Issei's breathing was slow and belabored. His head was fuzzy and he was so, so, so tired.
"Don't feel like… working in gardening… for the rest of my life."
This time she rasped out a giggle. Really, if she weren't that scary, he would have found that almost cute.
"Shame that, you would have made for a nice statue." There was a wet sucked and a small thumb as the chisel was pulled free, Dusa letting it fall to the ground with a soft thump.
Was she… flirting with him? Now? Of all times?
"I thought you would be angrier."
"No, not angry. Just.. surprised. Disappointed, certainly. No point in complaining about it now. Despite everything… I guess it wasn't meant to be. A hero slays the monster in the end."
He frowned, squinting at the darkening light above… maybe it was all the blood he was leaking.
"Again with the monster stuff, huh?"
He just couldn't see it.
Besides him, he felt her shift.
"You said I was beautiful earlier. Can you really say that after everything that happened? Everything I've done? How can I not be a monster?"
The floor felt cold against Issei's back. Everything felt cold, really. But he did his best to answer her. Thinking back to everything. The game of cat and mouse. The teasing and chasing. The games and the anger right at the end when she, whoever Dusa-chan was, couldn't take the compliment.
Craning his neck to the side, he took a good long look at her.
No matter how much he recalled everything that happened the past few days… he just couldn't do it.
Couldn't say it.
Maybe she really was a monster despite everything… but what his gut was telling him was…
"I meant it… you know? You're really pretty. Just… maybe… next time… you should have tried talking first."
There was another giggle. This one clear like tinkling bells. Soft, strong fingers wrapped around his. A grip firm, but tender.
"What a strange human you are… ah, I don't know your name."
Maybe it was how blurry his vision was, but in those final moments, his vision going dark, he took comfort in how she smiled at him.
"Issei."
"One day, maybe,if we ever meet again Issei, I would like to try talking with you."
And there was no more.
48 hours later
Rias didn't think of herself as a complicated person.
She enjoyed many simple pleasures.
A simple life in a country where she could stand on her own two feet without the shadow of the Gremory name looming over her. The few expectations she did have to deal with were tied to her own need to excel and to how others had come to see her as a figure to look up to.
She enjoyed that.
She enjoyed the peace that routine brought her.
School, club activities, her own personal hobbies. Those were irreplaceable pleasures she wouldn't have experienced had she decided to stay at home.
She would have remained Rias Gremory.
Never just 'Rias'.
To finally have the chance to cut loose and build something for herself, whether it be just a reputation, rapport with her classmates, or a human education in a school of merit, those were things she wanted to do the right way, something to look back on and realize she achieved them on her own.
Anything that disrupted this precious reprieve from her dull everyday life in the Underworld was something that greatly annoyed Rias.
For example, surprise visits from one of the most powerful men in the Underworld.
Was it any surprise she was ticked off?
"You can't give me the cold shoulder forever, you know?"
Rias didn't say anything, maintaining her most unamused stare.
"I'm not gonna turn to stone if you glare at me."
She tried again, just to be sure.
Unfortunately, she lacked that power. And it's not like it would have worked even if she did. There was simply too much distance between herself and her older brother, the man who rose to the position of Satan.
It didn't hurt to try, however.
"President, you'll get wrinkles if you keep this up."
Rias scoffed, shooting the dark haired girl beside her an annoyed look of her own. Who merely responded with a dainty smile, completely unaffected by the red head's rotten mood.
Rias dared to say she was enjoying it.
"Yes, well, how else am I supposed to react to a sudden visit in the middle of my vacation? I just came back from home." Her parents would have never allowed her to spend as much time in the human world as they did without concessions. And she often spent part of, if not her entire vacations back in the Underworld.
To come back to Japan, only to have her brother drop in on her unannounced?
That was a bit beyond the pale.
Her big brother, for his part, didn't seem the least bit affected by her displeasure. In fact, he probably was enjoying it in some way, though, thankfully, different to how Akeno did. Although Rias could tell that there was something wrong with the usually unflappable Satan.
He wasn't as relaxed as usual.
If anything, he looked like he was expecting someone to show up, checking his watch every few minutes, leg bumping against the coffee table, stolen glances sent to the maid who dutifully stood beside the door.
She was doing a much better job looking like everything was okay.
'Which means this isn't a house call.' Rias sighed.
As annoyed as she was, even she knew when to take things seriously.
"Well, why the visit then?" She might as well bite the bullet. But she swore if this was about the Phenex trying to push the date of her wedding ahead one more time, she was going to find a way to turn herself into a toad in protest. Good luck explaining why their son had to marry a toad!
"Can't I take time out from my busy schedule just to see you?" He smiled wryly, leaning forward so his chin rested on the palm of his hand.
Rias sighed.
Dealing with her brother could be a chore at times.
"You could, but we just saw each other less than a week ago. Is something the matter?"
The way his left eyebrow twitched gave away the game.
He really was worried about something. And, even more than that, she noticed. So, smiling at her, Lucifer gave up on pretending.
"You're really perceptive for a girl your age. Have I ever said that?" The older devil leaned back, shoulders sagging in relief. Was he… trying to pretend everything was normal?
"I lose track of the many compliments you shower me with, brother."
And it was true. There probably wasn't a single positive thing to be said about someone that Sirzechs hadn't said about her before, in front of others or not. Usually while pinching her cheeks when she was younger.
He better not be thinking of doing that here and now.
Her pride wouldn't be able to take it.
"Well, I'll answer your question with another. Do you remember when we were discussing the details for your stay on Earth? Why we went through the hoops of negotiating with the Bael Clan to allow you to take Kuoh over?"
Rias tried to recall.
Back then she wasn't terribly interested in the political maneuvering and concessions being asked for, or, rather, demanded. In her mind, just about any city in just about any part of the country would have sufficed so long as she got her wish to stay in Japan.
She didn't care about anything else.
Drop some power stone guys😅👍