Non-Canon Omake: Through the Looking Glass Part 7 (Fixed) (Patreon)

A/N

So real quick, I completely forgot that I wrote this version of Rias/Takao as being after the Riser fight for those who saw the first version. So I had to tweak it to work, my bad and this is why I have extensive notes for the main story :p.

@***@

“Son….”

“I was young and stupid, okay?” I sighed, covering my face after mom learned how Meridia and I first met. I don’t think I needed to mention how it would have only taken her a snap of her fingers to make me disappear if she were in a bad mood.

It all worked out in the end, so chalk it up to a life lesson.

“More like young and horny.” Scáthach snorted.

….well, she isn’t wrong.

“I think it more erred on the side of young and stupid, personally. I think my situation was young and horny.” Venelana spoke.

I groaned, letting my head hit the table.

“Actually, I’m happy I’m here right now.” My other self smiled happily. “I really want to hear more now.”

Mom had a rather pensive face and I had no idea what she was thinking. Eventually she shook her head with a sigh. “I’ll just blame your father.”

“Hey!”

“Not you, the bad version of you.” Mom corrected.

“Oh okay. Yeah I agree, he sounds like a dick.” My alternate father nodded along.

I forced myself from throwing out an insulting retort without thinking. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t my version of my father, thus it would have been needlessly rude.

“And which one is she?” Mom asked, pointing at my phone that was still on the table.

I grabbed it, flicking the screen to the side until it landed on Meridia and slid it back over to her.

“She’s pretty.”

“Yeah, she is.” I found myself smiling.

The back door slid open as someone had rejoined us. “Why did everyone leave me out there!?” Issei whined, limping back inside.

“Woops, sorry Issei, we forgot about you.” Rias blushed a little, looking away.

“I didn’t.” I responded.

“You threw a brick at me!” Issei pointed at me looking pissed off.

“Nah, that wasn’t me.” I said with a completely serious face.

“Screw you, handsome bastard!” Issei whined some more. “I would have won if – “

Rias clapped her hands, interrupting him. “Alright Issei, if you’re going to rejoin us, stop making a scene.” She forced out, probably because of the glare that mom was giving her. “We’ll talk about the ‘fight’ later.”

Issei grumbled and sat down next to her. “Who’s the girl with the tails and ears?” He looked at Kunou.

“That’s my daughter and if you make a single comment about her body, there is not a single person in this room that can stop me from ripping your head off.” I narrowed my eyes.

I may put up with it and be annoyed with the others,  but that absolutely is not acceptable towards my daughter.

The message seemed to get across because he shrank back under my stare.

“Why am I not surprised that you ventured to a world unknown and all you did was seek out women.” Glasses girl scoffed.

I rolled my eyes. “Yup.”

She just scoffed again.

Well fuck you too.

Mom only wanted to know about my girls, then so be it. “That was how I met Meridia. I then corrected the mistakes I made and went off to the world I intended. It was another Earth and I had memories of it from before, so it was easy to find the Mages Association over there and get inside. That’s when I met Artoria for the first time.”

“The blonde lass with the hair in the bun.” Scáthach pointed out to my mom.

“Aww, she’s adorable.” Mom cooed.

“That’s Auntie Artoria.” Kunou smiled. “She’s really nice and she showed me how to use a sword. Oh Daddy, show your cool sword!”

Oh, I forgot about my sword! Well, I do so love showing off my treasures.

“Right, this is my sword I had made in Skyrim, it helps me cast my magic.” I said proudly, putting Mirage onto the table. “And also Dawnbreaker, the sword I got from Meridia.” I set it down together.

Half the table recoiled at the sight of a ‘holy weapon’, I think it took them a moment to realize they weren’t going to burst into flames.

“That is….a powerful sword.” My Alternate father’s smile twitched.

I liked when people praised my treasures.

“Right, and that was when I met Artoria for the first time as I said. Gramp’s student was having a spar with someone else and she was sitting off to the side. I recognized her immediately and I admittedly admired her for a long time.”

“Didn’t you say you met her for the first time?” My mom tilted her head.

“Oh right.” I almost forgot. “Her name is Artoria Pendragon, but you would probably know her better by King Arthur.”

They went silent.

“Like, from the stories?” My other self asked.

“Yeah, except the King Arthur from there was a women who hid her gender during her rule.” I clarified.

