The clean-up is
always troublesome...

 

Part 1

 

MC’s POV

 

My body felt heavy, my
consciousness was all over the place, but I was waking up. With some effort, I
opened my eyes.

 

My sight was unfocused, but it
quickly started to focus again after opening and closing my eyelids a couple of
times.

 

I could see an unfamiliar
ceiling now that I could see clearly.

 

What was I doing...? Why am I
here?. I asked myself those questions a couple of times before I started to
remember what happened.

 

Right... Kaa-san arrived in
time to save us. That was really close call.

 

Considering the luxurious
ceiling, we must still be in the Underworld, probably the Sitri mansion.

 

I started to get the feeling
of what's below me, a soft bed and pillow, and a warm blanket. It makes me want
to go back to sleep again but I can't do that.

 

Little by little I regain the
feeling of my body, but there is no pain. Kaa-san did a pretty good job as
expected.

 

I try to raise my body but I
am feeling weak.

 

Recalling that I lost a good
amount of blood back there, I accepted my weakened state as a side effect I
could do nothing about for now.

 

I am still feeling feeble.

 

"You should stay like
that..." I heard a familiar voice telling me that.

 

Turning to the source of
voice...

 

I see Sona-chan coming through
the door of the room.

 

Wearing a new green dress with
a similar design as the one she had before. Sona-chan seemed to have already
changed from her previous attire.

 

"Hey..." I weakly
muttered.

 

My voice seems to be in the
same state as the rest of my body.

 

"Don't 'hey' me...
*sigh*" Sona-chan exasperatedly said as she walked closer.

 

Is she in a bad mood? Because
I didn't recall making her mad, although I heard before that not recalling and
not doing it was not the same.

 

"You were in a really bad
state; Saya-san had a hard time healing you." Sona-chan explained.

 

Well, I was beaten up but if
Kaa-san had it hard, then the damage must've been greater than I thought.

 

"You were reckless, and I almost abandoned someone who tried that hard for
us..." Sona-chan muttered in a whisper with her head
down. She was now seating in a chair beside the bed I am lying on, but she was
still kind of far from me, this bed was uselessly big for some reason.

 

However, even if you say it in
a low tone of voice, I can still hear you. As a nekomata, I have enhanced
senses, like my hearing.

 

"You did not do something
like that; I was the one that made you leave with Rias-chan at that
time..." I said to the crestfallen devil.

 

Sona-chan still keeps her head
down.

 

"But I still did not
hesitate to do that..." Sona-chan did not raise her head.

 

No matter how composed she
might try to act, in the end, Sona-chan is a good girl deep down, one who feels
troubled by her actions.

 

"You still came back, you
know?" I told her.

 

"No, that was Rias who
convinced me to do so..." Sona-chan replied.

 

This girl is stubborn.

 

"If you wanted to abandon
me, you would have ignored Rias-chan and keep flying nonstop. However, you came
back because you truly wanted to do so..." I muttered.

 

Maybe I hurt those two more by
making them leave than letting them stay. Nevertheless, I was not in a
condition to fight while worrying about their safety.

 

My words triggered a reaction
from the young girl.

 

"But... But..."
Sona-chan said while some tears formed in her eyes.

 

Urgh... Don't cry.

 

"It's ok... I am not
blaming you." I tried to soothe her.

 

"*sobbing*
Really...?" Sona-chan asked with tears running down her face.

 

"Yes." I confirmed
in a strong tone.

 

Ah ah... she is crying.

 

I am such a bad guy.

 

My body still feels heavy
but... a man gotta do what a man gotta do.

 

I struggled to move my hand
to... pat her head.

 

I don't know what else to do,
but hopefully this helps.

 

"It's ok... It's
ok..." I kept saying that over and over.

 

...

...

 

I kept doing that for a bit
more until she finally calmed down.

 

"Don't tell this to
anyone..." Sona-chan muttered, probably embarrassed for her earlier
action.

 

Wiping the tears on her face,
she told me that in a weak tone of voice.

 

Not going to discuss that. If
certain Magical Girl found out I made this girl here cry, it would lead me to a
bad end.

 

"Sure..." I nodded.

 

"I still want to properly
apologize, I am sorry, also, thank you for your help this time." Sona-chan
said as she slightly smiled.

 

"It's ok. I was just
doing whatever I wanted." I replied.

 

Once again, there was silence
for a moment.

 

Then Sona-chan stood up and-

 

"You can rest for
now..." Sona-chan muttered as she started to leave the room. "By the
way... let's continue that talk about the peerage later, Nora-san.”

 

Eh? Does she still want to
talk about that? Wait, she called me Nora-san just now. I ranked up as a friend
huh. Ah, whatever. I will worry about that later.

 

We will leave soon anyway.

 

...

...

 

After a little more time of me
doing nothing while resting, I decided to meditate for a while, but I started
to feel some discomfort in my body so I came to a stop, removing the blanket, I
found myself in new attire. The white shirt and black pants looked like they
are made from high-quality materials.

 

How curious how I just noticed
that.

 

Considering the possible
origins of these, I began to wonder who changed my clothes. I am not sure what
embarrasses me more, having my mother looking at me naked, or some random
stranger doing it. I might look like I have five years old but I am more than twenty
in my mind.

 

Well, although I am bothered
by that, the discomfort comes from behind me. Using my hands to check, I
discovered that I got another tail. It feels strange having one, but now I got
two. However, now I can call myself a nekomata, with only one I was just a cat,
well, not anymore.

 

On another note, I began
inspecting the rest of my body, just in case. My body was healed by Kaa-san but
my reserves of Ki were still lacking.

 

Even though having it recover
overtime is an option, I am still not home. Staying in the Underworld you'd
never know when some wacko will cause some sort of incident; the list would be
long if you start writing names, which is why it never hurts to be at your best
here. Although I am still lacking in the blood department and that won't let me
move as I want to, so I should obediently rest.

