~ 10 ~
We're currently walking in the outdoors towards the estate Rias mentioned from before. The weather is perfect to take a hike with clear skies, temperature in a comfortable zone. Trees flank both our sides with the aroma of pine, birds chirping in the distance, the view on the mountain is great. Rias, Akeno, and Asia are walking a few steps ahead. Nevarra is in wolf form alternating between running around the forest and padding alongside me. Tiamat and Raynare are walking a step behind me. Who is carrying five peoples worth of luggage on my back. I'm managing with the absurd weight while keeping pace with the group.
"Your doing great Takeo. Keep it up." Rias motivates. I let out a grunt, not wasting anymore energy than already spent on hauling whatever was on my back. It's not the weight that bothers me, it's the slope that is murdering me here.
"Buchou, I gathered some herbs. Let's use them for the meal tonight." Kiba says while catching up with me. I'm not the only one carrying a huge ruck on his back. Even with the weight, he's not having any difficulty.
"…" Koneko catching up silently. I look to see her carrying probably what Kiba and I are carrying combined. Talk about superhuman! We finally reach the uphill to see the mansion made out of wood. Normally the estate is hidden by blending in with the woods by using demonic-powers, but it appeared since we're using it.
We enter inside, Kiba, Koneko, and I set down the luggage in the living room. I plonk down on the couch after taking off my coat. The girls went upstairs to change into more suitable attire for training.
"Don't Peek." Kiba went into one of the rooms on the first floor and said something messed up when closing the door.
Kiba you need to get a girlfriend. I'm saying this because of all the girls spreading rumors about Kiba and I being a pair! I don't want to hear this when we need to train!
I didn't bother responding, instead I grunt and give him a birdie. I head into a vacant room and claim it for my own by stashing my stuff in a corner. I went to changing into track pants, tank top, and an open work out jacket. Finished, I walk back into the living room after getting a drink of water, and waited. A few minutes later, the room started filling up with everyone. Now that everyone was here Rias announces.
"Alright. Now that we're all here. Let's begin training outside right away!"
~Time Skip: Noon ~
Lesson one. Sword fighting with Kiba. We picked up a bokuto from the luggage and began sparring for some time. I must admit, Kiba is pretty good in his sword work. His speed as a Knight helps him execute techniques to catch his opponent off guard. No excessive movements, clearly experienced in combat, and practiced for some time. That's not including his natural talent with a sword.
An overhead strike, followed up with flanking my side for a horizontal swing. I block the attack by bringing down my sword to the side and pommel him in the forehead to stun him. This phased him long enough for me to trip him up by swinging the tip to his heel, sending him flying for a second, then landing flat on his rear. Like all speed users, stamina and their legs are their strengths and weakness. Kiba can keep pace because I haven't used a sword in a while outside of that match with Ryu, and that time in the church. As for his legs, those can be amended with light armor and more training on his footwork.
"Not bad. Your footwork needs more...well, work. We can just work on the legs with various exercises and those along with your stamina will increase. Nothing wrong with your swordsmanship, you just happened to be fighting against me of all people. " I go over the results of the fight with him. He stays silent before nodding.
"Understood. Another bout?" he readies his weapon. I smirk and ready mine.
Sparring with Koneko now. Needless to say I do not want to be on her bad side. We're matched in hand to hand. Where I have reach and experience in CQC; she has flexibility...not that kind of flexibility! The kind where she's effective in throwing moves, grappling moves, adding in her own works with martial arts. A low center of gravity from her small body giving an advantage. Did I mention she's hits like a tank?! Being a Rook means dishing out pain and taking it like a champ!
Fist cocked for a straight to the center of my body. I raise my arms up to block because she slipped out of my vision for a moment with a feint. She was holding back, though it didn't stop me from sliding back a feet or two. A kick appears off the corner of my eye. I catch it by blocking with one arm, and grab onto it with another. Spinning around and sent her to the opposite side, she lands on her feet. I dash forward and send both fists hurling towards her. Koneko stood ground to defend and slid back a few feet herself.
"That's payback from before." I comment while shaking off my arms from the pain. Geez!
"…you can take it."
No I can't! Maybe if I had Invictus or Boosted Gear, but still! She gets ready for the next round. I drop low as well. I'm going to regret fighting this girl for ten rounds.
I'm now in a room with Akeno, Asia, and Raynare, training on demonic-power. For Asia it's her first bout going into it so she's learning the basic. Raynare wants to look into other ways of using her light magic. I'm learning about control and manipulation; there were a few times when I fired off an orb of magic it left a crater where I was aiming. That and I want to look into other ways to enhance my summoned swords from Force Edge. Maybe give them attributes from one of the three Akeno uses, or even all three.
