Scarlet 12

Scarlet 12

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Commissioned by Sivantic

Wordcount: 2500

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Asia Argento struggled, as she hefted her luggage, while attempting to follow me.

“You don’t have a ticket, Asia.” I did my best to talk to her, as I walked towards the bus terminal. My plan to get where I needed to go was to utilize modern conviences. Having an ample amount of funds allowed me to secure transportation easily, whether it be through train, bus, or plan. The same couldn’t be said for the blonde, former-nun who was doing her best to keep pace with me. “They won’t let you on the bus, let alone the train or plane.”

“I… don’t… care!” Asia Argenot huffed and puffed as she hauled her luggage beneath the high noon sky. Meeting with Sona Sitri had taken most of the morning. I’d packed the previous night and went on my way after saying my goodbye. The former-nun, who wielded the Sacred Gear called Twilight Healign, had been packed and ready to follow me when I arrived home. I was sure my mother and father helped her pack, even though I told them that she’d be safer with them. “I won’t… let you go alone, Issei-kun!”

After the issue that arose with Sitri, I’d thought that I’d have a firmer handle on my body’s libido. I was completely wrong. Asia Argento’s words hit like a freight train. Every time I tried to convince her, she’d speak softly while out of breath, and her words made it impossible for me to retort. The words were in my head. What I needed to say was logically present within the back of my mind. However, my throat clenched, my tongue twisted, and my lips curled into a stupid, goofy grin while my cheeks and ears lit up.

No matter what I did, I could not say the words I needed to say, because my body was utterly betraying me.

I know that you’ve been going on about that for a long, long time, Taylor, but don’t you think it’s starting to get stupid? 

Ddraig’s words nearly made me stop in my tracks, but I managed to keep moving. 

Taylor Hebert. Issei Hyoudou. Those are just names. What you’re doing now is ignoring how you feel. You’re letting yourself be defeated by yourself. Which is pathetic. 

I almost told him to be quiet, but my partner’s tone wasn’t the same as the one he used to make jokes. 

You’re damn right it isn’t. I feel what you feel, remember? I know what you think. The two of us share this one body and I’m not going to see you waste our potential. The fact is you’re pissed off at yourself and don’t want to leave, because that means admitting defeat.

He was right.

I was admitting defeat by leaving town. Less the five weeks after having my existence revealed, after dealing with Fallen, and then commiting myself to growing stronger by any means necessary, so that I can continue protecting my new family and living the life I couldn’t… I was abandoning all I fought for so that I could get stronger. Even if I left to keep my family safe, even if I planned to return after getting enough power, what did that mean for me?

What would I do the next time I found myself without power?

Leave again, get better, and return, then repeat the cycle again and again?

It… the thought didn’t sit right with me. Just considering the possibility had a bitter taste spread across my tongue. If I didn’t have better control over myself, I’d have crushed the handle of my luggage. 

Dragons don’t flee in the face of danger. We stand fast, hold our ground, and take on our challengers while protecting what’s precious to us. Journeys to acquire strength, wisdom, and power are for humans. We hold our ground and don’t leave it for others to take. Tell me this: do you truly wish to cease being a dragon and return to being human?

That question stopped me in my tracks, so abruptly that Asia collided with my back, while I could only look at my feet, bite my tongue, and try to think past the answer I already knew. 

If he knew all this, why did help me when I asked? Why bother telling me about all the places we could search for, visit, and grow stronger at? Ddraig saw through me, he knew my thoughts, my emotions, and my body more than I ever could He was someone looking in, without bias, the perfect advisor. I had ideas, and I acted, but he tells me more about me than I ever could ever hope to… so why set me on this path, when he knew that I would absolutely hate it?

Because, until Sona Sitri confessed to you, I thought all you cared about was the two who raised you… and the girl you’re planning to keep by your side, even though you’re trying otherwise. Those three could follow you forever, you could take your treasures with you, but that is not the case.

I looked back.

