Freelance DxD
Life 1: Mission Start
Tokyo
Soren let out a breath as he stepped out of the airport lobby, adjusting the backpack over one of his shoulders, a duffel bag on the other, and a wrapped Balmung on his back, the young man overlooking the open area of the pick-up zone for the airport, glancing over at a board, his eyes narrowing at the katakana on the board.
"Still have a hard time reading Japanese scripting…" Soren sighed, shaking his head and leaning against a pole. Speaking the language wasn't an issue for him as it may be, reading it however, was another topic entirely. He had the gift of "Language" after all, so if it was auditory, he could speak basically any language he wanted to. Even if sometimes things like certain phonetics or language quirks flew over his head.
"The fact your reading and writing ability is limited to English and Chinese… it's ironically hilarious!" Bahamut laughed, Soren rolling his eyes.
"Ah shut up. Now when the heck is the guy picking me up supposed to show up?" Soren grumbled, taking a gander at his watch for the time, "Jet lag is gonna freaking suck."
"Ah you'll manage, you always do!" Bahamut chuckled, the dragon humming when a black sedan pulled up, "I'd know a car like THAT anywhere. Must be your ride."
Soren merely hummed as a man in a black suit stepped out of the car an approached him, the boy stepping off of the pole, his hands still in his pockets.
"I assume you're the freelancer sent here?" The man asked, Soren mentally switching his gears to Japanese to answer.
"Of course. See anyone else with looks as foreign as mine prancing around this airport? Don't answer that." Soren then lifted a finger, considering it was tourist season at the time, Soren then reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small metal circle, one that bore the crossed sword sigil of the Association Knights, "This should be proof enough for you."
"Of course. Get in the car, and I'll take you to HQ where you'll get your full orders. I assume you already know most of the information?" The man asked, Soren nodding as he threw his luggage into the back of the sedan and got into the passenger seat.
"Of course I do. Basic premise is to scout out a potential Dragon Gear in some small city near the metroplex and investigate for any supernatural presence while I'm there. I'll be posing as a foreign exchange student to keep my cover." Soren stated, the man taking the wheel and pulling off, nodding at the rundown of the situation.
"Precisely. You'll be told what we know of that location in further detail once we arrive at HQ." The driver stated, Soren simply nodding, leaning on a hand as he stared out of the window as they entered the city, his eyes flitting between the billboards and adds they played on screens and other such zones.
"Hmm?" Soren raised a brow as, while stopped in the traffic of midday, he got a better sight of one of the billboards, which was playing a music video of a PV displaying a singer, a pink haired girl with eyes that were a stand-out dark blue, Soren staring at the script that showed up, "Inori… some idol singer than huh? Hmph."
"You never really care about things like that. Why the interest now?" Bahamut hummed.
"Not like I'm interested, just observing what's around… and looking around while stuck in traffic means nothing." Soren retorted, letting out a yawn, "At this rate I'm gonna end up falling asleep…"
"You are a hypersomniac. You were out cold for the entire plane ride anyway." Bahamut stated, Soren rolling his eyes, and the driver merely looked at the boy in the rearview mirror as he seemingly talked to nobody at all, though most in the group were aware of the kind of individual Soren was.
Not that many knew about the Association mind one, even within the mythological world, though that was for more unwelcome reasons.
After more time of wading around through traffic, the sedan eventually came to a stop in Akihabara of all locations, Soren rolling his eyes as he stepped out of the car and overlooked the area from the parking garage, hefting his bags over his shoulders as he did.
"I had completely forgotten the Tokyo HQ was in Akiba… why, I wish I didn't know…" Soren muttered, "Whatever, alright, let's go."
The driver nodded and took the lead, Soren sticking his open hand in his pocket, his usual stoic frown on his face as he followed the man out and into the bustling streets of Akihabara, and to Soren's hidden chagrin, it was straight into a maid café that they walked into.
"Welcome, Master!"
Soren sighed as the employee girls gave the greeting, the driver simply waving them aside, Soren flashing his Knight's badge as he passed, he and the driver eventually stepped into a side room, the wall they leaned on flipping around into a completely different area, a packed hall filled with robed workers.
"Why one of the Magus branches has their base hidden in a damn maid café will be the eternal question on my mind." Soren grumbled.
"I still can't believe those employees are also members… hehehe, I like this place." Bahamut snickered, Soren sighing.
"Whatever, time to go and see you know who." Soren sighed, the driver milling off to go wherever, the swordsman wading through the bustling halls and dodging those who came close, starting to remember the layout of this side of the building, following his memory along a few floors until he was at a door, stopping to read the name on it, "Kira… geez, remind me why I'm putting up with getting my orders from her?"
"Because you're a freelancer and she's a commander… technically speaking everyone else in this building outranks you. On paper anyway." Bahamut stated, Soren rolling his eyes and letting out a breath.
"I know, it was rhetorical." Soren muttered, knocking on the door, "Yo! Kira, you better not have headphones on, else I'm busting down the door!"
"Soren-kun!"
