A Mutant's Ascension

[Sitri Mansion, Kuoh Town] 

Sona gasped when she finally regained her consciousness. For a moment, she thought that she had been sent to Heaven by Yachiru's last attack, but as soon as she tried to move, she cringed in pain. 

'Yep… Still alive' Sona mused dryly as she finally dared to open her eyes. She immediately noticed the familiar ceiling of the infirmary in her mansion. After the Walburga incident, Serafall thought that it would be appropriate to have an infirmary built inside Sona's Mansion. 

The first thing Sona decided was to check under the sheets. Sona was satisfied to find that she was dressed in a hospital gown even though she was missing everything else underneath. Sona removed the sheet covering her body and sat up. 

She looked around the infirmary only to find that most of the beds seemed to be occupied by one of her Peerage Members. At least Momo Hanakai didn't seem to be dressed in a hospital gown, which meant she was probably unharmed. Kimiko Murayama, her new Knight, has fallen asleep by her bed. 

Sona gently shook her new Knight, the girl slowly opened her eyes and her eyes became wide in surprise. The girl's face lit up in happiness and tears started to roll out of her eyes. Sona smiled and caressed the younger girl's cheek. 

"For a moment, I thought I was going to lose all of you" the younger girl wailed in despair as she flung her arms over Sona's shoulders. Sona immediately winced in pain which wasn't missed by Murayama and she immediately retreated. "Sorry! I didn't mean to" Murayama immediately apologized.

Sona simply snorted in amusement. "It is fine… I will be completely healed in a few hours and as for losing us. You wouldn't have lost us, Unohana-Sensei is an extremely good healer, she wouldn't have allowed us to die" Sona said with a soft smile on her face.

Murayama reeled back in shock as she desperately shook her head with a look of disbelief marring her face. "You can't be serious!! That woman nearly killed all of you!" Murayama protested frantically.

Sona snorted at the absurdity of Murayama's statement. "If she wanted to kill us then she wouldn't have wasted so much time… You have no idea what that woman is capable of" Sona said in a reassuring tone as she extended her hand towards Murayama. 

Murayama accepted the offered limb and Sona immediately pulled the other girl closer and then Sona pointed towards Tsubasa Yura, her Rook. "Unohana-Sensei had crushed her throat. She could have easily slashed her throat or snapped her neck like a twig" Sona said in a firm tone. Murayama gulped in fear.

Then Sona pointed towards Genshirou Saji, her Pawn. "Unohana-Sensei and charred his torso by an explosion. He shouldn't be alive, but Unohana-Sensei held back" Sona continued. Then she pointed her finger towards Reya Kusaka, her Bishop.

"Unohana-Sensei had blown a hole through her gut… So, if she wanted she could have blown a through her heart too" Sona finished and she finally released Murayama's hand. Murayama didn't know what to think anymore… So, she simply plopped down on her seat with a conflicted look on her face.

"Then she could have killed us too, but once again she held back" Sona smiled softly and rubbed Murayama's head. Murayama sagged in her seat looking completely defeated.

"That is also what Azazel-Sensei said when I woke up. I didn't want to believe him…" Murayama said while looking down at her hands, which were resting in her lap.

"You were knocked out?" Sona asked in a slightly curious tone.

"Yes… I was knocked out by Azazel-Sensei when I decided to rush into the fight to save all of you" Murayama said, looking slightly ashamed of her action.

Sona pursed her lips into a thin smile. "That was extremely foolish of you. I asked you to stand down because you weren't ready for a fight like that" Sona chastised the younger girl, who was completely ashamed of her actions now.

Then after a few moments, Sona's features softened and a soft smile appeared on her face. "Though, I am really glad that you wanted to help us. I am proud of you" Sona said softly and she started to pat the girl's head. 

"I think, I should call the others… and that woman wanted me to inform her as soon as you woke up" Murayama said with a cheerful look on her face, but it was clear that she still held some distaste about Yachiru Unohana.

"Don't call Unohana-Sensei 'that woman'. If you can't call her Sensei, then refer to her as Unohana-San. Aside from you, all of my Peerage members are extremely respectful towards her" Sona softly scolded Murayama. Once again, the younger girl looked really conflicted, but she still nodded her head, even though she looked very reluctant.

