It's True Love 71

"So Shiki was attacked, huh...?"

Akiha nodded. "Yes, though thankfully he escaped without any wounds." Yuta wasn't surprised about that.

He had seen Shiki constantly throw himself at Rika due to his killing instincts, so he knew his bro could handle himself. Though this attack was probably the first time he ever had to seriously fight. It seems he didn't make any mistakes due to nervousness however, contrary to Yuta.

Ciel smiled. "Well, that's good to know!" She had come here with Yuta, naturally.

The two parties had rushed to each other as fast as they could. Though Yuta would have preferred if Akiha stayed in the mansion. She would have been safer there, after all... Not to say she was in any particular danger of course, Yuta had seen that she could be pretty strong, but still... he couldn't help, but worry.

Ciel pushed her glasses up. "So, what does Tohno being hurt have to do with us?" Oi. "You know that we can't interfere as members of the Holy Church if this is just a dispute between demons, right?" Why though!?

Yuta raised a hand. "Since when is that case?" One would have figured that the Holy Church would love to mess with a dispute between houses like that.

Akiha tilted her head. "You don't know even though you work for the Holy Church?" Her judging stare was aimed solely at Ciel, surprisingly.

Yuta soon realized why... In the end Ciel was his teacher, and Akiha probably knew that more or less. Which meant a lack of such obvious knowledge was her fault, not Yuta's. Which meant he just embarrassed his superior... who was also his girlfriend.

Ciel took it in stride however. "Yuta is pretty new at this after all!" The executor had to treat Akiha like a wild animal! She could not show any fear! "So let me quickly explain it."

She raised a finger. "We members of the Holy Church have orders to not influence the inner conflicts of a far awar country like Japan. Mostly because our influence here is pretty weak... Growing our influence could be nice of course, but not by helping demon-blooded."

She continued. "That's not to say we can't interfere at all of course, but we can't do so with the intentions of raising one faction above another. At least not without gaining approval from the higher-ups." In essence, they couldn't just declare an alliance out of nowhere.

Yuta sighed. "I see... how annoying." That explained why his super helpful Senpai was being so reluctant to lend a hand.

With a blush, Akiha interjected. "It's not annoying at all! It's not like I wanted the help of you two anyway!" A classic tsun line!? Why would she have even called them if she didn't want help!?

She had obviously called them here so that they could hunt down the enemy together. There would have no reason to leave the mansion otherwise. Now that Ciel had said rejection was possible however, she was trying to save face. He supposed he should have expected that.

A smirk appeared on his face. "Geez, no need to get grumpy. I'll help you no matter what!" He chuckled. "It's just that instead of being an issue between Holy Church and demon family, it will be a guy helping his future wife!"

"W-what!?" The heir of the Tohno's immediately melted.

Yuta continued. "C'mon, it ain't that surprising! It's not like I haven't messed with your family's politics before..." He literally stole two maids. "Besides, I'm sure Senpai is thinking of something similar to me." She wasn't the type to look away when someone needed help.

Ciel nodded. "Yes... Although I would like to hear what exactly is happening before I make a decision." Differently from Yuta, she wouldn't recklessly offer her hand.

Akiha hesitantly smiled. "I see... Thank you, you two." She took a deep breath. "Although I believe this is actually a matter concerning vampires, so you two can act as executors."

"Oi." Why did she even enter tsun mode then!? She knew the two would help!

It was definitely out of pride...

Even Ciel seemed troubled as she muttered to herself. "She's so difficult..." She shook her head. "So, why do you believe it is a vampire?"

"He had ghouls as workers." Well, that is some pretty damming evidence right there. "The bodyguard I hired also threw him against a building and he walked away just fine. He either regenerated, or he was strong enough to survive that."

Ciel nodded. "I see. The latter parts don't really confirm that he is a vampire, but the ghoul part at least confirms he is involved with one." She hummed. "Though I have a decent idea on who it is..." She did?

Yuta couldn't quite figure it out if he was being honest. Roa was the obvious answer of course, but why would he go after Shiki of all people!? The guy already had enough enemies, he really didn't need to go around making more!

Assuming Roa wasn't brain dead, Yuta's next guess would have been the mysterious spider vampire, but the way Akiha talked about the ghouls made them sound like generic ghouls, not gigantic spider ones.

Maybe it was some new vampire?

Ciel continued. "Anyway, please tell us where the attack happened, and then you can go home." Oh?

Yuta hadn't really thought about it, but knowing when the attack had happened would probably help a lot huh? In that way he almost felt good about Shiki suddenly having his shit rocked. Well, not really, but a guy had to look on the good side of things once in a while.

Akiha clicked her tongue. "Go home? I won't be doing such a thing." As expected... "Instead I'll be cooperating with you two. I'm incredibly powerful, so you two will have the privilege to use me as you wish." Hot.

