Well here we go I hope you all enjoy, and once again thank you to Aroneden for helping me by proofreading.
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Ichigo sat back on the lake shore, evening had just risen and he awaited his King's arrival. Nine days seemed to pass like water under a bridge. His head turned to glance at the top of a hill that was currently missing its peak. Issei had done well because Rias had the knowledge to do what Ichigo couldn't and that had been truly help him with the understanding of his sacred gear. Given that Zangetsu was only one in the most technical sense and neither he nor his Zanpakuto was sure what that addition was actually doing, what he knew was of no real help to Issei.
But, from what he understood, Issei's sacred gear allowed him to amplify power and do so many times, allowing him to take his modest power and boost it enough to take out a mountain top. Handy ability that, of course that admiration was tempered by the boy's first self-made spell...dress break. As soon as Ichigo had heard the name his first thought had been, 'Ya that sounds like a spell he would make.' followed by a slight disappointment, then the thought that...it might be useful….sometimes.
So with Rias in agreement Issei was working on making the dress break apply to both genders and armor. Because, as much as he might not like to admit it, a combat nudeifer was a very effective attack. Many people would not be able to handle that in this modern world. If he could make it work on all clothing and protection, however, it would truly be a useful talent. Or at least that was how Ichigo was justifying it for his own sanity.
It helped that the second day a new helper arrived. One Ruben Sacro, head psychologist of the Gremory family on standby for any of the houses mental needs….all in all a good use of unlimited money in his opinion. Issei had found his evenings filled with sit downs with the man and that was about as far as Ichigo's knowledge went. Issei did not talk about what went on and Ichigo did not ask.
Other fun events happened beyond training, bath time had become much more interesting.
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"You want to bathe together?" Ichigo asked, his heart did a few flips as part of his mind panicked. Were they ready to go that far? He did not know and…
"Swimsuits," she said, rolling her eyes at the panic in his eyes, "We bath like normal on our sides, you give Nel to Mori-san and we," she blushed, "Hang out, relax..fool around..." He had to focus to hear that last part and felt heat on his face.
"T-t-that, sounds like fun."
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Nel yawned as he handed her to Mori, the woman gave the toddler a smile as she checked the girl up and down. "She is quite clean, well done young master."
He had given up trying to get her to call him by his name; it just was not worth it. "I've had a bit of experience with cleaning little ones."
"I can tell." Mori gave him a nod and paused to give him a speculative look and it was kind of his fault given that he was wearing just swim trunks. "Well, you better get going young master."
"Right." He turned away before she could see his cheeks flush, but given the light laughter that followed him she knew.
The bath in the middle was more of an open air affair, the other two were open but they had roofs overhead. Ichigo had arrived first and made himself comfortable and found the open view to the stars quite relaxing. This far into nature there was no light pollution….at least besides this mansion. But it was not enough to dull the starlight leaving the heavens to shine like diamonds.
He heard the pitter patter of light feet before he saw her, it seemed she was coming right over from the bath on the girl's side. He gulped a little as she appeared. He wore simple orange swim trunks and it seemed she had taken the simple route too, having gone with the Kuoh Academy Swimsuit, the simple blue one piece that actually looked like it was made to fit her. It was not too big, it was not too small, though it clung to her wet body, but all swimsuits did that. But to him it looked perfectly functional and sexy. She paused at the water's edge to look him over and apparently approving of what she saw. "Hey."
"Hey yourself." She stepped into the water and made a noise at its heat. Crossing to where he was in a dozen strides and took a seat...in his lap...of course. He chided himself a little on not being prepared for that and naturally his body partially reacted. Koneko leaned her head back against his chest, her height meaning that even her hair did not so much as reach his chin as long as he was sitting up.
He crossed his arms over her body and gently rested his chin in her soft hair "How is your training going?"
"Would be better if you were part of it." She mumbled, her small hands taking their time exploring the muscles of his arms.
"Sorry about that, but even I have to have others train me sometimes."
"Mhhh, but then Buchou takes up your evenings." He opened his mouth, but she shushed him with a gentle shake of her head. "I'm just letting off some steam," His mouth closed, "I wanted to spend time with you, before…." She muttered.
She trembled for a moment, a full body shudder...she was scared. It only showed for a moment, but she was scared of what was coming….and why should she not be, he had not truly shown any of them his powers. He had been deliberate in that, because he knew, just knew, that it was not his time yet. That something bad would happen if it was not at the right time, in the right place. Again there was that sense that perhaps this was not his knowledge, but something else.
Koneko growled lightly and he could feel the vibration in his body. She turned in his arms, the sensation of her skin and that of her swimsuit on his bare chest sending all kinds of signals throughout his body. Her arms slipped up between his, coming around his neck and pulling her up so that they were face to face. Her gold eyes stared into his brown for a long moment as their breathing synchronized.
He leaned forward into her and their lips met and it, at least was not as frightful to look upon as their first kiss, perhaps it had something to do with how they were going slow now. There was no force on either side this time, just the taste of her strawberry lips on his. It seemed to unite with the close press of her body, molding her against his chest. His left arm pressed her closer if that was even possible and after a moment's hesitation his right hand began to dip lower moving to the curve of her back. They pulled away her eyes empty of the worry that had been there, now replaced by something much more pleasant.
She leaned back, pushing back against his tight hold until her hands were free and had enough room to explore. Her tiny fingers moved over his muscled chest, gently tracing the outlines with a sort of fascinated expression. For his part he held very still, drinking in the feelings that were twisting around in his chest. The contrast of his hard body and hers, so soft in comparison, felt amazing to him. Her eyes glowed with golden heat and they leaned forward to kiss again. This one much more reminiscent of their first if only a little more palatable to watch.
He had kept it from going any further than that and, to be fair, Koneko herself had seemed more than happy with where they had stopped. Sadly, there had been no repeat of that first time. Asia had showed up the third night, at which point Koneko had gotten up and dragged the bishop away for a talk. Ichigo had waited patiently until the girls returned. Koneko had seemed amused, a little exasperated, but mostly fine. Asia had been beet red and remained so, though that might have been from Koneko sitting her down beside him when they got back. That night had seemed to start a change in their relationship, which had been distant-ish until now. He had noted the two talking together in their limited spare time and his Rook had begun to do….what Akeno and that human girl back at the school did. This was grab assing. Something he would have put a stop to, but when he mentioned it to the former nun she had told him she enjoyed it...girls never ceased to confound and confuse. On the bright side, Akeno seemed to be so proud of her protégé for making a new friend and something about speaking her feelings clearly.
The former nun had seemed to gain a measure of confidence as well, or at least he assumed, from her spending more time very close to either him or Issei. That was good for her and he did his best to help her with her training, which she seemed to appreciate a great deal. He had noted that there had been an uptick in how close she was to him when it was appropriate. He had not noticed at first, but she was a well, if more naturally, developed girl in her own right and both him and his body were starting to notice….which was worrying. At some point after this mess was over he needed to have a talk with Akeno to see what was going on.
