Author- MikeX713
Disclaimer, I don't own anything here but the OCs. I do not own Dante's Inferno or HighschoolDxD. Please don't sue me.
Running, that's what I'm doing… thankfully this time I'm mostly clothed. My name is Dante Alighieri, I'm a sophomore in high school in my home city of Florence Italy. Right now I'm running, not for my life or anything crazy like that. No… I'm just running because of a big misunderstanding.
"Get back here you little pervert!"
"I take offence to that sir!" Dante yelled back at the pursuing man.
I hate it when they call me that. I'm not a pervert. I simply am a caring man that tries to hard… that doesn't sound too good. I'll explain. Last night I was walking through one of the several parks in Florence, I highly recommend it if you need to think clearly, and I came across a sobbing girl. I did the gentlemanly thing to do and asked what was wrong. She told me that her boyfriend had dumped her for some whore with bigger breasts. The nerve of the bastard, such a deplorable reason. After I calmed her down and took her for some coffee… well things moved forward as they so often do. But. And this is a big but. But I never touched her. Yes, we did end up in her room. Yes, I slept in her bed. But nothing happened. And then this morning happened. The brother had heard what happened and came in to try in comfort her, good man, but… he caught me on her balcony doing my morning prayers and then jumped to the wrong idea.
"Quit running you bastard!"
"(sigh) I hate the brothers, fathers quit running after me by the first block. Brothers always run forever." Dante looked around for any quick escape routes. With none in sight he kept running.
Four hours later Dante fell down on his family's couch.
"Damn bastard… I didn't even do anything this time." Date groaned, his voice muffled by the pillow in his face.
"Welcome home son." Dante's mother said as she walked into the room. He could hear the sound of her jewelry, she always wore too much. "Did you find another young girl to pass your time."
My mother, she always loved the good life. Before it was my father who give it to her and now it's my stepdad. She certainly could be called a gold digger but in my opinion she hasn't gotten that far. She'll still call out my stepdad on his BS though I'm sure she ends up paying for it later in the form of certain services to him. I don't really care, she's happy most of the time and that's better than not at all. She does care about me, my older brother and my younger sister far more than that slob of a husband she has, but from what I remember of my dad he wasn't much better. And the thing is she didn't merry either for their money. She already had it. My family owns a massive shipping company, we control almost all of the shipping in the Mediterranean and have been moving into the Indian Ocean and have begun taking steps to the Pacific. What does that have to do with the men in my mom's life? Well… she's lazy and doesn't want to run the company so she found someone who could. Then my older brother happened. Then me. And then my younger sister. Then my dad died and she found my stepdad.
My stepdad doesn't own the company, my mom does but he runs it now that my brother step down. For three years my brother ran the company and brought it more success in three years than the last three decades. But then he almost OD. We hadn't known about his drug problem but it wasn't really thought about, the sad ones were the board of directors. I knew he would be fine with all the money we have and my sister wasn't told anything about it. So for the last two years my stepdad has taken control of the company. At best he's made slow progress, at worse he's kept the status quo. It's not like he beats me or my sister, he's just in this family for the company and my mom. He doesn't care about me any more than a piece on a game board. To be used and played with on occasion.
"No." Dante said rising his head above the pillow. "I just tried to do the right thing."
"I see… well I'm sure you'll be on your best behavior at your new school right?" Dante's mother said as she sat next to her son. "I don't want to find out that you have gotten some girl…"
"Mom! I'm not that stupid."
That was my last resort plan and I'm hoping it won't come to that. Why would I say something like that? Normally that was the one thing that every teenage boy dreaded. But not for me, that was my back up back up back up plan. Currently I'm in an arranged marriage. I know it isn't the most common or legal thing anymore but it's more like if I refuse then I'll be disowned. And while that may not sound that bad at the end of the day it's a lot worse in my family. To be disowned is the same as a death sentence, my stepdad has kept the company afloat by using our ships to smuggle everything from drugs to shoes… yes shoes. Anyone that he disowns from the family will end up being framed for crimes that he himself did.
"Yes I know." Dante's mother slightly laughed at this. "Listen, I know your upset with your stepfather but just know he's doing his best while your brother recovers. Sometimes that means some of us need to give up a little of our freedom."
"Or all of it." Dante mumbled.
Beatrice Portinari. She was the girl that my parents had planned for me merry. If I have to be honest, I'm not mad at the fact that they did it but it was how. Oh don't get me wrong, I hate the idea of an arranged marriage with a burning passion. Love is random, love is unexpected, love cannot be forced or more accurate it shouldn't be. And that brings me to Beatrice. Every single moment in our relationship had been planned out and staged by our parents. Our first meeting, our second meeting, our first date and so on. I only learned of the truth from her brother who I still hold great respect for. Even though Francesco still wants me to marry his sister I cannot hold ill will to him. But her, I most certainly can. She had learned the truth halfway in our relationship and continued on with it. She had already decided that I was hers and she was mine. I had tried to find ways out of this farce of a union… if you hadn't noticed by now I like dramatic wording. My current plan is to move far away and hide. Like a coward. A very handsome and smart coward.
"In any case once you return from Japan we will begin planning the wedding." Dante's mother said as she stood back up. "I do hope that you cool down by the time you return." She said before leaving her son to brood.
Return? Never! Eah… I hope. In two days I leave for Japan to go to private school. I had convinced my stepfather that it would help me make connections to the children of powerful people in that part of the world. The slob actually said he was proud of me for my good idea. It almost made the entire plan not worth it. I would be living with my best friend Minamoto Soshitsu. How does a boy from Florence have a best friend in Japan? Simple, when his father leaves him for a whole month in the foreign. He had accidently left me there on one of his business trips when I was five. Thankfully Minamoto and his family found me and took care of me until my brother found out and came to get me. Since then we had stayed in contact through the internet and a few trips. He's a bit depressing and way into American goth culture but it's just his surface, don't tell anyone but his dream is to one day be a judge. Right now he lives by himself and works as a mechanic but is going to night school and taking courses online.
