To be frank, Kousei was not afraid of his 'father'.
If he were a normal child, maybe he would've been terrified. Maybe he would've blamed himself, desperate to win over his father's love.
But he was not a normal child.
Kousei knew exactly what a normal, loving family looked and felt like. And he knew with a certainty that nothing his so-called father did was his fault.
He was just a greedy, bitter old man.
Looking down at the phone in his hand, he almost considered letting it go to voicemail. It wasn't as if the man could physically overpower him. Even without his magic, he was stronger. With it? The man couldn't discipline him even if he had a weapon.
But… he couldn't. Not yet, at least.
With a sigh, he pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear.
"What."
The voice on the other end was a low grumble, devoid of any preamble or warmth. "Where are you?"
"Friend's house. Studying." Same lie he always told.
"It's getting late. Come home." But the real reason he even cared to call came right afterward. "The sink is full of dishes. I'm not doing it."
Kousei's jaw tightened. The man had the audacity to call him home just to do mindless labor. A chore. It was the pettiest form of dominion, since the man knew he couldn't do much else physically.
He closed his eyes, feeling the cool burn of resentment in his gut.
"I'll be there in a bit."
The line, in response, went dead.
He looked at his own reflection in the black phone screen, all of his joy gone from his face.
"Kousei…" Aika's voice was soft. She stood closer, her hand reaching out to gently intertwine with his.
He squeezed her hand.
"Duty calls," he quipped with a forced smile.
"You don't have to do what he says," she replied, looking at him with concern, brows furrowed.
She… wasn't wrong. But she also wasn't right, either.
The inheritance from his mother was one thing, but the fact they lived in Japan was another.
Since this world was a few decades behind his old life, the age of majority in Japan was still 20. So as far as the law was concerned, Kousei would be treated as a minor for the next three years.
And unless he found a way to get around that with magic, his life was essentially in the palm of his father's hands.
It sucked, but he'd just have to suck it up and keep it pushing until then.
"I know," he replied, picking up his bag and dismissing his grimoire. "But… you know how it is."
"Yeah, yeah," Aika grumbled. "I can't stand that guy."
"Same," Kousei replied without hesitation. He stepped closer, pulling her into a brief, firm kiss. "I'll text you when I'm home, okay?"
"You better," she pouted, but kissed him back. "Be safe."
"'Course I will," Kousei gave her a genuine, wide grin full of teeth. "Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Oh just go home, you big nerd~" she rolled her eyes, playfully pushing him to the door. He winked at her, sticking out his tongue.
Then he turned and left, closing her bedroom door softly behind him.
-=[DxD]=-
The walk home was… peaceful.
As he hit the street, he pulled at the door inside himself. The hazy white aura shimmered to life, clinging to his skin in a thin, controlled shroud.
'Maybe I can master Ten to such a level that it's always on?'
Whether it was possible or not, it felt good to simply have it on.
He took a shortcut through a dimly lit, narrow park that cut between residential blocks.
It was here, halfway across a few trees, that the air changed.
One of the subtle advantages of his aura that Kousei hadn't focused on was that it enhanced everything about him. From giving him enhanced strength to enhanced senses and instincts.
Essentially, in that moment, he was a 'Human+'.
With his enhanced condition, he could sense a shift in the air.
As if his enhanced senses had picked up on a bunch of subtle cues, his subconscious went into a panic mode that spat out only one thing to his conscious mind:
'Danger.'
Then, off to the side, a tree exploded. With the close warning from his own instincts, he reacted, throwing himself off to the side in a dive. Splinters and bark showered the grass he'd been standing on.
"Oof!" He landed ungracefully, rolling to a stop.
Looking up, he saw a hand reaching through the tree. Slowly, it pulled back, the entire figure circling around to face him.
It could only be described as… a grotesque, poor imitation of a human.
Its limbs were too long and thin. Its neck craned forward like it was sniffing the ground, and when it looked up at him, it had no eyes. Wax-like skin melted over where its eyes should be.
As he stared at it, hunched and twitching, he reached behind him without looking away, and pulled on the first thing that felt solid. With a grunt, he pulled a metal signpost out of the ground, raising it defensively as he stood up and slowly backed away.
His whole body locked up as it smiled at him with a mouth full of sharp teeth.
"Oh fuck me," he muttered, scrambling backward, makeshift weapon held out in warning.
"Are you sure~?" The thing with a feminine voice giggled. It fucking giggled. "I can arrange that~."
'Nope. No. Hell no–'
Then it pounced.
'!!!'
Kousei threw himself sideways as that sense of danger returned. Something shredded the air where his chest had been.