“A reincarnation?” Rias asked.

“Nope, the literal King Arthur” I reiterated.

“Did she never die in that world then and lived that entire time!?”

“Well, it’s complicated.” I pursed my lips thinking how best to briefly explain this. “Over there, when someone who is famous and was worshipped after their death, they ascend to the metaphysical realm known as the Throne of Heroes and become Heroic Spirits. In specific circumstances, it’s technically possible to summon a portion of the Heroic Spirit into a container known as a ‘Servant’. Artoria is a Saber Class Servant and was summoned by Rin during something known as the Holy Grail War.”

“Holy Grail?!” My Alternate Father reacted more expressive than any other point.

“Wah…brother?” Rias looked at him.

Venelana, the other Venelana looked at rias. “His reaction is understandable, the Holy Grail is a……volatile Sacred Gear. Atleast over here it is, I don’t know anything about over there. But every time it’s wielder appears here, something happens that gets recorded in the annals of history.”

“I havn’t run into the one from here, but it’s a bit different. For one, it’s not that Holy Grail. A long time ago, a family of Mages came together and utilized an aspect of True Magic, were able to craft the Heaven’s Feel ritual. Essentially, it’s a battle royale between Seven Servants and their summoners – called Masters. The Ritual is completed once only one Servant remains, and the winners get to utilize the ‘Holy Grail’ – which was only named such after the Church started interfering with the Ritual – and make a wish.”

“There is…a lot to unpack there.” My other self said.

“And what do you mean by a ‘wish’? I’ve heard plenty of stories where that goes wrong.” My mom asked.

“Well, normally, it would be just that. A near omnipotent wish, but that isn’t to say it’s not without certain limitation. As for this particular circumstance, the ‘Grail’ was corrupted by an Evil God trying to manifest into the world. Any wish would bring about calamity, so Rin and Artoria utilized her Noble Phantasm to destroy the Grail.”

“Noble Phantasm!?” Several of them repeated.

“A Noble Phantasm is usually the armament of a Heroic Spirit – They’re Crystallized Legends.” I took that opportunity to put Ascalon onto the table. “This is a Noble Phantasm, I picked up – Ascalon.”

“What!?” Issei’s Boosted Gear lit up as his Ddraig exclaimed in shock. “I can feel the Dragon Slaying power of that sword and it’s significantly stronger than the one I recall in the past.”

“Isn’t Ascalon supposed to be a Holy Sword, why can’t I feel anything Holy from it?” Rias asked.

“It was wielded by Saint George, but it was more a Dragon Slayer sword back there.” I shrugged.

“If a Noble Phantasm, is the ‘weapon’ of these ‘Servants’ and you claim that she is King Arthur, then that implies her weapon is the famous Excalibur, correct?” Glasses Girl asked. “So it never broke over there?”

It was my turn to scoff. “Don’t compare the toy here with her sword. Excalibur over there, it’s the strongest weapon of the planet.”

Truthfully, I didn’t feel like sitting here explaining every little detail of my home.

“Well, I don’t understand much of that, but I suppose it gives me some sort of context.” Mom just smiled while rubbing Kunou’s head. Kunou of course was just happily listening to the story without a care in the world. “Keep going, tell me about my daughtre~”

Despite it seeming like others wanted to ask me questions, I ignored their looks and continuing. “There’s not much to say. I met up with Zelretch –“

“Wait, the guy you reincarnated from!?” My other self exclaimed.

“He did it at some point in the future, at that point in time, it was barely a theory so I made sure to catch up with him.”

“….that sounds awkward.”

“It was, but I just called him gramps to make it easier.” To be honest, despite being from Zelretch, I felt like my own person at this point.

“Wait, you’re saying he did it intentionally?” Glasses girl’s eyes widened. “How is that possible!? If anyone could just ‘reincarnate’ themselves, it would be more widespread.”

“Because it’s Zelretch and he doesn’t do things by common sense.”

“That’s not an answer!”

“Anyways, met up with Gramps and got a bit closer to Artoria. But at that point, I was focused more on looking for a teacher.” I looked up and smile at Scáthach. “With Gramp’s help, I was able to open a path to the Land of Shadows where I met Scáthach.” I snapped my fingers, remembering something else. “Oh yeah, almost forgot I also got my staff from Skyrim – the Staff of Magnus – a Divine Construct owned by the God of Magic from there.” It was important to open the way, so I put it on the table.