Soren had to process the next moment as he was yanked into the room at a blinding speed, getting ripped off of his feet and barely managing to avoid hitting the floor, a glare on his face as his luggage fell down around him, finding himself above a girl who couldn't have been much younger than him, her features pale and lending a "fox" like image to her, with messy brown hair falling down around matching, fox like eyes colored a dark golden shade, her head topped by fox like ears with tufts in them, the girl dressed in a gothic Lolita outfit to boot, the torso of which hugged a modest but curved figure, with some kind of hooded blanket over her shoulders.
"Oh Soren-kun~! If you wanted to have some fun, then why not say so?" The girl cooed teasingly, then yelping when Soren shot up and punted her away, an annoyed look on his face as the girl fumbled about to recover, lightly landing after a quick flip, a quick move revealing she also had a fox's tail.
"Zip it Kira. You know damn well why I'm here." Soren muttered, Kira leaning on the kotatsu in the middle of the room and puffing out a cheek.
"Oh boo you! I was hoping my favorite dragon boy would finally want to have some fun, but alas, seems my hopes were lost to the fantasies that are doujinshi!" Kira dramatically posed in mock despair, Soren's eye twitching at said comments.
"You… seriously don't do that, do you?" Soren grumbled, Kira giggling with a cat like smile.
"Well, maybe not about you and me, but oh do I ever." Kira snickered, Soren glaring at her, "Ah! Such a fierce glare! I fear my maidenly heart can't take such a look from such a princely man! Oh the humanity of it all!"
"SHUT UP YA' DAMN KITSUNE!" Soren snapped, stepping aside when Kira dramatically fell back, letting her impact onto the floor.
"OW! Why didn't you catch me?! The prince is supposed to catch the falling princess!" Kira whined shaking a fist at Soren.
"Well I ain't a prince, and neither are you a princess ya' damn Lolita-chuuni. I'm just here for whatever information you managed to gather regarding my mission, save being dramatic and teasing for later." Soren firmly stated, Kira sitting up and giving a huff, then smirking.
"Alright. I'll give you the info you want, buuut… OWWWW!" Kira was cut off when Soren grabbed her by the nose, "SHTAHP SHTAHP! THA' HURSH SOREN-KUUUN! I'M YOUR SHUPERIOR OFFICER!"
"I'm also a freelancer! You being a commander means jack shit to me!" Soren retorted, letting go and letting the girl rub her nose, crocodile tears forming, "Can I just get the info without you sexually harassing me?!"
"It's not sexual harassment if I'm not doing anything~!" Kira chuckled, dashing over to a rather impressive computer rig as Soren lunged at her, stacks of manga, dvds, and Blu-rays stacked all around the small computer space as the girl started typing, taking down a few windows, "Don't wanna lose my space on Jojo… you are being minimized…"
"Uh, kid, remind me who this Lolita girl is…" Bahamut murmured, the dragon drawing a blank, Soren sighing as he set down his items.
"That's Kira Reiswald. Seventeen years old and already a commander for the Magus Branch, not to mention half-kitsune and an expert at gathering information…. Also 5 feet and 6 inches of pain in my ass!" Soren spoke up at the last bit, Kira chuckled as her tail drifted in the air.
"Awe don't be so bitter Soren-kun, it was just a bit of honest fun!" Kira chuckled, Soren glaring holes into the back of her head… and he kind of wished he really could.
"You dragged me in here and were about to shove my head into your chest!" The demi-dragon retorted, his fingers rolling on the wrapped sheathe of Balmung.
"You don't know if I was though~!" Kira cooed, spinning a finger and showing a cat grin again as she started grabbing some freshly printed papers and a file folder.
"Don't you dare lie to me you damn snake. You practically get off on messing around with me." Soren spat, Kira humming in amusement as she crawled over with the file folder, Soren going to take it, only for it to be swiped away.
"Ah ah ahhh! Not until you pay the fee!" Kira warned, wagging a finger and setting the file behind her, a wry smirk on her face, "I'd like the mighty dragon to provide… hmm, oral service perhaps?"
"Not a chance in hell." Soren's reply was immediate and curt, Kira making a coy gasp as she put a hand on her mouth.
"Ohh? Are you perhaps the kind of man who prefers women's rears then?" Kira mockingly acted like she'd discovered something, Soren feeling an irk rise up, and in a flash, he'd grabbed Kira by her nose again, but this time just a smidge harder, "GWAAAGH! I'M SHORRY I'M SHORRY! CAN'T I HAVE SHOME FUN?!"
"If "fun" means mocking me by saying your fees are sexual favors, then no, you can't!" Soren snapped, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'm either gonna zap or freeze you solid!"
"Freeze me solid? Like Dio's vampire freezing?! Oh oh, or could you use your electricity for… YOOOOWWWW! OKAY I'LL SHTOP JUSHT PLEASHE LET GO OF MY NOSHE!" Kira whined as Soren tightened his grip again, her ears and tail sticking straight up until Soren let her go, "You're such a meanie… keep up an attitude like that and you'll be a virgin forever."
"You know damn well I'm not a virgin. Hell if I remember correctly it's your fault." Soren grumbled, Kira chuckling as she skirted back and sat on the table.
"Oh yeah, slipped my mind for a moment. Hehehe." Kira snickered, Soren swiping the file off of the floor, "That has everything you'll need to know about the supernatural activity we've picked up in Kuoh Town. It's mainly the basics, the occasional Stray Devil, maybe some beings passing through, or the local supernatural residents."