 

That takes me to the question,
what was Kaa-san doing?

 

It makes me wonder if she is
dealing with the details of the request... or... no, she wouldn't have flipped
and started to fight the devil's side because she finds them responsible for
what happened right? Hahaha… haha… ha.

 

Nah... even she....
wouldn't... do... that?

 

No no no, if I am calmly
resting here then there is no way that it is... happening.

 

Maybe I should go and take a look?

 

While I trust Kaa-san... she
can overreact.

 

I stand up from the bed with
some trouble, but not minding the discomfort, I try to walk out of the room. As
my hands prepare to open the door, it occurred to me that I had no idea where
she was. Finding her could take a while if I randomly check room by room.

 

"Oh, Nora-chan. Sona-chan
told me that you woke up so I came to see how you were doing." Rias-chan happily
spoke as she opened the door just to find me in front of her.

 

Rias-chan had changed clothes
too, now wearing a purple dress.

 

"Eh... I am fine." I
said somewhat at a loss what to answer since I unexpectedly found her like
this.

 

"You had us worried, you
know. Back there, you suddenly started to fall and then your mother jumped to
treat your injuries. It took her a long time before she finally stopped and started
to carry you to come here." Rias-chan explained.

 

That sounds bad. I might've
pushed myself too hard.

 

"I am sorry for worrying
you..." I could only honestly apologize for causing trouble.

 

I know the feeling of seeing
others lying sick without being capable of doing anything. They must have been
anxious about me during that time.

 

"Eh? No... I am not
trying to blame you... just be more careful next time, well, not like I want
you to be like that again. I know that you were hurt because of us, but it
still pains me seeing you like that." Rias-chan uttered in a rather
flustered tone.

 

Did you not expect me to
apologize?

 

"Rias-chan, do you know
where Kaa-san is?" I changed the subject by asking her this now that she
is here.

 

Having someone bring me to her
should be faster.

 

"Your mother? She is
currently talking with Onii-sama who came here not long ago. They were talking
about something serious so they told me to go to play somewhere else."
Rias-chan said after pondering for a moment.

 

Come again? She wouldn't pick
a fight with the guy, right. Rias-chan 'Onii-sama' can only be that guy, one of
the four Maou.

 

"Can you lead me to where
they are?" I asked while pretending to be calm.

 

"Sure!" Rias-chan happily
said.

 

This girl sure is full of
energy.

 

Isn't she tired after all
that?

 

"By the way, when did you
get another tail?" Rias-chan suddenly asked.

 

I will be hearing this
question a lot.

 

 

Part 2

 

3rd Person POV

 

In an unknown location, two
individuals were having a discussion.

 

Wearing black and brown robes,
the two were talking about-

 

"The plan failed, the two
devils survived." The black-robed individual muttered.

 

"Isn't this your fault?
You said you had everything we needed to succeed in the plan."  The brown-robed individual complained.

 

"We followed your script,
by killing the two devils during the visit of the woman; they would pin all the
blame for the death of the two of them on her. We went as far as making those
two creatures, using your kind as the base to lead the devils to think it was a
youkai plot and in a fit of rage from the family, they would kill her. That was
what your idea was about." The black-robed individual uttered with a tinge
of mockery in his tone.

 

Slightly agitated by that
declaration the other party clenched his fist hard enough for them to bleed.

 

"Now you are mocking
me..." The brown-robed individual replied, indignant for what he heard.

 

"We are just saying what
you said would happen, no need to get angry. Although we are disappointed that
lately, you stopped being as capable as you used to be. Your plans keep
failing, and this time we had everything you asked. We confirmed that all was
followed step by step, but it still failed. Despite everything, failure or not,
we owe you nothing now." The black-robed individual spoke.

 

"You...!!!" The
brown-robed individual yelled.

 

Surges of Ki surged from the
brown-robed individual, but the other party was unperturbed.

 

"Don't lose your cool for
something like this..." The black-robed individual stated coldly.

 

This seemed to be enough to
cool down the other party. It showed how both parties were not at the same
level.

 

"So? How did things turn
up like this? Don't tell me that those two survived by themselves." The
brown-robed individual inquired as he hid his frustration.

 

"No, they wouldn't be
able to do it if they had been alone. You could say that they had a 'little'
help from someone." The black-robed individual responded.

 

Even when the black-robed
individual knew the reason, no further explanation was given.

 

"But, we are afraid that
thanks to your failure both sides will be wary of any further threats. No
matter how good we could disguise our presence when possessing others, it is
not possible to remain unnoticed if they keep a tight security." The
black-robed individual said.

 

Anger once again filled the
brown-robed individual but one look at the other party's shining red eyes and
it went away as fast as it came.

 

"Instead of our side
owning you now, it is none other than you who is the one in debt. We lost one
of our routes to infiltrate the Underworld because of your plan, which would
have been acceptable if it caused conflicts between the devils and youkai, but
no, it was a complete waste." There was no intonation in his voice, but
the black-robed individual still sounded displeased.

 

There was a moment of silence
before the black-robed individual spoke again.

 

"We will contact you
later in regards to your payment for this." The black-robed individual
concluded before using a magic circle and teleporting away.

 

Now alone, the brown-robed
individual let his Ki overflow before starting to destroy his surroundings in a
fit of rage.

 

"This time and last time
as well, everything I planed was perfect, but all of them just screwed up
everything. You really cannot leave this kind of business to such a people. If
I want this to be done, I have to do it on my own." The brown-robed
individual spoke to himself after calming down.

 

Part 3

 

Saya’s POV

 

Gathered in a meeting room
located inside the Sitri mansion, a group of people was discussing certain
recent events.

