Chapter 5 : Who are you?

"Where are my old clothes?", Takeshi asked.

"Oh, those? They were ruined, so we didn't think you would need them anymore, thus we threw them away."

"Alright then, we're done here. So I'll be going."

"Are you sure that you will be ok?"

" You don't need to worry about me, Just mind your own business."

"Yeah, yeah, oh young master."

She finally left his bedside. Takeshi was left to his own thoughts. More and more questions kept popping up inside of his mind, and the more he tried to understand his ordeal, the less he actually did. Not to mention that the entire situation was outside the boundaries of his own comprehension.

The best option would have been his house – he couldn't stay in a place that wasn't his own much longer. He really needed some space to think in peace.

After 5 minutes or so, the nun reappeared in the room. With 2 fingers, she held the boots Takeshi had been wearing.

Wordlessly, the woman left the boots at the bed's feet.

"By the way if you don't mind, can you tell me what happened with you yesterday?"

"It's nothing you should be concerned about."

She hummed in response. "I suppose it is something personal for you, so I won't push. Oh, these are your keys. We found them in your pants."

He seized said keys too, although not as violently as he did his scarf.

Walking back to the door, she glanced at him.

"Do you need anything else? I wouldn't recommend you to go home just yet. You still look… How do I say it… fatigued?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll do whatever I want. I'm not that tired."

It was a definite, cutting answer. Ichika wasn't needed anymore, and if her hurt expression was anything to go by, she knew it. With a somewhat weird smile and stiff movements, she left for good.

He stared at the door for a prolonged amount of seconds, expecting no one else would enter. Once he was completely sure, he started to move.

Putting up his boots was hard, given that one of his arms was disabled for some reason. While the numbness of his body made the action all the more uncomfortable, he managed to finally do it.

After stumbling a little like a clumsy drunkard, he maintained a firm footing on the ground. Instead of going through the door, he looked behind him.

The window didn't seem locked. He could easily open it and go away.

"…All things considered, I would prefer to not stumble on anyone right now. I have a bad feeling about just leaving normally."

He had 'died' the night before. Using such means to go unnoticed couldn't be weirder than that. No one would care if a teenager that appeared at anyone's door last night suddenly disappeared.

So, after a bit of struggle, he opened the window and left.

- - - - - - + - - - - - -

Jumping over the fence of the convent had proven to be an easy task. Nobody took notice of him.

His body didn't take the morning stroll very kindly. If the cold winds that blew up every now and then didn't send chills all over his form, the warm sun helped him develop a brief but nasty headache for as long as light hit him.

Takeshi's house wasn't far away.

Its structure could be seen from a good distance. The boy recognized it immediately. It seemed that walking ended up being the fastest option.

He approached the door, not especially interested in making neither his presence nor actions go inconspicuous. The keys, clinking together as Takeshi took them out of his pocket, were carefully divided from each other until the one he needed stood out from the rest.

The teenager didn't do as much as fit the key inside and turn the doorknob, when the sound of rapid footsteps coming from the behind the door approached at an accelerated pace.

Bam!

He didn't have nearly enough reaction to understand what happened. Not until 2 arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him close.

"Takeshi! My baby boy..Where have you been?!"

As the 2 of them got separated, the glassy blue eyes of Nozomi Hyoudou stared with deep worry and visible relief at Takeshi's dull eyes.

"Where have you been, Takeshi?" she repeated. "I called you a thousand times and you never answered your phone. You didn't take it with you again, is that it? You scared the world out of me, young man! Going out an entire day and not telling me where you are! How do you think I would have felt if something happened to you?"

It was to be expected. Takeshi preferred to stay at home rather than go outside, so this was weird for him. Besides, he didn't have any good explanation for his absence.

Any real explanation, at least.

"…I had a sleepover with a friend," he answered right away and with the most deadpan tone of voice possible.

His mother's sad face changed into a confused one. It was to be expected. 'Takeshi Hyoudou' and 'friends' weren't words you put together in the same phrase, unless it was a joke or a tale.

"A…friend?" she questioned him after letting go of his shoulders, signaling him to come inside with her wringing hands. "…But you didn't tell me anything about a sleepover and when did you had a friend?