"I expected that much. I have been in England for the past few months, one of the world's biggest supernatural hot spots." Soren muttered, flicking through some of the pictures, stopping when he caught sight of a magic circle, his eyes boring into the logo at the center, a rose like symbol that was all too familiar to see, "This magic circle… why the hell are they in some small city here in Japan?"
Kira hummed and waltzed over, leaning over Soren's shoulder and looking at the picture he was holding up.
"Oh yes. The Gremory family symbol… truth be told those of us here are just as perplexed about it, why would the Gremory clan be in some small town to which it's only claim to fame is its academy filled with foreign students?" Kira stated, spinning a strand of hair, "Now, as for that Sacred Gear we picked up on… here is who you're going to be keeping an eye on."
Kira then moved the pages until she got to another file, the photo of a brown haired, brown eyed teenager in the school's uniform.
"Looks ordinary to me." Soren hummed.
"Yeup. Issei Hyoudou, seventeen years old and second year at Kuoh Academy starting pretty soon. Pretty ordinary guy all in all… except for the fact he's a member of a trio known for being rather blatant perverts who have no clue as to how not to get caught. Shame, he's not too hard on the eyes though… pervs aren't my type though." Kira murmured, Soren flicking her on the head, "OW!"
"Says the girl who tries to bribe me by saying her price is me doing her sexual favors." Soren retorted, "So, this guy may have a Dragon Gear eh? Bahamut?"
"Hey I have my thoughts back in England. I'm hoping we get lucky and that it turns out the kid is the next Red Dragon Emperor. Would be a fun fight." Bahamut stated.
"Yeah, if. A perv getting ahold of dragon powers… he'd have to get his damn priorities straight if he wanted to get somewhere." Soren grumbled, closing the file, "Oh yeah, Artoria said the usual, try to keep it covert and all… but I kinda feel like if Gremory is running around, that won't last too long."
"Probably not. Even if you repress that oceans deep level of power and potential you have, someone like a Gremory could pick you out of a crowd in seconds… but, I do wonder how what they'd think of the fabled Black Dragon Emperor coming to their doorstep. Hmhmhm, things are bound to become interesting for you by the looks of things." Kira mused, Soren shutting the file.
"Hopefully, I've been getting bored with fighting these Strays again and again… none of them are a challenge anymore. Sure ones that can match a High Class last for a while but even then, they either go down in a few shots of magic or Balmung just cleaves them apart… you'd think they'd have better resistances." Soren sighed, laying on the floor with his arms behind his head.
"Well the Balmung is on par with Excalibur after all. Not like many Devils can withstand it's light." Kira stated, stretching, purposefully jutting out her chest, "Though is information all you're here for? You sure you don't wanna have a go at me? I can tell you you'd definitely enjoy yourself~."
"Wasn't one time enough for you?" Soren huffed, rolling onto his side, his eyes closed.
"Hmmm… let me think… Nope! One time isn't enough. I don't think you quite get that being a demi-dragon has left you with both an amazing blessing but also quite the burden when it comes to women Soren-kun. You barely even have to try as it is, the silent, princely type is bound to attract normal girls as it is." Kira mused, her look whimsical but at the same time serious.
"Shut it ya' damn chuuni. I don't care about that sort of thing. It's a bother." Soren scoffed, leaning on a shoulder.
"Ohh but I know the one word that gets you to react adorably… and it starts with an 'h'~." Kira chuckled, slinking over and putting her lips near Soren's ear, "Ha-rem~!"
Soren's face immediately went red and he shot up, aiming his hand at the half breed fox girl as she snickered mischievously.
"How many times have I said not to use that word?!" Soren snapped, Kira shrugging as she turned on her knees, wagging her tail as she bent over.
"A lot… still, you sure you don't wanna sample my body again? I've gotten quite a bit curvier than that one time, and I'm sure you'll love how my ass feels Mr. Rear Fetish." Kira mused, purposefully tugging up her skirt to reveal her striped panties, Soren's face getting redder despite his default expression stubbornly keeping it's hold.
"I do not have an ass fetish! And you freaking tricked me into that and you know it!" Soren snapped, Kira chuckling.
"And yet you still participated without much complaint! How cruel of you Black Dragon Emperor, to scorn a young maiden who loves you so dearly, oh the pain I feel in knowing the man who showed me such joy is now scorning my attempts at repaying him!" Kira was once again going off dramatically, posing as she laid on the floor, a spark of black shooting from Soren's eye as he lowered his hand.
"If you're done teasing me can I go? I'm jet lagged to hell and would like to get some sleep." Soren grumbled, Kira then sitting up and patting her lap.
"Then use my lap as a pillow! It's the least you can do for me since you've been such a prudish kill joy and all. And again, I do outrank you, so perhaps I should just make it an order? Freelancer or not, a superior officer is still a superior officer, even if you are a few months older than me." Kira chuckled, Soren narrowing his eyes at her devilish smirk, "So? I promise, I won't do anything to you once you're asleep… unless I have to make it an order, then I get free reign."
"Pff, fine, but only because I'm sick of your teasing." Soren muttered, Kira patting her lap again, Soren letting out a heavy sigh as he laid down and took the offered lap as a pillow, Kira looking down at him with a catty smirk, "There, happy?"