"I did it!" I look to see Asia gather a light green orb the size of a softball. First time, and going strong. That's my girl!
"Ara ara. Asia-chan has talent in using demonic-power after all." Akeno compliments Asia who blushed at the compliment. I grin and focus back on my training.
Concentrate. Feel the waves and direct them. An orb about the size of a baseball appears. I bend the power into a black blade. It splits into five others. I must have put too much power so it forced itself to divide. Akeno explains that it's possible to give the power attributes of either fire, ice, or lighting by imagining it. Though it would be easier to use a base like an open flame, or existing water.
I begin imagining freezing coldness etch into the sword. The blade becomes jagged and the edge sharpened, now emitting a chilling wave of energy. I look around the room and notice the girls with amazed faces. I go back to the swords; not one, but all the blades were radiating auras of absolute zero.
"My, Takeo-kun. Seems Asia's not the only one with efficiency in demonic power." Akeno smiles. I hold one of the swords and fling it outside the window so I don't make a mess. It hits a tree and...it just became encased in ice!? I guess I really put a lot of power into those swords. "I think you overdid it." she giggles jokingly.
"I want to try as well!" Raynare sounding motivated from seeing my action. She focuses her light energy into an orb, and begins shaping it. She had to struggle for a bit, but with Akeno's help she managed to shape it into a pair of daggers. "Aww! Their not swords though..." I look at the blades. Well they look cool though, maybe big things come in small packages. She chucks one of them at the tree. A bright light flashes as the dagger strikes center mass, causing an explosion of light energy with a blast of freezing wind! I hold an arm out to cover myself from the blizzard and smirked wildly.
"Well they don't lack in spunk! Just like you~." complimenting the unexpected blast of power. She blushes lightly and turns away. Akeno goes 'Ara ara' while smiling, and Asia had those puppy eyes followed by a 'Hauu~'. Oh dear.
Training with Rias. Never in my life have I thought I would meet another Spartan Instructor with the potential to be bad as Kohryu, or even the Four. What am I doing? I'm climbing a steep slope up a mountain, carrying a boulder tied on my back with Rias on top! I've been doing till the sun was about to set. I think I'm at the final lap... I hope.
"Keep going Takeo~! Your just about finished."
"Osu!" is that the finish line? I think it is! I make a sprint up for the last leg. When I finally reach past, I let out a cry. "Yes!"
"Alright, we're done with the laps. Now it's onto the muscle exercise. Three-hundred push-ups!"
"Maou help me!" I get into the front leaning rest with the rock still on my back. She's still sitting while giggling. One. Two. Three. Four...
"So dear. How's your day been?" Tiamat asks in a sweet joking tone. She's sitting on the couch with Nevarra napping on her lap. I look at her mockingly.
"Spectacular darling." I lean down and kiss her on the cheek. She smiles as I walk off to the kitchen. "Be a sweetheart and help me with the meal." without looking back, I know she's following behind. Akeno and Asia are inside, also preparing for dinner. "So. What's on the menu for tonight?"
~Time Skip: Dinner ~
We're sitting around the table with a rather extravagant feast on the table for a group of people after training so hard. Rias brought back a boar she hunted. Tiamat went fishing by the river earlier and came back with a big catch. While Nevarra was running around the forest, she spotted some vegetables in the area and made a note to use them later on. Kiba's herbs from earlier in the day were put to good use. If we can eat like this after training at the end of the day, I'd be happy!
"Man, this is delicious! This is my first having boar and I already like it!" taking a bite out of the meat.
"Ara ara. There's still quite a lot to cover so eat as much as you want." Akeno hands me another bowl of rice.
"Akeno, you really know how to cook. I envy the lucky guy that gets to eat your cooking."
"Ufufu, you're embarrassing me." she says while putting a hand on her cheek.
"…I also made this soup." Asia hands me a bowl of onion soup she made with a sulky face. I must have laid in the compliments on Akeno a little too much. I take the bowl and sip out of it once. Mm! This is great! I nod in approval with a grin. She brightens up after that. "Oh that's fantastic! ...then maybe I have a chance." chance? I look at her confused, and she blushes and went back to her food. Oh well.
"So Takeo, from today's training what have you found out?" Rias asks while drinking tea. I set down the food for a moment and answer.
