Eating Your Weight: Fallen Feathers

A few days after Issei's impromptu beat down, I decided it was probably time to stop avoiding it and pay the Devils a visit. My little vacation from school came to an end one evening as I dropped by with Aika just as the sun was starting to set above the horizon.

There were a few teachers lingering around – the ones who ran clubs or simply just didn't have anything better to do at home. I gave them a mildly believable excuse for why we were here and led the way to the Old Schoolhouse…

Only to find it completely empty. There wasn't any sign of Rias or her peerage barring the lingering smell of their presence to indicate they had been here recently.

“I guess they stepped out for a little while.” I said as Aika and I lingered outside the ORC. 

“Where did they go?” Aika asked and I shrugged.

“No clue.” I turned away from the door. “Maybe there's a Stray somewhere in town that they're dealing with, but I don't know why all of them would go. Let's go back to the main building. Maybe they're there.” 

The moment we stepped out into the yard however, we were stopped by an unfamiliar voice.

“Naomi Kanei?” I turned to find a tall-ish blonde walking towards us, hands in his pockets. He looked vaguely familiar, as if id passed him by on the street a few times before. Or more likely in the hallway, considering he was wearing the school uniform and looked to be about my age.

I stiffened as he stepped closer, catching a whiff of his scent. Devilish and draconic. 

Another one? I eyed him warily, What the actual hell?

Someone up there was handing out dragons like gift cards. Get one free with every reincarnation or some shit. With how rare Sacred Gears are in the first place, what were the chances that three people in the same town would have the same type?

Luckily, his scent wasn't nearly as strong as Issei's was, so I managed to keep a lid on my initial reaction as he walked up to us. He eyed me up specifically, looking me up and down with a searching gaze. I didn't know what he was looking for, but whatever it was, he didn't seem to find it as he relaxed, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“I'm Saji,” He said. “Sona asked me to find you and bring you to her. Something about skipping school?”

I winced. “Oh, you're one of Sona's. Uh, I don't suppose saying that I was on vacation would help me get out of this?”

Now it was Aika's turn to wince. “Considering the fact that I've been telling people I'm over at your house, I'm gonna say no… Sorry.” She added on as I slowly turned to look at her.

“Well shit.” I ran a hand through my hair before shrugging. “Alright, yeah. I guess I’ll go see her. Is she in the council room?”

Saji motioned for us to follow. “Yeah, she's doing paperwork. Come with me.”

We headed back into the school, making our way through the empty hallways to the Student Council’s designated room. 

“I heard you kicked Issei's ass a few days ago.” Saji said, glancing at me with thinly veiled interest. “What did he do? If you don't mind telling me, I mean.”

“It's complicated.” I said, not really wanting to go over the whole issue with this random guy. He seemed disappointed by my answer but didn't press, turning around. As he did so, another flash of his scent tingled in my sense, making me twitch. 

I really hoped this wasn't going to be a thing.

We reached out destination shortly and Saji softly rapped on the door, waiting for a response before stepping inside as we filed in after him. 

Inside, Sona was indeed doing paperwork. An ungodly amount of paperwork that didn't have any place in front of a student not in the classroom.  Tsubaki was sitting in a seat to her right, working through her own much smaller stack, though I had a feeling it wasn't because she was the faster worker.

“I brought Kanei, Kaichou.” Saji said respectfully. Sona glanced away from her paperwork, light glinting off her glasses as she regarded us.

“Ah, Naomi. How kind of you to finally rejoin us.” She said, her voice carrying a surprising amount of disapproval. She then turned her attention to Aika, seeming unsurprised to find her at my side. “And good afternoon to you as well, Miss Kiryu. I trust you're keeping your urges in check?”

Aika smiled unrepentantly. “You don't need to worry; I have someone to help me with that now.”

Sona's lip twitched, though whether she was fighting a smile or a frown, I couldn't tell. “Just keep it off school grounds in the future. My leniency only extends so far, even for honors students.”