"Very~! Now just go to sleep, and you can head out in the morning. We already have your new residence set up and your student transfer is done. Good thing about the Association being under the factions' radar, we can easily move people like you around." Kira stated, Soren letting out a long breath.
"Whatever. I'll just go and do the job that's asked of me and keep an eye on things, that's all that needs to be done, nothing more." Soren stated, closing his eyes, shortly enough dozing off peacefully.
"I doubt things are gonna be so easy for you Soren-kun… you're the descendant of Siegfried and the Apocalypse Dragon Emperor… trouble follows you around like a magnet dragging metal particles… but, I doubt you won't be able to handle it. In fact, I think you'll actually get to enjoy yourself… you and Bahamut both." Kira hummed, fiddling with a strand of Soren's hair, "You get to have so much fun, running around all of creation doing as you please."
So how the hell do I illustrate just how boring the drive to Kuoh Town was? Well… considering I slept most of the way there, not like I can give you a lot of information really, hell, I passed out in the car the moment I managed to kick Kira off of me and shut the door.
And when I sleep… it's never pleasant for me.
I'll be straight here, I'm amnesiac. Up until about seven years ago, I can't remember a damn thing. Nothing, poof, gone. Any memories from the time I was born to ten years old are just a fuzzy, unintelligible space in my mind I can't make any sense of.
And yet, whenever I sleep, I always see images, flashes of things I don't remember but maybe deep down in fact do… but it always becomes bitter. Flashes of red and black, the feeling of the air freezing too subzero and scorching lightning flickering through the air… and a pained scream of a child overlapping with a grand beast's roar as the air fills with the fuzzy visage of a roaring dragon.
It's honestly never pleasant to think about for some reason, always followed by this wallowing regret and grief… and yet, I've never been able to make sense of it. Any time I try to dig deeper it never works, and Bahamut has no such luck either, considering my mental plane is basically his home, and he's never been able to find anything in the past seven years.
Still… I kind of have to dwell on Artoria's warning at times… sometimes I'm not really sure if I want to regain those memories, because who knows what'll be waiting for me when I find them?
"Hey, Soren, wake up! We're here!"
Soren's eyes fluttered open as Bahamut's voice rumbled in his head, stretching as be let out a yawn, his eyes starting to clear up as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, looking tired for just a moment more before stepping out of the car.
"So, this is where I'll be living for who knows how long eh?" Soren hummed as he looked at the house, a simple cookie cutter suburban house that really only stood out from the others because of its bright blue outer shell.
"Commander Reiswald already made the arrangements for the furnishings before your arrival, so you'll be able to live comfortably while under your guise as a student here." The driver stated, handing Soren a package, "This has necessary information about the school and its uniform within it. There's also a room in the house for contacting the Association if need be. Good luck."
"I don't believe in luck, but thanks anyway." Soren nodded, taking the package and bouncing it in his hands, feeling the cloth of the uniform inside of it through the paper packaging, the driver eventually getting back into the car and driving off, leaving Soren standing on the curb with his bags next to him, and Soren opened the package after he heard the clink of obvious keys, picking the house keys out and spinning them on his finger as he hopped the wall after tossing his bags over, unlocking the door and starting to investigate the house, of which was well furnished and well off for someone who'd be living along, though the living room was of most interest to the teenager, what with its wraparound couch near the decently sized flat screen TV, which had up to date game systems hooked up and there was also a few DVD and Blu-ray cases around
"Wow, they went all out." Bahamut mused, Soren setting Balmung against the wall and flopping down onto the couch.
"Can always count on Kira to make the base of operations well-kept and up to date. Right… well, let's not wait, the school day is just about over… why don't we go and check out the school then?" Soren hummed, jumping to his feet and grabbing Balmung, undoing its wrappings and dropping it into a magic circle for storage.
"Uh… didn't Artoria say to keep this mission covert? If there's Devils hanging around, what if they find you?" Bahamut asked, Soren smirking as he stepped out of the house.
"She did, but we're dealing with the Gremory house if that information is correct… keeping covert will only work for so long, even if I'm repressing my power. Devils are a bit too good at spotting immense potential even when the power is low." Soren stated in a matter of fact tone, "So, if we're gonna be found out sooner or later, I figure why not sooner than later? Besides, odds of them knowing what the Association even is are minimal. I can feign being a wandering unaffiliated force and keep my connections on the down low if they do find me."
"Good point. That actually is the good thing about only the Fallen Angels really knowing about the Association is it? We can keep our ties hidden and nobody will know the difference. So, what about that potential dragon kid? Issei Hyoudo?" Bahamut asked, Soren already started along and following the map on his phone.
"I'll worry about him later. I can already guess they pulled some strings to make sure I'd end up in the same classroom as the guy, so I don't think we have much to be concerned with… so, let's go say hi to the local Devils." Soren stated, pinpointing a path to the school, "I could just fly their using my Sacred Gear, but I need to at least keep some sense of being conspicuous, now don't I?"
"I'm sure you'll get to show it off when we run into the Devils." Bahamut stated, Soren nodding to the statement.
