Eating Your Weight: Surprise Visit

On the walk to school the next day, I was approached by a familiar face. 

“Hey, Naomi! Slow down a little!” I turned around at the sound of footsteps and was met with the grinning face of Issei Hyodou. He seemed to be in a very good mood despite the early hour, something that couldn't be said for both of us.

“Oh, Issei. What's up?” I asked, suppressing a yawn. Traffic parted around us as he stopped in front of me smiling like a loon, and I raised an eyebrow at his sunny disposition, “You're in a good mood. What, did you manage to get your hands on some rare porn or something?”

Issei shook his head, “No, but soon enough, I won't even have any need for my stash anymore! I’ve moved up in the world, just like you.”

My brow furrowed “The hell does that mean?”

“I’ve finally moved up in the world!” He declared as we resumed our walk, “I got a girlfriend! And she's cute!”

I paused, “From our school?”

I don't know why I even asked that. I didn't know who went up to some random guy on the street and asked him out. Issei was objectively good-looking, but not that good-looking. The idea that someone attractive–from our school no less–would actually walk up to him and ask him out while knowing about his eccentricities was pretty unbelievable. With that in mind…

“Pics or it didn't happen.”

“Huh?” Issei seemed confused by my words and we stopped walking so I could stare at him expectantly.

“I said pics or it didn't happen. You gotta show me some proof man. You can't expect me to take you for your word on this. Do you have a picture of her? Or at least like a phone number or something.”

Issei's confused look gave way to an expression of triumph. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping away before shoving it in my face, “Here! Look at this!”

Indeed, there it was. He pulled up a single contact with the name, Yuma. Now, Issei didn't really strike me as the kind of person to deliberately put a fake contact in their phone just to make it seem like they had a girlfriend when they didn't. That kind of behavior was reserved for especially sad or lonely people. Issei may have been lonely, but he didn't seem too sad about it.

‘Well, used to be lonely.’ I corrected mentally as he took his phone away. Aloud, I said, “Well damn. Good for you, man! And for me! You just helped me win a bet.”

Issei looked befuddled as we approached the school, “What? What bet?”

“Oh, there's a thing going around about which one of you three will get a girlfriend first. You know, you, Matsuda, and Motohama.” I sniffed, “A few people bet you'd just die alone or get with one another, though I think that last one was just a joke.” There wasn't a person alive who was less gay than the guy standing in front of me.

Issei stared at me, slack-jawed as he processed the information and I hummed lightly, thinking of all the money I was gonna make from this development. The odds on Issei being the first/only one of the Perverted Trio to actually get the girl were like sixteen-to-one, so I was in for a pretty good amount considering the size of the pool.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. I couldn't tell what Issei was thinking, but judging by the stupid grin on his face, he had moved on from the bet and was onto more pleasant things. Probably his new sweetheart.

“Oi, Issei.” He glanced over at me and I gave him a serious look, “You're gonna treat her well, right?”

Issei looked affronted at the insinuation, “Of course I am! I have a first date planned and everything. I'm not gonna try anything with the first girl to give me a chance, you know?”

So he actually had spent common sense. If it were one of the other two, I could imagine them screwing things up with their usual antics, but it looked like he understood how serious this was.

“Good man.” I clapped him on the shoulder, “Wait until the third date at least before you ask to shove your hand up her shirt. If she doesn't slap it it call the cops, then you can go to town. And send me pics while you're at it. You know, if she's down with that.”

Issei blushed crimson and got a dazed look on his face before snapping out of it, “Only if you let me see your maid.”

“Hell no.” I snorted, “Miyo's sexy body is for my eyes only. Plus, I'm pretty sure shed actually kill me if I tried.”

“How is that fair!?” He demanded, outraged, “You want to see my girlfriend but won't send me pictures of the busty maid you keep flaunting in my face?”

“It's not fair at all.” I responded cheekily, “But I get the feeling you're the type to flaunt your lady around the town and I just want first dibs on whatever juicy pics you share around.” 

