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….
Ding-dong.
I groaned, standing in front of my bathroom mirror with a toothbrush in my mouth. It was Tuesday morning, and I was in the middle of getting ready for school.
I ignored the bell, spitting into the sink and rinsing my mouth. I walked back into my bedroom and grabbed my school uniform pants, pulling them on.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
"Give me a second!" I called out, reaching for my white uniform shirt draped over the back of my desk chair.
Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong!
Whoever was on the other side of that door was practically mashing the button. Annoyance flared in my chest. I threw the shirt over my shoulders, not even bothering to do up a single button, and stomped heavily down the stairs.
I yanked the front door wide open, not giving a damn who was standing there.
"Hey!" I barked. "Do you think it's funny, laying on the bell like…"
I stopped.
Standing on my porch, looking absolutely terrified, was Isabella. She flinched violently at my shout, immediately dropping into a frantic, ninety-degree bow.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she babbled, bowing repeatedly like a wind-up toy. "Please don't kill me!"
I just stood there, staring at the panicked girl. It was honestly hard to believe that this was the same person who canonically possessed the legendary Boosted Gear.
I let out a long, exhausted sigh. I reached out and lightly flicked her forehead.
"Ow!" Isa squeaked, standing up straight and rubbing her brow.
"You're already forgiven. Just relax," I said, leaning against the doorframe. "Jeez. What are you doing here so early, Isa? And how did you even find my house?"
Isa nervously shifted her weight, playing with the hem of her blazer. "Um... I asked Rias if she knew where you lived, and she gave me the address. I just... I wanted to talk to you, Shiro. After what happened at the club yesterday, with all the lightning and the yelling, I was really worried, and I…"
She suddenly stopped talking. Her brown eyes, which had been locked on my face, slowly drifted downward.
The sentence completely died in her throat. Her face rapidly turned the color of a stop sign.
I frowned, looking down at myself in confusion. I had my pants on. But my uniform shirt was completely open, hanging loosely off my shoulders.
Thanks to my fifty Endurance and forty-five Strength stats, I was currently showing off a deeply chiseled six-pack and heavily toned chest muscles that belonged on a Greek statue.
To me, it was just stats. To Isa, who still possessed the raging, hormonally-driven brain of a massive pervert, it was an all-you-can-eat buffet.
I watched in morbid fascination as a literal drop of drool formed at the corner of her mouth.
"Isa," I said flatly.
She didn't hear me. She was entranced.
I quickly grabbed the edges of my shirt and rapidly buttoned it up to my collar. Once the abs were hidden away, I snapped my fingers right in front of her face.
Isa jumped, suddenly realizing what she had been doing. She covered her face with her hands, letting out a muffled squeak of absolute mortification.
"So," I said, struggling to hold back a laugh at her reaction. "Why are you really here? Besides enjoying the free view?"
"I wasn't, I mean, I, !" Isa stammered, peeking through her fingers. She took a deep breath, trying to regain whatever dignity she had left. "I just wanted to walk to school together. I wanted to make sure... that everything is still alright with us. You know. After you found out I'm a Devil."
The embarrassment faded from her face, replaced by a genuine, vulnerable insecurity. She honestly thought I might hate her now because of the faction politics.
I let out a soft sigh, running my hand through my messy hair. I really couldn't stay mad at her.
"Yeah, Isa. We're fine," I said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Just let me grab my bag. Do you want to grab a cup of coffee on the way? My treat."
Isa's face instantly brightened, the heavy anxiety melting away into a wide, relieved smile.
I grabbed my school bag, locked the front door, and we headed out. We took a slight detour, stopping by a small café near the station. I bought myself a black cappuccino to wake up my senses, and I handed Isa a steaming cup of hot chocolate.
The morning air was crisp as we walked toward Kuoh Academy. We made idle small talk, mostly about a late-night anime she had watched, but as we neared the edge of the residential district, Isa's footsteps gradually slowed to a halt.
I stopped a few paces ahead and looked back. She was staring down at her cup, her shoulders hunched.
"Shiro..." Her voice was incredibly small, stripped of all her usual boisterous energy. "Do you... do you hate me? Because I'm a Devil now?"
I lowered my coffee cup.
"Isa," I said, my voice steady. "I don't hate that you became a Devil. If Rias hadn't reincarnated you, you would be dead. I'm grateful she saved you."
I paused, my free hand slowly curling into a tight fist at my side. The memory flashed behind my eyes, bursting into the park clearing, expecting to find her, only to see that massive, horrifying pool of blood soaking into the cobblestones. I could practically picture it. I could imagine her lying there on the cold ground, bleeding out, completely terrified and alone, while that Fallen Angel smiled down at her.
My blood boiled. The urge to hunt down Raynare and tear her apart with my bare hands flared so intensely that my [Presence] aura actually spiked for a fraction of a second.
"What I hate," I continued, my voice tightening with barely suppressed anger, "is that you had absolutely no way of protecting yourself. You had to suffer through that completely alone, believing no one was coming to help you. And the worst part is... I was right there. I was in the exact same park. If I had just been a few minutes faster, I could have…!"
I was cut off.
Isa suddenly stepped forward and wrapped both her arms tightly around my right arm. She pulled me flush against her side, burying her face against my shoulder. The sudden, incredibly soft pressure of her chest pressing firmly against my bicep completely derailed my train of thought.
"It's not your fault," Isa murmured, her voice slightly muffled against my jacket.
I looked down at her, the anger draining out of me.
"I was scared. Really scared," she admitted, tightening her grip on my arm. "But in that exact moment of fear, Rias showed up and saved me. So please, don't hate Rias for what she did. And please... don't hate yourself because you couldn't reach me in time. You fought a Fallen Angel on your own, Shiro. You're lucky to even be alive."
….
Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 10+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http://patreon.com/Marin_kitawaga