On The Bench (AOT/DxD)

[Pocket]

MELONCHOLIC SOL RAHHHHHHHH MY FAVORITE!!!!!

 

[SirGrim]

I honestly don't know what's coming next. I usually have a few predictions I'm confident in, but with this story I don't even want to guess at the future. It's so well written, that I just want to dive into more of it without preconceptions! Damn impressive work.

 

[Gwynx]

Beatiful

 

[kz3838]

Thank you for the great chapter, the contrast between Sona, Akeno, and Rias acting like the teens they are vs. Eren is really interesting to see. I look forward to where you take us next with this story, keep up the good work!

 

[ReadingDangerously]

Eren woke up from his nap.

Koneko could tell by how his body tensed slightly, unconsciously reacting to a world he couldn't see.

Her senses had always been more sensitive than the others. Thanks to her heritage as a Yokai and her affinity for...

She bit into another cracker.

"Who are you?" He asked in his accented Japanese. He was facing her direction but noticeably higher than her head's position.

Koneko frowned minutely.

She still hadn't hit her growth spurt, but it was coming. Probably when she graduated middle school and into high school. Then she'd be tall, and her boobs would be bigger than Rias' and Akeno's.

She was sure of it.

She had to pause slightly to finish the cracker in her mouth to answer. Her eating had probably been what woke Eren up from his nap.

"...Toujou Koneko. Nice to meet you." After a beat, she decided to say a bit more to put him at ease. "You can speak English."

Eren's muscles slightly eased. Still tense, but not held on a knife's edge. His lips quirked. Not a smile. But something... something.

Koneko bit into another cracker. Elephant. She liked the idea of eating something so large in one bite.

So she did.

"...Rias' friend?"

Koneko nodded once.

Then, she froze, the back half of a horse cracker in her mouth.

This was going to be rough.

"...Yes."

"What are you doing here, Koneko?"

"Watching you."

"Why?"

"Buchou asked."

"'Buchou?' That is... 'club president?'"

"Yes."

Eren sighed. It was so quiet and minute that most others would not have caught the exhalation of air from his mouth.

Koneko put the cat cracker back in the box and ate the dog cracker head first.

She wasn't lying about Buchou asking her to come.

She, Sona, and Akeno had apparently decided the teenage boy in front of her shouldn't be left alone after classes ended. They didn't want him to get lonely or something. There was some sort of schedule or rotation setup Koneko was unaware of.

Unfortunately, a Stray devil had wandered into Kuoh, and both Buchou and Akeno had decided it was safer for both of them to go. Sona was still occupied with the student council, so they had asked Koneko to sit with and meet Eren and let him know they'd be late.

Koneko had agreed, not really caring. She had no clients tonight and planned to stay at the club to munch on snacks. Maybe visit Gya-kun and play a game. Sitting on an uncomfortable bench while doing the same was no great sacrifice.

She had honestly thought the smell would be the only hassle. Usually, sick people aggravated her sensitive senses. Open wounds, sweat-soaked clothes, or the smell of medication annoyed her sometimes.

Eren Yeager did not smell like any of that.

He just smelled... normal, really. He clearly bathed regularly, and his time in the park gave him the faint odour of grass, wind, and pollen. Even then, it was incredibly subtle. No overpowering smell of body spray, like so many of the boys in school.

Koneko sometimes wished she could punch people who thought deodorant replaced a shower.

But Buchou would disapprove.

Koneko continued to munch away, lost in her own thoughts.

Neither of the occupants of the bench were the most talkative of people, which suited Koneko just fine. She was ready to kill another hour or so, waiting for her King and Queen to find the Stray, kill it, and return.

From everything she had heard of Eren Yeager, he would also continue to sit in silence.

So when he asked her a question after long minutes of silence, she had to take a moment to swallow the rhino in her mouth before responding.

"Do you enjoy it?" His voice was hesitant, almost awkward. The words came out in an unsteady rhythm like he was forcing them out.

"...Enjoy what?"

"Your club. Rias and Akeno." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the school as if to try and explain with movement what his words couldn't convey.

"Yes."

"How about schooling? Do you like going to school?"

Koneko frowned minutely, trying to understand where this was coming from. Why was he being chatty?

Akeno had told her he would be wary and cautious. Buchou said he wouldn't open up easily, and Koneko would need to help him. She hadn't been sure she could but had promised to try.

"It's alright," she answered simply. "Boring. Not too bad."

"That's good. And your club duties? The others complain about them. They aren't too bad, are they? Rias doesn't work you too hard?"

The words tumbled from his lips as if nervous energy pushed them out despite their lack of tonal inflection. Like he didn't actually care and was just going through the motions. Or fulfilling some duty he was unsuited for.

Koneko's frown deepened further. This... didn't seem to be small talk, like her classmates sometimes engaged in.

What was going on with Eren Yeager?

Was he... trying to get information on the others through her? To make sure they didn't act differently behind his back?

She knew of his past and could understand a certain level of paranoia, but she thought he was their friend. Buchou certainly seemed to think so, and Akeno generally had good things to say about him.

"No," Koneko answered truthfully but kept it at that.

She only had a few clients and had plenty of free time. Rias provided everything she wanted. Her life was good.

If he was searching for something bad about her family, she wouldn't give it to him.

Koneko might be younger than the others, but she wouldn't be tricked.

"Did you..." Eren paused in his questions as if searching for the right words again. Koneko corrected her earlier thoughts. His voice had been as monotone as hers this entire time, but he seemed strangely invested in her answers. Eventually, he settled on a question. "You also went with them for the summer?"

"Yes."

"You live with Rias' family?"

"Yes."

"Are they kind to you?"

"Yes."

"Are you... happy?"

Koneko froze, unable to keep up with the one-word answers she had been giving.

Was she happy?

Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, and Gya-kun were her friends. School, while annoying, was alright. She ate what she wanted to eat when she wanted to eat it. On the weekends, she'd nap through the afternoon in a cozy spot where the sun would warm her.

She was strong, safe, and well cared for.

But was she happy?

Her mind flitted back to the nightmares.

To two young girls, black and white, all alone against the world after they lost their mother.

To long days of privation and starvation.

To an older girl, swearing to be there for her, only to leave.

To a small cell, trapped alone with nothing but her unwashed smell and nobody but herself, crying for anyone to tell her where her sister was.

Was she happy?

"...Yes."

It took her a long moment to think it through, and Eren had made no movement to hurry her along, But she arrived at the answer she honestly thought was the truth.

She still had nightmares, still woke up screaming for a sister who wasn't there or for release from the cell. She still feared senjutsu and the effects it might have on her in the future.

Koneko was still afraid of being abandoned again.

But, here and now?

She was happy.

Her new family was kind.

"That is good."

Again, only Koneko's excellent senses allowed her to notice the faint sigh in Eren's voice. Was that relief in his voice? Envy? Wistfulness? She honestly couldn't tell.

Koneko tilted her head as she bit into a giraffe.

Had she been wrong about why he was asking questions?

If he wasn't looking for dirt on Rias, why ask all that?

It took Koneko a bit longer than she would have liked to realize what probably had happened.

Eren Yeager knew nothing about devils, nekoshou, magic, or even the Gremory.

He wasn't asking about Toujou Koneko the Rook, but the Toujou Koneko the student. He was asking about her daily life.

Eren Yeager was a human boy asking about a life he would never have.

An everyday life with school, clubs, friends, and family.

A slight pang of sympathy echoed in Koneko's heart. She wished she had said more than her one-word answers. That she was like Rias, Akeno, or Yuuto and could talk to him at length.