He stared at me and I gave him a wink as we stepped through the gates of our school, “So just keep me in mind, yeah? I'll see you in class, Issei.”

~~~

As I expected, Issei spent pretty much all morning crowing to anyone and everyone who could hear that he was no longer single. Some people were surprised, more thought he was fucking with them, and a quiet few cursed as they realized that they wouldn't be getting their money back.

Me though? I was sitting pretty with a grin on my face and twenty-thousand extra yen in my pocket. A happy buzz filled me as I copied down notes that I had missed out on, but while the cash was nice, it was nothing compared to the rush of victory that came with winning the bet. The look on the faces of my fellow students as I took their money was sweeter than honey.

Unfortunately, the one person who I wanted to really gloat to wasn't here today. Aika had taken the day off for some reason, leaving the seat beside my own woefully empty. 

‘Shebmust have seen the future and skipped so I couldn't rub it in her face.’ I thought as I packed my things at the sound of the bell, ‘Too bad for her. I have all the time in the world. Literally.’

Lunch time. My, well, one of my favorite times of the day. I hung back a bit from the swelling crowd filling the halls before making my move, heading to my usual spot on the roof. Partway there, I caught sight of a head of pink hair in the crowd and slowed down, making my way over.

“Hey, Katase.” I tapped the girl on the shoulder, pulling her attention away from the girl she was talking to. I held out a sheaf of papers, “Here's your notes. Thanks for letting me copy.”

Her face brightened as she saw the papers and she took them off my hands, “Oh! No problem, Naomi, I'm happy to help.”

I smiled slyly as she put them away, “So did you hear the big news? About Issei?”

“What, that one of those perverts isn't a hand-holding virgin anymore?” She rolled her eyes as we turned to follow the flow of traffic, “I don't think anyone in school hasn't. He's done everything but shout it from the rooftops by now.”

“He's excited. Some girls would think it's cute.” 

“Some people haven't developed a habit of checking their lockers in the changing room because they're scared he'll pop out of them the moment their bra comes off.” She huffed, “Honestly, I think whatever girl decided to actually ask him out either has brain damage, or just gets off on being treated like a walking sex object.”

“He's not that bad.” I defended, earning a look 

“You just say that because you're friends with him.”

“Okay, fair.” I conceded, “But at least he’s got some redeeming qualities unlike the other two.”

“Sure. Let me know when you can write a list of them with more than two bullet points.” Katase grumbled, making me chuckle.

“I'll have you notarize it.” I laughed as we reached the cafeteria, listening to the clamor of students inside, “Anyway, this is where we part ways. You couldn't pay me to go in there with all that… noise.” I shuddered. 

“Oh, did you bring your own lunch?” Katase asked and I nodded, “Lucky! I don't have time to make anything at home. I usually just buy it here or share with my friends.”

“Wanna share with me then?” I offered, making her blink, “I usually make too much anyway so it's not like I'll miss it.”

A lie. Since I had become part dragon, my appetite had grown just as much as my strength. What I packed today may have been considered a good meal for some, but for me it was just a snack to tide me over until I could get home. Katase didn't know that though, and this was an easy way to pay her back for the notes.

Katase considered my offer, glancing between the door to the cafeteria and me before shrugging and turning around, “Alright sure. You better have something good though. I'm a picky eater.”

We made our way to my usual spot on the roof and set up beside the stairwell. My bag served as a table which I set both of my bento boxes on, earning a weird look from my companion, at least until I opened them and the confusion was replaced with hunger at the sight of my would-be meal.

While Miyo had been making my dinner since I was little, the maid had made sure to pound the importance of self-sufficiency into my head. Those lessons included how to prepare a meal without burning the house down. I wasn't a five-star chef, but I could whip up something basic without making too much of a mess. Most importantly, it was edible and even tasted good! Sometimes.

Katase didn't seem to have any complaints as she happily chowed down on her half of my food. I inhaled my half in only a couple minutes, sending it straight to its final resting place in the pit of my stomach with enough enthusiasm that I barely tasted the salt on the meat.

I leaned back, letting my eyes drift shut as I enjoyed the fair weather, and after a few minutes, Katase finished her meal as well, placing her empty box on top of mine. She joined me in relaxing, leaning back to lounge against the wall and watch the clouds drift across the sky.

We spent a few minutes in comfortable silence, me dozing and her watching, before she broke it.

“So is this where you and Aika did it? Or was it over by the fence?”

I froze before letting out a heavy sigh, “You heard about that too, huh?”

“So it's true?” She seemed surprised, and I mentally face-palmed as I realized that I had just fed into the rumors, “You two just met! How are you already to the point that you're doing it out in public!?”

