Me? Human? : Chapter 27[Rewrite] : Mind Control + Devils + Capitalism = Match made in Hell (Patreon)

Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.

Kuoh, Japan

–Motohama Kenji–

Just as Rias told him, he felt a slight buzz the moment he pushed the door open, signalling the breaking of the stasis spell cast on Mom. Now, he would have liked the option of taking her back to their house before waking her up, so she would feel at ease in a familiar environment, but the way their conversation ended, he did not think that Rias would be accommodating anymore, which is why it was best to get her out of here quickly.

Quickly stepping inside, he looked at the stirring form of his mother, enveloped in a red blanket that probably cost more than most houses in the locality, as it was probably made from some exotic stuff, or maybe it was just conjured up using magic, and he was just thinking too much.

“Hey, Mom. Hey! Take it easy, you have been unconscious for a while.” He helped her up, beginning with a smile, feeling totally out of his depth here. So, he started from the beginning.

“Hey, Mom? Remember when I made holes in our hardwood flooring?”

Her neck snapped towards him. “What? What did you do? Did you make any more holes in my floor?”

“What? No. Look, we need to talk but not here. There’s a lot you don’t know, but let’s just say that I am not the only one who can do that.”

“What?” She said, her head moving before she groaned, hand going to her temple, as if she was suffering from a headache. Probably because of the spell.

The door was pushed open, his gaze locking in with Tsubaki, Sona’s queen, who was holding onto a phone, “I’ve called a cab for you. It is waiting downstairs.”

Relief flooded him as he replied, genuinely thankful, “Thank you for that.”

“Don’t be. You owe Sona now.”

Yeah, of course. No such thing as a free lunch anywhere in the world, especially not with Devils.

“Kenji, who was that? Where are we?”

The headache seemed to have abated a bit, as he handed her a glass of water, mostly focused on getting out of here and explaining everything to her back in their home.

The cab sped away, as he locked eyes with Rias’ brooding form overlooking them from the third floor. Apparently, his rejection had affected her more than he could have predicted, or there was something else he was missing. Was she really that desperate to get him?

On one hand, it made sense since he had displayed a proficiency with Light based magic and body reinforcement of some sort, which made an excellent counter for most devils in similar power ranges, and she needed exactly that for her upcoming Rating Game with Riser, but on the other hand, she knew that he was not Issei. She could not just have him killed and then come swooping in as his savior, all hot bod and sweet words, aiming him at her enemies.

He was not that moronic, and she should know that he would just backstab her at the worst possible moment. The next worst option she could take was to gain leverage over him using his mother, but that was just another disaster waiting to happen. Plus, all of that did not fit the mental profile he had in his mind, based on his faint memories of having seen the Anime in another world.

An anime that was apparently shown from Issei’s perspective.

Fuck.

Of course, many things would be overlooked, favouring jiggly boobs instead of the workings of the Devil society, and even then, Issei was a Devil at that point. Part of the peerage of Satan’s sister, one with a Longinus. He was practically the top of the top in Devil society. Of course, the anime would never show nitty gritty stuff.

He sighed, looking at the now dozed off form of his mother, huddled up in her clothing, despite the heater turned on, his mind going back to the decision he made while buried under literal tons of rubble of the church that used to be in the city. The same church where the previous overseer of Kuoh Town was killed, alongside her Exorcist boyfriend, because she was on the verge of finding out about one of the many secrets the Underworld wished buried.

The King Piece.

Just thinking about the ease with which the Devils had managed to sweep off the death of a family member of the current strongest player of the Rating Game increased his anxiety. He had to move from Kuoh. The decision was the easy part. He still had to convince Mom about it, but he was sure she would agree. She always frightened easily, and the stuff he was about to tell her, even in the broad strokes, was terrifying.

The next question was: Where?

Where could they go that would not just accept him but his mother as well? He could go to the Church. They would probably fall over themselves to accept him, considering his light. But that route came with a lot of restrictions, not to mention the risk of the Church separating him from his mom for his own good.

He kept that option as backup.

