Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DxD or its characters. It belong to Ichiei Ishibumi
Chapter 10: Excalibur what?
Issei sat at the basement of his house, humming a tune as he sorted through the things scattered on the ground.
After Rias had moved in, the house had become even livelier, with her and Asia seeming to have a rivalry, over what, Issei didn't know. Still, the club president, for some reason, had taken to sleeping on his bed. While that alone was enough of a reason for Issei to praise every deity he knew, incurring quite a bad headache, there was also the clincher, the coup de grace if you will.
She slept in the nude, and by every god there is was it glorious. Issei still grins at the memory of it whenever it crosses his mind.
Still, another person in the house meant that it was getting a little packed, meaning accidents are more likely to happen. There was still only a small chance of it actually occuring, but Issei would rather not risk it. Sure, the lethal weapons like Gae Bolg and Hrunting was safely hidden in his trusty bag of holding that he kept in a concealed location, but some of the others were surprisingly dangerous
So, here he was, in the basement, making his own armory of ornaments, trinkets and relics as harmless as possible.
"Ddraig, where'd I put the cornucopia again?" He asked, looking for the said artifact. Hey, just because he had some legendary items didn't mean he only kept those. A cornucopia could be dangerous too. He once somehow managed to make it launch a honey-glazed ham the size of a man's thigh at more than 300 km/h. Seriously, Issei was pretty sure that it was still stuck in the head of that poor old Lenin statue. Actually, scratch that. He deserved it after making Issei run around in nothing but his boxers in the winter cold of Russia.
Issei stopped his rummaging to hang his head in depression. The sad fact was, for all it's weirdness, it STILL didn't even make it to the top 10 most unusual things that happened to him.
He was pretty sure that it didn't match the ring of drug-using, porn star sorceresses in Thailand that tried to make him their god.
Or that island in the pacific where he was worshiped as one and the people there tried to eat him in order to 'release him from his mortal shell.'
Or that gay vampire stripper in Las Vegas who flirted with him and tried to drug him in order to make him his sex toy/boyfriend.
Or that village in a magically-isolated part of England where they decided to try him as a witch for turning one of their villagers into a newt. He got better though.
Or that one time in Japan where he had met a mecha-otaku ,who he was still pretty sure was a devil, and, through a series of one of the most convoluted and random set of events, had had to dress up as a magical girl in order to look for the one who bought the figurine that the girl had wanted which was abducted by some random guy, in order to pay her back because, apparently, he had caused her to 'lose her focus because of his weirdness'. It's a long, horribly awkward story that he would rather no one knew about.
Issei dropped down to the ground in despair. He was pretty sure that the last one was the reason he was so damned terrified of Mil-tan. Sure, that big-ass man may be sweet and had a good heart underneath that muscle,(All 250 pounds of it) but damn if magical girls didn't scare him.
Damn his life was weird. He really needed a counselor.
[Don't worry partner. If it's any consolation, you're the most unique host I had ever had. I can say with complete faith that you are the only one that I ever met that's as weird you.]
'Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better.' Issei thought, curling up into himself. If one of the Two Heavenly Dragons, immense beings of power that gods feared that predated time itself said that you were weird, then you were weird as hell.
"Issei! You're friends are here! What should I tell them!?" His mother's voice reached him, snapping him out of his depression.
"Um," Issei looked around the clutter of the room. "Tell them that I'll be right there!"
"I'm letting them go down there okay?" Aiko said.
"THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ASKING!?" Issei yelled out.
The door at the top of the stairs opened, revealing that the whole of the Occult Research Club was there.
"Um, why are you all here?" Issei asked Rias who was leading them into the basement.
"So this is Issei's basement huh? This is the first time I've been here." Instead of answering, Rias instead chose to look around the basement, taking in the things that he had put in there.
The basement was quite large, as big as the first floor of the main house itself, more than enough space for all of them to fit comfortably. The walls were all covered with shelves, nearly all of them filled with books, daggers, figurines and the normal stuff that one might find in an enthusiasts collection. In the middle of the room sat a long table with 6 chairs, 3 on each side.
"Um, you can sit here. Sorry for the mess, but I didn't really have time to clean things up you see." Issei fumbled around, trying to make the room presentable.
"Ara, is that a cornucopia?" Akeno said, eyes on the horn still held in Issei's hand.
Issei blinked in surprise before glancing at his hand to see that, yes, he was still holding the horn of plenty. "Er, yes. Yes it is."
"May I see it?" She held her hand out, looking at him expectantly.