Soren stopped his paced trot once he reached the school, pocketing his phone and looking over the gate as students milled out of the grounds from the end of the afternoon classes, Soren humming at the ratio between boys and girls.
"Welp, that info was definitely right about the gender disparity. Place really must have been a girl's school before." Soren hummed, leaning against the wall, "Wonder if we can... ngh!"
Soren felt a twinge on his back, a pulse of his power and a throbbing, a faint glow showing, though one he soon repressed… and now standing there in the fading crowd, his back turned to Soren, was exactly who he was looking for, Issei Hyoudo.
The brown haired teen was frozen in place as the crowd milled about him, staring at his left hand in shock, feeling a throbbing pulse shoot through the limb.
"What the hell? Why does my arm suddenly hurt?" Issei muttered, holding his arm and looking around, and when he looked behind him, Soren was nowhere to be seen in his previous spot, leaving Issei bewildered as to just what had happened.
And meanwhile, Soren had retreated to the other side of the wall, a fist clenched as he let out a breath.
"Bahamut…" Soren muttered, the dragon chuckling.
"Oh I felt that… the kid definitely has a Dragon Gear if yours resonated like that, and if it was that strong a resonance, it's definitely a Dragon Gear itself. Hehehe. Looks like my guess may be spot on, we may have found one of the Heavenly Dragon Emperors." Bahamut stated, sounding excited, "But… be careful. The resonance temporarily knocked out your suppression, and if there really is a bunch of Devils hanging around here, then I bet they felt that pulse of power that was released."
"No shit they would. And I reacted on instinct and basically jumped right into their home base to make things worse. If I'm unlucky I'm gonna be in big trouble." Soren muttered, standing straight, "So, wanna at least go and say hi?"
"Eh, why not. There's a chance someone is already on their way as we speak." Bahamut stated, Soren nodding and moving into the trees, though his pace was a steady walk.
"True… but not like I'm here for a fight… if they start it, I'm ending it." Soren stated, bringing up his phone for a school map, "Going by this… I'm pretty close to the old school building…"
"Found you!"
Soren blinked and then, with a precise reaction on instinct and through the sound of the air being cut by a blade, whipped his left arm behind his head and caught the incoming weapon with two fingers.
"It's pretty rude to attack someone when they're just trying to find their way around y'know?" Soren sighed, glancing back to see who'd attacked, the attacker being a blonde young man with the "princely" kind of look, currently wearing the school's male uniform and keeping a firm gaze on Soren despite the fact his sword was currently caught by the demi-dragon's fingers.
"Really? Because I don't think it's why you're here!" The swordsman replied, sliding his sword free and going for another strike, Soren catching the blade again after turning, his expression blank as he stared at the opposing swordsman.
"See? This is why I don't like Devils… you guys are all too gung ho about things." Soren sighed, twisting his wrist and breaking the sword in two like it was a twig, the swordsman skidding back, Soren overlooking the shard of the sword still in his hand, "Hmm, created by magic… or is it something else?"
The swordsman didn't answer, simply reforming the sword and attacking again, Soren humming as he dodged the slashes with ease, soon realizing they were in fact moving faster than base speed.
"A Sacred Gear user… and judging by the speed we're moving at, I'd say a Knight as well. But… speed isn't enough!" Soren dodged another slash and purposefully leaned back further than he should have to dodge, landing on his hands and spinning around to sweep the Knight's legs out from under him before spinning around once more and delivering an upwards kick that knocked the Knight upwards, the sword user managing to flip in the air and land, though stumbling a bit, Soren flipping back onto his feet and sliding his hands into his pockets.
"Damn, this guy is tougher than he looks. Koneko, now!" The Knight shouted, Soren humming as he heard a rustle in the bushes.
"On it. Eh!"
Soren lifted an arm to block, catching an incoming punch with his forearm, the air whipping around for a moment at the impact, Soren blinking to see the one who'd attacked him was a small, white haired girl, Soren keeping up his guard as he blocked her flurry of punches and kicks.
"Not as fast, but hits hard enough to create shockwaves in the air… which means she's a Rook." Soren stopped blocking and dodged the next punch, grabbing the girl's arm and flipping her over, throwing her right into the Knight as he came charging in, the two hitting the ground, Soren sighing, "Now maybe we can talk peacefully about things? I'm honestly not here to fight. If you'll believe that."
"Sorry, but we're not taking chances!" The Knight retorted, the Rook jumping away as he took his sword and stabbed it into the ground, a myriad of different blades bursting from the ground towards Soren, the demi-dragon wordlessly drawing Balmung out of the magic circle and whipping it out of its sheathe, releasing a wave of twilight energy that ripped through the incoming blades, the Knight and Rook jumping away from the blast before it faded away. Soren spun Balmung onto his shoulder, the blade gleaming golden in the sunlight of mid-day.
"So, a Sacred Gear that can make all sorts of swords eh? A Sword Birth user then." Soren hummed, and the Knight's eyes shifted into an enraged glare the moment he spotted Balmung resting on Soren's shoulders, rushing in at full speed, Soren blocking the blade with a near casual move of his own sword, "That's quite the snarl you've got on."
"Shut up, holy sword user! Who the hell are you? Are you with the church?!" The Knight snapped, Soren's look shifting to minor annoyance for a moment.