The school I'm going to just opened up to boys this year. my stepfather didn't like the idea of me going there due to the chance I ruin his plans but all other schools that would give me any real connections were booked up and weren't accepting new students. Damn bastard's hands were tied. The school was called Kuoh Academy and look pretty nice. He would have three years there before he had to come home. Three years to either find a way out of his forced wedding or he would need to start thinking about the more drastic plans he had thought up.
Three days later.
Dante stretched his arms out. "Damn… that was not fun." Dante looked around for his friend, he wasn't hard to find, given that people stayed at least five feet away from him. Dante smiled as he looked over at his older friend. His long black and white hair stretched down to his back. His clothes all either black or white as well, and all straight out of some awfully cheesy high school movie where he would fit in with the goth kids. His face completed the look with several studs and rings with a painted pale face. Dante walked over to the older teen laughing.
"What's so funny?" Minamoto asked, his voice honest in his confusion.
"Oh nothing… it's just… ha-ha… I had always thought you were joking around when you sent the pictures." Minamoto just gave back a more confused look. He didn't understand what his friend meant by that.
"Anyways, I got the car all ready." Minamoto said as he led to the airport parking lot. "So it looks like you've been practicing your Japanese."
"Yeah, I have to say it was hard at first but with your help I feel quite used to it. That idea about watching a ton of anime didn't really help though. But I certainly enjoy it a lot more that I can understand it. The English dubbed stuff just takes to damn long to wait for."
"I didn't know you spoke English too."
"I speak English, Spanish, Italian of course, now Japanese, a little Arabic, and even some Korean. It comes from being the son of a shipping empire, need to talk to a lot of people in a lot of different ways."
"I guess that makes sense… right over there." Minamoto pointed over to a small compact car. "What?" Minamoto asked when he saw his friend's disappointed face.
"I was expecting a Hearse."
"…oh lord death, may my own days be long until the day I come to the moment that binds all beings in a shared experience. I give praise to your duty, your thankless duty to govern that which binds all things. I shall one day have honor of meeting your glory but I pled you for it not be today so that I may live to praise your name again."
"And you call me goth." Minamoto said from the balcony doorframe.
"It's something my grandfather taught me. He said to do it every morning no matter what or bad things will start to happen." Dante said as he stood back up. "I know I was just a kid when he told me but I still have this feeling that whenever I do it I'm making something happy. Who knows it might be death or it might be god, who cares. It can't hurt me to do it." Dante followed his friend back into the small apartment. It was early in the morning and the two had planned to stay in work on adjusting Dante to life in Japan.
"So I'm I going to have to worry about you bringing home chicks?" Minamoto joked as he sipped his coffee "Damn! That is good stuff." Dante smiled, he knew that look on Minamoto's face.
"Don't worry buddy, as long as I'm here you'll have authentic Italian coffee every morning. And to answer question, I don't think so. But then again I'm a teen boy with a sexy accent."
"I'm going to need to get noise cancelling headphones aren't I?"
"I'm joking. That's only a last ditch plan." There was a deep quiet after that.
"Hey… I'm sorry man. I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine, I have time to find my way out of it."
"Hey… would it be so bad? I mean, not three months ago you couldn't stop talking about this girl. You really sounded like you loved her."
"That's the thing… I did. But it was all a lie and I think I could have gotten past that. The reasons might have been fake but I thought the love might have been. But… then I learned that she knew. She didn't know at first but after we had started going out as exclusive to each other her father told her about what they had done. I would have kept going if she had just told me. But she didn't."
"I'm sorry. Does she know that you're trying to get out of it?"
"I think so, she never said anything but when I left for the airport she said things that suggested that she knew. She was colder but at the same time she was all over me. I don't know what goes through her head anymore."
"Maybe you never did."
"Yeah… enough about this. Let's get to work… hand me those chopsticks! I shall master the art of eating food here!"
First day of school.
Dante was walking down the sidewalk to his new school. The last month had been fun, Minamoto had certainly been enjoying having Dante as his roommate. Dante had provided Minamoto with something glorious, his cooking. Before Dante had met Beatrice he had planned on becoming a chef, a classy one with one of those tall hats. Dante's older brother was the hair to the company, even still despite his issues something that made Dante cringe, and so Dante had been ignored as to what he wanted to do with his life. But now that Dante knew what his parents had planned he had realized that he wasn't being ignored because of his brother but because they already planned out to have him marry. And under that marriage he would likely be put in some part of the company so his stepfather could watch him all the time. It would be some low level job, high enough so it wouldn't rise any suspicions but low enough so Dante couldn't have any real power. Just where his father wanted him. Dante was nothing more than part of contact to Beatrice's father. Maybe once he somehow got out of his current pile of shit he would try to find work as a line cook. At least then he could do something he liked, it wouldn't be what he wanted be close enough.
Dante was snapped out of his deep thoughts when he walked on the school grounds and was surrounded by at the very least twenty female students. Everyone asking who he was and if he was single and other things of that nature. Dante was taken back by the forwardness of the girls.
"Le signore…" His Italian caused most to gasp and a few fainted but they all had turned a deep crimson color. "… I understand that you all want to talk with me but I need to get to homeroom." His ascent only caused more girls to crowd around him. He tried to let them all down softly and politely as he could but it was no use. As Dante looked around for any way out of his current predicament he noticed three guys on the grassy hill nearby, all of them had looks of pure jealousy. One with a shaved head, one with glasses, and one more normal looking. When he asked who they were the girls turned to the boys with death stares. They told Dante that they first years and that they were perverts and had been caught peeping numerus times even before school had started. Most of the girls pleaded Dante to stay far away from them. Dante smiled, he had found his way out. "Nonsense le signore. I'm sure that they have simply suffered from rumors and misunderstandings." The girls watch in horror as Dante began walking over to the trio. "Hello, my name is Dante Alighieri." Dante said with his hand outstretched to the most normal looking one, the other two he had no desire to touch. They looked rather… sticky.
