Chapter 74— A Name from an Old Story

Issei

I sat to the side and watched as our vampire-kun was chased by the former church swordsman.

I was starting to wonder if Xenovia’s comments about hunting a vampire were influencing her training at all.

That was because Xenovia was swinging Durandal around with way too much enthusiasm while chasing a screaming Gasper across the school grounds.

“Run!” Xenovia shouted. “If you’re a Daywalker, then you should be able to run in the day!”

“Eeeeeeeek! Don’t chase me while swinging Durandaaaaaal!”

The holy aura coming off the sword made the whole thing look even more insane.

I stood with Asia and watched in disbelief while Koneko-chan joined the pursuit from the side, clutching a bundle of garlic with all the solemn seriousness she always showed.

“...Gya-kun, you have to eat your garlic too.”

“Nooo! Koneko-chan is bullying me too!”

I crossed my arms and sighed.

“This is definitely not how I imagined training the other [Bishop].”

To be honest, I hadn’t imagined much at all beyond maybe we’ll get him outside and try to make him less terrified of sunlight and people.

Maybe get him to use his sacred gear on purpose too. 

Instead I had somehow ended up in a scene where a cross-dressing hikikomori Vampire was running for his life from a former Church warrior while my underclassman brandished garlic and called him a cute nickname.

My life had stopped being normal so long ago that even I wasn’t sure if I should comment on how strange this was

Asia stood beside me, hands folded anxiously in front of her chest.

“Even though I was finally able to meet our other [Bishop], I haven’t been able to actually talk to him yet…” Asia said with a tiny sniffle.

She really did look close to tears.

That made me feel bad immediately.

Asia had been looking forward to meeting Gasper ever since she learned there was another [Bishop] in the peerage.

The idea of having someone who shared both that rank and some of her abilities had mattered to her more than she’d probably realized.

And now, when she had finally gotten the chance, he was still too frightened to even come out of the cardboard box properly.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ll get there eventually.”

Asia looked up at me.

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” I scratched my cheek. “Probably. Maybe. If Xenovia doesn’t accidentally cut him in half first.”

“I can hear that,” Xenovia called from across the yard while still running.

“That means you should take it seriously!”

She did not slow down.

Of course she didn’t.

“It’s as I said,” she replied while still chasing him. “A healthy spirit starts from a healthy body. If his body becomes accustomed to movement, he may become better able to face the outside world.”

“That sounds made up!” I shouted back.

“It sounds correct,” she answered.

That was the problem with Xenovia. She could say ridiculous things with such total certainty that half the time even I wasn’t sure whether she was wrong.

Koneko-chan passed through my field of view a second later, still carrying garlic and wearing the kind of expression she had whenever she was either bored or deeply amused in a way only she found funny.

I watched her for a moment.

Then a little longer.

She was helping with the training, yes. She was also slightly distracted.

It wasn’t obvious though.

Koneko-chan was always quiet. Always controlled.

Usually when she focused on something, all of her attention sank into it the way a cat fixed on prey could ignore the rest of the room completely.

Today, every now and then, her gaze drifted back toward the old school building.

Toward where Buchou and Kusari-san had stayed behind.

I wasn’t imagining it.

That made something in my stomach tighten again.

Because I was thinking about it too.

The whole time.

Even while Xenovia chased Gasper with Durandal.

Even while Asia worried beside me.

Even while Koneko-chan weaponized garlic.

Even while the low afternoon sun stretched shadows across the yard and made everything look weirdly peaceful from a distance.

I kept thinking about the conversation happening inside.

About Buchou.

About Kusari-san.

About the way Kusari-san’s voice had gone colder.

How the seal on Gasper’s room must have looked to her.

I had no idea whether they were fixing anything.

Or making it worse.

And that was driving me crazy.

Gasper shrieked again as Xenovia cut him off near one of the trees and Koneko-chan thrust the garlic at him with quiet determination.

“Nooooo! Not the garliiiiiic!”

“...Just a little,” Koneko-chan said. “For your health.”

“It’s definitely bullying now,” I muttered.

Asia gave me a worried look. “Should we stop them?”

“Maybe?” I said.

But honestly, Gasper was outside the box and moving, which was already more than he’d wanted five minutes ago.

Terrifyingly, impossible methods or not, Xenovia was technically succeeding.

That didn’t make the whole thing feel less absurd.

