Kai
I was never the best when it came to planning long term. Or even short term, for that matter. My whole plan from the beginning was: get a loyal minion, get power, get the fuck out of here.
That was everything. Now each of these points had some half-baked and, in some cases, downright stupid steps in order to accomplish the objectives, yet I simply didn't have the will to care more than the bare minimum.
My very core objective was survival, followed by thriving, so no matter how many plans I looped together, they would always have that in common.
At least, that's what I thought…
I didn't account for the fact that I would come to care deeply about Konan. I knew I was a traumatized, scared teenager again, and I should have realistically been a lot more careful with my emotions, but that's the thing about emotions.
They are sneaky little shits.
I knew Konan would hang onto me and get attached easily. That was quite literally what I was counting on from the beginning. I just never thought of it going the other way.
'And now I have to worry about her upbringing,' I thought, grimacing as we stepped out of the portal into a park.
I sighed fondly as I watched Konan look around with fascination. Her eyes tracing the night lights, trees, benches, and the couple that was walking away.
"We really are in another world," she muttered, her tone getting higher with each syllable until she just squealed and threw herself into my arms.
I held her up and smiled.
"It's warm," she said. "And there's no rain."
"Hmm."
I started walking ahead, doing my best not to be distracted as Konan kept turning her head from shoulder to shoulder while watching the park behind me.
Brrrrr~
She suddenly stopped squirming like a worm and pulled back.
"Kai," she said. "I am hungry."
"We will get something to eat, don't worry."
"How? We don't have any money…"
"Of course we do."
She just gave me a flat stare.
Do you know how funny it is to be flat-stared by a ten-year-old girl? It's hilarious.
"Pfffftt!" I tried to suppress a laugh, unsuccessfully. "Hahahahaha!"
"Don't laugh!" she whined and hit my shoulder. "You're such a dummy."
"Okay, okay, sorry," I placated her by softly patting her back as she started to choke me in a hug. "But don't worry about money and food. We are in a new world, so let's enjoy our time for now."
"Hmmm."
…
It took us a few minutes to find a fast food restaurant. It was literally outside the park, right across the street.
Of course, Konan was having the time of her life staring at the modern vehicles and just soaking in the novelty of the experience.
The fast food place had all the telltale signs of a chain restaurant: people in ugly vest uniforms with the logo printed on them, big screen menus hanging from the ceiling, and a cashier who looked like he was a step away from quitting the job forever.
'Ah… finally,' I let out a soul-deep exhale as I finally felt at home.
Sure, it may not have been my actual previous world, but it was a modern one all the same, and that was enough for me.
'And it's not like I can get back home…'
Or could I?
No. No. The question should be, should I?
I knew for a fact that I was dead in my previous world. The fucker responsible for that survey made sure to leave that little tidbit of knowledge in my head, so returning now was not an option.
What would I even do? Go back to my parents and tell them I had suddenly turned into a fifteen-year-old, black-haired, plain-looking guy who looked somewhat Asian?
Yeah. That would go swimmingly.
That's counting out the fact that my dad would probably shoot me first if I walked back home like I owned the place.
"…four double cheeseburgers, with fries, onion rings, and two milkshakes…" the cashier said. "Is that all?"
"Yeah," I nodded slowly, thanking him inwardly for bringing me out of the rabbit hole of thoughts I was sliding into.
"That will be 4800¥."
I fished out a card that was definitely not there a moment ago, because my power could just do that. As long as I had cash from selling pills, I could have it in cash, card, or any currency or medium I desired.
Convenient.
---
We took a booth near the windows as I started to animatedly answer Konan's questions.
"…They're called cars. Used for transport."
"What about that long one?"
"That's a bus. Public transport for everyone."
"How do they work?"
"They have engines that use fuel to move."
"How do you know that?"
"My power tells me."
"Oh, so like that black card thingy you used to pay?"
"Yes."
"Your power is weird…"
"I know."
"Where are we going to sleep?"
"Somewhere near."
"How do you think the food will taste?"
"Delicious."
I continued to animatedly chat with Konan as she jumped from topic to topic like a kid high on sugar. My mind still trying to piece out a somewhat functional plan for our stay and training.
I chose this world specifically for this. Sure, I could have picked so many different ones that would have probably been a better option, but I chose this one for one specific reason.
This world would allow me to practice and figure out my power while also helping me climb the ladder of power and gain more experience while at it.
The supernatural side of this world had fucked with human society and perceptions for so long that it allowed for me to safely insert myself into the broader board with minimal assistance.
"Number 76," I heard the cashier yell.
"That's us!" Konan jumped off the booth and walked toward the counter to get our trays.
I would have gone to help if she were a normal ten-year-old, but she was not.