"Ummm… I'm Issei Hyoudou." Issei as he shook the foreign teen's hand, his grip hurting Issei.
"Hey man! Why the fuck did you come over here when you had all those hotties all to yourself?!" the shaved head boy demanded.
"Because you three repel them and I need to get to homeroom." Dante said with a warm and kind smile that didn't match his cold words. The three boys sunk down to the ground form Dante's words. "Now Issei was it, you seem to be salvageable…" the other two sunk even lower. "… how would you like to get a girlfriend?" The three rows back up and each one had a fire in their eyes.
"You can do that?!"
"Don't fuck with us man!"
"Yes! God Yes!"
"Very good." Dante grabbed Issei by his collar and began dragging him to the group of girls still waiting for Dante to return. "Le signore! I come baring good news! I have taken this young moron under my wing. I swear to you that by the end of the school year I shall have turned this pervert in to a fine gentlemen and a man worthy of your attention and if I shall fail then I will go out on a date with each and every one of you." This caused the crowd of girls to yell out in excitement at that prospect.
Looking down on the spectacle in front of the school, Rias Gremory paid close attention to the second year boy as he dragged the first year to the school. Something felt different about the two of them. The one being dragged was something she understood, but the foreign teen felt very unusual. Even from the distance she could feel an icy chill to his soul.
"Akeno, that foreign second year. do you know who he is?" Rias said as she returned to her chess board.
"No I don't… why?"
"No real reason." Reason was about to move her rook when it slightly moved towards her hand. "Could you find out." Akeno looked down at her mistress with a look of surprise but quickly returned back to a smile.
"Of course."
Dante's plan had worked perfectly. Word soon spread of Dante's deceleration and not only had Issei worked as a repellent to the hordes of female student that a few of the other new male students had to deal with but his promise to change him had protected his still forming reputation. He would not be labeled a pervert. He had gotten to Homeroom quick enough and for fun had first introduced himself in his Italian causing all the female students to collectively blush.
Right now Dante was eating lunch on the roof of the school, he was currently alone and he liked it. For one thing he had made his own lunch and if the news got out that he could cook not even the repellent known as Issei could help him. He sighed at the thought that he would need to buy his lunch from now on. The lunch food that the school provided looked good but lacked any real verity.
"Hello there." Dante looked up to see a tall raven haired girl standing above. Had he been like Issei he would have taken this as an opportunity to look up her skirt but then again she would probably never have come up to him if he was like Issei.
"Ciao."
"Ou… Italian, I'm sure all the girls fall for that." Her voice was sweet and innocent but Dante could feel the intent behind her words and it made him smile.
"Girls like you?" Dante said bluntly.
"Oh I'm not like most girls, so are you from Italy or is this just an act?"
"I'm from Florence, it's a nice city. I recommended it to visit some time. But enough about me, why are you up here and asking me questions?"
"Can't a girl ask questions; that's how you make friends you know." She said as she sat down next to him. "So what'ch eating?" Dante didn't like this. She was digging for something. He knew how to read people for things like this, people had been trying to get information out of him all his life.
"It's called I'm not in the mood for games." Dante said as he closed up his lunch and stood up. "I know when someone has an ulterior motive, I learned that lesson the hard way." Dante said before walking to the door to the stairs.
"Well the president was right, he is different." Akeno said smiling, she now was also intrigued by the foreign teen.
The day had continued on without any more incidents. The classes were normal and he didn't have any homework as it was the first day. As he was walking back to his home away from not really home his smile was far from his face. The girl from the roof was on his mind and it had caused a frown to form. She was nice but at the same time he could tell she wanted something else. He had never seen her before and he hadn't been in town that long. The possibilities of who she was and what she wanted was a short list. He sighed, he might have just made a bigger deal about the whole thing than it really was. He now felt that he should find the girl and say he was sorry for his rudeness.
"What's with the frown?" His body froze over at the familiar voice. Dante turned back to see someone he really wasn't expecting to see. "Happy to see me love?"
"Beatrice." Dante's voice was filled with venom, he really didn't want to see her standing there but there she was and what was worse was that she was wearing the Kuoh uniform.
"Looks good doesn't it." She said as she turned around to show it off.
"What are you doing here?" He really, really wanted her to go away.
"Well our fathers were worried that you might miss me." Her voice was sweet but unlike the girl from the roof he knew it was a malicious lie or at the very least a hurtful one.
"You mean they sent you here to keep me from getting out of our arranged marriage."
Rias' eyes widened at that sentence. She had started watching the boy after Akeno had come back and told her what happened. Her familiar's eyes were focused on the current events that were playing out sending back the sights and sound to Rias.
"Why would you want out?" Her face was clearly confused and he was certain that it was true in her mind as well. In the days after he found out the truth he had begun seeing things like her vanity and hubris. It had shocked him how much he was blinded to. "We love each other."
"I thought that too, but you know as well as I do that it wasn't real."
"My brother told you huh?" Her voice had turned a bit more ridged. "So what if papa had us meet without telling us, we still grew to love each other."
"If you would have told me that you found out then things would be different. Our love would have grown stronger from it but… instead it had died." Dante's words were hard, he had long ago cried and let his sorrow out. He had now grown cold and bitter to the whole thing.
"That's not true. You still love me." Beatrice walked up to Dante, her hands laying his chest. "Right Dante? You could never leave me." Something was very wrong, Dante could feel it. The moment she touched him he could feel old feelings come back up. He knew that they had died long ago but now they had come back strong. He tried stepping back but Beatrice was now holding on to his waist. "You love me right Dante?" Dante's grunted as the words tried forcing their way out.
"I… I… I d…" Suddenly before Dante could finish, Beatrice jumped back and Dante's mind cleared. He looked back at the girl that once had his heart and for the first time he saw her scowl. He eyes were focused on something behind him. Dante didn't want to look back; he didn't want to be taken by surprise by Beatrice again but he had to know just what had caused this change.
