DAWN BRINGER
Chapter XI: Power Comes at a Cost
x~X~x
Kiba roamed down the dark and sombre street. He had been walking around Kuoh for hours and it was like the weather was directly linked to his emotions with the sudden pour of rain and overcast he was moving through. However, it was the calming sound of the rain hitting the concrete that made him realize that he couldn't believe what he had done, Le Fay was innocent in all this yet he lost it at her.
He couldn't help it though as every time he laid eyes on that accursed sword, or in this case a picture of it, the calm and composed [Knight] of Rias Gremory disappeared in to thin air and was replaced with the mass of rage, pain, destruction and confusion that bastard left him as after those God forsaken experiments.
He did feel the niggling head ache that came with a Devil speaking or even thinking the Lord's name but that felt like nothing at the moment thanks to the overwhelming emotional anguish and pain he was feeling just thinking of the man who did this to him and the things he did.
After the pain subsided a bit, he started to think a bit more clearly. He let out a small ironic chuckle as in a fucked-up way he had to thank the man as well, for if it wasn't for him his master would never have found him dying in the snow and reincarnate him as her [Knight], giving him the life he was living now. It was a good one.
It wasn't long though before a memory flashed in front of his eyes. He was back at the facility they were kept at for the experiments. He looked around and saw the other kids that were used along with him, he knew it was one of the night that they were left alone and not be tested. These nights were few and far between and they gave the group a small inkling of a sense of peace.
He looked over to see that someone else was cuddling up against him, he realized this was one of his earlier memories as the girl that was cuddled against him was around the age of twelve or thirteen. The girl had hair was white as snow but it was matted with dirt and grime. Her name was Tosca Shimo, she and Kiba had been friends since they were brought to the Church.
He shook the memory away when he felt a warm trickle travel down his cheek. He brought his hand up to the cheek he got the feeling and intercepted its descent. He moved his hand away to get a good look at what he was feeling and realized it was a tear. He was surprised he was crying as after that nightmare ended and he was saved by Rias, he swore to himself that he wouldn't cry until he had killed the man responsible for the pain or the sword he craved.
"I will find him Tosca and he will pay for what he did." He promised, clenching the hand with hand with the tear in.
"Kiba." Issei voice came from behind the blonde.
Kiba didn't turn around, instead he just stared at his hand, "What are you doing here, Issei?"
"The President told us what happened." Issei answered in a sombre tone.
"She did what?" Kiba growled, clenching his fist until a trickle of blood dripped in a puddle, infecting the clear water with the crimson colouring.
"She's worried about you Kiba, we all are."
Kiba laughed, "I doubt Naruto and Le Fay are worried after what I did. This is my burden to bear, not yours."
"Two little Devils, sitting in a row. One gets slain and the other will be in woe." A familiar vile voice echoed.
Both young Devils looked on top of a brick wall, bordering the street. There they saw a guy that if they never saw again, it would be too soon.
"Freed, how did you get back into the city!?" Issei shouted.
"That's my secret. Now I'm glad I found you two actually." Freed replied, jumping off the wall and landing in front of Kiba and Issei. Now that he was on the ground, Issei and Kiba noticed he had a sword in his hand.
The sword had an unusual shape to it and looked like a long Kris. Kiba glared at it as he knew exactly what sword that was. Freed brought the sword to his shoulder and began to tap the sword on himself. "You two will be the perfect test subjects for the power of Excalibur Rapidly here." He said before licking the blade, "Which is better your Demonic Swords or my Excalibur?"
Suddenly Issei and Kiba felt like they were being trapped as a barrier erupted around them. They had to be thankful in a way as it would mean no human would notice what was about to go down and come investigate.
He didn't give them a moment to think before he took off at speed he didn't have the last time Kiba and Issei had gone up against him. The two barely dodged out of the way as Freed brought the blade down where they stood.
"What the hell? He wasn't this fast last time!" Issei shouted.
"It's the sword. It enhances the speed of its user." Kiba informed, summoning a sword.
[Boost!] Ddraig's voice roared as Issei's [Boosted Gear] climbed down to cover Issei's left arm in a flash of light.
Freed responded in kind by swinging Excalibur across to Issei.
"Issei! Move! If that hit you it can kill you!" Ddraig shouted.
Issei couldn't move fast enough for what Ddraig was telling him to do, so he did what he thought was best and intercepted the blade with his gauntlet. The blade hit its mark and for a second Issei thought he had done the right thing, which was until pain erupted from the point of contact as cracks appeared on the surface of the gauntlet.
