Trust

When I wake, it's to find myself back home, sleeping on my bed with Akeno by my side. She's smiling slightly, humming softly as she hugs my arm.

I can see the moonlight streaming through the window blinds, and I can hear the gentle drumming of heavy rain. The room's pretty cold, though I don't really mind.

Carefully, I extract myself from the bed. Akeno moves to cling to me, but I'm faster. Her expression dips slightly, as if instinctively knowing her pillow had disappeared. I smile wryly, before I lean down to gently pat her head. Her smile returns.

Quickly, I use my eyes to see what's happened. Information begins pouring in immediately.

It's only been a couple hours since I fell unconscious. Shikaku had brought me back home, while the other Ungaikyos had gone to work, moving the unconscious victims to a series of safehouses Nurarihyon had prepared for them some time ago. Understandably, none of them are awake just yet.

While I was asleep, my body had changed slightly as well. I thought I'd controlled my Primal Energy well enough, but apparently not. A lot of the energies I dragged into my body had spilled out, seeping into my muscles and my organs, strengthening them further. They didn't change as drastically as my bones did, but they've still changed.

Interestingly, excluding my bones, it's my nails that changed the most. They still look the same, but peering deeper, I can see that the keratin that makes up my nails have been drenched in Primal Energy and Ki. They're probably stronger than steel by this point.

Which gives me a few ideas, but I'll save those for later.

For now, I have work to do.

The rest of the night is spent sitting by my desk, making one Ofuda after another. Some are to destroy the monuments and shrines of the five clans, some are to help save those who are innocent, and some are safety measures I'll be using to win against the indomitable forces I'll soon face.

I'm not even halfway done when I feel someone gently tap my shoulder. I turn around to see Akeno standing beside me, smiling wryly as she points at the covered window. I blink once I see the sunlight that's peering through the covered windows. "Oh."

"Oh." Akeno repeats, smiling wryly. "Is that all you have to say?" I shrug. She sighs. "Honestly, you…" She whispers, before she shakes her head. "Do you even rest? When's the last time you slept?"

"Hours ago." I say with a grin.

She grins back. The expression is a little more malicious than mine. "Fainting doesn't count." She says, and I can faintly smell the scent of ozone in the air. "Seriously, do you want to die?"

I open my mouth to retort, but she quickly slaps her finger onto my lips. "Don't. I know what you're going to say, and it's too early in the morning for your sass." I smile instead. She sighs tiredly. "You could ask me for help, you know?

"You're busy with exams."

"And you're busy trying not to die." She says back. "I don't think my exams matter all that much compared to that."

"It's fine." I say, pointing my thumb at the stack of Ofudas on the desk. "I'm about halfway done. I should finish by tomorrow. And besides," I reach up and poke her nose. "Getting good marks on your exams is important. You can't just fail your exams."

"Hmph." She pouts. "Smartass."

I smile. This is nice, I think to myself. It's nice that she's finally coming to her own, that she isn't defaulting to the graceful persona she's cultivated from when she was young. She still defaults to it when she's outside, but when it's only us, her words are less rigid, and her smile comes easier. It's beautiful to see.

"How's everything going?" She asks instead.

My smile grows. "Well. Hanezu's working hard kidnapping people from the five clans. They haven't noticed anything yet, though it's not like they're actively focusing on those they deem 'useless' to the clans."

"But?"

"But," I sigh. "I don't know if it'll be enough. I can leave the high-ranking members to Hanezu and his company, but the heads?" I frown. "I'll probably be busy dealing with the divine beasts and their gods, so I can't help with-"

Before I can finish, Akeno bonks me on the head. The enhanced strike rings in my skull for a few seconds. "I can help."

I raise an eyebrow. "But you'll be-"

"-helping save the innocents?" She finishes. I nod, and she hums as she asks him to scoot over slightly. He does, and she sits next to him, crowding on this single chair that's creaking beneath their combined weight. "Issei, we can leave that to Shikaku-san and his friends. I can help take the clan heads down."

"But you'll be recognized by-" I start.

"Yasaka made an artifact to change my looks." She says immediately. "And my name isn't as well known as yours."

Which is true. We're both disciples of Nurarihyon and Yasaka, but our positions are different. I'm the 'heir' as I've been called. My name is widely known to Youkai society and those that have some connection to it. It's why Serafall knows who I am.

Akeno is my inverse, in that regard. She's the 'shadow disciple', her name kept hidden and her appearance kept secret even to the Youkai. In the world's eyes, I'm the only disciple of the two Youkai leaders.

"That's…true." I concede. "Fine, if that's what you want."

She smiles smugly, before it dips to a more concerned smile. "You need to trust us more. To trust me more." She places her hand on mine. "I'm here with you, just as you promised to be with me."

"I'm sorry." I say. "It's a habit."

It's an…unfortunate byproduct of using my eyes. Knowing so much about someone-, about everyone is draining. My mind fills me with every possible way people can fail, every avenue that can lead to death or something even worse. And my brain notices tragedy far easier than hopeful endings.

It's still an ongoing issue, but I'm slowly getting around to it.

"How's your exams going, by the way?" I ask. "Anything giving you too much trouble?"

"Chemistry." She says immediately, before she shakes her head. "But other than that, I'm doing good. I don't think I should have any trouble on the rest." She looks at me. "You?"

I shrug. "Same. Nothing too difficult came up." I didn't even cheat using my eyes all that much. "I should be confident, but…" I grimace. "I don't know. It feels too…easy? I guess?"

"Wow. How unfortunate."

I raise an eyebrow. "Oh? So it's morning enough for sass now?"

She smiles back. "For me? Always."

I sigh.

The morning continues normally after that. It's still raining outside, and hardly anyone's awake at this time. But Akeno and I still need to go to our exams, and so we head down together. We pull out the cereal we've both come to enjoy, and we eat. It's a light breakfast, accompanied by a small glass of milk.

It's a fairly quiet breakfast, occasionally filled with Akeno's whispered ramblings. She tends to do that unconsciously when she's trying to force herself to remember something. She finds it embarrassing. My family finds it cute. I do as well.

I turn to the windows. The rain's still pouring outside, and it'll continue raining until night falls.

"It hasn't rained in a while." Akeno says suddenly. I blink, and then realize that she's not wrong. It's been sunny all around for the past few weeks. "It feels a little ominous." She admits.

I frown. There's nothing to see. My eyes tell me that everything's perfectly normal, that this was just rain that'd been rolling in the clouds for weeks. No magical intrusions, no artificial causes. It's just rain.

And yet,

"It does." I say.

The breakfast ends in silence. We head back up to prepare for upcoming exams. Our uniforms, our backpacks, our stationary, and an umbrella for each of us. I debate whether or not I should bring some money, but ultimately decide to come home for lunch.

The rain continues pouring.

Soon, we're about ready to leave. I unlock the door, but before I can do anything else, Akeno hugs me. I blink in confusion, but Akeno only ruffles her head into my back.

"Be safe." She eventually says, pulling away from me. My back feels warm.

I turn to face her, and I smile. "You too."

And saying that, we lock the door behind us as we go our own ways for the day.