[] - Ddraig speaking
{} - Murayama's Sacred Gear
Flashback
Murayama Kaori - Current Perspective
"What are you Hyoudou Issei?"
Issei took a deep breath in, letting his head droop down. The room stood silent awaiting an answer. Kiba stood off towards Issei's right, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. Koneko sat completely motionless, eyes trained on Issei, watching his every move. Kaori and Yui sat across from each other, both with nervous expressions on their faces. Akeno's smile held something deadly behind it, yet her eyes held more curiosity than anything else. Exhaling slowly, Issei looked up meeting Rias's eyes.
"I'm not sure I understand the question Gremory-senpai." Issei rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous smile.
"You're not stupid fallen, just answer the question." Issei's smile fell.
[Told you Partner] Ddraig called out from within Issei's mind.
"So what do I do now?" Issei responded, "I can't exactly say that I'm just a normal human if they already know that I'm not." The voice within him didn't give an answer. "Real helpful you stupid lizard." Issei sighed and refocused his attention on the Heiress in front of him.
"Sounds like you already know," Issei replied. His four sets of raven black wings sprouted from his back as he leaned against the back wall, "I'm not exactly a pure fallen you know. My mother was completely human."
"Was?" Akeno asked, the curiosity in her eyes only seemed to have grown.
"Let's just say my father wasn't too happy to learn that I existed." Understanding quickly spread through Akeno's eyes, and while she looked as though she wished to know more, the look in Issei's eyes was not an inviting one. "He didn't want any offspring, especially not with some shrine maiden he raped to piss of Barquiel." His eyes, while still filled with rage, were now also beginning to fill with tears.
"Hyoudou…" Akeno said quietly as if just connecting the thoughts and ideas in her head to the new information. Water began to slowly well up in her eyes as she turned away from the group.
"And when he found out… Well, let's just say he wasn't thrilled." Issei managed to get out, tears beginning to stream down his cheek.
"Ise-kun…" Kaori said quietly, suppressing the urge to comfort the boy. Yui seemed to be going through the same internal struggle. Most of the other devils in the room were either looking towards Issei in shock or to Akeno, thinking their thoughts similar to those of Kaori and Yui.
"Well I'm sorry to hear about that Hyoudou-san." There was a pause after these condolences. After what seemed like forever, Rias continued, "Even so, I'd like to know what you're doing in my town."
Issei wiped the tears from his face and composed himself before looking to Rias as though she was an idiot. "I'm going to school. Not much else…"
Rias stood in what seemed to be relative shock for a moment. "I hope you understand me when I say that's hard to believe. A Fallen a strong as you doesn't exactly show up everyday."
"I trained." Issei responded with a rather monotone voice, "So what? If you're concerned about your safety, I can assure you that I'm not going to harm any of you...Unless obviously, you attack me first, but at that point I feel it's justified," he continued.
An idea began to worm its way into Rias's thoughts. "Well if you wish, I can ensure that no harm will come to you from any other devils in the school. However, if you really wanted to stay out of trouble I may be able to help."
"If you're thinking about reincarnating me you can forget it. I doubt you'd be able to do it with a complete set of pawns, that's just an educated guess though." Rias seemed to deflate a little after this reply.
"Well, in that case, I would like to formally invite you to the Occult Research Club." Issei looked at her with confusion. Rias continued, "The club itself is just a front for my peerage, however being in it will give you a place to go after school to get other clubs to stop harassing you. It also works as an excuse to get out of class if you ever need to."
Issei took a moment to think to himself, "Well, my mission is to observe them. Nothing easier than watching someone in the same room as you every day."
[Seems like a good idea to me] Ddraig chimed in.
"Now the damned lizard shows up, where were you when I started spilling my backstory?"
[You seemed to handle it well enough, they looked like they believed you]
"Well, I didn't exactly lie, the worst thing I did was spread the truth about my intentions. I think it's pretty easy to believe someone who's bawling their eyes out. Himejima-senpai seemed to take it harder than the others. Something about that family name rings a bell too..."