About how life, despite being hard, and scary, and lonely sometimes, was still fun. That he, too, could be happy.

But Koneko wasn't like the others, so she only did what she could.

"...Do you want the penguin?" Koneko asked, holding out a cracker to the older boy.

Eren tilted his head again, and Koneko cursed internally again, realizing he couldn't see her offer.

And he might not know what animal crackers were.

This friendship thing was hard.

********

"Take the picture, take the picture, take the picture." The voice tumbled in a hurry.

"I did."

"Get another one! This is too cute! Eeeeepppp." A squeal that caused Koneko to frown minutely and snuggle deeper.

"You're going to wake them up," the second voice chastised.

"But they're so, so, so, daaaahhhhh!"

Koneko's frown deepened, wishing Akeno and Rias would let her sleep.

"I know," Akeno said with fondness in her voice. "How'd she get so close? When I first met him, he threatened to punch me."

"Pffft. You just aren't as cute as our Koneko."

"Should you be saying that? Didn't he shake your hand away?"

"That was a long time ago," Rias defended herself with pride. "Just last week, I held his ha-. Never mind, just keep taking pictures."

"Ara? I just heard something juicy. Have you decided to become a mistress after all? Should I tell Sona?"

Koneko was full-on scowling now as she kept her eyes closed and buried her face deeper into the couch.

Sometimes, she wished the older girls would be more like Yuuto.

It wasn't like they weren't reliable, but sometimes they got so caught up in their little games that they forgot about others in the room.

The Knight, on the other hand, was a bastion of calm serenity.

On days like this, Koneko thanked the Satans that the two younger Peerage members could simply sit on the uncomfortable couch together, her napping and he rubbing her hair. He was even kind enough to use the special soap that masked most of his scent because he knew she was sensitive.

"You can't bother me today," Rias said primly. "I am too busy being overwhelmed by cuteness. If Gasper was here, it'd be perfect."

"...They are quite adorable," Akeno admitted. "Like an older brother and younger sister. Still, is this alright? For Koneko to be like that?"

"Don't worry about it. You haven't known him as long, but waking Eren from a nap is super hard."

"... I suppose even if he does wake, it is not like he will see them. She must be really comfortable to let them out."

Damn. Koneko had accidentally let her ears and tail out in her sleep. Despite the seating, she was just so comfortable that it didn't seem worth it to go through the discomfort of hiding them again.

Well, no, that wasn't true. The couch was way more uncomfortable than usual, but her pillow made up for it in spades.

Even if having her racial traits out left her more sensitive to the various energies her race was known to manipulate, it was fine so long as she didn't reach out to the world around her.

"It can't be the bench. That thing is terrible. I have no idea how he sleeps on the thing. It has to be his lap. I'm jealous."

"Who knew Koneko would get the famous Lap Pillow before all of us," Akeno giggled.

"My Koneko is the cutest! And cuteness is justice!"

"Didn't Lord Lucifer say the same thing about 'his Ria-tan' this summer?"

"Hush you! That never happened."

Seriously, those two needed to leave. Or keep it down.

Relaxed and half-dozing, Koneko tried to snuggle deeper. In her state, in that awkward realm between wakefulness and sleep, when she was at her most vulnerable, Koneko's supernatural senses slipped the leash she usually kept in tight control.

Like a fire, it blazed across her senses.

"AAAHHH," she screamed in surprise, falling from the bench and to the ground as she rolled away.

"Koneko!"
"Koneko!"

Rias and Akeno dashed to her fallen form, concern and worry written across their faces as they checked her for injuries.

Koneko paid them no mind, staring at the boy on the bench with wide eyes.

"What was that?" He asked, sitting up from where he had been sleeping, Koneko in his lap. "Rias? Akeno? ...Koneko? What happened?" His hand rested on his cane, and he looked ready to stand and fight.

"Fine," Koneko said hurriedly. "I'm fine. Just fell."

Eren remained tense, and Rias and Akeno continued to brush the dirt from her uniform as they checked her over.

"You fell?" Eren asked with a frown, his empty hand raising slightly to his bandaged eyes before falling back to his cane. "Are you hurt?"

"No." She struggled to keep the emotions out of her voice as she stared at the older boy with dilated eyes.

"Koneko," Rias whispered in her ear. Her cat ear. "What happened?"

Quickly hiding her ears and tail, the middle-schooler looked at the older girls and shook her head slightly.

They couldn't talk about this here. Not with Eren here.

"When did you two get here?" He asked the older girls. "What time is it?"

"Just now. I guess we woke Koneko. Sorry for waking you," Akeno lied easily at Eren's question, sensing something off in Koneko. "It's a bit past eight, and the sun is setting. Do you need help getting home?"

"I can do it," Eren said but made no move to stand, instead relaxing back on the bench. "You should head home. You still have school tomorrow, and staying out late isn't safe."

Rias looked like she was about to protest, likely pointing out that the three of them would be much safer than he would, even discounting being devils. They were creatures of the night and stayed up much later than most teenagers could get away with without sleep withdrawals.

Koneko stopped her by tugging at her sleeve gently and giving her a pleading look.

"We were just picking up Koneko before heading back," Rias said with a smile that Eren couldn't see. "Sorry for missing today's appointment. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

"You don't need to baby me," Eren frowned, but there was no heat in it. "I am fine on my own. If stuff happens, you don't need to send someone to watch me. I am not going anywhere."

"We had an appointment, and I missed it. And we're almost done with Battle Tendency. I think you will like the next part a lot. So I will see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow then," Eren said, giving up on changing the stubborn girl's mind. He nodded in their generation. "It was nice meeting you, Koneko."

"...Yeah. You too."

"And me?" Akeno said with a teasing lilt in her voice.

"...Goodnight, Rias, Koneko."

"Ooohhh, denial play. I like it."

"...Come on," Koneko said as she dragged Rias and the pervert away from the park, the bench, and its occupant.

"Goodnight, Eren!" Rias called back, and the sick boy raised a hand and gently waved farewell toward them.

Koneko continued to drag the pair through the woods and to the clubhouse nearby, leaving Eren behind on the bench.

********

Thanks to Old Man of the Mountain/Darklord331 for betaing this.

A bit on the shorter side with this one, but needs must.

In writing this fic, I am trying to keep to only writing the needed parts, either for the story or to establish the characters. This way, I can avoid story bloat that is all too common in Slice of Life stories. (To say nothing of my other work that went from a planned 150k words to a 600k monstrosity that is still going strong.)

This means that, for the moment, Koneko and Eren have little to discuss. While both have strong opinions and beliefs, neither is the type to talk about them to strangers, leading to their first meeting being more awkward than Sona's, Rias', or Akeno's, who are very sociable girls despite their various characteristics.

Koneko will get her time in the sun, but because she is so closed off, it will be a while before I can really dive deep into her. Otherwise, it just would feel wrong for her character.

For those who celebrate it, have a good turkey day. I will be waiting for you on the bench.

 

[Gwynx]

Cute.

 

[SirGrim]

Another excellent piece of character writing. Great chapter!

 

[KASM01]

i wonder if Koneko felt something

Spoiler: tree

 

[kz3838]

Thank you for the great chapter, very curious as to what Koneko sensed and if she will tell Rias and/or Akeno? Regardless, keep up the good work!

 

[ReadingDangerously]

Nobody said anything until they were well out of earshot of the young man.

"What happened Koneko?" Rias asked gently, taking the younger girl's hand in her own. "You're shaking. Another nightmare?"

"...No."

