(Issei)
Stupid Haruto. Stupid forest. Stupid fucking Sprite Dragon!
Our group was currently wandering through the forest, looking for our resident jackass.
If you were wondering why Satooji and I were two crispy critters, then the answer to that is: Slime and Sprite Dragons.
After that vulture thing got toasted by Leviathan-sama and dropped Haruto in some random area of the forest, we had been looking for our redhead friend. Buchou didn't want to waste an opportunity though, so we decided to continue searching for our familiars while we searched for Haruto.
Man…I found this awesome slime that had the power to melt girls's clothes, but Leviathan-sama blew it away after she caught it going after Kaichou, screaming something like "Only me and Haru-tan get to see under So-tan's clothes!". We found Asia, a baby Sprite Dragon, but it attacked me and Satooji. It has no problem with girls apparently…
SO JEALOUS! That little bastard got to nuzzle against Asia's breasts like a smug jerk! Thinking he's so smooth! I hate him! He's like a mini-Haruto!
The worst part is that, when I mentioned this jokingly to Asia, she smiled and agreed, deciding to call the little bastard "Raito". Personally, I thought the name wasn't very tasteful, but Asia wanted to use the last part of Haruto's name because the two were apparently so much alike.
When we find Haruto, I'm gonna punch him in his face!
"RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
Eh?
Out of the blue, a familiar figure came leaping out of the brush, carrying something under his arm.
"""Haruto!""""
We all called out in perfect unison.
Haruto suddenly stopped in front of us, gasping for breath, holding something under his arm—Is that a girl?
Then aloud, I repeated the question. "Is that a girl?" Haruto panted, looking behind him as if expecting something to jump out. "Why the hell are you carrying a girl!? Where did you even get that girl from, idiot!?"
"Onii-chan's not an idiot." The girl said, a cute yet passive expression on her face.
O-Onii-chan?
I felt an arrow pierce my heart. I started crying. "Goddammit… the bastard's really done it… He got the 'Little Sister Route'! Damn you to HELL, Haruto!"
"I-Issei, I'd really love to rub salt on the wound with many jokes and quips and just screwing with you," Haruto started, still on high-alert, "but we really gotta get outta here!"
"Haruuu-taaaaaaan!" Then the guy was immediately glomped by Leviathan-sama who nuzzled her face affectionately against Haruto's, hugging him tightly against her glorious oppai. "I'm so glad you're okaaaaay! Your adorable Sera-tan was so worried about yoooou!"
Bastard… I would kill to be him right now!
But the odd thing was, Haruto looked like he was desperately trying to get AWAY for some reason.
"T-That's nice and all, Sera-tan, but we really gotta—!"
KREEEEEEEEEE
A deafening, bird-like screech ripped through the air, almost ripping apart my ear drums.
"What the fu—"
That was when the giant beast suddenly burst through the brush, ripping up all of its surroundings as it tore through the forest.
Before any of us could react, the creature let loose a powerful beat of its wings, creating gusts that knocked those of us less-experienced Devils (mainly me, Haruto, and Asia) off of our feet and flying backwards.
"A Wild Griffin has appeared!"
"You think we don't fucking know that?!" I screamed at that damned familiar master-in-training or whatever, Satooji. "You think we don't see the ten foot tall winged monster!? We're not blind! We see the goddamned Griffin that just appeared!" All I wanted was to get a sexy, female, human-looking familiar who I could do ecchi things with, but I've been getting into one mess after another ever since I entered this goddamned forest! It was only natural to feel frustrated. Not to mention…
"Are you okay, Jack?" I turned my head towards Haruto who…
There was a long pause as we all gradually turned our head, remembering our newest… companion.
She was a young girl with snow-white hair and green-yellow eyes. I was tempted to ponder if she was a relative… but then that would've made the position they were in seem even more wrong.
Haruto was on all fours, hovering over the girl's, Jack's, body, his hands above her shoulders, giving an appearance as if he were pinning her to the ground…
Jack-san stared up at Haruto with admiring eyes. "Thanks to Onii-chan… You protected us. Thank you."