Glasses girl crossed her arms. “Did you steal this one too.”

“Hey, yeah, you stole the Boosted Gear! You never said anything about that!” Issei stood up, pointing at me.

“Yeah, what’s your point?” I rolled my eyes.

“Give it back, my other self needs it to build his dream harem!”

“So you’re saying you’re useless without Ddraig?”

Mom’s hand was quickly pulling on my cheek. “Stop starting fights. And Issei, worry about yourself, you still have brick marks on your face.”

“I didn’t notice any difference.” I managed to get out before mom pulled even harder.

“You are preoccupied, shall I speak of our first encounter, student?” Scáthach put a hand on my shoulder.

“Do what you want.” I sighed.

Did she know I didn’t really want to talk about it?

“I remember that young boy approaching me through the harsh cold and hoards of undead monsters that populated my realm. He came upon me and asked me to be his teacher, I couldn’t deny his request due to the effort it took to reach me.” She smiled in nostalgia. “It took much effort to beat out his arrogance.”

“Seems you failed in that regard.” Sona snarked.

“Yes, but thankfully I was able to teach him taste.” Scáthach replied, not missing a beat.

Sona just had her mouth hang open, clearly not expecting a jab back like that.

“I love you so much.” I looked up at her with a big grin.

“Hush.” She snorted, pushing my head down. “He spent a few years under my tutelage until he reached a point I was satisfied with.” Her expression changed, a sad smile as she looked down at me. “However, I wronged him.”

“It’s fine…”

“There is no need to defend me.” I felt her hand run through my hair.

“….Wilhelm, what happened?” My mom asked, noticing the obvious tone.

“I was tired and weary of life after being forced to remain within the Realm of Shadows for thousands of years. Due to the conditions of my existence, I was forever bound and unable to leave.” She spoke softly. “Knowing that he felt strongly towards me, I still asked him to kill me so I could die in battle.”

“You’re one of those ‘Servants’, aren’t you?” My Alternate Father spoke.

“I am.” She confirmed.

“But how – “

“This student of mine…” She smiled a bit warmer. “He foolishly threw himself into another Grail War and fought his way to a victory just to bring me back.”

“….because I didn’t want to live my life without you.” I mumbled.

“How could I not accept those kinds of feelings?”

The atmosphere got a lot heavier at her admittance. “I also got a new sword.” I changed the subject, putting Whisper onto the table. “And also, I have her old spear.” I added Gae Bolg.

Kunou pushed out of mom’s arms and came up to hug me.

She really was a perceptive little girl.

Venelana also came over and wrapped her arms around me. “Why don’t we take a few minutes, hmm?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea!” Mom clapped her hands. “Why don’t I go make some snacks and get some drinks ready since we’re going to be here for awhile. Wilhelm dear, why don’t you show your daughter where you grew up?” Mom smiled.

I know she was trying to give me a moment to collect myself, but genuinely, I had nothing good to say about this place. But even so, I took the offer because I didn’t realize how much this whole thing still hit me.

I don’t think I’ve ever shared the story with other people outside of my immediate group, it felt…..weird.

“Come on sweetie, why don’t I show you around?” I took Kunou’s hand as I led her away, putting a little bit of distance between me and them.

Really….it’s almost a bit overwhelming in all honesty. Seeing the faces of people I have a lot of intense feelings towards, both good and bad, in one room like that in addition to everything else.

“Daddy, you went to school around here right?” Kunou asked as we walked out the front door, as I intended to just go for a short walk with her around the neighborhood.

I may have exaggerated even in my own head. I suppose not everything about this place was bad, I had some decent memories of the general town. There was an arcade a few blocks away that I spent some time at. There was a nearby park that I enjoyed taking walks through. There was an aquarium that I also snuck into a time or two because I liked seeing the various sea creatures and it was a nice quiet place for me to relax.

“It’s…..not too far away.” I measured the distance in my head.

“Can we go see it? I wanna see where Dad went to school.”

Well, the school was certainly a place I had mixed feelings about. “Alright, I suppose we could go check it out.” It’s way after school hours so there shouldn’t be any students there. A short trip there wouldn’t be remiss. “Let’s go.”

@***@

Kunou atleast enjoyed the short walk to the school. I don’t know what was so exciting about the walk, but she took it all in with wonder.

