The Love Octagon Venn Diagram
A High School DxD fanfic
By me
Rated M
Chapter 1: Patience
Rias Gremory sat uncomfortably in class, attempting to distract herself from the thought that plagued her mind constantly. Issei was gone. Here she was trying to return to mundane life like everything wasn't completely different. How could she be expected to function and return to her previous routine without Issei Hyoudou in her life? Her heart tightened every time she thought of him – which was almost always, as Issei's death – no, disappearance (she hasn't given up on him yet) – occupied her every waking thought.
The moment of Issei's disappearance kept on replaying in her mind, on a never ending repeat. Every time her minded drifted off or she closed her eyes, all she could picture was Issei and Valli disappearing into the dimensional gap in the midst of their heavily anticipated clash. Neither had been since. Rias kept on waiting and waiting for Issei's return, but it never came.
No longer her usually observant self, Rias was suddenly hit with the realisation that something had changed in the dynamic of her class. She cast her eyes across the classroom in an attempt to work out what it was. She looked to Akino on her left hand side, in the seat along the same horizontal row as her, looking similarly distant and grief-stricken. This was not the root of this alter in the fabrics of the classroom. She directed her gaze to the other side of the classroom in an effort to locate what was bothering her. And Rias was met with her answer: a new – male – student. How had she missed his introduction? The loss of Issei was throwing her more of her game than she thought.
This new classmate was by no means a bad looking fellow. If her heart didn't belong to Issei, Rias would certainly find herself mildly attracted to this young man. He wasn't a 'pretty boy' like Kiba, instead he had more of a rugged feel about him. He had long, dark curly hair that went to his shoulders, relatively pale skin and a thin beard that coated his chin and cheeks. He wore the regular school uniform. There was a familiarity about him that she couldn't put her finger on to try and work out why. He was sat in the seat in front of the seat directly to Rias' right, so she could see him but he couldn't see her unless he went through the strain of turning around – which may risk a neck injury. He had a vacant look plastered across his face, with his mind clearly not focused on the lesson. From the movement of his jaw she realised that he was also chewing gum.
The teacher's voice suddenly pierced through Rias' distracted thoughts, when Rias heard the teacher shout "Mr. Gin, I don't know how they did things at your old school, but here at Kuoh Academy we don't chew gum in class. And whilst I'm on the subject of what we don't accept here, we're not too keen on facial here either."
Rias turned from the angry face of the teacher to the new student, 'Mr. Gin'. Mr. Gin looked up at the teacher with a raised eyebrow, clearly annoyed at this teacher for embarrassing him in front of his new classmates. Rias expected him to say something but, instead, the teacher's facial expression completely changed and she moved on as if nothing had happened.
This incident left Rias mildly surprised, as she tried to work out why the teacher decided to drop things so easily. A similar incident occurred soon after. Mr. Gin returned to his daydreaming until he was rudely interrupted, when the teacher tried to catch him out by asking him a question in the knowledge that he was clearly not paying attention – a classic teacher move in their arsenal of dirty tricks. Rias expected the new pupil to react in a distressed fashion and say something like 'oh, um, well, um, I'm not sure, um, could you please repeat the question?' But Mr. Gin kept his composure and again simply looked up at the teacher and, again, the teacher moved on as if nothing had happened. But this time Rias saw it. Or at least she thought she'd seen it. She believed she'd seen something at the very least, perhaps not 'it'. But definitely something.
Rias was more attentive this time and maintained her focus on Mr. Gin throughout the incident. When he looked up at the teacher and locked eyes with the teacher, a silver glint played across his livid (blue-grey) eyes. To someone who had not fixed their gaze upon this young man would not have recognised this change in his eyes, or perhaps even noticed it at all – but Rias prided herself on her attention to detail in such matters. She was certain that something was afoot with this young man and she was keen to find out what.
She continued to stare at this newcomer in an attempt to uncover something else about him. Rias was then welcomed with quite the surprise when he risked straining his neck to turn around to her watchful gaze. Mr. Gin gave her a friendly smile and proceeded to wink at her, before turning back around to face the front and return to his daydreaming state.
/
Upon the culmination of the school day, Rias gathered herself and dragged herself to the usual meeting place of the 'Occult Research Club'. She got there ten or so minutes before the rest of the club so that she could assemble the necessary materials for her to assign set tasks to the members. As she entered the club room she was met by Azazel, again sitting in her chair.
