AGG: DSS: Rias 4

Rias 4

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Commissioned by cjdavis103

Word Count: 1104

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My rival stood in my way.

“Ne, Devil-chan, what a small world!” Before me was a creature from the very darkest depths of reality. She was a composition of lust, salaciousness, and smug. So. Much. Smug. And, as if those collection of traits were not enough, she had a figure that was alike my own! My figure, which I both cultivated via magic and maintained with exercise, was being rivaled by another! Who was a Nekomimi! God truly existed, because He surely made this creature to destroy everything I hold dear! The creature’s  name was Kuroka, a Nekoshou of the Preservers! “What brings you to this ultra-secret, underground, limited-edition figure ring?”

Damn her! She must have bypassed my security! This dastardly creature, bent on securing Issei for her diabolical ends, intends to fight me for the figure I planned to buy him as a present! It was a limited edition, ultra-rare, and hand-crafted figure!  One from a show we watched together as children! I had one of my own, but it was mine! Issei, meanwhile, had neither the fund nor the time to purchase one for himself, so we could have a matching pair. Now, after nearly a decade, I’ve managed to track one down for sale here in the Cradle! Naturally, I planned to purchase it for Issei… and, naturally, this damn cat was in my way!

“Whatever you’re planning on doing, it’s going to fail.” Lightning! There was lightning coming from her eyes! It was totally happening! That moment where two rivals were on the same path and had to conquer the same challenges! This was definitely that moment! I couldn’t enjoy it, though! This wasn’t a good-hearted, sports-based rivalry that would leave both the winner and loser with an important lesson! This was a zero-sum game, with my loss amounting to losing a chance to forge another connection to my best friend, while another dragged him closer to the abyss! My blood was boiling! “I’ve already purchased the figure. You’ve wasted your time, because I’m just here to pick it up.”

“Ne? You already purchased it? How could you do that, when your credits are still in your account, ne?” Kuroka’s voice sent a shiver down my spine. Only my considerable will stopped me from reaching from my phone. No. Financial accounts are protected via a combination of quantum encryption and block-chain technology. Not even a hacker of her caliber could break such security without leaving a trace. No, because she’s a Preserver, she wouldn’t be allowed to do such a thing in the first place. So… so how does she have my order in her hands!? “Or, when I have the figure right here?”

There could only be one way she managed to do it.

“You impersonated me… at your own cost.” The damnable cat’s smile was the only confirmation I needed, but she wished to rub it further into my face. She held up the same version of phone that I had. Then, with a few swipes, she presented a facsimile of my human identity…with just one letter off my name… but linked to an alternate bank account! Hers! Yes, indeed, a hacker and spy of her caliber could do such a thing. And, without a doubt, given her skills with magic, she could easily cast a Glamour that enabled her to look like me! Wait, while I was looking at the communicator, she actually changed to look exactly like me! “You darned, cat! That’s unfair!”

“I call it catching up, Devil-chan.” Kuroka stuck her tongue out at me, her golden gaze glittering in victory, as she returned to her natural form. Then, with a wink, she leapt upward onto a rafter. Hey, if you think a panty-shot’s going to make me blush, you have another thing coming! My lingerie is better than yours! That lace is tacky and as black as your soul! And, I’ve seen better! I’m also not a boy! “Heh! Better luck next time! This’ll be my little gift from Issei-kun!” No, no, no! It’s not a sideways peace-sign over the eye! It’s supposed to be pinky, index, and thumb out and palm outward! YOU ARE ANGERING ME WITH YOUR LACK OF RESPECT OF CULTURE! “Ja ne!”

Augh! She was the very worst! A bray of the public into an echo chamber! She didn’t know what that figure meant! Only that Issei would love it! Every action she did, was only due to skimming off the top of the internet, and not from the actual, original depths of the internet itself!

That cat…

…That CAT…

…THAT CAT…

THAT CAT was a meme without substance!

Augh, what a foul curse. My parents would be ashamed of me, even if I only said it to myself. Truly, that Nekoshou brings out the very worst in me. 

Well, at the very least, I had a backup plan. 

…

“This… this is the only figure that we don’t own matching sets of, Rias!” Ise-kun held my figure in his hands. Carefully kept in its box for many years, I had to bite my lip as he opened it. Still, as I watched him hold it by the stand reverently, and place it in the shelf he promised to put it once he found one for himself, the collector in me was silenced. He loved it. “A-are you sure I can keep this? You bought it ages ago! It’s one of the first ones you ever had!”

“I told you already, Ise-kun. I needed space for Magi Mari… and I can’t think of a better person who’d appreciate it, and who’d care for it, besides my best friend!” The door was ever-so-slightly ajar. Through the darkness seeping through, I saw a single, golden, and slit eye. It was scary, but I felt no fear being the receiving of all its hatred. Ise-kun was holding back tears as he closed and locked the shelf. My figurine, the only one he’d ever missed and lamented never having, had made him happy. This is my victory. “But, I want you to promise me something, okay?”

“Sure, Rias, anything!” Ah, what a refreshing, amazing smile. Really, I wish he’d smile more often these days. “What do you want?”

I almost felt bad using that smile, and the earnest promise that came with it, to twist the knife.

Almost.

“There’s a new sushi restaurant over in the Los Angeles Arcology! Let’s go this weekend! A friend’s day out, just the two of us! I’ll pay!”

“Nice! Of course, Rias!”

I didn’t know which sound was sweeter.

Ise-kun’s words… or Kuroka’s near-silent cursing.

Both were great.