Ahem! Ahem! Hello everybody! Welcome to another chapter…ok, uh, what else should I say…? C'mon, c'mon…think of something funny…A-anyway! It's been a while since we just had a chat in these author's notes, so, tell me, what've you been up to…?
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Yeah, I'll let you get to reading… T-T
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Highschool DxD but that goes to Ichiei Ishibumi…whatever I guess…
Chapter 10: New Trials and Meetings
"Fallen Angels? Why all of a sudden?" Shoji couldn't help but ask the question.
Right now, him and Yoichi were at his Dojo. Originally, he just wanted to have someone to chat with, however, this question coming from the youth, it was quite out of nowhere.
"An acquaintance of mine is being targeted." Yoichi explained, "Just figured I try to understand these things a bit more."
"Well, where to start~?" Shoji mused to himself. "Well, I suppose I'll start with their personality."
"And how is it?" Yoichi raised an eyebrow.
"To put it simply, they're a real piece of work," Shoji stated bluntly, "I'm actually friends with one, and let me tell you, he's lazy, he's mischievous, and a pervert."
"That does sound like a huge piece of work." Yoichi nodded.
"Well, it's not too bad." Shoji continued. "I've met some female Fallen Angels as well so let me tell you about that."
"There's a difference?"
"Indeed there is." Shoji nodded. "You see, female Fallen Angels, they possess seductive bodies in order to seduce men. And I wouldn't be surprised if they had a lot of…experience…as well."
"…" Yoichi blinked, his expression completely blank. "…Ok, did NOT need to know that but…thanks. Now I got a bit more information about 'em."
"I don't mean to be nosy but what are you going to do?" Shoji asked.
"Nothing really, it's not like I asked you about them 'cause I care about Issei." Yoichi waved it off. "He's an ok guy but I really couldn't care less about him. Think I'd be pretty neutral if he were killed."
Shoji raised an eyebrow, "Well, you certainly…speak from the heart."
"Funny I thought I was speaking from my mouth but eh, shows what I know about biology." Yoichi replied nonchalantly.
"Don't get smart with me, brat." Shoji grunted. "And I'm just saying, it's not exactly normal for someone to have that kind of mind set. Why is that?
Yoichi shrugged, "Well, it's not like I'm a loner. I'm a pretty open guy, but I only see people I respect as friends." he explained. "And Issei, well, there's not a lot about him to respect. So Imma just sit back and see what happens."
"Really now?" Shoji asked. "May I ask what this Issei boy is like?"
"Let's see," Yoichi put on a thoughtful look, "The best to describe would be "Massive Pervert" but let's just say his hormones are out of control."
"How bad?" Shoji groaned.
"He peeps into the girl's locker room daily with his friends from what I heard." Yoichi deadpanned.
"Well…I suppose some people have a hard time controlling their urges–"
"They get caught so much that they're pretty nonchalant at the idea of getting caught anymore." Yoichi cut him off.
.
.
.
"…I see." Shoji sighed, "Must be a real piece of work."
"It's cool." Yoichi shrugged, before deciding to get back to business. "Anyway, what'd you summon me for?"
"Well, I WAS planning to have another game of Shogi," The old man said while stroking his beard. "However, I have another idea."
"And that is?" Yoichi asked, slightly curious.
"Come with me," Shoji gestured him to follow. They left the room and started walking through the hallways of the Dojo/house. And while they were doing that, Yoichi got to see just how huge the place is. Seriously, it's HUGE! And Shoji was living all by himself? Must be torture just to clean the place.
At some point, they stopped in front of another sliding door, and it led into a huge training room. The room was wide and spacious. There were Bo' staffs, wooden swords, nun chucks, and many other equipment.
"Whoa~! Awesome!" Yoichi couldn't help but be in awe. It looked beautiful.
Shoji smiled with pride, "Step inside, kid." He gestured and Yoichi obliged. "Welcome to the training room. A part of my home that I'm very proud of."
"I can see why," Yoichi grabbed one of the Bo' staffs, "You've got a whole bunch of stuff here."
"Indeed I do." Shoji nodded. "Anyway, put down the Bo' staff. I didn't bring you here so you can mess with my things, at least not yet."
"So there's a chance I might?" Yoichi asked, an excited smile on his face. He honestly couldn't contain his joy. He wasn't a big fan of martial arts, but he was a fighter, so seeing a Dojo like this was basically making his mouth water.