 

On the meeting table, there were
three people seated. On one side, you could see a man and a woman. The man had
crimson hair while the woman had flaxen hair. Sitting on the other side, there
was a black-haired woman.

 

The flaxen-haired woman,
Venelana, was the first one to talk.

 

"I am sorry for this. You
probably want to take care of your son, but you are stuck here." Venelana
spoke.

 

She had an apologetic
expression on her face when she said that.

 

"No, this is something
important that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible." The
black-haired woman, Saya, replied.

 

While Saya thought that this
sort of thing was troublesome, she knew that it was sometimes crucial to deal
with certain matters as soon as possible.

 

This time, Sirzechs Lucifer,
who is one of the four Maou, came in person to deal with the aftermath of the
event. Although from what she knows, this had something to do with the man in
question being the older brother of one of the two devils that were involved in
the situation itself.

 

From Saya’s perspective, it
was normal to try to intervene when the family was in trouble.

 

Cutting short her thoughts,
she turns her eyes to the Maou in question. With shoulder-length crimson hair
and blue eyes, an appearance that can be considered handsome, appearing to be
in his twenties. That's how you can describe the man.

 

"I believe that I should
say this before anything. Thank you for helping us to find my little
sister." Sirzechs said in a sincere tone.

 

Saya did not find such a word
needed considering that they should go to her son who risked his safety for
them.

 

"You can tell that to my
son later, I did nothing important." Saya responded curtly.

 

She couldn’t help but use a
dry tone with him. She was able to get along better with Venelana despite being
a devil. Even if Saya had decided to be kinder to devils, she was still angry
for not being able to be beside her son when he needed her.

 

“I will do that when he wakes
up, but for now, I think there is an important topic to discuss." Sirzechs
spoke in a serious tone.

 

While she expected this, Saya
wondered how this would go.

 

"We already know most of
the facts regarding what happened. However, we found more information that
should be mentioned. Where the magic circle that teleported the children was
located, we found one of the Sitri family’s servants, unconscious. The maid in
question is currently being treated, but she does not show any signs of waking
up." Sirzechs stated.

 

That seemed to be quite
suspicious, Saya thought.

 

"In regards to the
creature that caused so much trouble for the children, we discovered body parts
belonging to a Youkai...” Sirzechs continued.

 

Back there, Saya did not pay
attention to the remains of the creature so this is the first time she hears
this.

 

Those words made her furrow
her eyebrows.

 

"This is to lead us to
believe that a Youkai did this or so we believe that it was staged to be judged
that way. I considered this point a lot and I think they were counting that I
would do something drastic after hearing about my sister being hurt or dead.”
Sirzechs explained. “I won't deny that I wouldn't be able to keep myself in
check if that happened."

 

That was something that she
could understand, but she knows that if her son was hurt, she has better things
to do than to lash out angrily. The first thing that she would have to do is to
treat her son, slaughtering his enemies comes in second place.

 

"Still, there is
something that I can't quite explain if I follow that train of thoughts. You conveniently
had something that let you track your son's whereabouts. Just from that, it
opens to the new possibility that you could be one of the culprits and not one
of the victims. At this point, we can either conclude that an outsider caused
all this, or that there was an insider helping." Sirzechs concluded.

 

Saya expected this kind of
topic when she was asked to come here. Honestly, she would like to complain
because of what her son went through. Nevertheless, the conversation is going
in way that was no good for her. The points either help her or condemn her. To
be honest, she was clueless regarding the token. Sure, she is extremely
thankful that she had it, but she doesn't know why Yasaka gave it to her and
Nora.

 

While she was thinking, Sirzechs
waited for her answer. Venelana just remained silent as she observed the two of
them.

 

Just then, the door opened and
a voice was heard.

 

"I think I can explain
about that." Nora, her son, said as he came into the room.

 

Saya turned to look blankly at
her son.

 

She began to think about what
kind of punishment she should give him later. He should be resting and not
walking around.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

MC’s POV

 

As soon as I said those words
and walked into the room, I felt a chill running down my back. I felt danger,
but I could not tell the origin of it.

 

"I am sorry to interrupt
your meeting, but I can help you explaining about the token that was used to
track me." I repeated my words once more.

 

Behind me, Rias-chan remained
near the door peeking inside the room standing near another individual.
Grayfia-san was also here. She was waiting outside this room preventing people
from entering when Rias-chan and I got here, but I managed to convince her to
let me in after explaining to her that I had more information about this event,
and after I explained over and over that I could stand up just fine because she
wanted to take me to rest again. Thankfully she listened to me and allowed me
to enter the room.

 

Back to the room, Kaa-san was
looking at me with a blank look, wait, I detected danger coming from her. So
she was the cause, huh.

 

The other people (devils) were
looking this way too.

 

Observing me for a moment, the
crimson-haired man that I can identify as Sirzechs, given his features, moved
his eyes from me to the two other people (devils) behind me.

 

"We should hear what
Nora-sama has to say. He was there too and we haven't listened to his version
of the story yet." Grayfia-san explained.

 

Added '-sama-' to the list of
things I have been called. I guess she is using her serious work mode now that
her king is here.

 

The first one to talk to me
was Venelana-san.

 

"Are you sure you should
be walking around already?" Venelana-san asked. She had a worried
expression.

 

I thought that she would
object to my presence considering how she did not want to touch the topic from
before with me there, but that case might’ve been special.

 

"It's ok. Kaa-san did a
perfect job at fixing me up so I am fine". I answered.

 

That sounded odd.

 

Closing his eyes for a moment,
Sirzechs seemed to think for a moment before saying.

 

"You are Nora right? Can
I call you Nora-kun? Well, if you have things to say, you can sit here, but let
me ask the same as my mother, are you alright? I heard you suffered quite a
bit." Sirzechs-san inquired.

