The pinkette kneeling on the floor before me began to sweat and shudder, and that was the only visible movement she'd made since she went down there.
She also hasn't said anything, but I feel that'll change soon.
Why?
Well, I'm still lying here, across my couch. Unmoved. Not exactly unbothered, but I have yet to say anything.
It's been more than a moment by now. Probably minutes, if I had to guess, I haven't been keeping track.
Zekka has been standing almost as still as Avi this entire time, too, her lips sealed shut, the poor girl has no idea what to do or even say.
I know I'm not helping, but this is all to punish Avi, the little shrimp, for pulling this in the first place. I'm sure she'll forgive me after this.
Also, she practically called me old again, so I'm feeling more than a little petty right now.
Though I do have to say, respect where it's due, I expected the little shrimp to get tired kneeling like that by now.
Ah, well, I have time.
Without saying anything, I lean further back into the couch and pull up my phone again.
This time, I'm holding it so the screen is facing purely toward me. No chance anyone in front of me could see it.
I figure since I do have time, I could attend to something else of far more importance!
Fox titties.
[Fox Titties]
It has been a little bit since I last checked up on Yasaka and Kunou.
Or as I'm damn near ready to start permenantely calling them, Concubine and Daddy's Brat, if they keep sending me pictures of themselves looking smug with their chests plastered all over the screen.
Maybe after this, I'll hit them up before heading up to Takamaghara.
Yeah, that sounds like a plan.
Actually, I'll gather up all my girls, we'll make it a group project.
Zekka squeaks in the background.
I look up from my phone at her, eyebrow raised at her, only to see that her face is a burning red and she's gaping at me.
I give a glance to my lower half to find no Nori Junior making a surprise appearance, so I'm not sure what set her off.
Oh! I made a face, didn't I?
Oops.
Oh well.
Now then, how should I respond to-
"Ooookaaayyy!"
Oh me damn it.
The pinkette rises from her bowing position with a shout, her legs wobbly and shaky, with angry red marks marring her knees, and even on her forehead.
Despite all that, though?
Avi put her fists on her waist and stood straight and proud.
"That was starting to hurt, so excuse me for my disrespect, sensei!" She exclaimed.
I couldn't help it anymore.
With a twitch of my brow, I turned off the screen and dropped my phone to the side.
Then, with a smooth motion, I sat up.
With just that single movement, just sitting on the couch as I am, I end up looking down at her.
That's how short pinky here is.
Avi blinked at me, "Eh?"
I reached out and just as smoothly, flicked her on the forehead.
Smack bad on the red spot like it was a bullseye to be shot.
"YOUCH!" The shrimp cried, jumping back, her hands instinctively going to cover the struck area.
And before she could say anything.
"I'm not your sensei." I immediately began, clipped and annoyed, "I've never taught anyone like that. I'm not even old enough to be a sensei!" I ground out, "And to top it all off, don't you think this is all more than a little sudden? We didn't even meet until the other day, what could I possibly help you with!?"
The short-haired girl rubbed the sore spot atop her head, gazing at me with something I didn't quite expect.
"Ah…Right." She hums out with a tilt of her head, a bashful smile stretching across her face, "I guess I did sort of jump the gun a bit, huh? My apologies!" She bowed, swiftly, a normal respectful one, no getting on her hands and knees this time, "Allow me to introduce myself properly!"
From behind Avi, I could see Zekka watching on with no small amount of awe and shock.
Same, Zekka-chan, same.
"Kusanagi-sen-, er, Mr. Kusanagi!" Avi decided as she went on, no brakes, "I am Avi! Avi Amon! Third child of the High Class Devil Pillar Clan Amon!" For a second there, it looked like she was about to trip over her words, but she held strong, "And I am a big admirer of yours!"
Huh? Wait, what?
All of a sudden, Shirone's words from way back when ring in the back of my head.
Number one fan.
She came to Kuoh because of me and my fight against the Red Dragon, I remember that!
But-
"...Why?" I asked aloud, utterly bewildered.
Avi smiled, blindingly bright in fact, "Why, because of your swordsmanship, Mr. Kusanagi!"