Speaking of the Queen, Akeno had joined them, along with Asia, on the fourth day and by the fifth all the peerage showed up. All of them hanging out and talking in their swimsuits, Issei got eye candy, Koneko still got to spend time with him and Akeno got to confuse him more, so everyone had a good time.
Ichigo shook his head. Akeno too had been acting odd these past nine days, but given that she had what might have been a rather traumatic experience trying to drag out his Devil Power, not that she had told him anything about what had happened. But...the girl herself seemed confused when in his presence, or at least had been the first couple of days then she had just returned to normal...except for the teasing that had doubled, at least, and had gotten to the point where Koneko was nearly growling on sight if they were in the room together, all of which the Queen found hilarious. He wished she would stop as the girl was very distracting, not the least of which because of her habit of not wearing bras. At the very least he was glad breasts were not his major thing, Issei would have been a mess if she had directed her teasing at him. But still, in the moments that she thought he was not looking...the intent and searching of her gaze on him was almost unnerving and a little….he did not have a name for the feeling.
With a gentle motion he smacked the side of his head pushing himself out of that loop of thoughts, turning them instead to his odd King. Rias Gremory, as the days had progressed, had done well with her hand to hand training, this after a long day of working on her own power when she has time to spare. He had done as he said and gone though as many of the defensive techniques that he felt would help her, which meant a lot of Aikido, his weaker martial art, but as he had told Kiba she had a talent for it, a real talent...not that he had told her that. It would have to come after this mess was over, but she was doing good. Better and quicker than he had done when he started and he did not chalk all of it up to her being a Devil.
But the other conclusion he had come to was that she had no idea how powerful she was, three times she had told him she had wiped herself dry of power, but that vast reservoir he sensed in her remained untouched. Rather like him when he first started except that she did not even seem to draw on this power in a passive sense. So perhaps there was no connection, the power was there but she had no way to draw on it.
"There you are." Her voice said. He turned his head and noted the exhaustion in her face, a clear sign of efforts today. He made a motion for her to sit and she did so without complaint. "Tomorrow is a big day," she said in a flat tone, "The fight of my life."
"We are almost ready." He replied confidently, he had made a point to do that. She had grown to trust him or at least trust that his mouth would stay shut if she spoke her fears aloud.
"Almost, huh?" She closed her eyes, resting her head and crimson hair on the ground. "I don't feel ready."
"You are worried. It's ok to be so."
"And you are not?" She challenged.
The truth was, no, he was not in the slightest, but that was not what she wanted to hear. "It doesn't really matter if I am. It doesn't matter if I'm afraid, or scared, or worried. I have people to protect, you all are part my family now and I will do what I have always done." He found her hand and squeezed, not in a gesture of romance, but of the simple reassurance of contact. "I protect them as best I can." He let go and relaxed a little bit more.
"You say it so easily, like it is the law of reality." She closed her eyes. "I wish so much that I could quantify you that I could sense the power you have. I know you are more than the small spark of Devil Power I feel, but how can you be more than someone like who we face. Strong, powerful, skilled and the next best thing to immune to damage. Someone who has far more experience, far more practice, and far more everything than any of us."
Not everyone, Ichigo thought. "I know we can win the same way I sense you are stronger than him."
"What?" she frowned? "I thought you could sense our powers?"
"I can and you are only using a fraction of yours."
Her arms crossed over her chest. "I am not my brother, I am no Super Devil born with the power to rule."
"I don't know about that, but I know you have more power. It is calm now, like a quiet sea, but it burns with the same Power of Destruction. It is still in you."
"Don't you think I would have noticed something like that?"
"Not with that attitude."
"It is truth, my brother is the most powerful, the best, the greatest Devil in history, beyond the First. Beyond anyone." She spoke in pure adoration in that moment. "And I am not, I am as nothing compared to him."
He looked at her as she spoke that. The absolute belief in her voice and felt he understood. The disconnect between her and her own great power, she did not believe it possible. With every fiber of her being she thought it untrue. He could almost imagine her as she was now, the shadow of her brother shrouding her like a starless night.
He did not know what to do about it… there was the method that had been used on him, but he knew himself well enough to know that he could not strike at her with the intent to kill. He was not like his teachers, who were able to put his need to be stronger above his safety. "You believe that, you believe what you just said." Her eyes were like diamonds in the dark. "I'm going to break that, I am going to change your mind. You are so much more than just 'not your brother'."
She looked away and spoke quietly. "How will you do that, fate and truth are not something you can just cast aside at will."
"Because you are worth it, you are worth the effort of helping, of being a friend. It has nothing to do with your brother and everything to do with you being who you are. Rias Gremory, you are powerful, you have more power than you realize, you and Sona. I don't think whatever quirk of fate that left your siblings more powerful left either of you behind.
"I want to believe that so much," she whispered, "But I have seen my brothers power, his full power. I have seen him where he is That Which Consumes Everything. I say it again, that he is the greatest Devil in the world and he can barely control that power. Even if I have such a thing, the weak me would only be a danger."
He almost growled, as Rias began to tremble, stress built up began to come loose as tears, of fear, anger, and despair. He pulled her close to him, into an embrace and gave her that simple contact in her moment of weakness.
"I will prove it you," he said, "I promise."
Rias did not answer; she just clung to him and shivered.
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Zangetsu watched his shoulder; the gold chain was glowing white hot as the Inner World shook to the rhythm of the Dead God's dream. He watched as the chain grew longer, or rather slowly pulled it's way out of him. It seemed that the Dead God was doing what it had done best; it was creating something, preparing something. The chain kept growing kept using him as a...template or a vessel. It was not draining him or killing him he knew that much, but it was getting ready to...leave him, but leave him and do what?
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Rias finished crying and let go of him, leaning back to breathe through her stuffy nose. Ichigo shook his head. "I think I will show you how to throw a punch today, give you a chance to work though some things on me."
Rias nodded, a hint of a smile on her puffy red face "The one offensive thing you mentioned?"
"Yes." And without her surprising talent he would not have even shown her this but here they were.
"Do you really promise?" He blinked at the change of topic. "To show me," her mouths half quirked in what looked like both desperation and self disgust, "To save me?"
He stood up and reaching down pulled the woman to her feet looking her dead in the eye. "I promise." 'But if I have anything to say, you will be the one to do it' He thought. That was what she needed the most. If she decided to fully depend on him then her growth would never happen, that power would forever be lost. He would do so if it came to that, but Rias Gremory could be strong and what Protector would not want that. Either she grew strong to save herself or he would have to constantly be saving her. There was always someone stronger and Ichigo Kurosaki was not going to forget that.
"Ok." She whispered and leaned in to hug him, a gesture he returned. This might have a little more romantic connotation, but that could just be his Devil mind at work. "Thank you for listening to me whine, I could not bear to do it with Akeno this time because she is in the same boat I am in if he wins."
"Any time Rias," She shivered as he said her name in her ear, "Anytime."
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All was quiet as they stood in the club room, every one of them was at one hundred percent. Asia's attentions the night before had made sure of that. Ten days was not enough, but it was better than no time at all. Issei was at his side and, given what he had accomplished in this time, he had done pretty well.
