Well, I think I'll pay a little visit to the Himejima Clan, see how they're doing. There are five days left before the attack, and I'd like to meet them first.
"Mom, can I go to a friend's house? It's just a few blocks away."(Damn, I have to lie… otherwise, she won't let me leave.)
"Are you sure, son? Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, sounding a little worried.
"No, Mom. I can go alone," I said, shaking my head.
"Alright, Yuu. Take care, and come back before dark." She smiled softly.
"Got it. I'm heading out," I said, closing the door.
"Dear, where's Yuu?" Yujiro asked, looking around for his son.
"Ara ara,* little Yuu has made some friends," Kaori said with a cheerful smile.
"Friends? Yuu was always a bit of a loner with the other kids in kindergarten. That's surprising," Yujiro said, sounding genuinely shocked.
"And here I was, wanting to spend some quality father-son time with him," Yujiro muttered, sitting in a corner, dark aura and all, like some tragic anime character.
"There'll be another chance, dear," Kaori said with an anime sweat-drop expression.
"Yeah… I'm still surprised. Has the kid been alone this whole time?" Yujiro added with a melancholy tone.
"…How about we give him a little brother or sister?" Yujiro said, snapping out of his depression and slipping his arms around Kaori's waist, pulling her closer with a seductive tone.
"Dear…" Kaori replied, blushing bright red.
And after that… well, let's just say they went off to do things I can't describe here.
POV Yuu
(Great… one, no, two—NO, I've got way too many problems! This is what I get for wandering around Kuoh without a map. I'm lost, I can't find the shrine, and on top of that, I still can't get used to zero gravity. Every time I jump, I go flying all over the place. I really need to master teleportation with the Limitless technique so I can zip around instantly.)
I sat on a rooftop, frustrated and grumbling to myself.
"Oh right, the shrine!" I said, smacking my fist into my palm.
I lowered my gravity back to normal (1g), then jumped carefully so I wouldn't go flying again. From above, I spotted what looked like the shrine. That had to be it.
I landed and started walking toward the building. The first thing I saw was a woman sweeping the courtyard.
She wore a traditional miko outfit, had long black hair tied in a ponytail reaching her knees, and light brown eyes.
"Excuse me, is this the Fire Shrine?" I asked.
"Oh, little one, are you lost?" she asked, her voice gentle but slightly surprised.
"No, not lost. I just came to pray to the God of Fire, that's all."
"I see. Come this way," she said, pointing toward the shrine.
"Thank you," I said with a small bow.
After praying to the so-called "God"—and I say so-called because one day I'm planning to beat him up just for fun, hehehe—I was about to leave when the woman spoke again.
"Little one, have you finished your prayers to the God?"
"Yes, thank you again."
"Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I'm Shuri Himejima, the priestess of this shrine. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a warm smile.
"No, forgive me. I'm Yuudai Gojo, but you can call me Yuu. The pleasure's mine," I said with another small bow.
"Oh, I see. Yuu-chan,* you have such good manners for someone so young."
"My dad always says, 'Manners maketh the man,'" I said, mimicking my father's tone.
"Ufufufu… Yuu-chan, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm five. Why?"
"Well, I wanted to introduce you to—" she began, but was interrupted when a small girl appeared, looking just like Shuri but with violet eyes instead of brown.
"Mommy, where are my dolls—?" The girl froze when she saw me, looking a little shy.
"Come here, Akeno. I want to introduce you to someone," Shuri said, waving her closer.
"Yuu-chan, this is my daughter. Go on, Akeno, introduce yourself," Shuri said gently, as the girl peeked out from behind her mother like Goten meeting Goku for the first time.
"It's nice to meet you… I'm Akeno Himejima. You can call me Akeno," she said with a small, nervous bow.
"The pleasure's mine. I'm Yuudai Gojo, but you can call me Yuu," I said, copying her bow.
"Yuu-chan, I hope you can be friends with Akeno, if you don't mind," Shuri said with a slightly wistful smile.
"No problem. I hope we can be good friends, Akeno," I said with a smile. Her eyes lit up like stars.
"Hai!" she said enthusiastically.
"Yuu-chan, would you like to come play with Akeno?"