And she kept asking me about everything I passed.

Is it normal for kids to want to know about their parent’s history like this? I would ask Yasaka about it later? Or maybe Mom could answer that question. She probably has good parenting advice for me since I have no idea what I’m doing the vast majority of the time.

“Here we are, Kuoh Academy.” I can admit that seeing the front gate hit me with nostalgia.

“Can we go inside!?” Kunou looked at me, pleading.

I relented, and even though the gate was closed, I picked her up and hopped over.

Well, the front doors weren’t locked, not surprising considering the Devils basically come and go after school at their leisure.

We walked right inside with Kunou looking left and right and she had a rather strange look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I finally asked.

“I thought it would be different.” She admitted.

“You thought it would be more exciting?”

“Everyone talked about Devils back home I thought if they ran the school, it would be different.” She nodded.

Ah.

“Sorry to disappoint, it’s a rather normal school. But why don’t I show you one of my favorite spots?” I had a secret spot in the auditorium where the Theatre Club practiced every day after school. There was a half-room that was walled over that you could get into by removing an air vent. “It’s a secret room that no one knows about.”

“A secret room?” Her eyes widened and she smiled brightly.

“Takao?” A voice called out and I snapped towards the source, recognizing it as one of Rias’s peerage that I met back home as well. “…..Takao?” He said again, his brow furrowing once he got closer.

I looked at Kunou she looked back at me and I slowly had a smile form on my face. “That’s right, it’s me Takao. What’s wrong, Kiba?” I’m fairly sure that was his name.

Kunou’s held a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

“….why do you look….?” He seemingly had trouble finding the right words.

“Uh….magic accident…?” It was the first thing I thought of off the top of my head.

Kunou was giggling under her hands.

He just blinked. “You’re taller…and your hair..?”

“Yeah, don’t worry it’ll wear off later.” I nodded, projecting confidence in my answer despite utterly bullshitting.

“…..right.” He clearly believed me. “And….this is?”

“Oh…um, this is Kunou I’m…..watching over her because everyone else was busy handling the magic accident that I mentioned a moment ago and since I’m basically useless, I figured I could babysit for a little while. She’s a youkai, but don’t worry about that.” I reassured him.

“…..right.”

I just crossed my arms. “You’re welcome to give them a call. Even….Dad is there because of the magic accident.” The funny thing is, technically, I wasn’t lying.

That seemingly made him relent a bit. “How long is Rias going to be? Riser Phenex is going to be here any minute, she was supposed to be here. Not to mention Akeno and Issei ran off not long ago and she’s no where to be found either.” He rubbed his head, letting out a sigh. “I actually tried calling, but they weren’t answering, I was about to run over there until I saw you.”

Holy crap, did they just completely forget about something important in the wake of me appearing? Riser Phenex, wasn’t the guy she was supposed to marry, right? Was he coming to talk about something important? Didn’t they already have  rating game or whatever to settle it in Rias’s favor, what was he popping over here for?

Well, I could imagine there was a lot of things that needed to be settled in the aftermath of that kind of incident.

Well, as their Elder, I should handle the situation in their place.

“Don’t worry, let me handle it!” I puffed up my chest.

“…come again?”

“I mean, I can entertain them atleast. You know, as the son of Lucifer, they alteast have to give me face.” I threw out the quickest bullshit reason I could think of.

“…..are you sure?” He sounded skeptical. “This sounds like a horrible idea.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“We could just tell him that there was an emergency and postpone the meeting.” He replied with….admittedly a logical response and probably the most reasonable one as well.

However…..

“Sona said doing something like that is bad.”

“Really?” He tilted his head.

“Yup, that’s totally something my painfully plain girlfriend would say.” I nodded.

“What?”

“I said, that’s something my girlfriend said, at some point…..”

…probably.

He rubbed his chin. “I guess she would know better.”

“Wonderful, let’s go the Occult Club!” I have no doubt that’s where they would be meeting.

“….the Occult Research Club.” He corrected.

“That’s the one.” I pat his shoulder. “Come along Kunou, we’re going to meet a Phenex!”

@***@

A/N

Originally, I intended to introduce all of harem and tell the story of how he met them, but as I got started I realized how repetitive it was going to be, so I decided to break it up and add something a little extra inbetween.