Author's Note: I'm sorry Chapter 10 suffered a long delay. I have been busy with other things and I'm only in the mood to write when I am watching DxD Born. I had some gaps to fill near the end of Chapter 10 and that also took a while.
Chapter 11 might take a while too. It will be a direct continuation of this chapter. There will also be more of that Rito-Issei interaction too.
Published 6/9/2015
Chapter 10:
I am Your Master
"Huh? I'm back here? How?"
Once again, Rito finds himself back in his dorm room. As he gets up, he quickly tries to find his clock, hoping that he didn't miss class again. As he digs through the items, he realizes something strange. None of the items look familiar to Rito.
"Is this even my room? I don't recall any of these items. How did they get here?" Rito rushes to the door and checks the number on the door. "Yeah, this is my room: Room 277. But why are there items in my room that I don't recognize? More importantly, none of Saruyama's items are in here."
Rito looks out into the hallway, finding answers to why Saruyama's items disappeared. "Did Saruyama suddenly quit? Well, I guess Saruyama couldn't handle the pressure of college. It's reasonable since he was always talking about girls and other aspects of a man's life. Hahahaha…"
Then, Rito feels a sudden burst of pain enough to bring him onto the floor. He quickly inches his way back to bed. "Ow, what is this? My stomach hurts. I can't even recall anything much from last night. Why does it hurt so badly?"
Rito then hears someone humming in the hallway. The humming gets louder and louder. Suddenly, the door opens. Rito, scared of the situation hides in the blankets. As the door opens, Rito takes a glimpse of who it is. The person has brown hair, a ponytail, and yellow eyes.
"Oops, I forgot to get my towel for my workout. Oh yes, I need that T-shirt too. Oh, and don't forget this watch. I need to stay fit so I don't lose to Akeno-san and Kiba."
"Is he my new roommate? Who is he and how does he recognize me?" Rito thinks as he looks as the man. It is strange this man is Rito's new roommate especially since Rito does not recognize this man.
"Oh, you're suddenly awake. Good morning." The man spots Rito awake and suddenly talks to him.
"Wahhhh!" Rito hides deeper in his blanket. He suspects the man might have a sinister plan with Rito involved.
"Come on now, you're not a little baby anymore. Come out like a real man." Rito uncovers his blanket and takes a glimpse at the man in front of him.
"Are you feeling better? That was a pretty intense battle last night. Who would have thought a stray devil was lurking around here? It was laughable that he could issue judgment on stray devils when he was one of them."
"Wait, what? A battle? How do you know about that?" Rito recalls the battle from last night. A shadow monster suddenly attacked him. He was nearly killed and eaten until a red dragon from nowhere approached the monster and killed him.
"I was present at the battle." The man then equips something on his left arm. His left arm is now covered with red scales complete with a green jewel. "Do you recognize this?"
"Wait! I remember that. That's the exact same design the red dragon from that battle had. Don't tell me that…" Before Rito could say any more words, he sees the man in front of him in a full-bodied armor of the same design.
"The red dragon from yesterday is me," the man answers as he puts away his armor.
"So, you are the red dragon? Then you must be an alien. Which alien species are you? Dragonoids? Also, why are you targeting me?"
"Dragonoids? I'm not an alien." The man then gives a short biography to justify his statement. "I was born here on planet Earth. I was killed during the 2nd year and brought back to life as a devil by Rias Gremory. Then, I trained, made accomplishments, and became the devil you see today."
"There's no way that makes sense. You are definitely an alien. No human has a power like that. Devils? I thought devils lived in hell and isn't allowed to get near humans. Maybe you're one of Lala's suitors trying to kill me." Before Rito could say any more words, he feels something coming out from his back. Rito turns around and finds two black wings.
"Aughhhh! Get this off me. Ow! Ow! Ow! My stomach hurts!" Rito falls back down in bed.
"Calm down; you are still recovering from that battle yesterday." The man tucks Rito into bed. As he does so, he also shows his identical pair of black wings at Rito.
The man then continues. "I am a reincarnated devil from the Gremory clan. I am also part-dragon and part-human. I have gone through years of intense training under the supervision of Rias Gremory and fought through many wars. I have also created inspiration for children as the 'Oppai Dragon'. Because of my accomplishments, I have earned a place in the history of the underworld thus gaining my certification as a high-class devil. Now, it is time for me to step aside and give other devils and newcomers a chance to establish their fame. I choose you to be next. Your wings represent you as a new devil."
