"That's all?"
You nodded, smilling down at the boy.
"That's all of it. I couldn't really say anything about it before hand.. though I'm pretty sure Pride knew.... I caught him watching us one night, but he didn't say a thing to Rokudo. I owe him for that." you sighed,
Lust wasn't one for holding something against another. So he let it slide pretty easily that you had waited this long to tell him. But if one of them like Greed or Envy were to find out about it... well that was a whole different story. If Pride already knew than that was done. Gluttony really wouldn't care either, and Wrath despite the curse he held was usually pretty cool minded.
"And I take it he doesn't know a thing still. Or feel anything?" he asked,
You shook your head.
"I'm not aloud to give him any hints of who he used to be. Mitsuru also told me I couldn't awaken his demon myself either. So here I am. Sneaking little moments in anytime I can. Pathetic I know. But I really can't stop myself.
I miss him.. but he's right there" you stated, before looking away and over to Lust who only gave a pout.
"We're going to have to take him back to his cell. Hajime though an underling is our boss now. Scared of you, but still our boss" He said, changing the subject quickly.
You chuckled
"Yes.. I know. Speaking of which, Uno will be coming back down today, Gluttony has something up her sleeve for the boy which means you won't be able to go near cell 13 for the rest of the day. We'll have to switch shifts today" you said, as he nodded.
"Got it."
~
"That's all?"
You frowned, giving a small nod.
"Afraid so.. Shiro, confirmation?" You asked,
He nodded causing you to sigh
"Well there you have it.. We're out of sugar and milk. So much for making cookies." you smiled sheepishly,
Rock smiled as well, chuckling.
"We can still make that stove oven pizza though. We already made the dough before hand."
Both you and the chef nodded
"Of course.. "
And after everything was done you and the two of them sat around the counter eating. Sparkles appearing mostly around Rock as he actually took his time to eat the food and taste it. You just did your best to eat it despite it having no taste. It was always strange eating something that tasted like nothing honestly. The white goo for cheese was simply white goo to you. The crust was simply dry plain crumbly food. The circular things of meat coming closest to something a demon might eat in hell was the only thing that had a slight taste at all.
"Delicious! Don't you agree, (Y/n)?"
You smiled, slowly nodding.
"Perfect.."
If only you could replace the tomato sause with blood. Than it'd at least a little bit more appitizing.
~
"That's all?"
You crossed your arms, circling around him as if sizing him up.
Hajime took a slight step back despite himself.
"Yep.. as your final test. You need to tag me both in the back and at the back of my neck. Both are the weakest spots on an angel and therefore most guarded. Just because you're not joining the war when we're done doesn't mean you get to skip out on this test. Musashi did it. You can as well" you explained, watching with narrowed eyes as he straightened up.
"Seems easy enough..."
.
.
.
"Easy still?" you asked, walking passed him and standing in a ready position for another go.
This was the fifteenth round.
Hajime was barely nicking it each time. But it seemed as if she were just taunting him now due to his fatigue. Musashi.. a half demon had been able to get his mentor?
He growled, jumping up to his feet and going for another round of quick punches that the normal human eyes wouldn't have been able to see. But his captain had blocked each of them simple as that, before ducking down and pulling his leg from under him.
"You're not even trying to go for the marks any more..." you sighed, bringing a hand to your forehead in irritation. "Come on! Musashi could do it! Why can't y-"
You simply flashstepped the fly in attack that was supposed to catch you by surprise. Hajime growled in anger to both your words and his own thoughts that were taunting him. A voice in the back of his head was telling him to use it against her. But he wasn't even sure what the hell it was. So he didn't listen to it.
"Come on, Hajime... A half demon could do it! Get your damn head in the game!" you yelled, glarring at him now.
You gave him a hint.
If he'd heard it through his angry state was the true test. Pride was always a hard curse to train. Hajime, despite his undying loyalty and obedience was no different. Once pushed over and angry he refused to listen to anyone unless they were more powerful then himself... the thing is, his curse is not supposed to be stronger than him until its merged completely. Which means if he doesn't get a hold of himself he'll never pass.
Because he'll never lay a hand on you without the help of his curse.
If you wanted at this very instant you could put him to sleep. That's how weak he was right now. It wouldn't even take much.
"Shut... UP!!!" he yelled, charging forward once more.
Instead of getting out of the way you waited until he was close enough before kicking your leg right up and hooking his face right into the ground, leaving your foot on his head. You sighed.
"Screw that. At least our generations Pride thought through his stunts. He might of been a cocky ass bastard but he was reliable in keeping himself alive. Take control of yourself lieutenant. Stand." you demanded, taking a step back.
He did as told, looking ashamed if anything. You grumbled to yourself.
"Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you."
Hagime closed his eyes again.
"Now think back.. The adrenaline that used to course through you. The battle cries of both the lost and the victorious. The pride you felt in winning one for your group. Our group.
The stray sparks of energy that exploded randomly in either you or in the air itself.
The way your teammates cheered for your successes.