...And now it was even more misleading.
"So, who's this now, Haruto?" Kiba asked Haruto… but I knew the question wasn't innocent. There was a slight malicious aura hanging around the blonde bishoujo.
"Ah! Haruto-san's gone and captured the heart of another mistress!" Asia said, burying her face in her hands. "I have not been regulating his desire! I am truly failing in my duties as his wife! To think he would fall to doing such things with a child…"
"You had best have an explanation for this, Namikaze-kun." Even Kaichou seemed to be upset about something.
"No fair! No fair!" Leviathan-sama was literally kicking and screaming like a child throwing a tantrum. "The only ones allowed to be in such positions with Haru-tan are me and So-taaaaan!"
"O-Onee-sama!" Kaichou shouted, her face turning a slight pink color. "Don't include me in your perverted fantasies!"
Haruto frowned, as if unaware of what everyone was upset about. Then he looked back to Jack-san.
His face slowly filled up with blood, the redness rising like the mercury in a thermometer.
"E-EEEEH!?" He quickly stood up, waving his hands frantically. "H-Hold o-on, you guys! It's not what it looks like! I mean, you—!"
KREEEEEEEEE
Shit! We forgot about the—!
SMACK
Pain coursed through my body as I was swatted aside easily by a single paw of that creature, being sent flying until I smashed into something that felt suspiciously like a tree.
"Gak!" I was certain that I would feel that in the morning.
"""Issei!"""
I heard two concerned voices calling out to me, Haruto's and Buchou's. After growing accustomed to my pain, I opened my eyes to see everyone else standing at attention, ready to fight the Griffin. Asia rushed to my side and started using her Sacred Gear to heal my injuries. Already my pain started to fade away.
Buchou's eyes were intense. "For harming my adorable servant, I'll blow you away!" She prepared to fire off her Power of Destruction to eliminate the Griffin.
"I will aid you, Rias." Kaichou stood beside Buchou, preparing her own demonic powers.
But then the most shocking thing happened.
The Griffin completely disregarded everyone! No, it's attention seemed to be focused on something else. It turned towards—
"Haru-tan! Look out!" Leviathan-sama seemed to have been too surprised to fully react.
The Griffin lashed out with its paw again, ready to squish Haruto like a bug. Haruto raised his arms in defense, but he probably expected the worst-case scenario.
"Look out, Onii-chan!"
Jack-san suddenly shoved Haruto out of the way, but there was no stopping the Griffin. The poor white-haired loli stood no chance, getting crushed under the massive paw of the wild Griffin.
"JACK! NOOOO!" Haruto screamed in horror at the sight before him.
"I'll get'em!" Leviathan-sama pulled out something like a magical girl's wand and aimed at the Griffin.
"No, Onee-sama!" Kaichou immediately pushed Leviathan-sama's arm, throwing off her aim. Kaichou gave Leviathan-sama a stern and disapproving look. "You can't unleash even a slimmer of your power! You might risk injuring Namikaze or that child!"
"But…" Even one of the most powerful Devils could do nothing in such a situation. This was one of the few situations in which she was lost.
As it turned out, she didn't need to do a single thing.
"YOU STUPID BIRD-CAT CREATRURE! LET HER GOOOOO!" Haruto suddenly charged the wild creature. It was an idiotic move, charging a beast several times larger than himself… but I won't lie. If that girl meant something to him, I can't say I wouldn't do the EXACT SAME THING in his shoes. When it comes to people we care about, Haruto and I were both idiots.
KREEEEEEEEE
The Griffin raised its paw once more to crush or perhaps rip apart Haruto.
"SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUP!" Then the redhead idiot threw his fist forward to meet the attack of the Griffin. I was fairly certain he would be crushed, but the moment his fist met the Griffin's paw, the Griffin's attack stopped in its tracks. For a moment, I thought that the Griffin had decided to respond with mercy. Then I noticed Haruto's open hand…
Haruto had CAUGHT the Griffin's attack with one hand. His left arm was trembling somewhat from the strain of holding back, but Haruto showed no signs of falling.