 

I nodded as an answer to both
questions and took a seat near Kaa-san.

 

"As for-." Sirzechs
wanted to say something else but he was interrupted by Rias-chan.

 

"I want to stay. Can't I?"
Rias-chan asked as she sent Sirzechs a pair of puppy eyes.

 

That is sneaky. That guy was a
total sis-con as I recall.

 

Yeah, one look at him and he
was trying to come up with a rebuttal but could not say it.

 

While he struggled to answer,
someone else spoke.

 

"Rias... If you stay here
then Sona will have to be by herself, you don't want her to play alone,
right?" Venelana-san spoke with a gentle smile.

 

Rias-chan pouted at that
answer but seemed to comply.

 

"Grayfia, would you mind
taking her to Sona? Oh, also prepare them some snacks and tea."
Venelana-san muttered.

 

Grayfia-san just bowed a
little as a sign that she understood and then she took Rias-chan by the hand to
lead her out of the room. Probably to where Sona-chan is right now, wherever
that is.

 

Before going, Rias-chan turned
around and looked at me-

 

"Nora-chan, let's finish
our match later." Rias-chan said with an eager expression.

 

I just nodded with a smile at
words.

 

I can't tell her… that I
completely forgot about that. Urgh, the guilt.

 

With Grayfia-san and Rias-chan
out of the room, the discussion could continue.

 

I faced Sirzechs-san as I
started to speak.

 

"You are asking about the
token that was used to track us, right? That is something that I asked an
acquaintance to prepare just in case something bad happened." I explained.

 

I could hear Kaa-san muttering
beside me "When did he do that? Now that I recall he and Yasaka-chan
sometimes have very long conversations and don't tell me what they are speaking
about". But I ignored it, if I mind I lose.

 

Taking a moment to think about
the meaning of my words, Sirzechs-san then spoke.

 

"You are talking about
something bad happening. Are you referring to the possibility that the meeting
would go wrong?" Sirzechs-san narrowed his eyes at me.

 

I could tell that there was
slight anger in his tone, but I could not blame him; my words suggested that I
expected what happened. It also could be taken as me talking bad about his
mother since she was who requested the meeting.

 

Please go easy on me, I am
just a kid. Well, I look like one.

 

"I don't mean anything
bad with that, it's just that you don't know what to expect since the requester
was not exactly known. We also had to come here, and the Underworld is not a
land we are that familiar with. It's just a matter of being careful." I
clarified the matter.

 

He seemed to think for a
moment before looking at Venelana-san.

 

"You did not tell me
about that." Sirzechs said with furrowed eyebrows.

 

To which the flaxen-haired
woman put on a troubled smile.

 

"Sirzechs, you did not
give anyone time to explain. As soon as Grayfia contacted you and mentioned
that Rias was in danger, you cut the communication and appeared here after
arranging some time off of your duties." Venelana-san responded.

 

This siscon, he wouldn't have
abandoned any important duty, right?

 

Venelana narrowed her eyes
after seeing him remain silent.

 

"You arranged everything
so you could come here... right?" Venelana-san muttered in a low tone with
a slight smile, but at the same time, it did not look like one.

 

"Well, *Cough* about the
matter we were talking about. Nora-kun, I understand your point. I think the
reason you were being careful was a normal concern. I apologize if acted
somewhat rudely. I take my family's safety pretty seriously. I did not even get
to introduce myself to you so far. I am Sirzechs Lucifer, brother of Rias
Gremory, and the son of Venelana Gremory ". The siscon hurriedly spoke.

 

So he did it.

 

"Sirzechs, I think that
you will need to have a serious conversation with Grayfia later".
Venelana-san smiled even wider.

 

Sirzechs-san instantly started
to sweat.

 

"...Yes." The siscon
lowered his head with a defeated look.

 

Grayfia-san, his reaction is
pretty intense. What have you done to the guy so far? No, forget it. Not knowing
is a blessing.

 

"Putting that aside, I
think that with the misunderstanding clear, we can assume that someone wanted
to use this opportunity to sow discord between the present parties, even hoping
that it came to a serious confrontation between devils and youkais."
Sirzechs-san spoke after recovering.

 

This time, I remained silent.
I came here only to speak about the token and check on Kaa-san. Since she is
not exchanging blows with anyone then everything is fine.

 

"It seems that way, but I
am not sure who would want that". Kaa-san muttered with a pondering look.

 

No, I know a bunch of sickos
that would jump in joy if conflict broke out, too many to count actually.

 

"I am sorry to ask you
this considering that you spent a difficult time and even got hurt there.
However, is there something else you can tell us about what happened?"
Sirzechs-san inquired.

 

"Well..." I started
to explain everything I saw.

 

Regarding the strands of black
smoke coming from the maid who teleported us.

 

The actions the creature took.

 

How it ate the weakened one.

 

I was thoroughly when I
explained that feeling I got from the creature.

 

"I understand. While what
you said was similar to what the other two told us, as someone who faced the
creature head-on, you have more a detailed explanation about it. However, to
have eaten the weakened one and it even mutated into something like that. There
is too much that needs to be investigated". Sirzechs-san had a frown on
his face as he spoke.

 

That thing was pretty weird. I
don't recall reading something similar in the light novel. This is another
proof that fully trusting the information I have from those books is dangerous.
There are probably even more things that were never mentioned laying in wait
out there.

 

"Nora-chan, about what
happened. We will talk when we get home." Kaa-san said in a bright and
sunny tone of voice.

 

Why do I feel a chill if the
tone is so sunny?

 

"Anyways, I think we can
conclude the discussion for now. Nora-kun, I am truly thankful for what you
did, I can't even think of what would've happened if you had not gone to such a
length for those two. For taking care of my sister's and her best friend's
safety, thank you." Sirzechs-san sincerely said.