"You ready?" He asked quietly.
"No." Was the simple reply. His arm was already covered in the red mail of his Sacred Gear and it clenched with an audible squeak of metal. "But that does not matter, does it?"
"Not really, things like this rarely come when we want them to."
"What should I do?" he asked.
"Do exactly what you did when you defended Asia. Despite any dispute we might have with one another, you do know the answer to that question."
"Right," He gulped, "I really hope so."
"Nel dinks you will do fine." Said the toddler on Ichigo's shoulder. To his senses the Arrancar burned with power, his power mostly. He had taken advantage of the ten days to channel as much of his Reiryoku into her as he could. This had been done while she slept in his bed during the night, their bond as Master and Familiar had opened a channel between them and there had not even been a dip in her power. It was as if his power was hers and vice versa. Right now, if a trump card was needed, Nel was going to be a hell of a big one if that was required. Even if she was not there was always whatever crisis was coming next.
The door opened and Sona walked into the room with Tsubaki at her side, her expression was one of pure business and a little worried. Ichigo nodded at her once, and then refrained from distracting her. Her eyes flickered to him, but that was the only acknowledgment she gave. "Um, what are the Student Council President and Vice President doing here?" Issei asked.
"In a rating game, a fight between two families are relayed by a third party, these two are..."
"We are not." Sona interrupted and Rias blinked, looking at her confused. "Given the circumstances," Her glance at the Rook both had created told them the answer, "My sister has agreed to relay the game. I and my peerage will be watching and cheering you on."
"Well then," Rias smiled, "I will do my best to give you a good first showing, my rival."
White light flared behind them and Ichigo sensed Grayfia before she arrived, her power unmistakable. The Queen Maid stepped out of the light to survey the room with her guarded eyes. "Are your preparations complete?"
The words had a sobering effect on the room, or at least most of it, if there was one thing Ichigo was not concerned with, it was battle. "Yes." Rias nodded, taking in a breath.
"Then when the time comes you will be transported by this summoning circle to the battleground." Which was as Ichigo understood it a gateway to a place in the dimensional gap, a place that, when he had it described to him, sounded a lot like the place between the hollow and human world. But anyway, it took them to an area created by the Maou Ajuka Beelzebub for the purpose of the game. It was where the battles happened, and also contained several special areas where observers and broadcasters could watch in safety.
Sona nodded at the Great Queen and leaned forward to whisper something to Rias. Whatever she said, it seemed to help as the girl kissed her rival on the cheek and Sona did so in turn. As Sona and Tsubaki walked to the white circle she passed just close enough to him and their hands brushed against one another, but that was all. "Good Luck and we will be there for you."
"Thank you again." Rias said, as the two girls vanished.
Grayfia gestured for all of them to stand. "Be on your best behavior," she warned them, "Not only is the broadcaster Serafall Leviathan-sama, but both Ajuka Beelzebub-sama and Sirzech Lucifer-sama will be in attendance."
"Three of the Maou." Kiba whispered in shock.
"Who?" Issei asked.
"Not right now." Rias chided him gently as they walked over to the white circle. It turned red as Rias channeled her power into it. One by one they all vanished in a flash of light, Ichigo noted as they did so that Grayfia eyes had not left him the entire time.
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Grayfia appeared in the space where two of the most powerful creatures in creation were sitting. Screens composed of spells woven into the Rating space showed those sitting here whatever they wanted to see. Her husband was had just pointed out one Ichigo Kurosaki to his fellow Maou, one that had asked to be her and judge the new Rook in Rias-sama's peerage, and judging by the man's expression of total and complete shock something was off.
"What in Hades' skeletal dick is that!" Akjuka shouted at the screen, which obliged its creator and focused in on the boy. They seemed to be explaining to the new Pawn what had just happened and why everything looked like the school they had supposedly just left.
"Fuck!" The maou shouted and the area around him began to morph, the throne vanishing replaced by a desk and at a snap of his fingers a large briefcase fell open, spilling out scratch paper and some odd devices.
"What is wrong?" Sirzech asked
"That...that.." The Beelzebub Maou seemed to be about to froth at the mouth. "What the fuck did your sister…." He paused and looked closer. "...SERAFALLL!" He shouted.
One screen opened to show said Maou getting ready to play her role as an observer and broadcaster. She flinched at the sound. "What Aja-Kun? I'm getting ready, you could have caught me naked."
"Remember when you asked me about if it was possible for two same pieces from two different would work for resurrection?"
"Uh, would it help if I said no?"
"Who the fuck is that?"
"Oh, you noticed Ichi-chan right off the bat?"
"I made this fucking system! Why does he have a Rook from both the Gremory House and the Sitiri House?"
"What?!" both Grayfia and Sirzechs said at the same time.
"How should I know? You said it was impossible."
"Well clearly I was wrong, and you knew it!"
"Mhhh." Serafall shrugged.
"If you think that is the weirdest thing about him you have…."
"I know that!" He shouted. "How the fuck did they turn a fucking goddamn Shinigami into a Devil?"
"I don't know, you said it was impossible." Serafall parroted.
"WELL CLEARLY I WAS WRONG!"
"Beelzebub-sama," Grayfia interrupted, "Do I need to stop the match."
"Y..." He hesitated, glancing at Sirzech, "Well…." He took in a deep breath and forced it back out in a rush. "No rules have been broken….because no one should need to make rules like that…..But no, there is no grounds for stopping. Hell, this is not even considered cheating because it does not exist in the rules." He laughed and it sounded almost manic. "My system is broken, ruined, shot! Up is down, black is white…."
"Ajkua, calm down." Sirzech said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"No, you don't get it, even if his kind could be transformed, even if two Pieces from two different Kings could work, that, should not be possible."
"Why not?" Sirzech asked
"Look at him, look at his cost."
"Eight." Sirzech said
"Eight." Serafall said.
"Oh…" the Maou lowered his head. "I'm going to have to fix that now, too."
"What do you mean old friend?" The Lucifer asked.
"Not eight, you see eight because that is the only thing the spells could show you, but it is not eight." one of the screens showed the number. "This is what you see," The number tilted left until it was laying flat. "This is what I see."
The room was dead silent as they stared in shock as Serafall spoke "Infinity?"
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"Everyone," The voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. After the teleportation there had been a pause of a minute or two. "I, Grayfia, the maid of Gremory will be the referee. Today's match will be between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex. After consultation with both parties, today's battle ground will be the school which Rias-sama attends. Rias-sama's Headquarters is the Occult Research Club Room and Riser-sama's headquarters is the Principal's room."
Ichigo closed his eyes and let his senses expand until he could sense the cluster of power right where Grayfia had said. "Pawns can be promoted if they successfully infiltrate the enemy headquarters." With those final words she became silent and the Rating Game began.
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Ajuka was writing furiously on his scratch paper, Serafall was in the space with them now as the Beelzebub had simply moved her space to his by will alone and he was currently ripping any facts he could out of the Leviathan who seemed more than happy to give it though most of her attention was on the Boy in the screen.