The girl held the two trays in her hands and walked with the grace of a cat.
We started eating, with me hearing Konan exclaim in enjoyment with every bite. The food was good. Not the best I had ever eaten, but far better than anything Amegakure could ever cook.
Amegakure. That was a place I never imagined I would actively think about, but then again, I didn't think it was a real place in a real world, so what did I know?
'Let's not think about it any longer,' I decided.
I now needed to start planning for Konan's education, our training, living situation, etc.
So let's plan.
Step one. Finish eating and start heading toward Kuoh High School.
Head toward the old building, where a devil and her peerage are playing students.
Propose a deal. And reap benefits.
…
I took a long sip of my milkshake to help suppress the sigh that was fighting its way out of me.
What kind of stupid half-assed steps were those? That wasn't even a plan… let alone a proper plan.
I always knew I wasn't that bright, but to actually see my stupidity in action…
'Or I can just look for an internet cafe, go online, find that dhampir twink that was in her peerage and see where to go from there.'
Yeah. Okay. That sounded far less stupid than the first option. I think.
…
I looked up at the clock as we finished eating, noting the time before my eyes drifted back to Konan.
Her face was a mess. Sauce all over her mouth. And some on her hair too.
I shook my head and started guiding her to the bathroom. I held her up and sat her on the sink. Opened the faucet and started cleaning her face.
The kid was in a daze. I don't know if it was because she enjoyed the food too much or because she ate more than she'd ever had in months.
I just smiled and wiped her face, cleaned her hands and her hair, then held her up again and walked out.
…
It took us forty minutes of walking around until I found an internet cafe. Konan was already sleeping, her head on my shoulder, drooling on my new clothes.
The guy manning the registration desk just gave me a bored stare as I booked one of their three private booths and handed him the card.
He took one look at the card and just swiped it before returning it to me. It was 8:00 PM, so one hour was enough for me to try my idea out, or I was just returning to my first one.
…
'I can't believe it's this easy,' I thought as I stared at the computer screen.
I knew the DxD world was kind of all over the place, but to find what I wanted by just typing "Gremory" into the search engine?
Sure, it showed different results, like social media profiles, Wikipedia articles, and other sites that talked about devils and the origin of the name.
What caught my attention, however, was a site called "Gremory Bishop dot com" where, after you opened it, you read the introduction, where Gasper offered help for those in need of online assistance, along with different links, images of magical circles, etc.
'It cannot be this easy,' I thought, my paranoia whispering in my ears that this had to be some sort of trap. Yet I couldn't help but feel this actually was what I was looking for.
The chunni and slightly edgy website customization made one easily think this was a joke. Or some kind of shut-in's way of making friends online.
I sighed, deciding not to think about this any longer. That way lay madness.
I clicked on the link for direct messaging and started typing.
• hello. My name is Kai and I would like to ask for your help.
Not even a full minute later, I received a reply.
• hello, Kai. My name is Gasper Vladi. What can I help you with?
Hmm. I didn't know what I was expecting, but this was clearly not it.
• I would like to ask for your service to provide me with accommodations for the next week in Kuoh Town. Something high-end where I don't need to show ID and other identifications.
Let's see if he'd agree. And if he did, what would he ask for?
• I can definitely do that, but first I would like to ask you a few questions.
Interesting…
• Sure, go ahead.
I then waited for his reply, but it took him a minute.
• First question. Are you in trouble with the law?
Second question. If not, then would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself?
I stared at the questions with the energy of an overworked Japanese salaryman.
• First. No, I am not in any kind of legal trouble. I just don't want to make reservations with my name and ID because that would clue my family in on my whereabouts.
Second, and don't take this the wrong way, I am contacting a devil to ask for service, not to make online friends while tired.
The three dots that indicate someone is typing kept appearing and disappearing for two minutes straight before I finally received an answer.
• my apologies. Please choose one of these options so that I can send you my online payment link as well as the total service fee.
Oh. So he took money for service, then.
• Give me the most expensive one.
He then sent me a link, which I used to pay with my card. 220,000¥. That was the total.
One week stay in a private suite with three meals delivered to us, as well as his fees.
• thank you for your patronage. Will that be all?
I stared at the message with a WTF expression. That sentence sounded wrong for some reason.
• Just one last thing. I need you to agree to not share my information with anyone until the week is over. Penalty for breaking this deal is up to me to be decided later.
Would he take the deal? Would it work?
• .·°՞(˃ ᗜ ˂)՞°·. you know this is not how devils' deals work, right?
The twink had the audacity to laugh at me…
• I don't care… just agree to the deal.
• if that's what you want, then. deal.
As soon as I read his agreement, I felt it. That same metaphysical string that I knew I could use to locate him and pulverize him into the ground if he broke our deal.