Zekka tilted her head in the back, perplexed, and I damn near copied her, because that just gave me more questions.
Rather than ask, I just motioned toward her and simply stated, "Elaborate. Please."
Avi practically preened, "Gladly! See, with just a blade, you took down thee rampaging Red Dragon! This generation's Red Dragon Emperor, the Boosted Gear user in an out-of-control Juggernaut Drive!" Zekka's eyes widened considerably in the background; by contrast, I grimaced.
"It was nowhere near as impressive as you think." I denied, more than a little embarrassed regarding that whole deal.
Not only did I have help, I nearly died more then once, only saved by my bullshit healing ability. The me from back then is so much weaker compared to the me right now that the comparison frankly brings physical pain.
Well, it would if I could feel proper pain, but it's the point that stands.
Avi simply waved me off, her smile never faltering, "That doesn't matter to me! What does is you still did it all with a sword. And fire, real cool fire, but mostly a sword!" She nods to herself, rapidly, "And from what I saw, it didn't even look like a particularly strong one either!"
I'm not going to lie, that almost offended me something fierce.
Then I recall that, despite its history, back then Odoru Taiyōkō-sen didn't even have a name, or much of the power that it does now.
So I suppose she's not technically wrong about that.
"You showed that something that strong can be brought down by something so small!" Avi continued, fist pumping, before she stops, blinks, and scratches the back of her head, "Well, not that your sword is small, but you get it, eheh!"
I know she doesn't mean it as an innuendo, so I won't say it out loud.
But.
That doesn't stop me from thinking it! Heh!
…I really need to stop spending so much time around Kuroka.
"But yeah!" Avi continued, "That is the reason I call you sensei! And why I want your help, specifically! I have a goal! A dream that I will accomplish!" She clenches her fist close to her chest, "And you showed that it isn't impossible. So, thank you!"
Isn't she giving me a little too much credit?
Still, I can't help but feel the drive coming off this girl. It's something for a little shrimp, isn't it?
I let out a long and low breath before leveling her an inquiring stare.
"I won't promise anything right now." Her smile still doesn't waver as I begin, "But," In fact, it grows wider, "I'll at least hear you out, pinky. Whatchya need?"
Avi barely managed to suppress an excited shriek as she turned, right toward Zekka.
Who promptly flinched as the smaller girl's intensely excited face was pointed toward her.
I'm also fairly sure it activated Zekka's 'fight, flight, freeze' response, because the girl looked like she wanted to run away, desperately, but didn't even get the chance to as Avi pranced over to her and threw an arm around the girls shoulders, causing her to slouch down to the pinky's level.
"Zekka-chan and I are in a group, or, club, you could say!" Avi began to explain, grinning from ear to ear, "But there's a slight complication! We don't exactly have an advisor, or, well, enough members, or an official club room, nor, u-uh, acknowledgement from the school that we even exist…"
Avi slowly trailed off, with each thing she listed, her mood seemed to drop a bit, and she slouched more and more, until her pink eyes practically swirled with dread and worry by the end.
She was dragging along Zekka the entire time, too. By the end, the poor girl was practically bent nearly completely over, and straining to breathe normally.
"But we could fix one of those things!" Avi suddenly perked right back up, her normal asserting itself, with Zekka gasping for a breath in relief, "We need an advisor, and I think you're the best person for the job!"
I let out a considering hum at that.
A club advisor, huh? How would that even work for me?
Though thinking about it, in the novels, Rias managed to get Rose a job at the school as a teacher after he left her behind in Japan.
And Rose is around my age.
Realistically, I could bully Sona into making such a thing happen as well. It wouldn't even be that hard!
No, what the question should be is, is this worth my time?
If I'm right, and this entire thing, these girls, are a part of some side story or something another that came out after I went under in my first life, then something may happen eventually that I should be aware of.
Like, shit, Zekka over there has the Sacred Gear hosting the souls of the First Man and Woman, that by itself is pretty important, no?
Especially considering the whole deal with the big guy upstairs here.
Truth be told, even with the promise of new events to deal with, new enemies to fight, something new in general, I don't think it'd be completely worth it to have to babysit a bunch of girls to access it.
