Non Serviam: Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Meaning of Strength

My fists pound the heavy bag with sharp cracks.

I’d become strong enough now to send it swinging, chain jerking in the air. With magic, I could make the bag touch the ceiling, even though it was heavier than any one I’d used in life. With a thought, I did just that, focusing on my demonic power and twisting it into a familiar pattern of brute strength.

I slammed a blow into the heavy bag. It flew off my fist in a rush of air. I chambered my other fist, hips cocked back. The bag came back down and I met it with an open palm strike that sent my shoes skidding back against the floor.

“Oooooh!” Asia clapped from her bench against the wall.

I laughed, shaking my head as I grabbed a towel off a hanger. “I told you that you didn’t have to watch.”

“I like it,” Asia replied. She glanced to the side, shyly. “Would you like me to…”

“Heal me?” I draped the towel over my neck. “I think I’m fine, but thanks for offering.”

She shifted at that. “Mmm.”

“Are you ready for today?” I asked. “It’s about time to get cleaned up.”

“Yeah.” Asia nodded once, then again with more determination. “I’m ready!”

Today we were meeting the whole peerage for the first time. Asia had already met a few members, with me looking over her shoulder, but today would be a big step forward for her. I was hopeful that she’d get along with Gaspar especially, because he needed more friends.

Also, he’d been very upset with me for not visiting as often since I started school.

“Kiba will be here soon,” I told Asia. “Are you okay to wait with him while I take a shower?”

“Mmm.” She nodded, fists clenched in front of her.

I couldn’t stop myself from ruffling her hair. Asia blinked, green eyes peering guilelessly up at me through her fringe.

“You’ll be fine. Kiba’s a pushover.” For my part, I was a bit less Sanguine. I still found myself drifting back to the implicit question Mittelt had asked me a few weeks ago. I had a problem with goals. I hyper-fixated. I could accept that.

I’d gone from resisting Rias to the best of my ability to training with them like they were my team so quickly that, if Mittelt hadn’t mentioned it herself, I wouldn’t have noticed. I was still sure of my reasons for the change. I didn’t want them to die, getting pulled into a never-ending series of fights like I’d been. What I was less sure about was my methods.

For now, I remained focused on Asia’s problems so that I could keep ignoring mine.

After I got out of the shower and dressed, Kiba was indeed waiting in the living room. He stood awkwardly against one wall while Asia sat demurely on the couch with a placid smile.

Kiba looked at me helplessly as I walked into the room. “Ah, hey.”

“Taylor!” Asia hopped to her feet. “Are you ready to go?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Any problems?”

Asia shook her head. “Mr. Kiba and I are fine.”

Kiba shrugged helplessly.

“Well,” I said. “Since we’re just going to the clubhouse, we can take the car instead of the teleportation circle if you want, Asia.”

“Oh, teleporting is fine,” she said. “Or whatever’s most convenient.”

I held back a sigh because she wouldn’t take it well. While Asia had come out of her shell since I’d started taking her to church, it had also changed our relationship in ways that I wasn’t comfortable with. I’d wanted to help the girl find her own footing; instead, she’d increasingly found her way to my side.

“Summoning circle it is then,” I said.

“Need any help?” Kiba asked.

“My reserves are big enough to power it,” I replied. “Besides, I need the practice.”

He smiled more naturally this time. “Can’t have your power exceeding your control.”

I nodded.

“That’s why I mostly focus on my Sacred Gear.” He flexed his fingers as the three of us walked over to the small side room Rias had set up for summoning.

“Some of us have to make do with hard work,” I replied.

“Care to test it in the ring, later?” Kiba asked.

I laughed. “Down boy.”

With a flash of red, we teleported to Rias’s clubhouse at the school.

I pretended not to notice Asia shifting warily as she took in the room. It looked the same as always, two finely-upholstered couches facing each other across a wide coffee table. Rias and Akeno sat on one of those couches, with Koneko on the other, and…

A box, sitting on the table itself, top closed. I sighed.

“Hello everyone!” Rias waved a hand from the couch. “Thank you for coming, Asia.”

“Th-thank you for having me, Lady Gremory.” Asia clasped her hands, dipping her head in an approximation of a bow.

“Hey, hey. None of that.” Rias wagged her finger. “We’re friends here, please, call me Rias!”

“Okay…”

I placed a hand on Asia’s shoulder, ushering her into the room proper. “Asia, you’ve already met Rias and Koneko. This is Akeno and…Gaspar is hiding in the box.”

“The box?” Asia tilted her head.

“Tayloooor!” The box shook on the table. “You gave away my hiding spooooot!”

“Not as much as you did,” I replied.

Gaspar, eeped, pale hands darting out of the box to pull the lid shut tighter. “I’m not here! Boss, tell her I’m not here!”

“Ah, well, that’s…” Rias placed a finger against her cheek.

Then Asia giggled.

I glanced at her as she tried to cover her laugh with a raised hand. She looked back at me, question clear in her eyes.

“Well?” I asked. “Go say hello.”

I took a step back and Asia a step forward. The rest of the room watched silent as Asia walked into the room, greeting Akeno and Koneko formally, before sitting herself gingerly on the coffee table next to the cardboard box.

“Hello, Mr. Gaspar,” she said softly.

The box jumped on the table in surprise.

“Sorry, sorry!” Asia patted the top of it gently. “Um I just wanted to say that I was very nervous to meet you, so it makes me…feel better because you were nervous too.”

“…Why were you scared?” Gaspar asked.