"Do I look like a Church Exorcist? Please, don't lump me together with those guys." Soren warned, pushing the other sword user back, holding his blade steady as he aimed it at the Knight, "I'm not here to fight, but I will if I have to."
"Yuuto-senpai, that sword is strong, be careful." The Rook cautioned, the Knight merely letting out a growl as his sword turned black.
"I'll just snuff out that things light! Holy Eraser!" The Knight shouted, Soren delivering his own strike with a wide swing to cause a parry, the Knight's sword simply being cut in twain and its shadows dissipating, Soren then carrying his momentum from the swing to deliver a round house kick to the Knight, knocking him into a tree, the Rook dashing forward to deliver a punch, Soren catching the small first with his open hand, sheathing Balmung as he did.
"Like I said, I'll fight back if I have to, but I'm not here for a fight!" Soren threw the Rook back, and as she skidded away, the Knight came at him again with two swords, Soren catching both bare handed, "You're persistent, I like that."
"I'll get up as many times as I have too if it means beating a holy sword user like you." The Knight growled, Soren sighing as he broke the Knight's swords and swung another kick at the young man, nailing him right in the chest.
"And yet you and your small friend have no clue who the hell I am. Let me guess though, your boss senses danger and sent you two out to see what it was and fight, right? Well, go back and tell him or her I'd like to have a chat with them." Soren's cocky tone didn't really help matters, and he knew it, and especially not the fact he'd been fighting back as well.
"Like hell we'd… let you get to our master!" The Knight snapped, Soren sighing and finishing the motion of his kick, launching the Knight at the Rook.
"This is not going well at all." Soren complained, his hands back in his pockets.
"Sorry I'm late you two! The president was just keeping me in the wings as we watched."
Soren looked up along with the other two to the source of the voice, having come from a girl who definitely appeared to be a bit older than the Knight, hovering above the clearing with obvious Devil wings out, all in all, Soren noting the matched the description of a perfect Japanese beauty. Not that it was something he cared for.
"A third one… and considering you were in the wings, let me guess, you're the Queen, aren't you?" Soren asked, the Queen chuckling.
"Why yes, I am. You must be pretty knowledgeable about Devils to know that. Who are you?" The girl asked, Soren sighing.
"I would've explained that if the Knight and Rook would've stopped attacking."
"Really? Well, sorry, but our master got a little peeved after you hurt our Knight. Sorry about this, but you're gonna have to go!" The Queen then cast a hand down, lightning flickering in the air before crashing down on Soren seemingly before he could react, though one could see a brief glimpse of something shoot up as it crashed down, smoke rising from the impact zone, the Queen landing. "Shame, he was rather cute."
"Nice shot, Akeno-senpai." The Rook nodded, the Knight just looking angry, the Queen chuckling at the praise from her junior.
"Geez, if I'd known that was gonna be a lightning attack I wouldn't have bothered with the ice dome… still, props for blowing it away."
The three then gasped as Soren's voice was heard, the smoke clearing to show that he was standing unscathed, dusting off his shoulders, a ring of fractured ice on the ground around him, Soren stepping over it and pocketing his hands once more.
"Wouldn't have bothered? Are you saying my attack wouldn't have bothered you that much?" The Queen asked, Soren nodding as he popped his neck.
"As a fellow lightning user, yes, it wouldn't have." Soren stated, his tone of voice becoming audibly annoyed, "But, again, I'm not here for a fight, so can we just stop?"
"When we have no idea who you are? For all we know you could be here to hunt us down." The Knight snapped, "Why else do you have a holy sword?!"
"Uh, because I just do, that's why I have one. True the thing is useful for quickly taking down Strays and the like because of that… but otherwise, it's a good weapon to use alongside my powers." Soren replied, turning a finger in his ear, "Now, since the Queen is here, mind if I talk to your boss? I have no ill intent, promise."
Soren then felt a surge in the air, jumping back when a black and red swathe of energy crashed down where he was before, Soren skidding to a quick stop as remnants of the blast drifted off.
"Don't think I'd let you simply sit down and take after harming one of my precious servants! A slight on them is a slight to me!"
The dust cleared to reveal a new figure standing before the other three, a striking crimson haired girl whose hand stood outstretched, her blue eyes glaring into Soren, who stood even as the girl let her aura rush out to try and show dominance.
"So, intel was right… Gremory really does have a stake here in this town." Soren muttered rubbing the back of his head, "Good grief… running into someone who made my Gear resonate really made this day so much harder to manage. And all I planned to do was check the school out. Tch, this is the worst."
"Well, whatever reason you're here, for harming my servant, you'll be wiped from the face of this earth!" The Gremory girl snapped, releasing another blast of the dark power, Soren simply raising his right hand and blocking the blast with his bare hand, the air whipping around him before he forced the energy to disperse by closing his hand, the only sign of any sort of damage being that his sleeve was singed and shorter than before, Soren showing particular annoyance at that.
"Geez… again, this is why I don't like Devils. The whole lot of you jump to conclusions faster than any other race. If someone who even looks like an enemy shows up, you guys make the first move like that if you feel like you have to. God, can't you guys stop and listen for five minutes? I'm getting bored with this damn routine that's started. Seriously, so bothersome." Soren grumbled, sounding downright annoyed as he scratched the back of his head, an eye closed as he spoke.