At the same time, do I have a choice in the matter? If I let this sit, if I let this fester, and something big happens when I'm not there, it'd be the Red Dragon event all over again.
I close my eyes and lean forward, my chin resting on my hands.
After a moment's more consideration, I open my eyes and gaze at the two girls sharply.
I don't need much more. If it's not worth my time, I shall make it worth my time. If this ends up being nothing, then so be it. If this all ends up coalescing into something far bigger, then I'll be there.
This time, I'll be there.
"I'll be real with you." I start, my tone broaching no argument, deadly serious.
Avi seemed to pick up on that, as her smile hardened, albeit only a fraction, while Zekka still just seemed confused.
"I don't know anything about this advisor stuff, alright?" I admit, standing up straight, "So I'm probably not the best man for the job here."
Avi shakes her head, adamant, "That might be what you think, but I don't agree!"
I couldn't help but chuckle as I walked up to the two girls.
"Yeah," I smirked, "somehow, I figured you'd say that. Well," I stretch my arms before looking down at the two girls intently, "you've certainly got my attention, and now I'm curious. You say you've already got a place?"
Avi smirks back at me as she nods, a fire building in her eyes, an anticipation.
"Good." I state simply, "Then show me."
"Heh. With pleasure, Kusanagi-sensei!" Avi answered fervently.
I wasted no time in flicking her forehead again.
"A-AH!?" Pinky didn't see it coming and ended up falling over, releasing Zekka before she dragged her to the floor too.
Zekka looked between the two of us, clearly unsure of what to say, but that was alright for now, I'm more focused on Avi at the moment.
"I'm not your sensei. Not yet, at least, and I may not be after this still." I shrug, giving her a lazy smirk, "Guess we'll see how it goes, hmm?"
Avi rubs her forehead with a hand, the other keeping her sat upright, yet despite her state, not even a little has that fire in her eyes weakened.
"I understand, but if there's a chance, there's hope!" She nods resolutely, staring me straight in the eye, "And we won't let it go to waste, will we, Zekka-chan!"
"U-Uh!?" Zekka jumps, having all of a sudden been directly called out, "I, we…will?"
"Yeah!" Avi jumps up onto her feet, fist pumping, "That's the spirit!"
"Spirit…?" Zekka parrots back awkwardly.
"Yeah! Lemme see that fire! Woo!"
"F-Fire?"
These two, man, these two.
Zekka's just parroting back parts of whatever Avi's saying because she doesn't know what to say, meanwhile, Zekka's tone flies over Avi's head, and all she's hearing are the words.
I had to resist the urge to chuckle at their antics, and although it's a shame to stop them mid-show, I'm going to have to.
"Alright, alright." I wave at the two of them, Avi's attention immediately snapping to me as I speak, while it takes a moment more for Zekka to almost drowsily look my way as well, "Give me a minute to grab something before we head out, okay?"
Avi quickly waves me off, "No worries! Though, uh, we're going to have to go back to the school, so…" She rubs the back of her head again, more than a little abashed, "Could you grab Schwert-chan too while you're at it? I don't even recognize where here is, that, and even if I could…Well, I wouldn't be able to teleport us out of here myself."
Now, at that, both Zekka and I raised eyebrows her way.
Sure, she could just be talking about the barrier around the estate. That would stop her from teleporting out and in whenever she wanted since she's not keyed in.
At the same time, the way she said it implies something entirely different.
Also, Schwert-chan, cute. I don't think those two have talked barely at all, yet still, here comes Avi bulldozing her way through formality.
I'll save that thought for later, though, and instead shake my head.
"Don't worry, pinky," I assuage her worries, "I can port the three of us fine myself, just wait for me."
Avi quickly perked up, with any sense of shame or off feeling vanishing as she sent me a thumbs up, "Fire!"
I chuckled, sending the girl a thumbs-up back as I walked away.
I wouldn't need to worry about them messing with anything, not like I suspected them to on purpose anyhow, but even then it wouldn't be a problem because I won't be long.
Honestly, the only thing that might take time is finding my old sword-carrying bag…
~ A New Sun ~
My return with my old, filled, sword-carrying bag bought reactions from both girls, as was to be expected.
