Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness
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Kuoh Gremory Apartment Complex-
"Hmmm…"
The light of dawn seeped inside a vast room adorned with many luxuries. The middle of the area was occupied with an enormous Alaskan King-sized bed where a beautiful raven-haired girl slept in her birthday suit, showcasing every inch of her voluptuous body with nothing to hide, a scene which would have appeared in the dreams of many hot-blooded boys. The sound of an alarm blaring in the background roused her consciousness from its deep slumber. Akeno rubbed her bleary violet eyes and slowly opened them to be met with a large chandelier she barely ever used to light up the place.
"Morning already?" she groaned, feeling the drowsiness increase with each passing second. Devils were weak to sunlight, not exactly to the level of getting burned alive as that part had been exaggerated — even Vampires did not have that weakness. Rather, sunlight merely brought on the sensation of everything feeling a slight bit heavier and her energy recovery slowed down.
She yawned, stretching her body followed by a sensual moan of satisfaction at feeling her joints loosen up.
"...It's cold." She absentmindedly voiced the stray thought while taking a glance around her room. It — and the rest of the apartment for that matter — was far too big for just one person for her liking, with the whole apartment having sparse furniture and even fewer decorations on the walls. There was also a living room the size of the Occult Research Club, and a bathroom with both a modern bathtub and even a shower. A storage room, a balcony that let her overlook the entirety of Kuoh, two more bedrooms just as big, and a kitchen with nearly every kind of appliance she could wish for. All in all, it was no exaggeration to say she had a luxury villa all for herself…
Yet she did not hold any special attachment to this place. To her mind, it was nothing more than a spare place Rias gave her to live in when she needed to as it was closer to the school. Most of the time she lived at the shrine to keep it clean and live through the memories of a past that was long since lost. But for all the joy that place contained for her, there were times when living there would make the nightmares of that fateful day resurface — the fire along with the loss of her mother's life — all of which made sleeping there impossible for at least a few days.
As she thought of that and the reasons behind it, the face of a certain white-haired person surfaced inside her imagination. Akeno was reminded of how he had almost certainly discovered her secret, a piece of herself she wished she could kill once and for all, and filing that, keeping it hidden under the shadows from the entire world. By now, Akeno quite liked the second-newest addition to her king's group — the mysterious Servant as she liked to call him secretly. With an unknown origin that he could not remember due to them botching up the summoning process and a personality that made it seem he was always in a bad mood… the guy was certainly an interesting individual.
'But after Rias talked about the dream she had, it's become rather clear that he also has some secrets… We agreed to confront him about this soon.'
To top it off, him being an otherworlder from a reality separate from theirs added another layer of shock and wonder to the case.
'Admittedly, I didn't trust him at first and was even apprehensive of his existence being so intertwined with Rias with the whole Master/Servant deal. I mean, he admitted that some Servants were capable of killing their summoners.' She wanted to keep an eye on him and uncover any hidden motives or some secret plot to hurt Rias. They already had one major issue to worry about with the upcoming Phenex engagement, and having another source of trouble weigh them down was unacceptable.
Then for some reason, this mission of hers to observe him derailed almost as soon as it began when he called her, "little girl." Saying that right to her face with a smirk that made Akeno actually want to punch him, someone that wasn't her father.
Her, a little girl?
Akeno stopped in front of a large mirror showcasing her entire body, having curves that made her second to none in the entire female population of Kuoh with the only person surpassing her figure being Rias' mother and maybe Grayfia. An ample bosom that outshined even Rias' glistening from the sweat she accumulated while sleeping, broad hips that gave her an ass to die for, and a figure she genuinely was proud to show off every single day — and she was called a little girl!?
That was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard!
Everything about herself was anything but little!
Then she had witnessed as right before her eyes, the kitchen which had always belonged to her alone, got stolen in less than a day by this newcomer of a man who somehow had superior cooking skills!
"Rias summoned an Archer, not a chef. So why is he so good at being one?" She pouted, thinking about how he already had everyone under his thumb with his exquisite cooking skills — including her. Then their little dispute turned into a cookoff where she constantly tried to prove herself to the spirit of a dead person, only to be proven inferior every time without fail.
Regardless, she had come to enjoy such moments despite herself, as both the contests and the challenge she faced were rather thrilling. Yet now even that was being threatened by the events of the past and her own nature. "He must hate Fallen Angels after seeing what they were capable of…" After seeing what Raynare did to Hyoudou Issei, how that woman tried to manipulate the boy yet again by using the Yuuma persona to twist him against his comrades. Even she was a step away from ending her right then and there in a manner both quick and agonizing, and would have if Archer hadn't stopped her.
"Hah, alright, enough of those thoughts. He promised to talk things out." She did not know whether to look forward to such a moment or not. Shaking her head, she went to the bathroom to freshen up and wear some casual clothes. Akeno left the bedroom and into the living room where a certain blonde was happily watching a kids' show on the TV with wonder.
She found the scene to be very adorable.
"Asia-chan, good morning~"
"A-Ah, g-good morning, Himejima-san!" greeted the nun she picked up from the airport. Asia was still wearing the same clothing as before, but without the cross around her neck. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to w-wake you up with the noise!"