"Sure. I still have time. My mom told me to be home before dark."
"Perfect. Akeno, go play in the backyard with Yuu."
"Yes! Come on, Yuu," Akeno said, grabbing my hand and leading me along.
We played for a while with her toys and quickly became friends. She scolded me for not knowing how to play properly, and I teased her on purpose just to see her pout—which nearly gave me a heart attack from how cute it was. Shuri watched us from a distance, smiling gently.
"Hey, Yuu, why is your hair and eye color like that?" Akeno asked, tugging on a lock of my hair.
"It's because of my parents… and stop pulling my hair," I said, a little irritated.
"Oh, sorry," she said, blushing slightly.
"Haha, it's fine. You and I are both a little weird," I said with a grin.
"Yeah, that's true," she replied, smiling.
(In the end, she and I have something in common… loneliness, I thought, a little melancholic.)
Flashback
Little Yuu was sitting in a car, waiting for his parents, when he saw some kids playing in a nearby park. He decided to go join them. The kids agreed, and he played happily for a few minutes—until his mother showed up and dragged him away.
"Listen, Yuudai. You're not like them. You're superior in every way. You don't need to mingle with them," she said in a cold, stern tone.
Back in the present, it was getting dark, so I told them I had to go and that I'd be back tomorrow to play again.
Time Skip – Day of the Attack
The past few days, I trained like crazy, mastering the Limitless technique so I could teleport anywhere instantly. I also perfected my control over the C.E.C.D. (Corrupted Energy of Pain), though it drains my small body if I overuse it.
I kept visiting Akeno's house every day to play, eat, and just hang out. One day, Shuri told me: "Thank you for coming into Akeno's life." That really made me think.
But now… things were about to get interesting.
Night fell. I escaped from my home and watched from a distance as members of the Himejima Clan approached Shuri's house with weapons.
I teleported inside immediately, ready to slaughter these intruders.
Inside the House
Shuri was shielding Akeno with her body as the attackers approached.
(The Himejima Clan… this is horrible.)
"Let my daughter go! She's done nothing wrong. I married him; punish me, not her!" Shuri begged.
"Mommy, I'm scared… I'm so scared," Akeno whispered, clinging to her mother.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Mommy's here. Nothing will happen to you," Shuri said, hugging her tighter.
"She's the spawn of a filthy Fallen Angel. Just being her daughter is a crime. Don't worry—we'll kill her first, then you," one of the men said with a sadistic grin.
"Kneel." My cold voice cut through the air as I entered the house.
Everyone except Shuri and Akeno suddenly levitated off the ground, then slammed into the floor with bone-crushing force, immobilized.
"Looks like I made it just in time," I said, surprising the two Himejima girls.
"Yuu-chan… Yuu!" they cried out together.
"Leave. I'll take care of this trash," I said, stepping toward one of the attackers.
"But Yuu-ch—" Shuri began, but froze when she heard my cold, commanding tone: "Now."
I handed Akeno a small letter. "Read this when you're safe. Now go."
They nodded and ran off.
"Now, you," I said, grinning darkly at the attackers.
"Y-you… bastard!" one of them shouted.
"Your time will be very useful to me," I said with a wicked smile.
I placed my right hand on his face, draining his time. Slowly, he aged, his body withering until he crumbled into dust. The others froze in terror.
"Next," I said coldly.
In the Underworld
Sirzechs was in his office when he suddenly felt a strange presence.
"Grayfia!" he called.
"Yes, Sirzechs-sama?" Grayfia, his wife and maid, entered the room.
"I need to investigate a mysterious presence coming from the human world. Open a portal immediately," he said seriously.
"No, Sirzechs-sama, you can't leave yet. Besides…" she pointed at the mountain of paperwork on his desk.
"Grayfia, but—" he began, only for her to cover his mouth with her hand.
"Trust me. I've never seen you this agitated. I'll be careful," she said gently.
"Be careful. That presence… it was monstrous."
"Don't worry. If it's dangerous, I'll escape."
Little Rias had been eavesdropping the whole time.
"Onii-sama, I want to go too!" she said, popping out of her hiding spot.
"Ria-tan, what did I tell you about spying?" Sirzechs scolded.
