Dante's POV
"Come in, have a seat," said Maya, Akane's mother, gesturing to some cushions on the floor.
"Thank you very much," I said, sitting down.
"Thank you very much, Oba-san," Chiaki echoed, doing the same.
Kiss-shot said nothing and just sat there, looking around.
"My dear daughter, could you come with me to discuss something important?" Maya asked her daughter, taking her arm and leading her away to talk privately.
Akane couldn't answer, as she was pulled away almost at the speed of light by her mother.
Kiss-shot and I stared, knowing what we were about to do.
Using Haki, we began eavesdropping on the conversation between mother and daughter.
"What do you mean you're a concubine? I raised you better," Maya challenged Akane.
"Mom, it's not like that; you're misunderstanding," Akane tried to correct her mother.
"If you're not part of a harem, that means you stole that aristocratic woman's husband; how could you? He even has a child," Maya said in horror.
Akane knelt down and began rubbing her head.
"Mom, stop fantasizing so much; I'm single, don't listen to what Dante says; he only said it to annoy me," she explained to her mother.
"So, Dante, huh? I see you two are close," Maya said doubtfully.
Akane was about to say something else, but at that moment a man appeared, slightly taller than Akane; he had many features similar to her, so I can say he's her father.
"I see you've arrived home, you ungrateful daughter, and with some unwelcome guests," the man said to his daughter.
"Hello, Father," Akane said, somewhat fearfully.
"I'm surprised you showed your face after forcing your brother to steal that religion so important to the family," he reprimanded his daughter. Akane said nothing, but I could sense his frustration and irritation. "Let's see what kind of people you brought."
And with that, the three of them headed toward where we were.
Confused, I looked at Chiaki, who was nervous and uncomfortable. If I remembered correctly, she also came from a family very similar to this one; this should bring back unpleasant memories for them.
Slowly, I placed a hand on her head and stroked it, gradually calming her.
"Finish this quickly so..." The man's words trailed off when he saw the three of us, more specifically, Kiss-shot.
"Helena-sama," the man whispered.
Upon hearing him, I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
"Helena? A rather unusual name, not very Japanese, is it?" I said, a hint of Haki directed at him.
This snapped the man out of his daze, only for him to stare more intently at Kiss-Shot, then look away and sit silently across from me. Akane and Maya sat beside him.
The room fell silent for a while.
"Ahem, excuse my lack of respect, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryojin Aozaki, the current head of the Aozaki family. Before anything else, let me ask you something: are you not human?" the man said.
No one said anything; I looked at Kiss-shot, who returned my gaze, confirming that he was giving me the lead in the conversation.
"You should already suspect this, since something tells me you know Helena, or maybe you don't, and it's worth clarifying that Chiaki is human." I replied, just to see how the conversation would unfold.
"I see," Ryojin answered, adjusting his glasses with a single finger. "It was a slip of the tongue on my part; it's an honor to meet Helena's parents. I apologize for being like this, as there's a reason for it, but I imagine you'd prefer to hear the truth from her rather than from me."
"Oh, you get straight to the point and avoid idle chatter. I like that; I wonder how you know my daughter."
"My family has had dealings with Helena-sama for a long time; the relic that Akane took was given to us by her. Only the head of the family should know about this and about Helena's existence, but with you here and with my slip of the tongue, it can be considered an exception," Akane's father explained.
"I see. I'd like to see how Helena is; thousands of years must have passed by now. Can you take us to her?" I asked the head of the Aozaki family.
"I have no problem with that, but before that, I'd like to know what happened and how it's possible for you to return to life."
I nodded and began to explain, starting with the Holy Grail system and the beginning of the Second Holy Grail War, incorporating Akane's insights.
...
*Flashback*
I stared at my hands as I felt the power of Haki within me, but... nothing more.
I could only click my tongue at this.
"At least the Counterforce couldn't interfere as they wanted," I grumbled to myself.
Akane, walking through the rubble, approached me.
"Hey, Dante, how's your body?" she asked curiously.
"It's fine; luckily they didn't manage to change anything," I replied.
"Luckily?" she questioned.
"Yes, when the Holy Grail tried to extract my soul along with Kiss-shot's from the Throne of Heroes, it tried to intervene along with the Counterforce," I explained.
"Throne of Heroes? Counterforce?" she questioned.
"Exactly, the Throne of Heroes and the Counterforce," I replied, not wanting to explain anything further. "They tried to make my body more human, but I was never truly human; my body is a vessel for a power beyond mortal, so I couldn't alter it, as it would be catastrophic. However, they did manage to insert several seals that I can't release at the moment."
Thanks to the intervention of those two, several of my powers are currently sealed, such as my Reaper transformation, my all-seeing eyes, and the power of darkness. Haki, however, upon witnessing the manifestation of my will, couldn't seal it, so you could say I'm like Garp, just a human without any Devil Power or other strange abilities.
I also lack magic, since there's no Aether to compensate for it effectively. I could use it, but it's complicated. Learning sorcery would be the best option, even if it's a hassle. The only magic I can perform well at the moment is transforming into different, non-fantastical animals, as that could drive the Counterforce into a frenzy.