"Sure, just, be careful okay? Someone might get hurt." Issei cautioned, thinking about that time in Russia. He wondered if the bear was still wearing the dress shirt that he threw away and it had somehow managed to fit it in it's body.
Akeno rose an eyebrow. "How does one exactly get hurt with something like this?" She asked curiously, inspecting the magical artifact closely.
"Then you haven't seen a honey-glazed ham fly fast enough to dent steel." Issei said, done with his gathering of things and laid them down on the table.
Akeno blinked in surprise before delicately handing it to Issei who hung it's strap on a hook placed on a small portion of the wall. She wandered off to inspect the room for anything else of interest.
"Oh, Issei-san, you have bibles in here!" Asia exclaimed excitedly, bringing one of right at Issei's face. He managed to uncross his eyes enough to see the words 'The Holy Bible' written on the front.
"Um, Asia-" Issei began, but Asia cut him off, unusually worked up over something.
"I'll read you my favorite verse in it!"
"Asia, I don't think that's a good idea." Issei tried to convince her that a devil reading a bible isn't really a smart thing to do.
"Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not- AUH!" Asia suddenly shouted, clutching at her head as she crouched down at the ground.
Issei wasn't sure whether to be entertained or feel sorry that Asia tried so hard to read a bible. He settled for feeling sorry for the girl.
"Are you okay?" He asked leaning down to lightly take the holy book away from her lest she manage to hurt herself even more.
"Issei-kun, why do you have something like this? And why is it purple?" Kiba asked, coming at him and holding Issei's lightsaber with one hand, swinging it around.
"Oh, that." Issei reached up and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Um, well, it's because I haven't really found a real lightsaber anywhere else before now, so I kept it."
"I see. And the purple?" Kiba observed the vibrating sword of holy light that was used to hunt down devils.
"Hey, if you're going to have a lightsaber, might as well make it purple right? I mean, say what you want about the first three films, but you gotta admit that you wanted a purple one even more the moment you saw Windu bust down some of his moves." Issei explained his reason for taking apart a holy weapon that was the staple of exorcists of the church for years and reverse engineering it, learning every single of it's parts just to turn the blade purple.
"Okayyyy?" Kiba said in a questioning tone, before putting it back to where he got it.
"Senpai, can I borrow this?" Issei looked to see that Koneko was holding a book on the species and classifications of youkai that he had gotten in Kyoto. It's cover was plastered with enough of the Japanese monsters that even Issei couldn't name them all.
"Sure, if you want you can keep it. I'm sure that you may have uses for it more than I do." Issei took the books in his desk and began to place them in it's proper shelves.
"Issei what's this?" Rias asked, coming over to him.
"What's WHAT!" He looked over and saw that she had brought with her a black, intricately covered tome. It was heavy, and had what looked like magical circles on the front. Just below them was the word 'Necronomicon' where it looked like it was more carved in than written. It had also three leather clasps in front of it, each sealed with a lock.
Issei immediately sprung to action, running over to grab the book from her and delicately placed it in a special glass case. He shut the square vessel close and made sure that there weren't any imperfections on the material.
"Dammit Issei, how the hell did you forget to hide something like that? Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Issei muttered to himself, before turning to his king. "Buchou, are you okay? No headaches, no signs of mental trauma, no unearthly voices in your head seducing you with power?"
Rias, like her queen just moments ago, blinked at the series of questions before shaking her head 'No.'
Issei sighed. "That's a relief. I guess that it really was sealed, just like that guy said."
Rias shook her head before asking. "Issei, what was that?"
The person in question sighed. "That, was the necronomicon. Quite possibly THE most powerful tome of eldritch lore there is. It's mere presence distorts the space around it and people who read it go mad from the revelation." Issei smiled sardonically. "There are things that man wasn't mean to know."
"And you had it just laying around in your basement? Why?" Rias asked, honestly a little creeped out by the book that she was holding just a few minutes ago. If even Issei was freaked out by something, then you better know damn well that it's worth freaking out on.
"Well, the last person who held it gave it to me so that he wouldn't be tempted by his inner demons to read it. That's what he said anyway. Still, it's sealed up with powerful magic, so it's presence is hidden to most. Thank god for that." Issei said, before twitching at the headache he received. He suddenly blinked as a new revelation came into him. "Actually, I'm not even sure if it affects devils. I've heard that some magicians manage to read it and come out with their sanity intact."
"I see." Rias trailed off, now looking thoughtfully at her pawn. One day, she swore to herself that she would find out just what made him tick.
