After class, I started to look for Issei, it wasn't easy. Tōtsuki is huge.
When I was about to lose my patience, I finally spot him.
Hyoudou Issei.
Just a normal high-schooler on the surface… well maybe much more perverse than a normal one since I found him spying on the girls outside a women's locker room bathroom.
If I take him out before anyone else realizes what he's carrying, I can claim that power for myself—
A clean strike, quick, simple—
I step quietly behind him, matching his pace, letting my presence fold into the evening air. My fingers warm as I gather energy at the tip of my hand. One precise hit to the heart and—
…Someone's watching me.
I stop.
My instinct went crazy, like telling me to stop before it was to late.
I turn my head just slightly, and activate my sharingan.
Up on the rooftop of the convenience store across the street… a silhouette.
Long hair swaying lightly in the breeze.
Akeno.
'Wasn't my luck op? Why now? Shitty system even your stats are useless'
[Will every problem you encounter be my fault? Take responsibility, you idiot.]
I froze not expecting a response.
Issei keeps walking, clueless, humming something under his breath.
I exhale slowly.
'This is not the moment, since you talk to me do you have an idea?'
I wait for something but...
'And of course you stop talking, fuck you.'
I look at Akeno again. Even from this distance, she's smiling — soft, polite, but with a spark that tells me she knows exactly what I was planning.
I click my tongue.
"Great. Babysitter acquired."
If I make a move on Issei now, Akeno will interfere.And she's— annoyingly sharp.
But her presence raises another question.
'If Rias is sending Akeno to watch me… does that mean she already knows Issei is important?
Or is she worried about what I'm going to do?'
Issei turns into a small street leading back toward his home.
I follow a few steps behind, hands in pockets, mind already rewriting the plan.
I can't kill him.
Not with Akeno perched above me like a thundercloud.
I glance one last time toward the rooftop.
Akeno is still smiling.
A smile that says:
"I see you, Rin. And I won't let you do anything reckless."
I smirk back.
"We'll see about that."
And I continue tailing Issei.
Akeno POV
I sensed him moving the moment he slipped out of class.
I stand quietly atop the convenience store roof, the breeze catching my hair as Rin closes in on the boy we're interested in.
Hyoudou Issei.
A harmless pervert on the outside… but the aura inside... We can't risk losing him.
When Rin raises his hand, I don't move.
If he's preparing an attack, it means he's already decided that killing him might give Rin something in return.
That alone is enough to make me sharpen my gaze.
He stops.
Good. He felt me watching.
Rin tilts his head slightly — not enough for humans to notice, but plenty for me.
He's aware. He's irritated.
Cute.
His eyes flick up toward my direction, narrowing when he finally finds me in the shadows.
I offer him a soft smile.
Just letting him know:
"I'm here. I see everything. Behave."
He clicks his tongue, even from down there.I almost laugh. Even when he's annoyed, Rin is composed — the kind of dangerous calm that makes you wonder what's going on beneath the surface.
Is it anger?
Curiosity?
Or simply the thrill of the hunt?
He starts walking again, following Issei from a safer distance.
Smart boy.
I shift my stance, keeping my energy concealed as I trail him from above.
Rias is worried about him — more than she realizes.
I rest a hand on my hip, watching him take another turn with Issei.
"Let me see what your next move will be, Rin," I whisper.
Then I leap silently to the next rooftop, never losing sight of him.