"As good as I am now. There's still room for improvement. Even with my combat experience this will be my first Game like everyone else. My main interest is magic." this confused the three girls that were with me at that training. "Sure I have destructive power, but I want to give it a sort of precision. Condense and control for an effective attack." Rias and Akeno looks intently and nods.
"I'd have to admit I wasn't expecting that. Especially the comment about magic. When I talked with the others, they said they were trying to keep up with you. I know you have experience in fighting before, so I want to ask who did you trained with to be in the state you're in now?"
"Hmm? My uncle and aunt who raised me along with a friend of the family. His name's Kohryu." I continued eating before noticing everyone's eyes were shocked with surprise. "What?" did I say something weird?
"When you mean Kohryu. You wouldn't be referring to the Golden Celestial Dragon from Chinese mythology?" Tiamat asks after regaining composure
"One and same. Why? You know the old man?"
"He's a friend of mine as well. Haven't talked to him in a while. Have you seen him since?" I shake my head. After my training ended with him, we separated at a certain point. I kept in touch with him as much as possible, up till I finished training by the Four. Then began my career as a freelancer. Putting that to a close, I haven't heard him since. "To think the kid that fought with me to a draw is the student of a drinking buddy of mine." she smirks.
"Still full of surprises. You're right about this being your first rating game. But know everyone else will be in the same boat with you. Another thing I'd like to add is that being able to run from a battle is a sound strategy as much as taking the enemy on."
I consider this for a moment. Retreating to a tactical location where you can gain the upper hand. Backing off to recover from wounds. Decoys. Protection of a teammate. All sensible strategies. With Asia, she can't fight but makes up for it with her Twilight Healing. So there will be times where I need to protect her. Even if it means running away. Which sounds easier said than done. Sometimes turning your back to an enemy means death. I nod at the assessment of reasoning.
"Lovely night to take an outdoor bath, so it'll be wonderful." Rias adds after finishing up her meal. An outdoor bath huh? Haven't been in one of those in a while. I finish up my plate as well and head in the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
I walk out while drinking...
"Takeo, want to bathe with us?" wait what? "I'm sure the other girls don't mind." WHAT?! Eyes widen while spit taking to the side.
"I don't mind if Takeo-kun. Ufufu. I might get to wash his back." Akeno?!
I look at Asia who is madly blushing, but nods silently as well! So easily influenced! This can't be happening! Not my innocent little daughter!
"Ooh! If Takeo is bathing with us, then I approve as well!" Raynare adds with a sly grin. Vixen!
"Sounds nice. I could even get to see 'that' as well. How about it Nevarra~?" Tiamat approves while asking Nevarra! Now my familiars are agreeing as well!
Koneko, your my only hope here! Please say no!
"…I won't mind." she...she just looked away with a blush...MOE~! No! Not Moe! This shouldn't be happening!
"Nope, I'm good! You girls enjoy the bath, I'll just take a very cold shower by myself and hit the hay!" I make for the exit, but was stopped by being hoisted up by Tiamat over her shoulder! "Tiamat! You can't be serious!" she just shrugs and walks to where the bath was! "Kiba! Help a brother out!" now it's his turn to shrug. Dammit what happened to the bro code?!
[Ddraig]: "Oh don't be such a downer. You'll get to bath with a group of beautiful women." I don't need this! "Shut up and take it graciously, partner. You'll enjoy it."
~ Time Skip: Day 2 ~
As denizens of the night, Rias thought it was a good reason to incorporate night training. I didn't mind, though my aching body says otherwise. I got up even more sore from the night since it was what I had to train for the day, but more extensive. Luckily for the morning it's a run down of information to know, so I can have a few minutes of peace. Especially from what happened last night in the outdoor bath.
"Our greatest enemy. The Angels led by God. What is the name given to the highest ranking Angel, and name those among them?"
"Seraph Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel."
"Correct. Next is our 'Maou'. What are the names of the Yondai Maou?"
"Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan."
"Correct. Now to the Fallen Angels, their group, and their leaders."
"Grigori. Governor Azazel, Vice-Governor Shemhaza. Their leaders are Armaros, Barakiel, Tamiel, Benemue, Kokabiel, and Shariel." I let out a yawn. She nods in approval. I remember most of this like the back of my hand from prior experience with some of them. You don't forget those kinds of people.
Particularly Gabriel. Heaven's most beautiful Angel is an understatement. Golden blonde hair, a figure worthy of a goddess. Rather popular among Angels and Devils.
Azazel's a pretty cool guy once you get to know him. An honest lech, I'll give him that. His interests in Sacred Gears a little over the top.