"Ara ara, Issei-kun, I didn't think that you were interested in stuff like this." Akeno said, voice entirely too amused as she held up a comic book. On it's cover, the words 'S&M Play' was emboldened on the cover over the background in which a girl was wearing a full leather bondage suit tied up with rope and had a handkerchief over her eyes and a gag on her mouth.
"!"
"If you like, then I would gladly do it with you." Akeno's eye had now gained a teasing glint in them.
Issei immediately ran over to her and grabbed the magazine from her outstretched hand, hugging it to his body, desperately hoping that no one else had seen his guilty pleasure.
"Issei-san, what was that?" Asia turned, voice sounding so pure and innocent that it tugged at Issei's heartstrings. He vowed to never let her see any of those things.
"N-nothing. That was just nothing." He said waving his hands and laughing nervously, hoping that no one but Akeno had seen it.
"Pervert." That hope was cruelly shattered in a million pieces when he heard Koneko's accusing voice and felt her glare at his back.
"Urk."
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Issei sighed as he collapsed onto his bed, a little tired after all those cleaning he did. After the basement, where the others had insisted on helping him, Rias and Asia had decided to cook lunch for all of them. Issei, not really hungry, said that he would clean his room upstairs.
Now, here he was, with the magazines safely hidden but most of the room messed up.
In truth, he went there in the event that the Occult Research Club would decide to go see his room. After Akeno had managed to find his stash, he swore that he would hide it better to avoid a repetition of that act. He didn't need Asia seeing what kind of things that he was into.
He sighed at the sheer unexpectedness of it all.
When somebody would have told him 10 years ago that not only would he become a devil, but that he would also become one willingly and that most of his fellows were very attractive women all in their own right, he would have killed them for wasting his time. Now, he was actually having fun being with them doing his chores. Hell, two of them, one of them being his master, was even cooking for all of them right now! That was something he had never expected a devil capable of doing.
He thought back to the last time he had been with devils in a closed location.
Thud!
The sound of a heavy book landing on top of a surface echoed through the otherwise silent part of the room.
The occupants in the room flinched, startled by the suddenness of the sound before turning back to what they had doing before.
The boy opened it to keep up the appearance, discreetly observing them from the top of his book.
1, 2 ,3, 4.
There were four of them, exactly as the masters said.
There was the target.
He was a tall fellow, nearly 8 feet tall and built like an ox, with thick arms and muscled legs. He was bald, with a tattoo of a strange symbol, covering the side of his face. He was wearing a robe befitting a noble, seemed to be made of silk or satin.
The others were simply his servants and were of no consequence. The masters asked him to kill them too.
The boy saw that the man, Jogur they had called him, had gathered up some books and were bringing it to the librarian.
That was his cue.
He closed the book shut and brought it to the librarian too, following his target.
He stood next to the veritable giant and placed the book on the desk, his head just barely reaching past it.
Jogur smiled down at him. "Such a young child to be alone in such a place as this! Tell me, where are your parents? No doubt they would be worried about you if they were to find out that you have no companions in this library."
The boy turned to him. "Are you Jogur the giant?" He asked, looking for confirmation.
"Yes, but why do you know me?" The giant was unnerved, stepping back from him with eyes narrow and body tensed.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
Quick as a thought, silent as a whisper, the dagger leapt from it's sheath and into the boys hand, already flashing it's deadly dance for a path straight at the man's thighs.
He was too small and the man too large for him to target the neck, so he settled for the femoral artery.
The man immediately collapsed, all the strength in his legs leaving him as his lifeblood flowed from him like a river.
"Boss!" His three servants cried out, futilely, desperately running to the giant.
The boy stood between them, and his gaze alone was enough to stop them cold.
"How dare you! You killed him! You killed our master!" One particularly brave man shouted and the others followed his lead. "Move over! Our boss is dying and you're in the way!" He charged at him, believing himself to be able to overcome the child.
But he was wrong. Jogur the giant was already dead.
Sching!
And with a swing of the dagger, his throat was cut, following in his boss' footsteps.
The other two now looked at him with undisguised fear, but there was something else in their eyes. Something that spoke of loyalty and defiance and the will to avenge their comrades.
They died too.
Half an hour later, there wasn't a soul left alive in the library. He lit a match and set one of the books ablaze, throwing it at the shelves behind him.
"No witnesses." The masters ordered. "Burn the place down after your mission."
And he did it. He always followed the master's orders.
"Issei-kun?" A hand laying down on his shoulder startled him from his memories.
"Akeno-san?" Issei asked, turning around to see the elegant queen looking at him curiously. "What are you doing here?"