Issei told me that you were a loner?

The boy went inside and took off his boots at the entrance. He swallowed a lump before responding.

"…Oh..I just met him yesterday. He's more of an acquaintance from middle school, in truth, and the sleepover was a last minute decision. Since I never had one before, I didn't think it would be much of a problem. It was just a… new experience."

It was a dumb lie. Very poorly thought out. But, what the hell, he was tired. Besides, he had other priorities.

"I did forget to take my phone with me, but I assure you, it was fine. I slept well and managed to come back before school."

And that was the cherry on top of a cake of deception. Nozomi closed the door and started massaging her temples.

"…Ok, ok. It seems you are fine. But don't ever do that to me again mister, understood?" warned the woman with lingering frustration. "I couldn't even sleep through the night without getting worried about you. And your father was all like 'let him do what he wants. He's a young adult and one or 2 nights away won't make a difference'. Honestly, that man is so carefree…"

Takeshi wasn't really bothered by his mother's nagging attitude. She was the one who provided him with a comfortable life and tried to understand him the most, so he respected her. Although he didn't have any possible way of telling her truth without coming out as a crazy person, the least he could do was reassure her.

Besides, she trusted his judgment. Something like this wouldn't make the woman pursue Takeshi to make sure he's fine.

However, there was another matter that needed attention.

"And Issei? Hasn't he been out all night too?"

Takeshi still remembered it clearly. The way Issei died with a hole in his stomach while throwing up blood-

"Your brother slept soundly in his room all night, son. He came back before you did."

-And that's the reason he was surprised to hear such response.

Issei was dead, so why was his mother saying such a thing? He wasn't supposed to be alive, much less in his bed, sleeping.

"Really? Didn't he come back at a late hour?"

She cupped her chin in thought, almost as if she was not sure how to respond.

"I… I think? I don't really remember when exactly, but he did come back..."

The boy could see she was not lying. Her eyes were looking to the sides, as if she wasn't privy of the answer to an obvious question.

The situation was getting stranger and stranger. But there was only one way of knowing.

"Let's check up if he's awake then," he stated, and not wasting any second, he started climbing upstairs.

"Eh… W-Wait a second, Takeshi. I'm coming too."

Sooner than later, they reached the door to Issei's room.

He didn't know what else to expect at this point. In one hand, Issei could be inside of his room, and then that would mean that the entire situation was just a bad dream. However, many things were still unanswered, and just like Takeshi himself, Issei being alive didn't mean that everything was, indeed, normal.

His left arm was still paralyzed. He used the right one instead.

Slowly opening it, the light from the hallway entered inside of the dark room.

It was still hard to see inside. He decided to turn on the lights and unravel the truth.

And, just as his finger flicked the switch, Takeshi called out his name to see if he was actually there…

"Wake up, Issei."

Click

"Kyaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

…And a very girlish scream was let out from beneath the covers of the bed.

A teenager with brown hair emerged from the mess of mattresses and covers on the bed of the room.

"I-I swear girls, I wasn't trying to peak! Don't kill me!"

Putting up his hands in front of him as means to protect himself from a threat that didn't exist, Issei Hyoudou pathetically whimpered for his life.

On top of that…

"Issei! Put on some clothes! What have I told about sleeping naked?"

Issei wasn't wearing anything on top. His exposed chest, not very muscular or toned for that matter, was for all to see. By the looks of it, even though the covers were still on him, he wasn't wearing anything beneath said covers either.

"Eh…?" he said while looking down at his body. He actually blushed. "Wh-What the hell…"

Their mother shook her head. "Issei, you know I would never judge you. But try to be careful. Someone may enter in your room and see things they don't want to see!"

He spluttered before composing himself. "B-But I don't remember sleeping naked… And besides, this is my room! You have to knock before you enter anyway."

Even though his reply was bold, a slight blush was on his cheeks. It seemed that even the Harem King could be embarrassed about something, in the end.

Nozomi sighed one last time. "Ah… Just get dressed. You too, Takeshi. You both have to go to school, and I think we all have experienced enough weirdness for one morning." She went away moments later.

Takeshi looked back, before staring at Issei's form.

