After my direct confrontation and the frank declaration of war towards Makima, where we had laid bare our feelings and our mutual desire to use each other in more than just a physical way, Denji and I were temporarily assigned to Aki's cozy yet small apartment. There, we indulged in making Aki's life a living hell, more for amusement than anything else.
While Denji spent endless hours enjoying long baths with hot water and foam, I gave in to my cravings for food and sweets, devouring them in impressive quantities. Often, I left dirty dishes without a care or engaged in exercise.
On that day we spent together, reveling in the disruption of Aki's relatively peaceful life, I found myself lost in my own thoughts about my progress with my powers and abilities. In particular, I had been working on a technique that I believed would be quite useful in future confrontations.
My mastery over dark matter had increased thanks to my natural affinity for it, which significantly contributed to my progress in fully harnessing its potential. The technique I was crafting involved creating a sphere of darkness capable of executing multiple simultaneous attacks or providing protection through adjustments in its form and size.
At this stage, the technique allowed the sphere to emit dark flames. However, I admitted to myself that these flames were far from matching the intensity of purgatory flames, like those used by Meliodas in the canon. Nonetheless, my conviction was rooted in the idea that, with time and effort, I could manipulate this dark force to reach its maximum potential.
The second ability of the orb was its capacity to move at high speeds and split into two independent entities. While these achievements were significant, I knew there were still limits to my mastery of this technique.
As I got lost in these reflections, I remembered an important pending matter that needed addressing. I stood up energetically and left the living room. I headed to Aki's room door and placed my hand on it.
I channeled my energy and concentration into leaving a mark on the door. In that moment, the concept of Minato's "Hiraishin No Jutsu" crossed my mind—something I had requested earlier. Among the various complexities of adapting to my new body and the whirlwind of my new life in this unfamiliar world, that request had been forgotten. Now, it was time to put it to the test.
Adapting to a body with inhuman capabilities had been no easy task, and I felt the need to explore how Hiraishin might offer advantages in future situations or if I could at least use it without it being in a passive state.
As I concentrated my energy, I felt it momentarily dissipate before recharging, partly thanks to Ban's passive power.
After removing my hand from the door, I noticed the successful placement of the "Shiki" formula of Hiraishin on its surface. With a victorious smile on my face, I returned to the living room and recreated the hand seal gesture I recognized from Naruto: two fingers raised in one hand. I closed my eyelids behind the blindfold and entered a state of deep concentration, blocking out everything else around me.
If my theory proved true, my enhanced visual capabilities would be of great assistance in this situation. I decided to invoke my ocular technique, named "Eage," which meant "eye" in Old Western Saxon. By expanding my field of vision using my enhanced eyes and processing all information that reached me, I strained to locate the "Shiki" mark. To my surprise, it was relatively easy to find.
The mark was infused with my energy and was considerably close to me. With determination, I directed my energy towards the mark. In a flash of white light, I disappeared from the living room and reappeared in front of Aki's room door. However, the process was not without consequences, as I ended up hitting the nearby wall, resulting in a small trickle of blood from my nose.
"Curses, if the mark weren't so close, my head would have exploded," I thought to myself as my natural regeneration began repairing the damage. However, the mental fatigue was noticeable, and I urgently needed a quick rest for my brain.
What had transpired was that, during the teleportation, my eyes—connected to my surroundings and trying to gather information from every movement of my body, the speed at which I was moving—combined with the confusing data picked up by my eyes and sent to my mind, caused a 50% overload in my brain. Although not a high percentage, my ability to fluidly process this information was still not fully developed, and the data made no sense.
Returning to the living room with mental fatigue that made me feel drowsy, I simply collapsed onto the couch and rested for a while, needing to regain energy.
In the evening, Aki and Denji returned home after Makima had called them in the morning to discuss something that, honestly, I couldn't care less about. While Denji was busy in the restroom, alternating between taking care of business and dozing off, Aki shouted at him in annoyance.
However, the calm was interrupted when Denji received a call from a police officer, informing him about the appearance of a Demon Man in the Nerima neighborhood.
(30 minutes later)
Alongside Denji and Aki, we arrived at a small house surrounded by police officers guarding the area diligently. As we approached, an officer stopped us in our tracks.
"Are the kid and the muscle guy with you?".the officer asked in an interrogative tone, fixing his gaze on me. At that moment, I was clad in loose black pants and a tight black shirt, along with my distinctive blindfold. Aki simply nodded in response.
After confirming our presence, we were allowed to enter the small house in front of us. It was an ordinary dwelling, nothing out of the ordinary. Aki and Denji engaged in conversation while I followed them with a lazy expression. Thanks to my "Eage" ability, I knew the location and power level of the demon, which turned out to be quite weak. Aki noticed my expression and looked at me with his typical stoicism before returning his attention forward.
Upon entering the room, we came face to face with the Demon Man, a middle-aged individual with a receding hairline and pincers for lips. He was devouring a chicken amidst a room littered with adult magazines and bloodstains.
I decided to spare us unnecessary trouble and created a small orb of darkness, which I launched at high speed, piercing through the demon's head. He had no time to react and fell lifeless to the ground. Aki widened his eyes in surprise, while Denji looked at me with an impressed smile. Without the need for words, Denji started picking up the +18 magazines scattered around the floor.
With the task completed and seeing Denji gathering the magazines, I approached him with a playful and mischievous smile.
"Can I have one?".I asked, getting closer while extending my hand. Denji nodded and handed me a magazine, as he continued reviewing his own selection.
Both of us examined the magazines, our faces filled with lustful expressions. Aki looked at us with disdain and finally grabbed Denji by his shirt, dragging him out of the room.
(In Makima's office)
Denji had been lost in his thoughts for a while, probably daydreaming about what every man usually enjoys the most.
In an instant, Denji snapped out of his reverie and shouted:
"Boobs!".he exclaimed loudly, awakening from his daydream and making his thoughts, most likely focused on Makima's chest, abundantly clear.
"Boobs?".Aki pronounced, his face displaying a surprised expression. The room fell into a momentary silence, broken only by the soft sound of me suppressing a laugh. Immediately, I sensed the tension in the air, as Makima looked at us with a mixture of confusion and a barely perceptible veil of disgust beneath her friendly and controlled demeanor.
I averted my gaze, feeling my lips twitch from the contained laughter. I didn't want to break the apparent seriousness of the situation, but it was difficult to resist the urge.
Makima shifted her gaze from Denji to Aki and then to me, with a smile that seemed more forced than genuine. "Well, let me tell you that you'll have a new colleague," she announced with an anticipatory tone as she turned her back to us. Although her smile appeared friendly, I could sense a trace of challenge in her gaze, as if she was assessing our reactions.
Footsteps approached from behind, and I wasn't surprised at all by who appeared before us, thanks to Eage granting me the name through my enhanced vision. A girl with pink hair, red horns, and yellow eyes entered with an air of confidence and an aura of arrogance. I couldn't help but notice her curves and how her appearance drew attention. A stark contrast to the previous atmosphere, this girl seemed to be brimming with enthusiasm and self-assuredness.
"Perfect!".the girlexclaimed with a confident shout. Denji and Aki turned to look at her, their faces displaying surprise and curiosity about the new addition. As for me, I chose to keep my gaze fixed on Makima, whose demeanor continued to hide more than it revealed. Her indifferent smile and the trace of lust in her eyes were indications of something deeper and more complicated unfolding behind her seemingly controlled facade.