35

Why am I holding a borderline hysterical girl by the shoulders and shaking her to try and calm her down? Apparently, because I am bad at this, but I'm also the only one here, sorta. Okay, I'm exaggerating. I am holding her by the shoulders, but I'm not actually shaking her. She's shaking herself, and I'm trying to give her a solid point of reference.

"Hey, Yuuki. I need you to look at me," I say trying, to pull her out of her head. "This wasn't your choice. You didn't choose to be blackmailed. Regardless of what happened after that, you are not at fault. I only have one question for you."

She blinks a few times and starts to calm down a bit, focusing on my eyes. The indignation has returned, and the self-loathing has receded. It's a good start. I hand her a bottle of water from my Pocket Dimension. "Do you want me to kill him for you?" I ask. I'm not joking. Mother fucker is gonna die one way or the other, and I don't mind being the executioner. Ask Freed.

Her breathing is still labored, but she seems calmer. Stable enough to ponder my question seriously. She stares into my eyes, and as her gaze steadies and cools, her indignation crystalizes into seething teeth-grinding hatred. She takes one more deep breath, and as she releases it, she nods her head once. If Ornis has taken over Shido's body, this could get complicated, but his glowy ass is on my Better Dead list anyway, so I'll make it work.

"Come on. Let's talk with my fiance. She can help us clean this up," I say and guide her to the door downstairs. As she walks through, I stop. "Go on ahead. I'll meet you downstairs."

She nods and walks down the stairs. Once she makes the turn at the next landing, I close the door for a moment. "Sorry, the show got called off," I say to the air. "Perhaps I could arrange a more private performance for you in the future."

My words are greeted with silence, but the voyeur has definitely heard me. "Alright. Well, I guess I'll see you in class," I say and open the door, wait for a second, and then close it again. A few seconds later, the messy-haired head of Aika pokes around a corner. I wink and wave at her with a big smile on my face.

Panic. Pure and simple. She ducks back around the corner like a kid hiding under the covers from the monsters. "Oh, stop," I call out. "You're already caught. Embrace your shamelessness and get out here. You're the girl that just told an entire class the size of a boy's 'not so' schlong. I think you can get over the embarrassment of being caught engaging in the storied perverted art of voyeurism."

Aika walks out from behind the wall she was hiding behind. Her head is a little down, and her cheeks are pink, and she's playing with the fringe of her uniform's skirt. It's kind of adorable that this brazen pervert could present a shy side in this situation.

Sage had noticed her hiding there as soon as we started up the stairs, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping I could parlay her presence into a threeway, but stupid Shido bullshit got in the way. Never mind the clichéd hentai antagonist schtick he was pulling; I should kill his ass just for ruining this opportunity.

I fold my arms across my chest and, with a faux-stern voice, say, "Well, young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?"

She rolls her eyes, and I laugh. "What? Not convincing enough?" I ask. "I could put you over my knee and spank you. Would that work?"

Her cheeks burn red, and a twinkle sparks in her eyes. That's not embarrassment; that's arousal. and that would be great if I didn't have a traumatized girl waiting for me to come and murder someone for her right now. "Easy there, Pervert Princess. We can play later, but right now, Yuuki is waiting for us. I think it's time the Student Council fixed this problem, don't you?"

She pales a little remembering Yuuki and my conversation. She's a perv, not an idiot after all. "I can't believe a teacher in this school is doing those things, and no one noticed," she says.

"Yeah, I'm a little curious about that, too. He's either got more political pull than I realized, or he is incredibly good at hiding his trail. How much did you overhear?" I ask.

"Well, I wasn't sure what happened at first. One minute Yuuki is practically tearing her clothes off, and the next minute she's passed out on the ground, and you're giving her a lap pillow," she says, wringing her hands. "Then, a minute later, she groans, and you start talking about Shido-sensei and blackmail. Then Yuuki was talking about seeing energy and what you did in class, and you were talking about magical parasites and mind control..."

She trails off for a second and gets a faraway look. "Is it real?" she asks.

"What's that?"

"I... felt it in class, too. That touch across my body. I thought I was crazy at first, but then I noticed some other girls around me were feeling it too. That was you, right?" she asks. I just nod.

"So, then magic... is real?" I nod once more. "Can anyone learn it?"

"Depends on your talent."

"Oh," she says, looking down.

I frown. Where's her confidence? She's acting all meek, and that does not fit the image I have of the spunky pervert. "What are you 'oh'-ing about? You have plenty of talent."

Her head jerks up. "I-I do?"

"Absolutely, you just need a teacher... and possibly something more, but we can discuss that later. We've taken enough time up here. Come on."

She shuffles her feet, still nervous. Thinking about how she acted when we were in class, how quiet she's been when I'm around, the fact that she was one of the girls affected in class, and this reaction now, I pause at a dawning realization. 'Wait a second.'