She smiled, before sitting down right next to him. "Buchou asked me to tell you that lunch was ready."
"Really? Then can you please tell her that I'll come by a little later? I'm kinda busy with all this." He gestured at the mess of clothes strewn about the floor of his room.
"Hmmm, we can't have that. Let me take care of it." Akeno said calmly.
"What? No! It's fine! I can-" He stopped abruptly as Akeno simply pointed and the clothes all flew into the air and folded themselves neatly, the wrinkles even disappearing from them. With another gesture, his drawers all opened themselves and the clothes went into their respective places, organizing themselves as they did so.
Akeno turned to Issei, smiling at his dumbstruck face. "You didn't forget that I could do magic did you?"
"How?" Issei asked, now alternating his gaze between the drawers and Akeno. That was more than he could manage and she did it to clean his room.
"It's surprisingly easy to do it. Devil's magic IS based on imagination you know?" She said, still smiling at him playfully. She suddenly sobered up, staring at the ground contemplatively. "Ne, Issei-kun, we don't really talk that much do we? I mean, not as much as the others."
Issei blinked and thought back to his time in the club and found that yes, he wasn't really as close to her and Kiba as he was with the others.
"I want to be as close to you as buchou." She took his hand and held it in between her breasts. "Ne, Issei-kun. Even if I don't show it much, I still have a great liking to you. When I first saw Issei-kun, I only saw you as a junior to tease. But recently in the fight against Phenex, I saw a hidden side of you. You were so strong and you gave it your all just for your master. I saw it all from the infirmary." She had gotten even closer to him, almost uncomfortably so. "You managed to defeat the Phenex, who were all said to be immortal. Even a girl like me can't help but be aroused after seeing a man fight as wonderfully as that.
She drew back and touched her heart, right between her breasts. "Sometimes, I think of you and I go wild. The area around my breasts get hot, but whenever I see you, all I want to do is to bully you around. Is this love?"
Issei's jaw dropped. 'Huh? Bul- I-is she bullying me? Is there really something such as sexual bullying?'
She chuckled, putting her arm back on her lap. "But if I take you for myself, then Buchou will get angry at me. Sigh. My king, she really sees you like that huh? Issei-kun you really are a sinful man."
'Huh?'
"Issei-kun, would you like to have an affair with me?" Akeno turned her body to him, wrapping her arms around Issei's neck and getting close to her.
'Huh?'
"A-affair?" He managed to get out. 'What's she talking about? Affair against whom? I'm really getting confused here!'
She hummed. "Yes, an affair. I'll keep quiet about it if we do it you know? I'll hide it from Buchou and Asia. It'll be our. Little. Secret." She punctuated each word by taking his hands and kissing his fingers. "I want to experience it even if just once. To be devoured by a younger man. I have a masochistic side to me too you know? I think it's time to experience being with a man."
'Huh? Wait.'
"Being with a man? A-Akeno-san, a-are you a-?" He gestured wildly, letting the question hang in the air.
Akeno chuckled at his reaction, amused by his getting flustered. "Yes, I'm a virgin. Issei-kun is more experienced than me, so I would really appreciate it if you take the lead."
'Experienced?'
"Akeno-san, I don't have experience yet too." Issei said, shaking his hands quickly
She looked surprised at that confession.
"Really? So you and Buchou didnt?" She tilted her head at him.
"What? No! Of course not!" Issei said.
"Ara ara, so buchou is taking it slow. Then how about Asia?" She looked at him meaningfully. She laid her hand on his thigh, and Issei couldn't help but think about how soft it is.
"No, impossible." Issei said. Asia was his charge, someone he had to protect and take care of. He sure as hell wasn't going to abuse her trust and take advantage of her.
"I see, then Issei-kun." The look in her eyes made Issei gulp down nervously. "Would you like to, but buchou would get angry at me if I take away your purity before her."
"Akeno, what's the meaning of this?" Rias' voice spoke up. "What were you doing with Issei? Didn't I ask you to just make him come down?"
Issei instantly froze at the sheer amount of frost in her voice.
Akeno however, answered without batting an eye. "I did what you asked me to, but when I saw Issei-kun's room was so messy, I decided to help him clean up." Her voice was so innocent that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
Rias approached them, an unpleasant expression on her face. "Then why was your hand at his lap? Surely helping him clean up didn't require you to do that?"
"Ara ara, is buchou angry that she didn't manage to do even that with Issei-kun?"
