April 15th, 2012, Kuoh Academy, After School.
The final bell's chime echoed through the hallways of Kuoh Academy, a signal for the chaos of the school day to dissolve into the comparative quiet of after-school clubs and departures.
Sunlight, thick and golden with late afternoon, streamed through the classroom windows, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. Makoto Yuki was methodically placing his textbooks into his schoolbag when a calm, measured voice cut through the ambient noise.
"Hey, Yuki. Do you want to come over to the Student Council room?"
He looked up to see Sona Sitri standing by her desk, her expression as composed and unreadable as ever behind her glasses. Makoto gave a slow nod as he stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Sure. Why's that?" he asked, curiosity piqued.
"You promised me a rematch in chess, right?" she reminded him, adjusting her own bag. "And if I'm being honest, we haven't had a proper conversation since you arrived. It's all been... supernatural affairs."
A slight, almost imperceptible frown touched her lips. The whirlwind of shinigami, goddesses, and divine threats had left little room for ordinary social interaction.
"Yeah, you're right," Makoto agreed. He fell into step beside her, the two of them moving with a shared, quiet purpose through the thinning crowds of students.
The Student Council room was a haven of orderly efficiency, much like its president. Momo Hanakai, the Lovers, was tidying a stack of papers when they entered.
"Oh, hello, President! Hello, Senpai!" she chirped, offering a bright smile.
They returned the greeting, and Sona immediately went to her desk, retrieving a beautifully crafted chessboard and a box of weighted pieces. She set it up with ease, the polished wood gleaming under the fluorescent lights.
'Finally! I can do something!' Apollo's voice rang out in Makoto's mind, brimming with exhilaration.
'Again with this story?' Lucifer grumbled, his tone dripping with celestial annoyance. 'Must we endure this frivolity?'
'Don't be such a Thoth,' Apollo retorted, his mental voice practically buzzing with anticipation. 'Oh, I'm so happy that gloomy moon god isn't here to spoil the fun.' Makoto could almost feel the sun god rubbing his hands together in glee.
'What iiiis so fun in chess?' Fafnir screeched, its draconic mind unable to comprehend the appeal.
'It's merely a match against a child, Apollo,' Yoshitsune pointed out, his samurai honor sounding profoundly disappointed. 'Where is the glory? The contest of blades?'
'Shut up, all of you! You simply can't enjoy yourselves!' Apollo retorted, his focus already narrowing onto the sixty-four squares before them.
The game began. Makoto, controlling the white pieces which were in turn controlled by Apollo, opened with a classic pawn to E4. Sona responded without hesitation, her pawn sliding to C6—the Caro-Kann Defense.
Momo peeked over from her work, her eyes wide with interest. 'From what Senpai Tsubaki told me, Senpai Yuki won their last match against the President,' she thought, studying the board with newfound fascination.
As Makoto advanced another pawn to D4, Sona mirrored with D5. He developed his knight to C3, and she captured his central pawn with her own, moving to E4. Makoto's knight swiftly took the offending pawn, its movement smooth and decisive.
"Yuki," Sona began, her eyes not leaving the board, "you mentioned you were the leader of SEES, correct? The team that fought Shadows." She waited for his confirming nod. "May I ask your advice? What did you do when integrating a new member?"
"Why do you ask?" Makoto questioned, his hand pausing over a piece.
"I've identified someone I would like to invite to the Student Council," she explained, her voice clinical, though a hint of underlying concern colored her words.
"And subsequently, I may ask him to join my peerage. How did you make new additions to your team feel... at home?" As she spoke, her bishop slid across the board, applying pressure to his position.
Makoto considered this, his gaze distant for a moment. The question was more personal than he expected. "I think it's a bit different. I don't know how peerages work, and from what Rias has told me... it's not really my area."
Sona shook her head, a firm gesture. "The mechanics are irrelevant. I still want to hear your opinion on the integration process." Her tone brooked no argument.
Makoto hummed softly, pondering his answer. "There was a kid... Ken Amada. He was only ten years old, an elementary student. He joined us in late summer."
He paused, his focus drifting from the game as the memory surfaced. Unnoticed by him, Apollo eagerly seized total control of his motor functions, the sun god's hands moving pieces with a flamboyant confidence Makoto himself lacked.
'Speak as much as you want, Universe!' Apollo proclaimed internally. 'Leave the magnificent Apollo to handle the hard work of conquest!'
"Yuki?" Sona's voice brought him back. She had noticed his brief lapse in attention.
"What I'm trying to say is..." Makoto continued, his voice gaining a somber gravity, "even though we all tried our best—I tried to be a sort of older sibling to him—it wasn't always enough. I learned something important. It doesn't matter how much you treat someone with care and respect. If you are not ready to hurt them—to make the difficult, painful choices for their own good—you will not be able to help them when they need you the most."