 

It feels strange to hear this
much gratitude when it is not from the person I saved.

 

"I just did what I
wanted. They are good girls and I did not want them to get hurt. You don't have
to thank me that much." I replied.

 

"Can I go now?" I
said as I stood up and was preparing to leave the room.

 

"Wait, Nora-kun. I also
would like to thank you for what did. As a mother, I am truly thankful that my
child came back safe. I owe it all to you. Thank you." This time,
Venelana-san spoke words of gratitude.

 

Stop it. I am not used to it.

 

"Nora-kun, wait for a
moment and Grayfia will take you to the room you were resting a-."
Sirzechs-san spoke but I interrupted him.

 

"No need, I know the way
back." I just left on my own after I hastily saying that.

 

Who knows how long Grayfia-san
will take to come back. It feels somehow itchy when they thank me like that.

 

"Oh, Sona's sister wanted
to thank you too but she couldn't come...she...later..." I heard partly
what Sirzechs-san said but I did not get the complete message since I just
left.

 

…

…

…

 

Wandering for a while, I ended
up in the room that I think I was sleeping in before.

 

I noticed that there was an
open window so I closed it; a minute later I was lying on the bed, immersing
myself in my thoughts.

 

Earlier, I left because I was
slightly embarrassed but I can't deny that I felt tired too. Even if I am
completely healthy, I am not in my top condition. Just talking and walking for
a bit was enough to leave me exhausted. Is it all in my mind?

 

As I recall what happened a
while ago. The words I heard made me wonder about some things. Like how those
two truly felt grateful.

 

That woman from the accident
was the trigger, but I have met several people who while not as much as her,
they have changed my perspective in life.

 

That image of the woman, being
unable to do something as simple as keeping her child safe, resonated with me
so that is also why helped her. However, her gratitude later ended up moving
me.

 

I considered her a special
case because no one else showed their gratitude in that accident. She was
grateful because me saving her and her child. Now, these two, even while I did
nothing for them directly, they were thankful.

 

I wonder if it is because of
the way I lived, but I can't recall people saying their gratitude to me.

 

After what happened to my
family, I stopped caring about so many things that I did not notice that. But
maybe... maybe some people still showed me kindness, and gratitude for my
actions, however, I never paid attention to it, until none else did it again.

Realizing how much I hurt
those around me, how much I pushed them away is honestly something that leaves
me with complex thoughts.

 

Only after the accident was I
able to start thinking about others.

 

The gratitude from today, I
must not forget about it.

 

It is simple to forget, it is
easy to forget, but to truly live without regrets, I have to change how I was
before.

 

However, I wonder if it’s that
easy.

 

With those thoughts in mind, I
left the drowsiness that came to take control of me.

 

As I closed my eyes, I
might've seen the door opening and someone with silver hair coming in, but the
drowsiness did not allow my mind to wander for any longer. I just... fell
asleep.

 

--------------------------------------------------

Grayfia’s POV

 

Coming to check on Nora,
Grayfia entered the room.

 

He fell asleep..." The
silver-haired devil whispered softly

 

She had to come a bit too
late. Other than checking on him, Grayfia wanted to thank the child for what he
did in regards to Rias, something she did not have time to do before.

 

This time, the situation was
settled peacefully because the children came relatively safe, but it could've
been much worse.

 

This incident took them by
surprise. They had not been cautious enough, only discovering what happened
much later. There is much that could have been prevented, but they became lax
on their security because of the lack of any kind of danger in their own homes
after so long time in peace.

 

"Nora-chan? Are you
there?" A voice coming from outside the room broke her train of thoughts.

 

"You did not come to play
even though I told you..." A voice said.

 

It belonged to Rias who was
nowhere looking for Nora; she had entered the room from the opened door.

 

Unfortunately, he was asleep
so Rias won't be able to play with him for a while. Smiling wryly at this,
Grayfia decided to stop her from doing something that could wake up the
sleeping youkai.

 

"Ojou-sama, Nora-sama is
asleep and he won't be able to join you for now." Grayfia explained quietly.

 

While Rias did not like when
she used 'Ojou-sama' to call her, Grayfia was currently working as a maid so it
could not be helped. Acting as a big sister figure was not possible at the
moment.

 

"Rias, I told you that
you shouldn't bother him for now. Nora-san was hurt badly not long ago. Even if
he woke up a while back, he is not in the condition to play with us."
Another voice said to Rias, Sona, who was standing in the hallway, was looking
at Rias somewhat exasperated.

 

"But he said he would
continue our chess match after he finished talking with Onii-sama..." Rias
muttered crestfallenly.

 

"I will have a match with
you in his place, don't get so down. Come on, let him rest." Sona replied
as she stepped into the room and took her friend's hand to drag her out.

 

Grayfia just observed the two
as they talked to one another. Rias openly showed her liking for her new
friend, and while she did not outwardly express it, Sona also showed her care
for the Nekomata. Even while dragging Rias out she sent a concerned gaze at the
sleeping youkai.

 

Looking at their actions
brought a slight smile to her face, they were truly kind girls.

 

However, she could not stay
here for too long. Grayfia still had duties to take care of.

 

Getting closer to the young
youkai, she covered him with a blanket and fixed his somewhat messy sleeping
posture. It will remain a secret only to her that she spent some time caressing
his cat ears, only stopping when he seemed to find it uncomfortable, turning
over his head to escape her touch.

 

Grayfia fixed her posture
quickly in case he awakened from his slumber. She sighed in relief when he
changed his sleeping posture again.

 

Thinking in her mind that she
would visit him on one of her free days to thank him for today's matters, she
just left the room silently. Whether she wanted to visit to thank him... or she
wanted to have an opportunity to pet him in his cat form again is up to debate
though.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Sirzechs’ POV

 

Now alone in the meeting room,
Sirzechs was lost in thoughts.

