"I yield."
My voice had cut away her thoughts. In an instant, her face had changed from surprise to utter dumbfoundedness.
But instead of letting her collect her thoughts, I stopped time again, with those white feathers falling from the sky again. They dissipated as soon as they touched something—me, the ground, or even Akeno.
[Severed Universe: Active]
[Time remaining: 3 seconds]
I stepped towards her. I moved forward until I was in front of her face. Her breath was frozen in time.
I had three seconds.
I closed the remaining distance. I leaned in; my face was inches away from hers. I leaned in; my lips brushed against hers.
[Severed Universe: Active]
[Time remaining: 1 second]
It was cold at first, because the frozen time had stolen the warmth. But I still didn't pull back; my tongue pressed against hers. There was no response as time was stopped.
[Time remaining: 0 seconds]
[Severed Universe — Deactivated]
Time resumed. Warmth flooded back into the world, and the air moved, while the white feathers had vanished, and Akeno's tongue fought back against mine.
Like a never-ending tug of war, she had started to kiss me back passionately as I did, while time was stopped. She was kissing me like she was drowning, and I was the air that she needed.
"Mhmmm."
She made a soft sound as we continued to kiss.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her towards me. She was up against my chest; her body was warm. Until we had stopped. We had broken apart. As we stopped the kiss, our breathing was ragged. Her forehead was still up against mine.
"You—you cheated."
She was panting with a slight blush on her cheeks, and I had smirked as I wiped away some of her spit.
"All's fair in love and war, Akeno-san. And this was a bit of both, wasn't it?"
I pulled away from her and walked back to the center of the gym, stepping over a crater in the floor.
"So, about that favor."
She just stood there for a moment, her chest rising and falling. She looked at me, her violet eyes wide with a mix of shock, anger, and something else. Something that looked a lot like admiration.
"Ara ara, you really are a dangerous man, Amamiya-kun. You don't play by the rules."
Her voice was a low murmur, a whisper that I could barely hear.
"I never said I did."
"You yielded. So technically, I won. Which means I get my favor."
"And you will. I'll tell you how to unlock your Holy Lightning's true potential. Before that, I think we should clarify what we are, and what type of relationship we are in, no...?"
She walked towards me, her steps slow and deliberate. She stopped in front of me, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Our relationship. You want to define it now, after kissing me like that."
"I think we should, shouldn't we?"
She tilted her head as her violet eyes glimmered in the dark. Her face puffed up, with a redness that I could see.
"Fine, Amiya-kun, I'll date you. But could my boyfriend tell me the secret now?"
Her voice had changed from elegant and calm to a teasing whisper.
Badump~ Badump~ Badump~
My heart pounded as I stared at her face. It was not changing—the redness on her face, even her puffed-out cheeks. It was like she was pouting. She looked so cute. It was a side of her that I had never seen before. Akeno Himejima, the sadomasochistic queen of Kuoh Academy, was pouting.
But her expression shifted; it went back to normal. Her face no longer puffed up, but her smile still lingered. She was still a bit red. I could tell she was trying to change the subject.
"So, my boyfriend is going to tell me my little secret now."
"Hmmmhm. But I don't think we should worry about that right now. You should probably look behind you, Akeno."
Behind her, there was a beautiful girl with crimson hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. She had blue eyes, and they were on both of us.
The crimson-haired girl, Rias Gremory, was not looking at me. Her gaze was fixed on Akeno, her blue eyes wide with a mixture of hurt and betrayal.
"Akeno."
Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, but it cut through the silence of the ruined gymnasium like a shard of ice.
"Rias...?"
Akeno's voice was a little shaky. She was surprised.
Rias's gaze finally slid onto me. Her eyes were a deep, piercing blue that had swept over the destruction, over my torn clothes, over the fading marks of her lightning and my fire. Even the jagged lines that my Dismantle had caused, it had told her that something had happened here; her expression hardened as she looked at us.
I could feel the tension in the air between them, and I felt like an intruder. But I stayed; instead, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders as I stood behind her.
Rias's eyes widened at the gesture. She looked from my arm around Akeno to my face, her expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"You... and him?"
Rias's voice was strained, as if she couldn't believe this situation—the situation that was in front of her.
"She is my girlfriend now."
Silence.
The three words hung in the air like they were heavy and absolute. The only sound was the faint crackle of dying embers from my earlier attack and the soft breathing from the three of us.
Rias's face went pale. Her blue eyes, which had been wide with shock, now narrowed; her lips pressed into a thin, hard line.
The air around her grew cold, as it dropped in temperature that had nothing to do with the night. A deep, crimson aura, it was powerful and oppressive, began to radiate out from her body.
"Akeno, is this true?"
Akeno didn't look away from her, but she leaned back slightly, her body pressing against mine. It was a small movement, but it was a clear statement of allegiance.
"It is, Buchou."
Rias's aura flared, a violent, roiling crimson that made the air crackle. The very ground beneath us seemed to vibrate with her. I could feel the pressure of it, a heavy weight, but I did not move. I didn't feel the need to; this weight didn't feel any different to me.
"Ara ara. My boyfriend is very direct, isn't he?"
Her voice was a soft and melodic purr that was laced with steel. She finally turned her head to look at me, a playful smile on her lips.
"Would you like me to pay for the damages, or will you repair it...?"
"Do you even have the money to repair this?"
"Unfortunately for you, I do."
I had said it like it was a statement. Even though I had proposed the option of paying, I knew what they would do—they would use mana to repair it. It was faster and easier, but I still wanted to tease her.
"Amamiya, you're so bold."
Rias's aura didn't waver. She looked at me, her blue eyes burning with a cold fire.
"Fine. Please meet me at the Occult Research Club room to discuss what happened here, Amamiya."
Her gaze shifted from me to Akeno, a silent, complex communication passing between them. Then, without another word, Rias turned and walked away, her crimson hair like a banner of war in the dim light of the ruined gymnasium.
The heavy pressure of her aura lifted, and the air became normal again.
"Well, that was... intense,"
I said, as my arms were still wrapped around Akeno. She turned in my arms to face me, her violet eyes looking up at me.
"She'll get over it. She's just surprised."
Akeno had said it with a face and a voice that was as calm as ever.
"Surprised? She looked like she was about to turn me into a pile of ash."
"She wouldn't do that. Not without a good reason. And this isn't a good reason."
She reached up and touched my face, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw.
"You're my boyfriend now, Amamiya-kun. She'll have to accept that."
The word 'boyfriend.' It felt good to hear it out of her own mouth; she had accepted it and had claimed me as her Boyfriend.
"Let's go. We have a meeting to attend."