Yuta immediately grinned. "I want to use you as a wife! Let's do i—." He was silenced by one of her glares.

"I understand that it's hard to take me seriously, but since my brother was involved, this is not something I can ignore." Fair enough.

Yuta snorted. "Who said I wasn't taking you seriously? I expected this from the beginning..." He nodded to himself. "And the wife comment was serious too! Of course!" Though Rika would kill him if she wasn't the first wife...

Then again, she already considered herself the first wife.

Akiha blushed. "Right... it's easy to forget how you can be." So he was getting forgettable!? Clearly he had to up his game and tease her even more!

She then looked at Ciel. "But it's your permission that I need, right?" That was very much true, but hearing it hurt his pride a little bit!

Ciel nodded. "Yes. Do you really care about that, however?"

Akiha shrugged. "To a certain extent. I rather have you as a willing partner." The wonders of consent... "But yes, I will involve myself into this investigation even if you deny me."

His teacher sighed. "At least you aren't trying to hide it... Very well then, let's work together, Akiha Tohno."



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A white haired man with red eyes who was wearing a kimono. He fought with a knife and probably had the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception too.

That was the description Shiki had given Akiha about the man who attacked him. And now that was the description she had given them.

Yuta hummed. "Another person with those eyes... how absurd is that?" Assuming Shiki was correct on his assumption of course. But considering the guy was a user of those eyes, he probably was.

Akiha tilted her head. "Is it really that absurd? To be honest, I do not even know what the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are supposed to be."

"For real?" That was strange. "Didn't Shiki tell you about them? He literally has them..." And it was also something that could drive Shiki insane under the wrong circumstances... To think he didn't even tell his own sister about them...

Akiha looked away. "Big brother tends to not talk about the supernatural side of things. I do not know what he can and cannot do." Well, she had some ideas of course.

He was a Nanaya, so without a doubt he was fast and flexible from birth... that was about it however. She did not know if he had received any formal training from his dead family, and even if he had, she did not know if he remembered it.

To be frank, she was a bit curious about it, since it related to her precisely big brother, but... she also didn't like talking about the supernatural. So it was a curiosity she would just ignore until it disappeared.

Yuta smiled. "Well, we have some time, so I guess I can explain it." Ciel was busy hypnotizing people and fixing the destruction caused, so they had to wait anyways.

He cleared his throat. "So the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception lets you see death... which is basically just these little lines that you can cut to ignore the durability of something. It also deals with immortals and stuff." He didn't have the time to explain the points.

"That sounds... handy..." She didn't seem too impressed.

So he continued. "Oh, but if you use it for too long you start going insane due to it. And your brain basically starts to explode too, since a human cannot handle it." Yuta wondered if someone like Arcueid would have been able to use it without issues.

"W-what!?" Now that was the reaction he expected! Her face went totally pale! "Is big brother in danger then!?" Cute.

Yuta waved her off. "Nah, dude is fine. He has some special glasses that let him ignore the lines." Which let him not go insane. Or die.

"Y-you should have started with that...!" Color was returning to her face.

He chuckled. "Sorry, my bad. It's kind of surprising on how lacking on information you are though." It couldn't be helped, she hadn't really grown up with Shiki after all. At least not for long.

Imagine a timeline where she was also his childhood friend was truly wonderful...! And dangerous, he would have definitely done his best to turn her into yet another Rika.

Akiha huffed. "Hum. Then just keep informing me." Cute.

"Sure. So, the thing about these Mystic Eyes is that they're incredibly rare..." He hummed. "Rare enough that even meeting two is already a super duper crazy miracle. Which is something that we have done."

"So now having a third is... strange." Not impossible, he supposed. Just another crazy miracle who wandered into Souya.

Akiha nodded. "I see... who is the second user?" She doubted it was someone she knew, but—.

"It's someone you know." Ah. "It's that Shiki girl who came with us to the beach." He wondered if this vampire was called Shiki as well. That would be way too crazy though...

Akiha's eye twitched. "So this super rare pair of Mystic Eyes is shared by two people who have the same named!?" She definitely didn't believe him, and he couldn't exactly blame her for it either.

"Ayup. Maybe it's like a Jojo thing where the users are attracted to each other. Tied by fate."

"What's Jojo...?" Oh boy.



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In the end Ciel didn't find anything about the vampire... Which is why the next night Yuta decided to take Akiha to a very special place.

"Yo teach!"

Touko sighed. "Hello... I would say I'm glad to see you, but why did you bring the brat along?" She was glaring at Akiha, who was glaring right back at her.

That was to be expected really. The two had fought the last time they met each other, after all.

