Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.
Kuoh, Japan
–Motohama Kenji–
He spent the rest of the day, shambling around class like a zombie, drawing concerned looks from everyone around him, but due to his reputation, no one really approached him to ask him how he was doing. Hell, he had half expected any one of the teachers to actually let him go or atleast let him nap during class, but nooo! His past self had been such a menace to the school, including the female teachers here, that they were more than happy to call on him to ask questions when it was clear to anyone with a working set of eyes that he was barely keeping himself standing.
Even after he finished his lunch, every snack he could find, and the food he got from the cafeteria he got after emptying his pockets and borrowing from Issei, he still didn't feel full. It was as if the single adaptation he got from adapting to whatever mind fuckery that AKeno subjected him to was so expensive in terms of fuel that it just took and took, leaving nothing behind for his brain and body to actually function.
She must have used some high level mind magic for his adaptation to struggle so much, or the more depressing possibility that his powers simply needed far more fuel to adapt against magical stuff, which would be a huge downside. As that just increased the cost of adaptation, and he did not think consuming that level of food could remain hidden, especially since he had already gained the attention of the local Devils.
Akeno’s impromptu mind control and interrogation session could only mean that Rias knew about him, and from what he knew of her, she was usually one to leave people alone if they declined, but her current circumstances were far from usual. She was, quite literally, in the middle of fighting for her freedom.
After all, it was a daunting aspect to face a full Peerage Pillar Devil who was already a veteran of Rating Games, with a partially filled Peerage that was barely functional. Hell, the only ones capable of fighting Riser and actually doing damage right now were Akeno, Rias, and maybe Kiba if he got over his whole complex and managed to unlock his Holy Demonic balance breaker or something. After all, no matter how much Riser could generate, a holy sword to the face will make him flinch just like every other devil.
Shaking his head, the very action making him dizzy once more, he wandered down the staircase, done with school for the day, and desperate to get away from here and eat something. Shambling like a zombie, he stared out of the giant hallway and realised that walking back home was a daunting task. At his current stage, he didn't think he could make the trip home.
Realising the dangers of shambling home like a zombie in a town that could potentially find itself housing the likes of Freed Selzen anytime, he turned around and began walking to the forest on the hill, right behind the school. Sure, he risked running into couples making out; most of the time, it was older boys with younger girls, but they were far better than running into someone from the supernatural world.
It was funny, if Akeno had come back and tried to hit him with a mind attack stronger than the one she had hit him with in the morning, then he probably wouldn’t be able to fight back at all. Thank God that she was likely spooked by his freak resistance. Still, that was nothing to celebrate. She might know mind magic, but she was far from the strongest magician in the Underworld, let alone the Underworld.
He had resisted the probing blow of a small fish in the pond. There were entire Leviathans out there in the ocean who could probably shatter his mind with a single look.
Making sure that he didn’t let his single win get to his head, he added electricity to the long list of adaptations he wanted, before climbing up the hill. Thankfully, the paths here, on account of this being the most visited hill in the city, were clean and smooth, relieving him from tripping over any pebble or branch that might have fallen on the road.
He spotted no less than four couples, two of them partially undressed, as he ignored the hushed grunting and reached the end of the road. Sighing in relief, he continued walking, ignoring the branches scraping across his skin and hair, as he disappeared into the woods. He had long since adapted to anything the trees could do to him.
After what he felt like was an appropriate distance, his hand shot out like lightning as he broke off multiple branches all at once, and without even caring about the branch surface, any insects on it, or even the leaves, he began munching down on it, as if he was a Panda and the tree branch, Bamboo.
As he looked at a naked tree, he finally sighed and sat down on the ground, feeling full for the first time since that bitch tried to hypnotise him. Sure, she fed him, but as he realised later on, that meal was nothing compared to what he had to suffer through. The next time she tried something like that, he would be sure to give her a piece of his mind.
As he leaned on the tree bark, he felt his eyes drooping slightly, and despite the encroaching darkness, a question popped up in his mind.
I thought I’d adapted to sleeping regularly?
__xx__
–Sona Sitri–
“So, he is the tree eater.” She heard her Queen, Tsubaki, talk to herself, as both of them looked at the now sleeping form of Kenji. As she looked at his snoring form, she wondered what his Sacred Gear could be? Rias mentioned something about a Mental Type Sacred Gear, but if that was the case, why would he be eating trees? Why could he eat trees as if the branches were nothing but soft food that his teeth could easily break into and his body could easily digest?
Not to mention, the way his laboured breathing and pale face had recovered as soon as he had begun eating the tree branches, as if his body was treating that as food. That pointed to his Sacred Gear being a physical type, or failing that, something else contributing to his abnormal eating habits and physique.
If Rias’ reports were right, which was not always the case, but she could trust Akeno on filing everything properly, especially for something like this, then it either meant they were wrong, or the boy had something else, something that allowed him to resist Mind Magic and eat wood as if it were food.
As for Tsubaki’s words about him being the tree eater. She had heard about the local horror story spreading amongst the students, about screams echoing in the forests on the other side of the town, along with dozens of trees having inexplicable human bite marks, as well as the branches missing.
She was inclined to agree with her Queen here. All of the factors pointed to Kenji here being the culprit behind the impromptu trimming that many of the forest trees received, but she could see now that it was a food source for him. But why would he be eating trees?
From his file, she knew that his mother held a steady job at one of the Gremmory estate’s finance back offices in the Town, and while their finances were tight, on account of their home loan, they should have no issue feeding themselves. After all, it was only two of them.
“What should we do?” Tsubaki asked her as she thought of an appropriate approach here. By law(that she wrote), the ball was now in her court. Rias had her confirmatory approach. Now, it was her turn, but she was not about to waste the chance and approach him while he was vulnerable and asleep in the middle of the forest, specifically the areas where most of the wild animals were corralled by the wards set up in the forest to safeguard the students who regularly visited the hills.
“We gather more information. Get me his financials. Also, his phone history. I need to know more,” she said, flicking her hand, as she used her authority as the overseer to extend the protection of the wards to cover his form as well. It was temporary, and the wards should naturally shrink back to their original size by tomorrow, but that was hopefully enough for him to wake up and head back home.
She needed more information here. Once she was certain she knew all there was to know about the boy, then, she would make her move. After all, she had no need for a middling Mental type Sacred Gear. She had her own mind, after all.
She was not as desperate as Rias was. She certainly needed a Mental type Sacred Gear to start making some good decisions in her life.
And to think that even now, with her engagement approaching in a few years, she continued to sandbag herself, spending her days wasting about instead of training her prodigious power and powerful peerage to the bone, she thought with frustration.
After all, it was a different type of torture to see your good friend see the incoming crisis and, despite having many potent tools at their disposal, refuse to use them for some inexplicable reason. Even Sloth Devils could get past their nature if they were sufficiently motivated, but Rias….
She sighed and turned around, “Let’s go. We have work to do.”