"What is wrong?" Akeno asked as she set the cup of tea before her King.

"We're going to the underworld for the summer," Rias said as if that explained everything.

Which it didn't.

"I am aware," Akeno nodded and set another cup down for Kiba, who thanked her and took her seat on the club room couch. Koneko was nibbling on some cookies beside her, her middle school uniform getting covered in crumbs that the Queen got rid of with a wave of her hand. "I know things are tense with your parents, but seeing them again should still be nice. It has been a year."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess it will," Rias answered distractedly as she bit her lower lip, deep in thought.

"Are you worried about our contracts?" Akeno asked, trying to puzzle out what had the young woman so distracted. "I have already alerted my regulars to the disruption in service."

"I did as well," Kiba nodded with a smile at Akeno as he put his tea down to chime in.

"...Me too."

"No, no," Rias hurried to waive her hands in dismissal. "I trust you all to be responsible. I have also talked with Gasper, and he's prepared for the trip. It's not you all I am worried about."

So she was worried about someone but not one of her Peerage? The only other people in the school she knew well were Sona and her Peerage, and Akeno doubted there was anything to be worried about there.

Which left...

"Are you afraid to leave your boyfriend alone for so long," Akeno teased her best friend.

"Akeno! It's not like that," Rias protested.

"So you say. But you and Sona do spend so much time with him. Rivals of love, ah... what a scandalous master I have," Akeno kept up, delighting in the way Rias' face started to match her hair.

Akeno's... preferences and proclivities were no secret among the Peerage, and she could drop the Yamato Nadeshiko act in the safety of the club room.

Her words weren't solely to tease Rias either.

The idea of two devil heiresses fighting over an injured, weak human tickled her romantic sense. And the concept of Rias coming in and trying to steal a man from her rival, like a seductive mistress, was in line with Akeno's fetishes.

"Eren is a friend," Rias insisted with a pout as she crossed her arms. "A good one. He doesn't know anything about me, or the supernatural, or the Gremory. There is nothing romantic about it. He doesn't even know what I look like."

"Just because he can't see you doesn't mean you can't show him what you look like," Akeno chirped happily, and Rias tilted her head in confusion at her Queen's words. Taking a cue from the videos she had been watching, Akeno lowered her voice into a sensual purr as she ran a hand down her body. "You just have to get... hands-on. Physical."

"Akeno!"

"Fufufufu," the seductive act fell away as the young woman giggled, a hand covering her mouth, as her King gaped at her, face flushed with embarrassment.

"But you are worried about him, right?" Kiba asked his floundering King, aware that the two young women would continue for hours if he let them to it.

He and Koneko had never officially met the older boy but had been told about him. They had also read his file and occasionally saw him on his bench when they moved through the park behind their club building.

"Both me and Sona will be gone for weeks," Rias took the opportunity to shift the topic away from an embarrassing subject. "He'll be completely alone."

"He will be fine," Akeno tried to reassure her King, giving up her teasing for the moment. "Despite his condition, he is very competent. And the wards will protect him while he's on the grounds."

"I know that," Rias said with a huff. "I'm leaving my familiar behind just in case, but he should be safe."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"He'll be bored!" Rias answered as if it was obvious. "Without Sona or me, he's going to be lonely. I've been trying to figure out what to leave behind to help him."

"Sona will leave behind study material for him," Akeno pointed out.

If there was one thing they could trust the Sitri to do, it was to give her 'special student' summer homework.

"But that's boring," Rias whined. "Sona needs to let him have fun, too. I just can't decide what to leave him. Definitely a few drama CDs, but which ones? And should I leave an anime behind? Just because he can't see it doesn't mean he can't enjoy it. We haven't started one yet. I've been hesitating, but do you think he'd like to listen to one, or is it too soon?"

"And this is what has you chewing on your pen?" Kiba asked, his ordinarily suave smile slightly pained.

"Of course," Rias said with pride. "There are a lot of things to consider when making recommendations. It can't be anything war-related, obviously. But Eren doesn't like just slice of life either. It needs to be able to catch his interest. It also cannot be something wholly new that we haven't gone through together, or he won't understand it. Context matters a lot in enjoying anime. He's still learning Japanese, which leaves only a few options that will interest him but are at a low enough level to not hurt his head."

Akeno smiled as her King went through the listing of Drama CDs she had already chosen. Why and how it was not nearly enough to cover all the time they would be gone for, and how she wanted him to have options if some of her listings didn't click with him.

She suspected Eren didn't care for manga or light novels as much as Rias did and just put up with them for Rias' sake.

If nothing else, she was happy that Eren Yeager was here for Rias. The heiress needed someone like him in her life. Someone who didn't see her as a King, heiress, source of influence, or potential rival for power and prestige.

Someone who saw her as Rias Gremory, not Rias of the Gremory.