I turn back to her. "Do you have a crush on me or something?" I ask. Her face pales even beyond what it did earlier, and she splutters out a noncommittal sound that, as good as, confirms my theory.

A voice in the back of my head starts humming a familiar tune about being 'the very best,' and I slap it down. Then I look at the still stammering Aika and sigh internally. 'Like no one ever was.'

Stepping forward, I grab Aika before she can react. Lifting her so that our faces are on the same level, I press her back against the wall. This is becoming a habit. Her mouth opens in shock, and I take advantage of it by pressing my mouth over hers and driving my tongue deep into her mouth.

I don't know if she is actually timid around guys she really likes or if this is something only related to me, but I want to nip it in the bud. Her aggressive personality is one of her great traits, and I want it to flourish. She and Maria would hit it off great, I think.

After the shock wears off, Aika starts to move her body and tongue against mine. It's clumsy, like someone with a lot of knowledge but no real experience. I run my hands and aura all over her body. My hands squeeze her breasts and ass, my aura licks across her clit and nipples, and I run a line of energy over her two south-most openings.

She moans into my mouth, and her body suddenly goes rigid and starts vibrating from the muscle contractions of her orgasm. It was quick, it was dirty, but it was effective. I let her slide down as the aftershock subsides. She pants as saliva is dripping down her chin.

I wipe it off with my thumb and lift her chin to look her in the eyes. "Are we good?"

She still looks a little glazed over but mumbles out, "Uh-huh."

"Just so you know. If we continue this, I will likely bind you with magic so you can never betray me and fuck you so stupid you might literally forget your own name. Your every orifice will ooze with our cum, and you will never be with another man... ever," I say, dead serious.

"Sounds nice," she says with a dopey smile. Okay, maybe she's a little more glazed over than I realized but fuck it. I'll deal with it later.

"Good. We can discuss our actual relationship later. Are you ready to go? There are people I want you to meet and information to discuss before you make any rash decisions."

I help her to her feet and walk us through the door back downstairs. She stays quiet the whole way, but that seems to be from a different type of shock. I'd laugh, but I've got my game face on. It's time to deal with Shido.

.

.

.

"What do you mean, he's on sabbatical?" I ask Sona with a great deal of irritation. Leaning with my fist pressed against the table, I can feel my left eye twitch, and my teeth grind together.

"Just as I said. Yesterday, a little before the final period, teacher Mamoru Shido left word with the Headmaster that he would be on sabbatical for the next several months," Sona says. That's right around the time the parasite in Mira got fried from the magical backlash.

I rub the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. "Are you aware of his actions blackmailing students for sexual favors?"

Sona's fist tightens, but after a few seconds, she sighs. "We became aware of rumors recently and had been attempting to gather evidence. Unfortunately, all the rumors have led back to people who deny them and are unwilling to say anything against the man. They're all his devoted followers. If even one of them had been willing to come forward, we could have suspended him and launched a full investigation."

"An investigation?" I say in exasperation. I know Sona plays by the book, but Shido needs to be beaten to death with the book. Given a papercut with every page of the book and dipped in lemon juice and dragged through a salt mine. "Are you telling me we couldn't just have someone rip the truth right out of his mind?"

Sona frowns and glances at the two human girls standing near me. "What are you suggesting?" she asks, obviously wondering how much these two know and why I'm being so free with pseudo-secret information.

"I'm suggesting that-" I start, but I'm interrupted by a knock on the door. The door opens, and a couple of sexy devils walk in. Normally, this would put a smile on my face and some stiff in my dick, but I'm seriously annoyed right now, so it's only the stiff.

"Ara, I hope we didn't interrupt anything?" Akeno asks. Her patented false smile still manages to brighten the room. I hope I can help make that false smile a true one soon. I have an idea, but I may be entirely off base about it. I must proceed with caution.

It's always nice to see Akeno and Rias, but I'm still pissed and frustrated. What made this pissant run? Was it related to the incident with Mira? Did breaking the control on her make him worry that she'd be able to identify him? Wait, she didn't get assaulted by him, too, did she? Yuuki already showed that the control isn't absolute, or she wouldn't have been able to threaten him.

"We were discussing the whereabouts of a certain sexual predator teacher," I say. "And his potential future slow disembowelment."

"We can't just-" Sona starts.

"He's using magic to control the victims," I interrupt, and the room goes silent. "That's why none of them would speak out against him."

Sona frowns. "Can you elaborate?"

"He infects them with a parasite which destabilizes their emotions and opens them to suggestion. With enough time, he turns them into devoted little followers," I say. Yeah, mostly conjecture, but Sage agrees. Okay, so Sage was primary on this hypothesis, but I agreed that it was likely. "He probably uses the sex to further wear at their emotions and further break down their psyche."