"Ahhh… but I want to see the human world," she said with a pout.
"Sirzechs-sama, I can protect her. We'll stay far from danger," Grayfia assured him.
"…Fine. Protect her, and both of you come back safely," he said, worried.
"Thank you, Onii-sama, Onee-sama!" Rias said, eyes sparkling with excitement.
Grayfia bowed, then left with Rias.
Sirzechs sat back in his chair, deep in thought.
(We got no answers when that presence appeared five years ago… and now it's back. This is strange…) he thought, staring out the window at the crimson Underworld sky.
POV Yuu
I finished cleaning up the trash. The only thing left of them was their clothes.
"Well, to keep from messing too much with the original story, I guess I'll have to destroy the house. Hmm… maybe I can test something out," I said, shrugging.
"Cursed Technique: Forward Rotation – Blue."
In an instant, the house collapsed inward, compressing itself into a sphere before crumbling into debris, leaving a crater where it once stood.
"Hah… hah… Damn, that still drains me," I muttered, wiping sweat off my face.
(One use drains a quarter of my energy… I need to master this. The old man really did adapt these techniques well to this world.)
"Anyway, time to head home," I said, teleporting away.
POV Grayfia
(According to Sirzechs, this is where the presence originated…) Grayfia thought as she appeared with Rias near the Fire Shrine.
"Onee-sama, where are we?" Rias asked, tugging at her clothes.
"This should be the exact location, but… I don't sense anything."
"Onee-sama, look!" Rias pointed toward two figures running toward them—a woman and a small girl.
"Hey, you two, wait!" Grayfia called out.
The woman and child stopped, looking panicked.
"Please, help us!" the girl cried.
Grayfia and Rias ran to them.
"What happened?" Grayfia asked.
"Please… help my friend!" the girl pleaded, pointing back toward the house.
"What's going on? Why are you two so shaken?" Grayfia pressed.
The woman quickly introduced herself as Shuri Himejima and explained everything—about the attack, the intruders, and their escape.
"I see… stay here. I'll be right back," Grayfia said, spreading her devil wings. Shuri gasped, and Akeno stared in confusion as Grayfia took off.
She returned shortly after, shaking her head. "The house is destroyed. I found only clothes… no survivors."
"No… no, it can't be," Shuri whispered.
"No! Mommy, Yuu can't be dead!" Akeno cried, tears streaming down her face.
Shuri hugged her tightly, comforting her as best she could.
After they calmed down, Grayfia asked, "What will you do now?"
"I don't know… we've lost everything, and I can't contact my husband," Shuri said helplessly.
"Then come to the Underworld with us," Rias said, surprising even Grayfia.
"Lady Rias, but—" Grayfia began, only for Rias to interrupt.
"Onee-sama, listen. Akeno, as a half-Fallen Angel, has potential. She could become my Queen, and her mother could live in the Gremory mansion as our guest," Rias explained.
Grayfia paused, then nodded slowly. (That girl does have a certain energy about her… and this isn't a bad idea. But I'll need to discuss this with Sirzechs and Lord and Lady Gremory.)
"Very well. You'll come with us," Grayfia said.
"Thank you so much," Shuri said, bowing deeply, with Akeno copying her.
"But… what's a Queen?" Akeno asked, confused.
"Oh, let me explain," Grayfia said. "In the Underworld, we use a reincarnation system based on chess pieces. The King, Queen, and other pieces form what we call 'peerages'—noble households led by the King. Each piece has certain rules, like obeying their master, but we'll discuss that later. You, little one, would become part of Lady Rias's peerage."
"Sweetheart, are you sure you want this?" Shuri asked, kneeling to Akeno's level and stroking her cheek.
"Yes, Mommy. As long as you're happy, I'll be happy," Akeno said with a smile.
"Then let's go to the Underworld," Grayfia said, opening a portal. The two Himejima girls nodded and stepped through.
POV Yuu
Back at home, I lay down on my bed, using my arms as a pillow, and had my last thoughts before falling asleep.
(I'm sure Rias showed up and took them in… or at least that's one of the many possibilities I considered. Anyway, time for some sleep. We'll see what happens tomorrow.)