How they bowed out of respect for you." you told, "Think of that old soldier pride you used to feel."
"Open your eyes." you stated after a minute, immediately jumping out of the way before the explosion of raw power got to you.
You finally felt a grin plaster itself to your face.
"Finally.. thought it'd take a couple more days there"
When the dust finally cleared it showed Hajime on his knees seeming exhausted, but when he looked up to reveal the glowing eyes you knew you'd done your job.
Now to play your game.
You taunted and teased. Twisted and turned. Until finally deciding to give it to him and let yourself get caught. He'd passed. He'd fully merged with his demon form and curse at the same time. That was the entire reason of the 'test'. Truth betold it was always imposible to tag the generation of curses that came before you.
It was the teacher that decided when they thought their student was done learning. The given win gave them more confidence and a slight ego boost as a reward to their hard work in training.
Of course it wasn't about getting them to be over confident. It was just something to give in return.
Because if a person lost all the time as they did in training they'd eventually loose interest and patience. Or they'd keep on trying over and over and never leave the training grounds. Since they weren't going to war either the fighting of it didn't exactly matter at the moment.
So this was it.
"You passed.. I'm proud of you." you finally smiled,
Hagime stood straight up in surprise. Forgeting his lost breath and sudden feel for passing out.
You were.. smiling.
It was genuin..
He'd heard rumors, but never believed them!
But seeing a curse of Sloth who usually didn't care enough to smile give a genuin smile felt.. oddly good.
Made his pride surge forward even more.
"Thank you.. Captain." he bowed quickly as you chuckled.
"Alright now.. you and Musashi are going to have to start sparring everynow and then so you don't get too rusty. Only for the first couple years until you've all been settled. Especially since Musashi's only a half. You'll have to look after him. The first generation Envy was a half demon.. and she almost died because her soul couldn't handle the tole it put on her before settling." you warned, before nodding.
Time to check on Uno. He was back up in hell by now no doubt.
~
"That's all!?"
You laughed, hearing Uno yelling in surprise.
"Yep.. can you go faster?"
"S- sure.. "
You walked in on the two of them stretching.
Gluttony smiled in seeing you.
"How'd he do?" she asked,
"Took awhile.. but he made it passed. Now Uno, how's your stay been?"
His eyes sparkled as he jumped up.
"AMAZING! The babes here are all over me! I knew I was a pretty boy~" he smiled, striking a pose.
You laughed, looking over to Gluttony who only sweat dropped.
"Yeah.. and they cause for great distractions, but ever since our Lust left they felt the need to replace the attention nabbing demon with this little brat.."
"Hey!"
You only rolled your eyes.
"Of course. Lust was life of the party everywhere he went and the main focus. Not surprising the demons that do remain want a replacement. Don't let them down Uno, or they'll eat you.. no pressure~" you smirked, seeing him pale.
"Okokok, let's finish training quickly then so I can either learn how to be the amazing curse of Lust, or simply go back to the safety of earth!"
Gluttony sweat dropped again.
"Thanks a lot.. Sloth." she sighed, as you merely gave a shrug.
"Continue on then.. didn't mean to interrupt~"
"Yeah right!" she yelled right before you disapeared back down to earth.
You had another little visit to make. One you were quite excited for.
~
"That's all?!"
You nodded simply, as he growled out in annoyance.
"I don't think it's a good plan. Something so simple could never work. But if it doesn't you'll be the one who gets in trouble.. Got it?" Samon asked, his belt tail flicking about.
You nodded again
"Got it. I just need to talk to him for now, in a private room. The plan takes place tomorrow"
The monkey grumbled, nodding.
"Yeah yeah.. fine. Let's go"
You were taken to his office and sat down to wait. Once he brought in the immate you wanted to speak with he looked down at you.
"I'll lend you my office for 15 minutes. That's it"
"That's perfect.. right... Qi?" you asked,
He nodded, knowing exactly what this was about. So once the door closed he backed away as did you.
Since neither of you wanted to cancel the other out.
"Sloth.." he bowed in respect,
You waved him off.
"Oh head up already, Qi. Me and you go way back before you fled hell. If it weren't for you I would've died from holy water by now. You are Lyla's brother.."
He smiled
"True.. but I can't help it. Sister always scolded me when I didn't show respect to you guys. I heard you've got her son in training already. Not too dangerous right? Because curse or friend I won't let you guys harm my nephew"
"Don't worry.. he'd quite enoying it actually. Speaking of which.. if you've got time. You're next on the list. You've been awake as long as Hajime. Honestly just avoided doing you since it'd mean having to fetch Pride" you grumbled,
He nodded in understanding.
"I thought so.. but I'm guessing since the others aren't waking up you had no choice to speed everything up" he guessed,
"Yep.. you ready you think?"
"Of course. I've been preparing myself ever since you came here 10 years ago. Took you long enough"
"Well until a couple months ago when my brother found me I had no way to hell and back. So I'm sorry for taking so long.." you stated, crossing your arms.
"Just get ready. I'll be sending Pride down here personally since I can't meet up with you again"