[Koneko POV]
The streets were empty, the rain washing the city in gray light. My footsteps were quiet as I approached Kokonoe-senpai's house. Every instinct told me he wasn't dead. I refused to believe it — not after everything.
The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open, careful, alert.
And then I saw him.
Senpai was sitting in the living room, leaning against the sofa, eyes half-closed. His breathing was shallow, but steady.
My chest tightened. For a moment, I froze. Relief, fear, and something heavier — guilt — all collided in my stomach.
I crossed the room in a few steps, then didn't think.
My arms wrapped around him. I could feel his warmth, the fragile pulse beneath his ribs.
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I didn't bother hiding them.
"You… you're alive," I whispered. My voice was barely more than a breath.
His eyes opened, blinking slowly. That quiet, tired smile of his — the one that made my chest ache — appeared while his hand ruffled my hair like usual.
"I am," he said softly. "I—How did you…?"
I pulled back just enough to look at him. "Everyone… everyone thinks you're dead. The hospitals, the peerage… even Buchou. I didn't believe it. I had to see for myself."
He nodded, like he expected this. "I see… And the others?"
I gave him the facts, plain and sharp, the way I always do.
"Buchou is in the Underworld. She has to take care of Riser. Akeno-senpai is handling things temporarily. Issei-senpai is still unconscious. Asia-senapai is with him, hoping he wakes. The peerage… thinks you died after Riser."
He listened silently. Not a flicker of panic, just that same calm expression.
"Good," he said finally. "And you? Did anyone know you were coming?"
I shook my head. "No. I didn't trust anyone else to… to know."
He gave me a faint nod, then his gaze met mine with something I hadn't seen in a long time — weariness. "Then I need you to do something for me."
I tilted my head, waiting.
"Don't tell anyone I'm alive," he said. "Promise me."
I hesitated only a moment. "…Understood. I won't."
He exhaled softly, a faint relief in his expression. Then he leaned back a little, letting the weight of the moment settle.
"And now," he said, voice quiet, "you should know what really happened. My Evil Piece… it broke. I was dying, and Suzuka—she saved me. She has a healing Sacred Gear."
I blinked, tilting my head slightly, ears twitching. "…Midorikawa-san?"
He nodded, tired but resolute. "Yes. If not for her… I wouldn't be here. And now… I think I'm human again."
The words hit, but I didn't respond with emotion. Just observed, processing the subtle shift — his presence, the faint residue of power, the fragile human pulse beneath my hands.
I felt a weight settle over me. So now it means Senpai is no longer… one of us? He has Midorikawa-san and Yamamoto-san… so where does that leave me?
The thought stung more than I expected. I pushed it down — hard — but it lingered like a bruise you can't ignore no matter how still you sit.
"How did this…" I asked, my voice lower than I meant it to be. Almost too soft. "…happen?"
Kokonoe-senpai looked at me for a long moment, like he could see the cracks I was trying so hard to hide.
The tiredness in his eyes wasn't just physical — it was something deeper, old, something that didn't belong in the body of a high-schooler.
He stopped for a second, catching his breath. "When I met my kid self in Romania, I started to feel like something inside me is breaking. Like a tooth that kept decaying..."
At first, I couldn't believe it... then, I envied him. If I met with my own kid self, I could have stopped Nee-san...
But, I was too weak.
"Until it broke," he said quietly. "Completely. When I overused my Sacred Gear against Riser… my body couldn't take it. I collapsed. If Suzuka hadn't awakened… I would've died."
I lowered my gaze. Midorikawa Suzuka-san.
Of course. She saved him the same way he saved her in Nagano... Of course she did.
He continued, voice still steady, but softer now. "Her Sacred Gear… it's a healing-type. A strong one. She forced me back, pulled me out of the dark. And when I woke up… i felt like I'd been… reset. Human again, I guess. Or, well, half-human, half... Snow Yokai. I prefer that over Yuki-otoko, really."
Human. He meant human.