"It's a very small chance but, yes." Shoji nodded as he stood in the middle of the room, "Anyway, come here and stand in front of me, I have some things I want to ask you."
"Alright," Yoichi did so.
"Now, to start, tell me what your Sacred Gear is."
"It's called Flame Shake according to Rias." Yoichi answered as he lit a fire on his palm. "See?"
"So that's it," Shoji nodded, "You've got a simple Sacred Gear with no outstanding ability whatsoever."
"…And now you're pissing me off." Yoichi's right eye twitched in irritation. "I can control fire, how is THAT not impressive?"
"Calm down, boy. I'm merely stating the facts. Flame Shake is not the worst Sacred Gear you can get, but if you know what the other Sacred Gears are capable of, you'll understand that it's nowhere near as impressive as you might think." Shoji explained.
"Well then, care to enlighten me?" Yoichi raised an eyebrow.
"Happy to," Shoji nodded. "You know what a Longinus is, right?" Yoichi nodded. "Well, let me tell you about 3 of the most interesting one. First one I'll talk about is Zenith Tempest, also known as the Prison of Bright Heavenly Thunder, it's the second-strongest Longinus. It has the ability to control the weather and its elemental attributes." Shoji continued.
"What about the first strongest?" Yoichi asked.
"That's not something for you to know yet," Shoji waved it off. "Anyway, I think you'll be interested in this next one."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because it involves dragons." Shoji replied. "They're called Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing. Now these two, they're mid-tier Longinus. They actually have an interesting story behind them. Before becoming Sacred Gears, Dragons with powers that rivals both God and Satan, and are considered to be one of the highest class of Dragons. The two Heavenly Dragons are the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig, and the White Dragon Emperor, Albion."
"How'd they become Sacred Gears?" Yoichi asked, he interest peaked.
"Well, In the past, the two Heavenly Dragons fought a fierce battle, which was interrupted by the Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels who were at war during the time. In anger, both Dragons attacked the leaders of the Three Factions, which led to their bodies being destroyed and their souls being sealed into two separate Sacred Gears. Ddraig being sealed in Boosted Gear, while Albion being sealed in Divine Dividing."
"What can they do?" Yoichi asked.
"Boosted Gear is a gauntlet, it has the ability to enhances the users capabilities as well as transferring power to anyone or object." Shoji explained. "As for Divine Dividing, it's in the form of wings, and what it does is not only give the ability to fly but can also halve the power from anything or one which is the added to the user, and when the power surpasses the users limits, the excess energy gets expelled out through the wings."
"…Ok…" Yoichi let out dryly, his expression slightly uneasy. Seriously? Those things sounded overpowered as hell. And they're only mid-tier? Dammit! Zenith Tempest and these two dragons, they're gonna be a pain in the ass to surpass.
"Do you understand how simple Flame Shake is in this world of the supernatural?" Shoji asked, and it wasn't in a mocking way. It was a genuine question, "Flame Shake is nothing. There's even another fire type Sacred Gear called Incinerate Anthem and it is much stronger than Flame Shake, as the name suggests, it incinerates devils like you."
"…Tch!" Yoichi couldn't say but click his tongue in irritation. So much for looking for strong opponents. There are plenty of those, only he can't fight any of them right now without immediately dying.
"…So, I'm going to ask you this right now," Shoji got his attention. "Do you want to become stronger?"
"…Yeah." Yoichi nodded. "I wanna fight strong opponents, but can't do that if I die right away."
"…Hm!" Shoji nodded, a smile slowly forming on his face. "Alright, let's see what I can do."
"You're gonna train me?" Yoichi asked.
"No." Shoji shook his head. "I'm thinking about it, but no, not yet. First, you have to prove to me that you're worthy of me training."
"And how do I do that?" Yoichi asked.
"It's simple," Shoji took out a headband and tied it around his head, "All you have to do is snatch this headband from my head. You can do it any way you want, that includes using your Sacred Gear as well."
"Just a question, but what makes you wanna help me?" Yoichi asked. "We've met like two times, what impression have I made."
"I've never said you've made an impression, nor did I say I've taken an interest." Shoji explained. "I'll be honest, I do like you kid, but the reason I'm testing you like this is purely 'cause of convenience. I've actually been looking for a student for quite a while now, and since you came when I summoned you the first time, why not try this out?"
