Vash
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Chapter 33
🕑 Added 2025-05-16 15:34:20 +0000 UTCChapter 33
My phone buzzed the moment I left my final class of the day. Sona's name flashed on the screen, and I felt a twinge of resignation. I'd been expecting this call since my rooftop conversation with Rias.
"Yes?" I answered, stepping away from the crowd.
"My office. Now." Sona's voice was clipped, brooking no argument.
I pocketed the phone without responding. Our months of business partnership had never ventured into supernatural territory, but that barrier had clearly been broken today.
The student council room was empty except for Sona, who sat behind her desk with a chess set already arranged. No Tsubaki hovering nearby, no other council members. Just us.
"Close the door," she said, not looking up from the board.
I closed it and sat down in the chair facing her. The chess set between us was a comfortable and familiar sight; we had played many games together during our business meetings over the past few months.
She had never lost a match, although our last three games had been very close. Each time, she managed to turn the game around at the last moment.
Even though I could easily defeat her using my workshop, I chose not to. I felt that winning that way would be cheating, and I didn't want to win like that.
"Thank you for coming," she said, not looking up from the chessboard. "Please, sit."
"Black or white?"
"Your choice today," she replied, finally meeting my eyes.
I considered the board briefly. "Black."
She nodded, rotating the board so the white pieces faced her. "Very well."
She moved a pawn forward—the most common opening move. Classic, straightforward, revealing nothing.
"So what happened?" Sona asked me.
"What do you mean?" I still played ignorant, perhaps hoping she didn't know.
"Please, I already knew."
What?
Her fingers moved her bishop across the board. "I've always known you were different, Leon. From our first meeting."
Again. What?!
Perhaps seeing my expression, she continued.
"Your draconic scent. Your mana signature." She adjusted her glasses, a hint of amusement in her expression. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"
I set my knight down, processing this revelation.
My mind immediately raced to all the ways I'd screwed up.
Damn it. How could I have been so stupid?
All this time, I'd been focusing on getting stronger. Making myself more powerful. But I'd completely ignored basic concealment items. Nothing to hide what I'd become.
I was so focused on building my strength that I forgot about staying hidden. Amateur mistake. The kind that gets you killed in this world.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"I was waiting for you to tell me yourself." She captured one of my pawns with elegant efficiency. "Everyone has secrets worth protecting. I chose to respect yours."
Something warm and unexpected bloomed in my chest. All these months, she had known and had given me space. She was so much better than that Rias. Much better.
That level of patience and respect wasn't something I'd encountered often, especially not in the supernatural world.
"That's... surprisingly considerate," I admitted.
"Not all devils are manipulative schemers."
"Just most of them?"
"The ones you need to worry about." She studied the board. "Your move."
I advanced my knight, still thinking about her revelation. "So what changed? Why confront me now?"
"Yesterday's display made things... complicated." She looked up from the board, violet eyes meeting mine directly. "You revealed yourself to Rias. That changes the dynamic."
"And you're not happy about it."
"I would have liked to be your first confidant." She said as she captured one of my pieces. "But that was your decision to make."
"Are you jealous?" I joked with her.
"Not at all," she quickly replied, but I noticed the slight blush on her cheeks. She looked really cute.
"But it wasn't like that," I sighed. "She tried to control me, to manipulate me into working with her after I said no.
"I understand..." She grew quiet after that. "I'm sorry for what Rias did."
"Don't apologize, it's not your fault."
Then there was silence between us.
"So, you knew about Mishima Corporation's links to the supernatural world, right?" I tried to change the subject.
"Of course," she replied. "Everyone in the supernatural world knew about the deal Takeshi Mishima made."
"Your grandfather was... quite remarkable for a human."
"And yet you never mentioned it."
"It wasn't relevant to our business arrangement." She moved her queen across the board. "Or so I thought."
I leaned back in my chair. "Let's stop dancing around this. What do you want to know?"
She studied me for a long moment.
"Nothing."
Huh?
"What do you want to tell me?" She countered softly. "I don't need to know everything about you, Leon. Your secrets are yours to keep or share as you choose."
I stared at her, caught completely off guard. In a world of supernatural politics where information was currency, here was Sona Sitri—brilliant, calculating Sona—telling me she didn't need to know my secrets.
"That's... not how this usually works," I managed.
"No," she agreed, moving her rook. "It's not."
"Most people would demand answers."
"I'm not most people." Her violet eyes met mine directly. "I am a Devil."
My heart skipped a beat. Literally skipped.
"Why?" After a while, I finally asked.
She considered the question for a moment, her fingers hovering above her knight.