"I brought Akiha here because this concerns her." He wanted to bring Shiki too, but the guy had been grounded by his own little sister. What a terrifying fate that was.

He continued. "Besides, you two should get along since eventually you will all be sister wives!" It wouldn't be good if his harem was trying to kill each other!

"We won't." They will!

Touko's glare shifted towards him. "Don't go getting so arrogant, boy. You may have melted my sister's brains, but that isn't hard considering she barely had one. I won't fall that easily." She had already literally fallen.

Tsunderes were cute.

Akiha glared at him too. "I won't deny that I like you, but don't forget that I plan on tearing your... your harem apart! I will be the only woman in your heart!" Way too cute even.

Yuta held back a chuckle, it wasn't time for this. "Leaving the inevitability of the red string aside... We need to ask you about the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Touko. Please be our suspicious know it all guide."

She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I know anything about that...?"

"You know Shiki Ryougi for a long time. There is no way you haven't deciphered every secret that those eyes have to offer at this point." Especially since they worked together.

Touko hid a smile. Flattering her was truly the easiest way to get something. "I won't deny that... So, what is the problem? Did that friend of yours have an aneurysm or something? If that's the case I can give you a spare puppet body, but moving the soul is up to you." That's... scary.

He waved her off. "That's not what I'm here to talk about! Honestly, I'm surprised you don't know what happened, considering your puppets and all." She was like the ultimate stalker!

Touko sighed. "It's not like I watch over the entire city. Typically I'm focused on you." Wow, she really said that without hesitating at all. "And that has become harder and harder to do as of recently. That teacher of your is growing more aware of her surroundings."

She had to be talking about Ciel. Yuta supposed she would indeed get more careful about spy puppets as time went on. In a way this was almost like training!

Akiha interjected. "I see... Then allow me to explain the situation." Well, at least the two weren't at each others throats.

Akiha quickly explained the attack. Giving information about everything Shiki had told her.

Touko hummed. "Oh...? Another user of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception...? I suppose that's possible, even if very strange." If that was really the case then they had to be extremely careful from now on.

A single blow could mean death, even for Rika.

Touko raised a finger. "There's a few things you two should keep in mind before you go find this vampire. First of all, their eyes may function slightly differently from the eyes you are familiar with."

"That's because one's perception of death affects how the eyes work. It's why it grows stronger with use, the user is getting used to seeing death, and changing his perspective on it. He's understanding it." That's...

Strange. "Really? So when I had the eyes mine were different from Shiki's?" He ignored Akiha's confused glance.

Touko waved him off. "It's hard to say. I don't truly understand how your copy ability works after all." Fair enough.

She continued. "And about the second thing. I recommend having your pet True Ancestor fight the vampire. Since she's a true Immortal under the moonlight, she's the perfect counter. She won't have lines, and if she does have them, they will be few..."

She sighed. "Actually, she definitely has them nowadays. Considering you have throughly corrupted her, changed her from a perfect being." Arcueid had very much never been a perfect being, he was innocent here!

Akiha snorted. "Was that woman ever perfect in the first place? It's hard to believe looking at her..."

"It depends on how you define perfection. In the eyes of the planet she certainly was." Ah, magus talk. "Still, even being flawed as she is, she should still be powerful enough to have her lines cut multiple times and still survive one way or another."

"Though... something about her might break if that happens." So it was best avoided.

Yuta puffed his chest. "No need to risk Arcueid, I will fight the creepy vampire guy!" He could counter him too. Sort of.

If he copied the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, both should see the same lines, and so Yuta would know where to dodge. Maybe. Maybe not, considering Touko had warned him about eyes developing differently from one another.

Alternatively, they could have Ciel fight the vampire. Considering she was super immortal, she was probably beyond death. Touko hadn't suggested it of course, but she probably didn't know how her Immortality worked anyway.

Touko rolled her eyes. "Do whatever you want. Try not to die however. I still have things to learn about you." Did that count as a tsundere moment or not? Only a scholar could answer.

Akiha grit her teeth. "I won't let this vampire hurt anyone... These Mystic Eyes can only be used at close range, is that correct?"

Touko shook her head. "Not really. All the user needs to do is hit a line, which can be done with another ability." It would depend on the vampire's other skills, essentially.

"Understood. Then I'll win with just one look." Did Akiha have some form of Mystic Eyes too...? Or maybe it was some demonic ability.

Yuta put his hands on his hips. "I'm glad we have multiple ways to deal with this guy... Well, we will be leaving for now. Touko, please contact us if your super cool spy network sees something."

"Sure, if I feel like it.." Great! "One more thing though... It's strange that a vampire has the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Very strange. I would keep your guard up."

"Huh, why is that?"

"Because how does a immortal understand death in the first place?" Huh.



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AN: I watched Deadpool 3 recently. Fun movie.