Sirzechs blinked slightly, his eyes barely focused on the servants, soon found a new focal point. In the distance, not far away, calmly descending the grand staircase, Itachi Uchiha made his way down.
The Lucifer's eyes narrowed slightly. His vast control over magic became apparent as he examined every part of Itachi's body, trying to detect any anomalies. However, after a second, Sirzechs nodded in deep satisfaction.
"Itachi Uchiha," he murmured softly. It had been a while since he'd last seen this young man, the first time, he had simply thought the guy was strange.
"His powerful presence has increased several times," Sirzechs whispered, then narrowed his eyes. He had felt the powerful aura Itachi had just released, "Demon Lord level, perhaps even powerful enough to rival Ajuka," he concluded.
Remembering his scientific companion, Sirzechs couldn't help but admire him: "This box was built with materials nearly impossible to obtain, and it can transform anyone into a special demon," those were Ajuka's words just over a year ago.
Sirzechs recalled his old friend's statement before shaking his head slightly. "Itachi, it's been a while since we last met," Sirzechs greeted the ninja as he approached.
For his part, Itachi gave a slight nod before opening his mouth, "I see you've prepared quite a lot for my arrival..." he said, scanning his surroundings with a calm gaze.
"Indeed..." Sirzechs hummed, "I knew your potential was limitless, I thought you could become a formidable demon, and I wasn't wrong," Sirzechs said, clearly a bit proud of Itachi.
Sirzechs' eyes lingered for a long moment on Itachi's, the two looked into each other's eyes, trying to decipher the other's thoughts.
"Orochimaru... we have some recent reports about him," the Lucifer said, standing up slightly, he pulled a sort of notebook from within his robes and handed it to Itachi.
"The Fallen Angels have been behaving very strangely, Itachi. For now, I'm a bit tied up with matters in the Underworld. I'd like to entrust this task to you. Also, you should stop by the Gremory Castle tomorrow... I'll give you a few thousand magic stones."
Sirzechs took his leave after handing over the notebook to Itachi. He didn't say anything else, his demeanor was just as reserved when he left as when he arrived.
The ninja's eyes lit up with a strange glint as he opened the notebook and read its contents.
"I see..." Itachi smirked, let out a sigh, and glanced at Mr. Butler in the distance.
"Hehehe..." a slight chuckle escaped his lips, "Looks like I've been slacking off too much… getting soft," he murmured before calmly putting the notebook away.
In the human world, at night.
"Is this the place?" Issei asked himself, looking around. Night had already fallen completely, and few people were passing through Kuoh City's plaza.
The boy took a few steps forward, unbothered by the strange chirping of birds in the sky. Then, he focused his gaze on a space behind the park, a spot where the forest began.
He continued walking, entering the woods, and his eyes quickly scanned the scene in front of him.
"I see..." the poor boy muttered, his gaze fixed on a specific spot, there was nothing unusual to the naked eye—not even a disturbance, just some grass on top—but he knew it was there.
He remembered his old conversation with Itachi.
— Issei's Memories —
"Itachi," the poor boy had taken several steps forward. His childhood friend was about to leave after teaching them the basics of chakra.
The ninja had looked at him for a moment before smiling and tapping two fingers against his forehead. The boy felt a small jolt of affection in his heart, smiled, looked up, and then clenched his teeth.
"I..." he hesitated, he knew what he was about to ask would sound strange, possibly even stupid, but Itachi smiled broadly and simply waited.
After a few seconds, Issei mustered the courage to speak again, "I want to know where Yuma's body is buried," he said, lifting his gaze and staring into Itachi's black eyes with determination.
However, his childood friend didn't answer. He simply stood there, smiling and returning the gaze, after a moment, he finally sighed, "Issei..." he said, sounding unsure for some reason, "How hard is it for you to just forget her?"
Itachi's question caught Issei's full attention, it sent him into a whirlwind of thoughts about himself and his life, but it didn't take him long to reach a conclusion, "I want to see her..." the poor boy spoke again with determination.
He didn't know why, he didn't know when or how Yuma had gained such power over his mind, "was the kiss," he would've said, if it weren't for the fact that the memories of Yuma in his mind didn't just loop that single scene.
No, everything about Yuma did, "Kiryuu is mine. She's my girlfriend, and she'll be my wife, my woman..." Issei had said, making Itachi raise an eyebrow. "That's why, bro, I need to get Yuma out of my head…"
The poor boy spoke with truth, even though Yuma wasn't always present in his thoughts, sometimes she came back with such force that his heart felt empty, his body trembled, and his mind wandered through a storm of emotions.
"I understand..." Itachi said, then smiled and finally told him the location where he had buried Raynare's body.
— End of Issei's Memories —
"What exactly do you want to do, Issei," Ddraig's voice echoed in the boy's mind after a moment. Issei grimaced, pulled a small shovel from his backpack, and began to dig.
"I just want to say goodbye to Yuma, that's all," he said, his hands moved quickly, digging into the dirt precisely where Itachi had said the body would be.
"If you just focused on Kiryuu, Yuma's memories would fade over time..." Ddraig sounded a bit concerned. He had seen how, in recent days, when Issei was alone with nothing to do, thoughts of Raynare started creeping back in moments that were unpleasant for Issei.
"I don't have time to wait," Issei replied, "Besides, it would be too shameless of me to keep sleeping with Kiryuu when Yuma is still in my mind," he finished with a forced smile.
"Hmph," Ddraig only let out a strange murmur, unintelligible.
Issei narrowed his eyes, clenched his teeth slightly, and began digging faster, "What was that sound supposed to mean? Are you judging me? I'm doing what I can, You know?" he muttered, annoyed.
"..." But Ddraig didn't respond.
"Damn it! I... It's stupid listening to you talk about what I should or shouldn't do... Yeah!, I know, I know you're right, but I don't want to hear you, I want to see it for myself..." he said, with some repressed anger.
"Besides, I love Kiryuu, and it would be wrong to remember Yuma, or Raynare, or whatever the hell that bitch's name is while I'm with Kiryuu, I won't do that to her," Issei said before sighing in resignation.
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