Spear Devil - 025

Chapter 025 – Advice

[April – 2008]

Sighing quietly after listening to Rias recounting her meeting with Akira, Sona looked at her childhood friend with a mix of pity and exhaustion.

"You know I care about you, Rias, don't you?", Sona addressed the crimson-haired Devil heiress, "So forgive me for being honest, but you have simply no idea what you are doing."

"W-What are you talking about Sona?", Rias asked, surprised at Sona's harsh words.

"How many of your peerage members did you actually recruit?", Sona asked, "I mean really recruit, and not just offer them a chance to save themselves or take them in because your brother passed them over to you?"

Freezing in her seat, Rias was shocked at her oldest friend's bluntness.

"I have recruited more than half of my own peerage without just profiteering from the circumstances my servants found themselves in.", Sona continued harshly, "Did you think convincing someone to give up their humanity and join a completely foreign race with nothing but your words was an easy thing to accomplish?"

“Akira is obviously highly intelligent, so it was only natural for him to see the flaws in the peerage system. I also know very well that his assessment of the peerage system is correct, but as High-Class Devils who have a peerage, it is on us to convince even those like him that the benefits of joining a peerage outweigh the detriments of it.”

"That's what we do. We make contracts with humans that benefit us while at the same time fulfilling their wishes and desires.", Sona sighed as she addressed her friend, "If you want to recruit Akira then you will first have to find out what he desires."

Light seemingly returning to her eyes, Rias looked gratefully at her fellow King. She knew that Sona might have spoken harshly, but she also clearly saw how deeply Sona cared for her as she gave her advice for her current predicament.

Sona wasn't good with being nice and soft-spoken, but Rias knew that her childhood friend had her own way of encouraging her friends and showing her caring side, her strictness being just a mask the black-haired Devil heiress hid behind.

“Does that mean you won't try and recruit Akira into your peerage?”, Rias asked with a small smile.

“Don't be absurd, Rias.”, Sona snorted, “Do you really think I could afford to pass up the opportunity to recruit the son of the Welsh Dragon into my peerage?”

"I would however be willing to give up on Genshirou Saji. He might not be comparable in potential to the son of the Red Dragon Emperor, but Akira has overheard the Fallen talking about his Sacred Gear. They seem to be sure that he is in possession of Absorption Line, one of Vritra's Sacred Gears."

"If you are really planning on fighting against Riser in a Rating Game, he could be of some use considering that you have significantly fewer pieces than him.", Sona pointed out calmly as she made this offer, "As for Akira? Well, I can only say that I will not hold back in trying to bring him into my peerage, but I also won't hold it against you if you should succeed before I do."

Knowing that Sona had already made a considerable concession by offering a Sacred Gear user to her, Rias could do nothing but thank her friend and agree to not hold a grudge against Sona as well, should she be successful in recruiting Akira.

Sona was of course right that it simply wasn't possible for her to just give up the opportunity to recruit Akira, no matter Rias' circumstances. With Akira's heritage and future potential, having him in their peerage would be of immeasurable benefit to either of them, as they had both planned to enter Rating Game Tournaments since young.

Not to mention that the strength of one's peerage was a major factor when it came to their social status in Devil society. Having a peerage member that could potentially reach the level of the Satans, or even beyond that, would be an undeniable advantage in any case, no matter their plans and goals for the future.

It was unreasonable for Rias to just expect Sona to give that all up as a favour to her, even if they were childhood friends. Still, Sona had also helped her in seeing hope when it came to her recruitment of Akira.

As her friend had said, Rias just had to find something to offer the half-dragon that would make him be willing to look past his objections to joining a peerage as a reincarnated Devil.

Before all that though, she first had to find out what it was that Akira desired. And then it was time for her to find a way to fulfill those wishes, as he was most likely her only chance at escaping her engagement.

…

Waking up around 1.30 am and feeling fully rejuvenated, I knew that I could go back to bad if I wanted to for a few hours. I decided against that though as I wanted to get a headstart for the day.

Still, truly moving out of bed and putting on some loose pants was probably one of the hardest things I had done this year. Looking longing at my cozy bed, I sighed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take care of my other morning duties.

As I left the bathroom and moved back to my room to prepare my clothes and books for school, my gaze passes over a black leather hard case sitting in the corner collecting dust. The memories in my head and the unique shape thought told me that it was a violin case.

'Akira' had apparently played it for years but decided to set it aside a few months ago to free up his time to study more as he hoped to enter either Tokyo University or Kyoto University and graduate with a degree in medicine.