"Return to your masters Succubus!" A voice that Dante could only describe as one from a beautiful Valkyrie, strong yet enchanting. He wanted to turn back to see just who was it but knew that if he let his eyes leave Beatrice she would try to take him.
"Leave Devil! This one is mine." That. That was the voice Beatrice deserves. It was rough and cracked.
"You have no right to hunt here, this land is under the protection of the house of Gremory."
"This one is not yours! He is already claimed by my family, I'm just here to keep him on his leash." Beatrice's teeth had begun turning shark like and her eyes had started turning glossed over and pale.
"If that is so then why do you resort to such things as your contact control. If he was truly yours then you would only need to call to him." Beatrice's scowl deepened as she backed off.
"Very well devil. But remember that he is mine." Beatrice's face returned to the same lie as earlier. "Good bye my love, I'll be back to remind you who you love later." At that Beatrice disappeared in a gust of wind. Dante just stared at the spot his former love stood.
"That was very impressive. Not many can resist a succubus for that long." The voice belonging to whoever saved him said as she came closer.
"So I guess when I say she is a succubus I'm not just saying it as an insult." Dante said still not turning to the owner of the enchanting voice. She chuckled at this.
"It could work both ways."
"I'm going to assume the girl from the roof was working for you."
"You connect things quickly. It's safe to look away by the way." Dante sighed and looked back to his savor. He was surprised to see another Kuoh uniform, but what caught his attention was her long crimson hair and warm smile. But most of all it was her eyes, blue and green orbs that shined in the setting sun.
"I have to that you, but… what happened is only temporary. A band aid at best. She'll be back and if she's… that, then I'm in even more trouble than I thought." Dante looked down to the ground then back at the sky. "Maybe I should just run now."
"I might be able to help you." Dante looked back at his savor, eyes filled with reluctant hope. "But there's a cost."
"Anything! Anything to be free to decided my own fate! All my life I have never been in control, things had been decided for me. I'll give anything to be free of this fate."
Rias slightly blushed at his resolve to be free of a fate that was not his choosing. He was in a situation much like her own and he still never had lost hope.
"You have to become a Devil." Rias had turned stoic, this was serious. And she needed to convey that. "You must leave behind your humanity and become a Devil of the Underworld."
"That's all? That's all it takes to be free? Done." Dante was truly surprised by the cost; it was so little. The girl before him was one of these Devils and he was assuming that the same was for the girl form the roof and they looked to be the same as him, teens in high school.
"Then take this." In the girl's hand was a chess piece, a rook. "And place it to your core." Dante took the piece and studied it for a moment. It looked to be a normal chess piece painted red but he could feel a pressure coming off it. Dante smiled, he always like the rook, most people say it looks like castle but he always thought it looked more like crown than the king or queen did. He brought the piece to his chest and let it phase into him. He felt a burst of sensation and the he choked on his spit and fell to the ground. Rias smiled at the unconscious boy, he was different and she liked that.
Dante's eyes opened to the ceiling of the room that had become his. His head was murky, things flowed in and out. But there was one thing that he knew, he had felt this exactly eight times before.
"There's someone in my bed." Dante thought. Not moving his body, his eyes looked to his right to see the girl from last night sleeping next to him. "That's new… I've never been that good." Dante looked to his alarm clock, praying that it wasn't close to seven. It was six fifty-six. "Oh fuck… when that hits seven. Need. To. Un. Plug." Dante tried to reach the clock with his free left hand. His fingertips barely touching the plastic as the clock ticked to six fifty-nine. "No!" When the clock hit seven it began blasting out hardcore Italian death metal music. Dante rushed out of his bed falling to the floor. He grabbed the clock and pulled its cord out of the power socket. He looked to the girl and to his surprise she was still sleeping. But his roommate was not.
"How many times do I have to tell you to quit it with that trashy death… what?" Minamoto slammed the door open and was a bit dazed by the sight of the crimson haired girl in Dante's bed. "…"
"I can't explain." Dante bluntly half joked.
"…"
"Are you going to say anything?"
"…" Minamoto closed the door behind him.
"That… okay." Dante looked back at the currently more important problem that was sleeping in his bed. Dante then looked to the door to the small bathroom thinking whether he should take a shower… or maybe a bath… a bath would really feel good. As he debated this in his head he heard the sheets on his bed rustle. The girl sat up and yawned. She smiled at the sight of Dante staring back her from the floor. "Why?" Dante asked bluntly.
"Good morning to you too." She deflected in the same jokey manner he had asked his question.
"Well good morning as well but… Why are you in my bed with me and why are you naked?"
"You needed to have the last bit of the succubus' magic removed and I could only do that if I held you close and it doesn't work if we have clothes on. Plus, I can't sleep without being nude and like having hugging pillow."
"So you made me said pillow." Dante's eyes narrowed. The way she said that last part made he think that this might become a regular thing, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He didn't even know this girl's name and yet it sounded like she was going to be sleeping with him from now on. "I thank you for getting rid of her influence but… I have a few things to say."
"I'm sure you do." She said while sitting up on the edge of his bed kicking her feet playfully.
"First off… your naked."
"Yes I know; do you want me to stand up so you can get a better view?" Dante slightly groaned at this. Internally he was fighting his teenage boy side to say something stupid and it was giving him a headache. He worked hard to try and keep his calm and cool demeanor.
"I can't say anything to that." Dante mumbled to himself. "Hello my name is Dante Alighieri." The girl just smiled at his deflection and walked over to her folded clothes.
"My name is Rias Gremory… better?" Rias asked after putting her panties back on.
"Again I can't say anything to that." Dante mumbled as he started to grow increasingly frustrated. He wasn't used to the way Rias was acting, all the girls that he had been in this situation with were either so charmed by him that they could barely form complete sentences. "Next, how much of last night was true?"
