HI GUYS! I´M BACK! So, I have to apologize for multiple things. First off, sorry for taking this long to update. I was on vacation for the last week and a half, so I did not have the time to write a chapter. Next, I have to apologize to blessingpilot4, who is nice enough to review each chapter I post, and yet I bashed him in the last responding session due to a false interpretation. So basically, think of that entire response written for him to be replaced by the words:
"Thank you for reviewing as consistently as you do!"
Now, to the other reviews! (cue the Seinfeld theme)
ultima-owner: Well, damn. Never thought I would actually make Rider that relatable to someone(even though his fear is marginally worse than yours). However, while I don´t know your circumstances, I´m quite sure that Rider´s fear of lightning is that much worse than yours because it´s how he´s been tortured for a really long time with lightning in the background. So he would naturally develop negative feelings toward it. By the way, I´m not making fun of your phobia or anything. I´m just pointing out that Rider´s fear is worse due to what he thinks of when he sees lightning, and besides, it´s fiction. If it improves the story, it gets inserted. (btw, is that a play on the Dragons hate lightning bit from Dark Souls? Cos if it is, gg.)
Anon: Nice to hear that my writing is enjoyable to read. Though if you´re reading this, you might as well watch Highschool DxD while you´re at it. I am making references to stuff that happens way later on in the story already, so you might want to watch the show to get in on this shit. Also, if you plan to review again, please write something like ´Anon1´ at the end of your review so I know it´s you.
Goldenclaw: First of all, check what I wrote in the review above. The first two sentences go for you, as well. As for those missing words and grammar issues, I might have to check for those. Can´t have that in my story. Also, like your honesty in the last bit. We´re going to get along swimmingly (I actually think that. Who would´ve thought that one could be honest right from the get go?(I lied in both statements. Erase the bit where you´re honest. It destroys my ego.))
Now, with that wild ride being over, let´s continue where we left off!
„I…k…"
„Iss…ku…"
„Issei-kun!"
Issei jolted up, his eyes wide open. He looked around. The sun was starting to set, casting a golden glow on the valley. Next to him, giggling mirthfully, was the Queen of the gang.
"You know, if all you do is mess around when you have a job to do, I might just have to…" She started, edging slightly closer to the nervous Pawn, who gulped audibly.
"play with you in your spare time." She whispered in the Pawn´s ear, causing him to shiver. On one hand, the first time he had…played with her had already traumatised him to a frightening degree. And she had commented later that she had not even truly been satisfied after their session. So naturally, this made him quite fearful of the Queen. However, the way she talked into his ear in that tone was tempting him to agree to another. Oh crap. Was this girl turning him into a…masochist? He couldn´t have that! He was supposed to be the dominant one! He would be a Harem King one day, dammit! But, just for this one person...nopenopenopenope. He would die if he disobeyed. He crawled backwards, and prostrated himself before the sadistic beauty.
"I´m sorry! It won´t happen again!" he cried, hoping for forgiveness. The Queen giggled, getting slightly amused by the boy´s innocent plea. She sat up, and motioned for him to leave. She wanted to talk to the other person in the field, who just so happened to be still snoozing. Issei ran back to the mansion, hoping that Rias wouldn´t scold him too much. Though it WAS an instruction from his coach, so technically, he did no wrong.
Akeno watched as her junior ran off, and faced the stranger. She took in his features. He did seem quite old, old enough to be her teacher at school. She decided that she would play a little prank on him. She loosened her top as she lied down next to him, and whispered into his ear in a sultry tone. "Wake up, darling." Much to her pleasure, his eyes shot open I surprise, quickly scanning his surroundings to find the source of the voice.
As he calmed down, he noticed the Queen next to him, and his heart stopped for a second. He quickly regained his composure, and sat up. He looked at her, expecting an answer for his disturbed sleep. She just feigned hurt, wanting to tease this far too serious man. "What? Do you hate me that much that I´m not allowed to get near you? Even though I love you so much?" That caused Rider to blink. Was this girl serious? No, it had to be a prank. He sighed. Even if she was not lying, it would never work. Mainly due to the nature of her powers.
He straightened out her attire, and stood up. As he walked away, he heard her voice again. "I´m sorry if I offended you. But you´re far too serious. You should lighten up!" she said in a somewhat apologetic tone. It was followed by another question of hers, which had been bugging her for a while now. "Tell me, do you actually hate me? I saw the way you flinched at my introduction. If you truly hate me, please, tell me why..." There was actual hurt in her voice this time around, causing Rider to turn around. She was looking at him with a face that showed nothing but pure desperation to know. Rider shook his head. No, he did not hate this girl. He might be wary of her…dominant personality, but what he hated were her powers. He walked over and held out a hand. Akeno smiled as she took it.