Grayfia finished speaking and stepped beside her husband. She could see the pure mischief in his eyes. "I don't think there will be any need to inform the Phenex Party of any irregularities, since there was no rule being broken."
"How much do you think this changes things, Lord Husband?"
"I'm not sure, but it will be fascinating to see." he laughed a little. "Looks like my baby sis has a real chance after all."
"Perhaps, though the point system judges more things than power and I think we would have noticed someone with unlimited power."
"I agree!" Ajuka called. "Probably potential and it might be a glitch, I'm working on it." There was a moment of pause. "Well of course we can't sense him, no other supernatrual can sense those Isolationist assholes besides a few select humans and those monsters." Another pause.
"Wait, he said he has more than one race." Serafall said, and he slammed his head on the desk.
"Tell me that before, not after."
"Well, it seems they are heading to the Gymnasium," Grayfia said only slightly disturbed at the Beelzebub's actions, "It is the center of the board so to speak, and Riser had the same idea."
"Three versus four and the boy is with them."
"Old friend," Sirzech called, causing Akuja to look up, "Kurosaki is about to fight, you might want to watch."
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Ichigo, with Nel on his shoulder, kept quiet while following Koneko and Issei as they moved silently through the emergency exit door into the gym. A quick sword strike had stopped the alarm from ever sounding and they were making good time. Their part of the plan was simple, take the Gym and hold it until they were told to leave.
He found them wandering up the stairs to the stage and smiled a little at the memory of his first time here. "Three inside, on the court." He said quietly.
As if to confirm that, all the lights flared on and a voice range out. "We know you are there, Servants of Gremory."
Issei's shoulders dropped. "I guess there is no point." He mumbled.
Ichigo schooled his face to neutral as Koneko stood and led them out onto the stage. "So both Rooks and the little Pawn." The girl who spoke was a well-endowed woman with shoulder length black hair, done up in chinese buns, and green eyes. She wore a full length Qipao, or at least it was pretending to be one, as the darn thing looked like someone had taken a pair of scissors to it and opened up the chest, the cloth up her sides and for good measure took away most of the cloth covering her right leg.
To her right, two small girls, shorter than even Koneko, had to be twins with green hair the same length, turquoise eyes and both wearing white tee shirts with white socks and blue tennis shoes. Their shorts, however, were these skin-tight black spats-like things that were far far too tight. But not as bad as bloomers, nor even half as distracting, but that was probably unique to him. Oh, yes, and they both had chainsaws.
"Oh and we get to take down the prideful one."
"Yes," her sister called, "We call the tall, prideful one."
The fourth one rolled her eyes. She was the most modest of the group with her blue hair done up in an old pony tail style split into four tails. She work a Haori and red Obi which, while a bit short ,was still better than the get ups the rest of her peerage mates were sporting and in her hands was as staff with two weighted ends. "I guess I'll take the Pawn?"
"Yes," the Rook said, "the white haired is the most dangerous of this lot." The heat in the room began to increase. "I'll face her."
Issei took a breath and let it out. "Ok!" He yelled. "I get to show the fruits of my training!" He leapt off the stage before either of them and rushed the Pawn that had called him as an opponent. The girl rolled her eyes again and moved forward suddenly and slammed the staff into Issei's chest sending him flying back. Ichigo reached out and caught the boy arresting his motion and setting him back on the ground.
He did not look bad off, just sheepish. "Do not underestimate your opponents," He glanced at the twins, "Even if they are just Jailbait incarnate."
"Hey, you can't insult Ile like that!"
"Ya, you can't insult Nel like that!"
"Ohhh, Itsygo!" His Nel spoke up as she peeked over his shoulder. "She has the same name as Nel."
There was a moment of silence. "She's adorable." The rook said.
Ichigo nodded and gently set her down on the stage. "Wait right there, ok?"
"Ok." She walked over to the edge of the stage and sat down her little legs dangling over the edge, drawing a collective awww from almost everyone.
"Uh, mister why did you bring your kid?" IIe asked.
"She is my familiar," His face took on a terrible expression, "Don't attack her, or you will regret it."
"R-right, we have one of those 'don't attack' people on our team too."
"Ok, we really should start fighting." the Pawn with the staff said. "I'm starting to feel awkward." That seemed to be enough for them all as each exploded into motion or rather everyone except Ichigo who calmly walked off the stage and onto the air seeming to use it as stairs rather than falling through it.
"Ok, that was cool." IIe said as she and her sister revved up their chainsaws. While tempted to play around with them and do something cool like show how outmatched they were...that was not how he was trying to do things. His power rose inside him and flashed, shrouding his skin and solidifying into his armor. He reached back and drew out Zangetsu from his sheath at his hip, he and the twins squared off and charged at the same time. No playing around, but neither would he show off any of his abilities yet, if he could help it.
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"There is his Zanpakuto." Akuja murmured. The Maou had set up several devices on his desk one of which was showed a number in glowing blue, another covered in buttons and antenna and a third that was recording all that was happening.
"What is that?"
"Well, I'm not sure. They say..."
Serafall interrupted. "It's a piece of his soul forged for battle, made to purify ghosts and kill monsters." Akuja did not yell, he just wrote that down. "It's really cool and kind of cute."
The screens showed each of the separate battles in the Gym, with Grayfia watching all of them. She watched as the White haired Rook met her counterpart in combat. The one called Xuelan unleashed a series of swift kicks aimed at her head and chest. Flame blazed around her foot, increasing the power and range of damage. Koneko, for her part. dodged…. dodged every one...Grayfia had seen Rias's-sama's peerage practice when the girl had visited her father. It had been less than a year, but the difference was astounding.
At particularly long kick aimed at her head Koneko dropped her body, twisting, her leg sweeping out. The attack should have been avoidable, but with the rote motion of countless practice and the speed that surpassed what a Rook, even of her build, should have been capable of, the Rook of Riser was swept from her feet. To the poor girl it must have seemed that her situation had changed in the blink of an eye. Koneko attacked and Xuelan recognizing her danger unleashed her firepower, her feet igniting, and the force from the thrust started bending her body. Her hand just touched ground when Koneko hit, though the change in position had thrown off the blow, aimed for her lower back, right square into her butt. Which was not the worst place to be hit, though the strength of the white haired girl sent her opponent flying. She slammed into the ground several times as she spun before she righting, though when she tried to stand up she winced, her left hand moving her he bruised backside.
That was all the time she had as her opponent was on her. She wobbled as her leg swept up and it cost her as Koneko blocked the blow with her bare forearm, accepting the damage of the flame on her skin and returned the blow with an uppercut that hit the taller Rook so hard the poor girl slammed into the roof of the gymnasium and was pushed almost halfway through it before vanishing in blue motes of light.
That was just one fight she kept an eye on. The Issei boy looked to be doing well, surprisingly so, as the staff his opponent, named Mira, clanged against his Sacred Gear. His skill did not seem to be up to par, but his body was. The speed at which he reacted to his attacker's blows was impressive and while he did take another hit, he managed to only get pushed back a few feet. He tilted his head at Mira. "That did not really hurt?"
