Kuoh Academy

[Bloodedge]

"Or I'll really like it, and I'll keep getting on your bad side on purpose to get more. Are you a gambler, Buchou?" Izuna continued to pester the president with his antics, but his eyes were glued on the two outside. Things were already becoming interesting for him to watch, and he even gained some insight as to how much attention Maiko had been paying to Rating Game-related information.

"Promotion, huh? So if I want, I can get the Rook's power?" Takumi wondered aloud. There was more to his train of thought, but the remainder passed through his mind alone as he stared at his left hand. 'If the pieces are based on the person already... could that be what happened?' he thought. Knowing this interaction wouldn't get very far unless he actually fought back, Takumi clenched his fist and looked toward Maiko with determination in his eyes. There was something else behind his gaze, though... something akin to worry. Either way, he didn't imagine there would be much choice in the long run, so something had to be done here and now. "I hope you don't mind, then, if I join you. I have an idea where I belong. If there's one thing I've always been, it's way too strong for my own good!" This time, when Maiko attacked, Takumi met it with a forward charge of his own. He did always have fighting capability, and though he wasn't exactly a martial artist or anything, he wasn't too bad off. As such, the outward kick of Maiko's left leg flew overhead as Takumi slid low to avoid it. As he rose from this slide, he aimed a full-force punch at Maiko's left side, boasting - somehow - double the strength he should have possessed, even as a Devil with a reasonably high amount of demonic power for one so fresh. Beyond this, something appeared on Takumi's arm mid-swing. He suddenly sported a red, armored bracer - one that left his fingers uncovered - with yellow accents and a green gem on top of the palm area. When his punching force doubled in magnitude, the green gem upon the gauntlet flashed brightly, and spoke aloud: "BOOST!"

[Apollymi]

Eira's left brow rose as her companion questioned whether or not she was a gambler, after of course, continuing to tease the idea that he might actually like being spanked probably as an attempt to directly deter her from the activity. A smirk came over the young woman's face as she watched the progression of the training below. "Obviously, I am... the question is are you calling my bluff, I-zu-na?" she asked spacing the syllables of his name in a very strange way.

Meanwhile, Maiko's kick went on to become a spin into nothing. She was admittedly impressed by this young boy's fortitude and ability to learn under pressure. Still, she was the one in charge of this present sort of training, as such she'd continue answering his questions to the best of her abilities. "I mean, yeah, if you thought a particular situation needed you to be strong. But... promotions to other pieces could be useful as well. I haven't really seen it though, Buchou didn't make any other pawns yet. Also you'd go back to being a pawn at the end of the Rating Game, as it stands though I wouldn't mind ya' as a partner," she mentioned only to have her eyes widen as the boy finally struck back and she went to catch his hand. And found herself surprised by the amount of force coming her way. Within her hand appeared a large glowing shield, mostly to absorb the impact, and even though she didn't have to touch the other weapon, she was still sent flying backwards by several meters across the yard. She was stunned and so was Eira in the window. "Sugoi, Takumi has one of those!" she said seemingly excited by the possession which had finally made itself known around the young boy's arm. Her faith in him obviously very well placed. "A Sacred Gear. Sou ka...." said Maiko as her own shield spun in front of her seeming to gather a bit of light before stopping. "Oi! Buchou, you could have warned me, I didn't think you'd ever end up with another like us! Three for the team!~" she said as a possessor of one of these magical items.

[Bloodedge]

"... Maybe," was the only thing Izuna had left to say. It was a risky move, going along with this topic, but the boy's playful spirit could not let him cease. Moving on though, the already interesting battle was quickly becoming something truly exciting. This previously hidden power of Takumi's revealed itself in great splendor against Maiko, and Takumi himself was totally surprised by the sudden appearance of a gauntlet on his arm. 'What the hell!?' he wondered. What was this? Was this simply how his Devil powers manifested whatever he had going on for him before? The term "Sacred Gear" was used, and it seemed a bit ridiculous as a concept. Simply calling it something sacred while he was a Devil, was strangeness itself. "Sacred Gear? Is this my Rook power or something? It feels like normal," he said, addressing the fact that this new gauntlet of his felt the exact same as the fights he'd had in the past, where his strength far exceeded the norm and led to a very undesired form of victory.