"All of it, you are now a devil. And you're my Rook. Which make me your master. Could you zip this up." Rias turned her back to allow Dante to zip her bra up. He did so quickly though it caused his eyes to twitch slightly. He was not happy with how she was acting; he was so used to girls being in a daze when around him that the fact that Rias was so casual right now was throwing him off. He had nothing against women like this it just was he wasn't used to it. And was currently mentally berating himself for feeling this way.
"Fine, what does that mean?"
"All High class devils have their own peerages, made up of our Evil Pieces. You are my Rook, my second one to be more accurate. As a member of peerage I now take responsibility for you. You don't have to worry about that succubus coming after you anymore." Rias smiled as Dante's eyes warmed up to that statement but then frown as the turned sullen again.
"Did… did she ever actually love me?" Dante's voice soft, Rias could hear the hurt that came from that question. "Or was this all some game to her?"
"Succubi and Incubi are made from humans who are on the verge of heart break they are promised the person they love in exchange they and their love join the parent succubi coven. So yes… she must have loved you at some point but now that has been replaced with a feeling of ownership. She will forever see you as hers and nothing more than trophy."
"I see… and how are you different than her? How do I know you don't see me the same way?" A tense quiet filled the air. Neither one made a sound but just before Rias was about yell at him for implying something as horrible as that the room was filled with his laughter.
"What's so funny?" Rias demanded
"You, I know that you don't see me that way. But the fact that you would react that way only confirms that. I'm sorry for playing you like that." Rias blushed out of embarrassment when she realized that she was indeed about to react to what he said in a very predicable way. "Let me make you breakfast as a way of apologizing." Dante stood up and walked out of the room leaving behind a very red Rias going over what had just happened.
Minamoto looked at the gorgeous girl sitting at his table. Drinking his coffee. He stared down at his instant coffee and frowned. One month. That was enough time for him to get hooked on the heavenly liquid that his best friend made every morning. Every morning Dante would get up and make two cups of coffee and go out to do his morning prayers, letting his cool while Minamoto drank his as it was the first one made and had already cool while Dante made the second. But today that girl was drinking it.
"Who the hell are you and why are you drinking my coffee!" Minamoto demanded as he slammed his instant coffee in the sink. The girl didn't respond and just took another sip from what should be his coffee.
"I'm Rias Gremory, and I'm drinking this because Dante give it to me."
"But why?!" Minamoto said with his fists clenching.
"What is Dante doing out there if I may ask."
"Praying, he does it every morning." The girl stood up and rushed over to the balcony door while Minamoto stared at the cup debating if he should finish it off or not.
"…day have honor of meeting your glory but I pled you for it not be today so that I may live to praise your name again." Dante finished as Rias opened the door. "Oh Rias, do you need something?"
"What were you just doing?" Rias asked, she was shocked not to find him cowering while holding on to his head in pain.
"Doing my morning prayers, if you want to join me I can start over."
"You were praying and you didn't feel any pain from saying his name?"
"His? Oh… you mean god's… fucking damn that hurts!" Dante said as he clenched his forehead. He had never felt that before. "Are you saying that just saying… that… causes… this?"
"Yes, He doesn't like devils invoking his name." Rias said smiling as she watched her newest Rook curse and whine about the pain. "But what kind of praying are you doing if it isn't to Him."
"Arg… ah… AH! Okay." Dante took a deep breath. "… It's something my grandfather taught me. He told me to do it every morning or I'll get bad luck."
"And you still do it?" Rias asked as she walked over to one of the chairs on the balcony to sit down.
"Yeah, why not? It helps me think and better to do it and be safe than not and risk bad luck."
"Well that certainly makes sense. If you don't mind could you start over."
"Sure… one moment…" Dante opened the balcony door. "Minamoto! That's not yours!"
"Go fuck yourself! This is my coffee!" Dante just groaned while Rias laughed.
"I'm sorry about that, I'll make you another after." Dante took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I pray to you oh lord of the End, lord of last days and first mornings. You are what binds all livings in this and any world. Where there is life you shall always follow and we welcome you. We may fear and hate you but we shall always welcome you into our hearts and minds. You are death and across the lands you are known. Oh great lord death, forever shall you bring peace to those suffering and those unworthy of the gift that is life. Oh humble lord death, forever shall your duty be praised and hated by the great and the fearful. Oh beautiful lord death, may your tranquility be found where ever you go. Oh lord death, may own my days be long until the day I come to the moment that binds all beings in a shared experience. I give praise to your duty, your thankless duty to govern that which binds all things. I shall one day have honor of meeting your glory but I pled you for it not be today so that I may live to praise your name again." Dante opened his eyes and turned back to Rias.
"That was beautiful." Rias said as she smiled back at he shocked Rook.
"Really, most people tend to think's morbid or emo or something. But it's not, all its saying is that we all are going to die one day and that we should worry so much about that. It will come but that doesn't mean we should get all sad about. Or at least that's what I think."
"I guess you could see it that way." Rias said as she looked out on to the town, her head resting on her hands.
"You think it means something else?" Dante followed his new mistress' gaze out on to the town.
"It could simply mean that we're all walking down the same road and that we should find that to be some kind of common ground."
"Huh… never thought of it that way." The two looked out on the sight of the rising sun over the small town. "Well… we should start getting ready for school." Dante said as he began standing back up.
"I guess you're right." Rias slightly pouted. "By the way Dante, Devils are pretty much immortal." Rias left the shocked Dante standing quietly on the balcony.
The sight of the two walking into on to the school grounds almost caused a riot. On one side there was the boys that were enraged because it was the new foreign guy that landed the number one babe in the school and on the other side was the jealous female students that were pissed off that Rias had snatched Dante up so quickly not even giving the other girls a chance.
Dante sighed, at the very least Rias did a great job at keeping the fangirls at bay. Dante then noticed Issei and his two pals staring at the sight and he gave them a quick wink as to say Only I could do this and only I can get you here. Dante laughed as the two friends began beating on Issei for hogging Dante or as they called him, the Sensei of Badass.
The crowd lessened as the two entered the school.
"I'll be sure to send someone to fetch you after classes." Rias said before starting to walk away but when she turned she and Dante froze in place.