The Pawn's eyes flashed with sudden fury. "Let me rectify that then, you don't seem to need those balls!" Announcing her attack proved fatal, the boy let out a yelp and spun away from the blow aimed at his groin and continued the spin his armored fist clenched. Before the pawn could recover her stance the blow crashed into her side hard enough to knock her off her feet and trigger the rating game safety system, but a heartbeat before that could happen a green symbol glowed on her clothing. There was a tearing sound and the pawn's clothes simply disintegrated leaving both her butt and breasts displayed to the world for the long seconds it took for her to be whisked away. But sadly not before she could feel the horror at the loss and see the idiot grin on the boy who had done it to her.
Then there was the last fight she watched. Now fully armored Kurosaki faced the two twin Pawns of Riser. The siblings rushed him with decent cooperation, though chainsaws were not the best weapons in the world, but their's seemed to have been magically enhanced, probably lighter and shaper too.
Nel reached him first, her attack coming in at his ankles, and she was just low enough that her sister could swing her saw over her and and at the boy's chest. His foot came up and down smashing into the flat of the blade and pinning it to the floor. With his blade he blocked IIe's weapon and with a light grunt sent it flying out of her hands. The pawns seemed to have underestimated a Rook's strength if she had to guess. His blade flicked out like a snake the blade passing though where her body would have been, but the system pulled her out before so much as a drop of blood was shed. Nel let go of her weapon, trying to jump away seeing her sister be retired, but she was just not fast enough as the Rook drove his fist into her face, thus smashing her into and through the floor before she was pulled out.
All in all Grayfia thought it was a more than credible showing by Rias-sama's servants. Her eyes flicked to the other battles as the Knight eliminated Riser's three remaining Pawns, one by one. "Six of Riser's pawns and one Rook have been eliminated." She announced.
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Koneko glared at Issei. "Don't touch me" she ordered
"I was not going to." The boy said with his hands up. "Plus, I would never to that to an Ally."
"Even then, it is a disgusting move."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, battle often meant that disgusting things became commonplace, though Issei had not needed to use it….still it was on an enemy and he could not be responsible for the whole fucking world. He paused, frowning. "Rias, Riser is sending something big our way." His words were echoed through communication.
"Not Riser himself?" she replied
"His Queen." Ichigo said after a moment.
"Get out of the building, try and draw her out." Ichigo made a motion and Nel leapt onto his back. With that, all of them fled the building quickly. Riser's Queen was getting closer, though she was high in the air and when he glanced into the green sky he could not see any movement even when he knew she was there.
"Riser's Queen is known to us." It was Akeno speaking. "Yubelluna, the Bomb Queen. A user of fire magic known for being able to cause high damage attacks that, so far, have not failed to eliminate those she has hit directly."
"That sounds unpleasant." Ichigo replied. "So, I know Akeno was supposed to nuke the building, but how about nuking a Queen? Hell, I'll even act as bait."
There was a moment of silence through the communication. "Why you?" Rias asked.
"She might be willing to suspend disbelief if she sees me alone. I did call out her Master and his peerage seems to like him. Also, I am the toughest and have full confidence I can take a direct hit...not that I plan too. But if me, Koneko and Issei can distract her, a good solid nuke from Akeno might get rid of Riser's greatest threat."
There was a long moment of silence. "Ok, you have not failed me so far. I will leave it to you."
Ichigo nodded. "Alright, everyone listen up."
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Yubelluna flew at a cautious speed, the power of her veil was only good enough to a certain point. Riser had been clear that she was to have the element of surprise. After all, the enemy had proved a great deal more….intense than expected.
Riser steepled his fingers as the voice of the Ultimate Queen announced the defeat of all the advance force at near the same time. They had watched the battle of the gym through the eyes of Riser-sama's familiar. "Better than I had been told." She nuzzled her head in the side of his neck as, below the desk, Li and Mi, the last two of his pawns, worked to relief any stress their master was feeling. And, from his expression, they were doing quite well. It had been worth the effort to teach them proper technique. 'Little Rias must think she has the some sort of advantage now...hmmm, I really should not let that stand' "Yubelluna, dear, go even the odds a bit before I send out the Isabella, Sirius and Karlamine."
"It would be my pleasure Riser-sama." The words were almost orgasmic as she stood up and began to move, careful to sway her hips and show her skin in the perfect way that he loved. She could feel his eyes following her, burning a hole in her clothing. "Do use the normal strategy dear, no need for pointless risks."
And so she moved with as much speed as could, and this battlefield was not that big, so as her eyes swept the open fields her mouth quirked as she spotted movement. "Someone by themselves...the Knight perhaps." She got closer to get a better look at the figure as he moved between the little cover there was in his particular area. Ahh, it was boy, the one whose words had put her Master in that funk, the arrogant one who seemed to think himself a match for her Riser-sama.
She hesitated though, they had seen him with that toddler on his back and the child was nowhere to be found. Riser had told her to have a care...she waited as he paused and said something, no doubt with communication. His head never turned her way at least not directly, he did scan the skyline, like any moderately smart Devil did, but missed her entirely. She watched until he was about to reach the main building, her hand raised as she focused her power into a tiny space. This was her skill, what she was best at, the power of a simple fireball compressed into a small space. An expenditure of energy that was small compared to its powerful effect.
Her power shot out of her, a purple circle flashing down towards the boy like a bullet, her body surged with pure thrill at seeing the lovely explosion, only to be ruined by the sight of a blue shield of energy. The boy glanced at her and there was no surprise on his face, the shield vanished and she hurled several quick bolts at him, each exploding with the force of a brick of C4, but he vanished. There was a sound of static behind her and she whirled to see him, blade swinging. She blocked with her staff, but he did not say anything, his expression never flickered and his raw strength was unbelievable. It was beyond a Rook, which she could match, far more than she had been prepared for.
It launched her back and down, the pure pressure of the blow causing her wings to spread out and curl in on her. She managed to slow herself enough that her feet touched the ground at only a mildly rough speed. Big mistake on his part, giving her distance, clearly she needed to change her strategy. Raw fire was not the way she liked to do things, but she moved her staff and power flowed through it and several lances of fire shot out, curving to her will. All locked onto the weak Devil Power of her opponent. He twisted in the air, flying without wings in an odd fashion that seemed more effective than even herself. There was an ease at which he avoided the fire, but that was not the point. She pulled more power from herself, trying to form bombs in his path, but he seemed to sense them and avoided the explosions. His blade flashing out and cutting apart the fire lances...which exploded as the hidden bombs in them were unleashed.
The blasts knocked him spinning and she frowned at the minimal amount of damage he seemed to have suffered, his white armor was scuffed but it seemed she would need a direct hit. Good thing all that had been a distraction as the air around the boy suddenly glowed with dozens of purple circles.
The instant before she triggered them there was an explosion of pain in the back of her head, the impact sending her spinning across the ground. She caught a glimpse of the other enemy Rook before her tumble showed her the fact that she was barreling into the only Pawn of the enemy team. The pain in her head made it hard to focus and whatever was screaming BOOST was not helping.
