Chapter 31 Red Dragon's Worries
I don't own DxD; I just use its characters and techniques. All credit goes to its creator. Same applies for anything that I used from other animes
Welcome to Chapter 31 everybody. Last time Issei began contemplating just what the Khaos Brigade was after in addition to adding Akeno to his growing group of girls. Later on Vali made his rating game debut and showed everybody just how powerful he could be. Let's see what happens next.
(Issei P.O.V)
(Zephyrdor's 8 pawns 2 knights 2 Rooks Defeated)
As Grayfia made that announcement it was obvious at least to me how the battle was going to play out. 'This guy is way too strong' I thought to myself as I watched my rival go at Zephyrdor.
'Well we knew it was that way for a long time partner.' Ddraig replied
'Yeah' I replied. Ddraig was right and it sucked. Now that he had evil pieces, Vali was far superior to me and I knew it.
Since the battle was finally decided it was time to focus on the other pressing matter. "Hey Sona" I called out wanting one last moment with her before we truly became enemies.
"What is it Issei" Sona asked me with a nervous look on her face. I'm pretty sure she knew what was coming and it was something we both weren't looking forward to
"It's time" I replied softly before kissing her on the lips.
"Issei we're watching the battle" Rias scolded although I could see the jealousy in her eyes.
"Sorry Rias, but what I just did had to be done. I'll see you guys later" I replied as I made my way back to the mansion to begin my training. I got a quick look at Sona's face before I left and we both knew what that kiss meant.
(Irina P.O.V)
As Issei teleported away, everybody was concerned as to why he would leave so suddenly; everybody except for me and Sona of course.
"What's he doing, it's the middle of the battle?" Rias said quizzically.
'Man you're clueless Rias' I thought to myself. "Issei had to leave because he's about to start preparing for the rating game against Sona." I revealed. I could tell that most of the group realized the problem after that.
"I don't see the problem" Rias said nonchalantly. Ughh this is why I hated her so much. I was about to rip her a new one but Sona beat me to it.
"Listen Rias, Issei and I have spent so much time together that our bond is very symbolic. For a dragon that kind of bond is special and going against it is difficult." Sona explained.
"That's right" I added in. "Even when we were kids Issei had very few friends outside of me. Now he's facing one of the few people he truly trusts and it requires a special mentality when combined with his dragonic abilities." I explained.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rias wondered causing me to twitch slightly.
'This is ridiculous, I can't believe he's served Rias for this long she's clueless.' I thought to himself. "Me and Sona are probably some of the only people he truly trusts right now. Matsuda and Motohama were his buddies but I doubt outside of them he was close to anybody. So facing off against Sona will be tough.
"Wait a minute. He has relationships with so many people and yet he only trusts Sona and you. How's that possible?" Rias asked me. I imagine she included herself in that group and to find out that he didn't trust her was a bit shocking.
"It's possible because the relationship dynamic is very different. Xenovia started sleeping with him because she needed something to help her adjust to her new life and Issei was an easy out. He also felt guilty because he exposed Xenovia to the truth in order to protect me." I explained.
"It's true. I sleep with him occasionally but our relationship is purely about sex at this point. We really don't talk that much" Xenovia admitted.
"He slept with Tsubaki once because she walked in on me and Issei having sex. He went along with it but honestly he was reluctant to do it" Sona added much to my amusement. Of course what Sona didn't say is that Serafall was with her during the time and I imagine that would've been an awkward reveal.
"What about Murayama?"
"He slept with Murayama to ensure that the supernatural world was kept secret. Does he enjoy it, no doubt about it, but it was more business than pleasure." I admitted. What I also didn't say is that it was Rias's fault but at this point it didn't matter.
"Rias, Issei is very much like a knight. Loyalty is everything to him and now he knows that he must get in the way of Sona's dream and defeat her. His loyalty to you and his love for Sona are clashing against each other. That's a difficult mentality to deal with" Kiba said calmly having understood everything.
"Exactly" I replied. I was a bit furious that Kiba seems to have dismissed Issei sleeping with Tsubaki but then again Kiba wasn't the romance type from everything I'd seen. Hell knowing Sona she probably invited Tsubaki in secret hoping that Issei could get Tsubaki over her crush.
(Zephyrdor is defeated. The winner is Vali Lucifer) Grayfia announced bringing us back to the battle.
"Ufuffu it's all over guys. You missed a pretty bad beat down" Akeno teased knowing that most of us really wanted to watch the battle. Akeno was one of the few people who kept watching the match though I could tell she wanted to say something also. I kinda wanted to see the end of the fight, but that crap with Issei got in the way. Then again, I also realized that Vali would win easily.
"Well let's get going everybody." Rias said calmly as we teleported back to the Gremory mansion. Maybe it was time that I have another chat with my childhood friend.
(Issei P.O.V)
The time had finally come for me to face off against Sona and between that and Vali's dominant display it was truly tough on me mentally. Knowing that my rival was that strong and knowing that my first opponent was my top mate meant that my desire to help my mate and my desire to prove myself were clashing with one another.
"Partner is everything alright" Ddraig asked me nervously sensing my unease. During our training, Ddraig could probably tell that something was off and he was curious how that was affecting me.
"I'm fine. Time for my bath" I replied to Ddraig wanting to end the conversation right here. Maybe a bath would do me some good.