How was she supposed to say this?

Was she supposed to say anything?

"Was it Eren?" Akeno asked with a concerned frown as she took her junior's other hand. "Did he do something?"

"He didn't do anything." In the end, Koneko trusted her King and Queen. "I felt his life force."

""What?"" They both asked in confusion, but then Rias' eyes lit up in excitement.

"And?" She asked eagerly. "Did you feel anything special? Some hidden bloodline or Sacred Gear? Magic?"

"No." This question was easy to answer, as it was one she had looked into before. "He's definitely human. No magic or Sacred Gear. I'm sure."

It wasn't just a pitiful amount of magic, like some humans. Koneko had not felt even a drop of magical potential in the boy. It was like he was magically disabled, which did happen sometimes. That meant he couldn't have a Sacred Gear, as they all had a magical component to them, even if only a tad.

Rias's face fell, and Koneko immediately felt terrible. She knew her King had been searching for any excuse she could find to make an offer to Eren to have him join her Peerage. Still, she wouldn't lie.

"If it wasn't that, then he had a lot of life force, right? That's what surprised you?"

Koneko nodded at Akeno's guess.

"That's good!" Rias fist pumped quietly. "I can have my cousin train him. I hear he's been trying to attain Touki recently. With Eren's experience and the chance he can gain Touki, the family won't complain when I reincarnate him."

"You can't."

"I'm going to ask first, of course," Rias' chuckled, rubbing Koneko's hair gently. "Eren would flip if he was forced into a Peerage. I want to get him to trust me first so he'll agree. I was just worried about the repercussions. But this should be enough. Thank you, Koneko."

She looked so happy, as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders, that Koneko regretted her next words as soon as they left her mouth.

"You can't," she repeated. "You're too weak."

Rias froze in place, hand resting on Koneko's scalp in the middle of ruffling her hair.

Koneko felt her eyes water at the hurt in her King's eyes. She didn't want Rias looking at her like that.

"Koneko," Akeno crouched slightly till she was at eye level with her junior and spoke softly. "Dear. What do you mean? Rias might be a lazy weeb, but she's not weak."

The nekoshou knew Akeno was trying to use humour to deflect, but it didn't change the truth. But how to explain it in a way they could understand?

"It's like a fire." She eventually said, speaking to both of them. "Most people are candles. Yuuto is like a fireplace. You two are bonfires. Buchou's is bigger."

It was a testament to the situation that Rias didn't start immediately bragging about 'size' to Akeno.

"And Eren?"

"... Remember the forest fire Surtr II started two years ago?"

"The one Nee-san tore into him about?" Akeno remembered with a fond smile. That smile dipped. "The one that burned down his entire territory?"

"Eren felt like that?" Rias asked with an intake of air. "How?"

Koneko shrugged, not having an answer to the question. She just knew what she felt.

"Can you compare it to anything else, dear?" Akeno asked gently, and Koneko gave it some real thought.

She didn't keep her Ki senses open often. Partly because it was only possible to get a really good sense of things when her ears and tail were out, but also because she was afraid it would leave her open to Senjutsu and the malice of the world that drove her sister mad. So, she only had a few frames of reference to work from.

"Less than Nee-san," Koneko said with certainty, then continued with much less confidence. "More than... Lord Gremory?" This was not an exact science by any means, and she was going by impressions more than anything.

Both Akeno and Rias shared a look.

Grayfia Lucifuge was probably the second strongest female devil alive, so Eren being less powerful than her didn't say much. But Rias' father was firmly in the ultimate class, if on the lower end.

For Eren's life force to rival his...

"Does he know Touki," Rias asked, and Koneko shrugged again. There was no way to tell if someone knew how to use their Ki until they actually did.

"Even someone with only a little Ki can use Touki," Akeno shook her head and explained to her King. She was more familiar with the practice, thanks to her past studies. "Having a lot of Ki doesn't mean he can use it, just that finding it is easier, and once he does, it is more useful. The question is, how did he gain so much? If he was part Yokai or had a Sacred Gear or something like it, it would be understandable. But a pure human?"

"Eren exercises regularly when he gets home," Rias spoke aloud. "I've had my familiar keep an eye on him occasionally when a Stray is in the area. Despite his condition, he spends at least a few hours daily keeping up a demanding regime for a human. It is the only thing he does besides sit on the bench. It's why he's still in decent shape."

"That isn't enough," Akeno shook her head, not even commenting on Rias' use of her familiar to 'keep an eye' on a young man. "Some humans have more Ki than others, but nothing like Koneko saw. Not without access to some sort of mystic art. A few hours of exercise isn't enough to make up that difference. To even have a hope of gaining that much lifeforce at that age, he'd need training from a Sennin or a similar teacher and years of effort."

"He's meditating," Koneko said with realization, the Queen's words tickling her brain to memories of her older sis... to Kuroka learning her own Ki arts. "When he's on the bench. He's meditating."

"Unconsciously?" Rias asked with disbelief. Humans meditating was nothing new, but doing so in a way to channel or raise their Ki without instruction was practically unheard of.

"Maybe not," Akeno, too, had a moment of realization. "His second in command in his mercenary company was Chinese if I remember right. And others were from cultures with mystic traditions that merged with regular humans. The Sitri agents didn't find anything supernatural in his past, but it is possible he learned proper meditation techniques without knowing how to consciously use the Ki. If all he does is meditate and exercise, it is theoretically possible for a human to reach Ki levels comparable in magnitude, if not usage, to an Ultimate Class. It would take an insanely gifted genius to do it at his age, but it is possible."

"That still doesn't make sense," Rias said, biting the tip of her nail in frustration. "If he has that much life force, he shouldn't be dying."

That Koneko did have an answer for.

"Strong, but limited." She struggled to put what she had felt into words. "The forest is running out of trees. Or, fire isn't getting air?"

What she had felt had been incredibly bright to her senses but not spread. In fact, it had been tightly contained.

Koneko was a nekoshou, a variant race of nekomata which were themselves a race of Yokai supernaturally gifted with talents in the Sage arts, and she hadn't felt any of his prodigious Ki when Rias first asked her to investigate him. It was only because she had been touching Eren directly, with her ears and tail out, that she felt it.

Like a sun trapped in a glass ball.

And that ball was shrinking as his body gave out.

Only a few hundred feet from that sun, Koneko could sense nothing special about the boy.

Ki was not a cure-all. Nor was having a significant source of vital energy a guarantee of a long life. People with Ki would still get sick and would still die from disease, poison, or even age. Their life might be strong, but their body might not be.

In real life, Ki was not like it was in Dragon Ball or other media. Eren Yeager could have all the Ki in the world; all it would do was delay the inevitable if his body failed.

Rias' finger was bleeding she was biting its tip so hard.

"If Koneko only sensed it now, it would explain how the Sitri servants missed it." Akeno continued to piece the puzzle together. "And why no other devil or faction has come to snatch him up."

"Is there any way he can learn to use his Ki to heal himself?" Rias asked both of them, a bit of desperation leaking into her voice.

Akeno looked at the Rook, but Koneko shook her head slightly.

"It is his body," she explained. "It shouldn't be this way, but it is. He's already doing everything but is still sick. Ki can't help, or it would have. Sickness, not injury. Internal, not external."

Koneko didn't need to tell them that it was probably only thanks to his prodigious life force that Eren had managed to stay alive this long. If he didn't have that internal reservoir of power he was unconsciously using, his body would have shut down long ago.

How young would he have been when he died without it?

Ten? Twelve? Koneko could not imagine he would have survived to fourteen if all his Ki could do was keep him going till nineteen.