"Fufufu~ don't worry about that, I just tend to wake up early in the morning. Come, let's have breakfast and we can discuss our plans for today."
"Y-Yes!"
As she followed her, Akeno could not help but chuckle when Asia accidentally tripped on the carpet and fell face-first. She was quite the clutz, the few hours Akeno had of getting to know her had proven that first tumble at the airport when the Queen picked her up hadn't been a one-off.
"I will make you some tea," given there was a guest, she decided to use her favorite herbs for breakfast. "Here you go," she handed over the tea cup which Asia accepted.
"Thank you!"
This wasn't how it was supposed to go, given Asia's connection to the Church and murky background — she was supposed to have a separate apartment of her own. Regardless of who she was, the girl remained a Sacred Gear user which made the task of welcoming her to Kuoh very important. Not to mention how Akeno was a Devil on top of that, which gave the nun all the reasons to even hate her instantly. Though Akeno soon discovered that there wasn't a malicious bone inside Asia's body. So they talked all night and it was late enough for her to decide to let the nun sleep over for a bit. Of course, she made sure to take all the necessary precautions, including but not limited to a dozen bounded fields inside her room to act as both a protective field and alarm just in case someone tried to enter without permission.
"Hm?" Akeno noticed Asia watching her for a long time as she was preparing some breakfast along with the tea she promised. "Am I so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off me? What a sinful nun~" she said with a teasing smile, trying to stop herself from laughing when her guest's face turned crimson red as she was about to pass out from embarrassment.
"N-N-No! It's not that! I'm just a b-bit confused…"
"Confused?"
Asia averted any eye contact and poked her fingers together. "P-Please do not get angry, but I wasn't expecting a Devil to be so… welcoming?" Seeing Akeno get further confused, the nun panicked and continued to elaborate. "I-I mean, you were very nice to me, provided me with food and a room to stay for the night. I… I never thought I would experience such a thing from a Devil."
"I understand your confusion. Growing up in your secluded, heavily religious environment, I realize that the people around you would paint us Devils as the most vile and evil creatures imaginable. But in the end, you'll find we are no different than you or any other humans."
"I see, erm… What happens to me now?"
Truth be told, Asia felt incredibly lost at the moment. When she arrived in Kuoh she'd expected to be picked up by the representatives of the local church, an individual she'd been told was called Freed. But instead what showed up was a black limousine with a polite and beautiful young lady welcoming her to step inside. "I am a Devil." That's what she told her immediately, making her feel tense and fearful.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you, quite the opposite in fact. Did you know you were about to be used as a sacrificial piece by the Fallen Angels running the abandoned church?"
"Eh?" That came out of nowhere and stuped the nun who even forgot the fear she felt just then. Though along the journey to the apartment, the lady, who she learned was named Himejima Akeno, told her the full story. With the Fallen Angels having tried to kill an innocent boy just because he was holding a gift of God similar to herself, how they tried it again only to be taken care of in an instant by the Devils who were keeping the population safe. Then the revelation of a device capable of extracting her Twilight Healing so one of the Fallen could take it for herself, and killing the original host in the process.
The entire time, she stayed quiet, not knowing how to react to this news.
"You look sad," Akeno noted, able to read Asia as an open book with how expressive she was. "Are you not happy to be saved from such a fate?"
Happy?
Did she deserve to experience such a thing in the first place? Having not spoken with Akeno about any details about her past, she continued to take sips from her cup of tea. "I'm not sure. I'm happy that no more innocent people will be harmed. But I will not be punished for my sins and be able to earn forgiveness from The Lord."
Akeno flinched, experiencing a split-second headache from hearing His name.
"Ah, f-forgive me! I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean to. Also, punished?" The raven-haired girl guessed that there was some history behind Asia. Given the only groups who joined up with Fallen Angels like Raynare and her little group were rogue priests and criminals — then it meant that she was an excommunicated nun. Akeno could say with confidence that the girl did not look like a psychopath hellbent on hurting others just for pleasure. "I don't see how that might help you get any sort of forgiveness from Him. Trust me, being punished and going through trials and tribulations does nothing to help anyone earn His forgiveness. I won't ask you about what you've done if you feel uncomfortable with sharing your past, but I know how it feels to be despised by a large group and thrown away by people you previously thought you could trust. So I can sympathize with you to some extent."
Out of instinct, her hand came to rest on the blonde's head. Gently parting her hair with a gentle smile that made any worry inside Asia's heart slowly melt away.
"Don't dwell on the past too much. You're safe now, everything will be alright."
In all her life, never would have Asia imagined that the first one to comfort her ever since she got excommunicated would not be the people she grew up with, the sisters and fathers who she considered as family — but rather a Devil of all people.
Watching the nun on the verge of tears made an unpleasant feeling rise in Akeno's heart. At this moment, the person who sat in front of her was no different from a loving puppy kicked out of her home for most likely a minor fault that was out of her control. She wanted forgiveness from Him, but that would most likely never happen, and repenting wouldn't yield any results. Rias would obviously try to recruit her, but Akeno did not if Asia would agree given how devoted she clearly was to her faith even after everything that had happened to her.
