Chapter 9 : Immortality?

Seen from afar, one could distinguish a lone shadow walking towards the main entrance of Kuoh Academy with the intention of leaving. Half of his body was obscured thanks to the afternoon light gleaming on him. There weren't many others around, as the school was already closing for the day.

Takeshi walked aimlessly, lost in his thoughts.

His world had suddenly changed in the span of a day. He was an ant in a much greater scheme, subject of coincidence.

A war between powerful, ancient beings. Artifacts that could only be held by humans and granted them with tremendous abilities. Magic and sorcerous arts.

Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils.

And he was in-between that conflict.

Takeshi could have easily ignored it, but now? There was no chance in hell. He was now part of this, willingly or not.

Yet, there was a question that hadn't been answered yet.

Yes, he was alive. Yes, he knew about supernatural conflicts bigger than humanity itself. And yes, he could easily act.

But… why?

What did he actually want? What could be his reason for acting?

What was he going to do with that information?

At first, he was just searching for answers, but that objective had been quickly taken care of.

He was completely free to do whatever he wanted. A grand pathway had been opened before him to walk it, and search that meaning that eluded his person for so long.

But, there in laid the conflict.

What did Takeshi want to do now?

"...H-Hey, bro! Wait for me!"

In the midst of thinking, the voice of his brother brought him back to reality.

Issei quickly caught up to him.

"Issei… what is it?"

The younger sibling waited a moment to recover his breath. Once he did so, he straightened his back and spoke.

"…I just wanted to tell you to be careful, dude. I know you're actually going to do things on your own and that worries me. Are you okay with this?"

It almost sounded like a joke. Issei wasn't only looking up to Takeshi, but he seemed to be worried about him.

Takeshi supposed that was a natural way of affection between siblings. Something he, unfortunately, didn't share with the same intensity.

"I never needed help. It would be weird if I did now, just because things aren't normal."

Issei's brown eyes scrunched. His disbelief in Takeshi's absolute autonomy was easily discernible, something that the latter understood. After all, what kind of person decides to throw itself into a completely different set of conflicts without means to defend its own?

But Issei wasn't one to pry either way. He let out a groan filled with exasperation.

"Man, you're impossible to deal with, you know that?"

Takeshi tilted his head to one side. "Look who's talking."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a pervert and you're a prude." He began scratching his hair, seemingly giving up in trying convincing him. "Anyway, you gotta promise me this-"

He held up a closed fist in front of his opposite.

"-Don't you die on me, ok?"

The older brother stared at the fist.

After a bit of waiting, he raised his own left fist and tapped his brother's.

"I wasn't planning to, either way."

Issei instantly smiled at Takeshi's positive response.

"Well! I'll be going on my way now. Be sure to go home before it gets dark, Takeshi."

He walked past his sibling. It didn't seem like Issei was particularly set on walking home with him, which was weird to begin with.

"I thought you wanted to go home together."

Issei stopped and turned around, massaging the back of his head at the inquiry.

"I think I need some fresh air and time alone… My head is throbbing right now. Not to mention I didn't get any time to conduct my 'researches' on the female population of this school! Do you have any idea how painful it was to hold back just because of this whole problem?"

Takeshi silently judged his brother with half-lidded eyes. The latter waved a hand at him after he finished with his pointless rambling, going somewhere else.

"Anyway, see you later bro."

He didn't wave back. Issei took the first turn to the right, and disappeared from sight.

Takeshi looked down at his left hand in the following moments.

'Don't die, eh…?'

During his short interaction with Issei, Takeshi did remember what led him to this choice in the first place.

A certain girl called Yuuma Amano.

…Of course, how could he be so dumb?

There was an objective right in front of him the entire time. Yuuma was still alive, hiding somewhere in Kuoh. Maybe she could lead him to other Fallen Angels if he was lucky.

That's right.

The only time when he felt truly alive came when he was dying.

Pain made him remember he was still a living being. It made him feel something more than just dullness and nothingness.

Which is why… he would search for Yuuma Amano. And then, he would grant her the wonderful gift of pain, before killing her.

He would kill her just as she killed him. Not for something as petty as vengeance, though. His pride was on the line, but…

…Takeshi just wanted to enjoy once again that spectacular feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins. And what more fitting person to experience that with than the woman that took his life?

He would search for the person that ordered her to kill him, too. Maybe he would find someone stronger, more entertaining to fight against along the way.

How was he going to do it? He wasn't sure, exactly. Not yet.

But this was it. His golden opportunity.

He was a pitiful teenager counting his days, instead of a driven person making his days count. He could make of himself something more. Only a dumbass would waste a chance as wonderful as this.

Takeshi would fill that void inside of his soul, and maybe…

…Maybe he would find more reasons to keep on living.

Or die trying.