"So, does that mean I'm not a human anymore?" Rito asks the man as he examines his black wings.
"Correct, you are no longer a human. You are now a devil." Rito is shocked in disbelief. "Your life as a human ended on that very day when you approached the questionable club booth at the club recruitment event a few days ago."
Rito remembers the incident. "I was trying to find out which club represented that flyer. That flyer had a large decorative circle and I thought I found it because that booth had a drawing of circle that matched the flyer. It was wrong; Nemesis and Darkness tricked me and killed me on the spot as part of a contract with some other alien. I don't know what happened next, but Haruna-chan said that I was somehow brought back to life by a red dragon."
"I don't know what that questionable club was up to, but I am sure you're talking about this." The man shows Rito the flyer complete with the circle design and the words 'Your Wish Will be Granted'. There are more reams of those flyers behind the man.
"So, you're the one who made that flyer?" Rito asks the man.
"That is correct. Right before you died, three girls were calling for help with this summoning card. It was rude to turn down requests from girls, especially cute ones, so I accepted the request. I fulfilled their wish and revived you right on the spot. Afterwards, I took you back here to recover."
"So that was what happened on that day. That flyer was actually a summoning card that calls devils to grant their wish. But what about the club that pretended to be the owner of that card?" There is one fact that still puzzles Rito.
"That club has nothing to do with me. In fact, I have been looking out for them ever since that incident has happened. How did the summoning circle get in the hands of those assassins? That circle belongs to the Gremory clan and abuse of our trademark is strictly forbidden."
The man notices Rito staring in open space. "Oops, I'm sorry about that. That issue is my business. As for you, welcome to the Gremory clan. You are now a devil servant working under me. As the proudest representative of the Gremory clan, I will train you to become one of top devils in all of underworld. You will become an example of how great I am as a high-class devil."
"Devil? Training? What is going on?" Rito has no idea what the man is talking about with his plan.
"Right now, rest up. We'll talk later tonight." As the man stuff his gym wear into his bag, he almost forgets something. "Oh, I almost forgot; I haven't introduced myself. My name is Issei Hyoudou and you can call me Issei."
"Umm… I am Rito Yuuki. Call me Rito."
"Rito it is. See you then," as Issei prepares to leave, Rito has one more question.
"By the way, what did you do to Saruyama, my former roommate?"
"That was easy. I swapped rooms with him. I gave him ¥200,000 and a generous Room Comfort package. He'll definitely enjoy his new room," Issei says to Rito with optimism.
With Issei gone, Rito finds his clock. "Oh yeah, today is Saturday so there is no class. I guess I can comfortably rest here for today. But, what is this man talking about regarding me being a devil and a servant of him? It's probably true that Darkness and Nemesis killed me but why was I chosen to become a devil instead of an angel? If I did become a devil, why am I here and not in hell? None of this makes sense."
Suddenly, Rito hears a knock. "Hey Rito, it's Saruyama, your former roommate. Can I come in?"
Rito puts his wings away before answering. "Yeah, go ahead."
Saruyama opens the door and drops a large photo album on Rito's table. "This is a thank-you present for your new roommate. I'm so thankful of all the things he gave me. Now my room feels like home."
"What did Issei give you?" Rito asks Saruyama.
"He gave me lots of good stuff. I got a nice comfy bed, a large TV set, and a powerful computer. He also gave me a bookshelf filled with nice pornography magazines, DVDs, and Visual Novel games. There are even boxes of beautiful posters included. Last, I also got some useful items such as dishware, pencils, erasers, and different coloring tools. You should come and check it out when you feel better."
"Yeah, I guess so; it's probably like your own bedroom at your house."
Saruyama checks his watch and interrupts Rito. "I've got to go. I'm running late to the Photography Club. We're going to be heading to the park on Easy Street since there will be lots of events happening there this weekend. We've gotta get those photos for the Publications Club. See ya!"
After Saruyama closes the door, Rito thinks to himself. "Heh, Photography Club; I'm glad I'm not in that club. I wonder if Issei is in that club too given that he gave Saruyama all those indecent materials."
The following night, Issei returns to his room. He brings out a large box and opens it. Inside are stacks of the summoning cards that Rito saw in the beginning.
"Let's starts with the basics Rito. The basic job of a devil is to answer the wishes and requests of humans and other creatures in exchange for a pact. The value of our pacts is how we are evaluated as devils. The higher the value of the pact, the better your evaluation will be. Some devils even get promoted for obtaining a very exotic pact. For tonight, all I want you to do is to distribute all these summoning cards out. Anyone who is desperate will use these cards to summon us. Then, that's when we form a pact with them."