[Barquiel's family. Also, I think the nekomata is looking at you weird, I'm gonna stop talking, I think she's reading your mind.]
"I don't think that's something Nekoshou can do." Looking over to the loli, she did seem to be staring at him rather closely. "If Himejima-senpai really is Barquiel's daughter, it would explain her reaction." Thinking on it for a second he added, "I'll confront her about it later." Finally looking back to Rias and giving a small smile Issei finally answered her question. "Sounds good to me."
Himejima Akeno was distraught. Gazing over at Issei as he watched Rias explain how contracts work to Yui and Kaori, she couldn't help but feel some resentment towards him. How he was so open with Fallen side after everything he had been through baffled her. Their pasts were similar, extremely so. It was this similarity that led to her confusion. Deep down, Akeno knew that she desired to be close to her father again. She doubted, however, that she would ever be able to have the same relationship they once did. After all if he hadn't left, her mother would still be alive. She could only imagine how it would feel if her father had directly murdered her mother. Akeno couldn't imagine the pain that Issei felt, yet he was able to so comfortably show off his Fallen side.
Akeno felt that Issei might be able to help her understand her own feelings better than she was able to. Even though they'd just met she had already begun questioning everything she thought she knew about how she felt. While Akeno loved Rias to death, the girl was never one to really help people solve their problems. She always supported them, but she didn't know what else to do beyond that.
Akeno continued to watch Issei as he helped to explain the concept of sacred gears to an already confused Kendo Duo. She'd have to confront her new Kouhai later.
Murayama Kaori sat listening to Rias and Issei explain what these "sacred gears" were. Rias had touched upon it this morning however, she didn't really explain what they were.
"They're sort of like...a special ability that some people get at birth." Issei summarized.
"And Kaori and I have this ability?" Yui asked.
"Well yes, but every sacred gear is different. For all we know, you and Kaori could have completely different powers." Rias added. Kaori looked over towards Yui and shrugged, in a world with Angels and Devils it didn't seem like too far-fetched.
"So how do we use our sacred gears?" Kaori asked the pair.
"Try to imagine the strongest thing you can think of and call out for it." Issei answered.
Kaori searched through her brain for the strongest thing she could think of. She found it hard to do however with Issei staring so intently at her. His deep purple stared at her closely, causing her to blush. Glancing over to Yui, she seemed to be having a similar problem.
"If you can't do it right away it's fine. It's not something that you can necessarily do without the proper catalyst." Issei added while Rias nodded.
"We can work on it more after you two do your first contracts. Since you're both new, you'll be visiting one of Koneko's clients since she's double booked tonight." Koneko gave a thumbs up with one hand. "I figured you two should go together, it might make it easier on you."
"Thanks..." Koneko said to the two as Rias led them towards a deep red circle in the corner of the room.
"I feel like we should be thanking you," Kaori said. Koneko simply shrugged in response.
When they reached the circle, Rias continued her explanation. "This is a magic circle used for teleportation. Can you two give me your left hands?" The two offered their hands, letting Rias trace a symbol onto them. "This is a seal, it proves that you belong to the Gremory household. If you follow my instructions the contract should go smoothly."
"Good luck…" Koneko told the two.
As the two girls stepped into the circle, it flashed a bright red before sizzling out. Leaving the girls standing there, with the other club members standing there surprised.
"Well...That's never happened before." Rias said. Akeno had to suppress a giggle while Kiba gave a brief chuckle. "Looks like you'll have to get there another way." Rias smiled at them.
"We really can see better in the dark now." Kaori realized. Yui nodded while walking up the house's steps.
"It's weird." She responded as Kaori followed her up. Knocking at a door labeled 2-1, there was some rustling inside. "Hello, is anybody home? You ordered a devil, we're here on behalf of Gremory." Yui stepped back and waited for a response. The door opened slowly, showing a thin man with dark blue hair and glasses.