“Okay, first of all, we didn't ‘do it’; she just gave me head.” I clarified, wanting to stop that in its tracks before people got the wrong idea, “Second… c’mon dude, she’s almost as bad as Issei and his buddies. She doesn't even try to hide it.”

Katase blinked, as if just now realizing she shared a class with a girl nicknamed Perverted Glasses, “You’re right! It’s never directed at me or any of my friends so I guess I just ignored it–wait! Aika isn't interested in girls!”

I looked away, debating whether or not I should shed some light on that particular bit of info. After a moment, I decided to say fuck it and come clean. Katase wasn't the type to go spreading it around anyway. As long as I didn't do anything to piss her off at least.

“Technically, she's just not interested in what's under their skirts.” I said slowly, “She was pretty interested in me.”

“But that means…” Katase froze, glancing down at my hands folded over my skirt. Her face went scarlet and her jaw dropped at the insinuation. I wondered what she was going to say, if she was gonna accuse me of being a pervert or some kind of cross-dresser which was sort of the same thing given the context.

Turns out, she didn't do either of them. Instead she hastily got to her feet and stammered a quick excuse, before bolting towards the door and descending back down into the school like I was carrying some sort of plague .

“Well.” I said as I stared at the door she had damn-near broken down in order to escape me, “At least she didn't try to hit me or something. I'll take that as a win.”

Probably shouldn't expect to share notes with her any time soon after this though.

{~~~ Later That Night ~~~}

Miyo was out on the town when I got home and my mom and dad were also out so, left with nothing to do, I decided to spend the next couple hours relaxing until they got home. It'd been a while since I'd had the chance to really be lazy.

I filled up a hot bath and stripped down, lowering myself into the steaming tub with a happy sigh. The scalding water felt pleasant against my skin and I sunk deeper, sliding down the porcelain wall until my mouth was submerged below the simmering surface.

Soaking in the tub was one of my favorite ways to destress and just… think. With my body submerged and the steam caressing my face, I closed my eyes and drifted inwards, truly relaxing for the first time since summer.

There was a sensation of falling and then a sudden change, and when I opened my eyes, I was once again in my dream realm, gazing up at the multicolored sky above me.

A dark speck flitted across the sprawl of colors, and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that said speck was actually Nidhogg. He was so far away that I could barely see him, but as he grew closer, I realized that it was definitely him. His serpentine body slithered through the air as large, tattered wings beat against the sky, bringing him towards me faster than any plane could manage.

My eyes were glued to him as he let out a roar that shook the realm and a stream of brightly colored flames burst from his mouth, dying the sky violet as it shined over his midnight scales. I could still feel them as he landed, setting down in front of me as his wings curled in on themselves and rested against his back. I stared up at him, once again reminded just how utterly massive the Devouring Dragon truly was as his eyes bored into mine.

“What do you want, human?” Nidhogg rumbled, though for once his voice was filled with mere curiosity instead of its usual annoyance. Maybe flying around my head was his way of relaxing.

“Nothing. I didn't even mean to come here, honestly.” I replied, “I was soaking in the bath and relaxing. Guess I got a bit too relaxed.”

“I see.”  He acknowledged my words with a rumble, before turning and walking further down the root. His claws left deep gashes in the wood grain but they disappeared as he passed over them, healing themselves almost as soon as they were damaged. I followed him towards the tree where he curled up against it, resting his head on his body. I plopped down on a root, crossing my legs as we stared at one another.

“You've progressed in your training. Your power is growing at an acceptable rate.” He broke the silence first, “I find myself reluctantly impressed with how quickly you are acclimating to your new power.”

I blinked before a sly grin spread across my face, “Was that I compliment I just heard? I didn't think you were capable of saying anything nice to a lowly human like me. Don't tell me you're going stiff on me, Nidhogg.”

The great dragon growled, “Watch yourself, human. You have only risen marginally above the other sacks of meat your species likes to prop up as valuable fighters. I am merely remarking how surprising it is that you have lasted this long with my power burning through your veins.”

“Not really my veins though, are they?” I said, “It’d be pretty weird if I couldn't handle your power with the body you gave me.”

“Perhaps not, but the rate at which you are acclimating is faster than I expected. Though tiny compared to what I have at my disposal, the amount of power you've taken would be enough to reduce even that maid of yours to ash.”

“Guess I'm just that good then.” I sniffed.

Nidhogg snorted, cutting through my prideful boast, “You may have a small amount of strength available to you now, but that means nothing without experience. Were you to fight someone equally strong with even a few months of true battle experience under their belt, you would be crushed like an ant. If you want to truly impress me, you should prove yourself against worthy opponents.”