The stareoff between the two of them was frankly starting to scare Issei. They weren't glaring at each other but were looking so intensely that he could practically see sparks fly between them.
Issei stood up, in what he hoped was a discreet manner, and tried to leave the room.
Rias reached up and pinched his cheek. "Issei, were you having fun? Were you happy that you finally got close to the Akeno-oneesama that you admire so much?"
"Whot?"
"Then do whatever you want! It's not like I care or anything!" She turned around and left through the door, an angry expression on her face.
Issei reached up and rubbed his cheek. "What was that about?" He wondered out loud, thinking what the hell just happened.
Akeno chuckled. "Ufufufu. Jealousy? Buchou sure is cute when she becomes like that."
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Issei sighed as he cleaned the classroom. It was his turn along with Matsuda and Motohama to do so but they had bailed on him. He didn't really mind. He liked doing chores, helps keep his body busy while his mind was thinking.
Lunch that day was a frosty affair. Rias refused to speak to Issei and steadfastly decided to ignore his existence as well.
Issei nodded as he drew back the mop. All done. He grabbed his bag and made the trip to the Occult Research Club.
He whistled as he walked through the hallways. Finally, he reached the Old School Building. He was about to open the door when he heard voices from there.
"-Are you the one who was called the 'Holy Maiden?' To think that you would become a devil. You fell to the lowest of the low. Do you still believe in God? I guess not, you are a witch after all"
The words that were spoken made Issei scowl. From the conversation, he guessed that whoever it was, she was talking about Asia. He opened the door, determined to say his piece.
"Oi oi, what the hell are you saying? I won't forgive you if you call her a witch. Just because she's a devil doesn't mean she deserves to be called that by anyone."
There were two new people in the club. They were both women, judging from the build that Issei could see from under their long, white coats.
The taller one turned around, prepared to answer him when they saw each other. They immediately froze up, stunned as they were by the coincidence.
Chin length blue hair with a green fringe framed a beautiful face and dark yellow eyes. Underneath her cloak, Issei saw a glimpse of a black, skin-tight, short-sleeved unitard with long fingerless gloves. On her back, a massive bandaged package was slung over, bigger than the girl itself.
"JOHN!? John Galt!?" She shouted, taking a step back in surprise, eyes wide as saucers.
Akeno frowned thoughtfully. "Who is John Galt?"
'Ah crap.' Issei thought, staring at the frozen girl. "I'm sorry, wrong room." He said with an odd monotone before closing the door and staring at it. He thought about what a coincidence it was, seeing a girl that looked almost exactly like the one he had saved years ago. She looked like what that girl would have if she was at the age she was today. Yep, after all, blue hair and a green fringe wasn't really that rare was it? And it seemed that she knew his name that he used in Italy too. What a coincidence.
Yep, a coincidence.
Issei knew he was deluding himself, but hey, a man could dream.
Issei reluctantly opened the door and stepped back into the room.
"Hello." He barely managed to get out before a mass of what he supposed was steel descended upon him with great force.
"THE HELL! XENOVIA, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" He roared, clasping his hands at the monstrosity of a weapon that was trying to give him a concussion.
Impulsive and headstrong. Yep, that was the girl he knew.
"I knew it! I knew that you were him!" Xenovia gave a delighted grin before bearing down on him even further.
"Issei!? What is she talking about?" Rias asked, alarmed at what was going on in her clubroom. Inside, all of her peerage pieces were tensed, observing the byplay between Issei and the strange, blue-haired girl.
"Xenovia, get off me!" Issei threw his arms to the side and the bandaged whatever-the-hell-it-was flew by him and struck the floor, creating a small crater on impact. Xenovia, instead of attacking again, seemed to realize what she just did and had an embarrassed look on her face. "Now that no one's trying to cave my face in, I repeat. What the hell are you doing?"
"...I was greeting you." She replied stubbornly, looking away.
"Greeting me- No you didn't! You tried to mash my face in! That would've seriously hurt if it really hit me you know!" Issei was getting more confused by the minute. He didn't miss the positively murderous glare on Kiba's face as he stared at Xenovia.
No, not her, Issei corrected himself. He was glaring at, the weapon? He took a quick peek at the thing still on the floor. Whatever it was, it seemed important.
"Issei-kun!? Xenovia-san, how do you know him?" The other girl's voice asked, pure confusion in her words. He turned to her and froze again.
Long brown hair tied into twin-tails framed a beautiful face with Japanese features with violet eyes. A vaguely familiar face that was currently twisted into a complicated expression.
"Ah crap." He looked up, blaming this strange series of events on whatever sick god there is. "You're doing this on purpose aren't you?"
