3 Chapter three: Answers.

Chapter three: Answers.

"..." I walked through the narrow corridors of the old school building, looking from left to right as I tried to spot the Occult Research Club.

Rias and I had agreed to a meeting after school hours inside the school's Occult Research Club room, so I was heading there to talk.

I did notice that the Student Council President, Sona Shitori, did not seem all that keen on the idea of us meeting for a private chat.

"... Around here, I think...?" I thought, heading upstairs as I walked towards the end of the corridor. There were several classrooms, but all of them seemed to be empty.

Eventually, I spotted a half-open door and some voices coming from within. I cautiously pushed the door and went inside.

"..." I stared around what I assumed to be the Occult Research Club, and to be quite honest, I liked the style.

"Our dear classmate arrived at long last, ufufu." The club vice president, Akeno Himejima, said with an amused smile.

"..." Rias sat on her desk while Akeno stood beside her. Both of them stared at me with welcoming smiles.

"Hm..." I looked around, finding another two people in the room. Yuuto Kiba was one of them, but the other person was someone who I didn't know.

The girl in question was petite, so short I almost mistook her for a middle schooler. She had a stoic, expressionless face painting her features.

"Kiba." I nodded at him. I then turned to the white-haired girl. "I don't believe we've met before, have we?"

"Koneko Toujou." She replied. Her voice was quiet, and her features didn't reveal much emotion.

Something about her felt off; her gaze narrowed on me for a second, and I noticed she sniffed the air around her.

"Tokinada Hayashi." I introduced myself. "Tokinada is fine, though; I'm not one for formalities."

"Well~," Rias said, speaking up for the first time since I had entered the room. "With the introductions out of the way, how about you take a sit?"

"Thanks, I"ll do that." I sat down on the couch opposite from Kiba and Koneko, crossing my arms as I stared back at Rias.

"I'll make some tea for us all," Akeno said, moving from her spot behind Rias and leaving the room through the door I had just entered.

"So..." I began after a few seconds of silence. "As I said if you'd like to ask me something, feel free to do so. You must have some concerns about me, I'm sure."

"You are far more understanding than I expected." Rias mentioned, leaning closer as she rested her elbows on the desk. "Yes, I have some questions, some more personal than others."

"You don't have to answer them, though," Rias assured me, her beautiful red hair swaying slightly. "If I ask something that makes you uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll drop it."

"Hah..." I chuckled a bit. "You are far more understanding than I expected as well. For a Devil, that is." I replied, prompting a small smile from her.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Rias smiled back at me. "I'll start with something simple then."

"You have a Sacred Gear," Rias stated, recalling our conversation in the Student Council Room. "I explained what a Sacred Gear is before, so now I want to know, for how long has it been active?"

"Active?" I blinked, tilting my head. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"..." Rias blinked back, as if taken aback by the simple question I had made. After a short pause, she decided to rephrase her question. "Isn't there a singular moment in time that you can trace back to the awakening of that Sacred Gear?"

"No?" I replied, unsure what she was talking about. "I have always had this power, like breathing, walking, and so forth. It never 'awakened'; it was always there."

"There was no trigger, then?" Rias gave me a thoughtful look, looking me up and down. "That's... Unusual. You can summon it, right? Could you show me?"

"Sure thing." I showed her my right hand, pointing my index finger at her, and then, as I focused just enough to call upon it, that familiar ring manifested itself.

"A ring...?" Rias asked, standing up from the desk and walking closer to examine it, her eyes glued to the ring. "What kind of ability does it have?"

"Abilities." I corrected her; there was quite a lot I could do with it. "I think it's better if I just show you. Would that be alright?"

"Yes, please." Rias nodded eagerly, still staring at the ring. "I would like to see it in action."

"All right," I said, and in an instant, the ring seemed to radiate light, glowing brightly. A soft breeze flowed around the room, the faint but pleasant sound of the wind whistling around us all.

"Is there something here that I could use as a target?" I asked as I held my arm out into the air. "Something like..."

"Did I miss something?" Akeno returned to the room just at the right time, carrying a tray with a jar filled with tea and a handful of cups for us all; she placed them on the table. I stared at the cups in silence for a second.

"Please don't take this as an insult, but..." I began, choosing my words carefully. "Could I use one of the cups as a way to do a demonstration of my Sacred Gear?"

"Hm?" Akeno seemed a little confused by the question, but once she got the approval of Rias, she nodded at me without giving it too much thought.

"Alright, so..." I said, staring at the cup on the desk and asking them to move away. "Please, take a step back."

I aimed at the cup with my fingers, as I did, a gale blew across the room for just an instant, and it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. A fraction of a second later, the cup exploded into a thousand pieces.

The shards of glass never made it to the floor, almost levitating in the air as just enough wind kept them from spreading.

"..." Rias walked closer, her hand reaching for the broken pieces of the cup still levitating in the air as she felt a soft breeze blow past her.