The ghost of October 4th lingered in his words, a quiet, personal remorse he had learned to carry without letting it break him. If his experience could help Sona, even a little, it would feel like honoring Shinjiro's memory. He truly hoped so.
Sona absorbed his words, her strategic mind analyzing the lesson within the personal story. "Did something happen to Ken?" she asked gently. "The way you speak about it isn't the most reassuring."
"He's fine," Makoto assured her, shaking his head. "The problem wasn't him. It was STREGA, the group that wanted the Dark Hour to continue."
"Yes, Mochizuki and Elizabeth mentioned them," Sona replied, her expression thoughtful.
Meanwhile, the chess game had progressed into a complex battle of wits. While Sona listened, a significant part of her formidable intellect was dedicated to countering Apollo's aggressive, sun-bright strategies. The god was currently maneuvering for a devastating combination.
'If she takes our knight, I can sacrifice the bishop, followed by a checkmate with the queen! Victory will be ours!' Apollo announced, as if planning a grand military campaign.
'You really like chess, hee hoo!' Jack Frost commented, amused by the god's burning passion.
'Perhaps a little too much...' Orpheus Telos whispered musically.
'Hey, I heard that!' Apollo retorted, moving his rook with a flourish after Sona deftly avoided his trap.
'At least someone here is having fun,' Kohryu observed, the great dragon's wisdom finding amusement in the contrast.
"Hey, Shi—Sitri," Makoto said, catching himself before using her first name. The formality still felt strange. "I didn't see Shinra today in class. Is everything okay after what happened yesterday?"
Sona looked up from the board. "She's fine. What Inari told her, and the... presence... of Izanami shook Tsubaki considerably. She's taking the day to recuperate. She'll be back tomorrow. Thank you for your concern."
Before either could say another word, the landline phone on Sona's desk rang, its shrill tone cutting through the room's quiet concentration. Sona's posture stiffened immediately.
'Oh, no,' she thought. That line was reserved for family matters, and calls from her family rarely brought simple, good news. Makoto noticed the subtle shift in her demeanor, the slight tightening around her eyes.
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, her voice regaining its professional composure. "I just need to take this. Thank you for coming today, Yuki." It was a clear, if polite, dismissal.
"Wait, Senpai, I'm coming too!" Momo said, quickly following Makoto out the door to give Sona privacy.
Once the door clicked shut, Sona picked up the handset. "Hello?"
"Sona, my sweet daughter! How are you doing?" The voice was jovial, deep, and unmistakably that of her father, Woland Sitri, the current head of the Sitri Clan.
"Father?" Sona's brow furrowed. "Why are you calling at this hour? You know I have matters to attend to."
"Sorry, Sona, I wouldn't interrupt if it weren't important," Woland said, his tone shifting to something more businesslike. "Zeoticus has received some... reclaims regarding the management of this territory. He is rather preoccupied with the upcoming marriage to the Phenex family and has asked our house to deal with it."
"Reclaims?" Sona asked, confusion and concern warring within her. Territory disputes were serious matters for Devils.
"Listen, Sona," her father's voice lowered slightly. "I know something happened there. Something that required the Satans themselves to come to Kuoh. They may be Satans, but they are still young, and it is difficult to completely deceive a Lord about events in his own territory. I tried to contact my good friend Chomei. He hasn't answered for the last few days. When I asked your sister, she simply diverted the discussion, prattling on about how you'd found love." A smirk was audible in his voice, anticipating her reaction.
"Father!" Sona shouted, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"I was joking, I was joking!" he chuckled. "I know how your sister tends to... exaggerate. Still, I'm coming to Kuoh to meet with Chomei. I'll be there soon. Don't worry, there's no need to wait for me."
Sona's eyes widened. "What?! So suddenly?"
"Don't worry, I said, dear! It will be quick. You probably won't even see me," he reassured her breezily before the line went dead.
'This is not good,' Sona thought, panic rising. 'Mr. Raion obviously dislikes Devils. If he sees Father right after what happened yesterday, he will assume the worst!' Without a second thought, she sprang from her chair and sprinted out of the room.
Makoto and Momo were walking at a leisurely pace toward the school's main entrance when a blur of black hair and determined energy shot past them. Sona didn't even seem to register their presence.
"Does she usually do that?" Makoto asked, watching her retreating back.
Momo shook her head, her expression worried. "No. But if I had to guess, it's something about her family. Let's follow her, Senpai!"
"Are you sure we should?" Makoto questioned, though he was already turning.