I swallowed, keeping my expression blank even as something twisted in my chest.
"So you're… normal now," I said.
"More or less." He gave a faint exhale. "But that's why no one can know. Rias, the Elders, the rating officials… any of them would flip if they learned her piece broke. They'd demand answers. They'd take her. They'd take Suzuka. And they'd drag me back into shit I'm done with."
I finally met his eyes.
He wasn't joking.
He really meant it — all of it.
He wanted out.
"…I won't tell anyone," I said. It came out firmer than I expected. A promise. A vow.
He gave a small, grateful smile — the kind that made my stomach drop in a way I hated acknowledging.
"Thanks, Koneko."
I looked away, cheeks warming slightly.
Why did my chest feel so… tight?
Was it relief?
Fear?
Or something else I shouldn't even let myself think about?
My fingers curled against my thigh.
I stayed beside him anyway.
Because even if he wasn't one of us anymore…
He was still Kokonoe-senpai.
And I…
I wasn't ready to lose him.
He gave a small sigh, leaning back. I noticed how pale his skin looked, how tired he was.
My hands itched to touch him again, to make sure he was really here. But I held myself back.
Instead, I stayed close, just behind him, silent. The rain outside drummed against the windows, a reminder of the world outside this fragile moment.
Finally, he spoke again. "Thank you… for coming."
I let myself lean a little closer, resting my forehead lightly against the back of his shoulder. "You didn't die. That's enough."
For once, I didn't try to act cool. I let a single tear slip, hot and heavy, sliding down onto his shirt.
I couldn't say all the things I felt — relief, fear, anger at the world, at myself, at everything — but he knew, in some quiet way.
I stayed there. Close. Guarding him, like I always had, like I always would.
Because he was alive. And for now, that was enough.
_________
[Suzuka POV]
Koneko-chan left just before sunrise. I watched her from the apartment window as she stepped out onto the empty street, hood pulled low, her tail of white hair twitching with that restless energy she pretends she doesn't have.
She didn't look back.
She almost did — I saw it in the hitch of her shoulders.
But she didn't.
The door clicked softly behind her, and the silence that followed felt heavier than the air right before a summer storm.
I turned toward the kitchen.
Kokonoe-kun was sitting at the table, elbows on the wood, fingers pressed against his forehead like he was trying to hold himself together by force alone.
Haruka-chan sat across from him, quiet, tracing circles into the rim of her cup.
Three breaths passed. Then Kokonoe-kun exhaled, long and unsteady.
"So," he muttered, "we're really doing this. We're faking my death."
He said it like he still didn't believe it.
I crossed my arms, leaning against the counter.
"You already died, technically," I reminded him. "This is just… staying consistent."
He shot me a glare that didn't reach his eyes. Haruka let out a soft, almost guilty laugh.
But then the room fell quiet again — an anxious kind of quiet, like we were waiting for someone to burst through the door and drag him back to the Underworld.
Like we knew this was the last safe moment we'd get.
"Guess I should go off again," he muttered. "I can't stay here."
My heart dropped.
He was leaving again…
And every time he came back, he was a little more broken. A little farther from us. A little less himself.
"But where would I even go? Home? With the vampire plague going on, they'd be on my ass immediately..."
He kept talking, lost in his own worries, completely unaware of the storm building in my chest.
Haruka-chan shot him a glare—sharp, freezing, unmistakably Yuki-onna. The room felt ten degrees colder.
Kokonoe-kun caught it and cleared his throat.
"Fine, fine. Where would we go, then? But honestly… if we all disappear at the same time, it's way too suspicious."
Haruka's expression tightened—anger warring with that hollow coldness she gets when she's hurting more than she wants to admit.
"I don't care," she said, voice as cold as ice. "You always leave. I can't take it anymore. I'm coming with you. We're coming with you. Because I think… Suzuka feels the same."
They both turned to me.
Haruka's eyes held a flicker of hope.
Kokonoe's looked like just meeting my gaze physically hurt him.
I nodded.