"Well I see you two sure have gotten close." Beatrice said, still using her sweet voice that Dante now knew as another lie. "I sure hope that you haven't betrayed me Dante."
"Beatrice… I know what you are and I'm truly am sorry that I am the cause of it." Dante said as he walked in front of Rias in attempt to have Beatrice's focus be on him rather than her. "But I think I need to be clear on something. I'm ending things between us. I no longer love you, I will always treasure who you once were but now… I just want you to away so you won't corrupt what found memories I have left." Beatrice's expression didn't change a bit but Dante could feel the rage coming off her.
"Oh Dante my love, you think it's that simple." Beatrice went to lay her hands on his chest just like the many times she had done before only to pull back and hiss. "What have you done to my Dante whore!" Beatrice yelled at Rias.
"I freed him from your influence, Dante is now part of my peerage and as such under the protection of house Gremory." The pure anger that could be seen on Beatrice's face eroded away and was replaced by a slight frown as she turned back to Dante.
"Oh my love I'm so very disappointed. You have chosen this scarlet tramp over me. Your first and only love. Well I see I will have to change that. You may not know your heart but I do." Beatrice quietly said as she walked away from the pair.
"I swear she was never that creepy." Dante sighed. "I'm sorry Rias, I had thought she would have given up after last night."
"It's not a problem Dante, succubi will always come after their first. Unfortunately, you are her Heart Breaker and as such she will never quit trying to take you. It is their compulsion."
"Is there anything we can do?"
"At the moment, the only real option would be to kill her." Dante stiffened at the thought of kill Beatrice. While he certainly didn't want anything to do with her ever again he didn't want her to die. "But don't worry, at her level the most she'll be to you now is an annoyance…" Rias then smiled but Dante knew that it was different than most of her other smiles. "… provided I keep cleaning you of her influence."
"Meaning… you keep sleeping with me." The two heard three thuds coming from the school entrance. They look back to see the three perverts laying on their backs and blood running down their faces. "I'm seriously regretting making that promise to make him into a decent human being."
"Oh yes I saw that. Good luck to you in that, I think you're going to need it." Rias said before walking away. Dante groaned and walked back to Issei and his dumbass friends.
"Hey… are you still alive?" Dante kicked Issei until his eyes rolled back from behind his head.
"Did I just hear you say that you and Rias are sleeping together?" Issei asked with shining eyes of admiration.
"It was last night and nothing even happened. The girl is still a virgin." Dante said with seriousness in his own eyes as the other two woke up to that bit of information.
"Why the fuck didn't anything happen, you had a girl in your bed and you didn't do anything, come on man!" the shaved head one yelled. Dante still didn't care to learn their names, unlike Issei these two didn't have a shred of hope.
"Because I was unconscious at the time. And also this isn't the first time this has happened, sometimes you simply just need to be there for a lady. It isn't always about you." The shame Dante put down on the other two once again brought them down to the floor.
"Now listen, Issei. Today at lunch I want you to meet me up on the roof. We're going to do some training to get you a girlfriend." Dante slightly smiled at the sight of Issei jumping into the air with his fist raised and exclaiming yahoo.
Lunch came quickly and when Dante walked up to the roof he found Issei already waiting for him. Not only was Issei there but Rias and the girl from yesterday. Dante walked over to the girls first.
"Why are you here…" Dante turned to the raven haired girl. "I apologize for my rude behavior yesterday."
"Oh don't worry about, I'm sure there's something you can do later that would more than make up for it." Dante watched as Rias frowned at her friend's slightly suggestive words. "I am Akeno Himejima, it's nice to meet you again Dante Alighieri."
"Yes and it's a pleasure to meet you again."
"Oh truly the pleasure is mine." Once again Dante noticed another frown from Rias directed at her friend's choice of words.
"Yes… what are you two doing here?"
"We wanted to see you try and turn him…" Rias pointed at Issei who is currently trying to make an attempt at stretching out his muscles. "… into a mini you."
"And this would be a friendly attempt to get some blackmail on me?" Dante's voice was soft and kind, he was not trying to be rude but casual but he still wanted to know these things.
"Of course not, I would never do something like that to one of my peerage." Dante glared skeptically at Rias who in turn just gave back one of her friendly smiles. Satisfied, Dante tuned back to the young pervert and began walking over to him.
"You ready Akeno?"
"Always president." Akeno smiled as she pulled out her phone.
Dante walked over to the stretching Issei.
"Okay Issei, here's what we're going to do." Dante said as he pulled out a poster he had taken from his roommate. He unraveled it to reveal a punk rock chick in a skimpy outfit with uncovered breasts. Issei instantly reacted to the poster. And was subsequently poked with a pen in the thigh. The pain shot up through Issei. "No moron, pain is bad and if you keep reacting the way you do then you're going to have pain." Dante and Issei continued this training until the end of lunch with very little to no progress. The rest of the day went by fairly quick and Dante was flipping his pen through his fingers as he always did when he was bored. Just when he was about to call it quits he saw one of the first years come through the door. The kid's name was Yuuto Kiba, Dante only remembered it because he was one of the other boys that drew a crowd. Dante could only smile at the sight of the girls' disappointment that he had not come for them when Yuuto walked over to Dante.
"Hello Dante, I'm Yuuto Kiba and I'm here to fetch you for Miss Gremory." Dante tilted his head so he could see the angry faces of the girls, they certainly did not like the idea of Rias having the two to herself.
"Yes yes, let us go before they start sharpening spears." Dante nodded to the group of female students and Yuuto gave back a pained expression of understanding. Dante followed the younger first year to an older school house.
"This is where the Occult Research Club meets, it's a front for the president's peerage." Yuuto explained as he opened the door for the new Rook.
"And just what place are you in her peerage?" Dante had expected Rias to have other members but had not expected them to be so young. Yuuto was one thing but there was a damn middle schooler sitting on one of the red couches that dotted the room.
"I am her first Knight and this is Koneko Toujou, her first Rook."