They walked back to the mansion together, the smell of dinner being strong enough to even be noticeable in the close vicinity of the house. This caused Rider to speed up his pace, eliciting a giggle from the Queen. No matter how powerful they became, men remained simple creatures. They arrived at the table, where the others were already waiting and discussing something, presumably Issei´s training session. Asia seemed to still be worried that the boy was just playing off some serious injuries, though, and was insistent on checking every last part of his body, even the...more private areas. Rider ignored them, preferring to look at what the Rock- er, the Rook cooked this time around. Hell, this was perhaps the only opportunity the boy would ever have a girl willingly touch his private parts, even if it was to check for injuries.
"You know Asia-chan, if you just want to become more intimate with Issei-kun, I have already prepared a suitable bedroom for you." Akeno said, causing the Pawn and especially the Bishop to blush hard. How that much blood fir into her face to cause that deep of a red shade, nobody will ever know. The two quickly separated, though everyone else was having a good round of laughter. Rider mostly ignored the spectacle, observing his "prey" instead.
There was once again a huge fish on the table, with that same part missing as last time, though he paid it no heed, focusing instead on the other dishes lining the table. On the end opposite to him was a big bowl of soup which had a green speckled colour, and next to that lay a plate with long, thin and crispy yellow sticks. It was enough to make his mouth water in anticipation. There was another round of laughter, presumably because of the teasing the two rookies were enduring. He sighed. Oh well, he should probably end their torture. Mainly because he wanted to eat, but also because while teasing the small blonde, he felt compelled to shield her from harm. Why, he did not know. It just felt…right.
He tapped the table, getting everyone´s attention. He nodded toward the seats, and everyone had another small round of chuckles. He would never change, would he. They all sat down, in the same spots as last time, and began to eat. It took a while, and after their meal was done, they started having a bit of smalltalk while Issei and Kiba, cleaned the dishes, due to the competitive nature of Issei and the gentlemanly behaviour of Kiba. Rider chuckled. These two could put on a brilliant show just by being themselves if they wanted to. After they were done, Rias started talking:
"Well, now that we´re full, I think it´s time to discuss our sleeping arrangements. Issei, Kiba will share a room. ´Mister Samurai´ will get his own room. Me and Akeno will take the king sized bedroom, and you two" -she pointed at Asia and Koneko-"will take the room next to ours. Any objections?" Nobody raised their arm. "Good, now that this issue is resolved, we should go take a bath."
"A bath!?" Issei shouted, a perverted grin on his face as he imagined taking a bath with the girls. Rias giggled. "Oh, do you want to join us? I wouldn´t mind." "REALLY!?" the boy exclaimed, his grin widening. "Sure, if no one is opposed to it, then why not." The King turned to her Queen, who had a creepy smile on her face.
"Of course I would not want to spoil your fun, Issei-kun. But, my dear little kohai, if you want me to give my approval, you have to give me something in return." Akeno said, though the Pawn was too absorbed in his fantasies to realize the situation. "Please! I´ll do anything! Just let me go with you!" he cried, causing the Queen to smile joyfully. "Oh my, what a reckless young man we have here. So I´m allowed to ask any one thing of you, aren´t I? Hee hee. I´ll be holding you to that later. Very well, Rias. He can go with us." This elicited a silent, perverted chuckle from Issei which only got louder and louder as his fantasies got exceedingly dirty.
"Asia, are you fine with it?" "Y-yes! I would like to h-have Issei-san b-bathe with me." The Bishop stuttered, a huge blush on her face, starkly contrasting the other girls. "Oh? Only with you? Geez, Asia, I asked if he could take a bath with all of us, but if you are this possessive, I might have to give you two the bath all to yourselves." Rias responded, causing Asia to cast her gaze to the floor as she had a rather dirty thought in her mind. Issei simply continued on with his lecherous fantasies, as he realized the one, fatal flaw in this whole scenario.
"Koneko, would you-"
"No." the Rook interjected firmly. This halted all of Issei´s thoughts, as he simply stood there, frozen in shock. "Oh well, it can´t be helped then. Come on guys, I´ll show you the way. We have two hot springs right out the back door. Kiba knows where they are. Have fun!" Rias said, walking off, the other females following suit, Akeno sporting a joyous smile, Asia still being wrapped up in her fantasies, and Koneko pulling the spaced out Bishop with a neutral expression on her face, though anyone could feel the satisfaction she was radiating after crushing Issei´s dreams like that. Speaking of which, the Pawn was still frozen, the fulfilment of his life being torn away from him after coming so tantalizingly close.
"Well, I guess we should get going as well. Follow me, if you would. I´ll show you your room, sensei." Rider, who had been busy the last few minutes contemplating whether to laugh at the brunette´s depression or physically cringe at the teen´s behaviour, turned around to face the Knight, and raised an eyebrow. What the hell is a sensei? "Oh sensei means ´teacher´ in our language. Since you´re training us and teaching our rookies how to fight, I thought I could call you that. ´Coach´ seems a bit disrespectful, and I doubt you like to be called ´Mister Samurai´." That last statement caused Rider to snort. The boy had a sense of humor, at least. Though he hated the fact that the silly nickname had apparently caught on, even if it was mainly used to tease Asia.