But she did not need to speak those grim words to the older girls.

Both of them had probably guessed as much.

"If we could move his soul to a new body, it would fix the problem at the root," Akeno postulated. "But the only thing that can do that is the Sephiroth Grail, which hasn't appeared in generations."

Counting on the appearance of one of the twelve Longinus in this generation was wishful thinking in the extreme. The world's factions always kept a close eye on them when they showed up, and the last time the Grail appeared was decades ago.

And even if a user did appear in the time they had left, they would need to find them, convince them to help Eren, and create a body for him.

"Ok," Rias said to herself, pacing along the dark path back and forth as she continued to chew her nail. "Ok."

"Should we... tell Lord Lucifer?" Akeno asked delicately, knowing how much Rias valued her independence from her family and brother.

"No." Rias was firm in her denial, and when Akeno made to insist, she continued. "I don't think he can help. Think about it. We are already looking for a way to heal Eren and aren't going to stop. All that has changed is that we know Ki doesn't work and how much potential Eren has now. Potential we cannot let anyone know about. Ever."

Akeno pursed her lips but nodded, seeing the point.

If other high-class devils learned that there was someone like Eren, a once-in-centuries genius with the potential to be a Sennin, was currently weak and vulnerable in the human world...

"If anyone forcibly reincarnates him, he'll go Stray instantly."

Rias nodded sharply at Akeno's words.

Everything she knew about the older boy told her he would rather die than give up his freedom. He had said as much to Sona and her on different occasions.

That was why she had initially simply planned to make his last few years fun. Her plans had shifted since then, unwilling to let her friend die if she could help it, but she still wasn't going to reincarnate him against his wishes.

"Anyone able to turn him will be the peak of High Class or Ultimate Class at the very least. If he goes Stray, which he will, they'll kill him instantly before he can grow into his potential. He'll start weak because of his condition, Ki or no Ki. The greater his potential, the more risk he's in and the quicker they'd kill him."

"...Sorry," Koneko apologized, feeling terrible that her inattention had inadvertently put Eren in danger.

"Nononono," Rias hurried to reassure her Rook, drawing the young girl into a tight hug. "Us knowing about it is a good thing. It's an excellent thing. It'd be too late if we didn't learn about it till later. We still have time now."

"Time for what?" Akeno asked.

"Time for me to make Ultimate Class!"

"Rias!"

"Not a lot of time, but it should be enough," the King continued despite her Queen's shock and Koneko's wide eyes.

Rias was powerful for her age and did deserve her High-Class status even without her noble heritage. She was the peek of the current generation of devils in pure potential alone, thanks to her raw power and bloodline abilities.

While Rias might not be comparable to her Super-Devil of a brother, something that bothered her, she was still a once-in-a-generation talent. It was one of the reasons the Phenex family pushed so hard for her hand in marriage.

Any child of hers, combined with Phenex immortality, had the potential to reach or even eclipse her older brother's stupendous power.

But devils did not grow over years, but over decades. A young devil wasn't even considered mature until after their first half-century.

Rias claiming she could reach Ultimate Class in power, if not in status before she even turned twenty, was nothing less than insane.

"I'm going to tell Sona," Rias rambled on, putting her thoughts in order and setting out a game plan. "She deserves to know too. I'll have to leave ruling Kuoh to her, but between the two of us, I have the best chance. I still have all eight of my pawns. Those are our best shot. After that, I am going to need to get to training. A lot of training. I still have a year and a half left, at least. Akeno, do you mind taking over my clients? I'll need all the time I can get."

"Of course," Akeno answered instinctually but then paused as a thought arose. "What about... you know? Riser. You only have so many pieces left."

Power wouldn't save Rias from the marriage. If it could, she would have had a much easier time.

Riser was the peak of the High Class. Even if Rias became Ultimate Class, it still wouldn't be enough to overcome his regeneration. All he would have to do was stall her out, regenerating over and over again until he could wear her down.

Even if Eren had the potential to use Touki, it was ironically one of the worst matchups against a Phenex unless the latter was utterly outclassed.

It didn't matter if one could cause internal damage to someone if the Phenex could heal internal damage in seconds.

The initial desire to come to the human world was to gain independence and fill out their Peerages over the years. The plan had been to comb the human world, particularly the school, for anyone with the potential to at least counter the regeneration. Kuoh was a hotbed of magical potential, which tended to attract Sacred Gear holders unconsciously.

Rias had been promised till the end of her time in the human world before the actual marriage, even if her family was putting more pressure as the years passed. The stress was mounting for Rias without a counter appearing, but she still had years.

Even if it wasn't a Longinus, certain sacred gears or mystical talents could negate the regeneration of the Phenex clan. Members of the family had been killed or beaten by such in the past.

"We'll still look for someone," Rias reassured her Queen. She wasn't willing to completely give up the hope of finding a counter to the pompous asshole and getting her freedom. "But if I get stronger, it will cost fewer pieces to reincarnate them. So it's a win-win. And once Eren's reincarnated, he can train, get better, and will be able to help."

"Does this mean you aren't going to spend time with Eren anymore?" Akeno asked, trying to follow along with her King.

"What? No! If anything, I am going to spend even more time with him. It won't matter if I get strong enough to reincarnate him if he doesn't accept the offer. A year and a half. That's how much time he said he had, right? That's all the time I have to make Ultimate Class and convince Eren I won't take his freedom from him."

"...Are you sure about this, Rias?" Akeno asked, looking worried. "What about everything else? Your hobbies, your dreams. I like Eren, and I want him to live as well. But I don't want you to burn out. That won't help him."

"I won't," Rias reassured her friend with a smile. "I'll be with you all most of the time I'm training, and I read manga to Eren. Two birds, one stone. I'm also ahead of the curriculum at school. Really, there is no reason I shouldn't have been training this entire time. If I get good enough, we might be able to lift the seal on Gasper. Control training during class and when I'm with Eren, and power training when not. It will be my very own training arc. You better take video's Akeno! I will want to make an anime montage after this."

Koneko and Akeno shared a look.

Rias was putting a brave face on all this, trying to stay chipper and reassure them, but both understood just how hard this would be.

It was easy to say, read about, or play a game about someone spending all their time constantly training to improve, but it was a wholly different thing to do it.

Nobody wanted to spend every day exercising, doing repeated and monotonous training that left you tired and sweaty. 'Training' was easy to say, but who wants to go to bed every night sore and bruised, exhausted and weak, with a killer headache from overusing their magic.

You give up hobbies. You give up friends. You give up everything but the pursuit of power.

And that was for humans.

Devils, creatures of vice and indulgence, did not have to train to become strong. It certainly helped, but any devil that lived over five centuries would become High-class in power just by virtue of age, even if all they did was sleep and eat. If they did basic exercises in magic for ten minutes a day, that time frame shortened to only two centuries.

Rias was already much more dedicated than her peers and spent at least an hour a day training herself and her Peerage. It was a significant factor as to why they were so much stronger than other devils their age. By human standards, they were very active teenagers.

By devil standards, they were nothing less than training maniacs, only beaten by the likes of Sairaorg and his Peerage. And they didn't have to overcome the same deficiencies as the Bael.

Rias was projected to hit Ultimate Class before she was fifty if she kept this rate up. It was an insane growth speed for a race that measured their lifespan in millennia.

To shorten that down to before she was twenty?

Remarkably few ever achieved something like that, and of those that did, four were the current Satans.

"...We'll help," Koneko said simply after sharing a nod with Akeno.