(Note: I decided not to write the scene where Dante is on the Throne of Heroes, since it's unclear how it functions or even what the Throne of Heroes is. To avoid writing something ridiculous that would later be incorrect, I decided to omit it. Furthermore, I also decided to nerf Dante for the next war, because if he had all his powers, it would be too easy; just think how overpowered Dante is against Heroic Spirits).
The good thing is that when I leave this universe, those seals will be useless, and I can go back to how things were before without any complications.
"Hmm, well, never mind, you don't need to tell me anything, but what do we do now?" she asked.
"To be honest, I have no idea what to do next," I replied, looking around.
"Uh," Chiaki tried to say, trying to regain her composure, and spoke. "What if we do something here?"
"When you say that, do you mean fix Fuyuki?" I asked.
She just nodded.
That's when I realized it wouldn't be a bad idea, and I could charge for it, since I'm not interested in being a hero anymore; that time is over for me. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to charge, and right now we don't have any money.
"That's not a bad idea," I replied, "what do you say, Akane?"
"Sounds good to me; that way we can also bury Kenji's and Albus's bodies and look for Takeshi's too, who must be rotting somewhere on the mountain," Akane replied.
At that moment I wondered why I hadn't thought of that; perhaps I'm so used to seeing dead people that I've become dehumanized in that respect. After all, when I worked as the Grim Reaper, I didn't have time to be burying everyone I killed.
"Okay, let's do that."
...
I lifted the piece of rubble while flexing my arms.
"KYAAAA!!!" I heard the screams of the young women who were watching me work shirtless from afar.
"That bastard," said one of the men who was also working.
"A damn womanizer," said another, younger one.
"I don't know what they see in him; he's just better-looking, stronger, has a better physique, and is nicer... shit," complained another.
I just ignored them, since my real goal was to finish the rest as quickly as possible, because with all the mess and destruction, it would take us a long time to rebuild, not to mention that we have to do everything by hand.
So I'm doing this as humanly possible with superhuman strength and speed, but without going overboard.
I just had to say that I was a foreigner with very good genes.
The excuse wasn't very convincing, but they had no way to contradict me, since no one had ever met a foreigner before.
"Hey, Dante, hurry up and finish up; I'm starving," Kiss-shot complained, holding a parasol and hugging Chiaki like a doll.
"Sorry, but there's still time, and for now, you can only eat at night. If you're bored, you can go keep Akane company; she went with the son of Saber's former master," I suggested.
"Nah, I'd rather stay and watch them work. I can't blame those young ladies for looking at you like that," she replied.
"Thank you all so much," said a kind-hearted woman, walking toward us with glasses of water.
She handed a glass to everyone working until I was the last one.
"Thank you so much for your work, Dante-dono," she said.
"It's no problem," I said, taking a sip of water.
She looked at me hesitantly but finally mustered her courage and spoke to me.
"You really have to leave. Afterward, clear all the rubble; if possible, I'd also ask you to help us rebuild here," the Tohsaka widow asked me.
"I'm sorry, but I have things to do. I can't stay here much longer." Perhaps my pity trick worked to get Akane to revive me, but it affected what I was going to ask. That's why I plan to help find a path to the root, and for that, I must find where my sealed scythe is.
"Oh, that's a shame," the noblewoman said, sounding somewhat sad.
The truth is, knowing how the plot unfolds and what might happen in the future, it's highly likely that someone I suddenly abandoned will return.
I never got to tell her what was happening; I just acted as if I'd left her alone, and that's all it took for me to die.
And from what I read, her future didn't change much; there were only minor details. Despite everything, she still ended up becoming the Gorgon, something I would have preferred to avoid.
Knowing she would return, I decided to wait to go with her.
While I wait, I decide to help Akane, and for that, I need to find the scythe.
I tried using the system, but it's as if the scythe has stopped working, and the biggest problem is figuring out if it's here and not on the other side of the world. I just hope it's the former.
"But in the meantime, I'll help in any way I can before I leave," I told her.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," she said, bowing slightly and going off to do other things.
At that moment, someone approached me; I looked over to see Chiaki looking doubtful.
"Hmm? What's wrong, kid?" I asked her.
"Um... what's going to happen to me?" she replied with another question.
I stared, trying to remember what I knew about her, which was basically nothing. She was just a girl of about 14, with dark black hair, blue eyes, and serious self-esteem and confidence issues.
"Do you have family?" She didn't say anything, just looked at the ground. "She doesn't have anyone, does she?" She kept her head down; I looked at Kiss-shot. "What are you saying?"
"I'm hungry; I don't care about anything else." Her honest answer made a bead of sweat trickle down my forehead.
"Well, how about I adopt you?" I suggested.
She immediately raised her head.
"Huh?"
...
"And that's it. After that, we left Fuyuki without charging a single penny to go to the capital. We hypnotized some officials to get residency papers, to become real people in the government, and while we were at it, we adopted Chiaki," I finished explaining to Ryojin, ending the story.