That was the last thought she had time for when an armored hand slammed up into her gut so hard she vomited out her lunch onto the luckless enemy. Any other member of the peerage would have been retired by that blow, but she, Riser's most powerful servant, was still fighting. The blow sent her up and her hand fumbled for the Phoenix tear in her pocket. A flicker of green on the cloth over her chest glowed and her face went white. The spell ignited its power shrouding her clothing and then it simply disintegrated. She screamed as her boobs, butt and slit were suddenly and abruptly on view for what felt like the whole fucking world. Only Riser or her peerage sisters were supposed to see her like this.
On that thought her hands moved to cover her breasts and between her legs...and she watched as the only chance she would have had to grab her vile of phoenix tears slipped away as the vile fell down, down and almost onto the boy who had did this to her. He was shaking himself in a panicked disgust and by pure luck caught the vile without meaning to. Kill, murder, death, she was going to visit all these things on...was that thunder?
Her upward momentum slowed, but dulled by pain and humiliation she could only watch as the enemy Queen flickered into sight as her veil was ended. The girl winked at her and blew a kiss before her world went white with pain, for the briefest of instants, then she was retired.
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Riser's fists clenched the wooden desk so hard that it shattered. Pure anger flooded his being. To see his Queen so roughly treated. Even though the analytical part of his brain acknowledged the trap for the decent move that it was, obvious now that it was revealed and a mistake they would not have made against an experienced opponent, was annoying….Rias was turning out to have a knack for this, or at least finding people that worked well together.
He forced his anger down, mind racing as he accepted the facts of the reality in front of him. Number one, it seemed Rias and her peerage were far more capable than first anticipated. Number two, they had some advanced warning of Yubelluna even with her stealthy approach and the same went for his three pawn's infiltration. So right now he had to assume that they had a general knowledge of where he and his peerage was. Three, they were, at this moment, concentrated in the edge of his territory...it was time for a change of plans. "Mihae, Karlamine, Siris, Isabella, abandon my previous orders. Fall back and join me at the school's entrance." He glanced at Mi and Li both having returned from the restrooms where both had freshened up. "You two with me, I am invoking Operation Screaming Eagles." A fancy and overbearing name for 'consolidate forces and attack the enemy as a single unit', but even men like him had flaws.
"Yes Master." Replied his girls.
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"Rias," Ichigo said, "I think Riser is gathering everyone and coming this way."
There was a pause, but no question or request for clarification. "Retreat to the Tennis Courts, I will meet you there, Akeno you will join me for magical artillery. I know that you cannot use your best attack and I am willing to bet Riser does too, so I will do the heavy lifting. We will do our best to slow them down, if any of you have any injuries Asia will be with me at the Tennis Courts. Koneko, Yuuto, Issei and Ichigo, do your best to hold them at the tennis courts, but retreat if you are pressed once the flank attack happens it will be an all in."
"Yes Buchou." They all replied as Ichigo picked up Koneko and began to make his way to the court. Issei, Kiba and Akeno flew next them him, behind them he could sense Riser and the rest of his peerage had gathered fully and were headed this way. "Nel." He said as they flew and the toddler poked her head over his shoulder.
"Yeth?"
"Make sure to stay out of the way. Remember, you are my trump card." Koneko raised her eyebrow at that statement but said nothing.
"Ok." Nel replied and nuzzled her face against his cheek. "I will be good."
He nodded and then frowned as his awareness found a new power, one from Riser's side, but by itself and out ahead of the group. Advanced Scout perhaps? They hit the tennis courts and Ichigo put Nel and Koneko down and turned, raising his arm as the power which, now that he was focused on it, felt a lot like Riser Phenex but not the same. The soul was different. "Buchou," he said, "One of his pieces is heading this way, ahead of the others."
"Don't attack until you see who it is." An image of a blond girl flashed in his mind. "Do not attack if this is the one you see, she is his little sister and quite powerful in her own right. However Riser does not use her for combat or anything more than cheerleading. I am not sure why, but if she is left alone then one of his Bishop pieces stay out of play and that is good for us."
"Got ya." He shook his head, remembering the Rook's statement about having a noncombatant. Oh well, he would get his answer soon as, in a blaze of fire, the power he was sensing entered his sight. The sight resolved itself into a girl with wings of pure flame screeching down towards them, slowing as she neared the ground and landing with a light, ladylike, step. Her face was the image Rias had sent him, the girl stood about six inches taller than Koneko with blond hair tied into twin tails and somehow….made to have a descending, drill-like shape. She wore an oddly-elegant pink dress with white frills and a bow in the front. Blue eyes looked at them like one might look at animals in a zoo, but with less interest. She hid that expression behind a smile. "Greetings to you, servants of Rias Gremory." She gave a slight dip of her head to them. "I am Ravel Phenex, a pleasure to meet you." Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"Why are you here?" He asked.
"To cheer my brother on, of course. He is quite miffed right now and I don't think he will merciful." She giggled. "He really does like his servants and seeing them manhandled and molested like that is hard."
Having no real response to that he shrugged. "Not gonna defend Issei on that one, gotta admit."
She blinked at him. "Oh….well, uh….well, my brother is still going to burn you all for that."
"I won't let him." Ichigo replied easily.
For some reason she did not dismiss him out of hand like others had done, her head tilted as she stared at him. "You do seem confident about that, but do not think whatever strange power you have will save you. My brother is the strongest." Her eyes glowed with warmth at the words. "He does what needs to be done for our family and protects our honor and what you have done, what you all have done to his peerage will not stand." She said that last part with a withering glare at Issei who cringed slightly, but almost at once squared his shoulders.
"You people are enemies of Buchou and it is a valid tactic." He parroted the words Ichigo had used….probably not understanding he had only done so for his own sanity, but it still sounded good. "You...you brute." She moved back until her back was to a tennis court wall "D-don't you dare touch me or I will kill you!"
Issei rolled his eyes. "I'm not a monster, geeze. If you don't fight, nothing happens."
Ichigo glanced in the direction Riser and his group would come from, if they continued their current movement. "They are moving pretty slow." His eyes flickered to Ravel who smiled.
"I'm a non combatant, I will offer advice in battle, but I will not abuse this to cheat."
"Hmm."
"I honestly don't care if you believe me or not, though I would like to know how you seem to know where my brother and his peerage is."
"Need to know, princess." He said sarcastically.
Ravel narrowed her eyes at him, but did not snap back a reply, though that might have been because Nel was waddling up to her. She had insisted on wearing her brown shirt for any sort of conflict and thus was in full adorable mode. He tensed, readying the power to call Nel over at a second's notice. "Hellow." she said.
Ravel stared down at the toddler for a long moment. "H-hello." she replied.
"Nel wiks your dress."
"Oh, thank you little one." She glanced up. "Your kid, if I remember?"
"My familiar." He replied.
"Oh...she's adorable."
"Nel is adorable." The arrancer replied.
"Mmmmm." She made a sound and glanced up at him, then back down at her, then back up, her mouth opening and closing.
"Oh, for the love of..." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can hold her, if she lets you."
"I was not going to ask that." Ravel said firmly and it would have been a lot more convincing if she had not already had the happy Arrancer on her hip.