"—!" Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, a plan that could relieve a large part of Asia's worries. "Asia, do you believe in forgiveness from entities like Saints or even individuals close to the ruler of Heaven?"
"Saints? I guess so… if they are affiliated with the Lor— I mean, yes! I pray to them and Our Father in Heaven every day with all my heart!"
"Great!" Akeno clapped her hand, causing her body to shine with a bright light and before the awed Asia, her regular clothes changed to that of a shrine maiden.
"So pretty!"
"Fufufu~ thank you!" It was always a nice experience to have others compliment her current attire. It was the same Shinto priestess outfit that once belonged to her mother. "You see, Asia, on top of being a Devil, I'm also a Shinto priestess with connections to higher entities similar to the likes of Saints and even Angels. And our group just happens to be affiliated with such a jer— uhm 'Saint' I mean. A true hero who has saved the lives of countless people."
"Really!?" Asia got up from her seat with shock written all over her face. "I-I-I can get to meet such an individual?"
"Yup, and he likes to call himself a Heroic Spirit."
{Break}
-Kuoh Academy-
"Are you still mad at Archer, Issei?"
Back in the Occult Research Club, Rias was busy with the paperwork she missed from the raid on the church. Sona refused to take over her work again as she herself has been suspiciously absent for over an entire day now. Her peerage members were still taking care of the matters in the student council room though. According to them, Sona had spent most of her time at the library with Tsubaki, working on some project of theirs.
Koneko had some matters to attend to with one of her clients who needed the girl's help for an upcoming cosplay event, Yuuto had requested to be exempt from his duties today and Archer was in the middle of overlooking detention for a couple of students for the day and would return in a few minutes. That left Rias alone in her office with the newest addition to her peerage.
"Of course I am!" Issei shouted, the memories of the incident with Yuuma resurfacing in his mind only to fuel his rage. "He used Yuuma-chan and me for his goals in a sick way! Oh, and Kiba is just as guilty for participating in that ruse as well!"
How could anyone go so far as to pretend to kill an individual for the sole reason to evoke a reaction from someone else? To push him to such a level of emotional distress that day that the boy vomited soon after due to the stress after the fight. That along with the exhaustion that came from awakening his Sacred Gear, which turned out to be an awesome weapon just like some from the anime he watched! Nevertheless, all of it was buried under the deep resentment he carried over the ones who enabled him to reach this level.
He also wanted to be mad at Rias, as she was the one who approved it.
"...."
But his complaints died down his throat when the redhead sitting at her desk leaned against the table to reach for another document. That single move exposed a fair amount of cleavage from her loosened uniform, making his mind go blank as his obsession for breasts took hold. Rias noticed him staring and flashed him a small smile, which obliterated any bad feelings and left behind only a raging flame of desire!
'Uoooohhhh! The legendary cleavage shot!'
This was truly a gift from God— Ouch! Lucifer… a gift from Lucifer, that he was able to witness such a sight. The fabled Rias Gremory, the most popular of the Onee-samas in school and ranked number one beauty. He'd quickly gotten over his shock of her being a Devil, and grew to accept that all of the most popular students in the school were not human, with Akeno and the rest of the Occult Research Club along with the whole Student Council being like her — Devils — and the same now went for him as well. That bastard had mentioned how as a Devil, he could finally have his own harem! Filled with the busty girls straight out of his dreams. His eyes veered towards the redhead, contemplating whether or not he could…
"Issei," Rias called him out of the blue with a more serious tone that made the daydreaming pervert flinch.
"Y-Yes!" He said with a ramrod straight posture and slight tremor in his voice. He looked to find his King leaning back against her chair with her arms crossed and looking at the ceiling.
"I'm glad that you became a Devil and awakened your Sacred Gear, the latter of which is an extraordinary achievement in itself. But we cannot afford to slow down here, quite the opposite in fact. In the future we will face threats much bigger than the likes of Raynare and a few rogue exorcists, and you'll have to be ready by then to not only protect yourself but also the other members." Her pen tapped against the wooden table, its sound echoing across the room. Each tap synched with his heart, making him aware of the tense atmosphere that appeared so suddenly. "I know you may hold grudges toward some of us because of the method we used to bring out your Sacred Gear, but even two close encounters with death failed to bring it out, and so it was the best method available to speed up the process of you getting stronger. Training your demonic powers can only get you so far in a short amount of time, and training you to use your Sacred Gear will be its own challenge. If you are angry at us though, then I completely understand."
"It's… I'm not that angry." It was a lie, he was furious. But also knew that the one he'd wanted to protect at that time, Yuuma, did not truly exist. So it wasn't like he had been in the right either. The Fallen Angels had been planning to kill innocents, and he was willing to protect one of them. Still, Issei did not think he could stand to the side even now if something bad were to happen to Yuuma; some feelings just could not die so easily.
"There is no need to lie to me, Issei. As your King, it is my duty to listen to your feelings and to help you in any way I can."
He gulped, finding it hard to keep his gaze away from her breasts as they pressed against the desk's surface once again.