"This is a recurring habit that I would like for you to break out of. That is my chair, get out of it. Please," Rias said to him.
"And good afternoon to you too, Rias," Azazel responded, ignoring her instruction, "I have got a word of a mission that your brother would like for you to complete with your team."
Rias nodded to him, "go on."
"There is a stray devil he would like for you to deal with. This devil has proved somewhat problematic over the years, with every devil sent to deal with the devil failing. Sirzechs has recently got word that this devil has now found its way to your territory, and has deemed it only fair to allow you and your team to have a pop at catching him," Azazel informed her. "So no pressure," he added with a wry smile.
"Great," Rias replied with a forced smile, willing herself to remain perky and witty in such dark times.
The other members of the 'Occult Research Club' flooded in, all with a sense of sorrow in their step, all also battling with feelings of regret and sadness over the loss of Issei. They sat themselves down on the seats before Rias' desk – of which remained occupied by Azazel – and proceeded to all look down at their feet with glum expressions fixed across their faces.
"Hello all," Rias began, "I know that we're all struggling at present, but we have to try and remain dutiful. We have been set a task by my brother, of which I hope you feel up to completing."
"What's the point?" Koneko responded solemnly.
"Excuse me?" Rias found herself crying out.
"What's the point of continuing like nothing's happened? How can we be expected to go on as normal when Issei's gone?" Koneko replied.
"He was the glue that held us together and drew us in," Akeno added.
Rias breathed in and out to compose herself and finally issued a response to her comrades: "I'm not expecting you to act like nothing's happened or to go back to normal. We've all been deeply affected by the loss of Issei, myself included, but we've got to carry on and do our jobs because it's what Issei would want us to do. The best way for us to pass the time whilst we wait for his return is to make sure we continue to do what's expected of us, so that Issei doesn't have to return to a club in tatters."
"That's if he ever returns," Xenovia muttered with pain etched into her words.
"We can't think like that. If we do, we'll never be able to function, we have to try and remain positive until we know something with certainty. We just need to have a little patience," Rias said, trying to drum up positivity in others whilst covering up her own feelings.
"The president is right, we need to continue to do what Issei would want us to do in his absence, and keep on doing our jobs. Come on, guys," said Kiba, issuing a rallying call.
The rest of the club's faces began to perk up a bit, as they nodded in agreement. Preparations then began for their departure, as they drew out plans for this allusive stray devil.
/
"Are you sure this big house is where we can find the stray?" Rossweisse asked Rias.
"This is definitely the address Azazel gave me, whether it's correct or not remains to be seen," Rias responded.
"How can a stray devil live in such an absolute mansion when he never stays in one place for long?" Xenovia queried rhetorically.
The 'Occult Research Club' stood just outside a towering mansion of a home, which looked like it could house tens of people in it, with each inhabitant getting a fairly large room for themselves. The house was placed on the outskirts of town, away from the majority of the residents of the settlement.
"How many devils are we expecting to find in this place?" asked Kiba, clearly amazed by the size of this place.
"One," Rias answered.
"So how should we go about getting in?" piped up Koneko.
"There doesn't appear to be any fence blocking us from getting into the garden of the house, so perhaps going in through the backdoor (lol) would be the best course of action?" Akeno proposed.
"Agreed," said Rias.
They tiptoed round his house – for they did not wish to alert the rogue devil to their presence - entering into the garden and coming before a large, green garage like door at the back of the house. Rias nodded to Koneko, who stepped up and proceeded to rip the large barrier from its hinges. As the door was lifted up, they were met with a dark but still visible room. The room seemed to fill the entirety of the ground floor of this building – encompassing a living area, a dining area and a kitchen. They looked across the room to the far end of the house where they saw two faces looking back at them with startled expressions. The resident of this house appeared to be in the midst of paying a pizza delivery boy, who was particularly shocked by the sudden entrance of the 'Occult Research Club'.
The owner of the home turned to them and told them: "give me one second; I'll be right with you. In fact, could you please go back outside and come back in when I tell you? I had a bit planned for when you got here, but you took longer than expected, and I got bored. And hungry. I promise I'll still be here when you come back in. Scout's honour (although I was never a scout)."
"Um, sure," Rias said, particularly surprised by this incident. This was definitely a new one in her experience of dealing with stray devils. Her and the club members retreated back out of the garage like door and waited just out of view.