"Hey." The young girl said in an almost monotone voice. Dante quickly walked over to couch across Koneko. "So you're not from Japan?"
"No, io non lo sono. Io vengo da Firenze Italia. Sono sicuro che sarebbe piaciuto." Dante smiled at the confused look on Yuuto's face and at the indifferent one on Koneko's. "I'm Italian and I'm from Florence… now with the pleasantries out of the way, could someone explain why there is a shower right behind me." Dante asked not even looking at the running shower and the silhouette of Rias on the curtains. Neither one of the other two student answered, Koneko didn't care and Yuuto really didn't want to answer. The shower soon stopped and after a few tense minutes Rias stepped out of the shower fully dressed much to Dante's preference and equal internal disappointment.
"Oh good Dante you're here. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting but I didn't have time to use your show at your place." Rias said as she dried her hair. Dante watched the surprisingly nonexistent reaction from the other two teens at Rias' words.
"So this behavior is normal for her… I see. Only making the probability that she's going to do it again more likely. On one hand I'm never going to hear the end of it from Minamoto but on the other I get to have Rias in my bed… teen hormones win out this debate. Sorry Minamoto, I'll have to make him dinner every night from now on… wait… is she going to be there for dinner?" As Dante thought over his changing living arrangements Rias walked over to her desk and smiled as she could tell what was going through her Rook's head. "Tell me Rias, do you prefer whites or reds? I need to know so that I can prepare the correct meal to work with the drinks." That did in fact gain a reaction from Yuuto and even a look of slight surprise from Koneko.
"My my isn't that forward." Akeno said as she walked into the room. "I had no idea you could cook."
"It relaxes me; it gives me a sense of control in my life. Something that I didn't know I lacked until very recently."
"Dante here was until I made him my second Rook under the power of a succubus. He had successfully resisted her when he found out that his parents had staged their relationship. The resulting heart break allowed him to break free. But as you know succubi do not give up their prey easily or even at all. You all need to be on guard as this one is going to our school and will likely try and reclaim Dante any way she can."
"Is there anything you can tell us about her Dante?" Akeno asked.
"Her name is Beatrice Portinari; her family owns one of the largest shipwright companies in the world. My family wanted us to marry so they could get better deals with her family's company or something like that, I never really paid any mind to that. Beatrice herself she careful by nature. Even early on in our relationship she was careful and slightly paranoid. It comes from her father who rammed it into her head that people were out to get her and only her family could help her. I thought that I was helping her come out of her shell but… now I don't know. I have a few ideas on how she became a succubus though." This surprised Rias, she had thought Dante didn't know anything about the afterlife and its denizens. "When I went to her family home for the first time there was a… man. Her father said he was an old friend but the way they spoke to each other felt more business than friendship. The way he looked at me and Beatrice was… unnerving. My very first thought of the man was Okay he's a child molester and the rest of night I just tried to avoid him. I did but Beatrice had talked to him a few times and after each time she would look at me more confidently like she knew we'd be together forever. I had thought that it was just because we were in love and she was opening up more."
"But that wasn't it. Likely the man was an Incubi and he was recruiting Beatrice. He must have been the to tell her about your parents lie and used the same heart break you felt when you found out to lure her into becoming a succubus."
"Maybe… she hadn't really changed all that much until a few months after that." Dante slouched back into the couch. "I can't really think of anything else that would be helpful."
"It's okay Dante, you've said plenty. We know what her goals are, you."
"Why don't we just kill her like any other stray?" Koneko said again in her monotone voice. Dante's face twitched at this, he didn't like the idea but after the meeting this morning it was looking better and better.
"Because, the Succubi is currently under the Fallen Angels banner." Rias answered. Dante and the others looked to their King. "I did some digging and found out that the coven Beatrice belongs to is working for the Fallen Angels."
"I thought that Devils were the Fallen Angels?" Dante asked, the one thing he remembered from Sunday school was the battles and fighting between heaven and hell.
"No, the Fallen Angels are very different." Rias said with a slight glare. She went on to explain to Dante the Three Factions and their history. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, thank you… but… there's just one last thing I wanted to know. Why me? Why didn't you just leave me to my fate? For what reason would you have to take me in when it might cause you trouble?" Dante looked intently at Rias. This question had been bugging him since he had woken up this morning.
Akeno was sitting down wondering if Rias was going to tell the real reason or if she was just going to give half of the story. As her best friend she knew that Rias had seen something of herself in Dante, she also was in an arranged marriage. Not only that but the fact that Dante was eye candy certainly helped.
"It's because you're a Grim Reaper." Rias said seriously. Dante looked at Rias with narrowed eyes, he wasn't expecting an answer like that.
"Grim Reaper?" Yuuto thought outload. "I don't think I understand."
"Grim Reapers are a subspecies of Devils; they are the masters of death itself. They are said to be the dependents of the first God of Death. They are very rare, only two families of Grim Reapers are left in the Underworld and both are very isolated from the day to day. But at the same time there are many dormant Grim Families. Unlike normal Devil blood lines, the Grim Families remain pure no matter who joins, children of a Grim Reaper are always Pure Blood Devils. However, they remain dormant until they are killed after they reach a certain age. But the Grim Reapers are the descends of Death and as such need to praise him or lose his favor. This will result in the loss of his blessing and a very real death quickly follows. This has caused most of the dormant families to loss their members before reaching the right age."
"And what is that age?" Dante asked.
"Seventy-Seven. If a Grim Reaper lives that long and dies they are reborn as a Pure Blood Devil and a true Grim Reaper."
"But what does that mean for me?" Dante was getting worried, he felt like becoming a Devil now was like cheating and he really didn't want to piss of Death.
"I wouldn't worry; you aren't the first dormant Grim Reaper to have been given an Evil Piece. According to the two Grim Houses you should be fine, you already were doing your daily rites and as long as you continue to do them until you reach seventy-seven years you will not suffer Lord Death's displeasure." Dante looked down at the floor as he contemplated this new information. It was a surprise but not a very big one, his grandfather had always told him that their family was special.