"So, how many flyers do you want me to distribute?"
Issei drops a heavy box in front of Rito. "This much will do for tonight."
"Seriously!?" Rito can't even count the number of summoning cards inside the box.
"No slacking Rito! A devil never slacks off. You'll never progress if you can't do this simple task. The more summoning cards you distribute, the higher your chances of forming a pact especially a valuable pact. You don't want to be at the bottom of the chain forever, do you? I don't want to see any leftovers when you return here for the night. Use my bicycle to help you out."
"Yes sir." Rito quickly gets dressed as he rushes out the room with the summoning cards. As Rito leaves, Issei makes a quiet smile.
"It feels so good to pass on the wrath that Rias always gives me when it comes to business."
Outside the dormitory, Rito is looking around, finding places to pass out the remaining summoning cards. "This looks harder than said. I have gone by all the red points on this radar and I still have all these cards in my hands. Where else am I supposed to go? I guess this is punishment as a devil. If I were an angel it would probably have been better."
Rito looks around and tries to remember what Issei said about locating places.
"Remember, if you're stuck, just take a deep breath. Feel with your heart. There are always many people looking for help. Find the more desperate people; they may be willing to form a pact with a higher value."
Suddenly, Rito can feel many requests not shown on his radar. There is one in front of him. Rito quickly delivers the cards, even sliding them under the door of closed shops. Rito finishes delivering the cards shortly before midnight.
"Gasp! That was very tough. I hope Issei doesn't give me any more assignments. I need to get to bed soon so I can be alert in Calculus class tomorrow.
Rito parks Issei's bicycle and prepares to head back. As he walks down the dark footpath, he spots a familiar girl. She is outside watering plants.
"Wait, is that Minamo? What is she doing at this hour?" Rito is confused as he walks over there.
"Um, hello Minamo-san…"
"Oh! You scared me a little. Ah, it's Rito. What brings you out here tonight?"
"I had some business to do. I went to drop off something at the campus postal office." Rito comes up with explanation while hiding his identity as a devil.
"Oh that's nice. You're such a sweet boy just like what Momo said."
Rito then observes the watering can. "So, what about you?"
"Me? I'm just watering the plants. It's always good to water them at night so that the water won't evaporate when the sun is up."
Rito observes Minamo's watering bucket and notices that she is not watering them correctly. "Wait, you don't water like this; you do it this way. If you do it that way, you will wash away all of the soil and expose the roots. Then, the plants won't grow properly." Rito shows Minamo the correct way of watering the plants.
"Oh? I haven't realized my mistake for a very long time. Thank you so much, Rito."
After they finish, Minamo and Rito have a seat at a nearby bench. She then asks Rito a question. "Are you feeling better from the other day? You passed out right after you signed up for my club. I hope we didn't do anything horrible to you."
"Yeah, it's alright."
"I'm sorry. I am not really good with guys and get nervous when approaching one of them. It feels different."
"That's probably why the Floral Club is all female."
"Don't say that. It's just that most of us in the club went to an all-girls school. I was in the same school as Kanae. We never knew how to make our club attractive to boys. When Momo told us about you and how you are a great florist, I thought it would be a great chance to add a male to our group. You're the perfect choice."
Rito then thinks for a moment. "I understand Minamo-san, but I still think Momo's behind all of this."
"Let me make it up to you." Minamo quickly hugs Rito by his head.
"Ehehe, your hair tickles." Minamo's large breasts make Rito faint. Minamo tries to help Rito up but Rito inadvertently pulls Minamo's skirt down. When Rito regains consciousness, he sees Minamo's underwear and panics, exacerbating the problem.
"I didn't see it! It was an accident!" Rito keeps chanting those words.
"No, Rito. Please don't look. It's embarrassing." Minamo tries to put her skirt back on but is quickly interrupted by a group of people from the Photography Club taking flash photos of Rito and her.
"This is it! This is the headline. 'Loser Boy Sexually Harasses Floral Beauty'. Everyone will hate him after the Publications Club publishes this article. We can finally boot this awful ladies-man out of this school. Then, we'll get all the girls we deserve."
"Eww, get away from me you perverts! Get that camera away from me." Minamo tries to run, but the Photography Club give chase.
Meanwhile, Issei walks up to an unconscious Rito. "This is bad. Rito's breast-fainting technique is seriously going to impede my training. As a man striving to be a harem king, I must do something about it."