"Okay, come back in," the owner of the home shouted to them.
As they re-entered the house, this time with less of an entrance, they noticed that neither the resident of the address or the pizza boy were at the front door. In the centre of the room was a black leather desk chair, in which the homeowner sat in with his back turned to them. He spun the chair round to face them, "I've been-, oh, shit," as the chair continued to turn beyond directly facing them. "For fuck's sake, that's completely ruined what I had planned, as I put too much spin in my turning of the chair. Anyway, I've been expecting you," said Mr. Gin.
/
"I've been expecting you," said Mr. Gin, with his right arm resting on the armrest and his raised right hand cupping his chin, whilst his right leg crossed over his left.
"Wait, I know this guy – he's just joined my class at Kuoh Academy," Rias said abruptly, as she suddenly recognised him.
Unlike in their first meeting, Mr. Gin was no longer dressed in the uniform of the Kuoh Academy. Instead, he wore a black suit with the lowest button done up, revealing a black shirt – with the top button undone. His long, dark curls were now in a ponytail.
"Oh, hi Rias, nice to see you again," Mr. Gin said, raising his other hand to wave at Rias, accompanying this with a friendly smile. "How lucky I am, to have such beautiful guests visiting my lowly home. I would definitely shag all of you, if given the opportunity – both females and males. At least I would if I swung both ways, but sadly I do not."
"Who the fuck is this creep?" whispered Koneko, expressing a reaction that mirrored that of her comrades, who found themselves rather weirded out by this individual.
"I should probably introduce myself. My name is Taro Gin, or Gin Taro if you want it in the Japanese way. I'm not fazed either way. Don't worry, I know who all of you are," Taro Gin informed them.
Looking upon him and figuring that he didn't seem like much of an adversary, Rias decided that she may as well try and go about this in a peaceful way. "Mr. Gin, we have been sent to capture you so that you may pay for your crimes."
"Really? What a shame, I really thought we could become friends, and I don't much like having to hit girls," Taro responded.
"So you're not going to turn yourself in peacefully?" Rias asked, wanting confirmation before she instructed her team to attack.
"No, I'm afraid," replied Taro.
"Very well then. Occult Research Club: assemble," Rias cried out as the battle began.
Akeno initiated the fight by sending a bolt of lightning in Taro Gin's direction. The bolt seemed to be right on target, but with the movement of Taro's hand the bolt went through a teleportation seal thing.
"I'd duck if I was you," Taro informed them.
"What?!" the Occult Research Club said in unison, before ducking at the last minute to avoid the bolt of lightning that had suddenly came shooting out from behind them. Taro again raised his hand and the bolt disappeared through a seal, but this time it did not return. They turned to him in surprise.
"What? This is my house, I don't want it blowing stuff up in here," he responded.
"Where did it go?" Xenovia questioned.
"No idea, probably to someone I dislike. I'm afraid that there are too many of those for me to try and pinpoint exactly who though," replied Taro.
With Taro seemingly distracted, Akeno attempted to again muster an attack. Taro noticed this and vanished from his chair, suddenly appearing behind her. "Now, now, I can't be having you destroying my lovely home," he said to her, before tapping both her arms with seals appearing. Akeno's arms then disappeared.
"What?! Where did my arms go? Oh my God, am I now armless? How am I to muster up lightening?!" she cried out.
"Calm down, you still have arms, they've just been," Taro paused, "misplaced. They've just been moved elsewhere as they're proving to be quite bothersome. Your body is still functioning as if they're in their normal place, there's no need to worry – your arms will return in due course, eventually. Probably. At least, I think they will. I'm not normally here when it happens as I've made my escape, but I'm pretty certain they will."
"WHAT?!" Akeno bellowed in disbelief.
"Wow, up close you're even prettier. You, my dear, are definitely one of my favourites," continued Taro, ignoring her cries.
Akeno blushed in response to this, but then remembered what was going on and shouted "FUCK OFF."
The rest of the club rallied to attack. Kiba and Xenovia came at Taro from both sides. Taro teleported and appeared a foot behind his initial spot, waiting for Kiba and Xenovia to meet in the centre. When they did, he tapped both their hands and, with a verbal "poof" on Taro's part, their hands and swords disappeared. They stared at where their hands had been in disbelief, trying to work out what had just happened.