He exhaled hard, defeated.
"Alright. We're going." Then, with a tired shrug: "Worst case, I'll tell my mom to spit out some bullshit about you two going back to Nagano. Pretty sure no one's gonna bother checking."
"Where would we even go?" Haruka asked. She sounded tired. Not scared — just tired in that way people get when too much has happened too fast.
Anywhere felt better than staying here.
Staying in range of Gremory surveillance.
Staying where Himejima-san could track a single leftover trace of demonic energy.
I looked between them.
"Paris."
Kokonoe-kun blinked at me like I'd spoken in a foreign language.
Haruka tilted her head. "Paris?"
"Yes. Paris.", I shrugged. "It's crowded, it's loud, it's full of tourists and magic is monitored differently on French soil. No devils hunting for a resurrection anomaly are going to comb that city without tripping alarms. And—"
"And?" Kokonoe asked.
I exhaled through my nose, shoulders dropping. "And I've always wanted to go," I muttered. "There. I said it."
The memories rose uninvited — Parisian cafés packed shoulder to shoulder, the golden stretch of the Champs-Élysées at dusk, the Eiffel Tower glittering against a velvet sky, and the quiet old library where I used to lose entire afternoons in books.
A small, humorless laugh slipped out. "We always wanted to go. You came for me, remember? But I died before we ever got the chance…"
There was a beat of silence — soft, heavy. The words hung there. Not quite grief or longing… just the ache of something unfinished.
Kokonoe-kun let out a low sigh, the kind that carried a whole lifetime in it. "Yeah. I remember."
He tried to smile, that dry, crooked one he uses when something hurts too much to say outright.
"I… still kept the souvenirs. At least there's that."
Kokonoe-kun ran a hand through his hair, staring at the table. Haruka-chan's eyes flicked between the two of us for a moment before she cracked a smile — small, but undeniably real.
"Paris… a fresh start?" she asked.
"Not a start," I corrected quietly. "A hiding place. For now."
Kokonoe-kun looked up at me then — really looked — and something in his expression shifted. Not relief. Not quite acceptance.
Something in between.
"Paris, huh… You sure wanna meet your kid self, then," he murmured — almost like he hadn't meant to say it out loud.
I didn't answer right away. Part of me wanted to brush it off, to pretend it was just a whim. But I couldn't lie — not to myself, and not to him.
If Kokonoe-kun had faced his child self in Romania… then, I wanted my turn. I wanted to stop running from the girl I was back then.
I lifted my gaze, letting him see it — that rare spark of determination I barely recognized in myself.
He held my eyes for a moment, and something in his face softened.
A quiet understanding. Nothing dramatic.
Just… acceptance.
And that was enough.
Then he spoke louder, clearer, like he was locking the decision in place:
"Okay. We'll go."
A soft warmth spread in my chest.
Fear was still there — obviously. But now there was direction. A plan. That's all we need, for now.
Haruka stood and pulled her chair in. "We should pack lightly. Enough to vanish, not enough to be traced."
Kokonoe-kun nodded, certainty in his voice. "I'll arrange transport. Nelu should be rested enough to fly us to France."
"Paris…" he said again, softer. "Yeah. I haven't been there in a while."
And for the first time since dragging him back from the edge of death, I felt like the three of us were breathing the same air — the kind that tasted like possibility, even when it wrapped in danger.
"Hey, Kokonoe-kun," Haruka-chan murmured, tugging lightly at his sleeve.
"Next time we go somewhere… make it Guangzhou."
Kokonoe blinked, then gave her a tired half-smile.
"Sure. One day I'll even take you to Romania," he said. "If we survive long enough."
Haruka brightened at that — genuinely, softly — the way she only did when she forgot to be afraid.
I watched her for a moment.
Half-Chinese. Born in Guangzhou. A girl who never really fit anywhere in Japan.
A stranger, just like us.
She rocked on her heels, a little more cheerful than before.
"I always wanted to see Europe, you know~" she added, voice lilting, almost sing-song.