 

Today's event was something he
could not ignore. While it is mostly because of the safety of his family
member, there was another issue that this event might've caused if not for
actions from that young youkai.

 

A confrontation with the
youkais is not something to take lightly. Their overall strength might not be
on par with the devil's side; however, they have different means they could use
to cause immense damage if conflict began, given that they have individuals
with many bizarre abilities. You can't also forget that a clash with the
youkais will most likely involve the Shinto Gods.

 

War is the least he would like
to see now. Many sacrifices were made already, including the life of some of
his friends to end the civil war years ago.

 

For the sake of a peaceful
future, something must be done.

 

Even when the distrust from
the youkai pair came as something that allowed salvaging the situation at the
end, the initial objective for the meeting between his mother Venelana and the
youkai Saya could be difficult to archive now.

 

The decision to that will be
left to Saya since his mother did not push the topic again. She might feel that
right now is not the time to talk about it again considering that Saya's child
ended up like that. It was even a surprise that Saya had not said anything
about it.

 

Collaboration between the two
sides was currently something difficult. Perhaps, they could change that.

 

The possibility could be seen
in the children, who can build a bridge that allows understanding from the two
sides in the future, but it would be unbecoming as an adult to rely only on
their efforts.

 

He will discuss this topic
with his fellow Maous. Taking the first step might be hard but it’ll worth the
shot.

 

As he knows, some people are
looking to disrupt the equilibrium. To deal with such individuals, one side
alone might not be enough.

 

Concluding his train of
thoughts, Sirzechs stood up and prepared to teleport away. He could feel that
his Queen was getting close... and even without having to directly look at her,
he could tell that she was not happy. Grayfia was irradiating enough demonic
power to prove it. She had probably talked to his mother.

 

Part 4

 

Waking up again, I found
myself looking at the familiar ceiling of my room. It seems that while I slept,
Kaa-san brought me home.

 

I wondered for a moment how
things were taken care of as I slept, but that will be something I need to talk
about with Kaa-san.

 

It is already night, judging
by the darkness of the room, although I am not sure if it is night or very
early in the morning.

 

Either way, I was completely
awake.

 

Feeling somewhat thirsty, I
got up from the futon I was laying on and went to look for something to drink.
Water would be nice, but I recall that there was some orange juice from
yesterday left.

 

...

...

 

Juice,
juice... no juice, huh.

 

Arriving at the kitchen, I did
not find any juice.

 

Thinking about the house,
Kaa-san hardly keeps any electric appliances in here. Even my laptop is pretty
much solar-powered. For the rest of the house, she uses several youkai gadgets
that work the same as electric appliances. The freezer for example uses the
same system as the token and got engraved a spell in a paper talisman (ofuda).
Technology does take different shapes depending on the needs of some. Youkais
have their ways.

 

Youkai using talismans (ofuda)
feels strange though. I always had pictured human exorcists using those, well;
this world's common sense is different from mine. I just got to accept it as
such.

 

Drinking a glass of... water,
I dealt with my thirst. I wondered what to do considering the hour. Something
that did not make too much noise had to be either meditation or writing more
manuscripts. I already prepared several volumes of the popular ones, although
they might need some edition. However, I decided to go outside. I just felt
that I should go.

 

Just outside the house,
Kaa-san was gazing at the moon alone. Wearing her nightgown, she was just
standing there, and even when I got close she did not move at all.

 

I strode to her side and did
the same. None of us said anything. For a while, that is all we did.

 

Sometime later, she spoke to
me.

 

"Nora-chan... What should
I do?" Kaa-san said while still gazing at the moon.

 

I was not sure about the exact
topic of the question since today too many things happened.

 

"About what?" I just
asked her.

 

"Today, I let you be in
danger. For a moment I thought of blaming the devils but... It was I who took
you there." Kaa-san clarified.

 

That was not her fault.

 

"Kaa-san, I was the one
who insisted that I should go, I was also the one who decided to follow along
with those two in their outing. The reason we were in danger was that someone
wanted to harm someone else. Not because of those girls and surely not because
of you." I exclaimed.

 

If there is someone to blame,
it should be me. I let those two go out, and we ended up in a precarious
situation. Although I can't deny that the culprit would've used some other
means to trap them even if we stayed inside, I had still made it easier to happen
by not cautioning them.

 

Kaa-san hearing my words
stopped gazing at the moon and turned her head my way to face me.

 

She struggled for a moment,
perhaps not finding the right words.

 

"I am not sure what to
do, I am confused. Today I experienced that I can't protect you even when I am
so close to you. No, I already knew that it was like that, I just didn't want
to accept it. That is why I do not let you go out on your own, why I kept you
here for so long." Kaa-san muttered with a gloomy expression.

 

I guess this is what
everything is reduced to. I can't find the right words for her. I never had a
child in my previous life, so parenting is beyond me. But... as her son, I
guess I can talk to her sincerely.

 

"I think you are doing as
much as you can already. You are worrying about something that every parent who
loves their children does, but there is not a definite answer for that". I
responded in a soft tone.

 

She just remained silent at my
words.

 

Damn. Can't I think of
something better to say?

 

"My case can be said to
be different from others since my mind is already that of a grown-up, but I can
tell you that you are doing a great job raising me. To be honest, in the corner
of my heart I always had this thought that you might treat me differently as
before because of my situation. Yet, you took care of me as kindly and
patiently as before. That said, you could use a bit of that kindness during
training." I quipped.

 

Oh, my little joke at the end
seemed to make her smile a little, or rather, I was half-serious with that one
though.

 

"I sometimes consider
what would've happened if you were not like you are. Perhaps I would not feel as
happy to be here as I am now." I continue talking.