The boy whacked his comrade over the head, snapping him out of his trance. After briefly voicing his sorrow in the form of a cry that shook the house, the boy followed the two other men to the bedrooms, with a big bump on the top of his head. They walked down a few long hallways, and, after a while, arrived at a set of four doors. Two of them were cracked slightly open, with the rooms being completely empty. From the other doors, they could hear cloth being shuffled. They decided to split up for now, and meet again once they´re done unpacking as well.
Rider entered his room, which resembled the room in the other mansion quite a lot. There was a couch, a desk and a window from which he could observe the surrounding area. The most notable difference was a huge bed right opposite the door, which was easily big enough for three adults. He decided to sit on the couch for now and observe the valley at night. As he sat down, he took note of a bookshelf on the wall, which was filled with books that were coloured in vastly different ways. He may not be able to read the title, but judging from the way some titles were written more ´cutely´ than others, he could tell that this was probably for kids.
Since he was so bored, he decided to see whether he could at least read some of it. After all, reading can´t be that hard, can it? He grabbed the book which had a weird looking cover. There were two boys on it: one had green hair and a fancy suit and was petting a black and white dog, the other wore a deeply coloured purple vest and was holding a stone mask with exaggerated fangs in his left hand and a knife in his right. They stood before a large, dark mansion, not unlike the one he currently stood in. He opened the book, and was surprised to see that it was a sort of picture book. He still could not read what the characters were saying, but perhaps he could get some enjoyment out of creating his own story.
A while later, as he was engrossed in the story he was basically making up, he heard someone knock on his door. Sighing, he dropped the book on the desk next to the wall and headed outside. There stood the two boys, holding a towel and a change of clothes each. They then followed Kiba through the mansion for what felt like an eternity, as Issei tried to get Rider to talk about his tastes in women, which Rider responded to with the deepest of groans. Once a perv, always a perv. After Rider had grown a few more grey hairs due to Issei´s consistent prodding, they arrived at the fog door. Or rather, the doorway of the dressing room leading to the hot springs, which seemed to be oozing fog at a ridiculous rate.
They entered, and each picked a corner to stand in to avoid seeing each other naked. Rider took off his cape, followed by his trousers. After he ensured that the towel he had wrapped around his waist was not going to fall off, he started taking off his armour, which had three pieces: gauntlet, anklets, and chest plate. The gauntlets and anklets covered the entire limb, serving as a t-shirt and underwear, respectively. Technically, Rider had no need for the trousers, but he liked the look, so he kept them on. They were simple, standard issue from the Hive, and were comfortable enough. He also disliked walking around in just his underwear, even if it was highly advanced armour, but the reason he didn´t also wear the jacket accompanying the trousers is because he thought it would suit him more to have a cape. Besides, he and the rest of the army were essentially immune to temperature, so who cared? Not the Hive, anyway.
After he was done undressing, he knocked on the wall, which Rider and the teens had declared as the signal to let each other know when they were done. He waited a bit, and soon enough, he heard two sets of knocks. He turned around, and faced them. They dumped their clothes (and in Rider´s case, armour) in baskets, one for each of them. After that, they finally entered the hot spring. Issei, who apparently couldn´t contain his excitement, ran toward it and jumped in. Funnily enough, he did not break his legs in the process, but actually jumped into deep enough water to not get hurt. Geez, this boy was reckless. Or stupid. Possibly both.
Rider and Kiba decided to take it slowly, and entered a spring which was shallow, but deep enough to cover them up to their neck in warm bliss. They both sighed simultaneously in relaxation. This really hit the spot. In fact, Rider was relaxed to the point of nearly missing the sound of constant splashing. Unfortunately, he didn´t. Curious of the source, he opened his eyes, and saw Issei swimming in the spring, his gaze firmly locked to a large, rocky wall that…damn that pervert. That was the wall separating the boy´s and girl´s section. Rider could not decide whether to admire the Pawn´s determination or groan at how pathetic this scene was. Heck, even he could tell that Asia was madly in love for this kid, and yet he was so. Damn. Dense.
Rider sighed, and closed his eyes again. He would ignore him, and relax. Ignore him. And relax. Well, this isn´t working. At all. The boy was making too much damn noise! He thought for a second. How could he get the kid to stop? How would he finally be able to relieve his stress? Then, he had an idea. It would make this bath quiet, relieve his stress and even fulfil Issei´s wish to see the girls naked. Rider smirked. He would enjoy this. He stood up, the water flowing down his torso. Kiba opened his eyes slightly, not understanding why the man would stand up. That expression shifted once he saw what Rider was doing. A shiver ran down his spine as Issei cried for help.
"You´re almost as sadistic as Akeno-senpai, Sensei."
And there we go. Now that this chapter is over, I´ll make a small declaration. In the next chapter, there will be hints as to who will be in the harem, so look forward to those! Anyway, please leave a review if you feel like telling me that this is shit or giving me a MASSIVE ego boost, and I´ll see you in the next chapter. Bye!