"Two," The man said with slight surprise, "I guess that'll work." He opened the door to let the Kendo Duo inside the apartment. "Why didn't you two come through a magic circle?" He asked.
"It wasn't working when we left, so we walked over," Kaori answered. "Sorry that Koneko wasn't available, she was double-booked tonight."
"It's not a big deal, things come up."
The room they were led to was filled to the brim anime and manga merchandise. Along the walls volumes of manga filled up all the space. The man laid two drinks down on the table for the girls. "I'm assuming that you two are new?" The girls nodded and he turned towards his closet. "I usually have Koneko-chan try on cosplays for me, do you two mind?" He asked, fishing around before pulling out a typical schoolgirl uniform and going back in to look for more.
Kaori looked at Yui to see what she thought. Yui nodded to her for confirmation. "We don't mind cosplaying for you." Kaori answered.
"That's great," he replied, pulling out a maid outfit.
"I feel strangely violated." Kaori said, walking down the street with Yui. "Who knew cosplaying could be so...creepy."
"At least we got the contract," Yui said, showing off the limited edition manga in her hand.
As they walked, the sky was quickly shrouded in a purple-ish wave. It seemed to swirl around like oil, as a burst of black spread through it. The girls turned to see a woman in dark black biker clothing, her ashy grey hair was parted to her right and puffy by the back of her head. Her dull purple eyes glared at them as she lowered her hand from its outstretched position.
"How strange," she said, walking towards them, boots clicking against the pavement, "I don't seem to have the wrong people. I, Sasiel have been ordered to erase all traces of Dohnaseek's latest hit. Yet here the two victims are, alive and well. Why are you two still alive?" She asked, her voice remaining calm as two dark grey wings sprouted from her back.
"A Fallen Angel…Not again…" Yui began to back up after seeing the wings sprout from her back.
Before they could back up far, the fallen angel known as Sasiel threw a golden spear of light at the two of them. They were just barely able to dodge the spear before more were thrown at them. While they were dodging the blasts, the seals on their hands shined a bright red.
"Ah I see now, the Gremory brat took you in. All the more reason to kill you two now."
"She's seriously gonna kill us," Kaori thought to herself as she dove for cover. Looking over at Yui still evading the spears in the middle of the street. "I need power. I need to protect her."
"Try to imagine the strongest thing you can think of and call out for it" Issei's voice rang throughout her head. The image of Issei's wings sprouting from his back stuck in her mind, beautiful midnight black feathers drifting off as he shook them.
"Power," she repeated to herself, "I need power." Kaori ran back out into the street and swung her left arm upwards in the direction of the fallen angel.
{Ward} A monstrous voice called out from a pale orange gem on the back Kaori's forearm. Orange light briefly filled the street. A dark grey gauntlet appeared on her forearm, wrapping around her whole wrist, however it was particularly dense facing outwards, where the gem sat.
An orange barrier appeared in front of Kaori, almost seeping out of the gem as it glowed. Whenever a light spear hit the barrier, they shattered. Shock spread across the fallen's face as her attacks became worthless.
Katase Yui watched as light spears shattered against the orange barrier sprouting form Kaori's gauntlet. "Sacred Gears," Yui thought to herself, "What was it Issei said to do?"
"Try to imagine the strongest thing you can think of and call out for it" Issei's words reappeared in Yui's mind. She sat for a second thinking, yet nothing came to mind. Looking back towards the fallen angel, she remembered a familiar scruffy-looking man in a kimono rubbing her head.
The man kneeled down to be at Yui's level "Remember Yui, fear never comes from your enemy. It's comes from yourself, before you can beat an opponent, you have to beat yourself first."
"But Otou-san, how do I beat myself?" Yui asked her father. The man laughed in response to this, earning a pout form Yui.
"Yui, the only thing you can do is to trust your own abilities. It doesn't matter how talented you are if you don't believe in yourself. If you don't think you can win, there's no harm in going all out from the beginning."