 

That is me being honest.
Perhaps some other woman would've been so scared when she found out that she
would abandon me. There is also the possibility that she never found out, but I
would live by keeping secrets for such a long time.

 

"I know that you have
things you don't want to tell me. I can't judge you since I have only told you
parts of my past. However, I don't want you to think that I don't trust you. I
think that at some point, the time will come when you are willing to tell me
about it... I believe the same applies to me as well. I can't tell you to not
be afraid of failing to protect me when I don't even know how you might feel.
But while I don't understand your feelings as a mother, I understand the
feelings of a son. I would never want you to be hurt. So maybe we share the
same worries." I said while doing my best to reach for her head.

 

I used to do this to my mother
when she was alive. Those times when she was not feeling well because of her
disease were tough so patting her head calmed her sometimes.

 

This might not work as a
consolation for her, but it is the only thing I can think of right now.

 

Unfortunately, I am not tall
enough to reach, but Kaa-san understanding my intent, lowered her head for me
to reach.

 

"I might not be a good
mother..." I could hear her mutter sadly. Her expression was hidden by her
hair, but I imagine that she might be making a sad face.

 

"That is not true, you
are a great mother. I am the one who is not a good son here; I made you worry
so much again." I replied.

 

This is an old habit, to act
without considering other people's feelings. I don't even know if I can change
that.

 

"Then perhaps we are both
no good". Kaa-san said while raising her head. Her expression was not free
of worries, but she did look refreshed.

 

I smiled wryly at her words,
but I did not refute them. This time, she said that as a little joke.

 

There was something I wanted
to ask her, but I had just said that I was going to wait for her to be ready to
tell me when she is ready.

 

"Nora-chan... let's sit
for a moment". Kaa-san muttered while taking a seat on the engawa (outer
corridor).

 

I just did as she told me to,
and took a seat beside her.

 

"I think today you
noticed that I am not fond of devils, right?" Kaa-san suddenly raised a
question.

 

It wasn't hard to do, you
know?

 

"I don't like them, and
to be honest when I found out how you were suddenly in danger, I was not going
to stay there anymore. In any case, I stayed, and by collaborating with... that
maid, we found you guys sooner. When we found you, you were hurt pretty badly;
even from the distance, I could see that. But instead of being angry at them, I
just felt anxious. I only felt powerless. That is why I had no strength to
blame them. Because of the thought of losing you made me feel helpless, it was
the same feeling as that time." Kaa-san confessed.

 

It was my turn to remain
silent while she talked.

 

I think that she was feeling
talkative today or she just wanted to get that off her chest. Either way, she
just continued to talk.

 

"Your father... I lost
your father back when I was pregnant with you. I was traveling with him to a
faraway place to treat people." Kaa-san closed her eyes, her mind focused
on reminiscing the past.

 

Possibly, her thoughts were on
my now mentioned father.

 

It was to be expected. She
never mentioned him for a reason so I believe that Kaa-san had trouble
conveying the subject.

 

"He was not a Youkai, but
a human, a human priest. He worked doing missionary work. I met him during
those times..." Kaa-san explained.

 

A priest, huh. He must've been
someone tolerant of supernatural beings if he could get along with a Youkai. I
recall that she mentioned that she lost him. I wanted to believe that he might
be roaming out there; at least Kaa-san wouldn't be a widow if he is alive.

 

"At first he tried to
kill me because he thought I was a monster so Kaa-san had to beat him into
shape for calling your beautiful and kind Kaa-san like that." Kaa-san
happily said while grinning.

 

Scratch that, they did not get
along. Forget about being tolerant, he raised his arms without thinking it
twice. The heck? Even if you have such high specs in the charm category, you
can't call yourself that. Besides, using 'kind' in the same paragraph as 'beating'
someone is not correct... I think.

 

"But after 'teaching' him
to respect women, we each followed our ways, but our paths kept crossing again
and again. He was respectful every time. Oh, he also was very dedicated to
helping others... every time we met, as soon as he finished his business he
would try to leave as soon as possible to help other people in a different
place. I liked that about him." Kaa-san muttered with a slight blush on
her face.

 

...

...

...

 

There were too many things to
retort here. I mean, wasn't he super scared of you!?

 

Ah, forget it. Kaa-san's face
right now is that of a maiden in love. Whatever, I will not comment on that. As
long as she is happy, everything is ok for me.

 

What? My Tou-san's dignity?
Any empathy for the guy? Not like I have even a bit of that, I never met the
guy. Besides, I have my father from my previous life in my heart. Instead of a
guy I never met. I keep the memories of the one who raised me alive. That also
includes my mother's share too. I have come to accept Kaa-san as my family as
well.

 

I might be slightly cold, but
that is something normal since he is more like a stranger to me.

 

*Sigh*

 

I could only sigh at Kaa-san
happily talking about their meeting.

 

This might take a while.

 

...

...

 

I did not pay attention to the
time but the sky was beginning to light up when Kaa-san finished her long, long
talk about meeting Tou-san. I am not sure what time it was when I woke up to
drink... water, but I think she spoke for at least a couple of hours.

 

From what I heard she liked
him quite a lot so I believe this story will take a bad turn somewhere.

 

"Everything was fine,
until one day we were attacked by a group of devils. I had just learned that I
was pregnant and I could do nothing as they attacked him because I was busy
taking care of a group that came at me. I had to be very careful to avoid any
harm that could come to you... that is why I could not stop them." The
happily smiling Kaa-san from before was gone, in her stead, a sorrowful-looking
Kaa-san seemed to take her place.

 

Devils was it? I wonder if
there was a particular reason for the attack. There are so many crazy guys out
there that it is hard to tell. Among the devil's there a bunch of guys who
dislike other races after all.

