Six slashed the door shut the moment she got home, and headed to her bed. Kunou looked at her from the couch, surprised.
"Hey Six, you're back earlier than normal." She said, getting up and following her to her room. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Six said quickly, her heartbeat accelerating. Kunou frowned.
"It doesn't seem like it's nothing." She insisted.
"Well, it is. It's none of your concern, anyway, because nothing is wrong." Six days, throwing her backpack into the wall. Kunou's eyes widened, and she pouted, putting her hands on her hips.
"I can tell somethings wrong. You seem stressed."
Six whirled around, eyes bloodshot and wide. "I'M NOT STRESSED!" She snapped. Kunou took a step back in surprise. Six signed. "Okay, maybe a little stressed, but nothing a good nap won't fix." She put on a smile, hoping it was convincing. The yokai's ears perked up.
"Nap? Can I sleep with you?" She asked, hopefully. Six was about to say no, when she thought about it.
The Lady said she'd met me when I slept. The logical option is to never sleep again. But that's not good for my health, and I'm curious why she wants to talk, and why she's back. Having Kunou in the room could be good if something bad were to happen while I slept, and she could wake me. So then I should say...
"No."
Kunou's ears drooped. "Oh. Okay." She turned to leave, but Six grabbed her arm.
"I wasn't finished." Six said. "It might not be a good idea to sleep in the same bed with me, for two reasons. One, I'm... a wild sleeper. Two, I'm not real jazzed about sleeping with..." She paused, looking at Kunou. " What are you, an elementary schooler, middle schooler?"
Kunou looked at her, outraged. "What?! It's not like we're doing anything like whatever you're thinking, you pedo!" She squawked.
"I'm like, sixteen, which is like five years older than you, I'm not a pedophile." Six said, her raised eyebrow hidden by her bangs.
"Still! I just wanted to nap with you, and you made it weird!" She pouted and looked away. Six pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don't have time for this. You can also in the room, just not on the bed with me, got it?" She said.
"Why can't I sleep on the bed? What an I, your dog?" Kunou said indignantly.
"My house, my rules." Six said.
"This is an apartment room."
Little shit.
"My apartment, my rules."
Kunou huffed. "Fine. I guess it's better than nothing." She grumbled. Six breathed a sigh of relief. She climbed into the bed, while Kunou crawled into some blankets.
"Goodnight, Six."
"Night, Kunou."
---------------------
Six awoke in space of chaos. Things changed shape at the softest breath, and no color stayed the same for more than five seconds. The sky looked like outer space, thousands of stars twinkling. It was pitch black, but Six could see like it was high noon on a cloudless day.
Looking down, she stumbled. The ground was almost like an ocean of solid glass, with an almost kaleidoscopic feel to it. Underneath, she could she darkness and fire, and what looked like distorted silhouettes of people crying out, cursing, moaning, and screaming.
"I've been waiting, girl."
Six looked over, and saw the Lady staring at her from a small distance away. Every nerve and danger sense was on fire as she looked into the masked woman's eyes.
"Why are you back?" Six choked out.
"You freed me. Don't you remember devouring the life of those drunkards?" The Lady said. Six did remember, it was when she met Kunou. She'd sucked the life of of them, and killed them.
"Yeah. What about it?" She asked. The Lady stared at her, before speaking again.
"You devoured a real soul for the first time since your arrival. That is the nature of our powers. To devour others, and take their strength. Like you did to me."
"Sorry." Six said. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like she needed to apologize for cannibalizing on her.
"It cannot be helped. It was supposed to happen. But, in taking from others, you in turn gain things from them. You especially." The Lady said.
"What do you mean?" Six asked.
"When you were taken by the Thin Man, your soul and body were separated. In effect, you lost things that made you human, like emotions, and gained your unending hunger. This made you a perfect candidate for my power." The Lady explained. "For every time you devoure a soul, you gain a little bit of your humanity back. You slowly piece your soul together with parts of other people's."
That would explain why I've acted somewhat normal recently.
"Why did being my soul separated from my body give me this hunger? It's insufferable." Six said.
"Because you're trying to fill the hole torn inside of your being. The 'being' of a living thing is made up of three parts. The first, the soul which holds emotions, morality, and your conscience. The second, the mind which holds the intellect, logic, and the ability to make decisions. And third, the body which holds your life force and ties both mind and soul to this world. That is why when your mind is destroyed, or your soul ripped out, you live on. But if your body is fatally damaged, or your life force is attacked, your soul and mind drift away."
Six nodded. "That makes sense. So, when I drain someone's life, their soul and mind leave their body. Where do they go?"
"The mind fades out of existence. It is no longer needed. But the soul goes to one of three places. Heaven, Hell, or into Purgatory, that last of which resides inside of you." The Lady told her.
"In me? Purgatory is in me? How is that possible?" Six questioned.
"Purgatory is not a place that can exist on another plane of existence like Heaven or Hell. It is born inside of your powers. In Purgatory, your soul is forever trapped, unable to be free of pain, unable to experience pleasure of release, always left desiring less, desiring more."
"Like edging?" Six blurted, then instantly regretted it. She needed to stop watching so many pornos with Motohama, Matsuda, and Issei.