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After managing to calm down, they each managed to sit down and bring Issei up to speed on just why the two were here.
They said Excalibur was broken(The Excalibur, The Greatest and Most Powerful sword in existence itself was broken, shattered. Issei had simply resigned himself to the fact that nearly nothing he had thought and read about was what it really was.) into seven fragments during the Great War and each of them was made into a sword itself.
Now, it seems that the swords were given two of each to the Vatican, the Protestant Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. One of each was stolen by someone and had been tracked by the three churches to Japan.
(Seriously, why Japan? Couldn't they take it to a nice, isolated place where there were no people to be involved? Like Russia or Antarctica.)
The Vatican had assigned Xenovia, who wielded Excalibur Destruction and the Protestant assigned Irina, holder of Excalibur Mimic to investigate where the thief was.
And now...
"How do you two know my Issei?" Rias asked coolly, placing emphasis on 'my.'
Xenovia, proud and stubborn as ever, answered. "I have met him in Italy three years ago. He saved me from being killed by a basilisk. I owe him my life."
"And you plan to repay that debt by throwing a freakin' Excalibur on my face?" Issei grumbled, still not happy that he was that close to one the most dangerous threats there was to a devil.
Xenovia had the grace to look embarrassed, however slight it was. "That was just because I was surprised to see you. I swear that it wouldn't happen again."
"THAT was surprise? I'm almost afraid to see what you would do when angry." Issei muttered loud enough that everyone could hear him. Still, he wasn't staring at the girl who nearly just murdered him (That happened far too often for Issei to truly be worried about, and just the thought that someone nearly killing him wasn't cause for alarm made Issei rethink his life.), he was staring at the other girl, head tilted as he tried to remember just where she had met him.
"And you?" Rias asked, turning to Irina who was giving confusion looks to Xenovia, who was beside her and Issei who was across the table.
She didn't answer, and simply stopped her alternating gazes and just focused on Issei.
After a few minutes of silence, Issei couldn't simply let it go on any longer, especially with that kind of intense gaze aimed right at him.
"Um... Do... do I know you from somewhere?" Okay, not really the most polite of words, especially to one that seemed to recognize him and used his correct name.
"Issei-kun, did-did you forget about me already? After what you promised me?" Her face was expressing her emotions clearly. Surprise and hurt and, was that loneliness in her eyes?
Seeing it made Issei feel like a complete and utter dick.
"Uhh... No?" Issei optimistically thought that being honest would net him some sympathy points and would hopefully get past this without any major incident.
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It turns out that her name was Irina Shidou. She seemed to find the need to remind him, yelling as much when the duel first begun.
"Issei-kun! Come back here and let me make you remember about our time together!" Irina yelled, bringing down Excalibur Mimic on the ground where Issei was just moments before.
"I'll do that when you calm down and put the freakin' sword down!" Issei roared, running up the length of the tree and standing up on one of the branches there, hoping that would be enough to buy some time to smooth things down.
Irina simply cut through the entire trunk like it wasn't even there and the tree immediately began to fall down on it's side, losing the support that it relied on.
"If you really wanted to make me remember then shouldn't we be doing it over tea and cakes and not by fighting to the death!"
"NO! My instructors told me that to truly speak with someone, they must exchange through action as well as words! So Issei-kun, let's take a trip down memory lane together!"
"NOT WHEN YOU'RE BRINGING THAT SWORD WITH YOU!" Issei thought back to just how this had managed to happen.
Back in the clubroom, when Issei had told her that no, he didn't remember her, she had gone into a fit. Well, she cried cutely first before leveling a sword at his throat, proclaiming that she would 'bring back his memory' because apparently, the 'devils had corrupted him and made him fall into their evil ways!' through a duel between the two.
Kiba had eagerly leapt at the opportunity, leveling his one of his own created blades at Xenovia and telling her something about being her senpai or whatever the hell it was.
Issei had been able to pick up signs of extreme anger when they had been telling him about the Excalibur. What for, Issei didn't know, but hell if it wasn't a sight to behold, the face of the usually unflappable Kiba twisted into a ferocious looking snarl.
His laugh when Xenovia had accepted was honestly chilling.
"Issei-san!"
'Unofficial match my ass' Issei thought, jumping over a swing that had threatened to cut off his legs at the knees, landing on the flat of the blade before jumping backwards. 'She's seriously trying to hurt me. I think this is more of a a battle than it is a duel.' Still, the battle had given him enough time to think just exactly when and where they had met.