"How dare you act like we're little more than an annoyance! Who are you!" The red head snapped, gasping when Soren appeared in front of her within a blink, the other three preparing to attack.
"Like I've been trying to say, I'd get to that if only you'd stop attacking me! Bahamut? Should I?" Soren hummed, jumping back when Rias tried to blast him point black, his aura starting to flare up around him, a vivid red aura edged in drifting silver and blue, a shimmer showing at his back.
"I say do it… show them what happens when the Black Dragon Emperor roars." Bahamut stated, sounding rather bored, Soren nodding.
"Right… Ruina Draco." Soren murmured, and in a burst of red, bursting into form on his back were six wings formed of black armor, the angular frames glowing with red lines all across them, red light flickering at their bases as the wings adjusted like Soren was stretching them out, and the air itself felt like it was starting to freeze over, the temperature dropping dramatically and seemingly crackling with electricity, his aura also lending this powerful feeling of dread and dominance, enough to make the Gremory Devils shudder to their bones, even as the feeling in the air and in them faded as Soren's aura retreated to the wings, which closed down from their extended form to fit nicely over his back before slowly fading away into red. "So, I think I made my point."
"You're not human… are you." Rias muttered, still shaken up by the oppressive wave that had just washed over her, "That kind of power… this boy is different…"
"Half right. The correct term for what I am is demi-dragon. Body of a dragon, soul of a human. And I think the Sacred Gear is enough of a clue as to which dragon has taken up residence inside of me." Soren stuck a thumb at his back, stabbing the sheathed Balmung into the ground and leaning on its cross guard.
"The Black Dragon of Apocalypse… you're the Black Dragon Emperor." The Queen stated, Soren nodding.
"Ring a ding ding, we have a winner!" Soren chirped, "Now as for why I'm here, I was just gonna scout out the school I'm gonna be attending starting tomorrow, but to my ever-terrible luck, I ran into someone who caused my Dragon Gear to react, not saying who, covert intel, and it kind of overrode my power suppression."
"Koneko, Yuuto, you two can go rest up. Especially you, Yuuto." The red head commanded, the Knight nodding before following the Rook. "So, you just so happened to end up in this town without some objective? I find that hard to believe. You're a dragon and wield a holy weapon… either you're a freelancer with an agenda, or work with some third party faction we don't know of."
"Damn, she's good." Soren hummed, the red head actually looking surprised he wasn't denying her claims, "Well, I'm technically a freelancer, while also technically a member of a particularly large and global spanning human organization I'm sure a Gremory has no damn clue even so much as exists. No point in denying things now that you've gone and found me. Now, as for my name, I am Soren Siegreich, and my partner is, of course, the Black Dragon Bahamut."
"A pleasure to meet a Gremory. The Power of Destruction is interesting. Can't wait to fight you again when you're stronger." Bahamut chuckled, Soren sighing.
"He's a little on the fight happy side." Soren hand waved.
"You're being awfully casual about this." The Gremory girl muttered, her Queen eyeing her.
"Oh come now Rias, he introduced us, even if we did kind of try to kill him. At least return the courtesy." The Queen stated.
"Fine. My name is Rias, and as you know, for some reason, I'm a Gremory, and this here is my Queen… which you, also, guessed." Rias introduced, looking back at Soren with an expression that was both miffed and bewildered by his casual expression, as the prideful girl still felt rather insulted her attack didn't do much more than burn his clothes a bit.
"I'm Akeno Himejima, nice to meet you." Akeno took a short bow, "And as for the other two, the Knight is Yuuto Kiba, and the cute little girl is Koneko Toujou. Sorry about the whole fighting you thing, it's just that Rias here can be a little protective."
"Noted." Soren hummed, picking his sword up and dropping it back into a magic circle. "Now as for if I have a particular goal while I'm here, well, yeah, but not like I'm gonna share that bit of information. No grudge, promise, but I assume a Gremory can understand someone wanting to keep their secrets."
"Considering you're in my territory, excuse me for trying to keep it that way." Rias retorted, Soren shrugging as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Not like I'm here for territory, please, I couldn't give a damn. Hell, I'm curious why some small city like this is where you're making a stomping ground. Wouldn't it be more productive to be in a more, I dunno, bustling part of the country? Then again I'm pretty sure you're just going to say something like "Where I operate is my business, just like why you're here is yours." Or something like that." Soren hand waved it off, Rias' eye twitching.
"He beat me to it… I can't believe he beat me to it." Rias muttered, Akeno letting out a slightly amused chuckle before falling silent when her superior shot a look her way, "Well then, Siegreich, it seems you and I are at an impasse. You're keeping your reasons for infringing on my territory secret, and I refuse to sit with the idea you'll be around."
"Look it's not like I'm here to uproot you or anything alright? All I care about is watching the progression of events and making sure things don't go to shit for this town and the humans in it. It is, however, kind of my job to stick my nose in places where they don't belong, so you and whoever the hell is standing behind me with a prepped magic circle will be hearing from me quite a bit." Soren then looked behind him, spotting to more girls, one a bit short with bob cut black hair and glasses, her eyes a piercing violet, and the other a decently taller girl with a naginata also wearing glasses and with sharper eyes.