Serafall Leviathan is quite a character. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't figure out how to unmask me, yet she kept pursuing. I tend to prefer girls like Rias or Akeno, but interacting with Serafall while at the Underworld is refreshing. I smiled at the times of her plans to get me to laugh under the mask. Some of them worked, but she didn't know since I wore a mask ninety-nine percent of the time.
I hear someone clear their throat to grab my attention. Asia is looking at me with a pout.
"Now then. I'll begin explaining the basics of exorcist. There are two types. There's the ones you see in films and novels. The Father that reads a section of the bible, then uses the holy water to get rid of the Devil from the person's body. They're exorcists on the surface. The ones behind the scene are the ones that are at threat to us."
"Freed." remembering that psychotic priest from before. She nods and takes out an assortment of stuff associated with exorcising a Devil. Rias picks up a bottle of holy water with disgust.
"Now I will talk about the traits of holy water and the Bible. Holy water is terrible if a Devil touches it." so in other words you can't touch it Asia. "Which means I can't the holy water anymore." she places the bottle she held back. "Next is the Bible. I have been reading it everyday since I was a child. But I'm in trouble now because it gives me a pain in the head even if I only read a sentence of it." …Oh Asia.
"You are a Devil."
"You are a Devil after all."
"…A Devil."
"Remember you're a Devil."
"Ufufu. Devil's receive intense damage."
Asia sobbed a little. "I can't read the Bible anymore!" now she's teary eyed after stating the obvious. Poor girl, her whole life dedicated to the belief. Now she can't pray nor read from the Bible. Need to look into that at some point. Just bear with it Asia. "However, this is my favorite phrase…Oh God. Please forgive a sinful person like myself who can't read the Bible—au!" oh lord.
"Rias, if it's alright with you. Can I train with Tiamat and Nevarra at the mountain?" I ask while pointing at the mountain.
"Sure. You'll probably get more out of the eight days left training here. I'll let everyone know to keep away from the area considering what happened in your last fight with her." I didn't even have to ask them to stay away from the area. That's a bonus. "Anything you got planned with Nevarra?"
"Thanks Rias. I thought it would be a good idea to teach Nevarra how to use a sword. See you later." I wave while walking off to find the two. Fortunately I didn't have to look far as Nevarra padded next to me. So that leaves...
BOOM!
"Tiamat!" she just landed as a Dragon in front of me!
"Hey kid! Did you ask her already?" need you ask? I grin and she took the answer. "Then hop on, where we heading?" I point at the mountain. "Perfect." I bound up and land on her back. "Hold on!" I take to a spike and the ground gets farther away from when I last saw it. Nevarra is following along on ground. I probably should have offered, but she seems to enjoy running in the woods.
After a few minutes of flying we touch ground by the mountain base and I land on my feet from the fall off her back. She changes to human; wearing a sports tank top, and track pants.
"So what's the plan?"
"You already know by now that I'm not only the Sekiryuutei." she nods at this. "What I want to do is train up both my Sacred Gears. Fortunately, Rias said that we'll be getting some privacy so there's no worry about anyone finding out."
"Why don't you want anyone finding out? I mean with just Ddraig, you might be able to pull off beating Raiser. Adding Albion would only cement your chances for winning."
"You're right, with Ddraig I might be able to win. You have to consider who my opponent is. I can dish out hits and take a couple more myself if I use Balance Breaker, though I'm expecting it to be a long fight when I do. While my stamina diminishes. He'll just keep regenerating his body unless I take him down in either body, mind, or even both. For that to happen I need god-level power that I have locked away for last resorts, and I'm talking life or death." Another thing to add is that I only managed an alternate to the Divine Dividing Juggernaut Drive. "As to why not use Albion. No one knows that I have him. How would it sound that someone has the power of the Two Heavenly Dragons?"
She considers this for a moment, pacing around calmly. If things goes as to be expected, then it'll come down to the wire. I can keep up a fight, but against the immortal fire bird, I can only go so long. Even with my stamina, if I don't take any hits that is. It's a sound strategy using Albion, take his power and stamina away and add it to my own. Using Empireo Juggernaut Drive to take him down would work if the shock of having Two Heavenly Dragons doesn't work, which I doubt it wouldn't.
"It's a tall order. Think you can fill it?" Tiamat says after she stops pacing.
"Better to try, fail, and try again." I grin. She smiles at the bravado. Really, I'm afraid of what will happen if I fail. That means losing Rias so I can't lose. Nevarra comes into view, treading merrily along and sitting aside me. "And where have you been~?" I squat down to her level. She licks my cheek and wags her tail before backing a couple of steps and changing forms. She's wearing a black shirt, and work out pants.