"Right….."
Ravel looked away for a moment before seeing to find something to say. "You're not going to beat my brother, you know."
"Not unless I have to." He agreed.
"...what?"
"Buchou will." He told the girl. "Speaking of which." Ichigo glanced over at the rest of his peerage, noting Rias landing on top of the building behind them with Akeno. "Back in a second." he said and vanished, leaving Ravel to sputter at empty air, appearing beside Rias who almost managed not to jump a little in surprise. "Riser is coming." He said, after a moment for her to recover.
She let out a breath. "I know."
"You're going to need all your power to beat him, not the paltry amount you use right now." She gave him a look as Akeno tilted her head at that statement.
Rias lowered her voice. "You keep saying that, but I have never seen any evidence of this. Last night I tried." Her voice lowered further. "I tried so hard, I wanted what you said to be true so badly, but there is nothing."
"Wanting is not the same thing as believing, Rias Gremory. You need to let go of that fear, you can't waste time worrying about the what if's."
"What ifs are all I have left." She whispered, her head leaning forward, hair shrouding her face.
He reached down and grabbed her hand in his. "Then trust in us." He gestured to her peerage, arrayed down before and beside her. "If you cannot believe in yourself, then let us do it for you."
"Ara Ara, it seems I am being put to shame." Akeno moved over and took Rias' other hand. "I'm supposed to be the Queen you naughty boy," Her face softened, "But he is right my king. I believe in you, we all do."
Tears fell under the shroud of hair. "Oh, you children." Rias whispered, her voice rough. "You give me so much, how can I be worth it?"
"The Blade of my Soul once said to me, that if I trusted in him that I would not be alone, that he would give me all the power I needed and he has not been wrong yet."
"Then show me." Rias said. "Show me that you could carry me, all that I am, all the mistakes, the baggage, the blood." She looked up at him, at her Queen, eyes desperate, needing to believe, wanting to...something clicked and Ichigo knew that now was the time.
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The door to the what looked like an old school building, creaked open as a girl knocked lightly. She hesitated, looking in to see no one. "Hello?" She called. No one answered. "Kurosaki-kun?" No answer. Inoue Orihime hesitated, she was not one for trespassing, but it had been so long since she had seen her friend and she could sense him in this building….or something like that. The sensation was odd and distinct now that she was here.
She took in a breath and stepped into the building, hoping whoever owned it would be understanding. It had been a long day for her, saying her goodbyes to Tatsuki and the others, packing up the previous night, one last sleepover. Then the early start to get her stuff to the new apartment, unpack, make a lunch, then go to see Ichigo again. She had felt his presence for a moment there. It had become muted before he left, now that she was standing here in the building she remembered what it felt like. That time she had sought him out in that warehouse, he had been there but not, she had been forced to use her power to break the barrier.
But what was she thinking, how would Kurosaki-kun be in that situation again? The building was well furnished and had a woman's touch, or more than one. Orihime slipped through another open door leading to room with two couches, one shower in the corner and a desk. She followed her sense of Kurosaki around the desk and came to a stop. She could sense him, sense him right here in front of her, but there was nothing. She leaned forward and down she could faintly see something etched into the wood.
She used her finger to trace the outline of a circle...she stood up and took a breath, pausing to make sure that she felt Kurosaki's soul before her. His fire was as it had always been, warm, protective…. but there was something new, it had changed. She opened her eyes and set her will. Light flared around hairpins, her power at its most base was the rejection of phenomena. She used it for healing and defenses, as this came naturally, but just as she had pierced the barrier of the Vizards she was going to pierce whatever was between her and her friend. "I reject!" Four lights shot out from her hairpins, lines of orange intersecting like a door, and the space in between them vanished, forced out of reality by the godlike power of this sweet young girl. She stepped through without hesitation, pulling the part of her power she had used back to her as the door closed and new space filled it.
She was somewhat surprised to step into...something like a stadium box. It had windows like a sports box, but each window had a different scene on it. There were comfortable looking chairs, a table with sandwich, stuff laid out with expensive looking healthy drinks in a tasteful display of ice art….and there were people. In fact she almost ran into a boy he was a few inches taller than her with blonde hair, a little messy, but not quite to the level of Kurosaki. He was staring at her, a sandwich half in his mouth, eyes wide as they flicked down to her chest before choking.
The sound brought other eyes to her, people her age, many very beautiful, or, in the boy's case, about half as good looking as Kurosaki-Kun. She frowned in concern as he actually looked to be choking. "I reject." She said and orange light shrouded him, wiping what was choking him from existence.
"Wa-wa-wa-what?" The boy fell back.
Inoue gave them her best smile. "I am so sorry for the intrusion; I came here looking for Kurosaki-Kun."
She had never seen a face fall so quickly as the boy she had saved "Of course you are." He muttered.
There was a long pause as she noted the even more intense scrutiny of the tall blue haired girl and the dark haired one with the glasses. "Oh, right. Um, I'm Inoue Orihime, a friend of Kurosaki from his hometown."
The girl with glasses blinked. "The transfer student." The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath, making a motion with her hand which caused the others in the room to relax. "And I am Sona Sitri, Student Council President of Kuoh Academy."
"Oh that means you're my new Kaichou, we did not have one of those back where I lived." She kept her smile. "And you are all not human, hmm."
"You can just sense it, like he can." Sona asked.
"Umm…."
"What's your relationship with Ichigo?" The blue haired girl asked.
"Tsubasa." Sona chided.
"Childhood friends." Orihime replied.
"Um," Reya said, "I think a better question is 'how did she get here', because it was not teleportation."
Sona favored her with a smile. "That is most wise and correct." She nodded at Orihime. "Be welcome, Ms. Inoue, as a guest to this Rating Game viewing."
"Oh, thank you." That was a relief, the window like screen shifted and...and there he was. Her heart soared at the sight of him armored, with a blade at his back. He was stepping away from a gorgeous girl, his face set as it always was when he fought. She could tell he cared about those behind him. "You got your powers back!"
Tsubasa sighed loudly at her expression. "That's another one." Saji cursed under his breath.
Sona turned back to look at Kurosaki-Kun, as did Tsubasa, and Inoue saw in their eyes what she saw in Rukia's eyes, they loved him. Just as she did, it made her heart hurt and soar to see it, to know his effect, to know who he was.
"Please come sit down Ms. Inoue," Sona said, "We can watch from here and I will do my best to explain what is happening." Orihime noticed that the girl had pulled out what looked like a Knight chess piece and set it on the table beside her.
She walked over and gently sat at her side, finding the chair to be quite comfortable, but she could have been sitting on glass and she would have been comfortable because she could see him, she could feel him. He was still muffled somewhat, but whatever had changed he was still, at his core, the same, he was still their Guardian.
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Zangetsu watched as the last bits of the gold chain fell out of his shoulder. Left behind was a pauldron of gold, the chain became molten as it slipped off the building. He followed it down watching it twist, as if a living thing. An internal light grew bright as they fell, as the metal pressed and ran, shifting into something else.