"You noticed?" The shorter girl hummed.
"Well yeah, I could feel your eyes drilling holes in my skull." Soren snarked, Rias feeling the strange urge to sigh at his snark as well.
"Are you intent on making enemies or something?" Rias asked, Soren shrugging, "You can hold off Souna, he's not a threat… at least, I don't think he is… sure gave my Peerage a run for their money."
"Oh please, the only one I hit was the Knight and I barely left a bruise." Soren retorted.
"That's exactly my point, you fought them off far too easily. Forgive me for being cautious of an unknown with power like yours." Rias returned the comment with her own harsh snark, Soren actually giving an amused smirk at her biting words.
"So someone who isn't supposed to be a threat yet soundly beat your peerage? Sounds like a threat to me." Souna hummed, adjusting her glasses.
"I mean in the sense that he isn't here to cause trouble… I think. I really don't know what to think of him." Rias grumbled, looking dead at Soren, who was now leaning against a tree. "He's apparently with some human organization or something… but he's not a Church Exorcist, so I don't know where to go from there."
"What, there's more human groups than the Church? I find that hard to believe." Souna stated.
"I'm standing right here as living proof if you want me to give that long explanation." Soren quipped, tugging on his burnt sleeve. "But, considering I feel this chat will not have any purpose for me, and I need to keep going around the town to look around."
Soren started walking off and gave a wave as he did, the two girls standing near another giving similar gasps, but Rias more surprised with Souna seemed miffed, but even then, Soren was gone before they could even make a comment.
"Well, you got out of there fast." Bahamut commented after Soren had made it back to the streets, the silver haired teen humming, still tugging on the singed sleeve, "That is REALLY bothering you isn't it?"
"It's bothersome. I'll probably stop caring after a bit though, won't matter really." Soren stated, shrugging and pocketing his hands, "Still, looks like I was right about the covert thing going up in smoke."
"Well that's not precisely what you said but more or less." Bahamut just made a grumble noise like he himself had shrugged.
"Don't start bringing up the semantics of it." Soren muttered, rubbing the back of his head again.
"Uwawawah! LOOK OUT!"
"Eh?" Soren only had time to raise a brow before he felt something impact with him, his head hitting the sidewalk before he blacked out… yet at the same time he didn't lose consciousness either, and easily noted his face was now pressed into something soft. "What?"
"Uh… not to state the obvious, but something is off." Bahamut noted.
"No shit Sherlock." Soren though in response, "Can we cover the fact that someone is ON TOP OF ME?!"
"I was getting to that! I'm talking about the feeling… and no it's not what's pressed into your face right now… pretty sure it may be boobs." Bahamut hummed, Soren's look becoming cross, "Hey hey, chill! I don't think that Hyoudo kid is the only dragon around… I'm getting another feeling of one… which happens to be whoever is on top of you right now."
"Oh because THAT helps me SOOO much!" Soren complained, letting out a sigh, "Uhm… whoever happens to be on top of me… I'm kind of pinned, could you please move?"
"KYA! I'm so, so sorry!"
Whoever was on top of Soren shot off and retreated back, Soren sitting up and rubbing the back of his head where it was now a dull, sore pain, one eye open to see who had crashed into him.
Said subject was a girl no doubt his age, wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform but with an added navy blue jacket with a symbol Soren found oddly familiar on the breast of it, her features pale and with a royal, elegant air to them, her eyes and hair the same deep navy blue shade, her hair something of a mess and reaching to her waist, while Soren's attention was drawn to the fact her eyes were the same draconic type as his, and as for her build, her uniform didn't do much to not flatter a decent body with slender limbs and build, almost like she was an elegant doll.
"Something's familiar about this girl…" Soren grumbled, also making the note that like himself, the girl looked decidedly foreign, likely an exchange student at the academy as he guessed, though again, her draconic eyes held his attention.
"I feel the same… hell, she LOOKS familiar to me, and considering how old I am, that's saying something." Bahamut stated, forgetting for a moment to keep his voice inside of Soren's head, "Whoops."
"W-Wait… that other voice… do you have a dragon too?!" The girl asked, Soren blinking before looking to the side.
"Uhhh… no… you're just hearing things?" Soren posing it as a question didn't help, the girl simply giving a pouty expression.
"Don't like so obviously! I know what I heard, I'm not crazy!" The girl snapped, shooting to her feet, Soren's look as neutral as ever even as she glared at him, and then her look shifted to a bit of surprise, "Wait a minute, that coat… are you with the Association Knight's?"
"EHHH?! Wait wait, you know about us?!" Soren yelped.
"Well… kind of. Agh, let me introduce myself first. My name is Lucina Faustus and I'm from England. My family supports the Association as it happens to be. So, can I ask for your name, Mr. Knight?"
"Soren… Soren Siegreich." Soren answered after giving a small sigh, and as he said his name, Lucina's eyes began to widen slowly.
"You're him… you're the Black Dragon Emperor!"
A/N
Ahhh geeez this took a while to get down, but so very, very worth it. I have plans among plans laid out for this fic with what shall come forth for Soren and company. PLENTY of ideas… both of normal and ero. Hehehehe. Leave a review if you liked it, and see you guys next time!
