitting on the park bench, leaning back.
Damn did I pick a bad place for a Devil to spend time… it was a bright and sunny day out. For anyone but a Devil, that was good. But for a Devil, it was TORTURE.
Absolute Hell…
So I just sat there, blowing off steam, cursing the sun for existing and torturing me in the way it was.
OK, first thing on my to do list after I gain enough power to surpass God with my Longinus: Extinguish the sun. I'm gonna put it out like the world's largest candle. I don't care about the long-term consequences. Screw them…
Neh. Total darkness would bum me out after a while. Perhaps extinguishing the sun isn't for the best…
The sun is still a jerk though…
Now I was just bored. I was depressed and bored. I didn't really have much else to do until later that night where I would attempt to get a second Contract. Hopefully this one would turn out better. I heard Issei technically failed to complete a contract, but he at least got a good review from his client.
...So yep. Nothing else to do but sit and— "HAWAA!" I heard a voice scream behind me as I heard something hit the ground. I turned, curious, to look behind me to see a blonde-haired Sister laying face-down on the ground. I really wanted to know how clumsy she was to fall down like that. There wasn't a single bump or rock anywhere! "Owww… Why did I trip?" That's what I want to know!
I was about to ask whether or not she was okay when I ended up looking between her legs. Her skirt was short enough to reveal her pure white panties underneath.
I preemptively plugged up my nose to keep the blood from gushing from it.
Shit! I'm looking at the panties of a Sister! Even though I'm a Devil, it feels like I'm doing something morally wrong. Like I'm defiling her with my eyes.
Ah, damn. What should I do right now?
I mentally slapped myself… and then I PHYSICALLY slapped myself.
Bad Haruto! No no! Looking at random girls with such eyes is not permitted!
I bit the tip of my thumb as I underwent the moral conflict on what to do…
Ah to Hell with it!
I walked over to the Sister with a mildly worried/awkward expression on my face. "Er… are you okay?" I gave her my hand to help her up.
"Ah. Thank you."
Her voice sounded very young. She seemed to be just around my age. Maybe just a bit younger.
I was about to say something else when a sharp gust of wind blew the Sister's veil off her head. Her blonde hair which was hidden underneath fell on her shoulders. It may have been a trick of the light, but I could've sworn she was sparkling.
I stared silently, but in my mind:
STRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE! SHE'S GORGEOUS! I NEVER THOUGHT SUCH BEAUTY COULD EXIST IN THIS WORLD! ...I can't stop the tears from flowing out of my eyes.
***
(Ruruko)
I was in the Student Council Room, staying behind as we tried to prepare a contract we believed Haruto could actually handle.
It wasn't going too well so far. I mean…
I paused, putting down the list of contracts I had been reading.
Tsubasa-senpai sat several feet away, looking through her own contracts. She seemed to feel the same tenseness I felt. Even that slu—I mean bi—I mean MOMO-SENPAI looked up from the other side of the room.
This strange feeling…
A powerful killing intent filled the room. And for once, it wasn't directed at each other…
Part of me wanted to murder Haruto for some odd reason while another part wanted to crawl into a corner and cry out of jealousy, and a third part wanted to murder someone else I feel I have yet to meet for some odd reason…
Haruto, I swear if you're doing something perverted or ogling another girl, I will beat you… unless it's a harem girl. In that case… I'll probably just cry out of jealousy and fear of abandonment.
Meh. I'll probably get over it. Haruto-chan's too sweet. Even though he's a huge pervert, he never breaks a promise. And if he DOES break one of the five rules, I get to—
***
I stopped staring at the beautiful blonde girl in front of me when I felt a sudden chill go down my spine.
It was terrifying yet oddly arousing.
Then I felt guilty for some odd reason. And then I felt fearful for the safety of the girl in front of me.
Then all of those weird feelings just fade away and everything feels alright.
...Then I felt fearful again, but less so because whatever it was that was making me fearful felt oddly justified.
Then I was fine again, this time for sure.
"Um… is something wrong?"
It was at that point that I realized not only was I still staring at this pretty nun girl, but she's been noticing me staring at her for the past few minutes.
"N-No!" I said quickly, realizing how awkward this situation was becoming. "S-Sorry!"
I picked her veil off the ground nearby and handed it back to her. I then realized I was still staring at her and panicked. I had to change the subject. "O-Oh! Your suitcase!"
Smooth, Haruto. Reeaaal smooth.
The Sister knelt down by her suitcase that was currently open with articles of scattered clothing around it. "It's fine. I can get it myself."
"Then I'll help." I offered. I knelt down beside the Sister and began picking up and folding clothes before putting them back into the suitcase. I only paused when I came to the most interesting article. A pair of pure white panties. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
T-They were so soft!
The Sister screamed from embarrassment as she quickly snatched the panties from my hands and shoved them back into the suitcase. When she bent over… I saw them again around her legs. "I-I'm sorry!"
I quickly averted my gaze upward to avoid giving myself a nosebleed and from looking without permission.