As Aika nodded, Sona turned her attention towards Saji who was lingering near the doorway, looking confused. “Thank you, Saji. You're free to go for the day.”

Judging by his face Saji didn't really want to leave, but his master’s orders apparently superceded his curiosity and he nodded. “Alright, I'll see you guys tomorrow.”

As the door closed behind him, Sona invited us to sit. She pushed her paperwork to the side, giving us her full attention was we took the stairs across from her. Tsubaki continued working, flipping pages and filling margins in the background of this little meeting.

Sona spent a moment just staring at me, letting the tension settle on my shoulders. I coughed lightly and she tilted her head her expression lightening marginally. “So you are capable of controlling your instincts. That's good to see.”

I blinked at her words, before I instantly caught their meaning. I glanced at the door Saji dissapeared out of and then back to her, realization settling in. “You sent him to get me on purpose, didn't you?”

“Is that so surprising?” Sona asked. “According to Rias, you attacked Issei out of the blue just a few days ago. I understand Dragons can be quite territorial, and I had to make sure there wouldn't be any unpleasant business like that between you and Saji as well. I don't want a member of my peerage getting hurt over something he barely understands.”

There was a minute threat in her words, a warning that she wasn't quite willing to say out loud but I understood loud and clear.

Well I guess they're not afraid of me anymore. I thought wryly, before shaking my head.

“Out of curiosity, what would have done if I wasn't able to control them? Saji was on the other side of the school and I'm pretty sure he couldn't really stop me if I tried something.”

Tsubaki stopped shuffling papers and Sona stared at me. “My peerage is much larger than Rias's and all of them have duties that keep them well after school hours, not to mention, Saji himself isn't exact defenseless. I reincarnated him well before Rias got to Issei.”

So in short, Saji would have held me off until the rest of Sona's peerage came by to kick my shit in. Or at least try. I was a lot stronger than I was when I first started here and the idea of fighting an entire peerage of Devils wasn't as daunting as it used to be. When it came to the consequences of starting something with the sisters of two Satans though…

“Right, well you don't have to worry about anything.” I assured. “What happened between me and Issei was because of Nidhogg’s issues with Ddraig messing with my emotions. Whatever is in Saji sets me on edge, but I can keep a lid on it better than I could with Issei. It's less intense.”

Sona seemed mollified by that. “I see. Should I see about switching your curriculum, or will you be able to play nice from now on.”

“It… shouldn't be a problem.” I said hesitantly. “I've been getting whiffs of Issei's scent the entire time I've been here but I haven't gone off the rails or felt like I needed to. I think kicking him around like I did satisfied the part of me that hates his guts. The deal with Nidhogg is still there and he makes me itch, but it's less like poison ivy all over my body and more like a rash, if you get what I'm saying.”

“I think I do,” Sona nodded slowly, turning to the other girl sitting at the table. “What about you?”

Aika blinked. “Me?”

“You’re supernatural awakening was a result of her magic, correct?” Sona asked. “ Your auras share similarities, but I'm not sure how deep that goes. Do you also possess the same instincts as her?”

Aika shook her head and I spoke up. “As far as we can tell, my magic just jumpstarted whatever she already had going on. There's barely any leftover because her body ate it all.”

Sona seemed surprised by that but her shock gave way to interest. “Is that so? I thought the magic I was sensing was a result of your power mingling with hers. I guess I wasn't far off, but this is definitely a much more interesting result…”

Sona stared intently at Aika for a long moment and there was something odd in her gaze, as if she was looking straight through the girl instead of at her, gauging her worth. I'd seen the look before, on Rias right before she tried to recruit me to her peerage. Sona was trying to decide if Aika was worth whatever pieces she had left.

Mine. 

The growl came from deep in my chest, escaping before I could catch it, alongside an almost blinding feeling of possessiveness. Aika jumped and even Tsubaki looked up from her work, surprised at the sound that I had produced. 