With a smile, and distinguishable sharp blue eyes looking past the material world, and towards his future objective, Takeshi made his way home.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

…

…

Issei stumbled from side to side with heavy steps and a weak posture.

He wasn't sure where he was right now. But he was pretty sure he was far away from Kuoh Academy. There weren't many people around, and that was a good thing.

What a crazy day. He got killed by the girl he thought was his girlfriend, and then it turned out he wasn't human anymore.

It should have sounded like a cool thing… a tragic backstory for a protagonist of those anime he watched from time to time.

I won't back down… I promise.

It didn't really feel like it, though.

With a blurred sight, and trembling legs, Issei finally stopped walking and put his back against a wall that was there.

I already have bad luck with women. Just because this one killed me doesn't mean I'll start mopping around!

And he honestly meant that. He wasn't someone who gave up very easily against difficult situations. But at the same time, it really hurt like a bitch.

Issei looked down at his left hand.

There was a droplet of water on it.

No… Not water. It wasn't raining. His eyes and cheeks were wet, too.

He found it embarrassing. People would just laugh at him if they saw him like that.

But, if it was just for this one time, he didn't mind. If he didn't let it out now, he would only be hindered by those feelings later on.

Besides, crying isn't going to solve anything.

It never did. But, for this one time, he just wanted to be himself.

Issei let his back slid down the wall. He sat on the ground, letting his legs sprawled across the somewhat hot pavement.

He rested a hand on his thigh. With the other one, he covered his face, trying to hide the tears that were falling down, as well as the proof that his heart was nothing but bleeding at that moment.

Issei discharged his feelings in absolute silence.

+ + + + + +

It was a dream, sort of. A hazy previous life memory being relived as his conscious self was resting in a deep slumber. He had trouble remembering it correctly.

Everything was blurred and washed down. It felt like I was in middle of a clouds. The fluffy sensation and colors were actually there, they were real.

The memory was so unclear. Something that shouldn't have been there. But it was there. The memory would always stay there, and in consequence, he would remember the person in that memory too. That person was the problem.

Even though it happened so many years ago, it still was there, hidden.

He was standing in front of someone.

It looked like a human. It was anything but a human.

It had beautiful features. Long white hair that followed each one of its movements in a delicate yet wild manner, sky blue eyes that stared at everything with amusing look and at him with self-willingly hunger for mischief and warped ideas of 'fun'.

It liked to smile. It was a smile of mischievous satisfaction.

When he saw that creature smile, he knew something was coming.

Whenever it smiled, Takeshi felt a chill run down his spine.

Then it said while smiling :

.

.

'I hope you will entertain me,Takeshi-kun '

.

.

--- and then, something swallowed him

and everything turned dark.

"...! "

The teenager shot up forward. A desperate gasp got stuck in his throat as he instinctively tried to calm down himself. He attempted to control his respiration seconds later, slowing his deranged heartbeats bit by bit.

Takeshi grasped his left wrist with his right hand, putting enough strength to hurt himself in the process.

It was half by accident, half on purpose.

Hurting himself was the best way to wake up completely. To fully understand that the sceneries he had witnessed in his dreams were just that – dreams. Unreal, illusionary, product of a conscience that was too occupied ruminating about anything that wasn't a teenager's youthful and exciting life, but other more serious and abnormal matters.

Yet, he took in the feeling. The feeling of irrational dread, of mistrust in the images his own brain forced him to see. In doing so he made sure he wouldn't relax too quickly and surrender himself to his tiredness.

Dreams and nightmares were rare treasures for him. The metal box that was his brain kept away any active emotional conflict that would affect any other person. Because of this, he never dealt with any subconscious preoccupation like others did.

This meant he wasn't someone assailed by dreams very often. He just went to sleep and stared at the brightness of his own conscience before waking up again.

This was a new experience…

…No, not new. Just something he forgot about.

" Wh-What was that? "

Takeshi wasn't an emotionless robot or something like that. He was human, flawed in his own strange way, and he knew by nature what a dream felt like. He just stopped dreaming when he understood he wasn't looking forward to anything, since there was no point in doing so. Even after experiencing reincarnation many years ago, his life was still as same as his previous one.....boring.

Only humans dreamed of a recurring problem. Only humans dreamt of a better future. Only humans had actual problems to overcome. Only humans had the chance to grow up and be better.

He was stalling as a human, if that wasn't obvious enough.

But, not all things were bleak for him. He just had a dream. That was a good sign. It meant he was able to care about something, whatever it was.

Maybe, because he was taking the initiative of actually doing something and grasping the results he wanted, certain parts of his mind began working again in consequence. Since that inactive part –the emotional part of his brain- was once again needed for him to understand his situation, after a long time of not doing so, the impact it made on him was prominent.

"…Huh, if put like that, I sound like a drug addict who has been too much time in abstinence, and he's getting his chemical kicks again all of a sudden…" he detachedly murmured while rubbing his eyes.