"Amazing..." Rias muttered, "Your Sacred Gear controls the wind, right? When we found the Fallen Angel's corpse, I assumed her wounds had been inflicted with some sort of strange weapon, but no... It was the wind."

I nodded, guiding all the shards to the palm of my hand. Then, a small ball of wind encompassed them, and I narrowed it enough to crush all the shattered pieces into nothingness.

"There's a lot more to it, and there's still a lot I haven't been able to grasp, but that's good enough for a surface level explanation," I told her, grinning slightly at her reaction.

"Oh, I get it now..." Akeno chuckled, a hand travelling to her cheek. "That's why you mentioned Fujin earlier, The God of Wind."

"And that..." Kiba followed Akeno's realization with one of his own. "... Is how I didn't hear you approaching me. You can mask the sound of your footsteps. That's pretty impressive."

"Thanks." I nodded at him, matching his smile. Then I turned to Koneko; she, too, seemed to be having an epiphany.

"I was also wondering about it," Koneko muttered, still sniffing the air. "Your skin has a lot of pleasant smells mixed together. You are keeping them around with the wind?"

What is she, a dog? How in God's name did she manage to detect that from a distance? Even I couldn't do that without using the wind to bring specific trails of smell closer to my nose.

"Correct again." I complimented her, still unsure how to feel about someone sniffing my skin from a distance.

"Is it hard to pull off?" Rias asked, leaning a little too close for comfort. "You looked quite proficient with it just now."

"I mean, yeah," I replied, pointing towards the plastic bottle as I closed my fist, crushing the bottle using wind alone. "It used to be difficult to control, but now it's as simple as breathing."

"Wow..." Rias let out a slight whistle at the sight. "So then… You can blow things up, make them levitate, mask sounds, manipulate smells, crush them into... Dust, I guess? Particles?"

'There's a lot more than that...' I thought inside my mind, but deciding against sharing that information, this much was more than good enough for a demonstration.

"Any other questions?" I asked, resting my back on the couch while waiting for their responses.

"Hm~" Rias mused, sitting on the couch right next to me and pondering her answer. "There are a few things I would like to ask still, but I would feel bad if all I did was ask."

"I could tell you a little about us Devils if you'd like?" Rias suggested, breaking the silence with a smile.

"I was a bit curious about that," I admitted, nodding. "You are all Devils, correct? Are all Devils the same? What strengths and weaknesses do you possess? And, of course, anything else you think I should know."

"Hmm~" Rias seemed to give the questions some thought, and I could tell she seemed happy about me showing interest. "Very well. First, we're all Devils... Just like you say. Being a Devil comes with some perks, for instance..."

"Long lifespans," The beautiful redhead raised a finger for each benefit she listed, "enhanced endurance, super strength, enhanced sight, enhanced hearing, night vision..."

"..." I blinked, raising a hand to stop her from talking. "You had me at long lifespans. How long exactly?"

"About ten thousand...-" I choked at those numbers. Ten thousand? I couldn't even imagine what to do with that amount of time. ''-… Years.''

"Ten thousand?" I repeated after I recovered a little. "Seriously?''

"Hmph~" Rias grinned, "It could be longer than that. As for if we are all the same..."

"Well..." Rias shifted around her seat, sounding more than a little uncomfortable with the subject. "I suppose that depends on who you ask."

"There's Reincarnated Devils." Rias pointed at her friends as she spoke, "there's Pure Blooded Devils" she pointed at herself, "Stray Devils, Half Devils and Mixed Heritage Devils."

"Just how many kinds of Devils are there...?" I asked with a sigh. "Alright, if that's all... What about rankings?"

"We do have rankings," Akeno replied; she seemed eager to hop back into the conversation. "Low-Class Devils, Middle-Class Devils, High-Class Devils and Ultimate Class Devils."

"The President..." Kiba pointed at Rias. "Is a High-Class Devil; as such, she's entitled to a peerage of her own."

"Namely us." Koneko finished.

"Hm... So I take it High-Class Devils can make Reincarnated Devils and add them to their peerage?" I said, connecting the dots.

"Sounds interesting," I muttered, and for just a second, I spotted a strange flash of emotion on the redhead's face as I spoke. Sadly, it was gone just as fast, and I was not able to grasp the meaning behind it.

"Reincarnated Devils can also rise up the ranks and become High-Class Devils themselves, earning the right to have their own peerage," Rias added, and again, there was something behind her expression I couldn't quite read.

"Well..." After a short silence, I stood up from the couch, "I would love to talk some more, but sadly, Mom might just kill me if I show up late again."

"..." Rias paused, it looked like she wanted to tell me something else, but she didn't. "Very well then, but if you ever want to talk, feel free to come here. You are more than welcome to join us."

"I'll do that," I told her, matching her smile as I headed for the door. "Later, guys."