I didn't dwell on this either. I just printed the PDF he sent, which contained the reservation, payment receipt, phone number, etc.
As soon as I was done, I walked out of the booth, went back to the reception again, asked to use their phone (which I had to pay for), then called for them to send a private driver to pick me up, and went outside.
The night breeze was nice. Konan drooling on my other shoulder was not.
The driver arrived ten minutes later and took us there.
The hotel building was big—about 20 to 25 floors if I had to guess—and was ten minutes away from the town center.
I just went to the reception desk, put the papers on the counter. The woman took one look at them, nodded, gave me a key card, and showed me to the elevator.
Fifteenth floor. Nice.
She didn't ask questions about the kid on my shoulder. She didn't ask for my identity. Nothing.
She just showed me to the room and went back.
'Well, that's something,' I thought idly as I opened the door and went inside.
---
The room was nice. We entered into a living room with a sitting arrangement in the middle of the room and a TV across from the sofa.
There was a small arch that led toward the bedroom, where a king-sized bed sat, a balcony to the right, and a shower to the left.
I gently laid Konan down and tucked her in, then took off most of my clothes, leaving only my underwear on. I shut off the lights and slipped under the sheets.
I was too tired to think about anything else today.
---
Four days later
Konan
Konan loved the new world. It was so different from Amegakure.
Here, children laughed, went to study, played, and did all sorts of stuff without worrying about anything.
She envied that. At first.
Then Kai took her to play in the park, bought her clothes, took her on different rides and walks.
They ate a lot of different foods. Candies.
She loved candies.
And he even promised to teach her all she wanted and even help her get into school if she wanted.
Now she was not envious anymore.
Kai was the best. But he was also a big dummy.
She tried to teach him how to play with chakra when he asked, but he just didn't understand.
She told him to stick to the wall. He asked how.
She told him to just do it. Like her.
She even walked on the wall to give him an example, but he just didn't understand.
Still, she loved Kai. Even if he was a chakra dummy.
She would just have to teach him slowly.
---
Kai
The last four days have been slow in the best possible way.
I didn't know how much I needed this until now.
Just spending my time relaxing and taking Konan to play and enjoy the modern world.
I noticed that Konan seemed to be a lot more childlike than she used to be when I met her. She seemed like a normal, healthy child instead of a traumatized kid.
Seems giving her the power to be mentally and physically healthy had more impact than anticipated. That was a good thing.
What was not good, however, was giving her that much talent.
I now knew why regular people hated and envied prodigies in equal measures. I knew how that "geniuses suck at teaching" trope came to be.
She didn't actually know how to describe or explain chakra manipulation. To her, it was an obvious thing. Just do it.
I, on the other hand, found manipulating chakra a lot harder than that. It felt like trying to wrestle control and guide a wild animal.
Chakra keeps constantly circulating in the body, like blood. Trying to take conscious control over something like that is hard, no matter what anybody says.
'Either that, or my talent is just shit.'
'Eh, I guess it doesn't matter for now.' I shrugged as I walked toward the cotton candy stand.
Konan was already standing there, jumping up and down as she tried to peek at the machine.
I smiled and scooped her up, making her give an excited yelp, as she watched the man wrap the cotton candy into a ball.
I smiled and paid, telling him to keep the change as we walked away.
It was then that I felt my connection to Gasper tug, and I instantly and instinctively knew that I could now take whatever I wanted from him.
I could even make sure he didn't notice.
'Ooooh. This just keeps getting better and better,' I thought with glee.
I didn't take much from him, though. Just a small part—about thirty percent of his time control ability. Sure, the ability came from the Sacred Gear, but that was a weapon, and it was his all the same.
I also made sure to make him think the part about the deal was just a joke, making him not think of mentioning it unless specifically asked.
I don't know how he broke the deal. He might have just told his king or someone from his peerage about the jobs he did this week. That was a thing, I think.
Either way, it doesn't really matter, because I can now control time.
Or I should have been.
Instead, all I got was a slightly cold sensation rushing through my body as I felt a new kind of energy circulate through me.
This one was different. It felt a lot more chaotic than chakra.
I extended my hand, and a small amount of dark shadowy energy burst forth, startling me and making me stop.
'I really should think more about what to take from people,' I thought, feeling a bubbling frustration as I understood what was happening.
I got the ability, alright. It's just that I got thirty percent of the source. As in, the Sacred Gear and whatever was sealed inside—now mine.
I groaned into my hand as I just realized my road to becoming OP might take some time.
'God damn talent…'
X_
Give me your power stones.
For those who like my stories or just want to support me, check out my P@treon/ hunter 20 or better yet Ko-fi/moonpie99
Thank you.