"Because trust isn't demanded, it's earned," she replied. "And I'd rather earn yours than force it."
The warmth in my chest spread.
Then I laughed, genuinely laughed for what felt like the first time in weeks. "You're dangerous, Sona Sitri."
"I'll take that as a compliment." She captured one of my knights with her queen. "Check."
I moved my king out of danger, studying her carefully. "Aren't you worried? About what I might be capable of?"
"Should I be?" she asked, her expression serene.
"Maybe."
"I've watched you for months, Leon," she said simply. "I've seen how you think, how you act, how you treat others. I don't believe you'd use it carelessly."
The faith in her voice was humbling. And terrifying. What if she was wrong about me?
"Your move," she reminded me gently.
I advanced a pawn, trying to rebuild my strategy. "So what happens now?"
"That depends on you." She countered my move effortlessly. "Do you want things to change between us?"
Did I? The business partnership had been working well. Our chess games had become the highlight of my week. And now there was this new understanding between us, this tentative trust.
"No," I decided. "I like what we have."
Something flickered in her eyes. Is that relief? It was gone too quickly to tell.
"As do I," she said softly.
"Though I might have questions sometimes," I added. "About the supernatural world."
"I'll answer them if I can."
"And I might need advice occasionally."
"I'll offer it when appropriate."
I smiled, feeling the tension drain from my shoulders. "So nothing changes?"
"Perhaps one thing," she said, moving her bishop. "Checkmate."
I stared at the board in disbelief. She'd trapped my king without me even noticing.
"Damn."
Sona Sitri watched Leon leave the student council room, his shoulders more relaxed than when he'd entered. She allowed herself a small smile as the door clicked shut behind him.
Despite her composed exterior, her heart was still beating a touch faster than normal. Their conversation had veered dangerously close to territory she rarely explored—trust, vulnerability, and something perilously close to genuine affection.
She hadn't planned to be so forthcoming with him. In fact, she'd spent the hour before his arrival meticulously planning a careful, measured approach to confronting his supernatural nature.
Her fingers absently rearranged the chess pieces, resetting the board. Leon had improved considerably since their first match. A few more months, perhaps weeks, and he might actually present a real challenge. The thought pleased her more than it should.
"Kaichou?"
Sona looked up to find Tsubaki standing in the doorway, her expression carefully neutral.
"Is everything alright?" Tsubaki asked, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" Sona replied, perhaps too quickly.
Tsubaki's gaze flicked to the chess board and back. "Your meeting with Mishima-san... did he explain what happened with Rias-sama?"
Sona sighed. News traveled quickly in the supernatural world, especially in a territory as small as Kuoh. Of course Tsubaki would have heard about Leon's confrontation with Rias.
"We discussed it briefly," she said, adjusting her glasses. "He confirmed what we already suspected."
"That he's not entirely human?"
"That, and more." Sona's fingers hovered over a knight, remembering the way Leon had moved his pieces—bold, occasionally reckless, but always with purpose. "He's powerful, Tsubaki. More than he realizes, I think."
"Is he a threat?" Tsubaki asked, direct as always.
Sona considered the question. By any objective measure, an unpredictable power in her territory should be classified as a potential threat. The logical response would be surveillance, containment strategies, and contingency plans.
"No," she said finally. "Not to us."
"I see,"
As she turned to leave, she paused at the door.
"Kaichou... may I speak freely?"
Sona looked up, surprised. "Of course."
"In the time I've served as your Queen, I've never seen you look at anyone the way you look at him."
Heat rushed to Sona's cheeks before she could control it. "Tsubaki—"
"I'm not suggesting anything inappropriate," Tsubaki continued calmly. "I merely want to say... I think he's good for you. You seem more... yourself when he's around."
Before Sona could formulate a response, Tsubaki had slipped out the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts and a perfectly arranged chess board.
Sona sat back in her chair, letting out a slow breath. This situation was evolving in ways she hadn't anticipated. Leon Mishima had somehow slipped past her carefully constructed defenses, becoming something more complicated than a business partner, more nuanced than a potential peerage member.
A friend? Yes, but that word felt insufficient.
A potential ally in the turbulent supernatural politics of Kuoh? Certainly.
Something more?
Sona pushed that thought firmly aside. Whatever was developing between them would have to wait. The supernatural world was taking notice of Leon now, and that meant complications, dangers, and opportunities she needed to prepare for.
She picked up her phone, hesitated for a moment, then sent a brief text:
"Same time tomorrow? -S"
His reply came almost immediately:
"Looking forward to it. I might even win this time."
Despite herself, Sona smiled.