And for a moment, it didn't feel like we were three fugitives planning an escape.
Just three kids dreaming about places we hadn't ruined yet.
After Haruka-chan went to gather her things and Kokonoe-kun retreated to his room to breathe, I stayed in the kitchen alone.
The sunlight came in slanted through the blinds, dust caught in the air like floating ash.
I pressed my palm to my chest.
Right over where the warmth still lingered.
My Sacred Gear.
I can finally say it without feeling insane.
It's strange — the moment it awakened wasn't dramatic. No glowing wings or spirals of light like in the books.
It was when I hugged him. Right after he opened his eyes again.
I didn't even think.
I just… grabbed him.
He looked like hell, like he'd been dragged out of death by the threads of a bad dream. His skin was cold.
His breathing was barely there. And then, under my hands, something sparked — not outside, but inside me.
He felt it too.
I could tell by the way his eyes widened, the way his fingers grasped my shirt. For a moment it felt like the world pulsed around us, like my heartbeat was syncing with his.
I remember the first thing he said, voice hoarse, barely above a whisper:
"I knew it… I knew you had something in you."
I'd stared at him, confused. "What do you mean 'knew'?"
He gave that tired, crooked half-smile of his.
"Rias' spell. The one that should've erased your memories after we had our little fallout… it didn't work on you."
He paused, breath trembling.
"Only someone with a Sacred Gear or any connection to the supernatural resists that hard."
At the time, I tried to laugh it off.
Tried to act like I wasn't shaking.
Tried to pretend I wasn't terrified — of him dying, of the warmth in my chest, of the fact that something inside me responded to him like it had been waiting.
Now, standing alone in this quiet room, it finally hits me.
My Sacred Gear awakened because he was dying.
Because I didn't want to lose him.
Because some stubborn part of me refused to let go.
And now… now it's just humming beneath my skin, faint but constant, like a heartbeat I didn't know I had until the world tried to take him away.
Maybe Paris will be good for that. For all of us.
Maybe being far from devils, far from the Underworld, far from the mess that nearly killed him, will give me time to figure out what this Sacred Gear actually is.
And why it chose that moment.
Footsteps stirred down the hallway — Kokonoe-kun returning — and I swallowed the lump in my throat, straightening up before he walked back into the room.
He didn't notice me at first. He rarely does when he's lost in his own head.
"This shitty life, yeah it got me in a daze…
Running to Romania, drinking in the clubs of București…
I be passed on the couch, yeah, smoking lemon haze…
Leave the city with me, we don't need no plane…
Girl, hop on my ice bird, faster than a bullet train…"
He freestyled under his breath, that half-mumbled, half-sung tone he uses when he thinks no one's there.
It hit me like always — the strange mix of tenderness and recklessness in him. Every lyric was a window into a past he never talked about, a life cracked open with violence, drugs and escape routes.
Memories of his old songs surfaced, sharp and unbidden, of me lying in the hospital bed with my earbuds in, listening to his unmixed tracks.
The rough edges, the offbeat lines, the rawness of his voice — filled my heart with warmth, tender and nostalgic.
I should've said something.
Announced myself.
Made a joke. Anything.
But instead, I just… listened.
Because even if he didn't know it yet, every line, every breath, every broken little melody was another piece that proved he was alive, right here in front of me — they filled my heart with warmth, tender and nostalgic.
He was right there with me again, even across the years.
And I wasn't ready to break that spell.
Then, I realized.
No matter what this power is, or why it woke up…
…I'm not letting it happen because I was afraid.
This time, I'll learn to use it before fate tries to take him again.
Then, he noticed me. He flinched, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Oh, Suzu… ugh, you heard that?" he muttered. Embarrassment painted every line of his face. Cute. My chest fluttered, and I wanted to reach for him, hold him close.
"I heard everything," I giggled, despite myself.
He froze for a second, mortified, then let out a resigned sigh.
"So… what do you think?" he asked, still avoiding my gaze.