"I shall break out my good whip," Akeno giggled, but there was a tenseness to it.

"Thank you," Rias said with a wide smile, dragging them into a tight hug. "I love you guys."

Akeno had one last question, but it was an important one.

"If you don't get strong enough in time," she asked as she wrapped her arms around the redhead. "What then?"

"Then I'll ask my brother or one of his Peerage to reincarnate Eren," Rias said with a troubled sigh. "I'll explain everything to Eren, and once I am strong enough, I'll request a trade."

"Eren won't accept that," Akeno sadly shook her head. "Maybe, just maybe, he might trust you enough to become a devil under you or Sona. But someone else? He'd rather die. Will you be able to let him? Let him die if he chooses to?"

"It won't come to that," Rias insisted, a slight tremble in her voice, squeezing both of them tighter. "You'll see. I'm going to be strong enough. Eren will trust me enough. I'm going to save him. Eren is going to live a long, happy life. You'll see."

********

I like having hard facts to play with when I write fanfiction. Especially with this fic, since it is an attempt at a continuation of AOT's story, I am trying to stick as close to canon facts as possible.

Unlike AOT, which is very grounded in logic processes and has clear cause and effect, DxD does not make it easy. At all.

Ishibumi is excellent for a head empty, just Oppai, story with depth for those who want to look for it, but he is absolutely abysmal with giving us mechanics or anything that would go against the 'rule of cool.' He will often invent things just to justify a new girl joining the harem and then give no consideration for what it means for the wider world.

What this means is that for subjects he only mentions in passing, I have to make my own guesses and write into the margins he left.

For example: Koneko is a nekoshou. Their whole thing is being sensitive to natural energies. The 'nekomata massacre' is fannon, but it stems from the 'nekomata incident' where Kuroka did kill her master and leave Koneko behind. Ostensibly, this is because she went mad with the malice of the world because of Senjutsu. But here is the thing. That 'malice' is never a thing at all. We know Kuroka did it to save her sister, and, for the rest of DxD, the 'malice' of the world is never brought up once. A total non-factor. A convenient excuse by the author to justify giving Koneko a reason for Issei to comfort her.

In fact, Ishibumi casually mentions 'sennin' at some point, but that is never elaborated on. Ever. So humans can use Ki, duh, and thus touki. Those who do are famous, yet not powerful enough to be genuine players on the world stage, or they would have appeared in the story. This means that I have to guestimate the rules that this power system follows, which are completely different from magic and demonic power.

This long rant is just me venting and letting you know that I am aware that some of what I write is not 'explicitly' canon. But, as far as I know, I have not written anything that goes against canon. This is just my understanding of the characters and world. If you find something that is 'explicitly' against canon, let me know. It could be something I overlooked (or it could be a hint, who knows

Ishibumi made things up as he went along. That is pretty clearly the Doylist reason for certain facts and actions in the story. Assuming characters are already familiar with their world (or at least the parts they should be), I have to provide the Watsonian reason.

Either way, I hope this tangent has been instructional on my thought process as I write. I will see you all next time on the bench.

PS: For those who enjoy Attack On Titan's music, the Grissini Project is currently running a Kickstarter for their Orchestral covers of the soundtrack. You can find them on Youtube to give them a listen before donating if you are interested. I listened to their work while I wrote, so I figured I'd give them a shout-out as thanks. They are very good and is some of the best covers I've ever heard. Vogel Im Kafig, in particular, is spectacular.

 

[Blazing blue]

Oh Rias, I want you to succeed, but I also don't want to reincarnate Eren.

 

[Gwynx]

Hmmmph, I don't know, I don't think Eren would accept reincarnation because it would take away his freedom and Eren values freedom more than anything.

Nice work.

 

[kz3838]

Thank you for the great chapter, I really like how you broke down the way Devil's gain power and how Rias and her Peerage are considered to be unusual in regards to the amount of training they do. Most stories I've read have them be weirdly lazy the entire time they could have been training, but you've shown that they have been training just not to the point of pushing aside everything else. On a similar note you explanation of Ki makes sense to me, I can see how you made it work and frankly it makes a lot more sense then what Ishibumi gives us. I am very curious to see how Rias will try to convince Eren to let her reincarnate him, keep up the good work!

 

[SirGrim]

the Grissini Project

Click to shrink...

Always nice to get good music recommendations. Thanks!

 

[mpbjunkie]

Great story. I've no experience with AoT and am still enjoying it a lot.

 

[Akuma-Heika]

But here is the thing. That 'malice' is never a thing at all. We know Kuroka did it to save her sister, and, for the rest of DxD, the 'malice' of the world is never brought up once. A total non-factor. A convenient excuse by the author to justify giving Koneko a reason for Issei to comfort her.

Click to shrink...

I believe it was later pointed out that it was a lie created by some devil in power (I am wanting to say the Great King faction, but that just might be due to them being implied to be the cause of a ton of shit in DxD, rather than actually being stated)

In fact, Ishibumi casually mentions 'sennin' at some point, but that is never elaborated on. Ever.

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure Sun Wukong is specifically stated to be one (along with his descendant in the Vali Team), but outside of that...not really.

Ishibumi really does things by the seat of his pants. Another example is that it was stated that Gods and Buddhas cannot be reincarnated by the Evil Pieces in any situation. When Ross was reincarnated, the Valkyries were changed from gods to a race of demigods to allow it

 

[ReadingDangerously]

Kiba Yuuto did not understand.

He watched his King read the manga to the blind boy, describing the pages in great detail. She spoke in English most of the time but would say the lines in Japanese. If the blind boy did not understand the meaning, she would also provide a translation.

It was extremely slow going. A volume of manga Kiba had seen Rias devour in less than an hour ended up stretched for days.

And through it all, Rias practiced with her magic.

Hidden below the bench, behind a tree, or at a distance from the seated pair, small clumps of destructive magic wove their way through the air. Sometimes, they would clump together to form small stick figures of black and red energy bobbing up and down in a crude approximation of Rias' narrated scenes.

It was a display of control that the Gremory King wouldn't have been able to achieve even a few months ago, and a part of Yuuto watched it with pride.

He just didn't understand why it had happened in the first place.

He did not understand why Eren Yeager was such a point of focus for the two Kings of the school, Akeno and even Koneko, in recent months.

Intellectually, he knew that he was their friend. Sona took him under her wing and was teaching the blind boy Japanese. Rias had decided to befriend him thanks to her kindness, and the other two met the dying young man through her.

Intellectually, Yuuto understood that Eren Yeager had been through a lot, as had everyone in the Gremory Peerage, and it gave them a common ground to stand on that was missing with a lot of their human peers. Even if Eren didn't know their history, he had a maturity and bearing that was sorely lacking in the average teenager.

Intellectually, the Knight understood that all the effort the Gremory Peerage was putting in now, the long hours of supplemental training, would only help them achieve their dreams later.

All this Kiba Yuuto understood intellectually, but it was like something was just out of his grasp.

It wasn't love. At least Yuuto didn't think so.

As far as he knew, none of the women he was closest to had expressed romantic interest in the sickly boy. Nor had Eren ever hinted at any feelings of such a nature either.

Sona might have a crush on him, but her sense of decency, his impending death, or some other factor kept her from acting on such thoughts.

It probably helped that the blind boy couldn't see the beauty of the women around him, which usually drove other boys his age to folly in their efforts to impress them.

But if it wasn't love, and they had only known Eren for a little under a year, Yuuto could not understand how the older boy had wormed his way into their heart to such a degree.

Kiba Yuuto did not understand Eren Yeager.