"…Well, alright, I guess." Yoichi shrugged.
"Alright then," Shoji nodded as he slid down his Yukata to reveal his upper body. After that, he started to gathering up some orange looking and slowly, his body were starting become more toned and muscles were started to develop. He was also starting to bigger to the point he was taller than Yoichi, "Now, come at me."
"Huh?" Yoichi couldn't help but be in shock. But then a smirk formed on his face, "Guess I won't have to hold back."
And with that, they spent several hours in that room with Yoichi trying to get the headband.
The Next Day
"Tch…"
Yoichi woke up with bags under his eyes that morning, and he didn't know which hurt more, his body or his pride. Long story short, the thing with Shoji did not go well. Yoichi couldn't even get his hand near the headband, and ended up just getting his ass kicked instead.
Seriously, it was hard to believe that Shoji is an old man. How was he like in his prime? It made Yoichi pretty excited to think about it, but at the same time, he knew he'd probably get beaten in less than a few seconds if he fought Shoji in his prime.
Now, he was walking to school, well, trudging would be more accurate. He was tempted to skip, but decided against it, mainly because Rias would get more suspicious as she was last night. Because after they were done with their session, Shoji told Yoichi that he shouldn't let Rias know that they know each other.
It was reasonable enough, if Shoji really is a family friend of Rias, then he supposed the old man didn't want the redhead to know. But it was kind of hard to make up an excuse on why he was bruised all over his body when Rias asked him.
He still had some injuries from the fight with Vermilia, but most of them already healed up so after the little session with Shoji, he came back to the club with a bunch of fresh wounds. And you know what THAT means, MORE bandages, hoorah…
"What a pain in the ass…" Yoichi sighed as he reached the school gates. To his surprise, despite trudging the whole way, he still had a good amount of time before the bell rang.
"Hm?" and look who he saw right in front of the gate, the perverted trio. However, he noticed a fourth figure, "…that doesn't look like a guy…" to his surprise.
As he got closer, he saw Issei gesturing to the girl while saying something to the other two, and they froze like statues. He decided to speak up when he was right behind them,
"Who's this?"
"Whoa!"
Issei jumped in surprise when he heard Yoichi speak up, the girl however, didn't even flinch and just turned around to face him, 'Well ain't she calm and composed.'
"Yoichi, don't sneak up on us like that!" Issei exclaimed before slowly calming himself down, "Anyway, since you asked, this is Yuuma Amano," And the next words made Yoichi's blood freeze, "My girlfriend."
"…" Yoichi took a moment to process that. He turned to the girl, she was gorgeous, and not just that, but her body was well developed, VERY well developed, and she was dating Issei? Hah! "Is that true?"
"Yes, it is." The girl nodded with a disgustingly sweet smile. Yoichi knew that smile all too well, it was the same kind of smile he uses whenever he's trying to be sarcastic or hiding inner thoughts to potentially murder someone. In other words, it was fake.
Issei placed a hand on Yoichi's shoulder and whispered into his ear, "And you know what the best part is: she, asked, me."
"…" Yoichi said nothing for a moment, "Oh yeah, good for you." He then turned towards the girl with a smile of his own, "I'd question your taste in guys but hey, I'm not your mom so more power to ya."
"Oh screw you!" Issei exclaimed at the obvious insult.
The girl just smiled and waved it off as just a joke, "Hehehe, thank you." She then turned to her…'boyfriend', "Anyway, I'm gonna head off now Ise-kun. Don't forget our date this Saturday."
And with that, she ran off and Issei called out, "Yeah, I'll remember!" And as soon as she was out of sight, a lecherous smile formed on his face as he turned to Yoichi, "Hear that dude, I'm so going to get some!"
Yoichi blinked, "…Yeah, whatever." Something wasn't right about that girl, and he didn't like it one bit.
Chapter End
Yeah, you guys are gonna have to get used to these shorter chapters cuz…well, you know why, my studies and all. Don't worry guys, I don't plan on abandoning this story, I just don't have a lot of time this year. Though, this kind of worries me cuz I'm afraid with all this going on, it might affect my writing…
Also, on another note, I've recently gotten really addicted to Filthy Frank, like, REALLY addicted…don't know why.
I'm gonna go now. See ya.