Author's Note: I've been very busy with other things as of this last quarter. With that aside, here's Chapter 14 for you. This is probably my favorite chapter in this fanfic since Issei and Rito get to learn about each other. I also attempted to add many references to both DxD and To Love-Ru. It was very interesting to write Issei's responses to Rito's situation and vice-versa.

I am planning to have another chapter like this later in the story where Issei will meet with Momo for the first time. I am hoping not to make things smoothly as they went in this chapter (Momo is insecure about Rito).

Published 10/8/2015

Chapter 14:

The Rito and Issei Exchange

"I am not going to move one bit Rito."

Issei is in the Underworld sitting in front of a large bush where Rito is hiding. Rito is even more uncomfortable that he is sitting in an unknown place, suspecting that Issei teleported him to his homeland, Planet Dragonoids, to play more dangerous tricks on him.

"I don't care. I don't want to move. I'll die here if I want to. This world is no good for me anyways. Everything weird just has to happen on me and not on someone else. I want to be in a new body where I can live a normal human life and not be interfered by all these weird fantasies." Rito stays cowered in the bushes.

Issei equips his Boosted Gear and is determined to force Rito to come out. "If you don't come out, I'll make you. I'll make you taste more of my Boosted Gear powers. I can't let you roam around like this since you are not a legal citizen of the Underworld. I may also get in trouble for letting someone in."

"Who cares? That's about you and not me. It's your fault for bringing me here. I would have fared better if you simply left me alone and not intervene in the battle between Gid-sama and me."

"Hmmm…" Issei looks at the bush and tries to think of something more encouraging to say. He also looks back at the tricks he used to teach Rito. The Dress Break, Penetration, and Jump abilities he used on Rito only made the situation worse.

Issei thinks in his mind. "Come on, Issei, think. This isn't the first time you have seen this situation. You have also been through this too. You're not like Akeno-san, Asia, and Xenovia who experienced unusual childhoods and have a clueless mind about life. You've seen this before. You have the skills to help Rito out. Rito isn't unworthy. Rito isn't weak. If everyone can see him as the future king of the universe, there has to be something special about Rito that he doesn't see. Rito needs to see the light. Guide him to it. Support the path to it."

Issei starts speaking slowly. "Say, Rito. Have you always been afraid of girls? Based on my observations, you frequently tense up when you get near them. Is there something that bothers you? Does meeting a girl trigger some sort of switch?"

"Umm…" Rito tries to keep his words to a minimum as he replies to Issei. "Why are you interested in this anyways? I don't have to tell anyone about it. It has nothing to do with you. Please stop being so nosy over my issues. I am best when I am left alone. I know what I want to do in life and I don't want anyone to bother me."

"Rito, you may not see it now, but your fear of girls will become a serious problem later in life. This problem is the main reason you end up in many embarrassing situations. When you tense up, you lose your mind and control. You then wobble; leading to accidental trips, slips, and falls on top of women. It's actually making your image worse than you think. You can make all those apologies, cover up, and get the girls to forgive you, but if you don't fix this problem, those accidental stripping, groping, and molestation will always come back to haunt you. I wonder how Lala and Momo feel about it."

"Ugh… Lala and Momo." The two words make Rito cringe. He quickly remembers how he first met Lala. Lala appeared out of nowhere while he was bathing. She tricked Rito into helping her by acting like a helpless girl being pursued by bandits. It turned out the bandits were actually her bodyguards who were actually telling her to return to her homeland to continue the marriage candidate meetings.

Issei interrupts Rito. "Is there anything wrong about those two girls, Rito? Why don't you tell me everything you know about them?"

"I guess I have to explain it." Rito tries to respond emotionlessly. "Lala is the 1st princess of Deviluke. She is next in line to become the ruler of Deviluke. However, she had problems with her father Gid-sama about succession, marriage, and all of her other stupid family matters. She tried to escape with that horrible teleporting bracelet of hers and it led her into my bathroom all naked. After I defended her from her pursuers a few times, she starts loving me and tries everything to torture me. She always pretends that we're already married. To this day, I do not fully understand what makes me better her other husband candidates. It's not that Lala is a horrible person; I cannot find myself to be the future king of the universe. To matters worse, her sisters Momo and Nana are here too. Nana is OK, but Momo is creepier than Lala. I can never predict anything from that lady. She always reminds me of her harem plan and pushes me to become a carnivorous beast. Sigh. I sometimes wish that all of this never happened. I just want to be with Haruna-chan."

Issei cuts Rito. "Do you love Haruna-chan? When did you fall in love with Haruna-chan?"

Rito cannot respond with a firm date. He only remembered how Haruna was the only person who understood his intents when he tried to water the plants in middle school. Everyone else suspected him of sabotaging the vegetation around campus.