Silence spread through the room as everyone stared at me and I just stared back, as unsure as they were about where that came from.

Sona seemed to have some idea as she suddenly smirked, shaking her head. “I see. I suppose I'll stop that line of thinking right here then. My apologies.”

“What was that?” Aika asked and I just frowned uncertainly, not really sure what to say. Apparently some part of me really didn't like the idea of Sona taking Aika for her own.

“I’m afraid I overstepped and she made it clear where the boundaries are. Nothing to worry about.” Sona adjusted her glasses, moving on smoothly. “I guess I'll get to the reason I called you here then.”

I frowned in confusion. “I thought it was just to make sure I won't go apeshit on Saji.”

“That was important, but more of a spur of the moment decision than the actual reason.” Sona reached down and slid a file across the desk. “My sister listened to my request. That is everything she managed to dig up on the cult that's after you.”

I snatched the file before she even finished speaking, frowning slightly. “It's light.”

“There wasn't much to go on unfortunately.” Sona apologized. “Assume they are the same, the cult you're looking for originated and subsequently disappeared over two thousand years ago. Word of mouth was king back then, so the amount of actual texts regarding the cult is admittedly sparse. And that isn't even factoring in what might have been destroyed in the millennia since then.”

As I opened the folder, I was met with several pictures of stone etchings and old, yellowed parchment covered in a language I couldn't even read. Thankfully, there were translations on the opposite page like a Shakespeare novel so I didn't have to do much guesswork.

The texts detailed a cult that grew to prominence somewhere around 811 AD and spread across Wester Europe in the coming years, claiming a couple small-time gods and a good number of heroes to further their goals. There were some big names in here and not all of them were Norse – some vaguely familiar like an Irish hero named Cú Chulainn and some that were much more iconic like freaking Týr, though that last one seemed to be somewhat contested.

There was also one figure that kept showing up in practically every picture I saw. She was drawn in several different styles, but the general depiction seemed to stay the same. A pale woman with hair as black as obsidian and eyes like poisonous pits. She was usually depicted wearing a black crown and almost always surrounded by a ghostly green mist that looked eerily similar to the one that took Agnir away before I could kill him.

That must be the leader. I thought, staring at one of her more intact paintings. She looked like a young woman born into royalty, and not just because she was sitting on a throne. Definitely a god. Looks like I have my target.

Apart from that though, there wasn't much to gather. There were a few more names and a general explanation of what the author understood as their goal which was pretty spot on: surviving mythical doomsday.

All in all, I came away with very little extra information, leaving me pretty unsatisfied. 

“I'm sorry that that's all we were able to find,” Sona clearly noticed my displeasure. I waved her off.

“Not like it's your fault that ancient record-keeping sucked. I appreciate you guys making an effort at all,” I said, looking at the picture of the black-haired woman again. “ At the very least, I'm pretty sure I know who their leader is so it's not like I'm back at square one.”

“My sister said she'd keep an eye out for anything more about the cult.” Sona said. “A coalition of dieties and heroes this size warrants some measures no matter what their goal is. If they pop their heads up, you'll be the first to know.”

“I appreciate that.”

Just then, a flare of magic washed over the room. All eyes turned towards Sona as the girl glanced to the side where a bright blue magic circle formed over the table. She examined it before smiling in satisfaction and glancing at her Queen.

“It seems that Rias was successful. I guess we won't have to get my sister involved after all.” She said, making Tsubaki smile in apparent relief.

 ​“What are you talking about?” I asked.

​“We had a bit of an infestation at the church,” Sona explained. “Rias and her peerage were going to go take care of it, and it looks like they succeeded.”

​“You mean the Fallen?” I asked, surprised by coloring my tone.

​Sona looked surprised herself. “You know about that?”