[Apollymi]

"Um-hm," having her bluff called in such a way made her decide that she was going to have to give Izuna a spanking as well. His playful insolence was to be put to the test this day, but before she could draw back her hand, she was looking upon a sight below which required her utmost attention. Beyond that she'd been directly addressed so she had to answer with a bit of a shrug. "Gomennasai, Maiko. I didn't know what he had, I only knew he seemed more than he appeared. I'm sure it's for the best though right, at least he's combat ready!" she said which made Maiko smile. As to the question of whether or not this ability was Rook related or not, Maiko looked at the boy and shook her head left to right. "Iie, such a thing would have nothing to do with a potential promotion to Rook. To do that you would have had to get permission from Buchou, you can't trigger it on your own," she explained. "Sacred Gears are born with the individuals who possess them, and between you and me, they can only be born with a human. It's like some kind of divine rule. Because, Angels, Devils, Fallen Angels, and Youkai, all have their own abilities. These were said to be given to mankind to allow them some respite from all. You lucked out having one, they are really rare, I have one too, but according to everyone mine is artificial. There isn't any record of it before me. But if yours is legitimate some of the older ones might have seen it before~" she mentioned.

In the moments in which this statement was being relayed, Eira made her way to the lower floor to inspect this development first hand. Upon getting to the ground she found herself at Takumi's side looking at his new gauntlet with wide eyes. "Basically this power has always been yours, you just needed the will power to make it visible." she said looking at the young man with something akin to pride in her eyes. "Buchou, you should be really proud, that hit was about twice what I expected. I might have taken a bruising if I hadn't used Twinkle Aegis~" she said seemingly happy with her new teammate.

[Bloodedge]

"Sou ka," said Takumi. Looking at his gauntlet-clad wrist, he felt as if he understood more about himself. This was something he was born with, but something that had never manifested in such proper form. Without a doubt, it was this Sacred Gear, as others called it, that caused his combat-related mishaps in the past. What could he do with it now, though? It seemed Maiko didn't have any specific information about his Sacred Gear, beyond the overall facts about Sacred Gear in general. She did mention that others may recognize it, though, and true enough... someone did. "Twice Critical," Izuna said. During the downtime of the battle, he'd floated out the window to hover above the combatants. Visually, Takumi's Sacred Gear was unmistakable. More importantly than that, what it did was something he'd seen a couple of times in his life as a Devil. "Whew, you're lucky~. You only had a few seconds left for that to not hurt like hell!" he said to Maiko. As if to mark his words, the green gem on Takumi's gauntlet soon flashed once again. "Boost!" it said. "Rating Games are gonna be fun~"

[Apollymi]

"Twice Critical?" Eira looked at the gauntlet on the boy's arm and it did indeed have that look. A dragon related Gear on her only pawn would indeed be a boon, still, there was something about it that seemed strange. Regardless, she'd set her own thoughts about it to the side and simply enjoy the moment of the first appearance of boy's gauntlet. Maiko on the other hand was responding to Izuna who seemed to think within a couple of seconds she would have taken quite a beating. "Yeah yeah, not like I couldn't handle it, but..." the word Boost escaped the gauntlet on the boy's wrist and a chuckle came from Maiko. "Never mind, a four times hit would have knocked me out cold. It'll be fun though~" said the girl who seemed to like a good fight above all. Eira on the other hand was staring at the gauntlet on the boy's arm almost transfixed, it seemed that a Sacred Gear was indeed what he possessed, but Twice Critical was a bit 'common' in her opinion. She gave up thinking about it and smiled resting a hand on Takumi's shoulder. "It's a good development, Takumi, you're more than on your way. Remember, your will will make it appear and your desires will fuel it. But don't worry about it too much, it will respond to you when it needs to," offered the President of the Occult Club who apparently knew a lot about things even when she didn't possess them herself.

"Alright guys, that's enough for today. I think we've done enough developing for one sitting. We'll make sure Takumi gets a turn with everyone over the coming days, and make sure we all help him out of we need to," she said of the group. Seeming to have taken on a big sisterly sort of attitude about the whole of this situation rather easily. "We'll walk to school together tomorrow, Takumi."

[Bloodedge]

"Blah blah, modesty!" Izuna said, seeming to be in disbelief that Maiko would have been bested by brute strength alone. He'd hoped for an interesting spar to come of this development in Takumi's Sacred Gear, but it was not to be. According to Eira, this was enough development for the day. Izuna had intentions of taking the next bout, but he wouldn't argue.

