Project DxD. Chapter 2
Authors note: Wow… I honestly didn't think this story would get such a positive response, sure I was confident, but I didn't think you'd like it that much. All I can say is thank you so much, I'll do my best to live up to your expectations for a good story, or at least give you something to read if you're bored out of your minds. Now with all that said, I hope you enjoy this as much as you did the first chapter. Enjoy.
A little over an hour ago, Dr. Kotoko Hyodo had perhaps been the happiest woman in Japan, though her current displeasure could only have been made more obvious if the word 'Annoyed' had been written across her forehead. She now sat in the car (It has four wheels but I'll leave the otherwise sci-fi details to your imagination) tapping her index finger against the steering wheel. Her son, Issei, sat quietly behind her taking in the sights of the city. Everything was so different from the labs, the sites, the smells, and all the different sounds. Issei, now out of his hospital gown, wore the new uniform that was custom made for each individual Devil. His uniform was made of the skintight tank top like all the others only his was a crimson red with gold trim and three spike like stripes of the same gold color on either side of his ribs, baggy black pants and large black boots.
Mr. Takeru Hyodo took a side glance at his wife before speaking, "Kotoko, I can tell you're displeased with something," he stated in a certain voice trying not to further anger his wife. "Want to talk about it?"
"When I said 'let's get you into some real clothes'a military uniform is not what I had in mind," Kotoko said irritably while tightening her grip on the steering wheel.
"Come on Kotoko, are you really going to let his wardrobe options ruin your day?" Takeru asked his spouse cracking a smile.
Kotoko heaved a light sigh. "No. No I won't," she said with a slightly exasperated smile. "I'm sorry, you're right, today's a special day. I won't let a shirt and some boots ruin it," the brunette turned around to look at her boy who was still looking curiously out the window. Then the traffic light turned green and their drive home resumed. Throughout the rest of the trip Mr. and Mrs. Hyodo were trying to hold a conversation with Issei, but the boy was still getting used to using his body and that included his voice. It wasn't that he couldn't talk, but he was still figuring out how to talk. He was getting the hang of walking by now and his motor skills were developing nicely but his vocal cords were still learning. About five minutes later the Hyodo family arrived at their home which was also the barracks for the Gremory squadron.
"Welcome home Issei," Kotoko said pleasantly as they pulled up in the driveway.
What stood before the Hyodo's was a large, cream-colored six floor house with a gray brick appearance down the middle, beautiful emerald green grass in the front yard surrounded by lovely hedges and trees and two large balconies on top of either side of the house. "Come on kiddo, let's go meet your new teammates," Mr. Hyodo said with gusto as he exited the red car and opened Issei's door. The boy in question then exited the car, stumbled a little but caught himself by grabbing the door, Mr. Hyodo saw that his son was about to fall and was about to catch him himself but stopped after Issei grabbed the car and pulled himself back up. The three of them then walked down the pathway that led to the brown wooden door under the extravagant archway and entered into a spacious room with a cream-colored floor and ceiling, white walls and extravagant staircase that went in two directions on the opposite side of the room leading to second floor walkways.
"Fall in everyone!" Mr. Hyodo called "Your new teammate's here!"
"We're way ahead of you Hyodo!" a new voice exclaimed over the sound of running feet. Then from out of nowhere, two teenagers, leapt over the second floor railway and landed right in front of the family. One was a lean, blonde, handsome young man with blue eyes and a love spot under his left eye. The other, a small girl with snow white hair, amber eyes, and a black cat face barrette in her hair. "So this is the new guy, huh?" the blonde said with a friendly demeanor. He wore a light blue button down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms, black pants, and brown shoes. "Nice to meet you, my name is Yuuto Kiba. And this is my friend Koneko," the blonde said identifying himself and his squad mate.
"Sup" the snowy haired girl said in monotone. In contrast to Kiba's nice clothes and well groomed appearance, Koneko looked (to put it bluntly) like a bit of a slob. Not sloppy as in covered in dirt and never showered, it was more just her clothes and messy short hair. She wore an oversized white T-shirt with a catlike paw print on the lower right hand side of her stomach. The shirt was way too big for her. Her collar drooped down exposing her shoulder and despite being a short-sleeved shirt the sleeves went well passed her elbows. She wore dark blue jeans that only barely managed to hold onto her hips and bunched up and covered most of her bare feet despite the black belt that was threaded through her beltloops.
"Yuuto, Koneko, this is Issei, go on sweetie, introduce yourself," Kotoko said nudging Issei towards the other teenagers.
"H… He…lloh…" Issei tried to greet the other two but the words just wouldn't come out right.
"Having trouble speaking, huh?" Yuuto commented. "Don't worry about it, it happens to everyone. It took me almost a week before I could speak a proper sentence, and it took Koneko three weeks before she could say anything right." At this, a light blush flared across Koneko's face and she decided to slug Yuuto in the arm. The blonde's smile then became a little strained as he rubbed the spot the petite girl had hit. For Devils like Yuuto and Koneko, that strike was little more than a love tap but were it a human that Koneko had hit he'd have a bruise the size of Kansas.
"Sorry it took so long to get here. Akeno couldn't find a short enough skirt," a new voice sounded. Everyone turned to face the redhaired girl that everyone except Issei knew as Rias Gremory leaning against the wall. She was wearing a dark pink one piece dress with a light red floral pattern towards the end of the skirt and over the left shoulder, blue pants, and her usual black combat boots.
