Commissioned by InfiniteChaosRai
Who Da Boss Lady?
Chapter 39
-VB-
When Rias finally finished her version of the story, Sona turned to Mari-kouhai.
“... What?”
“I want your side of the story as well,” Sona replied evenly.
But even without hearing her side of the story, Sona knew Rias made what should have been a small problem into a big problem by putting herself at risk.
Because what she saw here? The number of exorcists and the Fallen who had been subjugated? Sona knew Rias. Rias was not strong enough. At least one of her peerage members would have been seriously wounded, if not outright killed in the fighting.
Mari-chan, whatever she did here, had done Rias a favor.
But Sona knew Rias. The greedy Gremory would not see it that way.
“Very well,” Mari-chan began after clearing her throat. “Then I, Clarinette the Envious, will tell you a story!”
Sona suppressed a sigh.
First, her sister. Now, a kouhai. Were there going to be even more “magical girls” after her? Would she have to deal with more of their shenanigans? Their weird speech? The outfits and wands?
“I, Clarinette, was in my room!” Mari-chan began. “I was thinking up ways to heal injuries when I felt it! A sudden explosion of magic filled with violent intent! I could not stop myself and quickly left my home -!”
And as she listened to her kouhai’s description of the events, she realized that Mari-chan might have some recklessness issue. Because how does someone only just recently introduced to the magical world just come swinging out the moment she saw other people fighting?
Were all magical girls just some sort of battle junkies in skirts? Was that it and Sona never understood it because she wasn’t a battle junkie?
Worse, would other magical girls that pop out of nowhere be like Mari-chan and Sera-nee? Stupidly overpowered and weird?
-VB-
Aika knew that she had thrown herself into hell when she insisted that she didn’t need sex with a man and that she would get herself an achievement to earn herself a sex with tentacles.
It made her question everything about herself.
Was it loneliness that made her crazy or proximity to Venalita that made her crazy?
Who knows?
Because she could do only three things right now: regret, scream, and run.
“Why are there … werewolves… in Japan…?!” she gasped out as she stumbled forward.
The werewolves weren’t that much better off than Aika. They too huffed and gasped as they stumbled forward.
And instead of a forest as she initially expected to be in for tonight’s hunt, she found herself running through alleyways that made no sense.
She’s been running in a straight line for the last goddamn hour! If it wasn’t for her magic-reinforced body, then she would have died fifty minutes ago!
She wasn’t an athlete! She was a student!
Magic shrugged and helped her run. Against her will.
She wanted to lay down and die.
But she couldn’t.
Because she knew pain. Those werewolves had a lot of sharp teeth and claws that would make her death painful.
She did not like pain.
So she ran.
Oh, where was her magic?
Apparently, she could run dry! Thanks for telling her that, Venalita! Thanks for telling her that after she ran out! After she killed nearly a hundred werewolves!
She took another step fo-.
Ah, no. Her feet just hit a tree root.
Ah, she was falling forward.
Ah, fuck -.
She hit the ground hard and rolled. She didn’t roll gracefully or professionally. She hit the ground at full speed and full face, bounced on the ground, and then flipped not because she was trying to roll but because her momentum turned her around and around after she fell.
The werewolves let out laughs, but even their laughter sounded tired.
She finally came to a stop, dirty and weak.
Was this it?
Was this how she died?
“Mo, Aika-chan, why are you rolling around in the dirt?”
Everything froze.
Like froze froze.
The air, the leaves, the werewolves, and even the light.
Everything turned gray.
And Aika laid there, not responding to the voice and just trying to catch her breath.
“‘M tired.”
Venalita literally popped into existence with the sound, flash of dim light, and flair that belonged to a magical girl mascot.
But with a sadistic grin and knowing eyes of an evil magical girl mascot.
She hated it. No matter what she was promised, she hated seeing Venalita looking down at her like that. Like she was still too weak and needed to be cuddled.
“I … killed … a hundred … werewolves…!” she hissed out.
“Bravo! You killed some low end thugs. They were illegal immigrants, by the way. Are you becoming a nationalist heroine or something? I mean it would fit into the evil category, fighting for less than great ideals and all -.”
“Can you … shut up…?”
Vanalita just cackled.
But Aika didn’t ask for help.
“How strong…?”
The question remained the same.
And the answer…
Venalita didn’t say anything.
Just grinned.
The answer remained the same.
Grimacing, she fought through the pain and exhaustion. She gasped and hissed as she forced her arms to move. To force her hips to twist.
She pushed against the earth and rose up. Slowly. Painfully.
“That’s it, Aika-chan.”
She gritted her teeth as she heard that condescending mascot’s voice. It grated in her ears right now.
Why was she doing this…?
Oh, right. Tentacle sex and powers that no one will be able to take away from her. Two very useful things in this fucked up world.
She screamed - screamed herself hoarse - as she pushed herself up onto her knees.
Aika looked at Venalita.
She knew that the evil mascot was helping her. Stopping time was just that. She could breathe. She was recovering.
Her magic, which no longer needed to keep her going, started to pool again.
“Are you ready?” Venalita asked sadistically.
“No.”
“Too bad!”
And time resumed.
The werewolves blinked when they saw her suddenly on her knees.
And did not see her whipping her fingers forward.
“Chain … Lightning…!” she hissed out.
Lightning crackled out from her fingertips at the werewolves.
Light snapped, flashed, and crackled as the werewolves screamed as she fried them.
She held it as long as her arms let her. As long as her magic reserve let her. Which wasn’t long.
The lightning cut out seconds after she let it out, and she found her arms dropping lifelessly. Not damaged or injured. Just … unresponsive. Too exhausted.
She looked at the werewolves, who stumbled forward and back before … finally … dropping.
“Congratulations!” Venalita cackled from … somewhere. “You helped the local youkai who wanted these werewolves gone. That’s something you can use when you talk to them.”
“When…?”
There was a rustle in a narrower alley next to her, and she whirled around to look.
“See,” Venalita hummed. “You’re actually in a trap. How else would a single straight alley keep going forward forever? But this trap isn’t meant to trap people but to keep them out.”
And from the deep shadows cast by the nearby buildings and houses the alley bordered, a single child emerged.
Scared, ragged, and thin.
Pink hair… and nine tails.
“And would you look at that? A powerful orphan who is actually the local youkai faction’s attempt at recreating a powerful youkai from the past, but who escaped with her life after these werewolves ran over the facility she was housed at.” Venalita hummed. Still unseen. “Call out to her. Her name is…”
“Are you…” Aika said out loud, still gasping and exhausted. And probably not thinking straight.
“Tamamo?”
-VB-
A/N: in which Sona gets a headache and Aika gets the bootcamp.