"How did you know?"
"When you first arrived I felt your soul. The chill of death hung around it and when you performed your rites this morning it confirmed what I thought."
"So is there any difference between Grim Reapers and normal Devils other than the blood line stuff?"
"Yes, all Grim Reapers do not bleed. They cannot be killed from blood loss and are immune to the cold. Not only that but they grow stronger the colder the area they are in becomes. It is said this is why a body grows cold when it dies. The reasons behind the lack of blood are said to be because Lord Death takes it as tribute but there's no real way to confirm this. But the most important difference is that All Grim Reapers hold a Sacred Gear within them. They all hold one of the seven Scythes of Bone. Come over here." Dante stood up and walked over to his King. The second he stood next to her she pulled him down so he would be laying on her lap with his back to her. He made several sounds of irritation and shock but Rias ignored them. She dragged a finger up his spine and once she reached the base of his neck she tapped on it. "Right here. Try pulling it out right here." Rias said as she let Dante stand back up. After groaning quietly, he did as he was told and reached back to the top of his spine and found that he could feel something. He did as Rias told him and pulled on it. The sound of his spine being pulled out caused everyone but Rias to cringe but in one fluid movement Dante was able pull out a long slightly carved shaft. It's exterior looked very much like a human spine but once Dante tapped the bottom of the pole to the ground the scythe's blade ripped out of the shaft forming the complete look of a scythe. While the pole looked to be a spine the connection between the blade and pole was a skull within a jagged circle and the blade itself was an enlarged scythe blade with the look of many skeletons reaching out to the tip of the blade grooved onto the blade itself. Dante looked at the blade, his eyes taking the entire thing at once.
"It's… it's… it's so… It's So Damn Cool!" Dante's eyes shined with happiness while the other minus Rias looked on with a mix of fear and morbid fascination. Rias just smiled at the sight of a truly happy Dante.
"You should be able to use it in combat already; you just need to let your instincts take over. All you really need is to train your body to withstand the scythe's power."
"You said something about this being one of the Seven Scythes of Bone, I get the bone part now but what makes it different from a normal blade?"
"Sacred Gears are power that few people have, they are part of people's soul. The Blades of Bone each have powers of Lord Death. However, given the fact that you were reincarnated into a Devil you won't have all the power yet. We'll have to unlock it. The seven Blades of Bone are the Blades of Chill, Blood, Finality, Darkness, Despair, Entropy, and lastly Eternity. There's no real way of know what one you have until you unlock the power. Until then all you have is just the normal blade."
"Still pretty exciting to know that we have a real Grim Reaper in our little group." Akeno happily said.
"If you want to return your scythe just place it to your back." Rias informed Dante and he did so, once again causing everyone but Rias to cringe at the sound of the spine like weapon made as it returned to its host.
"Don't ever do that in front of me again." Koneko remarked causing Dante to feel a little bad at causing the young girl such disturbing discomfort.
Dante was walking home after Rias said he could have the first night off. Tomorrow she would have him start working on contracts and summonings.
"You have the night off, and I'm sure you'll have a good time."
Dante slightly grumbled at her choice of words. She was up to something. He had the feeling he was going to find her at his and Minamoto's place. He didn't mind having Rias around, he really did like her company… most of the time. He knew he that from his attitude this morning he needed to work on his reaction to forward and strong women. He was far too used to the fangirls and the Beatrices of the world. And like a bad joke that just got worse, the mare thought of her seemed to cause the same feeling he had been getting every time she showed up.
Dante stopped walking and turned his head back to see Beatrice standing behind him, her face was different than the creepy smile or demonic rage that he had seen in the last few days. Her face was drained, tired. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her head fell into his back.
"I really miss you…" For the first time in months he heard the old Beatrice. "Please… can we just go back to the way things were?"
"You know that's impossible now." He tried to keep his voice stern but the sadness he felt leaked out.
"I really do love you, please don't believe them when they say I don't."
"If that was true then you would leave and let me go."
"If you love something set it free… that's what you're saying."
"Yeah."
"And you know I can't do that… I love you and I can't live without you." With that Beatrice left Dante once again. Dante sighed and continued on his way to his home. He wiped the tears from eyes but felt them continue to come.
"Damn it… every damn time." Dante stood outside the door of his and his roommate's apartment pulling himself together. He didn't want his best friend to worry and he sure that a certain someone was also there and he didn't want to worry her to. Dante took one last deep breath and opened the door, what he saw didn't surprise him in the slightest. Rias… sitting at the dinner table… once again drinking the coffee he had prepared for Minamoto when he returned from work. And sitting across from her with a scowl that for once fit the make up his friend wore.
"Welcome home Dante." Dante groaned as he saw Rias' face light up at his return to the apartment. This was not going to end well for him.
"So… buddy. Guess who says their staying with us."
"I already have made up a plan to make things up to you… it involves me cooking."
"Go on."
"I from now on shall buy the groceries and cook dinner every night. I'll even give you my coffee in the morning."
"You could just make a third cup."
"No. two every morning."
"… Fine. She can stay." Minamoto said as he stood up and then walked to his room.
"He seems nice." Rias said before taking another sip from her cup.
"Don't you start! What the hell are you thinking?! I mean come on! God da… fuck ow that hurts fucking damn it!" Dante collapsed down on to the floor in pain. The next thing Dante feels is Rias' hand stroking his hair. He looks up and see her sitting next to him.
"You saw her again, didn't you?"
"Yeah… she was different. Like her old self, she wanted me to know that she still loves me."
"And she might, but it's not the same love that you two had. The problem is that she doesn't see love the same way you do anymore." The two stayed like this for a few minutes before Dante chose to speak again.
"You're going to be sleeping in my bed aren't you?"
"Well of course, where else would I sleep, I still need to cleanse you of her influence every night."
"And you're going to be naked again aren't you."
"That's the only way it can be done."
"Sure… let's go with that." Dante laughed.