As if on cue, footsteps approached from behind.

“Ah you’re all out and about.”

I turned.

Saji was there, wearing a jersey and work gloves and carrying one of those little flower-bed shovels people used for school upkeep.

He looked as though he had come straight from an extremely unglamorous assigned task and was trying to salvage dignity from the experience.

“Oh, it’s you, Saji.”

“Yo, Hyoudou. After I heard that there was a shut-in servant that had their restrictions lifted I came to see what was going on.”

I pointed across the yard.

“Yeah, he’s over there. The one being chased by Xenovia.”

Saji followed my gesture and went still.

Then he squinted.

“Hey, is it alright for Xenovia-san is swinging a legendary sword  around like that?” Then he learned more. “Huh? Oh! Wait, the one she’s chasing is a blond haired girl!”

He brightened instantly.

Then I crushed him.

“Sorry to break it to you Saji, but that’s a guy. He just likes to cross-dress.”

Saji’s whole body seemed to deflate.

He actually looked heartbroken.

“Dang. If he’s a hikikomori, why does he wear girls' clothes? Wouldn’t you do that if you wanted to show it off to someone? That doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s right,” I said. “I thought the same thing about it. And I thought he was a girl too until Buchou told me.” Then I looked him over. “So what are you doing?”

Saji puffed up a little, apparently remembering he had come here on official student council business.

“Maintenance of the school's flower beds. I’ve  been working on them since Kaichou ordered it a week ago.” He held up the little shovel with dignity I did not think it deserved. “It’s an important task with all of the recent events at the school. And now that the Maou and other leaders are coming we need to ensure the school looks perfect for their arrival.”

I nodded very seriously.

“Yeah.”

I did not tell him that this sounded exactly like being assigned odd jobs.

I’m not heartless.

Before he could say anything else, I heard footsteps again.

They were soft and measured.

I looked up immediately.

Kusari-san was walking toward us from the direction of the old school building.

I saw the tension in her before she said a word.

Not because she was obviously upset.

With anyone outside of the peerage, they may have missed it.

But I’d gotten used to reading the smaller things with her.

The way she held her shoulders when she was too controlled.

The way her expression flattened when she had decided to reveal as little as possible.

The way her eyes would give away more than she wanted to show.

She looked composed.

She also looked like whatever had happened between her and Buchou hadn’t fixed things.

That made my chest sink.

“...Kusari-san,” I said.

She reached us and stopped near Asia and me.

“Issei-san. Asia-san. Koneko-chan. Gasper-kun. Xenovia-san. Saji-san.”

Her tone was perfectly polite.

Perfectly even.

That alone told me a lot.

Asia looked at her with immediate concern. “Kusari-san...”

“I’m fine,” Kusari said.

That answer came too quickly.

Asia heard it too, I think, because she pressed her lips together and didn’t push.

That was one of the best things about Asia, she knew how to care without cornering someone with it.

I opened my mouth.

I had no idea what I was going to ask first.

How did it go?

Did Buchou say something that hurt you?

Are you all right?

Did you say something to hurt her?

Do you still trust her?

Every question felt both too small and too huge.

I didn’t get the chance to choose one.

Because a new voice entered the yard.

“Look at this. The servants of the Maous’ sisters are playing together.

Every muscle in my body tightened at once.

I turned so fast my shoulder nearly twisted.

Azazel stood there with one hand in his pocket and that same irritatingly relaxed grin on his face, like dropping into our lives at the worst possible moment was his version of good manners.

“Azazel...!”

The name came out sharper than I intended.

Beside me, Asia stiffened.

Koneko-chan’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Even Xenovia stopped chasing Gasper long enough to turn and face him, Durandal still in hand.

Saji looked like someone had just informed him that today’s flower-bed duty had escalated into direct contact with a natural disaster.

Azazel glanced past me toward the school grounds as if he were looking over a mildly interesting neighborhood.

“So this is how the Gremory peerage trains its shut-in [Bishop], huh?” he said. “That’s one hell of a picture. Cross-dressing half-Vampire running from the former Holy Sword user while the little white-haired one threatens him with garlic. I’d say the Devil world’s future is in good hands, but that’d probably be a lie.”

Gasper, who had been half-crouched behind a tree, made a tiny miserable sound and hid more completely.

“Don’t just stand there and narrate it like it’s normal!” I snapped.

