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| - Another day... Another boring lecture from Hanekawa-sensei. I don't even bother to listen to her, as I know everything in boring books and a lot more, so my only option was to idly play with my pen, waiting for the school bells to ring. Tch! Never thought school life would be so boring and monotone. I just want to know and find this Rias Gremory chick, and ask her if she knows anything about... The Jorge Order, those dragon-slayer bastards, which they said have my little sister as... Slave. Just thinking about them makes my blood boil! I know it's disgusting to ask a devil for help, but the way I'm now... I can't beat them... Not completely, at least. "What the...?!" "Amano Ryuusei, if you don't want to repeat your year, I suggest that you pay attention to my class!" I felt a quick sting of pain in my forehead as my fake name echoed in my heard and before I knew it, Hanekawa-sensei was staring her hazel eyes at me, as a piece of chalk rolled beside me. She just threw a piece of chalk at me! As everyone stared and laughed at me, I couldn't do anything but sigh. This is hell, and I have to endure that until I can get some answers and words with Miss Rias, the heiress of the Gremory clan. How many years it has been? Ten, eleven years? Yet, I still can't forget Nadja's voice and face, and then, smoke, fire, our burning house, and cries for help. Our adoptive parents died right there, while she was taken away from my arms by those dragon-slayers. I would also have the same fate if it wasn't for old Man Dangar to save me. Up to this day I catch myself thinking... If I were a little stronger, Would I be able to save her? No. Keep yourself together, Sorento! You can't keep dwelling in the past! Old man Dangan already said that! You must have your mind in the present and focus in your objective! And currently my objective it's to save Nadja. And now that I have enough power, maybe I can finally destroy the Jorge order! All I have to do is ask some information from the Devils around, and according to Old man, Kuoh is a central point of devilish activity. And he was right. The moment I laid my eyes on that long Crimson hair, I knew it... Rias Gremory would give the answers I need. I can feel the smell of a devil from her... A powerful one at that too. So... Even if the Devils were the reason for the downfall on my clan, I will ask for her assistance... Soon enough, the bells rang around Kuoh, announcing the end of classes, and like always, I packed my things and was ready to share a piece of my mind with little miss Gremory. However, before I could turn around and take the first step, a hand landed on my shoulder, gripping it tightly. I sighed and turned around, only to see a grin on Hanekawa-sensei's lipsticked lips, as I could sniff from here the scent of a disgusting demon from here. Of course, she's another devil. What does she want with me? "What is it, Hanekawa-sensei? Don't you see I have places to go?" I said, idling my eyes around. She just smiled even more and pulled a bunch of papers to show me. And not just any papers, but a bunch of notes and quizzes. "Ryuusei-kun, I'm mostly disappointed in your poor attempts to listen to my lectures, but I'm willing to forgive you... If you could kindly deliver those notes to Tsukihi Matsuri-san." She said. Huh, so that's what those notes are about. I should've known. What a waste of time, like I could do that. "I'm sorry, sensei. But I have better things to do, like going to the bathroom." I said with also a grin to counter hers. I shook my shoulders away from her and traced my way out of the classroom. "I don't have time for that, so if you could kindly ask somebody who isn't completely in your hands, I'd deeply apprecia-...!" "Oh, okay then, Ryuusei-kun. It looks like I'll just have to ask somebody who's more apt for this than like. Dare I say... Anyone?" As the last word escaped her mouth, I stopped in my track. I turned myself around to face her still grinning face. Hah! She doesn't have any idea of who she's talking to! For her, I'm just Amano Ryuusei, but in reality, I'm Sorento Vortigern, of the noble Vortigern house and one of the last survivors of that clan! If I could, I would destroy this whole school with her in it! But I still have business here! She has no idea how lucky she is for that! I came closer to her, and picked the papers off her hand, one of them with the location where this Tsukihi girl is, and from there, walked to the exit in order to deliver those and show that devil that I can do that the best way! I turned around to face her one more time, and for some reason, she's still grinning! She'll see, I'll do such task with performance, I'll be the one smiling in the end! It was already noon when I was