"I was taking in the view." answering 'as a matter of fact. I raise a brow at the answer.
"Well, now that we're all here. Time to train." I conjure Invictus and change it into a single edge long-sword lacking a cross guard. Instead, the blade side is elongated to the pommel, creating a pseudo hand guard. "Rather than do lessons one on one. I want you and Tiamat to come at me. Tiamat, try not to scorch her when you attack." After handing Nevarra the sword, I walk a distances while summoning Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing.
~ Time Skip: Ninth Night ~
A week has passed. Progress is smooth, though ten days to train can only do so much. Training with Tiamat, using both Sacred Gears worked out well enough. I was out of my element of training with a Dragon again, but came back around. Teaching Nevarra to use Invictus was fun. Instead of the gauntlets and greaves with the emitters, I only taught her how to use simply the sword form. I didn't tell her this, but there's a couple of other functions in the weapon. They're locked off only to me specifically as their tied into my blood.
I'm staring at the ceiling, not feeling tired. Well, not enough for lights out. Tomorrows the final day for training. After that it's do or die. I get out of my room and head to the kitchen for a bottle of water. I look out the window to see stars illuminating the night sky, and walked out the house to get a better view.
"Ara? You're awake?" Rias's voice came from my side. I turn to see her sitting on the stone railing against a pillar reading a book while wearing a red negligee, glasses, and tying her hair into one. The effect was stunning to say the least.
"Hmm? Oh, hey Rias. I couldn't get much sleep. I never had you pegged for someone to wear glasses. They look good on you though." I sit atop the railing opposite of her side. She chuckles.
"Well they're just to help me think clearer. This is proof I've been in the human world for so long."
"You too? You probably wouldn't believe me, but I used to wear glasses as a kid. Now I just keep a frame as a habit since I gave the one I wore before to Kohryu." she giggles at the story.
"With your face, I can imagine you pulling off a pair and look good doing it." I shrug at the compliment. She lays the book she was reading down. "...Thank you for the peace of mind."
"Having thoughts on how to take on Raiser? You don't have to remind me it's an uphill battle with the clan that descended from the mythical Phoenix." she nods silently. "I had a talk with Tiamat on how we could beat him. Only to come up short with two possible ways; neither of them easy to pull off." neglecting to mention Albion and the alternate Juggernaut Drive.
"Defeat him with the strength of a God-Class. Or keep taking him down until his mind is crushed. As you said, none of them are accomplished easily. I can see why my parents chose him as my fiance. Yes, my Otou-sama chose him in case something like this were to happen. They chose him so I will have no choice but to marry him, even if it comes to a match between households. In the end, you would say they tricked me because there's no way I can win against him."
"I'm sure there's a way to beat him." I attempt to reassure her. While we sat in silence for a bit, something came up. "Given that Raiser is a scumbag, I can understand not wanting to marry him. But when I talked to Grayfia the morning before Raiser made his appearance, she talked about there being another reason for your disdain with the marriage." she stays quiet for a moment, then sighs.
"…I'm a 'Gremory'." she adjusts herself so she's looking out past the forest. "As proud as I am of the name, it carries a burden. Everyone looks at me as Rias from the Gremory. Not as simply Rias. That's why I enjoy my time in the human world. Everyone here looks at me as simply Rias. I never felt this way in the Devil's society, and I may never will now on as well." a crisis of identity. "I want to be with someone who loves me as Rias without the fact that I'm a Gremory. A simple dream... Unfortunately, Raiser only looks, and loves me as Rias from the Gremory. That's why I hate it. But the pride of being a Gremory is important. Those feelings may be confusing, but I want to cherish that one dream." not so much an identity crisis, now more of a maiden's heart.
It felt like my own heart was clenched in a vice. All my life I pushed people away because of the fact that I'm a hybrid, along with how I'm a host of two Heavenly Dragons. And here is a girl that wants someone to know her for herself. Not as a daughter of a High-Class house, but as a girl. I adjust seats to sit beside her and wrap an arm to hug her one sided. She was startled from her thought and looked at me confused.
"Hello. My name is Takeo. Your name is?" giving her a small smile.
"...Rias." now wondering why I asked.
"Hello Rias. I hope I can get to know you better. As a woman I've come to care about." her cheeks flush red, surprised at the words. Then she wraps an arm around me also, then we look up together at the expanse of stars in the sky. "I hope you find that special man, Rias. Cause I promise you that I will beat Raiser." One more day of training and the battle for freedom will begin.
"...Thank you. Takeo."