"And it is also my duty to make sure for there to be no discord between my peerage members. And more importantly, as Archer's Master, I can't have you hate him as it would certainly affect the group's dynamic. He may have only been with us for a little longer than you, but he's proven himself to be strong, wise, and experienced, and is quickly becoming a pillar of support for me and my peerage. I'm certain that if you can look past your misplaced resentment, he'll be the same for you." There was also the fact that Rias realized how such negative feelings could grow over time if not treated early on. Archer mentioned how as a King she needed to look after everyone regardless of how minor the issue might be. It was up to her to either address these kinds of matters herself, or see to it that her servants had the opportunity to do so amongst themselves on their own terms.
Another reason was how she did not want anyone in her peerage to hate her dear Servant; since a part of her knew Archer himself wouldn't care even if everyone hated him. She could not stomach his way of handling his own image, so if he was not going to do it then she might as well step up whether he liked it or not.
"It won't even matter if I don't get along with him." Issei laughed self-deprecatingly. "I saw how he fought against those Fallen Angel friends of Yuu—Raynare. Not like he'll ever need my help in the first place. You yourself mentioned how I have so little demonic energy that even an infant has more than me… I can't even fly properly yet when it's supposed to be something that can be learned in a matter of seconds according to Kiba."
At first, he had been excited to become powerful like those anime characters and create a harem of big-tittied girls. But reality slapped him in the dick hard with how powerless he really was even as a Devil, crushing those dreams before they ever came to fruition.
Rias saw his reaction and pondered on what to say next. If this had been even a month or two in the past, the idea of using her charms and body to motivate Issei would have been a viable option. Though now, probably after hanging around Archer for a while, the redhead started to think, 'What would Archer do?'
For someone who acted like he rarely cared about matters outside their Master/Servant relationship, Archer had proven himself to be quite attentive to every single one of her peerage members. He took care of Koneko and became her personal chef, and his presence had made the girl become more and more expressive.
And for the past few days, Rias saw a new side to Akeno she never knew existed. The girl had turned out to be far more competitive and possessive than she expected. To put it in a simpler way, Akeno acted like a girl her age should, which felt weird to say since she herself was around the same age. Given her Queen's past, it was understandable why she became mature emotionally so early on, with the horrible circumstances behind the loss of her parents forcing her to grow up earlier than most, even after Rias took her in. Now, seeing her banter and pout around her Servant was an experience in itself.
'Maybe I should talk with him through our connection and ask for advice? No, this is just a small issue which I can take care of by myself.' In her mind, Rias imagined various scenarios and dialogues of what the red bowman would say if he was in the room with them — though most of them ended with Archer telling Issei to stop moping around and intentionally provoking the boy when he inevitably started to act up… She couldn't do that.
So better to start with something simple and more encouraging.
"Issei, do you know what the Boosted Gear is?" She asked, fiddling with a small pen that was actually a Projection she asked Archer to create for her to use. For what purpose? Nothing in particular, she just wanted to interact with his abilities more and grow familiar with them.
'…Wait a minute, since this is a Projection, if he dismissed it then wouldn't all of my work disappear?' Dangerous thoughts started to fill her mind as she remembered the piles of documents she had just finished filling out using this particular pen.
And if the ink were to disappear with the pen…
Rias gulped, shaking her head to stop herself from getting distracted in the middle of a serious conversation! 'He'd better not dismiss it before these are processed.' Sona was going to kill her, literally, if the paperwork she turned in was all blank.
"Buchou?"
"It's nothing, just some stray thoughts." She carefully put the pen away, making sure to handle it with care as Archer had mentioned how even a crack could make a Projected object disappear if it was severe enough. "So, Issei, do you know anything about your Sacred Gear?" Rias repeated her question.
"You told me it could double my power…"
"That's both true and false." Her response caused the boy to look at her with confusion, so she continued to speak. "You see, doubling one's power is an ability of both Twice Critical and the Boosted Gear. But there is one key difference between the two. The latter is a weapon known to have the power to kill gods even when in the hands of humans, while the former merely gives a fighter a decent but overall minor advantage and nothing more. You see, there is no limit to the number of times the Boosted Gear's ability can be activated from what I understand, so you can double your power as many times as you like, so long as your body can support it. You have the power of an infant, that's true, but doubling it enough times will make you strong beyond your wildest dreams. Nothing is impossible, Issei, you just have to believe in yourself."
"Woah, that sounds way cooler than I thought!" Issei exclaimed with renewed vigor, though there was a question that plagued his mind. "But, uh, what kind of enemies are we gonna be fighting that I've gotta figure this whole thing out so quickly, Buchou? You seem to think it'll be happening real soon, too?" It seemed like she was in a hurry for some reason. He couldn't exactly prove it, but he had a feeling.
Rias' smile dampened for a second, "Oh… it's nothing." She'd been feeling rather agitated ever since the raid on the church, all stemming from one piece of news that Archer brought her shortly after.
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"A red macaw?"