Azazel looked at me and laughed.

That only irritated me more.

“You sure have gotten louder, Sekiryuutei.”

“And you still haven’t apologized.”

That made Saji glance at me like I’d lost my mind.

Azazel tilted his head. “Apologized?”

“For not telling me who you were before!” I shot back. “You’re the Governor of the Fallen Angels! You could’ve said that from the start!”

Azazel scratched at the side of his face as if he were genuinely considering the complaint.

“Hm. That’s fair, I guess.”

“That’s it?”

“It was for my hobby, so I won’t apologize.”

He always answered in a way that made it impossible to get cleanly mad at him without feeling like I’d somehow missed the joke.

Before I could say anything else, Xenovia stepped forward one pace with Durandal angled down but very much still visible.

“You are the Governor Azazel,” she said. “Then tell me this. Are you here as an enemy?”

Azazel looked at her, and for a second his expression shifted,not less amused, exactly, but more attentive.

“No,” he said. “If I were here as an enemy, I wouldn’t be standing around chatting with a bunch of kids in a schoolyard.”

“That’s not a comforting answer,” I muttered.

“It’s an honest one.”

That was somehow worse.

Koneko-chan’s gaze didn’t leave him. “Then why are you here?”

“Because I was looking for the holy-demonic sword wielder. Are they around?” He answered.

“Yuuto-san isn’t here. She was sent on a task by Buchou. And I won’t let you do anything to her!” I said stepping forward.

Azazel gave me an annoyed look.

“So she isn’t here then? Well that was a waste of time…”

Saji, still clutching his little flower-bed shovel like it was the only thing stopping him from falling over, swallowed visibly. “W-Wait, if Azazel-sama is here, then does that mean the conference—”

“The conference is still happening,” Azazel said. “Relax. If I wanted to wreck the place, I’d have done it before you got assigned landscaping.”

Saji looked deeply unconsoled.

Asia moved a little closer to me without really seeming to notice she’d done it.

Azazel’s eyes flicked briefly to her, then to Xenovia, then to Koneko-chan, Kusari-san, and then over the yard as if he were taking stock of all of us in a single pass.

“Interesting bunch,” he said. “Ex-nun, ex-exorcist, cardboard box Vampire, little one hiding themself, Sekiryuutei...” He glanced at Kusari-san without commenting on her before looking at me again. “Rias really does attract trouble.”

I was confused by what he meant about Koneko-chan, but I was more concerned about the way he looked at Kusari-san for a moment.

“Like you can talk,” I muttered.

He laughed.

“Fair enough.”

Then he nodded toward Gasper’s hiding place.

“So? How’s that going?”

Terribly, I thought.

Out loud, I said, “About how it looks.”

“Healthy body, healthy spirit,” Xenovia said immediately.

Azazel stared at her for a beat.

Then looked at me.

Then back at her.

“And you just accepted that?”

“No!” I said. “I said it sounded made up!”

“It doesn’t,” Xenovia replied.

“It absolutely does!”

Koneko-chan lifted the garlic a little. “The garlic is also helping.”

Azazel barked out a short laugh at that.

“Right. Sure it is.”

He looked back to Gasper's hiding spot again before speaking.

“So, he’s the one who possesses the Forbidden Balor View, right? It can be used as a support-type sacred gear to start. It makes sense that he’s having some issue with it though. The research of Sacred Gears by Devils hasn’t advanced very far.”

Then he looked to Saji who froze under his gaze.

“You possess the Absorption Line, right? Try connecting it to the Vampire. When he activates his Sacred Gear you can absorb the excess power so he can control it.”

Saji looked confused.

“M-My Sacred Gear can absorb the power of other Sacred Gears as well? I never knew it could do that too…”

Azazel let out an amused chuckle.

“Seriously, you Devils need to focus on understanding more about Sacred Gears. Absorption Line was created from the Dragon King Vritra, the Prison Dragon. It can be used to scatter the power of whatever it connects too. You could even connect two other targets to transfer power between them.” 

“T-Then, for example, could I connect Hyoudou to another person? And then the power would move to Hyoudou?”

“Yeah exactly. As you grow, the number of the lines you can create will increase. On top of that your absorption rate will increase as well”

Saji became quiet. 

He had just learned more about his sacred gear from a single conversation with Azazel than he had practiced for the last month.