It was an inappropriate comparison. Emotions were much more than a drug he couldn't touch. They were more like…

"…If believers need a God in their lives, I surely need feelings instead."

He didn't take pride in his null poetic talent, but that was a better encapsulation of his mindset.

What was a believer without a God to pray to? What was someone trying to be human without emotions to feel?

It was like those things. It wasn't just a childish wish of his anymore. It was a desperate need.

"Thought I guess it's finally my win, after a long time." He opened and closed his left hand, cracking the joints of his fingers. "I should make the most of it as fast as I can, too…"

For that end, he was skipping school today. The boy was aware that sitting around and doing nothing like before was detrimental for him. He needed to take action as quick as possible, or else, death would be waiting around the corner anytime soon.

Takeshi escaped from the messy hold of his mattresses, and got out of bed. He stretched a little, brushing his tiredness off.

Since he was staying in today, he at least wanted to reduce the number of distractions his own room could provide. For this reason, went through the effort of tidying up his resting place, and fixed anything out of place in his room. He needed to be concentrated for a little activity he was preparing.

After making sure there was enough space in the middle of the room for him to move, Takeshi walked to his closet and took some clothes out of it. They were a plain short-sleeved white T-shirt, and black trainer pants. He didn't like them per say, but they were the most comfortable option for the moment.

Putting them on, he proceeded to the desk where his computer was. There was a lone paper on top of it, very recently used, with traces of a list written in strong colored blue ink. His pale hand took ahold of it.

Once he gave it a quick look, he spoke.

"…Then, just to be sure, I have 60 seconds of push-ups, 50 seconds of sit-ups, 50 seconds of squats and 40 seconds of the plank, which leaves me with 3 minutes and 20 seconds in total of exercises, leaving aside the 20 seconds of rest between each exercise, and the stretching afterwards…"

He recited to himself a list of physical exercises, to get familiarized with their order and duration.

The idea was simple. In the context of a war between supernatural beings, which battled against each other with powers beyond human comprehension, Takeshi was a weak and minuscule existence against anyone else. He wouldn't be able to hold his own against any opponent, let alone defeat Yuuma Amano.

So, after taking a couple days of rest to come to terms and digest his situation, he began developing a general training that would at least give his body more strength, endurance, and speed overall. He wasn't able to utilize any kind of magic in any sort of way.

Basically, Takeshi was defenseless in the magic area.

That didn't mean he couldn't at least work out a little. He wasn't an expert on building muscle or gaining strength, but a little bit of healthy physical activity wasn't unwelcome.

His Sacred Gear was a problem. Supposedly, he had one. Yuuma killed him for a reason, and Rias entertained the possibility too. But he already tried the method that was most accessible to him and failed. Either he was wasting time for an artifact that he probably didn't have, either it refused to manifest for whatever motive.

"Anyway, it's not like pondering about it will suddenly allow me to use it. I better stop thinking about useless things and start," he said to himself. Right now, his training was the priority. He could worry about magic later on.

He rested himself face-down on the floor.

The first exercise was push-ups. He flexed his elbows and placed his open hands besides his body each.

Then, after setting a 'mental timer', he pushed himself upwards and started.

While he was exercising, he would count the number of repetitions he performed, along with the seconds that had passed until he was allowed to rest. It was an extra burden that anyone else would surely consider useless and plain stupid, since it wasn't going to reward him with anything. But he saw it as an interesting experiment.

Doing 3 tasks at the same time would have probably sharpened his concentration. If it was indeed useful, he would keep doing it. However, he had to be careful of not overdoing it if it was too hard, or getting too lazy because it was easy.

If it was easy for him, he had to make it harder. If there was no challenge, he wouldn't have room to grow.

However, there was a difference between 'challenge' and 'impossible'.

Takeshi needed to search for the middle ground. Something that was hard and pushed him to his limits, but not to the point of overwhelming him completely. Something that helped him to learn in a way or another.

Yuuma, for example, was an impossible. She couldn't give him anything to learn from, because she was simply too strong for him now. Searching a fight against her right now would be suicide, obviously. That didn't mean he had to escape from any dangerous situation.

'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger', as long as it has the possibility of killing you in the first place. He needed to learn how to take risks when the situation favored him.

It was the dilemma of getting stronger, or smarter, or anything more than what he was now.

He started counting. One, two, three… slowly, but surely, he had reached the ten push-ups mark before the twenty seconds.

Takeshi felt his body heat up. He could hear his own heart because of the effort now, and his weight began to play against him.

The boy never worked out seriously in his life. At most, he could only do 20 push-ups and then his arms would instantly give out under the pressure.

He hated to admit it, but he was skinny. A branch that could easily be broken with just one strong push. Of course, he also didn't eat lots of food because his time was mostly spent sleeping the life out of his body. There was no energy to replenish, simply because he didn't spend any.