His leg caught on a root and he hit the dirt. Pain shot through his ribs, but he scrambled up, heart trying to punch through his throat.
A blur landed beside him, claws skidding across the dirt.
It moved like a marionette on broken strings. Its limbs bent wrong, body twitching. Its head cocked toward him sharply, despite its lack of eyes. A smile far too wide stretched across its melted-wax face.
"What the fuck even are you?!" He shouted.
This thing didn't match the description of any monster in mythology. It was just… a monster.
It laughed at him. Laughed. "Aww, are you scared? That's okay, I'll make it all bEtTeR soon~"
The voice was like syrup layered on broken glass.
'!!!'
He dove again. A claw caught his arm, slicing cloth and skin. Biting back a scream, he rolled to his feet, vision swimming.
It sniffed the air like a hound. Then frowned.
"You're quiet," it said, tilting its head. "Your soul isn't screaming. Why~?"
He swallowed. 'What is it talking about now? My soul isn't–'
His eyes widened as it hit him.
When the claw hit him, he'd lost concentration on his Ten, and instinctually closed the door to his aura. It was a flaw of his lack of training, not something he meant to do.
But… it revealed something critical.
The monster had no eyes or nose, and its ears were melted over. It could still hear him, but it must've had terrible sensing all around. Therefore, the only thing left was a sixth sense. Something related to magic.
A shiver went down his spine. 'It can sense my aura.'
As long as he didn't make a sound and kept his Zetsu active, it wouldn't be able to detect him very well at all.
There was just one tiny problem with that plan…
'Now what?!' He gritted his teeth.
The only reason he'd survived the few seconds next to this creature was because his Ten gave him a boost in instincts. Even with Ren active, he doubted if he would be able to kill this thing.
His fingers tightened on the signpost.
Maybe it was just fast and strong with low durability. It was a possibility, but not a risk he could take.
He needed a force multiplier. To guarantee its death.
A dark part of his mind almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous he felt. A rusted and jagged signpost pole being held like it was the only thing holding back a monster that could shred him like tissue paper.
'Am I really going to die here?'
He gritted his teeth. The signpost trembled in his grip.
'Wait.' He looked back down at the signpost with a new light in his eyes. 'It might be a stretch… but I have an idea.'
He would have to create a new technique on the spot.
A low croon echoed from the creature.
"Come oooout~" it sang, dragging out the syllables like it was playing hide and seek with a corpse. "I'll be gentle~ …I pRoMiSe."
His stomach twisted.
'No time to think about it.'
He let Ren flare to life.
Heat surged up his core, spreading to his limbs in a white blaze. The energy sang, brighter and stronger than before. The world narrowed into a sharp focus as his Ren mixed with the adrenaline coursing through him.
The monster's outline, its posture, even the subtle breaths and swaying motions, all was vivid in his vision.
Its head snapped toward him instantly.
"Found you~"
It lunged.
'!!!'
He moved before he even felt the danger spike. Spun the signpost in both hands and brought the sharper tip around in a wide arc.
Sparks flew as makeshift weapon met claw, metal shrieking against keratin.
The force sent him skidding backward.
'Yup, still stronger than me.'
But he adjusted, flipping the post back into guard and surging forward.
While he had very little exposure to combat, something evidently became clear; Neither of them knew what the hell they were doing. They were both throwing their speed and strength around, taking advantage of any little difference between them.
A wild, lethal bout between a human and a monster.
'I suppose it's now or never.'
In Hunter x Hunter, there was a technique to coat an object in your Nen, to reinforce it and make it an extension of yourself. Although he couldn't really control his magic that well, he had to at least try.
He had to learn Shu.
Theoretically, since the aura clung to both his skin and his clothes when Ren or Ten was active, there was no reason it couldn't be directed onto an object.
'Direct the excess aura trying to escape my body into a shape around the signpost. A simple shape, just–'
He duked under a slash and twisted around a tree, concentration broken.
Its claws tore through bark and air. He stabbed at its leg, barely grazing it. The metal bent slightly on impact.
It wasn't working. Not yet.
"Come on, come on!" he muttered desperately.
Jumping back, he sucked in a breath. With a headache slowly building in the back of his mind, he redoubled his Ren, letting it flood out of him in waves.
He didn't have time for careful control. He just needed it to work now.
To force all his energy into his arms, down into his hands, and into the signpost.
It didn't have to be done well. It would be an incomplete, inefficient technique — An ugly thing at best.
The fight blurred around him as instinct took over. Step, pivot, parry — but in the center of it, his mind clung to one idea:
'I either succeed or I die. There is no in-between.'
His hands tightened even further around the shaft of the signpost as he screamed.
"Go into the weapon, damn you! Now!"