"I like it very much," I said, smiling. And for the first time in days, the words, the smile, they all felt genuine.
For a fleeting moment, I didn't have to force a smile or pretend I wasn't holding my breath.
Kokonoe-kun muttered a soft, embarrassed, "Thanks…" Joy spread through all of me.
Almost instinctively, I closed the distance between us, cupping his cheek gently. Then, my lips brushed against the cold of his skin, almost unconsciously.
He stiffened for a heartbeat, then relaxed just slightly, cheeks blooming red.
"Hey… that's embarrassing," he muttered, a faint smile hiding behind the protest. Not quite a rebuke. Not quite an invitation.
I smiled softly, letting the weight of the moment linger between us, savoring it. A fleeting moment, yet undeniably ours.
Then Haruka-chan came downstairs, and her expression flattened into perfect deadpan.
"Hey, lovebirds… don't forget I exist," she sighed, voice dry but with a teasing edge.
I felt my cheeks heat, and Kokonoe-kun's lips twitched into an awkward half-smile. My fingers lingered on his cheek for just a moment longer before I pulled back, a tiny laugh escaping me.
He rubbed the back of his neck, blank expression staring at Haruka, muttering, "We don't have time for this…"
Haruka-chan rolled her eyes. "Oh, right. The 'urgent escape' plan."
Kokonoe-kun's gaze shifted to the window. "Nelu's ready. We go now."
The moment broke, and reality surged back. I took a deep breath, heart still fluttering, and moved to stand beside him.
Haruka-chan flitted to the doorway, already bracing herself. The three of us climbed onto Nelu's broad back, the Freezing Archaeopteryx stretching its wings, feathers glittering faintly in the early light.
"Hold on," Kokonoe murmured softly, and I wrapped my arms around him instinctively, the warmth of his body grounding me even as the world began to tilt beneath us.
Haruka-chan, a little jealous of me for taking the spot next to him, leaned her head lightly on my shoulder. A mischievous grin tugged at her lips.
"You're lucky I like you too, y'know~," she teased, voice lilting with amusement.
Heat surged up my neck, and I fumbled for words. You mean… like a friend, right? Right? My heart thumped faster, half-panicked, half-amused. Or… are you… a lesbian, Haruka-chan? That's dangerous…
Kokonoe-kun shifted slightly under my arm, oblivious to my inner turmoil, and I bit back a small laugh, letting the warmth of the moment settle over me despite the teasing.
With a powerful beat of wings, Nelu lifted into the sky, the city shrinking beneath us, and the wind carried our laughter, our whispered plans, and the quiet certainty that whatever awaited in Paris… we would face it together.
____
[The Underworld - Akeno POV]
I watched the Underworld from above, quiet as a snake, and couldn't help but smirk. Rias, my dear Rias… dragged down by Kokonoe-kun's little stunt.
How quickly the mighty fall when someone else decides the rules. And now she's stuck, babysitting a drug-hazed Riser while trying not to burn everything to the ground.
Almost too easy to watch. The weight of responsibility, the subtle cracks, the frantic attempts to stay in control… I could practically taste it.
And Kokonoe-kun… Ara ara… he knew exactly where to strike, didn't he?
A disruption here, a provocation there, a spark tossed into the wrong powder barrel — and suddenly Rias is slipping out of control. Not because he meant to dethrone her… or maybe he did?
Even so, the world bends naturally around the kind of trouble he brings.
And who steps into the vacuum once Rias is dragged into diplomatic chains?
Why… me.
Ufufu… convenient. Troublingly convenient. Almost like he placed me there without ever looking at me directly.
I'm not supposed to be here. I shouldn't have this power. A girl like me, in this position? Unbelievable.
But the thrill… oh, the thrill of control, of influence, it curls around me, and I have to admit—I revel in it.
And yet… he's "dead." Declared gone. The Gremory hospitals reported no record of his presence after the game, so everyone assumed he died. But is that the case? I wonder...