Kuoh lay within a hilly valley, a city surrounded by forested hills, and it was the place where I was born in this new world. Within it I learned that I had another chance at life, that there were dangers that I needed to be conscious of in my new world, and in which I planned to stay. Besides my parents, there were people that I cared for in Kuoh. Friends that I made during childhood, even if I was the strange boy who picked up English sooner than Japanese, and they were all still there. They were in danger, as they lived in a city with two Devil Heiresses, and other monsters prowled the streets and outskirts of the city that threatened the lives of many. 

Kuoh was not Brockton. It wasn’t some Cauldron experiment at making a parahuman city-state, where drugs and crime were rampant, while those who were supposed to keep people safe were hamstrung. My home now was a place filled with regular people, who lived earnest lives, and had no clue about the supernatural. Kids, adults, and the elderly only had mundane fears with mundane answers.

After everything I saw in my past life, after all the lives I saw ruined, and after seeing the damage done on Bet… the though of all of that happeneing to Kuoh made me sick to my stomach.

Yeah, I thought that we were different there, but we’re the same as always. We’re greedy with what we want. I wanted power, to the point where I fough against Heaven, while you want the peace you’ve enjoyed for so long, even if it means abandoning everyone who isn’t close to you. This city’s peace is the treasure you want to protect. At least, I think so, Taylor.

“I think so,” Ddraig says.

I almost found the words funny, even though I felt utterly, completely lost. My plans were scattered to the winds, after I heard Ddraig’s words. My thoughts and feelings, those I didn’t even want to consider, were all thrown back at my face without the slightest bit of hesitation. 

I… I no longer knew what to do, even though I’d been so intent mere moments ago.

Halfway up the the hill towards the bus I was going to use to leave Kuoh, I turned on my heel and sat on the sidewalk. 

Asia was present, and having her see me so confused was embaressing, but I didn’t know what else to do.

All I could do was sit donw, take a breath, and think.

…

There wasn’t some terrible foe who I could invest everything I could into defeating. What I had to contend with was a every myth and legend come to life. Even with Ddraig by my side, and using every underhanded trick I could get my hands on, I could barely contribute to the defeat of a young, upcoming Devil. In my previous life, I’d fought against such humongous odds before, but I had help. People who I could rely on, who would follow me, or even just fight beside me. In this new world, even though there was a peace I wanted to protect, there was hardly anyone who would fight beside me.

The lines were already drawn.

I couldn’t join any of the Factions, because I could tip the scales in the favor of another. Simply interacting with the Devils, being in league with them, was a foolish affair. 

The Boosted Gear was the equivalent of a superweapon. An artifact of massive power given to an individual who had the right mind and drive to use it. It was the same as someone getting the exact power that would be perfect for them picking a side between three gangs in a stalemate. If I chose a side, any side, then I’d be spitting on the faces of those I didn’t choose. They would be slighted by the change in the balance of power. 

A single misstep and can be the cause of global war.

…

I don’t know how long I sat in silence, Ddraig leaving me to my thoughts, but eventually I was brought back to reality. Argento sat beside me, after placing a can of green tea in my hands, while she sipped from her own. I didn’t recall giving her any money, so she probably had a sizeable amount from my parents, so that she could follow me without concern.

Not that there were anymore buses coming for the rest of the day to leave Kuoh. 

“Issei-kun… you’ve been quiet for the longest time. It’s worrying, but I know that you’ll talk to me if you need my help.” Asia Argento broke the silence she’d kept, since I’d taken a seat to ruminate over Ddraig’s words. Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed the passing of time. I’d sat down a few minutes after noon, but now the sun was setting over Kuoh, framed between two forested hills, while I still sat on the sidewalk. Asia had stayed with me the entire time. “I’ll be right here, okay?”

It was difficult to muster the courage to meet Asia’s words, but I bulldozed through the embaressemnt and hesitation I felt. 

I managed to ask the question I wanted to ask, but couldn’t for the last hour.

“How did it feel to leave your home?”