"I said: LET JACK GO!" Haruto shoved forwards with both hands with all of his might.
I don't know who was more surprised: Us or the Griffin.
I mean… Haruto just looked so strong shoving away a beast several times his size, knocking it flat on its hindquarters.
With the Griffin dealt with for the moment, Haruto ran over to his fallen friend.
"Jack! Jack, are you alright?!" Haruto knelt by the little girl's side, a worried expression quickly replacing his angry one.
With Asia's help, I walked over to Jack, wondering how to cheer Haruto up… Jack-san wasn't opening her eyes.
Haruto shook Jack-san as hard as he could. "Jack! Come on, Jack! Wake up!"
"Yes, Onii-chan." Jack-san sat up so suddenly that we all fell back from surprise.
"S-She's alright?!" Kiba shouted out in surprise.
"...Not possible." Koneko-chan said.
"I-Is she really fine?" Asia asked, even more worried.
But Haruto didn't seem to care, he just smiled, hugging Jack close to him. "I'm glad you're okay, Jack… I thought, for a moment, that you had died…"
KREEEEEEEEEE
Haruto frowned. "Hold on a sec." He turned around and faced the Griffin which was suddenly charging him.
Leviathan-sama smiled brightly, once again raising her wand. "Alright then! Let me take care of this, Haru-tan!"
Haruto waved off Leviathan-sama's concern, grinning. "No. This thing's pissed me off, so now it's personal. Gimme a sec." Haruto then turned nonchalantly to the Griffin once more, raising his fist. "Shitty bird… FLY AWAY!"
The Griffin's headfirst charge was met by Haruto's fist.
While Haruto's fist didn't exactly send the Griffin flying, I'd dare say he did a fair amount of damage with the rough uppercut he delivered to the Griffin, sending it flopping right onto its back.
Haruto's grin widened. "And that's how it's done!" He started rolling arm, as if trying to stretch his stiff arms. "Damn, I think I pulled a muscle or something."
Jack's eyes widened. She stared at Haruto, an expression somewhat similar to fear and shock crossing her face. "Onii-chan got hurt because of Mr. Lion Bird?"
Haruto frowned. "Well, I wouldn't say it hurt me, but—"
Then the little girl was gone.
SHIIIIING
KREEEE KREEEEEEEEE
We all weren't sure how or when…but when we had turned back to the Griffin, a shocking sight awaited us.
"This is for hurting Onii-chan." Jack-san spoke with the same monotone she held before, only this time, holding a powerful edge as she stabbed a large knife, one that we observed her drawing out of thin air, through one of the Griffin's four limbs. The Griffin let out a pained screech. Jack-san was clearly twisting the knife on purpose to increase the pain the Griffin was suffering. The worst part of it all was the passive expression on her face. She showed no response to the pain she was causing another living being. "We'll punish you for hurting Onii-chan." She stabbed another knife into the adjacent leg of the Griffin, causing it to screech out further in pain.
I admit the Griffin had some punishment coming to it, but this was… sadistic.
"Jack-san!" Kaichou took several steps forward, a stern expression on her face. "That's enough! I—"
In a split second, Jack-san used the same speed she used before to suddenly appear in front of Kaichou. She held her knife at Kaichou's throat.
"E-Even I didn't see her that time!" Kiba admitted.
"Sona!" Buchou called for her friend (at least, I assume the two are friends). Then she glared at Jack-san. "I now recognize you for what you are. No human could move at such a speed. You are an Evil Spirit!"
Jack-san cocked her head sideways, as if not understanding Buchou's accusation. "Evil Spirit? We are Jack. We were just protecting Onii-chan. The monster made Onii-chan hurt. This girl wanted to spare the monster. So she must also want to hurt our Onii-chan." She gave Kaichou an empty stare. "So I have to kill her before she does hurt Onii-chan." She…The worst part was, in Jack's mind, I don't think she understands that what she's doing is wrong. She wasn't evil. She just possessed a child's ignorance.