He had no injuries at all. Not even a scar or anything. The older brother did notice the bags under Issei's eyes, and the way he lacked energy to speak the way he always did.

The younger teenager looked at him while scratching his head.

"Good morning to you too, bro," he said sarcastically. "It's heartwarming you decided to wake me up before I did, but… I kind of need to get dressed and all? I would really want to talk, but… yawn… I'm tired."

"I can see that," simply responded Takeshi. "Issei… Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

"Uh? Well, didn't I tell you a few days ago?" he said, a little puzzled. "I went on a date with Yuuma and…"

He cut his sentence midway. At first, there was an unsure look in his eyes. As if he, like his mother, was trying to remember something that should have been obvious. Issei's pupils contracted for a brief moment, reaction that the other brunet didn't miss. He rapidly covered it up with his usual smile.

"…Eh, you know what, it's not that exciting anyway," he brushed it off. "We just did some stuff, parted ways and… that's it!"

Takeshi knew his brother. In any other situation, he would be telling him every single detail about his first date ever. It was something that, just by thinking about it, made him happy.

And now, he just pushed it aside as if it was nothing.

Or… not nothing. The opposite. Maybe, it was so important, so surreal, that Issei just wasn't able to give it away the moment Takeshi asked him.

It was no definite answer, or evidence. But it was close. He felt it.

"Fine, then."

The blue-eyed teenager left his not-dead brother alone.

Nobody seemed to remember the crucial parts of the last Sunday. His mother didn't remember when, and probably, if Issei had even arrived home like she said. Issei himself looked confused when told about his date. Takeshi wasn't sure about how he had exactly gotten into a convent when he was meant to be dead.

The teenager had some time to ponder about what happened to him before school would call them with its dull bells.

Yuuma – that strange creature. She wasn't human at all. The things she did weren't some sort of cheap magic trick, some kind of illusion. They didn't appear to be.

Those wings, fluttering and moving, which bended the wind to their will. Those spear-shaped lights, capable of cutting through tissue and bone as if they were butter.

Unreal as it seemed, those weren't the doings of humans at all.

A feeling that could only be described as macabre amusement swelled up inside of his chest. He wasn't exactly that confused anymore. He was just skeptical. Skeptical about the situation. There was no way of knowing if he actually died or if everything that led to his death was real. Not now at least.

It was intriguing, fantastic. But most of all, it was attracting him.

Sure, he could just have told himself that he was insane. That all of the things he experienced were just incredibly realistic hallucinations. That all of it was fake. That he could simply go back home and act as if nothing happened. What was stopping him now, anyway?

But he knew better. Even without having full knowledge of this bizarre situation, he would have felt disappointed if all of it was just a bad dream.

Deep inside, he was accepting it. He was accepting it because he wanted it to be true. He wanted it to not just be a product of his rotten conscience.

At some point, he noticed how cold his body had become.

All of those years before, he felt cold, unmoved by the world around him. Nothing was enough to push him to do something out of his norm. It was a coldness that didn't just stop at the physical aspect of it. He was almost freezing up inside, slowly dying, inaction turning him into a statue of ice. Human-like on the surface only.

But this was different. This was stirring up something inside of him.

And, if only, all of it was real…

…

…

It would have been better if he didn't jump into conclusions right away, though.

Dead or not, crazy or not, going to school was still his obligation.

- - - - - - - + - - - - - - - -

The generally annoying environment of his school was more bearable than usual. Unfortunately, it wasn't because the students of Kuoh Academy had suddenly learned about common decency or maturity.

Takeshi didn't pay much attention to other people. His focus was entirely aimed, for the first time in a while, in something that was neither boring nor exactly repetitive. At least not for now.

He went around the problem again and again, thinking about possible explanations, and for what kind of reason he could be involved in it.

Yuuma mentioned something – A 'Sacred Gear'. From the looks of it, it was something dangerous, but she didn't specify if it was for him or her. The boy wasn't exactly sure what a Sacred Gear was. She did say that it was inside of him, so maybe… it wasn't something specifically material. Again, the girl did create some kind of energy out of thin air, so there was that possibility.