 

As for how it happened, I can
only inwardly sigh. It feels strange. I mean, you normally don't attack people
just like that, but she had to be careful of her unborn child while the others
went for Tou-san. It smells fishy.

 

"I could only watch as he
was wounded fatally while I could do nothing, in a fit of rage I took care of
my attackers but when I got near him, it was too late. No amount of healing can
bring a dead man to life after all. My apprentice came later with
reinforcements to help me but I had taken care of the remaining devils on my
own by then." Kaa-san muttered while closing her eyes. Tears could be seen
in the corner of her eyes, but she wiped them with her hands before they fell.
"I just stopped traveling and came back to Urakyoto to remain safe until
your birth. Never did I left Urakyoto again. Asking Yasaka-chan to prepare me a
special dwelling place, I took this special space I used to grow medicinal
plants and made a house."

 

I feel like there is more to
the story, but for now, I believe that it is not a priority. I did not say any
words. I just did the same as before. I stood up a silently caressed her hair.

 

I was unsure if this was the
best kind of answer to his situation, but I couldn't think of a better course
of action.

 

Words could be said, however,
were there words that could comfort her? When I lost my family, I had lost them
little by little you could say. Friends of the family and acquaintances always
tried to give words of support, but it did nothing. You can say 'I am sorry for
your loss' all you want, but that won't bring them back. You can say 'I
understand your pain', but that does not change what you feel, it still hurts
after all.

 

In the end, I guess I will say
the words I would've liked to hear the most, but never heard.

 

"It's ok. I am here for
you." I said. “I will always be here so you don’t have to worry about
that.”

 

It probably won't change
anything.

 

Nevertheless, it is a
statement that tells the other party that they are not alone.

 

This time, Kaa-san eyes
spilled more tears than before. Her face changed into one that seemed to be
holding back something.

 

"There is no need to hold
back, I don't mind, you know?" I tried to say that as gently as possible.

 

The effect was instantaneous
as she started to cry while she rested on my chest. It was quite a comical
sight to see me with a small build with Kaa-san crying as she leaned her weight
on me.

 

I have been thinking that I
see Kaa-san cry rather often. That is not funny though. She is probably holding
back to not worry anyone, but she must be hurt without anyone to rely on.

 

While my insides might be
older, I am but a child in appearance. I guess I hardly inspire a sense of
security.

 

Kaa-san cried for a while. One
minute, two minutes, I had stopped counting at some point. I just waited for
her to stop, and when I did hear any sound anymore, I found that she fell
asleep.

 

I smiled wryly at that.

 

Now now, I can't exactly leave
her here.

 

Come on, Senjutsu and Touki,
this is your cue to enter the scene. Reinforcing my body, I took her to her
room.

 

Another funny sight was there
as I carried her to her room.

 

While I could probably hold
her easily with my illogical strength-for-a-child since she isn't heavy (fact
that she has made sure to drill into my heart), I could risk it and lose balance
as I move her. No matter what, it is hard to move a person when your psyche is
not adequate.

 

I left her laying on her futon
after I brought her to her room, then I went out of the room soon after that.

 

Now then, she was sleeping so
it might take a while before she wakes up again. So I decided to go and write
some more. I have many things in my head, but I don't feel like moving my body
for now. Doing something you usually do can help you relax.

 

Part 5

 

A couple of days went by and
it was time that I talked with Kaa-san regarding a certain topic.

 

Since our little chat, she
seemed more relaxed so I began to think the time when the subject had to be
approached would happen sooner or later.

 

Sitting on the engawa, I
called Kaa-san to sit beside me for a moment.

 

"Kaa-san... I know that
this is not a topic that you want to hear about, nonetheless, what are you
going to do about the request from before?" I asked.

 

Of course, I was talking to
whatever Venelana-san asked her to do.

 

I considered a lot of things
after learning what happened to Kaa-san for her to show dislike for devils. I
was surprised that she did not reject completely the idea as soon as the
request came. I am a little angry with the past me for carelessly suggesting
her to accept, even seeing them. I was also a little angry with Yasaka-san for
considering the request too but I will combine her punishment with the
repayment I plan to charge her. Hehe. I am waiting for it.

 

"You mean the one from
Venelana, right?" Kaa-san replied.

 

I nodded in response. I won't
force her to take it so she is free to reject-

 

"I plan to accept it, I
already told that to Venelana. Ah, but I guess I forgot to tell you, sorry
about that." Kaa-san said with an apologetic look.

 

I suddenly felt the strength leave
my body. I thought this was going to be a serious conversation, but it was only
me who was thinking hard about it. This is it. I will go back to my manuscript.

 

"Wait, Nora-chan. There
was something else I wanted to talk about." Kaa-san muttered as I was
preparing to leave.

 

I came to a stop.

 

"I have it some thought
and I think this time you wouldn't have been that hurt if I trained you much
better, and I taught you more techniques so I decided to teach you all I know,
however, mastering that will be up to you. While it might take time, I at least
will be reassured that I taught you well, instead of agonizing by wondering why
I didn't teach better." Kaa-san explained.

 

Hmmm, I wanted this, but I got
a bad feeling somehow.

 

"Don't worry Nora-chan. I
will make sure that you properly learn everything. I made a special course for
you, no time will be wasted. It will go from teaching you what you always asked
me to teach you, Kasha, to proper ways of fighting in close combat. I won't
teach you simply self-defense. Of course, my healing Senjutsu cannot be left
behind, as you will learn why I am that good at what I do". Kaa-san
happily exclaimed.

 

I wonder why I am home, but I
got the same feeling I had when I was fighting that thing. I think people would
call such a feeling... 'Dread'.

 

I can't help but question
myself whether I will be able to survive this one, she looks motivated.

 

*Sigh*

 

Today, I, Nora... started my
hell course training. And I can't even avoid it.