Excitement from Avi was especially expected, but Zekka's odd stare at the bag wasn't.
No confusion, just pure consideration.
Regardless, when I returned, we were very quickly off!
Since I didn't know where this building was on the junior high school's campus, I beamed us down right in front of the entrance.
Though apparently, that wasn't a problem, as Avi quickly waved us to follow her deeper in, the little pinky practically ran for the trees.
I mean that literally. She started running toward an old-looking forest that sat in what could easily be mistaken for the campus' background.
Zekka looked like she wanted to say something to Avi before she ran off, but she ran off before she could even get a word out, leaving the awkward girl there sighing before quickly running off, after giving me a very pleading look.
I'd tell her she wouldn't want my brand of help with whatever her problem is, but honestly, she might be just that desperate to accept it.
It didn't take very long at the pass we ended up going, and considering all of us were a degree of supernatural, we could go fast. It took barely a minute.
Which is pretty shocking considering what Avi ended up leading us to.
Nestled within the forest was a small, clearly abandoned building. The pathway leading up to it had long since been overtaken by the forest, and the foliage and green around it were slowly encroaching upon the wood of the building.
I recognized the building on sight for what it was.
A dojo. An old traditional Japanese-style dojo in a clear state of disrepair.
"Here we are!" Avi stopped and turned to us, throwing her arms up as she presented the place to us.
"...Ah?" Zekka gave her a sound, which is better than nothing, at least.
I scratched my chin as I gave the building a considering once-over.
All in all, it's old, but it doesn't look ready to fall apart. Yet.
Serviceable. If nothing else.
I gave Avi a nod.
"Hehe! Right! I'll show you two inside!" Without a prompt, Avi turned back and booked it straight for the door.
Though she did stop right before she flung herself through said door, barely, to open it, and quickly wiggle off her shoes, depositing them to the side of the entryway.
We followed her example, though much less clumsily, I must add.
Though I have to say, what greeted us inside wasn't nearly what I expected.
It was like night and day, the outside vs the in. Upon walking in, the first thing that hit me was this crisp, fresh paint smell, mixed with the cool evening air.
This came from the walls, which were a stark white, not a hole, mark, or blemish anywhere.
The floors, by contrast, were wooden, and they looked old, aged, but not rotten and falling apart.
All in all, it reminded me of the dojo that I had in my home near Kuoh, like an older version of it.
"Wah." Zekka let out a sigh next to me. Not a bad one, but it was certainly a cute one, considering the way she did it.
Avi put her arms behind her back, fingers locked as she practically skipped to the center of the dojo. As soon as her foot hit the center, she flipped back around, facing us.
"I know it may not look the best from the outside," Avi began with a big smile, "but that certainly changes once you make it inside!"
"That it does." I agree, nodding approvingly.
"Yes," Zekka also agrees, though quieter, and as she kneels to run a hand along the wooden floor, "it's clear that this place is very well maintained…"
Huh. She's so fascinated with something regarding the floor that she managed a full sentence. Neat!
"So then, pinky." I look around, specifically toward the walls.
I can feel the auras within them.
Demonic. Youkai. Magic.
Nothing Holy related, yet still, so many different powers, in the walls?
"Mind telling us what this place is?" I finished, raising an eyebrow.
Avi smirked, likely clocking onto the fact that I had sensed whatever's in the walls.
Thus, she wasted no time.
With a snap of her fingers, the walls revolved, turning like a hidden bookcase or door would to reveal a hidden room.
But instead, this merely revealed new walls.
Walls packed to the brim with swords.
Countless. Swords.
Encased within thick glass display cases, there had to be dozens, no, easily a hundred, probably more than that.
And they were the source of the auras I sensed.
Which is weird, because a Youkai aura, on a sword…? That's new, I didn't know such a thing could exist.
"This," Avi began, calling out, "is the place for seeking the finest weapons, cultivating the best swordsmanship, and becoming the greatest swordsmen!"
Avi preened, puffing her chest out whilst placing her fists on her hips.
"The Occult Sword Research Club! Or, if you wanna be simple about it, Cult Sword!"
Ah.
Shirone was right.
She might be just a touch obsessed with swords.