Whatever it was, Takeshi had it, and with it, he also had a target on his head. If a monster such as that girl had enough reason to kill a boring human like him, just because he may have a Sacred Gear, then it wouldn't be weird if others like her came after him.

She did say that humans were worms that existed only for 'their' entertainment, which meant Yuuma couldn't be the only one with wings living in Kuoh.

That notion was reinforced when Yuuma said that she got orders to kill them, both him and his brother. Someone was calling the shots, and it seemed it wasn't her.

Quite sadly, that's all he could come up with.

Without a better understanding of the context of this situation, Takeshi could only do so much. He wanted to believe he was intelligent enough to come up with acceptable conclusions about anything, but his wits had limits.

He avoided bumping into other students as he stepped inside the academy with second-nature movements. He took ahold of his chin as he dived inside of his mind, entranced with the possible courses of action he could take.

'I could just wait to see if Yuuma actually shows her face again…' But that would be dangerous. If she was the monster he remembered her to be, then he wouldn't have any means of defending himself. '…Or maybe I should search for information about her actively. Sitting around doing nothing isn't going to satisfy me. Yet, there's still the matter about what to do once I find out what's happening…'

And, curiously, just as he was musing about that, he felt something.

Something… not very different from when he was with Yuuma.

It was ominous, but familiar, unlike the aforementioned girl.

It took him a moment to realize it. It was too late when a hand fell upon his shoulder.

"Good morning," greeted a feminine voice he had almost forgotten. "Would you mind coming with me for a second?"

Takeshi spun his head. Red hair and emerald eyes were enough for him to remember the name.

Rias Gremory had a stern expression. Not serious, but not relaxed either. Her lips were pursed, and the way she was looking at him was nothing short of suspicious. Out of all the days she had chosen to appear, it had to be the most inconvenient of them all.

"…Gremory," boy said to acknowledge her. "What do you want? I don't have time for you or your games-"

"On the contrary, Hyoudou-san, I'm not giving you an option." Her voice had strangely echoed within his ears and brain, sending shivers throughout his body. It was menacing, but not directly.

It was a feeling he was already experienced with. Rias was doing anything but joking. Takeshi's instincts were alerting him of something dangerous, something he couldn't control.

"Now," she spoke again, "follow me. I want to talk with you for a second."

He complied. He already suffered the consequences of not caring about the obvious signals that something was wrong. He wouldn't commit the same mistake twice.

Silently, Rias walked forward, while Takeshi followed behind. Other people walking in the hallway turned their heads to stare in awe at the sight of the redhead. However, she didn't seem to care about them in the slightest.

For someone so famous in school, the boy was expecting her to follow the usual routine of walking and smiling like the celebrity everyone thought she was, but no. She seemed strangely calm, and that didn't give him any reassurance.

She led him outside of the school building, to a secluded place. He didn't ask nor complained about it. He could easily put up an excuse for coming up late to class later on.

With no students around, and just the sounds of nature of a spring day accompanying them, she finally stopped.

The young woman turned around, hands hanging at her sides. Takeshi didn't make any sudden action, unwilling to appear nervous or reckless.

When the air had gotten too unbearable for him, he finally spoke.

"What do you want, now? I'm sure you haven't taken me outside just to talk about life or wish me a good morning."

Moments passed. Rias closed her eyes in thought.

The ambient was tranquil. So tranquil, in fact, that Takeshi hadn't realized he had been forcibly pushed against the wall behind him until seconds after it happened.

She put a hand on his chest, restraining his repertoire of actions a little.

"Honestly, I really dislike the brute force approach. I prefer civil conversations and fair agreements, but after yesterday's incident, I'm not in a good mood to offer anyone much of a choice."

Rias put her other hand close to his stomach.

Before he could even speak, he saw it.

A shining red-black orb, big as a marble, appeared from nowhere. It floated, between Rias's hand and Takeshi himself.

"I'll cut to the chase. Takeshi Hyoudou is dead. I saw his body yesterday." Her bold, intense statement was met with absolute silence. "I knew he couldn't be saved, despite any effort I would have put into doing it. Yet, he's standing here right now, before me."

Rias narrowed her eyes.

" Tell me, who are you? "