Yui stood and transitioned into a kendo stance. Closing her eyes, she focused on adjusting her stance until she felt it was perfect. She could feel the blade between her hands, even if she wasn't looking at it. As she lowered herself to prepare for a strike, she could see light beginning to shine its way through her eyelids. Opening her eyes, she saw her target. The fallen angel looked even more shocked than before, her eyes now trained at Yui's hands. From her hands stood a steel European-style broadsword, with a simple yet intricate gold guard.
Pointing her sword forward, she dashed forward at inhuman speed. A greater look of shock spread across the Fallen's face as Yui passed through Kaori's barrier, sword in hand. Yui landed a slash across Sasiel's stomach. The fallen angel coughed up blood and clutched her wound with her arm.
"You've both awakened your sacred gears! I need report this, I'll kill you after that." Sasiel flew off into the sky, the purple sky fading out with her disappearance.
Kaori collapsed onto the ground, her barrier and sacred gear dispelling. Yui tried to walk over to her, but her legs seared with pain and she too collapsed onto the ground. A red circle appeared on the ground, Rias emerged.
"Buchou…" Yui tried to sit up, but couldn't as her legs gave out under her.
"What happened here?"
"I see, so you two were attacked by a fallen angel on your way back?"
"Hai," The two girls answered.
Rias leaned back in her chair. "Well, at least you two managed to awaken your sacred gears." Rias leaned forward onto her against her desk, putting her chin in her hands. "This has become a headache. The fallen now know that you're still alive, reborn as devils." Rias sat back once again, folding her arms under her bust. "Please don't let this experience get to you. You two were able to catch your opponent by surprise, don't get cocky and think you can take them all yourselves."
"Of course Buchou," Yui and Kaori replied, before turning to leave.
"Don't you feel like you're being a little harsh Buchou?" Akeno asked. "They're still new."
"It's because they're new that I'm being harsh. I want to make sure they're alert to danger."
"This is the apartment Buchou got for us!" Kaori practically yelled, "This place is huge!" She spun around in the center of the living room before collapsing onto the couch.
"Come on, we've gotta unpack." Yui attempted to convince the girl to get up.
"But Yui! I'm so tired." Kaori faked a yawn to prove a point.
"Well if you don't hurry I'm gonna end up with the first pick for rooms," Yui replied, successful in getting Kaori running off towards the bedrooms. Yui followed behind her.
"I'm taking this one," Kaori stated, popping her head out of the doorway before plopping onto the bed. "I'm still drained from using my sacred gear, so we'll talk more in the morning, Yeah?" She asked.
"Of course," Yui said, walking into the adjacent room and putting her stuff down next to the bed. Looking around it was a pretty basic room, no decorations were put up, leaving her to decorate. "I might as well try to get some rest," Yui said to herself, "I can unpack tomorrow." Laying down, Yui slowly drifted to sleep.
A/N: New longest chapter again! I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out, and it didn't take all too long to write once I got rolling. A lot of people have been requesting Yasaka for the harem, but I thought I'd ask...Would you guys rather have Yasaka or an aged up Kunou? I'm fine with doing either or both (Also totally fine with leaving Kunou as her Canon age). I just thought I'd ask all of you. Anyways, what you've all been waiting for...The Harem!
Current Harem Members: Kuroka, Raynare, Akeno, Murayama (Kaori), Katase (Yui), Mittelt, Kalawarner, Penemue, Tiamat, Serafall, Irina, Xenovia
Harem Candidates: Kiba (Female), Asia, Rias, Sona, Momo, Tsubasa, Reya, Tsubaki, Gabriel, Rossweisse, Ravel, Koneko
Just a reminder that you can also request for somebody to be taken off the list it will be taken into consideration. Also IMPORTANT NOTE: I went back and rewrote parts of the first three chapters (Not including the prologue) so you guys should reread those chapters if you're interested.
So long everyone
- Phenex-chan