Takumi couldn't argue at all with being done for the day. Mention of a "four times" hit resonated in his mind, confirming the suspicion that this power of his did double the strength of his offense. He'd done some ridiculous things because of this, but now that he knew for certain what was happening, he could begin working toward control. At this precise moment, there was a separate matter to address, though. Eira spoke of walking to school together on the following day - something which confused Takumi ever so slightly. "Walk to school? Do you mean all of us, or... us?"

[Apollymi]

"Not modesty, a clean hit like that would be like taking two rooks against me. I'm strong but even I don't like the odds," mentioned Maiko as she turned. But before she could say anything else, there was talk of walking to school together. Such was a pretty normal thing among certain members of the group, but having said it to Takumi, Eira found herself wide eyed. If she was being honest, she usually walked to school in the company of Youmu, Miyuki or Hiroki, depending on who had morning activities. That being said, the idea that she'd said it in a way which could be misconstrued weighed heavily on the Devil Heiress. 'Did I say something weird?' she began to wonder, her extended silence in this moment was noticed by her and made her want to speak.

"Well, I just meant some of us usually go together. I mean, I didn't think it would be just us... unless... well..." her sentence started trailing off and a gentle red tint came to her face. Maiko chuckled but soon enough Youmu was at her side looking at the boy's Sacred Gear. "Buchou, if you keep stammering like that Izzun will tease you..." she mentioned absently. But to properly answer Takumi's question. "I always walk with Buchou in the mornings, sometimes Miyuki or Hiroki come too. Maiko could come, but she's habitually late because she doesn't have a class first thing in the morning. Izzun might have morning activities, or just enjoys being late or really early. I'm never quite sure," she finished up the conversation and stepped away from the young man. Eira took the opportunity to look a bit relieved but didn't say more.

[Bloodedge]

Eira seemed to struggle through her response to what Takumi asked. He'd offered this query for a very specific reason; if he'd come to school in the company of a single girl, he'd have run into the same problem he had earlier this day. This would especially be the case if he showed up in the presence of someone with Eira's standing. If they walked to school as a club, though, it could be easily played off. The list of people Youmu gave involved herself and up to three other girls, with only one potential male aside from Takumi himself. This was something that could be considered, but the aforementioned Hiroki walked up to the group just then. "Gomen. I've been coming to school with someone else lately. I would need a lot more than a day's warning to break the pattern," he said. That alone meant Takumi would end up on a journey to school alone with a group of young women. Even if the upperclassmen who'd assaulted him today had been dealt with, there were many others, and he had no intentions of returning to the way things were at his previous school. As such, he began slowly backing away from the others with a forced smile on his face. "Ah... sou ka. It's fine; I have some friends to meet at home, so I'll probably walk to school with them." These words were spoken during his retreat, and every word of his statement was very much a lie. Since transferring to Kuoh Academy, Takumi hadn't made a single friend. There was no person in this city for him to meet at home, and none he would be walking to school with on the next day. If it would save him walking with these girls - save him from the accidental provocative situation that had become so common around women for him - he would continue to be alone outside of this club full of Devils. Keeping this in mind, Takumi fully intended to keep backing away from the Occult Research Club until he was able to turn and make his way home.

[Apollymi]

Eira seemed as happy as she ever was. Having been freed from having to speak one specific way or another about the group she relaxed only to be further perplexed. Firstly about who Hiroki was walking to school with, and then secondly about the friends that Takumi claimed to have. Even the most simple minded of individuals could see this for the lie it was, at base value, mostly because if the boy hadn't anything resembling a friend group, he likely wouldn't have been accosted by the other boys at the school. Whatever the case, Eira decided it was best not to push this particular thought as the boy backed away. "Hai hai, standing invitation if you change your mind. Ja ne, Takumi..." she said freeing him to run off which was obviously something he was trying to do anyways. She watched him walk off strangely feeling for the young lad, as this happened, Youmu from her post at Eira's side had a pointed bit of commentary to make. "You know he was lying right?" she asked, a sigh escaped Eira at this point. "Of course I know... but I can't force this. In fact, I probably shouldn't have anything to do with it. He doesn't seem to like me very much," mentioned the young woman a bit sadly. Only to take a deep breath and move right along. "Whatever the case, he seemed a bit distressed, it's a lot to adjust to after all..." she mentioned. At this point Eira would also depart going to do, whatever it was she did before school the next day. The rest of the group was also free to disband.