​“Yeah, I knew,” I said with a shrug. “I just figured you guys did as well, so I didn't worry about it. I was actually wondering where Rias and her group were. ”

​“Yes, well, it seems like Issei became smitten with a nun who was caught up in that whole situation and got dragged into it.” Sona said, her tone carrying a hint of exasperation. “Rias, of course, decided to play the situation to her advantage and earned a new piece out of it.”

​That last part was said in slight consternation and I chuckled, shaking my head.

​“I should probably head home then,” I said, standing up. “If they're coming here, they’ll probably still be a bit high strung and I don't want to spook them. I’ll wait till tomorrow to talk to them.”

​“That would probably be for the best.” Sona agreed.

​The school was practically empty by now, with even the teachers that stayed behind making their way home. I left the school with Aika trailing beside me and as we got out into the front gate, I stopped and looked up at the sky, prompting the girl to nudge me.

​“What is it?”

I bit my cheek, thinking for a moment before shrugging. ​“I think I'm gonna check out the church.”

“Why?”

“Just curious.” I said honestly. “I knew there was Fallen there, but the way Sona talked about it made me think there's probably more to it. I wanna see what's going on over there.”

“You just want to loot the corpses, don't you?”

The thought of magical artifacts being left behind did occur to me. “...Maybe.”

“Right, well.” ​Aika rolled her eyes. “You can have fun with that, but I'm going home. You need to come over at some point, by the way. They ask about you all the time now.”

The thought of meeting her parents was daunting but I’d faced worse. I nodded. “I’ll check my schedule next week and see if we can do it then. Might as well get it out of the way since we’re probably gonna be spending a lot of time together.”

“I’ll let them know” Stepping closer, Aika leaned up and pecked me on the lips, making me pause. A smirk played at her lips as she pulled away. “You don't have to worry, but the way; I think being with a dragon is much better than being a devil. No need to be all jealous.””