“Sure, I'll get right on that.” I brushed him off, glancing up at the sky again, “So how far up there are you able to get? You were pretty far away when I came in. Does this place go on forever or is there some kind of boundary?”

“This is your soul. You would know better than I.” Nidhogg replied, “I seldom stretch my wings, but so far I haven't found a limit to how far I can wander. Though in the end, I always end up back here, under the tree.”

“Trippy.”

I leaned back on the root, staring up at the canopy of branches high above. While it was beautiful, I wondered why my soul decided to take this shape. That tree was probably modeled after Yggdrasil; that was the only big-ass, supernatural tree I could even think of, but why was it here? If it were up to me, this place would be filled with busty babes or at least the world's most comfortable couch or something. 

It was probably due to Nidhogg's influence, I decided. If Sacred Gears really were assigned at birth, then his presence was probably influencing the shape his prison would eventually take. 

I looked towards my scaly companion, finding his great big eyes had drifted shut. He was breathing steadily like he was sleeping, but I had a feeling he wasn't actually asleep. Despite my negging and sarcastic remarks, I was pretty sure he couldn't actually sleep in here, at least not truly.

“Hey Nidhogg,” I called and his eyes immediately opened, landing on me as I sat up. I leaned forward, eying him curiously, “Have you ever killed any gods?”

A puff of smoke escaped the dragon's nostrils as he snorted, “Gods are not as easily slain as you humans are. Even the weakest of them often possess some form of immortality that makes the task more arduous than it is worth.”

“But you're immortal too.” I pointed out, “Even if you didn't go looking for a fight, there had to be some times where you fought a god or a dragon and won, right?”

“Indeed.” He conceded, “Gods are as arrogant as they are numerous. Many sought to test themselves against my might and found themselves wanting. It was rare that I had to truly kill one, however. Most divine beings tend to think better of throwing their lives away once they realize exactly how far the depths of my power reach.”

“Most of them.”

“There are fools in every race.” Was all he said as he closed his eyes once more. I felt the urge to question him more–it wasn't often we actually had the chance to speak like this–but a ringing in the back of my head drew my attention away from the dream realm and to the waking world once more.

I opened my eyes and found myself in my bathtub once again. The persistent ringing turned out to be the sound of my doorbell. Someone was pounding on it like each press earned them a small fortune.

Sighing, I lifted myself from the tub and wrapped a bathrobe around my body, fully intending to return to my soak after I shoved my bare foot up the ass of whoever was making that annoying racket. I padded through my house, leaving a trail of water on the wooden floors as I made my way to the front door. 

They were still ringing the doorbell by the time I got to the front of my house. Whoever this was, they were persistent. And super annoying. My eye twitched at the impending headache I could feel forming in the back of my skull as I grabbed the door and wrenched it open without even bothering to look through the peephole.

“Do you fucking MIND–oh.” My angry shout died in my throat as I saw who was on the other side. 

Aika Kyruu had one hand on my doorbell while the other was crossed under her bust impatiently. We stared at one another for a long moment before her eyes slowly lowered and widened slightly. I followed her gaze and found that my bathrobe had slipped open a bit, revealing a good portion of my breasts and more importantly, the black scales lining my abdomen.

I jerked my robe close, plastering a grin on my face that probably looked fake as hell, “Uh, hey, Aika! What's up, did you need something? Actually, how did you even find out where I live.”

“Student directory.” She said, still staring at the slit in my robe that had just given her an eyeful. I nodded, sweating nervously while hoping that she had just been staring at my tits and I hadn't just outed myself as a member of the supernatural.

“I didn't know we had one of those.” 

“Well we do.” She said shortly, finally looking away from my chest to look me in the eyes instead, “Can I come in?”

“Uhh,” I glanced down at the floor where a puddle of water was slowly but surely forming around my feet, “I'm kind of in the middle of something. Do you think you could come back tomorrow or maybe we could–”

“It's important.” She interrupted.

I glanced at her, taking in her serious expression and the spark of nervousness in her eyes, “How important?”

Instead of answering my question, Aika raised a hand, palm facing towards herself. A beat passed and I prepared to ask her what she was doing, when there was suddenly a burst of magic, my magic, but it wasn't coming from me.

I stared, mouth agape at the orange glow surrounding Aika's hand. It flickered like flames, growing larger and smaller as it fed on the fire between us, and Aika smirked like her usual self as she took in my reaction, “That important.”

I looked between her and the glowing limb in disbelief, before I swallowed,  stepped out of the way, and opened my door for her.

“Come on in. Just… give me a second to get dressed.”