"I see. So, a wish?" he murmured, looking at his daughter, only to sigh. "Taking a detour to reach the root, something every sorcerer tries to achieve, is something, but it doesn't matter anymore, since it didn't happen."
I felt like I was going to say it was a wasted wish, but knowing who I am, he bit his tongue, or at least that's what I thought.
"Well, that's in the past," I said, trying to pull him out of his thoughts.
"That's true, and in 60 years I don't think I'll be alive to try it myself." He resigned himself to those words. "You can stay here as long as you like; we'll leave tomorrow to go see Helena-sama."
I simply nodded.
My plan is, after being here, to go find the scythe and then head to the clock tower to learn sorcery while I wait for the next Holy Grail Wars.
...
The next day, after feeding Kiss-shot with my blood, I woke up and went out to find something to eat, only to run into a boy who looked a bit like Akane.
"Hmm... you're the Demon Lord, aren't you?" he asked with a somewhat feigned innocence.
"That's right, what's up? Did you come looking for a deal with me? Let me tell you, my deals are very wicked," I said, trying to provoke him.
"I was just asking, since I didn't sense any danger from you," he said, I think with the intention of actually provoking me.
"Then I'm more dangerous than you think, since you'll never know when I'll stab you in the back. You'd better watch your loose tongue a little; in that, you're just like your sister, not knowing how to talk to people properly." I heard a noise of him complaining.
"Don't compare me to that airhead," the boy grumbled.
"We're both right about that; now get out of my way. I don't want to waste my time on an ugly brat." With that, I ignored their complaints and moved on.
Just by looking into his eyes, I could tell this kid was more of a sorcerer than Akane, just by listening to his words and his way of speaking, based on appearances and deception.
No wonder she left him as her heir and not Akane; I should talk to her and tell her to stay away from the magical community, since I feel it's not a good place for her.
When I got to the table to eat, Maya and Chiaki were already there; neither Ryojin nor Akane was. Kiss.shot hadn't come; since he'd eaten, he decided to go back to sleep.
"Good morning," I greeted as I went to sit down.
"Good morning, Dante-dono; your breakfast will be ready soon," I said with a smile, and he continued cooking.
Shortly after I sat down, Akane's brother followed and sat next to me, glaring at me with a glare.
"Kid, stop staring at me; you're going to fart from concentrating so hard," I said, only to make Chiaki let out a small, barely concealed laugh, which made the boy blush.
"My name isn't 'kid'; it's Shuji Aozaki, remember that," he tried to say arrogantly.
"Sure, kid," I replied, paying more attention to the breakfast Maya had placed in front of me.
Looking out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the kid gripping the table tightly.
"I just wanted to see an ancient religion, but I see you're not all that great; I think even I could beat you. Surely all those legends about you are just pure nonsense."
The seals do their job well; The magical circuits they obtain aren't all that great, and no one in this world, except for my wife and my descendants, can sense Haki. That's why I don't think I'm all that great.
While I was pondering what to say to the child or whether to simply ignore him, I heard a chair move abruptly.
"Shut up, you don't know anything," Chiaki said, sounding annoyed, only to realize what had happened, quickly sit down, and stare at the floor.
I just stared, somewhat surprised, as this was a new side of my adopted daughter that I hadn't seen before.
"She speaks. I thought she was mute."
At that point, I got a little angry, but what could I do? From my perspective, she was just a baby; I wasn't going to hit a baby.
"You're probably only defending him because he took you in, since your family probably got rid of you because you were a burden."
This boy suffered from the prodigy/heir syndrome from Chinese novels; he probably didn't know how the world worked, hence his arrogance. When he left the confines of his home, he would face a reality that would make him reflect and bring his arrogance down a peg, but that would be in the future; for now, he had to endure this.
At that moment, I looked at Chiaki, who was staring at the ground with her fists clenched. Or maybe not so much.
"Chiaki," I said simply, making her look at me, "do it."
She didn't understand what I was saying, and neither did I, really, but I felt that this girl was holding back too much, so she had to release that frustration somehow.
Suddenly her eyes lit up, as if she understood my words, and in an instant, just like Akane, she lunged at the brat, punching him in the face.
At that moment I realized that Chiaki wasn't shy or withdrawn; she was just acting that way to hide her emotions and desires, probably because of the traumas and bad experiences in her short life.
"It's great that Shuji can have a friend, since he's never socialized with any kids his age. I can see they'll be great friends," Maya said beside me.
I just gave her a strange look, since all I saw was Chiaki knocking her son's teeth out with her fists.
"I... don't see it that way," I replied.
"Don't worry, trust me, it's a mother's intuition," she replied. "If you'll excuse me, I need to find some baking soda to clean the bloodstains."
I just watched her leave without saying a word, left to watch the two boys fight almost to the death.
Without thinking much about it, using the system, I bought a camera to start taking pictures of the fight between Chiaki and Shuji.
"Something tells me these photos will be important in the future, material for blackmail and ridicule," I told myself, and started taking pictures without them knowing what I was doing, since this kind of technology didn't exist back then, and I don't think anyone even knows what a camera is.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In the previous chapter I talked about the delays and apologized only to do it again; I really don't know what to say. I can only say "college time."