The next best were the Fallen, specifically the Institute that Azazel ran. The one where he trained Sacred Gear users. Now, he might not have a Sacred Gear per se, but he had something even better. That came with a lot more freedom than joining the Church. 

He might have some level of resistance to mind spells from the Akeno hypnosis session, but he was not foolish enough to discount the Church and their brainwashing techniques.

Letting any faction leader know of his true potential was a death sentence on its own, or so the worst case scenarios his mind conjured up for him, but using their umbrella to grow on his own was the best option he had right now, especially since he had to take care of Mom as well. It would have been a vastly different thing had he been all by himself. Then, he probably could have trained under the radar, moved places whenever someone came too close to discovering him, and revealed himself only when he felt strong enough, but as things stood, he had to get away.

Sure, was joining the Fallen after engaging in a fight that killed two Fallen and got two more captured the right call? Maybe not. But that was the only card he had on hand. For some reason, he refused to join the Devils.

Atleast in the case of Fallen and the Church, he remained the same human and could, in theory, defect and move on. In the case of Devils, however, there was that whole stray case thing that just seemed like bad juju to him.

He exhaled, his destination decided. Now, all that was left was a question he really should have asked himself earlier.

How was he going to approach the Nephilim Institute and get admission?

He stood right next to the window of his mom’s bedroom, looking at nothing in particular, his thoughts consumed by just how he was going to break the news to his mom. It was going to take a lot to make sure she was not overwhelmed by everything, and also was in a condition to agree to more or less uproot the life she had built for herself in this town.

He heard her breathing change as he turned around and waited patiently for her to wake up. A pained groan escaped her lips as he was immediately next to her with a glass of water in hand, knowing full well that she must be experiencing a headache. After all, while the Devils told him that it was harmless, there must be some symptoms of being put under sleep by magic, even if they were not permanent.

Plus, his mom was pushing forty now, and had a lifelong record of brilliant work ethic, which unfortunately meant that her physical health was not prioritised, only money.

Well, that was going to have to change. Power made money kind of meaningless in the Supernatural world, and he had a lot of it right now.

“Kenji, what happened? Where was I?”

“First, how are you feeling? Do we need to go to the Doctor? Are you feeling any pain anywhere?” He rattled off, as his mom answered everything in the negative.

“First, tell me, what happened and what time is it?”

He told her of the day and time, only to freeze as he felt his mom freeze up, her eyes somehow glazing over before he felt it.

His blood ran cold as he felt a buzz around her brain, a very mild one, but he felt it for sure. Mom’s eyes regained their clarity as she began trying to get out of bed, only held back because he gently pushed her back into the bed.

“Mom! Mom! What are you doing? You have to rest!”

She continued to struggle against him, her weak struggle not even affecting him, but the expression on her face just broke his heart and made him rage at the same time, as she replied, “No. I have to go to work. I missed three days of work. They need me. I have to…”

He shook her awake, the buzz having already faded away, but he knew what it was, and that did not make things easier. The best he could do now was make sure she slept properly. “Mom. Don't worry. I already called your office about you. Don't worry about them. First, you must rest. Look at you, you are pale and shivering. I will take you to your office tomorrow, okay?”

“Tomorrow? You promise?”

He smiled, “Yes, I promise.”

She relaxed, her eyes already closing as she went back on the bed, “Okay. Tomorrow.”

His face was set into a frown as he thought of just what he had uncovered here. He exhaled, thinking things through. He couldn’t just think with his rage, but he couldn’t just stand here and think of just what he had witnessed just now.

Storming out of the house, he stopped at the door, realising that he could not leave the house, not with Mom in such a state. Clenching his fists, he went into the backyard and just punched the ground, his hand going clean into the soil.

And then…he slumped there, hand half buried into the soil, looking at the ground for a moment, his vision blurry, before he stood up, wiped his eyes, and then went back into the house.

He had a phone call to make.

And Rias Gremory better pray that the damage was reversible. A/N - I've changed some stuff. Please vote on what you think is better. :)