She knew him by his name 'Issei,' so he was pretty sure that he had met her within the last year or so. The only places of note that he had gone within that time was Japan, England and Hong Kong.
"To think that the thing I so wanted to destroy appears right in front of my eyes. Is this fate?" Issei heard Kiba say as he began to prepare to fight his own battle.
"I heard that there was only one test subject that managed to escape the Holy Sword Project. Is that you?" Xenovia asked, uncaring of the callousness of her words.
The already high killing intent that Kiba was emitting skyrocketed, all of it aimed at the wielders of the Excaliburs.
"Issei-kun, I would be quite troubled if you ignore me you know!" Ah damn, Irina's own sword turned into a whip. It struck forwards, snaking around Issei's wrist.
She pulled it back, dragging Issei along for the ride.
Right, Excalibur Mimic. It can take on so many forms that even Golden Darkness would be jealous.
Issei fell down on the ground, leaving upturned ground where his body dragged against it.
'What is it with me and being pushed around by women?' Issei honestly wondered. It seemed that recently, every fight he had been usually had him being dragged on the ground.
Just as he neared Irina's feet, he braced his hands on the ground before pushing against it, flipping over her head before landing right at her unprotected back.
Irina was too slow to react so he reached out and tapped her on her shoulder. She immediately turned around and made to put some distance between them, pointing her sword at him.
"Can we finish already? I don't really even want to fight you know?" Issei asked, putting his hands on his pockets, hoping that if his words weren't sufficient, then the gesture was enough to indicate his reluctance to fight.
The heat in the grounds suddenly flared up, and against all common sense, ice began to spread around all of them, covering the grass underneath.
'Ice and Fire!?' Issei thought, startled, glancing up sharply at Kiba.
He was holding two swords, the one in his left looking like it was fire forced into the shape of a sword and the one in his left looked like it was carved from a block of ice to form a shape that vaguely resembled a blade.
He watched as Kiba tried to attack Xenovia, his strikes lacking any of his usual grace and skill at using swords, instead substituting it with brute force.
Xenovia smirked and simply brought down the sword with two axe blades for a pommel and three end points down on Kiba, destroying his two swords from the air displaced by it's passing alone before continuing down into the ground, creating a crater on impact.
Xenovia brought up the sword and rested laid it down on her shoulder.
"It's a match between my own sword and your's! Let's see which sword will win in destructive power then!" Kiba roared, holding out his hands and a massive sword appeared, seeming to be too heavy for Kiba to lift properly.
He held it up, movement so pathetically sluggish that it was an insult to the [Knight] piece.
Excalibur Destruction tore through it like a cake before she turned the sword around, slamming it's handle straight into Kiba's midsection.
"You tried to use force to defeat me. Sadly for you, my Excalibur Destruction will never lose in a contest of power." She coolly said, looking down on Kiba's downed form.
"Oh, it looks like their nearly done! Shall we finish up at our side as well?" Irina charged at him, the whip returning to it's sword form as she prepared to unleash her skills upon Issei and force him to remember her. She was so close, close enough that the two's shadows began to overlap.
Too bad for her, Issei still had his trump card.
He raised his arms.
He brought his fingers together.
He snapped it, the sound echoing through the grounds.
And with a mighty roar that shook the ground and reached the heavens itself, declared,
"DRESS BREAK!"
The bodysuit that she was wearing was instantly ripped apart, baring her body to the world.
"Eh?"
The whole world seemed to actually pause for a moment as their brains tried to catch up to the sheer absurdity of what just happened.
Irina stopped still at her position, feet apart and hand holding her Excalibur.
It took a while before her mind finally realized that yes, she really was naked, and tears began to gather in her eyes. "Y-y-y-y" She was stuttering badly, stunned as she was at being forcefully stripped of her clothing.
Rias,who had been silently observing until now, reached up and pinched her nose, already feeling a headache forming. "What?"
"YOU PERVERT!" Irina roared, covering her important parts as she glared, at Issei.
Okay, in hindsight, that wasn't really a good idea. Still, it wasn't really his fault. She was trying to kill him! Okay, he could have used a less perverted technique, but he was a teenager with raging hormones, so sue him.
SLAP!
Issei's head turned from the force of the blow, his body following the direction of it's spin. When the stars finally stopped dancing around and his vision cleared up, it was to see a red-faced, teary-eyed Irina glaring at him.
"You're the worst! Honestly, you're just as perverted as when I met you!"
'Hah?'
She used her Exalibur Mimic and turned it into clothes.