Irina charged at Taro, her holy sword swaying like a phallic object. As she swung her sword down upon him, his left shoulder disappeared – the area where her sword would've made contact. She saw something in the periphery of her vision to the left of her. Irina glanced to the left and saw the missing left shoulder of Taro, who then materialised alongside the shoulder. Taro put his right arm around her shoulders, his hand resting on her right shoulder blade.
"An angel? Wow, and so pretty - a pure and untainted flower in so many ways, not just in virginity," Taro said.
"Get your hand off of me, you wretch," she roared through gritted teeth.
Ignoring her, Taro continued: "it would be a shame for someone to defile such a being," his eyes lighting up with lust.
"What?!" Irina bellowed.
"I'm just joshing around – but if I ever decide that I'm loving angel instead, you'll be the first one I go to, my dear," Taro told her with a smile. He then brought across his left hand and tapped her left arm in unison with the right hand lifting slightly to tap the shoulder blade it lay on. And within a split second, her arms too vanished into thin air. Taro then skipped away from Irina, laughing to himself at how he'd toyed with her.
Next came Rossweisse, who attempted to gather the winds to strike this foe, but in the blink of an eye her hands met a similar fate to Akeno's, rendering her attacks useless or at least misguided. She screamed in dismay at the sight of there being nothingness in the space where her hands should be. Koneko came up behind an unsuspecting Taro and smacked him round the head with all her might.
"Ow, fuck," he yelled out, "you bitch. If you weren't so young I'd slice and dice you, sending your body parts to a million different corners of the world. But in your youthful naivety, I shall forgive you."
Taro turned and gripped Koneko's hands and looked into her eyes, with that silver flicker again playing across his livid (I looked up what blue-grey is called, I'm using this word from now on. Deal with it) eyes. She gasped and ran away. Asia chased after her, crying out for Koneko to come back and tell her what's wrong.
"What did you do to her?" Rias demanded.
"Relax," Taro began, "I just made her mildly attracted to me, making any potential attack null as she wouldn't want to inflict real pain on someone she fancies. Don't worry, it's only temporary. I didn't look deeply into her eyes enough to make it permanent."
"Go, Gaspar," Rias instructed.
"But I'm scared!" he wailed in response. Taro turned to him and started to tap his left foot in expectation and impatience.
"Gaspar, come on, pull yourself together, man," shouted Rias.
"Oh, stop shouting at me!" he cried, but finally mustered up the courage to freeze Taro, stopping him from pulling any more teleportation tricks.
Rias flew over to where Taro found himself frozen. She landed gently in front of him and raised her right arm with a crimson ball of destruction appearing in her outstretched hand. "You've had enough fun, Taro Gin, but I'm afraid that the fun is over – for you at least. If aren't willing to comply and let me take you to the necessary authorities without any fighting back, I'm afraid I may have to obliterate you from existence."
"Obliterate me? From existence? I don't much like the sound of that," Taro began, weighing up his options, "but I also don't fancy my chances with the 'authorities' you speak of, as I've caused them quite a bit of grief in the past. Is there a third option?"
"No," Rias replied bluntly.
"I see," said Taro, locking eyes with Rias and smiling.
Rias anticipated his next move and swiftly raised her free hand to cover her eyes, blocking out his eye ability. "Not this time," she informed him.
"Drat, time for plan B," Taro responded, "Would it be possible for me to join the little squad you have here? I understand you recently lost a member. I believe I could adequately replace him in some respects. Your team was pretty sloppy today, so having someone who isn't overwhelmed with grief may help you in future conflict. Not all of your enemies will be quite so focused on the entertainment factor of the battle."
"A sensible suggestion," Rias began.
"Thank you."
"But I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer."
"Oh, I see, may I ask why?"
"We have no vacancies left in our roster, I'm afraid."
"Could I not just join in an unofficial, non-chess piece based capacity? Like the angel."
"No."
"Pretty please."
"Why do you want to join the team and how do we know you won't betray us?"
"I'm sick of running and being forever on the move, I like it here and I like you guys – you've got a bit about you," Taro responded. "If you like, I'll sign a binding agreement or some form of contract to promise that I won't?"
"It's a tempting offer but I remain dubious."
"How about on a trial basis, just to see how things go? This way, you have someone on their game whilst you recover from your loss."
"Fine," Rias replied, "let's see how things go," giving him a forced smile.
"Result," said Taro, smiling beaming back at her.