And then there's Midorikawa Suzuka. That human girl who clings to Kokonoe-kun. That reincarnation. Stronger than she should be, subtle, threading her way through this mess like she owns it. I've seen the clues — little sparks, strange coincidences. Oh, I know what's coming. I know who she was. And she doesn't even realize it yet. French, I'd wager. Parisian. Perfect.
And Kokonoe-kun? The way he always spoke Romanian, the way he sang in Hungarian… Transylvania. Romanian street thug. Not the polished, polite mask everyone thinks they know. That man survived where most would have died. And I have a feeling… a very strong feeling… he isn't gone. Not truly.
Should I tell someone? Report him? Expose him? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm still deciding. Watching first has its advantages. There's a certain… fun in knowing more than everyone else.
More importantly. I kind of enjoy this new place of power. Which makes things a bit... complicated.
Should I resent him? Should I thank him? Or should I admit — quietly, secretly — that the thrill of it all excites me?
I'll decide later.
I leaned back, swirling the glass in my hand, letting the last sunlight strike the rim just so. The pieces are moving, the board is shifting, and I have the best seat in the house.
Everything tangled, everything dangerous… and I'm smiling.
Because patience, observation, and a little subtle manipulation… that's power.
And power, my dear, is delicious.
Club activities felt like a drag for everyone. Rias, gone… Ise-kun, injured. Asia didn't say much; she just stood there, hands folded together, like her prayers could miraculously patch him up.
Kiba-kun wasn't saying much either. He was trying to hold it together for all of us, I could tell.
But Koneko-chan… something about her was off. Not the usual quiet, withdrawn thing.
No, this was different.
She moved carefully, but there was a sharpness in her eyes, a tension that didn't belong to mere concern. Like she knew something. Something we weren't supposed to notice.
And that's always interesting.
I leaned back against the doorway, letting my gaze linger just long enough. Observing her. Letting her know I noticed, without giving anything away. That twitch in her shoulder, the way her hands flexed, the almost imperceptible hitch in her step — all little whispers of information. And she hadn't spoken a word.
Perfect.
I can play this. Let everyone else fumble and stress and worry. Let them be blind to the currents beneath the surface. I'll watch. I'll wait. And maybe… I'll decide what to do with what I see.
Because knowledge is far more intoxicating than panic.
Later that day, I found Koneko-chan alone in the clubroom, straightening books that didn't need straightening.
A mundane task, but her movements were precise, almost too thoughtful. I slid into the chair across from her, letting the quiet stretch just long enough to make her fidget slightly.
"Koneko-chan," I began softly, tilting my head, letting that lilting ara ara… slip just under my voice. "Were you… at Kokonoe-kun's house yesterday?"
Her hands froze mid-adjustment. Calm as ever, she lifted her gaze. "No," she said evenly. "I wasn't."
I studied her carefully. Smooth voice, no hesitation… Too perfect. But my eyes caught the slightest glint in hers — a micro-expression most would miss. The tiniest hitch in her calm. Ah… so she's lying.
"Hmm," I murmured, light, casual, dangerous. "Just… curious, that's all."
Her hands resumed their orderly motions, but now too fast, too measured. She was hiding something. And I could feel it without her having to say a word. Ara ara… this is fun.
Do I call her bluff? Push and pry? Or simply watch from the shadows, savoring the reveal later? Decisions, decisions… Hehe.
And then… Kokonoe-kun. That man. There's something about him. The reckless way he survives. The strength, the vulnerability… and yes, the way he pulls at me in ways I shouldn't admit.
Ara ara… I mustn't let him see that.
A flicker of curiosity, maybe a little thrill, settled in me. Inconvenient, undeniable.
I glanced at Koneko-chan again, that same glint in her eye reflecting a secret I wanted, but didn't yet have. Patience, observation… and perhaps, when the moment is right, a little fun with the man himself.
Ufufu… delightful.
And in that moment, the truth curled around me like warm smoke:
Kokonoe-kun pulls people in without effort.