But today, he'd try and change that.

Rias nodded at her Knight as she left Eren with a farewell.

Strictly speaking, she was only entrusting him to watch over the blind boy, something he could do with his familiar.

It was a protection detail they kept up when they could ever since they had learned of his prodigious potential with Ki. While Rias and Sona were the only officially known supernatural factions in Kuoh, barring the destroyed church, it wasn't impossible that some malicious Yokai or Stray would wander into their territory.

Eren would be a delicious and inviting meal for such beings if they discovered his powerful life force. Eating him would give a number of man-eating races numerous benefits. It was always better to have a pair of eyes on him.

The park was warded against such creatures, as was his small house, but Eren came and went from the bench at odd hours, so at least one familiar was entrusted to follow him at those times for his safety.

There were blind spots, of course. The devils still had school and duties and needed to sleep. Unless there was an active threat, there was no reason to constantly watch him. Still, it was another factor to indicate how important the boy was becoming to Yuuto's friends, and he wanted to know why.

Rias had repeatedly insisted that Eren could never know, as he valued his independence fiercely. The sickly boy was unaware of the true danger he was in, and telling him about it would only stress him out and ruin what time he had left.

Yuuto had agreed readily enough, initially not really interested in meeting the boy who had captured the attention of his friends. He had enough on his plate, between school, contracts, avoiding his growing fan club, the occasional Stray devil, and the increased dedication to training the Gremory peerage was putting themselves through.

It was a whim, more than anything, that led to deciding today was the day he'd try and understand the blind boy.

But how to go about it?

In the end, the decision was made for him.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Eren called out to the park.

He wasn't facing Yuuto, but the Knight could see no one else there. But Eren couldn't be talking to him, could he?

While he wasn't super far from the bench the boy sat on, Yuuto had been standing there without making a sound for over ten minutes now, resting against the bark of a tree. Eren couldn't have seen him, could he?

"I know you're there," Eren continued, turning his head. He wasn't facing the Knight directly. In fact, it was a few feet in front of him, but it was close enough that Yuuto knew it was him being addressed. "I can hear you breathing."

"Sorry," he said as he stepped closer. How had Eren heard him? He hadn't been doing his best to remain stealthy, but he also hadn't been breathing loudly. "I didn't think I was being that loud."

"You weren't. I hear a lot more than I used to."

Yuuto winced in sympathy.

It was easy to forget with the confidence he held himself with, but Eren had only been blind for slightly over a year, according to the file. He had gone through most of his life with the use of his eyes. It made sense that his hearing was still developing to compensate for the difference.

Probably helped along by his stupendous amount of Ki, unconsciously channelled to his body as it tried to keep him alive.

"Sorry," the Knight repeated. "Can I take a seat?"

"Go ahead," Eren said with an uncaring shrug. "It's a public bench. Though I seem to be one of the only ones to use this park."

"It is in a remote area," Kiba chuckled lightly as he took a seat, knowing the wards kept most people out. Wards Eren walked through entirely unconsciously. "Not many people go from the high school to the university."

"You must be Kiba Yuuto, then."

"You know me?" Yuuto asked in surprise. Seriously, was this boy really blind?

"Only Souna and Rias' club members come through here, and you sound different from how Rias described Gasper. She brags about you guys a lot."

"Ahaha," he chuckled awkwardly with a light blush. When Eren put it that way, it seemed obvious. "She talks about you too, you know."

"I'm sure," Eren said plainly. That was one thing Yuuto had understood about Eren without ever meeting him. The older boy never smiled, and on the rare occasions he showed emotion, it was usually in a negative way. "Rias is a nice girl, but she has too much energy."

"She's only a few years younger than you," Yuuto pointed out at the almost diminutive way the older boy spoke about his King.

"I know. But she is still naive about the world."

Yuuto bit back his instinctual desire to defend his King. Eren didn't know about anything they had been through. He had no clue of the true nature of the world or the efforts Rias was going through to give the blind boy a chance to live.

Instead of saying any of that, he settled with a vague statement.

"She could still surprise you."

"I'm surprised every day," Eren said, his voice lightening slightly. "Souna, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and now you. Every time I meet someone on this bench, I am surprised."

Yuuto didn't understand the exact nature of that surprise but judged it to be good by Eren's tone of voice.

The conversation was silent for a minute before Eren broke it again.

"Ask it."

"Pardon?"

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't want something," Eren grunted. "I'm not good for anything physical in my state, so you must have a question. Go ahead and ask it."

Akeno had told them how sharp and perceptive the boy on the bench could sometimes be, but Yuuto still found himself surprised.

Since he had brought it up.

"Who are you?"

"What?"

"I don't mean your name, but who is Eren Yeager. You came out of nowhere, and all my friends are suddenly all over you."

"Are you in love with one of them," Eren asked with a sympathetic tilt to his mouth. "You don't need to be jealous. Trust me. I'll be gone soon."

"No, no, no," Yuuto hurried to clarify. Thinking about his word choice, it was easy to see how it could be misunderstood. But he really wasn't interested in romance or sex. Not until he had his revenge. "I don't mean stop meeting them. I'm not in love with anyone. You are a friend of my friends, so I found myself curious, that is all."

"More than curiosity," Eren said plainly. "You are wary. So was Akeno. Good."

"It is a bit rude, so I apologize," the Knight said gently. "I just wish to understand who you are. What makes you special?"

"Cut that shit out. You're better than Akeno," Eren sighed. "But you don't need to speak so formally. And don't bother apologizing to a man like me because there is no secret. I am no one special."

"If you will pardon-" Yuuto started to say, but as Eren's hand tightened on his cane and his frown deepened, he shifted to a less formal tone. "I don't know everything you've been through, but what I've picked up tells me your life has been anything but normal."

"That's just it," Eren said as he relaxed against the bench. "My life hasn't been normal by most standards. I recognize that. Circumstances and other people's decisions thrust me into the spotlight. And I used to think that made me special. That I was some sort of hero. I wasn't. Nobody is. There are no heroes. There are no villains. There are just people. I am just a man. A terrible man, but just a man."

"There might not be heroes, but there are villains. Evil people in the world that need to die."

Eren paused, and Yuuto realized he had unconsciously let his vitriol leak into his voice. The blind boy let the silence hang momentarily as if deciding whether to respond.

"There is evil in the world. Animals in the shape of men," Eren eventually nodded. "As well as good. But people... People are a result of their environment. Societal pressures that dig into young minds. Religious indoctrination. Nationalistic rhetoric. Even dreams, birthed by a child's mind, can lead to destruction. But these ideals are foisted on people. By books. By parents. Friends. Teachers. Leaders. Governments. We all do it to each other."

"So what," Yuuto bit back. "We should forgive people for what they do because it is not their fault? Are they just products of their environment? No. That isn't how that works. They don't get to do what they do and not pay for it using some tragic backstory as an excuse."

"I never said that," Eren sighed. "We are products of our environments, it is true, but what we make of them is our own. Our freedom is our own. Our birthright. We can't choose our birthplace, our society, or our family. But the things we can choose define us. That choice is what separates man from animals. And, when others try and take that choice from us, we can choose to fight back or die."

Yuuto took a deep breath, calming his racing heart. He hadn't meant to get so caught up there. He honestly felt like punching when Eren sounded like the church's preaching.

"Sorry," he apologized to the older boy.

"There is nothing to apologize for," Eren said. "You want to hurt those who hurt you. I get it. More than you will ever know, I get it."

"You're not going to tell me to forgive them?" The Knight asked wryly. "To understand where they are coming from?"