Issei shouted in pain which Freed seemed to find hilarious if his maniacal laughter was anything to go by. He couldn't revel in it for long however as Kiba decided enough was enough and attacked Freed.
[Boost!]
He was successful in landing a strike on Freed's arm, leaving a long cut going down from his shoulder. The wound wasn't too deep however as Freed had jumped away from the attack just in time.
With the pain taking over and the loss of his support in Freed, Issei fell to the floor clutching his armoured arm. Kiba crouched next to him, but kept his eyes firmly concentrated on Freed.
"Issei, are you ok?" Kiba asked.
"No, that hit hurt like hell." Issei replied through gritted teeth.
"I told you to dodge." Ddraig reminded.
"I tried but I thought the [Boosted Gear] would protect me?"
"I tried but with you being a Devil I couldn't stop all the damage from Excalibur."
"Can you continue?" Kiba asked, interrupting the conversation between the resident and their host.
"No, I don't think so." Issei replied.
[Boost!]
"Ok, stay back." Kiba said, standing up and readying his sword.
"Oh, now the little shit is gone a true sword fight can begin." Freed cackled also readying Excalibur.
The two took off at each other with speed that the average human would have tremendous difficulty tracking. The two clashed half away and began to struggle against each other for dominance, Kiba glared into the soulless eyes of Freed, inside those blood red eye all Kiba could see was death and destruction. However Freed didn't seem scared of it or try to shy away from it, instead the maniac exorcist embraced the dark and relished in it.
Making his way out of the abyss that was Freed's eyes, he brought himself back to reality. He summoned a Holy Eraser from thin air and swung at Freed. The exorcist was surprised by sudden appearance of this second sword so he kicked Kiba, using him to jump to a safe distance away from the blond Devil.
"Ha, ha. I forgot you could create multiple swords. This fight just keeps getting better and better but you'll be no match for Excalibur Rapidly." Freed taunted.
Kiba wasn't thinking straight and gave into Freed's taunt and charged at the manic exorcist who just smiled and prepared for the blond. Once Kiba was within slashing distance, he did just that and slashed both swords.
He did exactly what Freed wanted him to do and the exorcist jumped high into the air and went straight over the young Devil's head. Once he was behind him in the air, he brought Excalibur Rapidly down to slash Kiba across the back.
[Explosion!]
Issei had aimed the [Boosted Gear] directly at Freed as a small ball of energy appeared in the palm of his hand.
'What now!?' Issei asked in his mind.
"Grab a hold of the ball of energy than punch in the direction you want to fire." Ddraig replied.
Issei did as Ddraig told him to do and grabbed a hold of the ball of energy and punched at Freed. Out of his fist came a green burst of energy that hit Freed and sent him into the same wall he had jumped from.
[Reset!]
"Kiba, you need to get your head out of your ass and focus! This guy doesn't play around!" Issei shouted as the pain he was feeling came back.
"I know, sorry."
"Ddraig, is there any way we can help now?" Issei asked.
"Yes, partner there is but it will come at a price." Ddraig replied.
"What do you mean?"
"There is a higher level of the [Boosted Gear] but if you accessed it in the state you are in, it'll kill you."
"What is it?"
"It's called the [Boosted Gear Gift], it will allow you to transfer your power to someone else?"
"How would that help?"
"With the state you're in, you'd have to give up your arm to me. It'll heal the damage to your arm and make you part Dragon. With it will come a one-time increase in power, which you could transfer to the [Knight] and he could finish this."
"Why couldn't I do this myself?"
"Because you will pass out shortly after."
Issei thought for a second as he looked over to see Freed getting back up. That bastard was certainly durable and could take a hit. From the force he felt, that energy would have hit him with the force of a car.
That was the most he could muster at the moment and it wasn't enough to keep Freed down. He realised that this guy was stronger than any of the members of Riser's peerage and that he won't be able to beat him and neither would Kiba with the head space he was in.
"How did he get stronger?" Issei asked himself, not expecting an answer.
"Partner, what's your answer?" Ddraig asked.
"Do it."
"Very well, you give your arm in return for power. I bestow the [Boosted Gear Gift] to you!" Ddraig shouted.
As soon as Ddraig finished what he had said, Issei felt an overwhelming sense of power enter him from his left hand. He also felt the overwhelming burning pain Excalibur Rapidly caused start to fade away.