Which made his inevitable death all the sadder.

********

"Who are you?" Eren asked as she took a seat on the bench.

How he could spend all day on the uncomfortable thing, Akeno had no idea.

"Himejima Akeno," she answered politely. "A pleasure to meet you."

"What do you want, Himejima Akeno?"

"I am here to talk to you as Rias Gremory's best friend," Akeno kept her voice unfailingly polite despite Eren's rough words. She didn't hold it against him. The situation hadn't been the same, but she had been where he was before. Distrustful and suspicious of everyone who approached. "You might not believe me-"

"Rias has mentioned you," Eren cut her off. "I was asking why you were here now. You should be in class."

Akeno bit her tongue before the caustic remark could escape at his rudeness.

She had to remind herself that despite knowing about him for months and seeing him a dozen or so times, this was the first time they had officially met. All he would know of her was from whatever Rias told him, but he had never met her.

"I needed to speak with you," Akeno said instead, her voice still gentle, kind, and polite. "Thank you for worrying, but my grades will not suffer from one missed class."

Eren's lips quirked down for an instant, his hand briefly tightening on his cane, but he remained silent, letting her explain herself.

"As I said," Akeno said gently. "I am here because of Rias. We will be leaving for the summer, returning home to see her family."

"I know," Eren repeated, his empty hand gesturing toward a bag leaning against his feet. "She and Souna told me. Gave me all this stuff this morning before class since they're leaving this afternoon. We've already said goodbye, so if that is all..."

"I'm afraid it isn't. I won't take too much of your time, I promise." Once again, Eren's hand twitched on his cane. Once more, he kept silent, and Akeno continued to the main subject. "I wish to enquire about your plans for Rias."

"What do you mean?" Eren asked, fully frowning in her general direction now.

"I simply wish to ask what your intentions are for her. And Souna, but I am mostly here for Rias."

"Is this you telling me to stay away from her? That she's too good for me?" Eren sarcastically asked, completely unimpressed.

"No, no, I don't intend anything like that," Akeno hurried to say while staying polite. "I am happy that you are friends with them. Truly, I am. I would not wish to deprive them of you, nor you of them."

"Then what?" Eren's voice was even harsher now, as if fed up with talking to her. Akeno paused, trying to think of a way to say it delicately. Eren caught her hesitation and didn't let it slide. "Spit it out."

"Your dying," Akeno whispered gently, politely, and regretfully.

Eren didn't react negatively to her words as she feared. He just tilted his head slightly to the side in a minute gesture as if asking her, 'So what?'

"It obvious to those who saw you a few months ago and see you now," Akeno kept her voice soft and kind. She was genuinely sympathetic for the boy despite his abrasive tone toward her. "Despite spending so much time in the sun, you've gotten paler. You must have lost at least ten pounds. You walk slower. And it has only been half a year since you first arrived. You can't have long left."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I'll die at nineteen."

It was said so casually and matter-of-factly that a shiver ran down Akeno's spine.

There was no bitterness in his voice.

No resignation.

Eren was just stating a fact.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Eren frowned at her again. "It's not your fault. And there is nothing you can do. There is no cure money can buy. We all die. I've already lived a lot longer than I should have."

"Still, it's not fair fo-"

"Life's not fair," Eren cut her off again. "It's never fair. It is as cruel as it is beautiful. Only children and naive idiots don't recognize that."

"But you're so young," Akeno tried to say, but Eren continued speaking over her.

"It is not about the length of our lives. It is about the amount of living we do in them. And I've lived enough for two lifetimes."

The devil-fallen hybrid was getting sick of being interrupted, but she contained her annoyance.

She was the one who had come to see him and brought up such a personal topic, after all.

"While that is an admirable and mature way to view things," Akeno kept her polite and gentle tone despite her frustration. "As I mentioned, I am here for Rias. And she will not see things that way. She is a very caring girl and has never lost anyone. I just worry that..."

This time, the reincarnated devil trailed off instead of being interrupted, letting Eren fill in the blanks.

"That I am going to break her heart when I die," Eren said plainly.

"Yes," Akeno said regretfully.

She did feel bad for the boy. He had never asked for any of this. His past may be filled with violence, but it didn't seem like he had done anything to deserve to die so young.

On top of that, she knew she was being a bit unreasonable, asking him to put Rias' happiness above his own when they had only known each other for half a year.

In some small way, she was also grateful for him.

Not only was he a friend Rias' needed, but he also turned down the opportunity unknowingly to be reincarnated as a devil.

Rias could not afford to have a weak peerage, not with so much on the line. Her reincarnating a sick and dying boy, with no magic or sacred gear, out of pity might make her parents decide to push the marriage ahead, despite the promise to wait until she was in university. And even if it didn't, with her dreams regarding the Rating Games, Eren would forever be a chain around her neck.