“Well, I thought you were all scary demons, like…” Asia shook her head. “But I can see you’re not scary at all, Mr. Gaspar. So…would you like to be friends?”

The lid of the box cracked open slightly, a single blood-red eye peeking out. “Y-you wanna be friends with me?”

And then all of Asia’s confidence evaporated. She turned, shoulders wiggling. “Well, that’s, I mean…if you want to be friends with someone like me.”

At my side, Kiba scoffed quietly as Gaspar half lifted his head out of the cardboard box.

I turned towards Kiba, nudging him gently.

He shook his head. “I shouldn’t say.”

I pulled him a few steps towards the windows as Asia continued to talk quietly with Gaspar’s box. When she turned to look at me, I smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Asia giggled again before returning to her conversation as Gaspar slowly extracted himself from the cardboard box.

Well, most of himself; he continued sitting in, legs folded underneath him like a cat as Asia slowly coaxed more out of him without realizing it.

“They can’t hear us,” I said to Kiba.

“It’s just…” He rubbed the back of his head. “I was ready to hate her.”

I blinked once, turning to look at Asia, then back to Kiba.

“I know, I know! It sounds stupid. She’s just too nice.” He sighed. “But when I heard we were getting someone excommunicated by the Church, I thought it would be someone who’d been kicked out for a good reason. Someone like…” His expression hardened.

I folded my arms and leaned back on the windowsill, waiting quietly.

“I was ready to hate you too,” Kiba said.

“I figured.” I shrugged. “I wasn’t doing very much to be likable.”

He paused, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t hate you, though. You’re…pretty cool.”

I laughed softly. “Thanks, kid.”

He huffed, leaning to the side as I tried to ruffle his hair. “Stop that or I’ll change my mind.”

“Too late,” I shot back. “You called me cool. Now my power cannot be contained.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I can understand why you’d hate me,” I said. “Rias is too nice, too, so she would never say anything bad about me, but I’m sure Akeno didn’t paint the most flattering picture.”

On the couch, Akeno twitched slightly. Devils had better senses. Still, she had enough decorum not to startle Asia as she gently slipped off the couch and drifted over to us with such grace that even Rias barely seemed to notice her movement.

“Speaking ill of me again?” She asked. She’d composed her face into a charming smile, even as her eyes narrowed into sharp slits. “I thought you said you would play nice.”

“If complimenting your honesty isn’t nice, I can stop,” I replied. “I was just telling Kiba about how you must have briefed him about me at the start.”

Akeno huffed quietly. “And he still became your friend.”

I nodded, arms folded. “Even called me ‘cool’ earlier.”

Akeno turned her sharply glittering eyes onto Kiba. “My, did you now?”

A shiver ran up his back, and he laughed. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He jabbed me with his elbow. “Why are you throwing me to the tigers?”

“I promised Rias to be on my best behavior,” I replied. “And I wouldn’t ruin this for Asia.”

At that, both teens followed my gaze back to the center of the room, where Asia and Gaspar were leaning close to each other, foreheads almost touching as they chattered on. Behind the two, Rias looked on, so puffed with pride she almost looked like a rooster.

Even Akeno softened at the sight. “It…would be a shame to upset them.”

“Which is why I was so surprised when Kiba said he hated Asia.” I shook my head, even as Kiba gave me his most wounded look.

“That’s not what I said! That’s not what I said!” He hissed.

Akeno covered a giggling mouth with one hand. “My, my. Who knew that Kuoh’s White Knight was secretly a misogynist. What would Murayama think?”

I leaned back against the window as Kiba sputtered to defend himself. Over by the table, Asia smiled and clasped Gaspar’s hands tightly before standing up. “Taylor!” She jogged over to me, fabric of her habit bouncing cheerfully. “Can Gaspar and I go around and see Kuoh city?”

“Sounds fun.” I smiled at Gaspar. “You’re okay with that too?”

“W-w-well I can hardly let Miss Asia go alone!” He crossed his arms, looking away.

“It’s very brave of you to defend her,” I said. “That sounds like a great idea.” I paused for a moment, considering. Asia and Kiba still just didn’t get along well, but I wanted to get Asia used to people other than me. “How about taking Akeno as a chaperone?”

Asia shifted some at that. “Well…that’s…I thought?”

“That sounds like a great idea too!” Rias called. “Akeno knows all the best spots in town. Including the secret crepe stand.”

At that, Asia paused, somewhat tempted by the offer. For her part, Akeno switched from frowning at me to smiling gently at Asia so fast I saw motion blur.

“It would be my pleasure,” Akeno said.

Asia peeked up at the older girl through her fringe, eyes darting back to me every few seconds.

I sighed. Maybe next time then. “If you want me to come along, I’d be more than happy to, Asia.”

But then her expression firmed. “No…that’s fine.” She nodded once. “I would love to go to the secret crepe stand with Miss Akeno.”

I blinked, surprised. “Oh. That’s…good.”

Asia nodded again, making a half-aborted gesture towards me, before stalling out.

I held back a laugh, reaching out to pull her into a quick hug. “Call me if you have any trouble.”

Asia nodded once against my midsection, fingers fisted into the sides of my shirt.

Then the three of them—four because Koneko also wanted crepes—left the club room, leaving only Rias, Kiba, and me.

“Well.” Rias clapped her hands once. “That went super well!”

I hummed in agreement as I slipped onto the couch opposite her. “Told you they’d get along.”

“Yeah, well excuse me for—”

At the edge of the room, the summoning circle flashed, and whatever Rias snapped her mouth shut.

I turned, half rising.

Between one blink and the next there were more devils in the room, and not a one I recognized.