They hit water level and the impact sent a shock of steam half way up the buildings. Zangetsu endured the sudden discomfort as he waited. The water rippled as something else rose from the water, and he just stared. He, Zangetsu, former shard of the Quincy King, was in shock. He understood….he understood what was happening, what had been copied from him.
It was a secret only he truly knew, that the boy whom he served, wielded an incomplete tool. From the very beginning, from the first moment of awakening, the way it had happened, how it had continued. It had all been missing something, a core of power that all Shinigami possessed, save Ichigo Kurosaki.
They called it Asauchi, the first and perhaps truest form of Zanpakuto. The first blade from which a soul shaped forth the being that would one day be the blade of their soul. It was something that Ichigo had never possessed, for He had always been with him, the piece of a greater being sent to protect. In truth, the part of him that was White stood as the being much closer to Ichigo Kurosaki's True Zanpakuto. Yet even he was missing the core, for there had never been one….until now. The golden katana that floated before him, the weapon formed by the Dead God and, as it had severed the connection to the Quincy King, so too was by this act was the severance of the link to the Soul King. He looked up at the sky which boiled as Ichigo Kurosaki spoke the words to draw him out, to awaken their power.
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"I am the Guardian seeking domination and supremacy of the self."
"I am that who rejects the infinite, I am he who denies the dream."
"I shall become the Blade, before which fate and reason die."
"And I shall take you to the heights of our shining future."
"Engage, Zangetsu!"
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Do you people have any idea how long I slaved away at that last paragraph! ever since I started this fic I wanted to so something that would help make clear what place Ichigo was being given in the dxd story. I think I got with this and that makes me happy (ok thats a lie, with transformation words I always feel like I could do better but you have to choose something time). I have been waiting since the start for this moment and it feels good to reach it.
Now I think I will try something new here at the end, and put a few comments that I found great or that had questions I feel I can answer. Anyway I hope you all enjoy.
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Revan1989
Great chapter. I really enjoyed Ichigo's introduction to Riser.
On the other hand Akeno's introduction to White was a bit of a mixed bag. As a one time thing it would be okay, but if you plan to build on this? I cant see me enjoying it (it would be really weird if a part of Ichigo's soul has his own girlfriend/mate/whatever).
(Its odd, I don't consider White and Ichigo a different person, White is a part of the whole of Ichigo, at least as I understand it. In all technically any girlfriend or lover that Ichigo has is also a girlfriend and lover of white. Akeno was there, drawn into his inner world right after she had straddled him and very much had turned him on. White is his instinct unbound restraint and Ichigo does like the girl and respect her for what she had done with Asia. So White which is still just a part of Ichigo saw no reason to let out a little steam. As to where this might go well =) you will just have to wait and see)
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Jollyreade23
love the new chapter, I've been with fic for a while now and just recently I started played bleach brave souls and on the app they recently released the Segunda Etapa forms for both Grimmjow and Nelliel and since I remembered that you are in fact using Nell I figured I'd give you a link to the pic .fyi/characters/61332-nelliel-tu-odelschwanck-cfyow-version
(Holy fucking shit thank you, I love it, though I think it is supposed to be a form beyond Segunda Etapa as the pic show her fused with the Hogyoku but that is sure as shit not going to stop me from using this, thank you)
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Haney
This story is so good I love it keep up the good work. Just one little thing Riser is not actually the heir to the Phoenix clan, but like I said love the story can't wait to see what happens next!
(Crap that was my bad, I will see if I can go about fixing that plot hole or at least pretend it never existed thank you)
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Mana's Cinder
One thing I definitely do not like is this thing at the end with some nerd watching the energy readings in Kuoh and how he's reporting on it. I mean, there's definitely other interesting energies being used in that area all the time. It's mentioned as a "No Patrol, No Enter" area, and yet he somehow notices a flare of spirit energy? I don't think it's really anything that's either their business or anything they can do anything about considering the whole "Stay away from that place" order.
(To clarify the scene that guy was just scanning part of Japan not just Kuoh and that was an anomaly that he had to report but did not think it a big deal.)
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Biblio288
Lots of fun thing to read as well. I am never going to get tired of how you have the characters interact in this story. You are taking a most unique approach to Asia, I have literally never seen anyone try anything similar with her.
(While I am sure someone has done a few things similar with Aisa, though I have never read anything like it either. I just wanted to do a few fun new things with my story and part of it was, what would happen if the main effect of Asia was not Issei or Ichigo but Akeno and how would that Asia react to pleasure, lust and affection. Combine that with my own ideas on how a devil transformation changes people and my mind came up with what you see here.)
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TigerJacob
Interesting take on raiser and while you might be going in a different direction than just pure scumbag I have to question his comment on "being the strongest of his generation" is that coming from raiser and his ego or you? Cause sairog exists and that's all that needs to be said.
(Very true, but Riser is arrogant and as far as I know he had never fought Sairog though he did learn to fight from him. In my mind this is more of a ….Eh I can take him… style of thought. It is not backed up by anything and Riser himself if he really things about would know that, but why do that when you have fourteen girls you can have fun with to sooth your ego….I say fourteen because I don't think Riser was banging his sister)
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Yami-Guy
I didn't get the chance to respond to your AN before you updated but ill put here anyway. I have to say you either didn't bring it up or just not mention the other side of the coin for the whole harem debacle. Point one is simply why would a Devil care about fairness? Sure it is Ichigo but at the same time if he is being changed due to his new physiology why wouldn't some aspects of his being change too? Devils will probably by default be much more greedy and selfish than the average human.
So why the hell would a devil want to share in an emotion which is by and far the most selfish of all...aka Love? Yes you could bring up the whole harems are many people in love with the same person bit but I will contest that with, 'People are naturally hypocritical...it is expected'. If Harems are so common among devils then there will be a standard that will probably be observed. Sure love may happen in a harem situation( which is iffy by circumstance ) but you don't hear about harem members going around with other people. What you are describing is not a harem but an open relationship with emotional support. Or you know...a swingers club.
(So these are all good points and I did not mean to imply that it would be something like a swingers club. In my mind this is still about the emotion of love and how it affects all the members of a group, I contend that Devils seem to have a different way of processing emotions such as love, lust, and all the others such as being able to love more than a dozen persons in a romantic way and still be somewhat sane after thousands of years. I am going to explore more into the ways such beings change by being in relationships like this and interconnections between the members of the group itself might get a little but weird but that is the fun of fanfiction about and Ecchi universe.
Also about Ichigo, he is part devil now and that transformation has affected him much more than the others, but he is still an oddball hybrid so things are going to strange about him.
Lastly I am glad about the myriad of people who committed on this topic, it was what I was hoping for when I wrote about it. I love reading people's ideas about it and seeing where they disagree. So thank you to all who responded about this, the commets have given me a lot to think about.)
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(Also below is my fav comment of last chapter)
Regfurby
(Somehow, I get the feeling that Asia would enjoy being the meat in a four-way sandwich…)
=)
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Hope you all enjoyed I plan on doing this after every chapter if things stay this fun.
Have a good day
Fanboy913