As it was, Akeno still wasn't sure Rias would let him pass on peacefully.

That was what she was truly worried about.

That the redhead, unable to handle the loss of her friend, would try and bring him back. It would not only cost her a piece she couldn't afford to lose, but there was every probability that Eren would resent Rias for it.

It would be acceptable, if slightly regrettable, if Rias wasted a valuable Evil Piece to save a friend whose only contribution to the team was combat experience.

It would be a tragedy if that friend came to hate her for it.

Already, the Gremory and Sitri agents were combing the globe for any magical or mundane solution to Eren's disease, and they had only known him for a few months.

Akeno no did not want their friendship, so sweet and enviable, to be tainted by regret and hatred.

"I am not asking you to stop seeing them, or stop being friends with them, or even to stop coming here," Akeno explained gently. "I just ask that you do not tell them when it is time. You can leave a message, a will, or anything, and I'd be happy to pass it along after... afterwards. I just don't want them to have to watch you die. It is a terrible thing to see someone you are close to die in front of you."

Perhaps Eren heard the way her voice hitched, her mask of prim and proper composure lifting slightly as memories of her mother's murder flashed before her mind.

His face eased from his frown for the first time since she sat down.

"You don't have to worry about that." His voice softened as he leaned back against the bench and turned his head skyward. "I doubt we will still be friends then."

"You do not know Rias as well as I do. She is a very greedy girl. I have never seen her let anyone go once she latches on."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does-"

"I will die alone."

Another shiver ran down Akeno's spine at the absolute certainty in his voice.

If the earlier statement had been a prediction, then this was a prophecy.

Akeno felt a deep sadness well up in her as she realized what it meant. How he knew exactly when he would die.

What he would do.

Eren Yeager would die alone, and nothing anyone said would change his mind.

In his own terrible way, he'd control how he died.

Akeno did not have the right to criticize how someone chose their end.

"I understand," Akeno said gently as she rose from her seat. "I will not bother you anymore. Goodbye."

Eren grunted in dismissal.

That was the final straw.

Akeno had bothered him, yes, but she had also been polite, kind, and gentle. She hadn't asked him anything onerous or insulting. She had done everything in her power to be as unobtrusive as possible.

And in return?

She had been rudely questioned, been cut off repeatedly, and now, instead of simply saying goodbye, he was trying to dismiss her with a grunt?

She could have accepted his refusal. She could accept his scorn. She could even accept his resentment for her unreasonable demand. Akeno had prepared herself for that when she approached.

But she could not accept blatant disregard.

Himejima Akeno might pretend to be a prime and proper Yamato Nadeshiko, the ideal Japanese demure beauty, but deep down, she was rotten to her core.

He wanted her gone?

Too bad for him.

"Oh, one final thing, if you don't mind," Akeno said sweetly as she retook her seat on the uncomfortable bench.

"What?" Eren asked bluntly, obviously put out by her return.

"I just wish to ask if you have some issues with me? You have been quite rude since I arrived." Though Eren couldn't see the smile directed his way, any observer would have noticed it was not a kind one.

"I don't like you."

"May I ask why?" A bit surprised at his bluntness, Akeno was genuinely curious about the source of his dislike.

Had Rias pranked her by telling bad stories about her to the man?

"Your damn voice is pissing me off."

"My... voice?" Akeno asked in confusion, not put off by his swearing. "I am afraid I cannot help the voice I was born with. And I admit, I have been told I have a lovely singing voice before, so I do not know what aggravates you."

"It's so fake!" Eren snarled. The outburst of anger reared its head from almost nowhere as his hands tightened on his cane in frustration. "So damn fake! It's pissing me off! Too damn polite, too damn nice. Just say what you really feel, damn it! Swear if you want to swear. Insult me if you want to. Scream if you want to scream. Just stop trying to be someone you are not!"

Stunned by his short rant, Akeno said nothing for a few seconds.

"What did Rias tell you about me?" She was soooo getting back at her King for this.

"She didn't have to," Eren bit out. "I knew someone like you. For years, she pretended to be someone she wasn't, trying to be liked by everyone. I couldn't stand her then, but at least I could avoid her. You came to me. And I am too old to put up with it again. I don't care how you act around others, but if you want to talk to me, you better leave that fake shit behind. Or I am going to punch you."

The idea of Eren Yeager, blind and sickly human, trying to punch her, a devil-fallen hybrid that could kill him with a twitch of the finger, was so absurd that Akeno couldn't help herself.

"Fufufufu," Akeno giggled. "If you can hit me, I will reward you." The way her voice dipped low hinted at the nature of the reward. "I am usually an S, but I always wanted to try being an M."

As she teased him, she went over their short conversation in their head.

He had been wary at first but hadn't been hostile until she deliberately tried to be gentle and polite, knowing what she was asking would be rude. It wasn't politeness or kindness that bothered him. Sona spoke formally as well, and Rias was almost entirely too kind.