"Forgive? No," Eren said. "Even when I understood where they were coming from, that they had been manipulated by forces so much greater than what I could expect anyone to reject, I never forgave them. I just recognized that I was the same as them."

"To kill someone who kills others for fun is not the same as killing an innocent person."

"It is." Eren's voice was dead, completely absent any tonal inflection. "Nobody thinks they're in the wrong. Everyone believes themselves to be on the side of justice. But the fist, the blade, and the bullet. Those are the only things that prove justice. It doesn't matter who is actually right. Whoever is left is justice. They will tell whatever story they want. Worst of all? They will believe it. They will believe their own lies, their own justice."

"So all lives are equal to you?" Yuuto was struggling to wrap his head around Eren's viewpoint. It was like he kept vacillating between a saint and a Satan. "That nobody should ever kill anyone?"

"All people are fundamentally the same. But we assign values to different things. I just recognize that some people's values are completely different from mine. I will never kill in the name of religion. I think it is a stupid belief system that turns people into livestock. But millions die in its name. I gave value to a few people and a few beliefs. And they weigh heavier on my scale than the entire world. So I killed people. I am no better than anyone else."

"So when I say I want to kill someone for revenge for killing others?"

"You are weighing their life against your revenge. Just as they weighed the lives of whoever you are avenging to their own goals. We kill for revenge, justice, survival, and ideals, but ultimately, we are putting things we value on a scale and determining the results."

The pair lapsed into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Then the Knight realized, in his engagement with Eren, he had let slip stuff a regular student would never think about.

"Sorry," he apologized once again. "I said I wanted to learn about you, but we ended up discussing hypotheticals like this."

"Hypotheticals?"

"Right," Yuuto laughed awkwardly. He'd always been a terrible liar. "I'm not going to go around killing people. I promise."

"I didn't think you would," Eren gave another minute shrug. "And I know you guys aren't normal, so the subject didn't surprise me."

Yuuto's heart clenched. What did he know? Had Eren found out about the supernatural? That they were devils?

Had he known all along?

"What do you mean?" His hands tensed, ready to call his Sacred Gear in a moment.

"After all this time, it's pretty obvious." Even as the blind boy spoke, a sword's outline started forming in the Knight's hand. "Rias and Souna are rich. Independent. They started helping me with no questions of return. And both Akeno and Koneko stayed with her during the summer? And now you? I'd be an idiot to not understand what was going on."

"What do you mean?" Yuuto repeated, his voice a lot less wary as the sword dissolved from his hand.

"You are all orphans. Lost your family somehow, and Rias took you in. None of you come from a normal background. That is the answer to your first question. That is why they get along with me. We aren't special people. Nobody is. But we all were put in special situations. You included."

"You are right," Yuuto gave a light chuckle. "None of us are normal. And yes, Rias took us in when she didn't have to. She got in trouble over it for a bit, but she is kind. Too kind sometimes."

"I know," Eren nodded simply.

"You know she'd love to help you, too, right? To take you in?" Rias had complained about Eren's stubbornness multiple times. It wasn't really an offer for Peerage ship, but it was as close as possible without tipping their hand about the supernatural. It would also make keeping a watch on him easier. "You wouldn't have to worry about anything. Her family is very well off, so it wouldn't inconvenience them in the slightest, and Rias would feel better if you didn't live alone."

"No." Eren's rejection was firm, giving no room for negotiation. "I don't doubt her kindness, but I am better alone. I have this bench, people to meet, and some time left. I am better off than I have been in a long time."

"If you say so."

By now, Yuuto was coming to understand why spending time with Eren appealed so much to the others.

The blind, sickly boy on the bench possessed an odd charisma in his blank expressions and world-weary words.

Like you could talk to him about anything and everything, and he would understand. He still had opinions. He still cast judgements. But it was like no part of you needed to be hidden. Like he had seen it all and done it all.

It was... freeing, in a way.

To be able to vent these dark emotions to someone who had actually seen the worst of humanity. Not from a position of power and observation like the devil therapists the Gremory had provided. But from the mud and the blood and the dirt.

The absolute lowest rung of society had somehow managed to achieve his goals, survive, and be there for them to talk to.

Yuuto could honestly say he had enjoyed their short talk and wouldn't mind doing so again.

But there was one question he had to ask that had been bugging him for a while.

"The people who hurt you, the ones you never forgave, did you get revenge?"

"I did," Eren nodded once.

"Was it worth it?"

Yuuto would have his revenge. Nothing in the world would stop him. But he would be lying if he said he didn't fear that it wouldn't be as satisfying as he always hoped it would be.

That revenge wouldn't fill the void, the gaping maw in his soul.

"Worth it? In a way, it was." Despite the words, Eren did not look happy in any way. "I accomplished everything I set out to do. Fulfilled a promise I made when I was a child. Multiple promises. I returned the pain inflicted on me a millionfold. Most of the people I cared about even survived. The world became as I willed it to be. In some twisted, horrible way, it was a happy ending."

"But it wasn't enough?"

"It was. I felt justified, even happy, in some twisted way. Guilty. Incredibly guilty. But we don't feel one emotion. With that guilt was satisfaction. It's just..." Eren paused before sagging in on himself. "In the end, my revenge became a tangential thing. Something I accomplished while building the world I wanted. A duty that weighed more heavily on my scale than lashing out. I do believe that, even without that other goal, I would have still inflicted all that pain and death. I am not a good man. I would have still lashed out. But in the end, it hadn't only been about revenge."

"What was that other goal," Kiba asked hesitantly. "What was more important than revenge? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"It's no great secret," Eren sighed. "I'm no saint. It wasn't to make the world a better place. It was a mixture of revenge, idealism, and a strategic plan. But the main reason was straightforward. I just wanted the people I cared most about to live long, happy lives. Even if I wasn't with them. A selfish wish. I've killed more people than anyone else in the world for my freedom, my revenge, and that simple, selfish wish."

If Yuuto had held any doubt Eren Yeager might know about the supernatural, it disappeared with that simple statement.

Some humans might have killed thousands directly or even hundreds of thousands in the case of bombs. Some humans were responsible for millions of deaths indirectly, such as Stalin, Truman, Mao, Hirohito, Hitler, Alexander, Ghengis Khan, and any number of infamous historical leaders leading great nations and empires.

But those numbers were paltry compared to the races who lived thousands of years of bloody history.

Zekram Bael, the first Bael, was well known to have killed hundreds of thousands during the Great War.

Personally.

His legions killed millions more. During the civil war, that number grew.

Other pantheons, other members of the three factions, and some great monsters could also count the deaths at their hands in the millions. That was what happened when you lived for so long, constantly in conflict with other factions.

As far as the Sitri had found out, Eren hadn't been responsible for any genocides or indiscriminate massacres during his time in active duty. He had been well known to be violent but effective. His kill count had maybe crossed the thousand mark but was nowhere near ten thousand.

It would be a staggering number to a teenage boy, unaware of the wider world. Enough to traumatize him.

To the supernatural races?

It wasn't even a statistic. Life simply has less value when you live for millennia. When the fall of empires was but another day for you.

Yuuto honestly couldn't think about how many people Eren would need to kill to back up his claim.

A hundred million? Five hundred million? A billion? A number so preposterous for a teenage human that it was almost funny.

Still, preposterous claim or not, it told the Knight something about Eren.

For all his talk, Eren's revenge hadn't been clean. It hadn't been without collateral damage.

The Sitri had missed something.