Still, it wasn't easy to enter such a prestigious school and 'Akira' had apparently planned to start early with his preparations for the college entrance exam, unwilling to spare any minute on playing the violin.

He or better 'I' seemed to have been a rather studious fellow, though I understood trying to achieve a goal and making sacrifices for it. Still, in my opinion, playing any kind of instrument was great skill and it roused my curiosity.

Opening the case, I saw the shining exterior of the stringed instrument, the rosewood having clearly been polished with great care. I knew from the looks alone that 'Akira' had still taken care of the instrument even after he had stopped playing it, making me realize how much he must have loved the violin.

On instinct, I took the violin from its case and placed it under my chin based on the vague memories I had in my mind.

Taking up the bow, I gently placed it on the strings and applied slight pressure before drawing it across the instrument. The rather shrill tone leaving the instrument at this attempt though had me recoil as my sensitive ears protested such abuse.

It seemed that just because I had Akira's memories of playing the violin did not mean that I could really play it.

With a frown between my brows, I was somewhat disgruntled, my draconic pride roaring in entirely misplaced anger at my failure. Still, I was a rather stubborn person and so in hindsight, it shouldn't have been a surprise that I impulsively grabbed the small vial of Golden Tears and dripped one onto my palm.

It was obviously a massive waste of such a godly alchemical product, but even my Soul Fortress skill couldn't save me from myself at all times.

Feeling it take effect as a pleasant and warm sensation spread throughout my whole body while my mind became several times clearer, the vague memories of the original Akira playing the instrument become much more transparent under the potion's effect.

Grabbing the leatherbound book full of notes from the drawer in the desk, hidden away by Akira, I opened the first page while also switching on my computer and opening a site on the internet that clearly explained what each note meant.

In conjunction with my memories and draconic wisdom, it took less than fifteen minutes for me to remember everything important and I could read the pages full of musical notes fluently, the Golden Tears doing their job perfectly.

Making use of my Perfect Memory, I simply did exactly that. I 'read' every music sheet in the notebook, remembering them effortlessly.

Grabbing the violin again and closing my eyes, I once again drew the bow over the instrument with the same result as before – a rather unpleasant screech sounding out. This time though I knew exactly what I did wrong, as I was acutely aware of how to place my fingers on the violin and how to handle the bow so that the instrument could produce the right musical notes.

Adjusting my grip on the bow while angling it slightly differently, I repeated my earlier actions with a much more pleasant-sounding result.

Doing so again and again, I didn't even notice the hours that passed as I 'relearned' the violin, every successfully-played sequence of notes bringing with it a deep sense of achievement, a subconscious smile sitting on my lips.

I played and played, being totally immersed in coaxing melody after melody from the stringed instrument, 'Akira's' memories somehow melting into my own while the Golden Tears reconditioned my muscle memory with every passing minute.

*RING* *RING* *RING*

The rather disruptive alarm clock on my nightstand finally woke me from my daze at 6:00 am, making me realize that I had just played the violin for nearly four hours straight, even though it seemed only minutes had passed.

From the memories in my head, I knew though that with just this one session, my skill had already caught up to someone that had been learning to play the violin for several years. It seemed that Akira's memories in my mind had caused the Golden Tears to be even more effective, passing on some of his experience through whatever means.

The tears truly were miraculous items made by an absolute prodigy. I couldn't even begin to comprehend how they worked, but they most certainly did their creator justice. Still, this also made me realize that I had just wasted a Golden Tear out of stubbornness and pride, though looking at the violin in my hands, I couldn't really bring myself to be mad about that.

Maybe Akira's love for the stringed instrument had affected me somehow under the amplifying effect of the alchemical potion, but I still felt that it had been worth it.

[Your actions and single-minded focus caused a resonance in your Dragon Heart. Your Dragon Aura has increased by 0.2 points, reaching 16.5 points.]

Surprised and rather shocked by this notification. I realized that playing the violin and taking the tear had been absolutely worth it.

The phrase 'follow your heart' had suddenly gained a whole new meaning and I understood that there were more ways to train than just one, especially considering that dragons were passionate and willful beings.

Looking at it from that perspective, it shouldn't be a surprise that doing what I loved/enjoyed would cause a resonance with my Dragon Heart under the effect of the Golden Tears.

And if I didn't have a logical reason to waste my time playing the violin before, now I definitely had one.

Smiling to myself, I gently placed the instrument back in its case before taking a quick shower and getting dressed in the school uniform.