midway the road to Tsukihi's residence, and in the middle of a road; I ended up landing my eyes upon a certain known Kouhai I have back in Kuoh. Hyoudou Issei, the pervert number one in Kuoh academy, part of the said Pervert Trio and the self-proclaimed Future Harem King. Of course, at first, I didn't bat an eye on him. He was just one more of those eros you encounter all the time back in that school, but as time went on, I noticed something... Unique about him. I dunno, but my dragonic nose can pick a rather peculiar smell coming from him, something that puts him above all the other humans. Maybe he's the descendant of a hero or a monster, because I can pick from him the scent of something powerful, still dormant... I know I should ask him about this things by now, but I don't want to risk the sake of this city if we ever collide swords. Besides, he's talking to a girl right now, a really cute girl with black hair and purple eyes. Is she his girlfriend? Apparently yes, because he had the biggest smile on his face as they parted ways. Tch, lucky for him. I'll let him live long enough to have a date with that girl, then I'll decide what to do with him. Better save her from the despair of having her boyfriend turned into ashes right before a great encounter... Right back on my track, the map sensei gave me guided me to a mansion by the borders of Kuoh city. A little away from the rest of the houses around; the mansion is build in a typical old Japanese-styled castle. Maybe three stores tall, that stands a few good meters. Strangely enough; the only protection around here it's a concrete wall, without even a gate; only an electronic doorbell. Well, what matters is that I'm here. Heh, if that bitchy sensei could look at me right now, I bet she'd be crying in shame for doubting me! Oh, right. I need to deliver those. But... I can't see any mail box. Maybe... Maybe they have owls to deliver their mails? Nah, they probably pick the mails themselves. Talk about nonchalant. I dunno, but for being so carefree around this forest that reeks of demonic power. Whatever, I touched the doorbell, causing a buzzing sound to echo inside the mansion, and after a few seconds, a sound of someone picking a phone was heard from the small soundbox on the doorbell button. "Hey, I'm Matsuri-san's classmate, and since she was absent today, I'm here to deliver her homework." I said into the speaker to that feminine voice, flapping the notes in my hands in the hopes for her to hear. Instead of answering right away, I heard a beat, and then she said, still via soundbox. "Wait, I'm just here to...!" And the soundbox went quiet instantly. I tried to click and ring the doorbell a dozen times after it, but no answer would come. I sighed and took my way inside anyway. My training will have to wait, as I deliver those notes and pride myself for completing Hanekawa-sensei's labor! She'll see tomorrow, heheh... Following the voice's command, I took my way to the west wing of that Japanese palace after I knew how to navigate around, and soon enough, I found a particular warehouse-like building, again, Japanese-styled and pretty big in size. I wonder if it's here. Then again, this is a warehouse, so of course it wouldn't accommodate something like a person. Perhaps a place for study and lectures? I never heard of Tsukihi Matsuri up into now, so I don't know or care about her presence around Kuoh, I have better things to do. Also, she said for me not to knock, so might as well do as told. "Okay, I'm coming in." And then I opened the door, something that I soon regretted as suddenly I was attacked by an avalanche of books coming from inside! There were many, too much, and soon I was drowning in a tsunami of pages and words. What the hell?! It wasn't a pack or a bunch of books, there was a true sea of it inside of that storehouse! Fortunately, I was strong enough to fight it even without using any of my dragon fire! When I emerged from the said pile of books, I jumped away and landed on my knees, recollecting the air in my lungs. "Cough! Cough! Wow, that was close enough!" "Not quite, my dear sir." A voice said behind me, the same feminine voice that talked to me on the speaker not too long ago. I turned around, and a saw a rather thin, fair-skinned young woman of short bluish-grey hair and orange eyes, looking at me with bored eyes, while wearing a tank-top and Jean-shorts. Is she the so-called Tsukihi Matsuri? So this means she's about my age. Huh, I though she would be someone quite different in appearance. However, she smells funny, not quite human. I wonder, I wonder. "So, you're the one who came to give me my school notes. I deeply appreciate that. Amano... Ryuusei-kun, right?" "Right." I said, sighing. Huff, as for know, I'll have to get used to this false