Standing in front of the now destroyed abandoned church, Rias asked the question with a surprised face as her Servant revealed an unexpected piece of information to her. That a familiar had been watching their actions all this time. A spying familiar that neither she nor Koneko had managed to discern the presence of while engaged in the battle against the rogue priests and teaching Issei the rules of the Evil Pieces.
"Did it get teleported back once it realized that you'd seen it?" A seed of suspicion germinated in her mind, as she could only think of a single person she was remotely familiar with who would bother to spy on her and hers with a familiar as vibrant as a multi-colored macaw.
"No, because I killed it. It burst into flames upon its death."
"…"
"You what!?" At that moment, she was waiting for a large magic circle to appear from the ground, blazing with hellfire followed by a furious man emerging from it and foolishly going for her Servant's head. Thankfully it didn't happen and she sighed in relief.
"Judging from your reaction, I take it you have some idea as to who that familiar may have belonged to." He stated, Projecting a copy of a book his Master gave him about the general history of Devil society and flipping through some pages. "And if I may say so, you seem apprehensive of this person, and most likely dislike them greatly given how this is the first time I've seen you sporting an expression of such vehement disgust."
Rias was hesitant at first, but ended up nodding her head, "I do… and this could mean that something I've been worried about for a while might be more pressing than I thought it would be… Say, Archer…"
"Yes, Master?"
"Will you… stay by my side, no matter what challenges I'll face?" She asked timidly, behaving as if his answer was going to be no despite their contract. Though it showed Archer the extent of the problem Rias was alluding to.
"Such a foolish question. I'm astounded that my Master would even feel the need to ask, " he replied, before looking her dead in the eyes and smiling at her. "Of course I will, Master. I'll be right by your side even in the lowest pits of Hell itself, to the very end. Such is my duty as your Servant, so stop worrying and trust me."
Rias couldn't stop the growing blush as she heard his promise to her, it was rare to see him have a genuine smile on his face instead of his usual smirk.
"Should I be worried?" the Servant asked.
"It's… nothing for now, no. I still have time." Archer was her Servant, and he was strong. Far stronger than the entirety of her peerage combined. There was no need for her to keep this matter a secret from him. She trusted him with her life and his answer just now reinforced that sense of warmness inside her heart. Everyone in her peerage aside from Issei already knew about this matter, and having him of all people still be kept in the dark was simply illogical by this point.
Yet why did she feel scared telling him her secret? Where was this hesitation coming from?
Deep in her thoughts, she noticed Archer sighing and approaching her till he stood just a few feet from her. She met his gaze, trying to calm down her racing mind- "Kyah!"
Archer had flicked her forehead.
"Archer!? What was that for!?"
"I'm sorry, Master, but you left me no choice with how you were spacing out with that troubled, indecisive expression. By my understanding, that macaw is obviously associated with another Devil who is troubling you a lot, and is likely the cause of a large part of your current worries. I don't know if you are hesitant because you fear for me or for another benign reason, but please remember that I'm your Servant. I'd like to remind you again, that by my very nature, it is my duty to assist you in such situations, so you are in safe hands. You saw me going against Grayfia, a woman you yourself claimed to be a freighting entity, and come out alive. So trust that I can and will see you through this, Master, until all your goals and dreams are fulfilled and your fears and obstacles have been reduced to ash."
…He was right. There was nothing to worry about as long as she had him with her. Rias leaned forward and rested her head against his chest, steadily feeling the weight of her stress lessen. It was just for a bit, but it was a sensation she welcomed whole-heartedly.
He chuckled, dismissing his shroud, after which she promptly wrapped her arms around him. "Going for a hug right next to a burning church, how devilish of you."
"Yeah, well it's your fault for making me want to do this. And you should know by now how I can't help myself when it comes to the things I want," she joked, "…About the matter with the familiar you killed… Yes, I do believe I know who the owner is, and he's the biggest hurdle in my life right now. One I'm going to have to face soon."
And so, she told him everything about her engagement to Riser Phenex along with the desire to break free from these chains that she had been bound to for years. The feeling from before continued to grow to the point that Rias felt like she was floating. Sharing all of her burdens with her Servant turned out to be more relieving than she could have ever hoped for.
She trusted him.
He gave her hope, and that was all she needed at this moment.
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"It is not a major problem, Issei," she finally said, fondly remembering her Servant's words that still echoed within her mind. "You will understand in the future, but for now, we'll focus on your training and relationships with the other members of our group."
"I still don't think I can get along with that guy. He's a jerk, and is stealing the attention of every girl in class! At this rate, I'll have no one left to add to my harem! Even Murayama and Katase have become suspiciously more active in his class… they never act like that with other teachers!" Even Aika paid more attention and her perverted jokes almost always involved that bastard. "And I also think the feeling is mutual, it's clear he hates my guts."
"Fufufufu~ Now, why would Archer hate you?"
"Well… he always glares at me, makes my life miserable in class, and always talks to me so rudely, as if he was speaking to a pile of garbage."
Rias rolled her eyes, "He's like that with everyone, even in his sleep he frowns. As for the way he treats you during lessons, he just wants you to pay more attention in class — think of it as tough love. And the way he speaks, well, that's the same as the first one; he talks like that to everyone."