Issei continues. "I wonder; if you really loved Haruna-chan for a long time, did you do anything with her back in high school? Did you ask her out on a date? Did you kiss? Did you buy her lots of beautiful gifts?"

"No… Not until she witnessed me rescuing Lala." Rito gives a quiet response. He is sure that Issei will not be pleased with his answer.

"See? That's part of your problem. It is strange that you did nothing for quite that long. A normal man would have naturally gone on many dates with her. Did you do anything with Haruna before Lala came?"

Rito cannot recall such event. Whenever he tried to ask Haruna out, his fears kicked in and ended up letting Haruna walk away.

"You need some more encouragement which is why the Deviluke girls are here for you."

"Why them? Lala always plays tricks on me with her inventions and Nana always beats me up and calls me a beast. However, their intents are nothing compared to what Momo does. Momo always sneaks into my bed and my bath. She even licks me while I am sleeping and I sometimes wake up wearing her underwear. Whenever she walks with me, weird things always happen to me. My rate of accidental touches also triples whenever she is around. It's all probably part of her secret harem plan."

Issei feels unconvinced. The events that Momo puts Rito through minus the harem plan sounds similar to what Rias, Akeno, and Asia puts him through. Rias always sleeps naked in mind, pushing Asia, Akeno, Xenovia, and Koneko to do the same. They also sneak into his bath at other times too. Finally, they as whole frequently encounter incidents from enemy gods and dragons. Issei also thinks that Nana's anger and hatred is similar to Koneko's. She only hates the perversion part of Rito.

Issei continues. "I don't see anything wrong with all those girls Rito. It sounds wonderful to have someone build a harem for you as well. Maybe that is what you need. Momo might be a bad coordinator trying to keep it all a secret, but I am here. As the master of harem, let me help you instead."

"You really sound like an agent for Momo. Why you think all those incidents from Momo are considered normal? Don't you feel scared when they do something like that to you?"

"To be honest Rito, I seriously don't see anything wrong with Momo. All those incidents from the Deviluke girls don't seem harmful. Even Nana too; she just has higher expectations for you. Momo might have an unusual way of showing affection towards you. That's already three people in your harem. I can also suspect that there are even more females out there waiting for you like that Haruna-chan of yours."

Rito gives a sigh. "You don't understand how bad it is with Momo around. Maybe you should try it yourself. Anyways, why do you feel comfortable with having so many girls lean over you anyways? It just feels weird. Plus, it's too selfish to own so many girls when Japan only allows men to have 1 woman."

Issei tells Rito his biography, hoping to ease Rito's concerns about a harem. "You know, I may not seem like it, but I was just like you in high school. I always adored girls but could never approach them naturally. I only felt comfortable approaching them through porn videos and eroge-type visual novels. Because of this, I was always one of the least favorite males in high school. Then, everything changed when I found a real lady in my bed, my master and fiancée Rias Gremory. She revived me after I was killed by Raynare, a fallen angel, for possessing a dangerous weapon, the Boosted Gear. Apparently, she saw something interesting about me that I was unable to comprehend before. Nevertheless, it was really creepy to see big boobs in real life as opposed to watching them in porn videos. Rias was excited about it always used this to her advantage. She embraces me naked when I go to sleep, saying that it was to take care of her servants. I don't know how much blood I lost through that experience. Then little by little, I was attracting other girls too. I got Asia after I defeated Raynare. Later, I got Akeno, Koneko, Xenovia, Rossweisse, Ravel, and even Kuroka. I even reunited with my childhood friend Irina. In the end, I had no idea I ended up with a harem. With all these girls around me, I got more comfortable being around with girls even when they're naked. Oh the memories." Issei could not stop talking about all the advancements he made with women.

"Well, you're different. You have that sacred gear in your left arm which lets you do anything you want. You could easily kill Darkness and Nemesis if wanted to. You could seduce, attract, brainwash, or manipulate any women you wish with that sacred gear. They must also be enslaved to you."

"Not true. Even thought my Boosted Gear has many techniques, I don't use it to hypnotize or seduce these girls to come to me. However, I did use it to help them out. I solved Rias's planned engagement issue, defeated Asia's murderer, and even resolved Koneko's conflict with her sister. I don't believe in forcing love on someone and I am sure you share the same thought too when you tried to interfere with Lala's marriage candidate meetings."

"Well, anyways, you're just lucky that you have powers and abilities to show off. I'm just an ordinary man, someone with no special abilities. I don't see why you would still be interested in me after that. Please, just release me and let me return to a normal human life, someone who follows only the rules of Earth."