name in order to disguise my true name and have an opportunity to talk to miss Rias. I turned to my bag, and searched for the notes Hanekawa-sensei said for me to deliver, as fast as possible so that I could be on time for my training with Old man Dangar. "Okay, your notes are right here... Right here... Right... Here..." "..." There was none. For some reason, the notes dissapeared from my bag. How could this happen? Maybe it was a curse Hanekawa-sensei put on them so that I'd fail and she would laugh at my face?! Low blow, you fiendish devil! I searched and searched, pushing away my school things and my dragon orb, but in the end, there was nothing! They were really cursed! "What's the matter, Ryuusei-kun? Did you lose the notes somewhere?" "No! This is a curse, I'll tell you! That Hanekawa-sensei must've put a curse on them so that they'd jump out of my bag!" I said, soon silencing myself as those little pieces of information escaped from my mouth. Fortunately, when I turned around, Tsukini-san just sighed and shrugged. Phew, that was a close call. If she was ever to suspect of me and my heritage, I would've to kill her to maintain my secret identity as Amano Ryuusei. I gulped once more, and tried to change the reason. "I mean... I guess that... I lost them when those books end up on me! Yes! I lost them... When the books attacked me!" "..." She frowned a little, as I was ready to take out my Rhongomiant, the Spear of Trustful light, to prepare myself. Lucky for me, she nodded and turned her attention to the books. "Yeah, you might be right. Those things happen all the time, it's really freaky. They're probably lost in between those." "Yes, that is... Correct." I said. Huh, bullet dodged. And as so, I picked my stuff and was ready to take off of here. "So, have a good day, Tsukihi-san. I shall take my leave and meet you another moon!" "Aren't you going to help me find it?" She said in a rather bored tone despite the desperate situation she was in. I just chuckled to that. "Sorry, Hanekawa-sensei only said for me to deliver those, and that's it." I said with a smirk, Tsukihi-san still with that bored and unimpressed expression on her pretty face. I turned back away from her and began again my walk to the exit. "So... That's not my problem now. Good luck finding your notes and see you tomorrow." "Huh... Okay. I asked just to be polite. I know I'd be even more troubled of I ever asked for your help for real." "..." "...?" ... "What did you say?!" "Huh, Hanekawa-sensei was right. You are an idiot..." And so, I began to help Tsukihi-san in piling up her books back to the warehouse, where she says she keep all of her books so that it wouldn't get in the way in the corridors of her house, while also searching for the notes in that sea of pages. For the record, I'm doing this so that I could prove her that I can find those notes in a faster time than her! I just want to see the look on her face when I found those in no time! After an hour or so of piling up books, however, they picked my dragonic interest. After all, all those books looks the same, black and hard cover and several pages, the only difference between them being the title written in golden letters on the cover. Maybe they're spell books or magician encyclopedias. I remember some of them back in the library when I was studying under Old Man Dangar's dungeon, but they look pretty normal. I can't feel a smell coming from them. "Hey, Tsukihi-san, I got myself thinking: what those books are about? Are they all the same?" I asked the girl that was piling up another bunch that was smaller than mine, and she turned to me and came closer with a jump. "Yep, those are actually a collection of stories written by a single person... And some others written by other authors but centered around the same universe. I have pretty much the entire series in here." I was taken back by that. I mean, all of those books... Written by only one person? And not just that, this warehouse it's the size of a regular school gym, and yet the towers of pages reach the ceiling and reduce the pathway of the floor to a mere narrow corridor. I myself am balancing on a platform of covers as we speak. To write some many books... Is that even humanly possible? "Is that... So?" "Yes. One original book that started all, then 13,666,216 sequels and 12,777,343 prequels to accompany the original story. And after that 8,658 spin-offs, 9,324 manuals, glossaries and encyclopedias for the series, plus 517,482 non-licensed books written by other authors, and finally 999 art-books for alternative covers and concept arts and 111 books about interpretations that several fans and philosophers have about the series. Putting this all together, the amount of books in this collection sums up about..." "26,980,134 books