My fiances look strangely horrified. You'd think mind control and manipulation would be obvious to devils of all people.

"The alleged victims have all been predisposed to Shido when interviewed," Sona says, exchanging a firm look with Rias. To which Rias nods.

"It would explain why none of them would speak out against him," Rias says with an intensity that speaks to the gravity of the situation. Obviously, they know something. Now, I feel like I'm on the outside of the conversation.

'Sage, any idea what they're dancing around?'

[Unknown. The knowledge being discussed may be exclusive to the Underworld.]

I frown. 'Is the information about the Underworld blocked for you?'

[As the user has not been to the Underworld, the information exclusive to that realm has not been assimilated.]

'Ah. I see. Fog of War.'

[... An apropos analogy.]

'Thanks.'

"Alright," I say. "Obviously, you have some idea of what the ass has been doing. Why don't you fill in the rest of the class?"

The two look at me and then at the two human girls next to me. I roll my eyes: devils and their secrets. You'd think they were the nightmares of the majority of the world come to life. "Where are my manners," I say flatly. "Rias, this is Yuuki. The two of you should have a discussion on familial obligation and arranged marriages to loathsome individuals against your will. I'm sure the two of you will find a lot of common ground on the topic."

"Also, Yuuki has unique qualities that I think would be a nice fit for your peerage," I stage-whisper to Rias, complete with my hand blocking my mouth from view.

"Oh, really?" Rias says. The way she looks at Yuuki changes from passive curiosity to active interest. Like the difference between noticing an attractive woman on the street and analyzing the sway of her ass for two blocks until she's out of sight. It's 'subtle,' just a shifting of the eyes and energy, but it's enough to set Yuuki on edge.

I roll my eyes. "Stop scaring the girl. She's been traumatized enough by Shido."

That snaps her back. "My apologies," Rias says, the pink of embarrassment adorning her cheeks.

"This isn't a done deal, Rias. That's why I suggested the dialogue. If she's not interested, she's not interested, but if you can convince her, she'll be a good addition to your team," I say.

Rias nods, but it is Sona that speaks up. "And what about Miss Kiryuu?"

I shake my head. "No, I think a different path would be more beneficial for her. Maybe Lilith Asami or one of her ilk can help us get her started," I say. The two nod knowingly. I look at Aika and smile. "I'll discuss what we're talking about with you later. I promise it's nothing bad; it just requires some time we don't have right this second."

To Yuuki, I say, "I think Rias can help you find what you're looking for, but if you decide against it, I'll still help you if you want me to."

The two girls are still a little out of their depth, but holding it together quite well, nod several times rapidly.

Turning back to the devils, I spread my hands. "So, now that we're all friends how about a brief explanation of what fuckery the douche is pulling?"

Rias and Sona look at each other briefly before Sona begins. "From the description of the parasite and the apparent effects it has on the victims, it sounds to us like Bloodworms."

I raise an eyebrow. 'Sounds weirdly contrived by some lazy god.'

Sona continues. "Bloodworms were early, extremely unethical experiments into solving our dwindling population. The concept was that the Bloodworms would be grown within a vat of devil blood. Then when they matured, the worms would be fed or implanted into humans or other certain races, and, when they fully assimilated, the humans or the other races would be converted into devils, much like the Evil Pieces do, right now."

The only problem was that the Bloodworms never really worked," Rias interjects. "What they did do, was destabilize the emotional state of the consumer and occasionally cause mutations once the Bloodworm fully fused within the host."

"As a side effect, the consumer became susceptible to suggestion," Sona continues. "Especially, the suggestion of the person or devil who supplied the blood the worms were grown in."

I frown. "Wouldn't a person notice swallowing a worm, though?"

Sona shakes her head. "These things are magical parasites that possess both water and darkness affinities and are able to merge with their hosts. They typically diffuse into the blood they are grown in and either injected into their host or fed to them in a liquid form."

I look at Yuuki. "See? Never take tea from douchebags."

She rolls her eyes at me, and I smile back. Looking to the devils. I ask, "So, what happened with them? And how did they end up in a high school under the noses of scions of two of the most powerful families in the Underworld?"

"I'm not sure. Shido undoubtedly has powerful political connections, but my research hasn't revealed any direct connection to anyone in the Underworld," Sona says, shaking her head.

I sigh. "Who developed the Bloodworms?"

"The Naberius family," Rias says. I twitch. I'm hearing that name way too much lately.

I open my mouth to say as much, but the song Dragon Slayer starts playing, and the phone in my pocket vibrates. I pull it out and start moving to the side. "Sorry. It's my dad; I have to take this.

I answer the phone, "Yo, dad. What's up?"

A few minutes later, and my frown turns upside down.