Eminence In Shadow- Nah, I’d Win (DxD / Strike The Blood)

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….

"Cid," Claire said, her voice carrying the weight of authority only an older sister could wield. "Is this how you greet your sister after nearly a year apart?"

The pressure mounted. Despite Cid's attempts to hold the door shut, the gap widened inch by inch, driven by sheer brute force.

Realizing resistance was futile, Cid withdrew his magic, letting the door swing open.

He had considered making a final push—capitalizing on the terrain advantage and Claire's one-handed grip to force the door shut with a burst of B- strength. It could've worked.

But the rational part of his mind, now that the earlier surge of anger had subsided, quickly took over.

He knew Claire far too well.

Even if he managed to shut the door, she'd draw her sword in the next second and hack it to pieces—and then stick him with the repair costs. She knew his finances better than anyone, fully aware that his thriftiness wasn't out of necessity but preference.

"Tch. You gave up too easily."

Those were Claire's first words as she stepped inside.

Before Cid could even respond, she suddenly tackled him to the ground.

A blade materialized in her hand, flashing in his vision as it hurtled toward his neck.

Cid had underestimated her.

She hadn't been planning to cut down the door if he resisted—no, she'd already drawn her sword and was simply waiting for him to open it.

Given his B- rank, there was no way Cid could dodge Claire's surprise attack. In other words, she was about to claim his first "death."

As the blade closed in on his neck, Cid shut his eyes and resigned himself to his fate.

"Bang!"

"Why didn't you dodge?"

Her voice snapped him back to reality. Of course, Claire's strike hadn't carried any killing intent—he knew that much. It was a deliberate, controlled move.

Lying flat on the floor, Cid glanced sideways at the blade embedded in the ground mere millimeters from his throat.

…That was close. Too close.

He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. When did Claire's precision get this terrifying? Not only had she completely concealed her killing intent, but she'd also executed the strike with surgical control.

"I'll ask again—why didn't you dodge?"

Straddling him, Claire leaned in closer, her crimson eyes sharp and unrelenting.

"It's because you're too strong, sis. How could I possibly keep up?"

It was his standard excuse—one he had used countless times since childhood.

"Liar." Claire's tone turned cold. "A year ago, you dodged just fine. So what changed?"

Because back then, if I didn't dodge, I didn't know how long you'd keep tormenting me.

Cid's mind drifted to memories of more than a year ago—the hellish training Claire had put him through to prepare for entrance into his current school.

Her idea of "training" was so intense it practically belonged in the underworld. And to make matters worse, whenever he slipped up, it seemed like she was ready to drag him straight there with her.

By his own conservative estimate, he'd skirted death at least ten thousand times during those months. Even while sneaking out at night to fight bandits, his first thought had been figuring out how to throw the match without arousing suspicion.

Desperate to end his suffering, he had no choice but to push his strength just enough to dodge her strikes and survive her "lessons."

To be clear, his B- rank was enough to scrape past the academy's admission standards, especially since Gamma was one of its biggest investors. Getting in had never been an issue.

Of course, that wasn't something he could tell Claire. Instead, he flashed an awkward smile.

"Come on, sis. You're way stronger now than you were back then. You know my talent's average at best—I can't keep up with your growth."

Claire bit her lip, her crimson eyes locking onto Cid's. He maintained his uneasy smile, meeting her gaze.

After what felt like an eternity, Claire finally stood up. She turned her back to him and pulled her sword from the floor, sliding it back into its sheath with practiced ease.

"Don't give me that nonsense. The only reason you're not stronger is because you're lazy and refuse to train. Your talent is far from average, Cid."

She shot him a glance over her shoulder, her voice firm.

"Starting today, I'll be handling your training. With my guidance, you'll graduate with A-rank strength—no excuses."

Cid groaned inwardly.

"Even if you say that, sis, I've been keeping up my training at school, you know? I've improved—just not by much."

He tried to sound convincing, but Claire wasn't buying it.

"And aiming for A-rank? Come on, that's a stretch. I'll be more than happy if I graduate with a solid B."

Claire suddenly turned back to face him.

Her eyes bore into his, and this time, Cid saw more than just frustration.

There was anger—anger at his lack of ambition.

There was guilt—guilt for pushing him so hard in the past.

And there was something else.

Hope.

It seemed Claire had finally accepted that his abilities weren't extraordinary, that he wasn't some hidden prodigy waiting to prove himself to the world.

She no longer looked at him like a project to be molded but as a younger brother she wanted to protect.

"Fine," Cid said with a sigh, raising his hands in surrender. "I've got some free time on weekends, so I guess I'll let you handle my training then."

Claire's eyes softened—just slightly.

Cid, meanwhile, was already bracing himself for whatever fresh hell awaited him.

At this point, Cid knew he should have kept talking—dragged the conversation out long enough to shatter Claire's persistent expectations of him. 

After all, not only was she wasting his time, but she was also interfering with his role as a background character.

Still, Claire fell into the category of "someone I don't want to abandon, but could if necessary." That meant dealing with a little hassle was inevitable.

"Oh, good morning, Nagisa."

"Huh!?"

Claire followed Cid's gaze and noticed that the door to the neighboring room had somehow opened without her realizing it. A short-haired girl poked her head out, her expression caught between curiosity and panic.

"Ehehe…"

Seeing that both of them had spotted her, Nagisa gave an awkward, apologetic smile before stepping into the room. 

It was a far more natural reaction than Cid's forced attempts at acting. 

No surprise there—she was a natural, after all.

"Um, Cid-senpai, I wasn't spying, I swear! I just heard noises and thought something might've happened to you. And, well, if nothing was wrong, I figured I could wake you up for breakfast… That's all! It was totally by chance—I wasn't eavesdropping!"

"Oh, that's fine. I—"

"Wait a second!" Claire interrupted, eyes narrowing as she turned toward Cid. "Did she just say she wakes you up for breakfast?!"

….

If you want to read advance chapters and unpublished fanfics you can check out my patreon or just take a visit.

[P].[A].[T].[R].[E].[O].[N]

http://patreon.com/Kazuma_trash