"...Evil Spirit…" Leviathan-sama spoke up suddenly… but the volume of her voice, it was… lower. Less excited. She was still smiling, but I felt the warmth fade away entirely, being replaced by a cold feeling. Literally. The temperature of the air literally dropped. I could tell because Asia started to shiver next to me. "...Are you threatening my precious Sona?" Then she vanished.
Seriously! Am I the ONLY person who can't move fast like a fucking ninja!?
Leviathan-sama appeared behind Jack-san, grabbing her by the collar and yanking her backwards. Jack didn't seem to feel threatened despite the fact that a Satan was holding her life in her hands.
Leviathan-sama looked like she was ready to blow Jack-san away with her power. "There are only a few things I can never ignore or forget, Evil Spirit, the number one thing being threats or violence against my beloved little sister." Then she wrapped her hand around Jack-san's throat. "If you apologize now, I might just forgive you."
"Onee-sama…" Kaichou was clearly shocked by her sister's current state. Leviathan-sama looked ready to kill. It just didn't seem natural.
"So fragile… I wonder how resilient this body is… how long would it take to snap…" It was hard to tell who Leviathan-sama was speaking to. Her grasp around the young child's neck began to tighten. "Just one little squeeze—"
"Serafall, stop!" Leviathan-sama was jerked forward, causing her to drop Jack, as Haruto tackled her from behind, wrapping his arms around her and placing his hands gently on her breasts… Lucky bastard is copping a feel off of the Satan Leviathan-sama! "You can't hurt her!"
"...Haru-tan…" Leviathan-sama blinked once, then twice, finally snapping out of her trance.
"I know Jack did something bad and she needs to be punished for that, but don't kill her!" Haruto begged. "She's just a lonely child! She didn't have a family or anyone looking out for her or to teach her to distinguish right from wrong. She's just over-protective is all. I'm the only family she has right now. Could you really imagine yourself doing anything different if Sona were put in harm's way?"
Leviathan-sama jerked back as if pierced by an imaginary arrow.
From my perspective, Haruto hit all of the critical points, saying everything he needed to draw in Leviathan-sama's sympathy towards Jack. Whether this was by manipulation or in the heat of passion, I had no idea. Haruto was smart. It could've been either way.
"Please, Sera-tan…" Haruto gave his King a look like that of a puppy dog.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMM!" Leviathan-sama was clearly undergoing mental conflict. Her eyes were closed tight and it looked like her body was fighting against itself, trying to decide between going through with punishment or to spare the child who threatened her beloved sister.
Haruto turned his head towards Kaichou, his eyes begging her for help.
I looked from them to the little "Evil Spirit" known as Jack. She apparently didn't even recognize that she was in a life-or-death situation and seemed to be staring in wonder at her surroundings, her eyes observing the plentiful trees and darkness around us. She truly was a child. She didn't realize she was in trouble unless she was being yelled at.
Kaichou closed her eyes, thinking deeply on this. "It is a hard choice really. While the child is young, she clearly possesses inhuman abilities as an Evil Spirit..."
It was at this point that Buchou voiced her opinion. "Then wouldn't it be better to care for and nurture her heart to recognize friend from foe? She clearly has some sort of special connection to Haruto-kun, so perhaps he could be her 'leash' so-to-speak. She might listen to him. And since she is not entirely human, it IS technically possible to make her Haruto's familiar. I think we should at least give her a second chance, Sona. Do you really want to have Haruto watch his master, someone who is very important to him, kill another person who is dear to him?"
And here I thought that Haruto was the only one who knew how to poke the soft spots on a person's conscience…
After considering Buchou's argument, Kaichou sighed. "Very well then." Then she addressed her sister. "Onee-sama, I will agree with Namikaze-kun's and Rias's judgment on this. I am willing to forgive the Evil Spirit, Jack. However," She turned to Haruto, "Can I trust that you will keep her under control? Should she attempt something on someone much less prepared, it could end in tragedy."