She winked. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Then she turned and left. I stared after her, watching as her skirt swished as she walked away.

~~~

After I got over my surprise, I decided to make my way to the church to see what sort of goodies might have been left behind. I made sure to take my time, flying at a much more leisurely pace than normal so Rias and her group had the chance to clear out before I arrived. Bumping into them on the scene of the fight would probably be even worse than just being there when they came back.

As I drifted lazily through the sky, the cool wind brushing against my face, I couldn’t help but think back to the meeting with Sona. Specifically, my visceral reaction to the mere idea that she wanted to recruit Aika. I had no clue why I reacted like that, or even that I would. It had been an instant, primal reaction that I had literally zero control over, a possessive growl that was completely overblown considering the fact that I had no real right to react like that. Aika and I were sex-buddies in the loosest term; we hadn’t even actually had sex yet! It wasn’t like we were together… right?

I mean sure, she was spending more and more time at my house, she kissed me, and she wants me to meet her parents but–

“Okay, maybe we are.” I interrupted my own train of thought. That still didn’t explain my reaction though. I mean, I knew I wanted things that were mine to stay that way, but I wasn’t that possessive, was I?

I thought about Miyo. How would I feel if the Church came back? If they tried to get her to join their ranks again and leave me and what we had behind?

The ensuing surge of violent heat in my chest gave me my answer immediately.

Okay, point taken. I grimaced, slowly floating around a cloud so I didn’t soak my clothes. Maybe I am a little possessive. Another quirk of dragon-hood that Nidhogg failed to mention, I’m sure.

I should probably keep a lock on that. The last thing I wanted was to turn into one of those crazy, jealous girlfriends who threatened to kill anyone for even looking at their partner sideways. I had enough problems without adding ‘yandere tendencies’ to the list.

The silhouette of the abandoned church loomed in the distance, dark and ominous under the moonlight. I began to speed up, figuring that Rias must have cleared out by now, but before I could flap my wings, I felt a pulse of familiar magic from down below. It wasn’t hidden, nor was it intentional. It was like a frequency was being put out there and I just happened to be on the same channel.

I stopped midair, hovering in place as I scanned the ground. It was faint, barely a heartbeat of energy, but it was there. There was another pulse, this time even weaker, flickering in and out like a dying candle. Strangely, it wasn’t coming from any of the businesses or houses; it was coming from an alley between two closed convenience stores.

Curiosity guided me to abandon the church for the moment and search out the source. I folded my wings and dropped like a rock, waiting until the last moment to snap them outwards. I landed outside the mouth of the alley with a soft thud, and the magic signal seemed to pause, as if the owner heard me, before continuing, even weaker than before.

The shadows of the alley curled around me ominously as I strode inside. It was a dead end, with walls lined in trashbags and a pair of dumpsters that were clearly overflowing. I didn’t see anything odd at first, but as I drew closer, a soft sound drew my attention to a curled up mass near the furthest dumpster. I thought it was just more trash at first, but it seemed to quiver as I walked towards it, shaking like a wounded animal.

Only when I got close enough for my eyes to actually make it out, I realized it wasn’t a wounded animal at all. It was a Fallen Angel, the same one who tried to kill me just a few days ago.

And she looked bad.

Gone was the cutesy, arrogant Fallen that thought I was just another human to toy with. The woman curled up in front of me was an absolute wreck and barely clinging to life. Her dress was in tatters, stripped away from her body by some devastating force that left horrible marks on her skin that were a million times worse than any burn I had ever seen. It looked like parts of her had just been stripped from existence. 

One of her wings was completely gone, stripped to a stub that stuck out of her back like a sore thumb, while the other was missing feathers and wrapped around her trembling frame, trying to protect her modesty or more likely give her some semblance of warmth from the nighttime chill.

She looked up at me as I approached, her head lolling weakly as she tried to turn it. I could tell instantly that she didn’t actually see me. Her eyes were completely glazed over – not blind, just unfocused due to the pain. She probably didn’t even know where she was right now. Despite that, she whimpered, shrinking back against the dumpster with the primal fear of a cornered animal.

“Goddamn.” I muttered, staring at the miserable wreck of a woman. There was something uncomfortable about the whole scene. This woman had tried to kill me and probably would have if she had the strength, but seeing her like this was a little bit too much.

“Who did this to you?” I wondered aloud, my voice echoing slightly as it bounced off the walls of the alley. I immediately shook my head. “Nevermind, I’m pretty sure I have a good idea. You have a bad habit of picking fights you can’t win, huh? I’m surprised you’re even still alive right now.”

Though not for very long. I thought, watching as she tried to pull herself deeper into the tiny alcove between the dumpster and the wall. She was small, but not that small, and I frowned as I watched her pitiful attempts, wondering what to do.