in total. That's a lot of books to read!" I exclaimed coming to that conclusion, as the only thing she could do was to give me a satisfied sigh. Yep, that's a lot of numbers, I wonder who has all the stamina and time to write all of those books. Maybe it wasn't a human who did it, but a demon or an angel. But who, they're all written in perfect Japanese, and I doubt there's anyone out there willing to give their time and effort to translate them all. By the way, why so many spin-offs, sequels and prequels? Is the author all that inspired to give his best, or maybe he's one of those who likes to the praised all the time and so writes a bunch of random crap so that other idiots can continue to praise him? If that's the case, them I pity both parties in this idiotic circle of addiction. And apparently... Tsukihi-san is also one of those losers. Tch. "Say, Tsukihi-san, did you already finish those books? Kah, kah..." "Of course. Thrice, even." That one statement made me cough up blood. I asked as another joke, but did she just say she finished those books, all of those books... Three times already? I'm speechless, and from the expression(less) on her face, I can't tell if she's telling the truth or just being a good liar. Also, why bother glossaries or encyclopedias? Wouldn't they already explain everything in the main series, and I'm pretty sure that an entire set of 26,443,559 of both prequels and sequels can explain everything in those! Those two are just for those who are too lazy to follow the main series! And why also bother with art-books? It's like seeing the fetus of a model, it doesn't make sense to see what would something be or supposed to if the final product it's already out! Also, aren't you suppose to take your own conclusions about something? This also discards the reason of existence of those spin-offs and interpretation books! Seriously, those kinds of things it's bothers me to no end! And she said she read them all three times! "And why bother read them all like that? I mean, for what I can say, encyclopedias for a series are just for those who are lazy to read the books; art-books and concept arts are like seeing photos of a model as a fetus, and spin-offs are just people thinking they can do better?" I said, as she stopped her piling by my side and turned her eyes to me, blinking once and twice. I said too much again. I'm in her territory, so I shouldn't be saying those reckless things. But since I'm helping her, better give a piece of my mind as we work. "I'm sorry for that, but I'm just saying: isn't a waste of time reading some portion of those books, since the main canon series is already explained and established? This makes those other notes nothing more than manuals for the lazy ones and pretentious bandwagons." "Maybe you're right, maybe you're not. I shall answer your question with another question..." She said, without any major change in her set of expressions, as I stood up from my own platform to put myself on her level and face her orange gaze, a smirk contrasting her frown. Since I can face her now with her consent, I tried to put myself so that I can have a polite conversation with her. So, let's see what she got for me. "Tell me... Does anybody would ever bat an eye on you and your story?" "Of course!" I said without a drop of hesitation, as her frown morphed back to her usual bored expression with a gasp of air out of surprise. Yep, people might not know now, but I'm really important, and if I wanted so, I could shake this entire world to see my sister! But as for now, I shall take the way of the shadows so that I won't be caught by surprise. I chuckled under my breath. "You may not know, but I have a pretty good name on my back, a name that I carry with pride, since it has been gathering recognition since ancient times, and I want to keep it that way! If I want to be a hero, then I'll be a hero of my own story!" "Huh... That wasn't the answer I was expecting. That's troublesome in way, indeed." She said in a sigh, supporting now her chin on her hand in thoughts. Huh, close call, eh? My clan might be extinct, but no way in hell I'll make everyone forget about it! When I rescue Nadja, The next thing I'll do is to get rid of all Devils in the underworld and make my name be heard all the way to the heavens! After a while, Tsukihi-san snapped her fingers and looked at me again. "Okay, here's another question that might answer your previous one: everyday, there is people in your way: your classmates, your teacher, that creep in the subway, that hot chick on the red light district, the kids on the playground... Did you ever thought that they might have their own stories as well?" "Yes, sure. Why wouldn't they?" I asked, now caught off guard by her rather random question. For the first