"You know…" Issei speaks from another angle. "I am already a high class devil myself so I am not here to show off or take advantage of you. Plus, there isn't much more work left for me to do. I liberated both heaven and hell, defeated offending gods and dragons, and disbanded offending clans such as the Chaos Brigade. It is time to let someone else take care of new problems and rise to fame. With that said, I think you are the perfect choice. I was originally interested in how you were able to attract many women without any aid. I was also skeptical on how you could become the future king of the universe. After working with you for a short bit, I can see it now. You are very trustworthy who always stands firm with your thoughts and will never intentionally do harm to anyone, especially women. This is why girls like the Deviluke sisters want you. You may not realize, but all your actions impress women in some way. This is why the assassins are after you too. They were hired by a jealous prince who wanted Lala. Even one of assassins is surprised you were able to influence her mind and derail her from being a proper assassin. Overall, I agree with Gid-sama that you would make a great king of the universe. I can help you with the battle and defensive side of being a ruler if that is what you're worried about."

Rito questions Issei. "Being a king is too much for me. How can I be the next king of the universe like this? There are probably many princes who are more qualified to be king than me."

"I think determination and trustworthy is more important than someone who merely has power. Also, don't forget that you are now a devil. I put an evil piece inside you to resurrect you and that evil piece is what powers you up as a devil. You feel like an ordinary human because you are only using a tiny fraction of its power. If you become stronger and unlock more powers from that evil piece, you may be surprised at what you can do. I didn't know I had a powerful Boosted Gear until I defeated Raynare, a mid-class fallen angel."

"Really?" Rito climbs out the bushes and looks at Issei's optimistic praise.

"Yes Rito. What I want you to understand is that I don't think all the weird events are a bad sign or omen for you. Look at it from a different angle. Maybe there is a message that all these events are telling you. Maybe it is time for you to be more accepting of everything happening around you. I can help you with all those Galactic battles along with the Gremory clan, but you need to do your part as well. Think about Momo from a different angle. Why would she be showing all those affection towards you? She might look like a perfectly normal lady, but there must be something bothering her under the covers. What is it? I think you should try to find out." Issei recalls his engagement with Rias. He never understood all the kisses, hugs, and affection that was Rias was giving him and was clouded by Raynare's deception during his first date. When he kept calling Rias 'Buchou', he had no idea how much it hurt her. Thankfully, Asia and Koneko were able to give him therapy on overcoming his fears with deception.

"Are you really sure about Momo? That sounds strange." Rito finds it strange Issei would make such comment about Momo. Momo always seemed fine to Rito and would always have the upper hand when it comes to teasing and fighting with Nana.

"You never know Rito. Some people are great at hiding their fears. Momo is probably insecure about your relationship with her. That's why she is always sneaking into your bed and wanting to bath with you. The harem is probably a cover-up or a way for you to share some of your love with her without jeopardizing Lala or Nana."

"Momo… why?" Rito is surprised that Issei would make this kind of analysis.

"What do you say, Rito? Why don't you let me assist you? As your master, I will lead you the path of success. All you need is faith and trust. If you are not ready for the harem, we can put that aside for now. Once you have all the power and abilities necessary, we can see how we proceed from there. What do you say?"

"Are you sure? It all sounds confusing. How will I be more powerful? You make it sound easy."

"It takes time to figure out. Even I cannot predict what kinds of powers and abilities will arise from the evil piece inside your body."

Issei has Rito take a look around him. "You may think this is some unknown region on Earth or another planet, but you're sitting inside the Gremory territory of the Underworld. It is impossible for a normal human to access this world. In the past, only devils were allowed to access the Underworld, but thanks to the peace between the Three Great Powers, devils, angels, and fallen angels, all three species have access to both the Underworld and Heaven. In other words, we also have permission to visit heaven. See? Look at the golden train over there."

Rito sees a shiny golden train flying above him. The golden train is radiating a holy aura over the Underworld. There are even golden sparkles and glitters trailing behind it.

"This train is transporting devils up to heaven. Someday when we have time, I can give you a tour of heaven."

"Is that really the heaven train? Are those really angels inside?" Rito sees white wings and golden halos shining from inside the train.

"Yes, those angels in there are real. The ones with black wings are fallen angels. They polluted their minds with indecent thoughts and were kicked out of the heavens."

"I see…" Even though Rito is still skeptical whether the angels and fallen angels inside the train are authentic, he could feel the holy aura raining down on him. It is something that he could never experience anywhere on Earth.

"Take my hand Rito; I will lead you to a world beyond your wildest dreams. You will not believe what you can do as a new devil in training under me."

"OK, I guess I should give it a try." Rito takes Issei's hand.

"Alright Rito. Together, we will begin the journey to your success."