The Sister turned to me with an embarrassed expression on her face. "S-sorry… You saw a bad side of me…"
Actually… it was kinda nice… really nice…
"So, you traveling?" It was the only question I could think of. She didn't seem to be from around here and it seemed like a good way to get the ball rolling on this conversation rather than the subject of her panties. Despite her not being an Onee-sama, I felt compelled to talk to this girl.
The Sister shook her head. "No. That's not it. I was appointed to the church in this town… You must be a resident of this town." She bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
I bowed my head politely in return. "Er, likewise."
"I have been in trouble since I got here. Ummm… I can't speak Japanese that well… I was lost and other people couldn't understand what I was saying…" She held her hands to her chest with a sad expression on her face.
So she can't speak Japanese. The reason I must be able to understand her must be because of this unique ability Senpai told me that Devils have called "Language". The moment you become a Devil, it doesn't matter where you go, everyone can understand what you're saying. Whether they speak English, Spanish, German, Japanese, etc., they will be able to understand you and you will be able to understand them.
I honestly didn't entirely believe it until now. I didn't think much of it during my English class when I started to excel because I actually studied. Guess there was more to it than that. Nobody really paid attention to it but apparently some of my fan girls adored me more for 'being an academic'. Maybe I didn't notice it because I SPOKE the language easily but the English characters still remained the same.
So she was looking for the church, huh? ...Is she talking about the one on the edge of town? I thought that was abandoned. I visited there once but I never saw anybody… It didn't look like anyone had been there in a while. Maybe they're starting to put it to use again.
And suddenly my mouth acted on its own. "If you're looking for the church, I probably know where it is." Shut up, me! "I can take you there if you want." Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! This is a nun! A member of the Church, an organization devoted to wiping out Devils like you! You have enough worries with this Welsh Dragon guy who's supposed to be coming to try and snuff you out! You don't need the extra worry of being picked off from the Heavens by a bunch of Angels!
I bit the tip of my tongue, realizing the truth behind my own thoughts. I had to get away from this girl as soon as possible. Even if it wasn't necessarily the right thing to do since she's done nothing wrong to me, I had to—
Then I saw the stars in the Sister's eyes. "Y-You will!? T-Thank you! The Lord is truly smiling down upon me!" I cringed as a powerful wave of pain shot through my body. Every last nerve in my body burned like fire. I did my best to swallow my reaction to keep from alerting the Sister.
Of course it hurt! I'm a Devil! I shouldn't even be TALKING to this girl! I turned to tell her I couldn't anymore when I saw her face.
Tears were flowing from her adorable, puppy dog eyes.
Auuuuuuu! Geez! D-Don't stare at me with such eyes! It's embarrassing… How could I just abandon a girl with such adorable puppy dog eyes?! DAMN YOU, CONSCIIIIIIIEEEEENCE!
I released a sigh. I'm pretty sure it was obvious where this was going, so why fight it?
I turned away, gesturing to her to follow. "Come on… I'll take you there."
"Oh thank you! Truly, thank you!"
I blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed by the Sister's thanks. It was too late to back out now.
And so we ended up on our way to the church, the Sister following behind me. Due to my awkwardness, our trip passed in mutual silence.
"Uwaaaaaah!" The sound of a young boy crying shattered the silence like glass. I was about to shrug it off and continue walking when I realized that the Sister was not following me but rather walking towards the boy, crouching down in front of him with a kind expression on her face.
"Are you okay?" The Sister asked. "A boy shouldn't be crying over little things like this." She gently patted the boy on the head. He probably had NO IDEA what she was saying, but he could probably sense her good intentions by her kind and trustworthy expression. The Sister placed her palm where the boy injured himself.
I was about to ask her what she was doing when a green light orb appeared from the Sister's palm and flashed onto the boy's knee.
My eyes widened in shock.
No way! That's—No. It wasn't any kind of demonic power. If she were a Devil, she wouldn't be able to even wear that cross around her neck… I tensed as my own power created a strange ache as if responding to the light, giving me the answer to the Sister's ability.
—Sacred Gear. A power that is bestowed upon certain people. I had forgotten that many other people possess Sacred Gears so it would be stupid to think that I would never encounter another Sacred Gear-user outside the Reincarnated Devils. There has to be a lot of Sacred Gears with a lot of different abilities.
So the Sister is also a possessor of a Sacred Gear, but what—
Then I noticed the boy again. His injury was gone!
The Sister patted the boy on the head again. "Here. Your wounds are healed. The pain should be gone now."
"Yoshi-kun, where did you go?!" A woman who was no doubt the boy's mother ran over to him. The boy happily ran over to his mother, pointing at the Sister and smiling as if he had never been injured.
"Ah, that Onee-chan over there! She healed my injury!"
The Sister smiled at the mother. "It looked like he fell, so I helped him."
Rather than say any thanks, the mother pulled the boy away and started walking away. Over her shoulder, I saw her shoot the Sister a dirty look. "You shouldn't talk to strange people. Let's go."