time since I met her, she smiled, and then continued. "I mean, everybody has a life. Kids, adults, women, men, animals, even plants, but Never bothered to ask them, since I'm too busy with my own life. What about it?" "You said that you're too busy to ask how they are, right?" She said sitting on another book platform and playing with her feet, up and down, up and down. Since her shorts are shorts, I could see a glimpse of her pink panties. Today was a good day. "Well, it turns out, this author is one of the few who ever wondered the lives of those extras and secondary characters that shares their experiences with either the protagonists or the antagonists. After all, one is just the protagonist if the stories turns around them. This author said that every character he ever wrote would turn into a protagonist of their own in one of their sequels or prequels, and so he wrote those countless stories about them. One of the girls who was the protagonist's best friend, a childhood friend, the man with whom he bumped entering a new city, the blacksmith that forged his sword and shield, the soldier who was the first to die in the second war, the maidens who made his clothes, even the dog that stole his food after the great flood. All of those sequels and prequels talks about those seemingly useless lives compared to protagonist, and put them in new lights. The author claims that every character he writes has a purpose and a history to tell, and in order to avoid letting those stories come to pass as mere 'extra characters' or 'uninteresting one-shot characters', he wrote all of those sequels and prequels." "So you're saying that this author wrote everything in there because he feels the need to highlight every character as a possible protagonist? Pff, I don't know if this is arrogance or just plain stupidity." I said. I can't take this kind of thing anymore. This is really stupid. I mean... To write an entire room of books of both sequels and prequels in order to tell the story of all the characters in one story no matter how useless or minimal he or she was in the story... This is madness. It's too much free time for one. The original protagonist is all that matters, the story begins and ends with him and him alone, anything else was for him to come to an end. This is... How you write an story. "And even if they were interesting in the slightest, you still didn't explain why there's the need of art-books, encyclopedias, spin-offs and non-licensed books! Explain them to me now, or forever hold your breath!" "Because, no matter how preposterous they are, they're still love letters to the original author." She said in another flat tone. I don't know why, but even in her tone of voice, I could feel a little more of love in those words, like she was opening herself to me. A love letter to the original author. That's pretty cheesy, but I guess this is the right answer. Huh, she beat me in a battle of wits, that've never happened before. Maybe I should've been more focused on this conversation than thinking about leaving. "The saying goes, 'imitation is the highest form of flattery'. So, if there are people in this world that are willing to put their theories, time, effort and imagination creating a new vision or a new story for one's world, I can assume they have their fair share of admiration for such work. And as so, I respect them, even when they story... Are rather bad for my taste." "I guess you win this time, Tsukihi-san. Although, you might wanna have some pieces of bread around the next time, because that was really cheesy." I said with a grin, as she left again her stoic face and smiled. I hate to admit defeat, but she's right. If one puts effort and passion into something, no matter how useless and worthless it is, it'll still means and be something because there was true love in doing it. Maybe something that is useless yet useful, worthless yet worthy. I wonder if there's a word for something so deliciously contrasting, or contrastingly delicious. Kah, kah! This lass is interesting! "Also, the protagonist is the core of the story. He might not be the only character, but he's the only one who matters! If I was ever a protagonist, which I am, everyone else that is not my deuteragonist, my tritagonist or my antagonist has nothing interesting to add in my story!" "Is that so? Maybe this is a lot less true than you think." She said with another smile. I gave her a confused look. What does she mean by that? "I mean... You're classmates with Himejima Akeno, right?" "Ah, miss Cowtits, one of the onee-sama's of Kuoh academy. What about her?" I said, as the image of miss Cowtits appeared on my mind. She seems nice enough, kind to us all, nice pair of knockers too, but I always wondered why she doesn't have a boyfriend by now, being