He looked down at his hand and noticed his Sacred Gear change. It extended farther up his arm, while sprouting two extra golden spikes. He also saw a second green gem appear.
It was then that it really hit him and he burst with energy as it manifested as a red aura around him.
[Boost!], [Boost!], [Boost!], [Boost!], [Boost!]
"Partner, you have ten seconds to transfer this power or it will break you apart." Ddraig informed.
Issei nodded, "Kiba!"
He didn't really need to get Kiba's attention as the explosion of power had already got both his and Freed's attention.
"Get ready!"
Kiba looked for a second and wondered what Issei meant. He quickly came to decision that Issei was a fellow member of Rias' peerage and his friend, so he deserved Kiba's trust. Kiba nodded and waited for what Issei had planned.
"Partner, it's now or never!"
Issei aimed his palm towards Kiba and willed the [Boosted Gear Gift] to do what he wanted. And as it responded to his will the Sacred Gear did as Issei wished.
[Transfer!]
The new green gem glowed brightly as Issei felt all the power he had move to it and collect there. Once it was all there a crest appeared on the primary green gem and the green accents lit up before a green beam shot from the gauntlet and headed for Kiba.
It quickly got to its target and Kiba never felt better. He felt a rush of power and was amazed that the [Boosted Gear] could create this much power. He felt it push right past his limit and continue to go.
He roared as his power exploded, swords erupted out of the ground all around him. There was countless number of them, none of them hit Kiba as the left a small circle around him and they didn't reach as far as Issei so the only person who felt the shape edge of the blade. He was skewered at multiple points but was fast enough to make sure none of the hit any vital areas.
He screamed in pain but quickly used Excalibur Rapidly to snap the blades of the swords that had stabbed him. He landed on the ground and braced for the pain that was too come. He grabbed one of the blades and pulled, the pain was excruciating but he continued through until the blade was completely out and repeated the process with the other blades.
Once he was finished he was very close to passing out, he looked over to Kiba and had to let out a smile. Kiba was exhausted as well. He wasn't surprised with the amount of power Kiba had just released at once, he would have been more surprised and worried if the blond Devil did have any side effects.
He quickly looked over to Issei as well and the smile grew, Issei was already out cold and laying on the ground.
Using this time, Freed performed one of his disappearing acts and it was like he was never even in the street except for the small pool of blood he left behind from standing.
He was already gone by the time Kiba looked in his direction and saw he was gone. He had never felt so exhausted in all his life, it was the most drained he had ever been. He didn't have time to self-reflect now and he looked over to Issei and was scared.
He slowly made his was over to the downed brunette and shook him, "Issei, wake up."
His worry got worse when there was no reply from Issei. He shook him again and again to the same result.
"[Knight] of Gremory!" Ddraig's voice came from the [Boosted Gear Gift], which was still on Issei's arm.
"Who's that?" Kiba asked.
"I am Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon. But that's not important now, you need to get my partner to the one known as Asia and quick."
"What's happening to him?"
"I'll explain later, now go!"
Kiba didn't want to argue with one of the Heavenly Dragons that had powers that rival Gods. He summoned up a teleportation circle and directed it to the place he thought Asia would be. With that the two disappeared while the swords retreated back into the Earth, making it look like they were never even there.
x~X~x
Issei woke up with the worst head ache he had ever had. It was like he had been hit by a truck in both forward and reverse. He looked over to his clock and read it was 7:00pm.
"Oh, what happened?" He asked himself.
It was just then that everything came back to him and he jumped from the bed, looking around frantically for Freed.
"Partner, calm down! You're safe." Ddraig said, from a green glowing spot on the back of his hand.
Issei looked down to his hand, "Ddraig? What happened? The last thing I remember was a huge rush of power then everything went black."
"Yes, you passed out after giving the boost in power to the [Knight] with the new Transfer ability you gained from the [Boosted Gear Gift]."
"Is Kiba ok?"
"Yes, that Asia girl healed him up and he went home to rest."
Issei let out a sigh of relief, "That's good."
Ddraig would have continued with the conversation if Issei door hadn't swung open with tremendous force and Issei was tackled by a crying Asia.
"Issei, you're ok!" The young ex-nun shouted.