Haruto nodded quickly. "Yes, Senpai! You have my word I'll keep Jack out of trouble!" Then he turned to Leviathan-sama. "Please… Please let her go, Sera-tan…?"
For a brief moment, Leviathan-sama hesitated.
Then—
"HARUUU-TAAAAAAAAAAAAN~!" Leviathan-sama immediately dropped the loli she had been about to strangle onto the ground, turning around and wrapping up her servant in an incredibly tight bear-hug. "Auuuuuu! I'm so sorry for making you feel so sad, Haru-taaaan! Forgive me!" She was crying admittedly comical tears, nuzzling against Haruto.
The dangerous feeling in the air gradually faded away as Haruto was reduced to nothing more than a comfort toy for Leviathan-sama.
"Auuuu…" It was when I heard her crying slightly that I remembered Asia was still next to me, having observed that whole thing. Considering the fact she was Haruto's "fiancee", she probably didn't enjoy seeing him in the arms of another woman…
Haruto, I hate and envy you…
"Ah! Wait a sec!" Haruto snuck out of Leviathan-sama's grasp and moved over to Jack-san who was sitting on her knees, watching with a strange expression on her face… "Jack, come here."
No sooner than Haruto finished his command did the white-haired loli appear in front of him.
"Apologize to Sona. It's not nice to hurt your new Onee-chan with sharp things." He sounded as if he was scolding a child.
What the Hell, Haruto!? You're making it sound like she was running around with scissors! At least show a bit more discipline in your tone!
Jack cocked her head sideways in confusion. "Onee-chan? We don't understand."
"Remember how I said I'd be taking you to a new family…?" Haruto asked… Eh? New family? What's he talking about? ...Haruto gestured towards all of us. "This is them… well, most of them. They're all your new family. Family, friends, that's what we are now. You're a part of this now. Sona is also your Onee-chan now…"
"No I'm n—" Kaichou tried to object.
"—Yes you are!" Haruto cut her off sharply, shooting her a sharp look. His expression softened as he turned back to Jack. "We… Jack, what's wrong?"
Jack's eyes suddenly went wide, she started clutching her head as if in pain.
"No… Nononono," She began to mutter to herself. "We didn't mean to… We didn't mean to be bad. We didn't want Onii-chan to get hurt, we didn't mean to be bad. Bad means bad things. Bad things make Onii-chan leave. Onii-chan will leave because we were bad, but we didn't mean to be bad—"
Curious as to what was going on with this girl, I walked over to her, reaching out to nudge her shoulder.
"Hey, you okay?"
"STAY AWAY!"
GAH!
Before I could even get close, Jack lashed out with another knife she pulled out of the air. I managed to avoid having my hand removed from my arm, but Jack still attacked fast enough to leave an incredibly deep gash.
I started using my sleeve to suppress the blood flow coming from my wound, red starting to stain my jacket.
"Jack! Calm down!"
"NO! NONONONO!" Jack screamed, falling into an incredible panic, her body trembling something fierce. "JACK WAS BAD! JACK WAS BAD BEFORE AND NO ONE WOULD BE HER MOTHER! WE WOULD NOT BE TAKEN BY MOTHER! WE WERE ALONE BECAUSE WE WERE BAD!" Tears began to stream uncontrollably down the sides of her face. "MOTHER AND ONII-CHAN LEFT BECAUSE WE WERE BAD! WE WERE BAD WHEN WE ATTACKED ONEE-CHAN! ONII-CHAN'S GONNA LEAVE BECAUSE WE WERE BAD!"
"Jack! It's alright! It's alright!" Haruto quickly wrapped his arms around the young girl, holding her tightly despite the fact she was thrashing wildly, doing her best to break free. "You don't have to be afraid anymore! ...Jack, I promised you wouldn't be alone anymore. I promised… And I never break my promises. It's fine. You're not in trouble, Jack… It's okay…" Haruto continued calmly holding the crying Jack in his arms. It was weird seeing him like this. He was completely different from normal. He was much calmer, somewhat sadder yet more compassionate.