"Would you do it again?" Eren froze at the question. "If you could go back in time, knowing what your future held if you went after your revenge, would you do it again?"

"Yes." The word was firm as Eren spoke with the most conviction Yuuto had yet heard from him. "If I had to live through it a thousand more times, I would still do it all again. It wasn't a perfect answer, but it had been my answer. All the death, destruction, and hatred. Their lives, my freedom, my revenge. All of it together was worth that to me and more. If there is a hell, I will burn in it forever. But I would do it again."

"And if your friends, the people you were doing it for, had tried to get in the way of your revenge?"

What would Yuuto do if Rias, Akeno, Koneko, or Gasper stood in the way of his revenge? It was a distinct possibility. Destroying the Excaliburs would be tantamount to trying to start a war.

Was he willing to go Stray for it if it came to that?

"That is their choice. I wouldn't take it from them, no matter how much a selfish part wished they would side with me. I made my choices. They made theirs. I never blamed them for it. They are happier this way. In a way, I am, too."

That was why the boy was here alone, wasn't it?

The people he had cared about had turned from him, leaving him to live out his remaining years alone in a foreign country.

He would die alone.

That was why none of his former mercenary team had reached out to him even once in the year since he had appeared in Kuoh.

"There is no right answer," Eren intoned gravely. "No solution that solves everything. Just weights on the scale. If you ever find who you are looking for, you must decide what weighs more to you. Your revenge and everything that comes with it? Or the price you have to pay for it."

Kiba Yuuto did not know what weighed more on his scale.

The burning rage, the void within himself yearning to be filled with the blood and souls of those responsible?

Or the friends and family that had taken a broken, lonely boy in after bringing him back from the dead.

Kiba Yuuto didn't think he would know the answer until he was forced to choose.

"Thank you," the Knight said instead. "For talking to me. You've given me a lot to think about."

"You came to me," Eren shrugged. "You are the one who listened to a broken man ramble. All of you kids seem to like hearing me talk for some reason."

"You're only a few years older than me," Yuuto chuckled lightly. "And I think it's because having someone with your perspective and experience is nice. You don't shy away from hard topics. You simply speak of the world as you understand it."

"If that is enough," Eren said plainly with a tiny shrug.

"It is. So, Senpai, I hope you don't mind if I visit you sometime? To talk?"

Eren pursed his lips at the title but didn't say anything. He just nodded.

Yuuto hadn't called him his senior out of familiarity or obligation. He called him Senpai, not because the boy was older, but because Eren Yeager was farther down the path than Kiba Yuuto.

The Knight didn't know if his path would lead to the same destination as the blind boy, but knowing he had someone to whom he could talk about it was reassuring.

That was the role of senior, wasn't it? To guide their juniors?

It was comforting to know that whenever Yuuto wanted to vent or needed advice, he could find his Senpai on the bench.

********

A big thanks to my beta: Old Man of the Mountain/Darklord331

The alternate title for this fic in my head is something like: Retired war criminal, and Devil God gives teenage devils therapy.

Honestly, out of all the DxD characters, I think that Kiba would be the one Eren got along with the easiest. Unlike Koneko, everything is there for them to click, to connect in a way few others can. There is just too much overlap for them not to, in my book. He's often overshadowed because DxD is an ecchi harem story, but Yuuto has a lot of depth that often goes overlooked in fanfiction.

It is still early in the story, despite the next chapter marking the end of the first part of what I have planned. Most of the main cast has been introduced, though a handful are still coming. We've established the foundation and planted the seed. Now, we just need to water it and let it grow.

I will see you all next time on the bench.

PS: For those who enjoy Attack On Titan's music, the Grissini Project is currently running a Kickstarter for their Orchestral covers of the soundtrack. You can find them on Youtube to give them a listen before donating if you are interested. I listened to their work while I wrote, so I figured I'd give them a shout-out as thanks. They are very good and is some of the best covers I've ever heard. Vogel Im Kafig, in particular, is spectacular.

 

[HalfEmpty]

I've killed more people than anyone else in the world for my freedom, my revenge, and that simple, selfish wish."

If Yuuto had held any doubt Eren Yeager might know about the supernatural, it disappeared with that simple statement.

Click to shrink...

One day, Yuuto's going to look back on this and laugh at how wrong he was.

It's great to see an underutilized character get some shine in the story, since Yuuto is always regulated to becoming a minor character in most fanfics.

 

[Gwynx]

Nice.

A little development for Kiba never hurts

 

[Vanbers]

Honestly, out of all the DxD characters, I think that Kiba would be the one Eren got along with the easiest.

Click to shrink...

Kiba: "I just want to kill people to take revenge, man."

Eren: "Mood."

 

[Prince awsome]

Great chapter

 

[KASM01]

There are no heroes. There are no villains. There are just people. I am just a man. A terrible man, but just a man."

Click to shrink...

 

[Kalstorm22]

Greta chapter, Erens opinions on revenge and killing were both very in character and well thought out, sounding exactly like a war-criminal that has had time to reflect and think on the "how's and why's" of their journey through life.

 

[kz3838]

Thank you for the great chapter, I really like how you wrote Kiba's conversation with Eren. Admittedly I do wonder how they would react to what Eren did in his original world. Regardless, keep up the good work!

 

[Speedshot]

This is definitely my favorite chapter so far. Eren's characterization here is top notch.

 

[ArcFreedom]

Thank you for the great chapter, I really like how you wrote Kiba's conversation with Eren. Admittedly I do wonder how they would react to what Eren did in his original world. Regardless, keep up the good work!

Click to shrink...

Like shit, even if the world of AoT was only up to that or around WW1 Earth, that's still at least 1 billion people killed directly by Eren's hands, and in like 4 days.
Like those other fuckers that got somewhat comparable figures(only millions) had thousands of years to reach such figures, and Eren fucking Yeager did that shit in basically a blink of a eye for them, and far beyond their own counts.

 

[HyrulerSage]

Sadge I caught up but happy with the "short" so far!

 

[Monarchist Guy]

Like shit, even if the world of AoT was only up to that or around WW1 Earth, that's still at least 1 billion people killed directly by Eren's hands, and in like 4 days.
Like those other fuckers that got somewhat comparable figures(only millions) had thousands of years to reach such figures, and Eren fucking Yeager did that shit in basically a blink of a eye for them, and far beyond their own counts.

Click to shrink...

In 1914 the world population was around 1.4 billion world wide, so if Eren Yeager killed 80 percent by the end it was roughly 1,120,000,000 people in four mother fucking days. World War One killed 20 million people, and was the bloodiest war in history for the time. So bloody that people feared the essence of war enough to keel over at the demands of a insane (if charismatic) dictator. 1.120 billion people is mind boggling. Even in the event of a Hot Nuclear War we wouldn't see that many people die. We might only see half of that (unless china and india are involved of course). Truly boggles the mind the sheer scale of the Rumbling.

 

[Vicentehuerta777dragon]

In 1914 the world population was around 1.4 billion world wide, so if Eren Yeager killed 80 percent by the end it was roughly 1,120,000,000 people in four mother fucking days. World War One killed 20 million people, and was the bloodiest war in history for the time. So bloody that people feared the essence of war enough to keel over at the demands of a insane (if charismatic) dictator. 1.120 billion people is mind boggling. Even in the event of a Hot Nuclear War we wouldn't see that many people die. We might only see half of that (unless china and india are involved of course). Truly boggles the mind the sheer scale of the Rumbling.

Click to shrink...

Holy shit that's wow

 

[Orphus]

O Senpai of the Bench, what is thy wisdom?

Tatakae!