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

When Tokinada left, the atmosphere in the round changed ever so slightly; Rias fell back on her chair, sulking a little as she looked out into space.

"President?" Kiba asked. "Is everything alright?"

"I almost went and ruined it," Rias mumbled, massaging her temples. "I finally found a strong Sacred Gear user and almost scared him away."

"Scared him away?" Koneko asked. "How so?"

"Ufufu..." Akeno laughed sweetly, standing behind her best friend. "You almost asked him to become a Devil out of the blue, right?"

"I must have looked so desperate." Rias rubbed her head, her beautiful long red hair flowing over her shoulders. "Then again... I suppose, at this point, I am quite desperate."

"No... I might be overthinking it." Rias shook her head, forcing herself out of her pessimistic thoughts. "So... How about it? Did you guys like him?"

"He would make for a good addition," Kiba replied, his golden locks dancing across his forehead. "I can think of quite a few uses for his abilities."

"He seemed decent," Koneko replied in simple terms. "He smelled nice as well."

"..." Rias smiled at both her friends, then turned to Akeno, waiting for her opinion.

"Hmmh~ I think our dear classmate seems like a lot of fun," Akeno replied, placing a finger under her chin. "He's quite good-looking as well. It's a bit of a shame he left without having a taste of the tea I made though."

"I'll have some tea, then." Rias giggled, picking up one of the cups from the tray as she rested back on her chair. The beautiful redhead couldn't but smile, right when she had been in great need of someone powerful, a human possessing a Sacred Gear had shown himself right in front of her.

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Tokinada walked down the streets, it had been mere minutes since his meeting with Rias at the Occult Research Club, and he was now heading back to his house after a particularly eventful day at school.

His mind was still doing its best to digest all the information he had acquired in the last couple of days. Fallen Angels, Devils, Sacred Gears… There was so much stuff he had been ignorant about, it was a little frightening.

And so he walked in silent contemplation, walking through the footbridge leading to his house as he spared a moment to look up towards the darkened skies indigo and purple in colour, white clouds floating by overhead.

He felt the cool wind blowing on his face, his mind filled with thoughts of a certain redhead as he reached the middle of the footbridge, it was then that he noticed something, two things, in fact.

The first one, he was not alone on the bridge, there was a brown-haired teenager sulking in depression as he rested his elbows on the edge of the footbridge. The second thing he noticed was one he found difficult to ignore.

A familiar feeling, a particular aura he had felt once before, not quite the same, but similar enough that he could track it back to one group in specific.

'A Fallen Angel.' Tokinada stopped, she was still some couple hundred meters from the footbridge, but she was approaching the area. 'Is she coming after revenge for her comrade? If so, I'll need to move towards a more private area, I can't fight her with this dude around.'

Just when he was about to leave the area so he could lead the Fallen Angel somewhere else, Tokinada felt another presence, one so close to him, it was impossible for him to ignore.

He shifted his gaze towards the brown-haired teenager, and for a second, a foreign presence assaulting his senses, the likes of which he had never felt before, an oppressing, majestic presence.

And just as soon as he felt it, it was gone.

'Was that him?' He wondered, staring at the boy. 'He feels normal to me, though… And there's no trace of that strong presence left… What the hell was that?'

''Hm…?'' The brown-haired teenager realized at long last that there was someone standing behind him. Startled, he took a step back. ''Ah, sorry… You startled me there, I didn't even hear you.''

''That uniform,'' Tokinada stated blankly, his gaze fixated on the uniform the brown-haired teen was wearing, it matched his own. It seemed like he had encountered a fellow student. ''You go to Kuoh Academy as well?''

''You don't know me?'' Issei blinked, not to bluff, but he was a bit infamous around school, his perverted deeds around the school had earned him quite a reputation around the place.

''Should I?'' Tokinada asked.

''I'm Issei Hyoudou.'' Issei stated, walking away from the edge of the bridge as he offered a hand to his fellow student. ''I have a certain… reputation around school, so I often get recognized a lot.''

''Hm…? You are like a school celebrity, then?'' Tokinada asked, accepting his handshake. ''I'm Tokinada Hayashi, a third-year student. Tokinada is fine though.''

''Tokinada-senpai, is it?'' Issei asked, his mood still a little sour from the sheer beating he had received a few hours ago courtesy of a group of particularly violent girls at school.

''Oh, it's here,'' Tokinada whispered almost out of nowhere, turning around to find a cute-looking girl wearing a red school uniform as she stared at them. ''… I'm sorry, but I'll need to cut our conversation short.''

'Hm…' Tokinada paused, there was no doubt about it, that girl was a Fallen Angel, like the last one he had killed. Still, she didn't seem to be looking at him, but at Issei.

Deciding it was best not to hang around a Fallen Angel, he walked past the both of them and left the area, Fallen Angel or not, as long as the girl didn't bother him, he wasn't planning to bother her either.

End of chapter three.