I could just put her out of her misery. It would be a mercy at this point; she was clearly suffering immense pain. But as I looked at her shaking form, I quickly came to the conclusion that I wasn't really comfortable with killing someone who couldn't even lift a hand to defend themselves. Killing them in a fight was fair and square but this… it felt dirty.

“Why are you hesitating?” Nidhogg’s voice resonated from the jewel that appeared on the back of my hand. It was cold, devoid of sympathy. “The Fallen already tried to kill you. Why show mercy?”

“That's true,” I muttered, looking down at the broken angel. “But to be fair, she’s so weak it wasn't really an attempt. More like flailing angrily in my general direction. I’m pretty over it, honestly.”

“Her weakness does not constitute forgiveness for her deed.” Nidhogg argued, his tone filled with consternation “The attempt was made regardless. She gambled her life and lost. She should suffer the consequences.”

“She's clearly already doing that,” I shot back. “But this is a little much, don’t you think?”

Some people would be fine with bleeding out in an alley, but this clearly wasn’t as peaceful as that. At the sound of my raised voice, Mittelt shied away, her trembling increasing violently. The sight only decreased my resolve to end her. But could I leave her like this?

Another whimper answered my question. I let out a heavy sigh. “Is there something I can do to help her?”

Nidhogg huffed, a sound of derision echoing in my mind. “Human sentimentality. You are thinking with your crotch instead of your brain. Though I am beginning to wonder if they are not one in the same.”

My eye twitched. “Just answer the question, please.”

Nidhogg was silent for a long moment, and I worried that he just went back to ignoring me, but he surprised me by speaking a moment later.

“The crow’s magic is depleted.” He said grudgingly. “Her body is failing. Those marks on her skin aren’t wounds, they’re infections. The magic that did this to her is still eating away at her body, draining what little reserves she has left as she tries to fight it off. She won't survive the night even with your intervention.”

I stared at her, watching the shallow rise and fall of her chest, and an idea formed in the back of my mind. 

“What if I gave her some magic?” I asked. “If I topped her up, would she be able to fight it off and regenerate?”

Nidhogg bristled, his aura spiking with annoyance. “The fact that you are willing to waste the power is–”

“Would she?” I interrupted him sharply.

Nidhogg growled at my interruption, but once again, he surprised me by not immediately cutting our connection, and even moreso by answering immediately. “Judging by her condition, it would take a substantial amount of magic to stabilize her. You also cannot simply force your magic inside of her unless you want her to perish even quicker. You must offer it in a way that her body will naturally accept it.”

A way her body will accept? I echoed mentally. Realization dawned on me a second later. “You mean like with Aika.”

Or well, not just like with her because doing that would be… no. But I had an idea of something that might be in the same ballpark, or at least similar enough to get the same result. 

“Thanks, Nidhogg.” I said, and the glow on my hand dimmed immediately, indicating that he was already gone. Ignoring that, I stood, looking down at Mittelt’s bloodied, tear-streaked face. Her breathing was shallow. Wet and raspy. She probably didn’t have long.

“Well shit.” I muttered, clenching my fist. Abyss Eater manifested, alongside a hand-sized nail with a single, wickedly sharp barb attached to the end. “This is gonna suck.”

Literally. I stepped toward her, leaning down right in front of the woman and ignoring the way she tried to flinch away. I brought the nail up to my naked forearm, hesitating for a moment. “I know you probably can’t hear me right now, but if you wake up and try to kill me, I’m going to cut your head off and leave it in one of these trash cans for the cleaners to find, got it?”

Mittelt didn’t answer. She didn’t even edge away at the sound of my voice like before. She probably only had a couple minutes left before she died to whatever magic was working its way through her body. If I didn’t stop it first, at least.

I took a deep breath, before plunging the nail into my forearm and sliding it through in a small arc. Blood immediately began pouring out of the wound, and I could feel my magic stirring underneath my skin in response to the perceived attack.

Tilting Mittelt’s head back, I shoved the open wound into her mouth. “Drink up.”

Mittelt didn’t respond to the warm liquid at first; she just sat there and let it fill her mouth and leak down the sides of her chin. I worried that she would choke or worse, that I had just maimed myself for nothing, until she suddenly twitched and her throat bobbed as she swallowed.

From there, it was like a dying man in the desert finding out the oasis wasn’t actually a mirage. Her body did what her brain could not and began to veraciously gulp down the life-giving fluid, one huge mouthful after the other. Her hands twitched like they wanted to grab onto my arm and pull it closer, but she couldn’t even open her eyes anymore so they just settled by her sides as she drank my blood like a vampire.

She seemed to be relaxing more and more with every mouthful, but the magic inside of her was still flickering, weak even with my own being added to the mix. It would probably take a while for her to metabolize my energy, so with that thought in mind, I carefully gathered her into my arms. She flinched as my hands brushed against her wounds, but didn’t have the power to resist as I raised her up and pulled her to my chest.

“Miyo’s gonna love this.” I said as I took to the air, heading in the direction of my house.

First I had to figure out how I was gonna sneak her past my parents.