"...I think I am fine with calling her Unohana-San" Murayama said with a small nod of her head as she got up from her seat and then, she slowly made her way out of the room…

Meanwhile, in another part of the Sitri Mansion, Yachiru Unohana was sipping tea with a calm look on her face while the other guests, except for two were huddled at the opposite side of the room. Some of them were looking at Yachiru warily from time to time. 

"Thank you" Shrinone said in a monotone when she finally finished devouring all the sweets and tea given by Yachiru. Yachiru smiled kindly and handed over some more sweets to Shirone. The white-haired Nekoshou accepted everything with a blank look on her face, but anyone could have easily noticed her happiness.

"Do you want some tea?" Yachiru asked and Shrone simply nodded her head. Yachiru eagerly poured some tea for the younger girl.

"Am I chopped liver?" Azazel muttered with a disheartened look on his face. Yachiru's eyes focused on the man, and then she smiled. Azazel could have sworn that he felt his life flash in front of his eyes for a moment and no matter how much he tried, he found Yachiru's kind smile to be extremely cruel.

"Did you say something, Azazel-San?" Yachiru asked in a gentle tone, but Azazel felt shivers run down his spine. He had faced God in the Great War, and he has even seen Hela. Well, he has never seen the woman in action, but the woman was still pretty scary… But Yachiru Unohana's gentle smile was the scariest thing he has ever seen.

"No… No… I didn't say anything" Azazel quickly denied the accusation while frantically shaking his head. "By the way, can I ask something about the upcoming Rating Games Tournament?" Azazel asked in a pleading manner, trying to change the topic, but he also wanted to see if he could gather some information or not.

Yachiru didn't seem to react outwardly, but she was pretty amused internally. She wanted to cackle in mad glee, but that wasn't a part of her kind and gentle persona. So, she refrained herself from doing that… She simply gestured Azazel to continue.

"I simply want to know if Fallen Angels can participate in the Tournament or not?" Azazel asked. Yachiru gazed towards Rias Gremory and her group and she found that they were paying rapt attention to their conversation.

Yachiru knew that Hela hadn't confirmed anything to the Fallen Angels and Angels, but she had left some clues here and there to make them think that she wanted them to participate in the Rating Games Tournament. 

There was only one week left before the Tournament and Yachiru knew that Hela planned to inform them in a day or two. So, Yachiru didn't find any reason to hide the truth any longer. Yachiru assumed that one week would be enough for Fallen Angels and Angels since they already held a huge advantage against the Devils with their Light Weapons.

"Yes, both Fallen Angels and Angels would be allowed to participate in the Rating Games, but only Fallen Angels and Angels weaker than Ultimate-class level can participate" Yachiru answered and Azazel found himself wanting to know more. 

"I see… that is quite reasonable" Azazel mused. "But how are the Fallen Angels and Angels going to participate? They don't have any Peerage system?" Azazel asked his next question. He wasn't sure if he would get an answer or not, but he still decided to push his luck.

"We have created special Evil Pieces just for the tournament. Fallen Angels and Angels will be able to create their own Peerage with these Evil Pieces without changing anything. These Evil Pieces will simply designate their position in the Peerage and these Evil Pieces would also remove injured parties from the battlezone if their injuries pass over a certain threshold" much to Azazel's surprise, Yachiru answered.

"That is quite ingenious!!" Azazel proclaimed excitedly. He honestly didn't expect a solution like this. Azazel wanted to ask more questions, but Yachiru placed her cup on the table and stood up.

"It seems that I am needed in the infirmary" Yachiru added and started to walk towards the door, surprising everyone. Moments later, Kimiko Muurayama entered the room. She was slightly surprised that Yachiri Unohana was approaching her, but Yachiru simply walked past her without saying anything.

Murayama looked around with a confused look on her face. "...Uh, I just wanted to say that Sona-sama has regained consciousness…" Murayama said in an unsure tone while looking towards Yachiru's retreating back.

Moments later, everyone stood up and decided to visit the infirmary…

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1606 words in this chapter.

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