Issei recovered from the sudden startle, looking down to Asia and smiling. He returned the hug, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Asia backed up a bit, without leaving his embrace, to look up to her crush, "I was so worried when Kiba appeared and told me what happened. I let the President know and she wants to discuss it tomorrow. How are you feeling?"
Issei chuckled at the speed in which Asia was talking before answering, "That's good and I feel fine, I just have a head ache but nothing too serious."
Asia smiled, "Good."
Issei wiped the tear out of her eye and smiled, Asia was always worrying about him.
Suddenly Asia looked shocked, "Oh, I remember why I came up here. There's some guests down stairs but Issei they are letting out holy energy. I think they are exorcists." Asia said, worried.
Now that Asia pointed it out, Issei felt the holy energy coming from below them and he instantly thought of Freed but this energy was a lot more pure than the one Freed possessed. It didn't surprise him however with how crazy and in love with killing Freed was, of course the holy energy he had would be tainted with all the blood he had spilled in his many years of being an exorcist.
Issei nodded, "Come on, let go and see."
Asia nodded and the two of them made their way down the stairs and in to the passageway. The two made sure their guards were up just in case the exorcists that were in the house decided to attack. Issei looked around but couldn't see them anywhere, he couldn't pinpoint them by the holy energy either as it was all over this floor, they must have been in all the rooms.
"Mom!?" Issei called out.
"Oh, Issei. We're in the dining room, come quick. There's someone here to see you." Sachiko Hyoudou, Issei's mother, replied.
Issei nodded, even though his mother wasn't there to see it. He felt Asia's grip on the back of his shirt tighten, he looked to the blond [Pawn] and saw her looking back up at him. However, while he was curious when he was looking at Asia, the girl was looking at him for reassurance.
He had to go along with his instinct now as he didn't really know how to be someone else's rock, it was usually the other way around, he would need someone to be his rock or he would just hide behind his perverted side as it was the easiest thing he could do.
"It'll be ok, Asia. I won't let them hurt you, be strong and don't show fear." He said, smiling.
It took a couple of seconds of Asia looking at Issei to be convinced with what he was saying. She wouldn't have if his expression had changed or faltered while she was looking at him but with him holding strong she knew he would do everything he could to keep his promise. Putting on a brave face, she steeled her nerves and nodded, "Thanks Issei, I will."
Issei looked back to the dining room and the two walked in. Straight away they noticed the two new additions sat at the dinner table that wouldn't normally be in the room as they were both wearing white cloaks and an object bandaged up behind them.
Issei figured that they were around his age by the look of maturity they had on their face, he could also tell that they were fighters. He was amazed how he could analyse people now after get some tips from Naruto.
Of course, the other reason he guessed they were around his age were the glorious mounds of beauty bulging from their chests, his pervert mind took over for a few seconds as his imagination went off on its own, supplying him with mental images of what he thought they looked like released from the inhumane confides of their cloaks and whatever they had on under them.
Once he released himself from the cutches of the Perverted Beast inside, and not the huge red one, with the help of a well-placed elbow in the ribs from a jealous little ex-nun he noticed that one the exorcists had chestnut brown hair in two ponytails with warm amethyst eyes that seemed to brighten when she laid eyes on him. It was the other exorcist that gave him the creeps however, she had blue hair with a green fringe. It was her eyes though, they were stone cold yellow orbs. There was very little emotion held in them and any that were seemed to be crushed by duty.
He caught a glimpse of something shining from around both of their necks, he zeroed in on them and got the confirmation he needed to say for certain that these two were exorcists or have some connection the Church as around their necks were two silver crucifixion necklaces.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Issei asked adding an edge to his voice that wasn't very subtle to everyone in the room. He didn't care however as after what he and Kiba went through with Freed earlier, he was sick to second death with bastard exorcist and their ideology, he just wanted to have a night of rest.
"Issei, don't be rude!" Mitsuru Hyoudou, Issei's father, reprimanded.
"Don't you remember your friend Issei?" Sachiko asked her son.
Issei was shocked by the question his mother asked him, as far as he knew Issei didn't have any female friends before Raynare killed him and he was reincarnated as Devil in Rias' peerage. He racked his brain to see if he had a friend he was forgetting about from his time as a human but the only names that were coming to mind were Matsuda, Motohama and his childhood friend Irin who moved away to England when they were younger.
The only female that was even close to a friend he had was the female perverted equivalent to Motohama, Aika Kiryuu. While Motohama could tell the 'Three Sizes' of a woman just by looking at them, Aika could tell the size of man's 'manhood' just by looking. She and Issei weren't exactly close and she was a friend of Asia, she was the closest thing to a female friend he could think of.