A claw skimmed past his cheek, slicing air close enough to sting. But he couldn't lose concentration. Not now.
Life energy poured out of him like floodwaters, most of it dissipating in the air. His head was throbbing at this point.
But he didn't stop.
He crudely forced his intent, blood leaking from his nose as it snapped into place.
The creature hissed and charged again, mouth a void full of teeth.
'!!!'
He barely dodged. A claw grazed his shoulder instead of his throat as he side-stepped. Pain flared, but he didn't lose concentration.
Kousei followed up, jabbing the tip of the post forward like a spear into its side. Not expecting his attack, he was able to get a glancing blow, the makeshift weapon punching through flesh like a knife through butter.
The creature howled, wrenching away, but the signpost dragged viscera along with it.
He panted. Blood trickled down his arm, shoulders, and nose. 'I can't keep this up. Gotta end it now.'
Feinting left, he deactivated his Ren with Zetsu – causing him to go invisible in the creature's senses, before reactivating it with Ren from the right.
The lunge drove the post up through its armpit.
The creature shrieked, rearing back, but it was too late. Its claws lashed out in a panic, and more pain exploded across Kousei's shoulder, but he still didn't stop.
He drove the signpost in with everything he had.
Bone cracked. Flesh tore. Something gave way and then he felt it. A pop, a crunch, and a sickening slide as the jagged metal punched through something dense inside its chest.
The creature spasmed, shrieking in agony. Blood gurgled up its throat.
"You… filthy… little worm!" it choked out, voice warbling with hate and panic. "I'll… tear your heart out from your ribcage… I'll wear your–"
"Die already!" Kousei roared, cutting the thing off as he switched the post savagely, shoving it higher, deeper, until…
Until it let out a final, wheezing gasp.
Slowly, he let go of the signpost, his aura dissipating as he immediately activated Zetsu.
He collapsed hard on his knees, panting and trembling, soaked in blood. The stench of copper filled his nose as his vision blurred.
Letting go of the post, he rolled onto his back, gasping at the setting sun.
It was close. Unbelievably so.
"…Ow," he muttered, then wheezed a laugh. "Holy shit. I actually killed it."
But this only proved it further. His Reinforcement Magic was the key. The ability that would give him the power to live despite whatever fate had in store for him. To avoid what seemed like certain death.
The power to never be helpless again.
-=[DxD]=-
The rest of the walk home wasn't… pleasant, obviously.
He held Zetsu the whole way, just in case any other monsters might sense him.
Lesson learned.
The familiar stale smell of cigarettes hit him when he shakily opened the door, a bizarre contrast to the coppery stench clinging to his clothes.
His father, Shou, slumped on the couch, a beer in hand. He didn't turn, focused on the TV blaring in the living room.
Kousei moved silently down the hall, dripping with a mix of human and monster blood.
"You're late," his father grumbled, eyes still glued to the screen. "Don't leave the sink full 'til morning."
Kousei slowly turned to see the back of the man's head over the couch. He was literally covered in drying gore, shirt shredded, and blood crusted on his face from nosebleed.
And yet this sorry excuse of a 'father' hadn't even looked. He was completely oblivious.
This man… wasn't a threat. Nor a monster. He was a petty, small creature in a cage of his own making, concerned only with trying to make sure everyone around him felt just as he did.
'In comparison with that thing I just fought…' Kousei thought. 'This shit-stain is nothing.'
He felt no anger or fear. Just a profound, bone-deep contempt for the pitiful creature in front of him.
Without a word, he simply turned and continued to his room.
"Hey. Did you hear me?" Shou's voice rose, irritated at the lack of response.
As Shou finally glanced over, his eyes bleary with alcohol, flickered over Kousei's form. His brows furrowed in distaste and confusion. "You get into a fight or somethin'? I don't wanna hear any trouble from school."
Kousei rolled his eyes, continuing without even a look.
What was he going to do, kick him out? Pull him out of school?
Now that he saw a glimpse of the supernatural world… the mundane one just felt fake. Petty. Beneath consideration.
He went up the stairs, opened his door, and closed it behind him.
From behind the door, he heard a muttered curse, the clink of a can, and the volume of the TV turning up.
That was it.
Slowly, Kousei slid down to the floor. The aches and cuts screamed to life now that the adrenaline was gone. But his mind was eerily calm.
He pulled out his phone, fingers leaving smudges of red on the screen, sending a text to Aika.
> Kousei: Made it home. Ran into some less than mundane trouble. I'll explain in person. Don't worry, I'm okay.
He hesitated, then shook his head, continuing on.
> Kousei: Love you.
The immediate text back was a balm to his soul.