Azazel truly was an expert on Sacred Gears.

He looked back to me as he switched topics again.

“To improve the Vampire’s control of his Sacred Gear, the fastest way would be to drink your blood. The blood of the Sekiryuuti will give him enough power to control it properly.”

He took a few slow steps farther into the yard. 

“You’re way too relaxed about all this.” I said. 

Azazel shrugged. “I’m not Kokabiel. You’ll find that out eventually.”

The way he said it made me think he wanted me to remember that distinction very carefully.

“Sorry for Vali coming into contact with you on his own accord. He’s an unusual guy, and I didn’t think he would have sought you out on his own. He’s not interested in settling the rivalry between the two of you yet.”

“That’s good to her…” I muttered

Azazel chuckled before turning his attention to Kusari-san again.

She went a little stiller.

Not like with Sirzechs-sama.

More wary than closed.

Azazel’s grin returned, slower this time.

“Well,” he said. “I almost didn't realize it was you.”

Kusari-san didn’t look away. “You know of me, Governor Azazel?”

“Only what I’ve heard and a few reports that made their way to me. It was mainly due to your original [King] and I being somewhat of rivals. He wasn’t solely focused on Sacred Gears like I am, but while searching for rare and interesting things Orutho Raim still competed with me to collect some Sacred Gears.”

Kusari-san didn’t respond to his words.

She had somehow gone even more blank at his words.

“Don’t worry, I know that he is the one to blame for the events after you became a Devil.” He said.

“I…. yes. Thank you Azazel-sama.” She said after a moment.

He held her gaze a heartbeat longer. Then he glanced back at me.

“Rias is collecting some very interesting people around her.”

“You said that already.” I muttered.

Asia looked between us all in growing anxiety.

Koneko-chan was watching Kusari-san.

Kusari-san still hadn’t moved.

Azazel’s eyes returned to her again.

I wanted to ask what he was remembering.

I didn’t get the chance.

Because just as suddenly as he’d appeared, he turned as if he had already decided he’d gotten enough from the encounter.

“Anyway,” he said, lifting one hand lazily in farewell, “I was only passing through.”

“That’s it!?” I shouted. “You show up, mess with us, and leave!?”

He looked back over his shoulder.

Then, finally, he gave Kusari-san some parting words.

“Take care, Omen-chan.”

Azazel walked away. 

It was silent for a moment.

Then Saji asked what we all were wondering.

“Why did he call you that?”

Koneko-chan was watching Kusari-sab’a 

Asia blinked in confusion.

Xenovia looked interested.

My mind caught on it.

Azazel knew about Kusari-san’s past.

He knew who her first [King] was.

Apparently something had happened after she became a devil.

And he referred to her as Omen, like it was another name she had been given.

It had to mean something.

I looked at Kusari-san.

Her face had gone still in that way of hers that meant the calm was real only on the surface.

“Wait—!” I called after him

Azazel was already walking away, still grinning, leaving all of us with the words and none of the explanation.

I took a half-step after him.

“What the hell does that mean!?”

He lifted one hand without turning around.

“Figure it out.”

And then he was gone.

No answers. No apology worth a damn. No explanation.

Just another person in power dropping a piece of truth into our laps and leaving us to fumble for more.

The silence after he vanished felt heaviver.

Saji was the first to break.

“So…..Omen-chan? he repeated, looking at Kusari-san as if he would learn something by staring harder.

“It is nothing. It doesn’t matter.” Kusari-san said quietly.

I could tell that wasn’t true.

Asia looked worried more than anything else. “Kusari-san...”

Xenovia said, with her usual gift for making bad things sound even more severe, “That is an ominous name.”

“Thank you,” I muttered. “The joke helped.”

She frowned. “Joke?”

Koneko-chan still hadn’t looked away from Kusari.

Neither had I.

Because the conversation with Buchou, the tension around Kusari, the way Sirzechs-sama’s presence affected her, the things I still didn’t know about her past, and now Azazel recognizing her and dropping pieces of her past at our feet. 

Kusari-san looked back at us.

At me.

At Asia.

At Koneko-chan.

At the whole group.

Her expression didn’t crack.

Not even a little.

Which only made me more certain that name mattered a lot.

And judging by the way nobody else knew what to say either, I wasn’t the only one realizing how much of her still past was something the rest of us hadn’t understood yet.