The brunette could see that Issei was having trouble remembering so decided to interject, "It's probably my fault Issei doesn't remember me, I was quite the tomboy when I was younger." She smiled, remembering the time she and Issei spent together.
Hearing what she said, Issei focused on the brunette and tried his hardest to place her. After a bit of time he mentally overlaid a memory image of Irin's face on to the exorcist and just like that everything seemed to fall in place, "Irin?"
The young woman smiled and nodded, "That's the nickname I used to go by back then. My real name is Irina. It's good to see you again Issei."
"Damn, I real thought you were a boy all this time." Issei replied.
"Yeah, a lot has changed since then."
"You never know what people will be like when they reunite." The second girl spoke up, in an ominous tone as she picked up the bandaged object.
Issei and Asia got the underlying message the two were telling.
'They know we're Devils!' Issei shouted in his mind.
"Be careful, Partner. Your body isn't fully healed from the battle earlier and that object feels like another Holy Sword." Ddraig warned.
'I will.' Issei replied, however he was shitting himself. He wasn't strong enough to deal with another fight with an exorcist, never mind two.
He was caught off guard when Irina smiled and bowed, "No need to worry we are just leaving. I just wanted to see you since it's been so long since I was in Japan." She stood from the bow and went to the door way next to Issei, "You coming, Xenovia?"
The second exorcist, Xenovia simply replied with, "Yes." Before following Irina out.
"I wish you could have stayed longer." Sachiko said, walking Irina to the door.
"Oh, we'll be back before long at some point. Until then see ya later, Issei." Irina said with a wave.
"I'll be ready anytime." Xenovia said, in a dark and emotionless tone that not even Koneko could achieve.
The two left without another word, leaving Issei and Asia stood still in the passageway of the house staring at the door. The warning the two had given them was as clear as night for a Devil, they were coming for them.
Asia moved to Issei and moved into him, being around him gave her a sense of safety and she needed it right now.
"W-what d-do we do Is-Issei?" Asia stuttered, hoping Issei had the answer.
"There's nothing we can do tonight, everyone else is busy. First thing tomorrow we go to the ORC and let the President know about this." Issei answered.
Asia nodded, that seemed like a good idea but she was still scared. She knew the proficiency of exorcist to kill Devils from her time in the Church. She hoped to never be on the bad side of one.
"Um, Issei. Can I ask you something?"
Issei turned around, "Sure."
"Could, could I sleep with you tonight? I don't feel save now." Asia asked.
By instinct the Perverted Beast started up but with the seriousness of the situation, Issei quickly beat it down so he could be there for Asia.
Shaking his head, Issei smiled, "Sure, come on. I still exhausted."
Asia smiled that he said yes and nodded, following quickly behind Issei.
The two walked up the stair to go to bed after an exhausting and brutal day, especially for Issei.
x~X~x
End of Chapter XI
TBC in Chapter XII
x~X~x
Authors Notes – Hey guys, back again. Hope you enjoyed the eleventh chapter, no Naruto in this chapter as I wanted to focus more in Kiba's turmoil in this chapter and how Issei is connected to both sides of the future conflict.
I wanted to worsen the history of Kiba as I always saw Valper as a bastard who wouldn't care for others.
It will take a while for Naruto to forgive Kiba. Here won't be bashing as Naruto does get why he did it but can't forgive him for doing it… just yet.
Issei's parents are not named in canon so to honour their Japanese voice actors, I named the two after them.
To answer a Guest, Yubelluna will keep the fire magic as it doesn't have anything to do with the Phenex clan.
I do want to apologize for the last chapter and having a good portion of it show the morning routine of Rias. Once I start writing something I sometimes get carried away and that was an example of me doing that. I promise to try and stop doing it on the less important segments.
I know a lot want Irina with Naruto but I can't think of a plausible way for her to be with Naruto while Issei is around. So, I'm going to pair Issei and Irina together to be like the childhood friend who become lovers when they are older. So, it will be Issei/Asia/Irina.
Finally, I want to assure people that Akeno will not try to spite Naruto and Rias by going with someone else. From her showing her innocent side during the date with Issei in canon, I think it would be an insult to her character to have her sleep around. She is desperately in love with Naruto and doesn't want anyone else, it's going to one of the reason she accepts sharing him.