The girl with the raven hair standing next to Rias was wearing a white button down blouse but left the first three buttons undone, she was also wearing black sandals and the denim miniskirt that fit her curves like a glove. "Oh Rias, I just wanted to look my best to greet our new teammate," Akeno said innocently. (Even if her intentions were anything but innocent.)
Rias then left her spot on the wall to approach Issei. "It's nice to officially meet you Issei, my name is Rias Gremory," the redhead introduced herself politely as she extended her hand to shake Issei's. Issei then extended his own hand and shook Rias'.
Akeno was next to introduce herself. "Hi sweetie, my name is Akeno Himejima," she said before leaning into Issei's personal space. "If you need anything from me, my room is right down the hall from yours," she told her fellow Devil putting emphasis on the 'anything' part.
Kotoko glared daggers at the raven haired Devil. "Akeno, what did I tell you last night?" the scientist said in annoyance giving off a murderous aura.
Akeno shrank under Dr. Hyodo's piercing gaze. "Um, of course. Rias, why don't we give Issei the grand tour?" she said to the redhead.
Picking up on the desperation of Akeno's suggestion, Rias said, "Sounds good. Why don't we start with the swimming and training rooms downstairs."
"I think I'll join you on that," Yuuto said attempting to flee from a potentially angry Kotoko. Rias gave the blonde an okay and he trailed after his friends down the hallway to the stairs.
"Oh, before I forget, Koneko," Mr. Hyodo called to the small girl who then turned to face him. "There are some new uniforms in the car for everyone, would you be a dear and fetch them from the trunk for me?"
"No prob," the girl responded maintaining her straightfaced monotone before she exited the front door in a bit of a hurry.
Now that they were alone, Takeru turned to face his spouse. "As much as I'd love to stick around and watch you scare the kids, I have some data to collect for Asia's wake-up call next week," and with that said he left for the study.
Once she was alone, Kotoko felt a slight vibration in her pocket as her cell phone which looked like a smaller version of Tanaka's tablet chimed its ring tone, she pulled it out of her coat to look at the holographic screen and saw that it was from the labs, she then pushed the green button to answer the call and brought it up to her ear. "This is Kotoko," she said to the device in a businesslike tone. "Uh huh… uh huh… Tomorrow? His Gear fitting was scheduled for next week," she protested to the Gear engineer. "Director's orders? You're kidding right?" Kotoko sighed in defeat after she heard the man on the other end's answer. "All right. All right I get it, 7 o'clock tomorrow morning. Yeah right," she then tapped the red button to hang up harder than usual. "Unbelievable…" The brunette grumbled to herself.
After touring most of the house, the group of teenagers realized that it was time for dinner and gathered in the dining room for various delicious dishes cooked by none other than Mrs. Kotoko Hyodo. While there, Issei, had met Koneko's pet cat that she called Shiro. In Issei's opinion, Shiro looked kind of like a miniature version of Koneko with fur and a tail. Dinner with the Hyodo's and the Gremory squadron was always on the lively side, as usual Takeru told his wife that she was the best cook in all of Japan, Kotoko, in turn blushed slightly and told her husband that flattery would get him nowhere with a smile on her face, though that was a blatant lie. Everyone ate and talked, Issei tried to join a conversation but still could not speak a proper sentence, when all was said and done everyone put their dishes in the kitchen and left for their own rooms.
Akeno was almost hellbent on spending the night with Issei in his room in order to 'keep him company' but between Kotoko's glares, as well as Yuuto and Rias manhandling the girl she eventually gave up and went to her own room down the hall from Issei. Now Issei was laying in a large bed in a mostly empty room staring at the ceiling his mind buzzing about all the different rooms this place had to offer. Out of everything he had seen from his tour with the others, the indoor swimming pool and home theater seemed the most appealing to him at the time. It was a little strange to think about it but according to his father, Takeru, Issei had been sleaping for 6 1/2 years, you'd think he had enough to last him while, but now that he was on the soft bed, in his soft pajamas, and in almost complete darkness it didn't even take all that long for him to fall asleep. After the constant noise from the machines that surrounded him less than a day ago, the silence was a little strange, but it was also kind of relaxing. Much like his time spent in the tube, before Issei knew it, consciousness had slipped through his fingers and he peacefully fell asleep.
Authors note: All right everyone, before I say my usual thank you, there are a few of things I'd like to say. 1: This is something I forgot to say in the last chapter, but if any of you actually know the first names of Mr. and Mrs. Hyodo and I didn't get them right, I apologize and please let me know what their official names are. 2: Some of you are probably curious to see where this story will go, the answer to that is kind of stupid really, the truth is that I don't really know the answer to that myself. I started this story off of an impulse without really thinking of what I'd do outside of the sci-fi twist, which leads me to the next topic. 3: If you have any ideas for a story arc, OC, (Original character) or other little details for the world, please send me a PM (private message) containing the details of your ideas, I'll consider them and see if I can make them fit in the story. But before you start brainstorming keep a couple of things in mind, 1B: this is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by large walls because of all the monsters that now roam the earth. 2B: The three different factions (Angels, Devils, Fallen Angels) are not at war. I do have an idea for the first story arc but after that I've got no plans whatsoever.
And with all that said, thank you guys so much for reading this story, I sincerely hope it was worth the wait and that I continue to live up to your expectations. Your follows, favorites, and feedback really mean a lot to me so any reviews you write would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.