"Yes, yes! Hurry, before we lose her!" Momo insisted, grabbing his hand and pulling him into a jog after the rapidly disappearing figure of the Student Council President.
April 15th, 2012, Whisper in the Breeze, Afternoon.
Their pursuit led them once again to the familiar street and the front of Kegawa's antique shop, "Whisper in the Breeze."
"Here again?" Momo quipped, slightly out of breath. "I think this place has been more frequented in the last three days than in the entire previous decade."
They watched as Sona knocked insistently on the shop's door, her knocks sharp and urgent. Makoto, however, felt a familiar prickle at the edge of his awareness—a presence that hadn't been there a moment before.
'Universe. Behind you,' Robin Hood alerted, his voice a quiet whisper of caution.
Makoto turned smoothly. Two hands came to rest on his and Momo's shoulders. Momo jumped with a small yelp, whirling around to face the newcomer.
A man stood there, probably in his late thirties, with an intrigued smirk that revealed a set of perfectly white teeth. He had sleek black hair and deep, intelligent blue eyes that seemed to miss nothing.
A short, well-groomed beard covered his chin and jaw. He was dressed impeccably in a black trench coat, and perched on his head was a flat cap adorned with a single, gleaming sapphire pin.
"Oh, you noticed me!" the man chuckled, his voice a rich, amused baritone. "I must be losing my touch if I can't even sneak up on two teenagers."
'Universe, what are you waiting for? Annihilate him,' Kohryu's voice advised, uncharacteristically harsh and devoid of its usual calm.
'I agree, hee hoo! I don't like this one,' Jack Frost added, his usual playful tone replaced by unease.
"Lord Sitri!" Momo gasped, her eyes wide with bewilderment. She immediately bowed her head. "What is your lordship doing here?"
"Ah, Momo! Just checking on an old acquaintance of mine," Woland Sitri said, his smile never fading. His gaze, however, was fixed on Makoto.
"Could you be so kind as to introduce your friend to me?" he asked, though he was already stepping closer to Makoto, his eyes conducting a swift, comprehensive appraisal.
"Since Momo referred to me as 'Lord Sitri,' you must be aware of the supernatural world. It is a genuine pleasure to meet you... intriguing young man." He extended a hand.
"Father!" Sona's voice cut through the air, sharp with a mixture of frustration and alarm. She had heard the conversation and now stood by the shop door, her composure cracked.
"Oh, Sona!" Woland turned his brilliant smile toward his daughter, seemingly unconcerned. "You're already here?"
"What are you doing? You said I wouldn't see you!" she exclaimed, utterly flustered.
"Oh, I was already in the city when I called you," he revealed with a disarming wave of his hand, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He turned back to Makoto.
"Where are my manners? Sorry, young man. Let me try again. Woland Sitri." He repeated the introduction, his hand still offered.
"Makoto Yuki," Makoto said, taking the offered hand. His grip was firm, his expression neutral.
Woland's eyes lit up with genuine interest.
"The Makoto Yuki! My eldest daughter has told me quite a bit about you. I must assume you possess some form of powerful Sacred Gear? You were able to detect me even though I was using my demonic power to conceal my presence from Sona and Momo."
His scrutinizing gaze swept over Makoto from head to toe, as if trying to decipher a complex and fascinating puzzle.
"Father, stop annoying Yuki," Sona insisted, finally stepping forward and taking hold of her father's arm, trying to physically pull his attention away.
"Oh, my apologies, young man," Woland said, though he didn't sound sorry at all. "Well then! Let's all go together to visit my dear friend Chomei! I do hope he still makes that special tea blend."
He proclaimed this as if it were a wonderful plan everyone had agreed upon and strode confidently toward the antique shop's entrance.
"Ehm... President," Momo whispered, looking utterly overwhelmed by the force of nature that was Woland Sitri. "Did you know the Prince was coming to town?"
"He called me just before we left the academy," Sona sighed, the sound heavy with impending dread. "He wants to know what happened inside his territory, which is completely natural. However..."
"However?" Makoto prompted.
"However," Sona lowered her voice even further, "the Satans want to keep all the facts about the conflict between you and... Nyarlathotep... top secret. They don't want this knowledge spreading, even among the other Clan Lords."
"I don't understand how you can keep up with it all, Senpai," Momo whispered, her eyes wide with sympathy. "You literally have the fate of... the world on your shoulders."
Makoto shook his head slowly. "I knew what I was coming to this world to fight. Don't worry about me."
"Then at least let us help you by handling this," Sona said, her voice regaining its firm, presidential tone. "Trust me, my father can be as persistent as my sister. Let Momo and me deal with him. You've done enough."
Momo gulped audibly upon hearing this but gave a determined nod.