"In a way, yes. Like edging." The Lady replied, unfazed by Six's remark.
"Okay." Six said, her face burning, before she remembered something important. "Wait, today I saw one of the Bullies at an elementary school. Do you know why?"
"The true reason is beyond me, but I have a speculation. The Nowhere could be bleeding into this one." The Lady said in monotone. Six went cold.
"That can't be possible..." She whispered, before thinking.
But is it? I mean, I'm here, and so is that Bully, as well that boy who could stop time. If the Nowhere is bleeding into this world, then that means creatures like the Guests could come through as well. Shit.
"How do I stop it?" Six asked.
"I do not know." The Lady replied.
"There must be something. Any 'speculations'?" Six pressed. The Lady was quiet, before speaking again.
"It is possible there might be an origin to this problem. If you look into that, you may find the root of the problem. The best choice then would be to nip the bud before it becomes a problem." The Lady said. Six nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. But to look into it..."
"You would have to follow the trail left by anything that leaked in from the Nowhere." The Lady finished. Six bit her inner cheek. That would mean she'd have to confront the monsters she thought she'd left behind.
"There is something watching you." The Lady said unexpectedly. Six looked at her.
"What?"
"Something is watching you back in the real world. You must go. We will speak again."
The world around Six began to close in on her, before she awoke with a gasp. It was two fifteen, according to the clock. She looked out the window, and saw a white cat. It looked at her, before meowing and hoping off the window ledge, disappearing into the night. Six stared out the window at the moon, befits laying in the bed, a crushing feeling of dread taking over her mind like an approaching storm.
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Rias POV
"So, what do you know?" I asked. My white-haired friend, Koneko, laid her head in my lap like a lap cat as we sat on the ORC couch. Akeno was pouring tea, while Koneko stroked her familiar, Shiro.
"She seems stressed out by something, but she doesn't stand out in any specific way other than her negative life energy." Koneko said, in a deadpan voice. I frowned.
"Are you sure?" I asked. I was sure something was off about her. My interest in her grew more every time Issei talked about her.
"But, there's her living arrangement." Koneko spoke up, startling me out of my thoughts.
"What of it?"
"She's living with a yokai. And not just any yokai, but the daughter of the Nine Tailed Fox." Koneko said. My eyes widened slightly.
"So. She knows about the existence of the supernatural? Akeno, this was why I wanted you to keep an eye on her." I scolded my best friend. She dipped her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Rias, but I never was able to find a way to stay with her without arousing suspicions." Akeno mumbled. I sighed and shook my head.
"It's alright. Well, what should we do?"
"You're the president. You're supposed to tell us what to do." Koneko said. I rubbed her head.
"You're right, but I want the two of you to have input." I said.
"Should we get her to join the ORC?" Akeno asked.
"We should tell the Nine Tails where her daughter is, though." Koneko said. "Let her handle it."
"We could maybe try both?" I mused. The both of them looked at me. I continued. "First, we try to get her to join us. If she says no, we'll simply contact the Nine Tails, and she can take her daughter home and erase Six's mind of the supernatural world."
"Okay." Koneko said, before yawning.
"I think this is a good decision, Rias." Akeno agreed.
"Alright. We'll contact her tomorrow." I stood up, making Koneko get up too. "Come on, let's take a bath."
"Sounds good. I got extra sweaty during gym." Akeno commented. She began to unbutton her uniform as we walked to the bath. Koneko trailed behind, and I looked at her playfully.
"Come on, Koneko, chin up. I'll wash you, if you'd like." I teased.
"I hate getting wet." She grumbled.
---------------------
Six woke up the next morning, and found Kunou sleeping on top of her again, much to Six's annoyance.
"Kunou, I said don't sleep with me." She said, pushing herself up. Kunou awoke, and gave Six a look.
"I have to sleep somewhere!" She said.
"Then sleep on the couch."
"No! That's where I watch movies, and if I try sleeping there, I'll end up spending the night binging movies!"
Six sighed and rubbed her face. "Give me a break... Alright, you know what? I'm going to get ready for school."
She got up and put on new clothes, and put on her raincoat. She then went to the kitchen and poured Kunou a bowl of cereal before grabbing a pre-packed lunch Kunou made the night before and headed out the door.
"Bye!" Kunou called after her.
"Bye!" She called back. Six walked to school, not seeing Issei this morning, which she found peculiar. She made it to the classroom, to find Issei already there.
"Hey. You're early." Six said. Issei smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah, Rias wanted to talk with me about something, so I had to get here early."
"Hm. Okay." Six sat down, getting out her class materials. The teacher stepped to the front and began.
"Class, we've got a new student today!" The teacher said. Everyone looked up.
"I hope it's a hot girl with big boobs!"
"I hope it's a cute boy who isn't a pervert."
Things like that circulated the classroom before the teacher held up a hand to stop conversation. She then stepped into the hallway and brought in the new student.
When Six saw the new kid, her stomach dropped, her breath went short, her body went ice cold, and ropes of dread wrapped around her heart.
No... no... no... no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no...
"Class, this is our new student. His name is..."
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