"Onii-chan… We don't wanna be away from Onii-chan again…"
And so we were all left staring at the Evil Spirit-no-the CHILD that laid in Haruto's arms. There was no doubt by this point that this girl, Jack, was truly a child. A sad, lonely child.
What little hostility Leviathan-sama had towards the child that threatened her sister had vanished.
We remained in peaceful silence for a long while…
***
It had taken twenty minutes, but Jack fell asleep in my arms peacefully.
I carried her as we began to make our way back to the magic circle in order to return home. After we had such an eventful day, it would be good for all of us to get some rest.
As it turned out, not only can I get Jack as my adorable familiar even though she's an Evil Spirit, but I also caught that Griffin. Yeah, after Yuka threatened the bird-brain with her swords, it seemed fairly willing to form a contract with me.
I smiled at the girl who slept peacefully in my arms, laying her adorable head against my chest.
This poor child… What suffering she must've endured being alone for so long…
Sera-tan threw a fit about not being the one to be held in my arms or something, but Sitri-senpai calmed her down quickly enough. Sera-tan was sulking and mumbling during the entire trip, but she finally gave in to mine and Senpai's wishes and trudged on ahead of us, her head hanging in disappointment.
"It looks like Jacqueline-san is sleeping peacefully."
I don't know how, but Sitri-senpai and I just ended up walking next to one another.
"Yeah…" I agreed. There was a small pause. "Hey, Senpai… I'm… I'm really sorry about Jack… about how she—"
"It's fine." Senpai cut me off. "What worries me most is whether or not her behavior will improve or deteriorate with your influence."
"You don't have to worry, Senpai." I assured her. "I'll take full responsibility over Jack. I won't let her cause trouble. I promised Jack that I wouldn't leave her alone and I promised Sera-tan that I wouldn't let Jack hurt anyone else. I'll definitely keep both of these."
"That is good. I do not wish for Onee-sama to require to take certain actions in response to any of that girl's infractions."
"Yeah…" Then a chilling thought occurred to me. "Hey, Senpai…What was with Serafall earlier?" I remembered how she was acting earlier… the kind and lovable master I had come to care for, she had been nowhere to be seen. Instead, a colder, more malicious presence appeared… the presence that chilled my very core.
Senpai stopped so suddenly in her tracks, causing me to react too slowly and almost bump into her. I stared at her in confusion, but my Senpai refused to meet my gaze.
"Namikaze… Despite how she seems, Onee-sama is even more protective of her loved ones than those of the Gremory's." Senpai explained, still avoiding my gaze. "And with that, there is a side to Onee-sama that must never be awakened. Something that only appears when someone she cares for is harmed."
"...What do you mean?"
"You obviously saw it earlier, Namikaze." Senpai stated. "Do not fool yourself. If you had not spoken up, Onee-sama WOULD have killed Jacqueline. You may not fully understand it, but your role as Onee-sama's Queen is much more important than you realize. Not just because Onee-sama is a Satan. No matter what misfortune occurs, you must remain strong for Onee-sama. She has come to care for you as much as she does for me, and that is truly saying something. You may be the only one truly able to prevent such a fearsome person from appearing from within Onee-sama again. Remember that, Namikaze."
With those words, Senpai started walking ahead of me.
I remained frozen in place…
That ice-cold atmosphere… that sensation of death in the air… it hadn't been my imagination…
Serafall would have killed Jack, maybe even me along with her if Senpai hadn't supported me and if I tried to step between them.
I looked on at my master who walked with the others… this feeling in my chest…There was no joking this time. Without a doubt…
I was terrified of Serafall Leviathan—No. I was afraid of the hidden side of her.
But I still cared for her. So in order to protect her true self, I will do my best to protect her from pain and suffering. I won't let anyone she loves be hurt!
I will definitely protect Serafall from becoming that terrifying person!