[Bloodedge]

Since he was not held up, Takumi went about his business: Going home. The very next day, he returned to school alone, as he always had. Aside from the boy now being a Devil, everything proceeded as normal. He walked onto campus, intending to carry on with his classes, and everything else, the way he'd always done. The only thing strange was the likelihood that he'd have encounters with the Occult Research Club yet again... something that had a very high chance, considering he was now part of some strange Devil family.

Speaking of strange Devils, one in particular was appearing in the headquarters of the Occult Research Club via a magic circle filled with a dark aura. The male figure that emerged was tall and muscular, with long, messy black hair reaching his shoulders. He sported black trousers with a light sleeveless shirt, and a black jacket with a fur-covered color and external armoring with the design of an exoskeleton. He arrived early on this morning, believing he would be waiting for the arrival of the Gremory clan's heiress. If this were the case, he would wait in this location as long as it took. His information told him she would arrive in this building at some point during the day.

[Apollymi]

Sure enough not long after the start of school, the President of the Occult Research Club would find herself going back to her headquarters. The old School House. If she was accompanied by anyone they weren't currently seen at her side, as she usually spent at least a short amount of time alone, due to the school activities of the rest of her peerage. Upon entering her Club Meeting area she would find within it, a male she knew but not one she'd had any business with. The idea that he was here was completely foreign to her, even so she put on her best fake smile and tried not to look to distraught at the intrusion. "Good morning. Sorry, I wasn't expecting visitors today. Is there some reason I've found you standing in the middle of my meeting place?" she asked seeming to forego at least some of the normal formalities, because she didn't remember asking to see this particular individual at any point. Regardless she'd moved further inward and take a seat in her rather plush throne. Her posture would be straight even in her uniform which fit her form rather interestingly, her hands would be clasped in front of her lap as if she hadn't a care in the world.

[Bloodedge]

Soon after the male's arrival, Eira showed herself. His wait wasn't so long after all. With his target present, the raven-haired man strolled around the area and seated himself, looking unto the club president in all her regal aura as she was seated as well. "Eira Gremory. Good morning. I came for a friendly visit, of course," he said, his voice deep and bellowing enough that the room's acoustics carried even his quieted speech. "Word spreads quickly back home, you know? I hear you have almost all the pieces to your collection. Congratulations. It pleases me every time I find out more of us are being made, since we are so few and far between now. Of course, there are so few of pure blood still. There is only one way to return to our former state as a people..."

[Apollymi]

With it stated that his visit was intended to be friendly, normally a person like Eira would have let her guard down a bit. But as this young man began talking something about the nature of his speech warned her of incoming potential problems. Even so, her face didn't change and nothing about her countenance would let on a lack of comfort. No, at present she seemed regal, relaxed and demure as was expected of her as the future heiress to one of the clans. According to the man in her presence he'd simply come to offer her congratulations on almost completing her peerage. It seemed he was pleased that more Devils were being created, and that was a sentiment all current devils shared considering their dwindling numbers. Even so, it was becoming rather obvious to the crimson haired lass she would not like where this conversation was going. "Onoko Astaroth, it pleases me to accept such congratulatory statements, though I am remiss to say, I haven't quite finished yet. Even so, that hardly seems reason enough to warrant a trip to the human world," she said. Her calm manner would have made it clear to most that she didn't intend to discuss the purity of Devils and how to breed them once more one way or another. And while she might have understood people being excited about her nearly completing her Peerage, there was the little unknown fact that she'd used all eight of her pawn pieces on a single individual, and she still had a Rook left unclaimed.

[Bloodedge]

"You may not be done yet, but you have at least one of every piece. That's something worth celebrating. It's not exactly the reason I made the trip here, though... You know that by now," he said, fixating his gaze on the crimson-haired Devil. She was a sight to behold, and one he intended to have be his viewing pleasure for quite some time to come. That was his purpose, and it was one he would make sure Eira knew immediately. "I spoke with your father. Two mighty peerages, one household. To combine the Astaroth clan and Gremory clan through the Armageddon King and Ruin Queen... doesn't that sound lovely? He thought so, but he thought you would disagree. That is how I found out about your peerage. Marry me, Eira Gremory. If you don't intend to, you must defeat me in a Rating Game."