all Yamato Nadesico like that. But again, Kuoh is full of perverts, and she's always with Rias Gremory. Maybe she's one of her maids or even a possessed body under Gremory's command. Worst scenario, She was brainwashed by Rias and now serves as her lover while being cursed to avoid men at all cost. I looked back at miss Tsukihi-san, and she was... Grinning. Yeah, grinning. "So... Have you noticed something on her?" She asked. I said nothing, because if I said any of my theories, she'll think I'm insane, or simply said she's a devil like Rias. As so, I forged ignorance. "Huh... She has big tits." I said like any normal guy would say, since this is the best disguise I could come up with. Instead of being disgusted by my perverseness, she just continued to grin. "It's kinda disgusting, really." "And... Nothing else?" "No." "So I rest my case." She said, turning around and resuming her piling. Well, of course Miss Cowtits would have a story to tell, but in no way it would be more interesting than mine. After all, she's just a Highschool girl who just so happens to have cowtits. Maybe Tsukihi-san is jealous and just wanted to steam it off? After all, she's just a C-cup herself. Whatever, if she's mad, I won't say a thing about breasts anymore:.. And so, we resumed to organized those piles and piles of books in the warehouse. It took us a few hours to do it, but in the end, it was done, all the books piled up and without any risk of falling down on our heads. Such number of books, I'm honestly shocked and impressed about how someone can be so ridiculously passionate about it. I wonder if one day I'll find the person who wrote them all. After all, I'm a pretty passionate person myself... "And here it is! Like I said, I found the precious notes!" I said with a smile on my face as I emerged victorious from the pile of books and with the said set of papers in hand! Kah, kah! I did it! I found the notes before she did! I placed them right on top of her head, and laughed as she smiled at me trying to mask her utter face of defeat and shame for doubting me! Kah, kah! "Huh, thank you." She said, picking the said notes and taking a read on them. She sighed once she finished the papers, and took a quick look outside. It was already nighttime. Huh, so this means I was out this whole time. "Night has befall us like a violent summer. It's dangerous to go alone in the dark, how about you spend the night here? We can go to school together tomorrow." "Kah, kah! Like the darkness of the night can hold me down. Lady, I'm used to the darkness, I'm used to the abyss of time. Something as the night in this plane is nothing for me!" I said, crossing my arms and grinning at her. She just smiled an amused grin, and stood up from her seat on the entrance of the warehouse. "But anyway, it's night regardless, and very dangerous. Don't worry. My parents are not around and they'll only come by tomorrow morning. You can pass the night, eat breakfast and go to school with me. Doesn't that sound like a typical romantic adventure of a young man?" She said with her arms crossed. Uh, indeed sounds like a perfect romance of a young man in a hot spring night. Being half-dragon, those kinds of emotions don't concern me too much, but it is a tempting proposal. A boy and a girl, a house without supervision, at a hot spring night. Isn't that the perfect scenario of a romance. Still, I barely know her, and this romance can turn into a comedy or a tragedy in the flip of Mother Earth. But I have no choice, because... Things like that only happen once in a lifetime, so of course I'll accept it. "Very well, Tsukihi-san, I shall accept your offer and delight myself in a young man's romance. However, I have one condition for us to go under..." I said, as she nodded at me vigorously. "... I shall spend the night here, but only if you promise that we won't turn this romance into an adult-only novel!" "Okay, sure. There's an entire section for adult Novels and stories, anyway. We don't need to go that far. After all, a romance is only a romance if the mood is right. And trust me, this is the rightest moment for us, Ryuusei-kun..." "Kah, kah..." . ~~x~~ . However, I was smashed against the awful truth as we reached Tsukihi-san's room. The room was typical Japanese, but rather small in size for such a big house: four walls of paper, one small wooden window with a view for the night sky, tatami floor, and a paper lantern hanging from the ceiling. Too normal, much Japanese, I must add. However, the thing that destroy all the romance in my situation, the thing that dragged me from the heavens to the pits of hell, the one thing that shattered all of my fantasies and dreams and burned me with laughing like Satan himself in the dreadful ninth circle of hell laid on one side of the said room... There... Was... Only... One... Which means... "I hope you don't mind sleeping on the futon." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!" Was all my weak body could muster. My knees fell to the ground, the world become blurrier. There is no God, nor devil, only this house, Tsukihi-san, me, this room and... One bed. This place... Is not a house, it's hell. She's the cursed Apple of Samael, the original sin of the Eden garden, and now, I suffer from taking the bite that was accepting her offer. Is this the end for me? So many question unanswered, so many lost opportunities, am I going to die here, now? Of course I would, this is too much for any mortal to handle, and even with my dragon ancestry... I can see the light... What is this? It's warm... Maybe, maybe heavens will accept my soul, since I've fighting my whole life... I just wanted to... See my little sister... Again... ... ... I can hear it... I can hear her voice... Nadja... Is calling my name! No! I mustn't give up! I can't give up! Even if the world turns against me, I'll... I'll fight! I'll see my little sister no matter how tough the situation becomes! I'll overcome this trial! I'll pass through it and become stronger and stronger! I again stood up from the ground, and without losing any time, I pointed a finger at Tsukihi-san and said... "Tsukihi-san! I challenge you to a duel!" I said. She wide her eyes in surprise, seeing me crawl all the way from the hell she tried to keep me in, and challenge her in such bold manner. "Let's play a game! If I win, I'll be sleeping on the bed, and you, in the futon!" "Oh, sounds fun." She said with a faint smile. "But I'm the owner of this house. What makes you think I'll go with your plan?" "Because this is the night of a young man's romance now! And as a good host in this story, you should at least give me a chance of a good night of sleep! You're a romantic woman of valors and love, aren't you? A maiden?" I questioned her, as she frowned a little more than usual, and sighed, brighting a smile at me soon after. Huhuhuh... Foolish woman, the moment you tried to face me was the exactly moment your defeat was sealed! "Fair enough. But I won't have mercy on you." She said with a thumb up, and I did the same. Huh, even if you were to use your full power, you can't defeat the one and only heir of the Vortigern dynasty. Poor little girl, doesn't even realize her premature defeat. She then went to a closet in one of the walls, standing in all fours as she bend over and looked over the lowest closet. Again, because of the angle, her tank-top stretched more upwards, showing a glimpse of her naked back, as them suddenly, her bent posterior pulled her short a little downwards, revealing again her pink panties... This is indeed... ... A man's romance. "What do you want to play?" "What games do you have?" "I got Uno. I love Uno. Let's play Uno. The one who wins at Uno will get the bed!" She said 'uno' four times, four is an unlucky number. She think she can win against me by cursing the deck with her enchantment. Probably it won't, but in any case. "No. I rather not." "Huh, party pooper. So... Let's play Hanafuda!" Hanafuda has four syllables, four is an unlucky number. Persistent, aren't we? "No, I rather not." "Okay, let's see. We can play Mario Party 3! How about it? The nostalgia is making my hands sweat a little." 'Mario' it's a name with five letters, 'Party' it's a word with five letters. 5+5+3=13. Thirteen is an unlucky number. She now tried a different spell, but the result will be the same. "No, I rather not." "Huh, aren't you a boring guy? Okay, let me see." And so she went further into her lower closet, only to then pick an old checked board. She blew some dust away, and then showed it to me. "Very well, let's play chess, then?" ... ... Chess... Chess... I like chess, I love chess. Since I was little And I saw people playing chess on tv, I always wanted to be a professional chess player, a grandmaster, even. Maybe it's because of my dragonic ancestry, the mere thought of the grandiosity of the number of combination on the first eight rounds makes my hand sweat. Sixteen pieces, representing the feudal social system, and with the fall of the King, comes the fall of the player. Such analogy, much thought. The idea that if a pawn, the lowest piece, can turn into a queen if he survive the harsh environment that is the board; the queen, the strongest piece, being the usual sacrificial lamb for victory; the audacity of the Knight move to jump upon other pieces... Chess is a very interesting game, chess is a very philosophical game. I wonder if who invented chess was aware of such change of the world he or she caused in modern society. "Okay, let's play it." "Yay. Finally one you don't complain about it." And