"So the guy is an asshole by nature."
"If that's how you want to look at it, then there is nothing I can do about that." It would seem that the animosity her new Pawn held toward her Servant wasn't something that could be resolved with a single conversation with her. Rias had seen these two start on the wrong foot and it only got worse from there. But she was certain that with time, Archer was going to find a way regardless of how much Issei claimed he hated him.
As Issei doubted Rias' words, he froze when his brain registered something she mentioned before. "Buchou… h-how do you know that Archer… f-frowns in his sleep?" He asked with a quivering voice, sweat streaming down his face as he hoped this to be just a small misunderstanding.
Rias tilted her head with an innocent smile, "Hm? Of course I would know that, since we tend to share a bed most nights. He's my precious Servant after all."
"…" His jaw dropped to the floor.
"Issei?"
Bam!
The brown-haired boy stood up so fast his chair was knocked backward, and ran straight out of the Occult Research Club, much to the confusion of his King.
"I'M GOING TO SMASH THAT JERK'S FACE!"
{Break}
"See you tomorrow, sensei!"
"Be careful out there, Katase, and you too, Murayama," Archer said, arranging his paperwork and packing up his belongings in front of the pair of students who had detention for the day. Though he was a bit surprised to see them both here given the girls were known for being exemplary students. Apparently, since these two regularly beat up the Perverted Trio as retaliation for peeping on the and the other girls of the kendo club, the school board had decided they had to punish them for physically assaulting other students no matter the justification, and thus they were given detention for a week.
While he could understand the reasons behind this punishment, it baffled him how only the girls were treated as such while Issei and his two equally perverted friends roamed around without suffering the consequences of their peeping. This was way beyond the point of dumb luck and was a blatant sign of favoritism toward certain kinds of misdeeds.
Maybe a talk with Rias would do some good, he could try to convince her to let Sona administer the punishment she believed to be deserving to these three without covering for them.
"Can I help you, Kiyome-san?" He said to the third student in detention. A second-year with hair of such a light-brown color it could almost be mistaken for blonde, who'd been staring at him intently for the better part of the entire day. Even when he was not facing her, he could feel the girl's intense gaze focused on him.
"Nothing~!" She said, skipping out of the class. "See you tomorrow, Toujou-sensei~!"
She was weird.
As the door closed and the girls were out of sight, the materials in front of him broke down into motes of light, leaving behind a stack of paper which he slid inside a folder and walked out of the classroom. Some of the staff and students from other classes all gave him their goodbyes and left the school's premises while he headed for the old school building in which the Occult Research Club gathered each day.
As soon as there was no one around him, Archer's clothes changed from his plain white buttoned shirt and dark pants to his red mantle and black armor. Just as he was about to turn into his spiritual form, he noticed Kiba Yuuto was waiting outside.
"Good evening, Archer. How was your day?"
He wondered what the Knight wanted with him, So far the boy had never made an attempt to speak with him one-on-one like this.
"Nothing special, though being a teacher is quite troublesome when those students keep asking me personal questions out of nowhere." From his age, to his origin, his favorite food, drink, and even personal phone number by using the dumbest of excuses to ask such questions. Then there was Sona, who used to be quite attentive, she now kept glaring at him from the back, her eyes showing that she was plotting his downfall with another game of chess.
Or rather, planning how she could force him to play seriously.
It was cute but pointless.
"You certainly are quite busy. Then again everyone is I guess." Yuuto sighed, clearly having something to say to him. "Archer, you're a master of the blade, aren't you?"
The Servant wondered where the question came from, but he answered honestly, "I wouldn't call myself a master by any means. There are Heroic Spirits and other entities out there who can make me look like a rookie with just a couple of moves. At most, you can see me as an average swordsman who is good enough to use a blade to defend himself."
"You certainly showed far better skill against Raynare than someone who's only average at best."
"That woman had no business calling herself a fighter to begin with. Even a child who just picked up a blade would look like a master fighting her."
"Then what about your fight with Grayfia?" Yuuto countered, having heard how the silver-haired maid described him as a dangerous sword user, and even gave a brief summary to Sirzechs which his King had learned about and told him. He learned how from Grayfia's recounting of the experience, the Servant's skills were no weaker than that of Okita Souji. Wielding blades capable of cutting through magic itself, canceling spells before they were even formed, and most shockingly… able to summon swords just like him from midair!
"That is a bit misleading. That woman was holding back considerably, and we still ended up with a draw. I'm sure if she went all out and actually viewed me as an enemy, then the end result of our battle could have been different." Fighting that woman recreated the same feeling as that of a weak Caster Servant at best. Nothing close to what Medea had been when it came down to the raw power and the diversity of spells they both used against him, but Grayfia was still dangerous and the possibility of her being able to use far more destructive spells still existed.
But then again, he was also trying not to kill her the entire time.
Both of them had been holding back a lot in that fight and were merely probing each other's capabilities.
"Putting that aside, why are you really here, Yuuto? You obviously want something from me."
A silent moment passed between them, the Knight closed his eyes and bowed to the confused Archer. "Please, teach me how to become a better swordsman!"
"…What?"