It was a terrible question to ask of an Orphan who was raised her whole life in the Church, but who had been excommunicated and exiled for simply doing what she thought was right. My circumstances weren’t as terrible as her. I chose to leave. However, while she was standing tall and trying to help others, I was being wracked by indecision. 

“Oh. Ummm, it’s terrible.” Asia had to to think and consider my words for a moment, before nodding to herself and gripping the hem of her skirt. “I miss everyone back home. Even though I wasn’t allowed to meet with many others my age, there were many nice, kind people there who I want to see again.” She looked down at her feet and bit her lip. “So, Issei-kun, I don’t know why you want to leave Kuoh. So many people care for you there, right?”

I almost stayed silent, but I forced myself to speak.

“There are, but that’s why I have to leave. If I stay, I’ll put them in danger, especially if I can’t get stronger than I am now.” The words, after all I’d thought and after Ddraig’s advice, seemed bitter and hollow to my mouth. Again, hesitation crept up within my chest, before I took a heaving breath and refocused. “No. That’s not it. I want to stay here, even though it’s dangerous. I want to grow stronger here, so I can fight whatever comes to threaten those who I care about. I don’t want to leave, but… I feel that I have to.”

I didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing I’ve done is deserving of me having to leave the place I called home. Ddraig was right. I treasured Kuoh. I wanted to stay here. I wanted to live a quiet, simple life where I was born. Globetrotting adventures, defeating foes beyond comprehension, and destroying evil? After my past life, I wanted nothing to do with that. Did I want power and strength? Yes. However, I wanted it so that I could stay where I was, protect what I wanted, and keep those I cared for safe. 

I tried to find the right words, so that I could say all of those thoughts aloud, but Argento took my hand with an understanding smile, before I did. 

“Then, do not. The Lord made us in His image. Look into yourself, believe in your feelings, and trust yourself.” Those words weren’t new to me. It was advice any elder or adult would tell you. Do what you want to do, believe in yourself, and live without regret. Somehow, all the other times I heard them were hollow, but when Argento told me my next breath was a shuddering one. “You know, Issie-kun, I’ve never seen you not worry. You’re always doing your best all the time. Please, remember that you’re not alone. Many want to help you. I want to help you. Please, rely on me.”

I didn’t get the chance to respond.

Taylor!

Thanks to Sitri’s training, I felt the oncoming attack before Ddraig’s warning came. 

Seizing Argento, I dove off the sidewalk, over the railing, and slid down the grassy hillside on the outskirts of Fuyuki.

A moment later, where we’d both sat was set ablaze by a furious attack.

I recognized the attack, as did Argento.

“An Exorcist? But… why?” Light, the bane of Devils, was something I considered learning. However, the means to using Light was a secret kept by the Church, so that Devils could not analyze it and develop means to contend against it. I resorted to sanctified artifacts, due to my inability to learn it. Now, I saw it being used firsthand against me. “Issei-kun, please run away!”

“I won’t leave you.” Asia’s concern was well founded. I’d interacted with Devils, fought for a Devil, and made a deal with a Devil. It wasn’t mere, petty transactions to gather meagre power, either. I’d bargained, learned from, and grew stronger by learning from them. In the eyes of the Church, what else could I be besides an ally? On what grounds could I possibly claim that I was not? I’d expected someone coming after me by those ground, however I was going to fight my foe for another reason entirely. “Especially when that attack was meant to kill both of us.”

A figure landed in the cloud of smoke, banishing the concealing cloud, while I made sure that Asia was behind me. 

He was a tall, young man with white hair and fair features.

I would say that he was handsome, if not for a very familiar look in his gaze.

Madness wreathed in bloodlust.

Insticts from a past life told me to deal without mercy and hesitation, so called on Ddraig without hesitation, while unsheathing my knife with my free hand. 

The smile the young man greeted me with, while he wielded a gun and blade himself, only clarified my purpose.

I was facing a Villain for the first time in this world.

And, even if he was an Exorcist and a human, I could not afford to hold back in the slightest.