Midorikawa Suzuka, that annoying ice bitch that shot me, Koneko-chan… even me.
Annoyingly magnetic man.
I should hate him for hurting Rias, for destabilizing the club, for creating this mess… But instead, I'm watching him.
Wanting to understand him.
Drawn to him in ways I really shouldn't be.
Even "dead," he calls to me. And it's infuriating.
For now, I'll be patient.
I'll observe.
I'll decide whether to kiss him, kill him, or let him keep guiding me into places Rias never allowed me to stand.
I let Koneko-chan stew in that tiny corner of panic and secrecy, her composure now slightly cracked.
That was always fun — seeing someone slip just a fraction of a second before they realize I was watching.
And then… a sound from the infirmary.
A faint groan, the rustle of sheets, and the soft gasp of Asia. My eyes flicked naturally toward the door.
There he was. Ise-kun. Moving, barely, like a kitten roused from sleep by something more than a shadow.
Asia knelt at his bedside, hands trembling, gripping the edge of the sheets like they were lifelines.
Her face was wet with tears, the kind of helpless, unpracticed crying that makes you ache for someone you can't fully save.
I watched her, from the doorway, silent, letting the moment stretch just long enough for the emotion to become almost tangible.
I stepped quietly into the room, the air heavy with the faint metallic tang of blood and the soft tension that clung to Asia like a second skin.
She didn't notice me at first, kneeling beside Issei's bed, hands clasped tightly as if her prayers alone could bring him back.
"You've been here all night," I murmured, settling onto the edge of a chair nearby. My voice was low, careful—not to startle.
Asia looked up, tear-streaked cheeks glistening, and gave a small, shaky smile. "I… I couldn't leave him," she whispered. "I was… I was afraid…" Her voice cracked. "If I left… he might not wake up."
I reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face, letting my touch linger for just a moment. "He's stubborn," I said softly, half-teasing, half-reassuring. "If anyone can pull through, it's him."
She sniffled, nodding, gripping his hand tighter. "I just… I just want him safe. I can't stand seeing him like this."
I let my gaze drift to Issei, pale and fragile under the damp illuminated room. "You know," I murmured almost to myself, "he's a fool. Always throwing himself into danger for others. And yet… it's impossible not to care for him."
Asia's voice was barely audible. "Even… even when he's reckless?"
"Especially then," I said, letting a faint, amused smile brush my lips. "There's something stubbornly brave about him. Something that makes you forgive everything."
We sat in silence, watching, waiting, until a faint groan broke the quiet.
"Issei…!" Asia cried, voice high and raw with relief. She leaned over, pressing her forehead against his, sobbing tears of joy. "You're awake! Oh, thank God, you're awake!"
His eyelids fluttered, lips parting as he struggled to focus. "Aaah… Asia?" His voice was hoarse, weak, but unmistakably his.
"You're alive!" she gasped, her hands clutching his as tears slid freely down her cheeks. She pressed her lips to his forehead, whispering frantic encouragements. "You scared me! Don't ever do that again!"
I remained seated, watching the scene unfold, letting that spark of life, of resilience, of reckless charm, wash over the room. My chest tightened—not just at his survival, but at how effortlessly he drew affection, loyalty, and admiration around him.
He tried to lift a hand toward Asia, still smiling that crooked grin, and his gaze flicked toward me for a fleeting second. Recognition, vulnerability, and that ridiculous spark of mischief all at once.
"Foolish hero," I whispered under my breath, teasing softly, letting a smile brush my lips. Pervert. Annoying. Irresistible.
For the first time in what felt like forever, the room was alive with relief and warmth. Asia cried with joy. Issei was awake. And I…
I could savor it quietly from the sidelines, feeling the pull of his chaotic, infuriating charm.
If a master can take as many lovers as he desires, shouldn't a mistress wield the same freedom?
Ara, ara… the thought gnawed at me, unbidden. I let out a soft, mischievous giggle. This… this is going to be fun.