He wasn't prepared for this kind of request from the Knight.
"After learning about how you were able to keep up against Grayfia while wielding swords, I knew you were the only one I could ask for such a thing. Your magic resembles my Sacred Gear, and I can only learn to get better from a master of the blade with a similar set of powers. So please, teach me how to become a better fighter, a better Knight for Rias!"
The white-haired man felt a headache growing, "Listen, I am an Archer, not a Saber. My specialty lies with a bow and arrow which you must have learned after hearing about the details of the fight. To add more to my words, I can't teach you properly because I don't have the time to spare. Juggling my role as a Servant and my persona as a human teacher consumes a considerable number of hours each day, and adding on a training regimen for you on top of that is simply something that I can't fit in. Just ask Rias to get you set up with a qualified teacher; I'm sure her family has at least one or two capable blade instructors who you could learn a lot from. I'm sorry, Yuuto, but this is how things are." His words sounded harsh, but they were the truth. Plus, he was under no obligation to become Yuuto's teacher, nor did he hold any desires for such.
"Wait," Yuuto stopped him before he could continue walking past him. "One hour every two days, that's all I'm asking. You don't need to spar with me, just giving me regular bits of advice and pointers will suffice and in return, not only will I handle all of your school paperwork, I'll even prepare you this year's entire syllabus and plan out each of your lessons so you won't have to waste your time on such things."
This offer… sounded far too good for Emiya to ignore.
"I'm listening, though I can't exactly trust you t—"
"I've earned nearly perfect scores in all my subjects, including English, and can work out the details with some of my clients who are college-level instructors. I have even accumulated years worth of experience dealing with paperwork by regularly helping out Sona's group. You know I'm not lying, and if you truly have any doubts, then Buchou can and will confirm my claims." He continued to bargain, making it even harder for Archer to dismiss him as the offer continued to get better and better with each word that came out of the boy's mouth. Truly, Devils knew how to make an enticing offer. "Not only will you save so much time, but you also don't have to give anything in return aside from a tiny fraction of your time."
"…Does this have to do with the case concerning Riser Phenex and the engagement with Rias?"
Yuuto's head snapped to Archer, "Y-You know?"
"I learned about it recently, your King has been getting very distracted since the raid on the church, where I discovered and destroyed what we suspect was a surveillance familiar belonging to him."
That only made Yuuto's resolve grow even more than before. He clenched both his hands and gnashed his teeth. He couldn't let this opportunity pass him by. As a Knight, it was his sworn duty to protect his King from all threats to her dreams.
Meanwhile, Archer seriously started to consider the offer Yuuto had suggested. If he agreed, then not only was he going to save up many hours every day that he'd otherwise have to waste on something he thought was pointless to begin with, but he could instead focus that time and energy toward more important tasks. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and Yuuto had stated he could just verbally guide him rather than sparring regularly.
Honestly, there was no logical reason to decline a request such as this aside from intentionally making his own life harder.
Bam!
Before Archer could give his answer to the young Knight, the doors of the old school building burst open with an enraged Issei running out. The Pawn's eyes widened when he saw both Archer and Yuuto in front of him, though his attention was mostly directed at the Servant. Rias' previous words echoed inside his mind, how apparently she and the handsome bastard slept together every night!
His body moved by itself, instinctively going for a punch, but it froze when the phantom sensation of the gut-wrenching knee-to-the-stomach Archer gave him when they first met returned. He calmed down and instead chose to avoid a physical confrontation with either of them.
"T-This is not the end!" He said while pointing a finger at Archer. "I will be the one becoming Harem King! Just wait, you fucking jerk! I'll become so strong and cool and awesome that all the hot girls with huge boobs will fall for ME!" With a flimsily thrown insult at the end accompanied by an offensive hand gesture, Issei went to the gates and ran out of the school grounds, leaving behind a confused Yuuto and Archer.
"…Looks like Issei is also motivated to grow stronger." Yuuto joked, trying to ease up the suddenly awkward mood. "So, what do you think of my offer?"
"…Fine, I'll do it."
At least now he wouldn't have to worry about trivial matters concerning his classes and have more time on his hands to focus on things that mattered.
{Break}
-Kuoh Library-
Just like most of its facilities, the library in Kuoh Academy was nothing short of extravagant. A giant room consisting of three floors filled with books both old and new. Taking up the space of an entire building, one would even confuse it for a library found at a highly established university campus.
At the section for every work related to legends and myths, two young beauties were seated at a table surrounded by hundreds of books pertaining to heroes of legends and mythical figures. From the Arthurian legend all the way to the Zuni mythology. For almost forty-eight hours straight, Sona and Tsubaki had scoured through thousands of books detailing the adventures of heroes, demigods, and kings from all walks of life. Their feats of strength to battle against gods themselves.
"How about Ut-napishtim? His legend tells how he was tasked to create a boat, 'The Preserver of Life' to save his family and animals from a great flood. If this counts as a Noble Phantasm then it could be a powerful defensive type artifact if summoned with him." Tsubaki suggested, reading the tale which paralleled the story of Noah's Ark a great deal.