'She's using a fragment of the most legendary sword to have existed to cover herself?' Issei thought.
"I'll never forgive you for this!" She suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's still too early for us to do that. We're not even married yet. But Issei-kun's a devil now, and I'm a catholic. Mou! Is this the Lord's way of testing my faith? He forgot about me and became a devil? Then I'll find a way to turn him back!" She turned and pointed at Issei, eyes glittering as she seemed to forget what he had done just moments before. "That's it! Issei-kun, wait for me! I'll definitely find a way for us to be together!"
'Hah?'
Xenovia covered her own sword with a special cloth that concealed it's existence from the outside world. She turned to give a level stare at Issei.
"John, no, it's Issei Hyoudou now was it?"
Issei nodded.
"I see. I still owe you something." A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "I have a feeling we're going to meet sometime in the future." She left entering into the woods and soon, she was hidden by the treeline.
Irina glanced between the place where her partner disappeared to and Issei.
Finally, she made to follow her but not before leaving some parting words of her own.
"Issei-kun, the next time we meet, you better remember who I am!"
Soon, the clearing was silent except for the sound of Kiba gritting his teeth.
"What just happened?" He spoke up, wondering at why all the strange things seemed to happen to him.
Something green suddenly took up his vision.
In fact, if he looked closely, it would almost seem like it was a tree.
But that was ridiculous, trees didn't fly.
It certainly didnt-
"Senpai, you are a pervert."
He decided that yes, it really was a tree that Koneko had thrown at him.
A.N.
Well, another chapter done.
Did I manage to keep all of them in character? I realized when I reread my story that Akeno didn't really have that much lines in this. She seemed to be just a background character, an observer if you will. So I decided to add the heart-to-heart talk they had right around this arc.
I had to make do with this considering that Issei didn't sacrifice his arm to save Rias, so he didn't need anyone to, ahem, 'disperse the dragon's energy.'
I know that some of you may be disappointed about the small amount of screentime that I gave Xenovia here, but honestly, this arc is more about Kiba getting over his hatred of Excalibur and moving on than Issei gaining a new haremette. (Though that was certainly a perk.)
Like always, I would really appreciate any of your feedbacks and comments about this chapter.
Was it okay? Was it cliche? Was the events out of place or awkwardly inserted? Was the characters acting like their canon counterparts?
Well, I could only hope as a writer that I managed to satisfy/amuse you with this chapter.
Hoped I didn't disappoint.
As for the fic, does it really deserve an M rating? I'm pretty sure that there isn't any violence or scenes that warrant it so far.
Go FEU. Just wanted to leave that there.
P.S.
To those who got the references in the chapter, kudos! I admit, they were as unsubtle as hell, but I liked writing them. Made me chuckle anyway.
BTW, whether or not Raynare is in the harem does not affect her general impact in the story. Whether or not I add her to it, I'm pretty sure that I'll still put her in the story, one way or another. If, and that's only an if, I decide to add her in the harem, I want to make it so that it won't be her gazing at his eyes, seeing his forgiveness, fall in love faster than Wil E. Coyote's plans going south and then her panties dropping down like a brick.
Remember, she killed his surrogate sister and tried to off him as well. That's gotta sour any potential relationship, not including the other girl's who wouldn't let up, watching her every move like a hawk.
Omake!
"Ddraig, what the hell is happening?"
[They're making a bonfire.] Ddraig pointed out, rather unhelpfully.
"I can see that. Why are they making a spit?" He said as the people began to prepare a wooden stick that looked just right for a human to be stuck in it and be roasted over a nice, warm fire.
[They're going to cook something.]
Truly, Ddraig's power of observation was unrivaled. No wonder even God himself feared him.
"Why are they looking at me hungrily?" Issei thought, politely not voicing out his thoughts but knowing his partner could her it anyway,
[Well, based on what just happened, I'm pretty sure that they think you're their god and want to eat you.] It seemed that for the sake of politeness, he decided to ignore his sarcasm as well.
Issei watched as they began to add more wood into the fire, making it rise up higher.
"Why the hell would they eat their own god?" Issei asked, saying a quick 'thank you' as one of the tribesmen offered him the first pick of their finest fruit.
[In some tribes, it is considered good luck to eat the flesh of god's as it grants them magical powers. They also believe that since they are releasing them from their mortal prisons, then the god's will smile down upon them and grant them good luck.]
"I see." No, he really didn't.
Still, he had some free food, so that was good luck he guessed.
He only hoped that he didn't have to pay for this shit. Watermelon tasted like diabetes, sweet as hell.