But that wasn't an excuse to explain the failure that never came to be. No, that just added more importance to the element of surprise.

What did that mean? Well, Takeshi had already passed the 20 push-ups without slowing down one bit some seconds ago.

20 push-ups was his much dreaded limit. And still, he kept going.

'Weird, why does it feel like I have become much stronger than before'. He let room for that one appreciation to cross his mind, trying to not lose count of the seconds remaining and the number of push-ups.

One could see he was putting effort, but his tiredness hadn't quite grown past his abilities. He himself was surprised at the unexpected outcome, but awing about it in the middle of the exercise wasn't beneficial in any way.

When he passed the 40 push-ups, very small droplets of sweat could be seen on his forehead, and arms.

He wasn't exhausted yet. He could keep going.

There was pressure on his wrists, and elbows. One could hear a very soft cracking sound coming from his limbs, probably because flexing his arms after not doing so for a long time was unstiffening them.

50 push-ups, and 42 seconds. Some inconsistencies in his breathing could be noticed, which was a clear sign he was surely approaching the actual brink of what his body permitted him to perform. He couldn't perfectly control his intake of oxygen and that was becoming more and more apparent.

His left arm was itching from the inside, almost burning. The veins of said arm swelled with hot blood, and its muscles contracted and expanded unnaturally. The bones dug against his skin inwardly, as if they were trying to burst through it. The electrical signals sent by his brain burned his nerves, which seemed unaccustomed to what could be an otherwise normal action from his body.

Every contraction of his heart felt like someone was smashing a brick against his back.

60 push-ups.

His body shook. Takeshi's eyes widened.

He tried to do at least one last push-up, but…

At first he thought he was just out of breath. But when a sense of sudden dizziness assaulted his sight, and a heavy weight budged his chest downwards, he knew something was wrong.

"…Ah."

His heart stopped moving.

It hadn't skipped a beat. It literally stopped pumping blood for a scary amount of seconds.

It wasn't just a failing in his body, or exhaustion. No, it was more serious than that.

As if his heart had ceased existence. As if it had vanished from inside his body, leaving nothing behind.

Just like that night.

His body felt the same way. Takeshi couldn't even tell if it was there anymore.

"Ugh…"

One could see veins popping out on his neck. Shallow whispers escaped from his lips as he forced himself to talk.

Thump

--and he collapsed.

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Few minutes later :-

.

.

.

.

"Cough! "

Takeshi sit-up with right hand scratching his chest, like wanting to tear his ribcage open and pump his heart manually.

It took some minutes for him to regain a stable breathing, and his heart's thumping slowly regained its normal loudness.

" What happened just now, d-did I just died and got revive? "

He still can't make it out what just happened with him right now.

'Do I really have a sacred gear inside of me? Does it grants immortality?'

'No I can't get confident with this, first I need to check it out'

He grab his chin while contemplating.

'But how? It's too risky'

The brunet remained there, cursing the obnoxious failure that was his own body, and the mysteries it hid from him.

"…I'm pathetic," he muttered under his breath, annoyed with himself. "I almost killed myself just because of a little workout. I would laugh at me if I was Akeno…"

He thought of himself as pitiful, as even though he was still aware of the abnormality with his body but can't do anything with it without risking his life.

Takeshi previously assumed he was revived by someone and was given a new arm and a heart. He came to this conclusion after meeting with Rias Gremory and hearing about Evil Pieces from her.

'But was it really true?'

Right now, he was doubting his previous theory. He was sure it had something to do with his body.

:

:

…Pushing cynical assumptions aside, this was an interesting piece of experience.

He could feel that his body has became quite stronger than before. He could push himself farther than what he could have done before, but doing so in excess could endanger his life.

Probably.

He disliked hasty conclusions, but they were better than no conclusion at all.

Either way, he failed his exercise. He crumbled down at the 68 seconds mark, just 2 seconds before actually finishing. The number of repetitions was decent, but he needed to maintain his composure until he was done.

Takeshi was aware of how powerful and fast Yuuma was. 2 seconds were nothing for her, and if he couldn't strain himself to fulfill an action that marked the difference between his life and death, then he could consider himself a walking corpse already.

"Practice makes perfect. Let's hope practice also turns this insufferable body of mine into something that doesn't die by breathing."

The secret was repeating it until it became boring or easy, which was ironic. Takeshi had a natural disgust for anything remotely similar to a static routine, dead in essence, and virtually impossible to enjoy after doing it a few hundreds of times. Workout would also become a routine, which would ultimately kill him if it came to it.

So, again, he had to train again and again, and then make it harder before he got bored.

He turned over, and positioned himself to do more push-ups.

He preferred to complete his exercise the way he wanted, heart-attack or not. He would worry about his health when he was sure he wouldn't get killed by others and not himself.

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