"That won't work. From your description he'll most likely be a Rider class Servant. But if his entire power relies on defense then it won't merge well with our group's dynamic, and I don't have the faintest of ideas where I'll find timber which was part of the boat."
"How about Gilgamesh?"
Sona pondered, "A demigod king who faced countless challenges in his search for immortality. He is shown to be a powerful combatant for having slain lions on his journey and even defeating the Bull of Heaven. A wonderful choice, but I'm faced with the same problem of finding a suitable catalyst. Even if there was one, then by now I'm certain it'd be in the possession of the Mesopotamian Pantheon."
"How about Heracles?"
At that moment, a chill ran up Sona's back.
"No, absolutely not. Though he's a formidable hero with countless feats and a demigod who became an actual god after his death, Heracles has five qualities that he is arguably most well known for: his strength, bravery, cunning, mastery of the bow… and his fits of rage. So while I don't doubt that he would make for an ideal Archer class Servant, that slot has already been occupied, which in my opinion leaves Berserker as the next most likely class for him to be summoned as." That was just asking for trouble. Though other parts of his legend mentioned the greatest hero of Greece also using a spear, and even a sword, what stopped a Berserker from wielding any of those same weapons? She just couldn't take the risk. "Have you found any details on who Archer might be?"
This was another question she was dying to find the answer to. Ever since her loss by his hand in chess — in which he had the audacity to make it look like she was the winner — Sona had been hard at work on finding out his real identity and uncovering his weakness.
Tsubaki shook her head, "Unfortunately, no, there are just too many heroes who wield a bow and arrow. Even just determining his ethnicity is rather difficult, and we haven't seen him fight to provide any other clues on that front. Only the Gremory group would have that information, and I can't imagine Rias-sama will just divulge her own Servant's secrets to us any time soon, especially if she finds out you plan to summon your own. The only real lead we have is that holy shroud he was wearing."
"Then keep on looking, I refuse to lose to that man a second time. He must be associated with Christianity in some way, that shroud is the key to our answers, I'm certain of it." The possibility that he was a Saint did pop into her mind, but his personality and willingness to serve and work alongside Devils contradicted that notion. Then again, he was a Servant with a binding contract with Rias, so he didn't have much choice and it was possible that he merely hid his displeasure at the circumstances.
In the end, she sighed, "Hah, forget it, let's keep that on the side for now and continue our research for a suitable Servant of our own. If I'm gone for much longer then Rias will get suspicious." They continued to go through different books from every kind of mythology and legend. After another hour passed by, Sona believed she finally found an interesting candidate for her own future summoning of a Heroic Spirit.
And it was another demigod, like Gilgamesh and Heracles.
"Perseus Eurymedon." The Sitri heiress noted with a smirk on her face as she continued to read his story.
"The slayer of Gorgon?"
"Yes, him," she showed her Queen the book on his legend. "Just look at the numerous powerful artifacts he holds. Hermes' winged sandals, Hades' helm of invisibility, Athena's shield, a magic pouch to contain Gorgon's head along with the head itself, and perhaps most impressive part of his arsenal is the sword Harpe. The sword is most notably identified as the weapon used by Cronus to castrate and depose his father, Uranus. It's also worth noting that this weapon is identified as a more traditional sickle or scythe in the tales where it's wielded by Cronus from what I've heard from my sister — but in Perseus' legend, it's described as a sword. An adamantine blade, provided to Cronus by his mother, Gaia, used to castrate his father, Uranus." This weapon's legend was equivalent to that of a Longinus! Just one of these artifacts was impressive enough, but Perseus' myth linked all of them together, which very few heroes could accomplish.
If she was lucky, then summoning him as a Servant could lead to him appearing with all of those weapons being in his possession.
Not to mention, just like Heracles, Perseus was one of Zeus' many bastard children, meaning he had the ichor of a god running through his veins. This gave him all the powers and strength she could desire for her Servant. Even Archer was not the child of a god… probably.
"Kaichou, I understand that he is a very impressive and powerful hero from Greek mythology, but doesn't he also share one key problem as all the rest we've considered? Where are we supposed to find a catalyst connected to him?" Tsubaki asked, wondering if her King had a plan already given how confident she looked.
Sona smirked, turning the page to show the picture of a winged horse Perseus rode on to rescue Andromeda from the sea monster sent by Poseidon, Cetus.
"A Pegasus?" The bespectacled Queen became even more confused, where were they going to find a Pegasus of all things? The Underworld had an abundance of magical beasts, but none of them were a winged horse last she checked.
"A catalyst does not necessarily require a living entity to work from my understanding, so we won't need an entire Pegasus. Instead, what we can get our hands on is the feather of a Pegasus, and then use it as our catalyst to summon Perseus. From what I can tell, Harpe, in either of its forms, should allow him to manifest as either a Saber or a Lancer. Or of course he could be a Rider and appear atop his own Pegasus."
Tsubaki's eyes widened, "That's genius, Kaichou!" As expected of her King, she always found a solution to any problem. "So do you have one of those feathers?"
That was where Sona's expression turned ugly.
"I don't, but my sister does."
This… this was going to be troublesome
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.