In only three sentences, without ever seeing her, Eren Yeager had understood Akeno Himejima better than most of her peers ever did.

No wonder Sona was so intrigued.

Rather than blush, fidget, or continue to be angry, Eren simply sagged against the bench in relief.

"Much better," he sighed.

Akeno blinked owlishly at the boy.

Sure, he couldn't see her, but her voice was sensual enough that he should have gotten the hint. Either he didn't care for women, had more experience than she expected, or...

Once more, the sadness and sympathy welled up within Akeno.

She supposed it was too much to expect a boy, even one at that age, going through what he was to not have hormonal issues.

"I wasn't lying about being concerned for Rias," Akeno diverted the topic back from less... sensitive grounds as quickly as possible. "It would be best if we could find a cure for what you are going through. Then my worries will be pointless."

Whoops.

She hadn't meant to let the fact that they were even looking for a cure slip out.

As far as Akeno knew, Eren had yet to learn of the resources Sona and Rias could call to hand. To him, they were just helpful young women, his friends who sat and talked with him.

She also didn't want to give him false hope. Devils were famously bad at healing magic.

"There is no cure." Eren thankfully didn't seem to catch on to the hint as he spoke with indifference about his impending doom. "I was born with a time limit. I will not live to see twenty. I do not regret living my life. It was necessary. Now I am just waiting for the meeting I was promised."

"That is... a mature way to look at it," Akeno hedged, her voice less polite and more dissatisfied. It was fine to look at one's mortality philosophically, but he was casual about it that it angered her. Eren shot her a look, lost under the bandages, but the frown was back, so she spoke her thoughts directly. "But death is not just about the dead. It is about those left behind. Souna will miss you. Rias will miss you. You should not belittle their care."

"You lost someone."

It was not a question.

The light note of sympathy in his voice and her knowledge of his own experiences gave Akeno the push she needed to share a bit more than she would usually.

"My mother. She was killed when I was a girl. Rias' family took me in after they found me."

"Losing a parent is..." Eren was clearly searching for the right words but came up blank.

"Yeah..." Akeno sighed, not blaming his silence.

It was unfair to expect Eren, who never knew his parents, to be able to understand what she had felt when her mother had been murdered before her eyes.

Because of her.

Because Akeno Himejima's birth had been a mistake.

The conversation lulled, both teens on the bench caught up in their memories.

In the end, since she was already missing class, Akeno decided to use the time to get to know Eren better before leaving with the rest of the Peerage this afternoon.

"Tell me about the girl?"

"Hm?"

"The one I remind you of. The one you don't like."

"I didn't like her," Eren corrected softly, the rage gone and leaving the void it had once filled. "By the end... she was probably the third closest person to me."

"Oho," Akeno tittered. "How close? Did you ever..."

"...No," Eren said simply. So much was packed into that short word that Akeno decided to not push.

So far, this conversation had not gone her way at all. She got the feeling most of her usual tactics to get under people's skin would not work on Eren Yeager.

Akeno did always enjoy a challenge.

"Do you want to help me play a little joke on Rias?" She asked, trying to talk about a less dour topic. If asking questions wouldn't get her answers, she would have to evaluate how he handled himself in other situations.

Just because it didn't look like Eren had a funny bone in his body didn't mean he couldn't help.

Maybe this would even get him to smile.

One way or another, Akeno would break the older boy's calm.

"On Rias," he asked. Akeno nodded, realized what she was doing, and answered in the affirmative instead. "I don't mind. The last time I played a prank was... Training?"

He trailed off as if asking himself a question. Akeno filed that away and kept going.

"You know Rias thinks you're an anime protagonist, right? When we return, you just need to say a few words to her."

Eren tilted his head in confusion, looking in her direction. That he was facing slightly to her left didn't bother Akeno as she slowly wove her prank on her best friend.

It would be over a month before it paid off, but it would be worth it.

By the time she explained her idea and gave him his lines, it was almost time for her to meet with the rest of the Gremory Peerage to head to the underworld.

"You are a worse person than I thought," Eren sighed as she stood up.

"It won't hurt her," Akeno assured. "She'll love it... after a while."

"You know her more than I do," Eren gave an ambivalent shrug. "I do have a question."

"Of course."

"What is 'anime?'"

Akeno blinked owlishly at the boy, unable to understand how one could spend months being friends with Rias Gremory without knowing what anime was.

Then again, hadn't Rias just said she was hesitating about introducing Eren to one? Had she never even mentioned it to not burden Eren with knowledge of what he was missing?

Had Akeno just, unknowingly, blundered through her King's well-intentioned consideration?

And more importantly...

How do you explain anime to the blind?

With difficulty, Akeno realized in the following hour as she tried to explain a visual medium to the blind boy on the bench.