so, it was settled. With a cushion to soft our rears on the tatami floor, we faced each other on that literal game of wits, the board right in front of us, the pieces all set: one row of pawns, one row of special pieces. She got the white pieces, so she's the one who started. A pawn, always a pawn, the only piece besides the horse that can do the first move. I countered with another pawn, and after a quick scan, she decided to move the horse now. Little does she know that I'm already one hundred steps ahead... ... ... ... Ah, she ruined my strategy... She's good, I have to admit, but I have another move... Some time passed as we played this monochromatic game of wits. And now we were reduced to half the pieces we used to have. 8-vs-8, all the pieces spread on the board. While the dead ones are at bay beside the chessboard, like spirits of fallen comrades and friends, waiting eagerly to see the end of this war, and see if their deaths were or not in vain. Tsukihi-san was with her eyes focused on the board, while I was tapping my finger on my left cheek, waiting for her to make a move. In the end, she sighed, and turned to me. "Hey, Ryuusei-kun... Wanna share some secrets?" She said. I turned my eyes to her, and made an confused expression. Huh? "I mean, if one of us lose, it's game over. One of us will have to sleep on the futon. I don't want that to happen and go to sleep thinking what I should've said or done before it. So... Before one of us go to sleep on the floor, maybe we can share some secrets, say things that we should've said earlier?" "Tsukihi-san, you know very well what was expecting you when you accepted my proposal of a fair game. To say that you still have regrets even after accepting to play this game it's a fool's act." I said in a serious tone. You don't go to a war expecting to come out alive, you don't go playing with fate expecting to win and sleep on the bed. True, I still have some things I should've done before entering this game, but I'm confident of my abilities, so I silence myself. She just sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Still, people have secrets, no matter how well they live. Sometimes, the reason they're happy it's because of said secret, sometimes the reason they're happy is because they don't know they are in a secret. Lies and secrets build half of this world, Ryuusei-kun, for the better or for the worse." She concluded. She's kinda right. After all, what panic I would cause to the world if I ever revealed my ancestry, what disasters the revealing of the great ones would cause to an once healthy mind. This world is half truth, half lies. Half facts, half secrets. However... "Aren't you afraid that a part of you might die if you tell me your secret. Maybe I won't be able to look at you the same way anymore from here on." I said to her. Secrets can also help us see what the eyes can't. What people think, what people believe, what people would say or not. "No, I'm not afraid, because... If I end up sleeping on the futon... I'd be glad to have at least shared this secret with someone. Maybe I'll feel less regret when I put my head on the hard pillow and laid my body on the futon." She's really scared. She doesn't want to sleep on the futon, and yet, she doesn't have the heart to put herself to believe she'll win. That's admirable. At first, I thought she was just a laid-back girl, that reads books nonstop and dresses like a bimbo. But after all those moments we shared together, I see that she's more than that: Tsukihi Matsuri is made out of courage and fear, knowledge and naiveness, kindness and harshness. She's... A true woman of valor, a perfect maiden of romance, that despite now wanting to face her possible fate on the futon, still carries on with our game... Tsukihi Matsuri... You have my utmost respect! "Okay... Say it away. Just be sure that one of us will be sleeping on the futon, because depending on your secret... I'll play without mercy!" I finished. Tsukihi-san gulped one last time, and then, a glimpse of determination flashed on her eyes. She took a deep breath, and crossed her arms on her chest, making a sound of 'poof' due to her C-Cup breasts. She then looked at me dead in the eyes, and said. "Okay... The truth is, Ryuusei-kun..." And suddenly, the aura around the room became colder, all the lights suddenly died out, and from her back, a pair of bat-like wings emerged, as she looked at me with relieved eyes. "... I am a devil." "A devil...?" "Yes. My real name is Lunamaria Aim, of the extinct Aim clan of the 72 demonic pillars. My family and servants are now living on the human world, and my dream is to become a strong devil, form a strong peerage and recover my clan's name to it's former glory!"
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