I don't know why, but those words start to make my blood boil. I stepped in front of the Sister, shooting my own anger-filled look. I was usually tolerant of others (more or less), but that lady had no right to treat this Sister like that! "You know what, lady?! I—!" Then the Sister grabbed my sleeve, making me stop.
"It's fine." She said quickly.
I shot the Sister a concerned glance. "You understood that?"
She shook her head. "I don't understand the language, but I know…" She trailed off. I shot another glare at the mother. That look she gave the Sister… it pissed me off.
I didn't see her face, but I could sense a feeling of sadness from the Sister.
It was strange… but I felt like I could sympathize… I remember feeling a sadness quite similar to that when I was little, before I ever met Issei and Iri.
Loneliness… I remembered it because that feeling would forever mark that event…
It pissed me off to no end. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got… For that lady to give that look to the Sister was–
"Thank you, Onee-chan!" I was snapped out of it by that boy's words. The boy waved cheerfully to the Sister who seemed to smile as she waved back. I then turned back to the Sister and translated his words, but she seemed to already understand what he was saying.
The Sister turned to me and tapped herself on the head, sticking out her tongue.
"Sorry. I get meddlesome sometimes."
I was still gritting my teeth though. "What was with that bitch? She was like that even after you helped her son. Next time, I'll—"
"Being disliked by others is normal." The Sister interrupted. "I'm used to it…" I felt troubled by that.
For someone like the Sister being treated like that… it just wasn't right. She seemed like a great person.
"That power you used…" I started, trailing off slightly.
"Yes, it's the power to heal. It's a wonderful power that God gave me." She was smiling… but she seemed so sad. I thought about asking about it, but I decided against it. It was probably none of my business anyway as much as it annoyed me to admit it.
Strangely, a small part of me wanted to hold the Sister close and ask her what's wrong, to tell her everything's alright, to give her some assurance that the world was a better place than it really was. To protect her… but… that would just be a weird thing to do to a complete stranger, no matter how cute or nice she was… besides…
It's not like I could say "Hey. I have a Sacred Gear too." anyway. I might as well also say "Hey. I'm a Devil. Please get all of your church friends and kill me with your crosses and holy water."
Besides, apparently some people actually suffer because of this unusual power. Even I was a little uncertain how to feel about my Sacred Gear. I still don't know how to use it so I can't say I'm happy at all. I was killed because of it and I can't even figure out how it works.
"Anyway, let's go." I told the Sister.
She bowed to me. "Yes. Please take care of me!"
The rest of our journey faded into silence. It didn't take that much longer before we reached the old church. I still don't recall the place being used until recently, but there were people inside. I could tell because the lights were on.
The place gave me the chills and I was sweating like crazy. I wasn't afraid, but I could tell the reason.
—Holy ground.
I'm a Devil. The church, which pretty much belongs to God and the Angels, is enemy territory.
That's why President had told me to stay away from them right before I left for home the other night. She was worried I might get some bright ideas… Even just standing this close was making my danger senses go crazy.
The Sister seemed so happy when we got there. "This is it! I'm so glad!" I did my best to keep my expression straight. I didn't want to give away the fact that I was a Devil when I'm so close to the Angels's home turf. I looked upward towards the setting sun. It was getting later than what would be comfortable.
While I didn't know her and even though she wasn't an Onee-sama, I found it a shame to say good-bye to such a beauty. But it would never work out between a nun and a Devil anyway even if I did want to pursue the relationship… would it?
...I wasn't afraid of the church, but my Devil blood inside of me made it very clear that getting more involved with them was a bad move right now. Maybe, if we were to meet again sometime later, the Sister and I could hang out sometime. But not now. I was probably being targeted for another spear in the chest right now.
I put my arms behind my head as I turned to leave.
"Well, it's been fun, but—"
"Please wait!" The Sister grabbed onto my sleeve. "I would like to make you some tea as a gratitude for taking me here—"
I shook my head. "Sorry." I apologized. "But I'm in a bit of a rush, so I gotta go."
"...But that's…" I admit I felt a little bad because of that troubled expression she had on her face. I know she just wanted to make it up to me by making tea, but I'm pretty sure stepping foot inside that church was tantamount to suicide. I admit I'm perverted and stupid, willing to go crazy distances for a girl sometimes, but I'm not THAT stupid. I shot a glare at the cross perched on the highest point on the church as if it were alive. The Sister didn't seem to notice though.
I figured I should at least give her my name. Maybe it would make up for it somehow. "The name's Namikaze Haruto. But you can call me Haruto. May I ask for the pretty lady's name?" I winked at the Sister at that last part. Hey, nothing wrong with flirting a little.
The Sister seemed to blush a little at being called 'pretty', but she spoke her own name.
"M-My name is Asia Argento! Please call me Asia!" I waved to her as I walked away.
"Then I hope we meet again, Sister Asia. May the Lord smile down upon you and show you His kindness." I felt a HUGE, almost unbelievable surge of pain at my mention of Him, but I felt it was an appropriate way to end our encounter.
"And you as well, Haruto-san! I hope to see you again too!"
Little did I know how fateful that 'seemingly coincidental meeting' was.