(Scene Skip)
Ever since I moved into the new house one thing hasn't changed. Every time I did private training, I ended up in the bath with one of the girls from the house and there were never any exceptions. Normally it was Rias, who seemed to view this as our alone time and although it was mostly for chatting, occasionally it led to me fucking her in the ass. Akeno did join me the other day which was a surprise but I figured that wouldn't be a common occurrence. This time, Xenovia of all people was waiting for me in the bath completely naked. "How long have you been waiting Xenovia?" I asked curiously. I was training for close to an hour and I doubted the match lasted very long after I left.
"Irina gave me some valuable insight into your habits so it's only been a few minutes" Xenovia said calmly much to my surprise. Outside of the rare mission Rias had for us, the only time I was with Xenovia was when she was shouting my name as I pounded her pussy. This would be a unique chance to have a conversation with her and I was planning to take it.
"So why have you decided to join me for this bath. I would've pegged Irina as the one to join me" I smirked as I went to grab my special towel in order to hide little Issei while we spoke. Knowing Irina, she was the only one who figured out what was bothering me and could help me through the problem.
"Because I'm the best one suited to talk to you right now. Irina was going to but I told her that I should do it" Xenovia said rather calmly.
"I see. I'm guessing that you guys spoke about why I kissed Sona after I left"
"That's right" Xenovia replied with a small twitch. I was curious why she was annoyed but I figured that was better left unasked.
"Sona is my number one and knowing that I may have to crush her dreams is making this difficult. Seeing Vali dominate Zephyrdor's peerage didn't help" I explained. Sure I was looking forward to slaughtering Saji but outside of him, I really didn't have a problem with the Sitri peerage. The fact that I knew about Sona's dream made it even worse because I knew that the only way her dream could be taken seriously, is if she performed incredibly well in these rating games.
"I know exactly how you're feeling right now. I had a similar problem after learning about God's Death." Xenovia replied.
I paused for a second to think about what she meant and I came up to the simple conclusion, "You mean the fact that you had to think about everything you ever did. You wondered where your loyalties truly lied. You wondered what you were going to do next." I explained.
"Exactly." Xenovia replied. Much to my surprise Xenovia grabbed my towel and moved it away exposing little Issei. Xenovia then sat down in front of me so little Issei was out in the open and her back was pressed against my chest. Man it was taking everything I had not to fuck her here and now.
"It's ironic actually, I was given a chance to leave Rias's peerage and join Sona. However I declined it." I said with a chuckle trying to hold my arousal at bay.
"Why would you do that? It's obvious your loyalty was never with Rias." Xenovia questioned.
"Because it would've complicated matters at school. I suppose in theory I could've stayed in the ORC and worked everything out but it would feel wrong." I replied awkwardly both from the shock of the comment and my still growing arousal. The more I thought about it the more I wondered exactly that. Why did I join Rias in the first place? Why couldn't I have been with Sona the whole time?
"As odd as it sounds partner. Your loyalty to the Sitri girl is why you couldn't do it." Ddraig said out loud.
"What do you mean Welsh Dragon?" Xenovia wondered.
"First off girl you can call me Ddraig. You've earned that right as one of my partner's mates" my partner snorted.
"Okay Ddraig, what do you mean?"
"My partner and the Sitri agreed that he would join the Gremory girl to help with Riser Phenex but that's not the only reason. The Sitri wanted my partner to protect Rias and help fulfill her dream."
"I see what you mean Ddraig. Rias desires to be the most powerful rating game competitor while Sona simply wants to be a teacher. Somebody with my raw power is better suited to be with Rias and Sona knew it."
"Precisely, I doubt either of you planned to have the relationship you two ultimately do when you first made the agreement. However, to ask you to change that agreement would be unfair to the Gremory and to you." Ddraig acknowledged.
"I'm confused" Xenovia replied.
"Basically my partner and the Sitri were never supposed to fall for each other. She used sex to try to lure me out but she never imagined that she'd enjoy spending so much time with him and that she'd enjoy sex"
"I see. So what now?" Xenovia asked.
"My partner will do everything he can to focus on the fact that for a little bit of time the Sitri is his enemy."
"Is there anything I can do to help" Xenovia wondered innocently despite her very intentional position.
"You can start by helping my partner with his boner. You've been pressing your body against him for one time and he's barely staying sane as is. I imagine you knew that when you straddled him like that" Ddraig teased.
"Way to ruin the moment Ddraig" I retorted not unaware of Xenovia's intention.
"I figured that if you started thinking with your penis like you used to it would make things easier." Ddraig retorted.
"That's why I did this. I figured if Issei stopped thinking about Sona as a mate he could focus on the battle" Xenovia said smiling.
I couldn't help but laugh since that was true in many ways. Hell, one of the reasons Sona and I had sex so much during our training year was because I was more focused that way. "Here we go" I chuckled before giving into my desire to grope Xenovia at last. As Xenovia's moans of pleasure began to fill the room I felt myself calming down and I was able to start focusing on the battle at hand.
(Scene Skip)
After the bath I arrived in my room where Irina of course was waiting for me. "So did you enjoy having sex with Xenovia" Irina growled, the disapproval clearly on her face.
"Yes I did. Of course I enjoy being with all of you" I replied diplomatically since Irina did give up the bath time to Xenovia for my sake.
"Good then let's get to bed but this time we'll keep it to cuddling" Irina smiled knowing that I actually enjoyed cuddling as much as sex. Any concerns I may have had were gone and Ddraig was right that I was better off thinking with my penis. Now it was time to prepare to fight Sona.
(Scene Skip)
Rias gathered all of us in a clearing to begin our preparations for the battle against Sona. I noticed she was a bit upset, which I figured was because I skipped my morning training and everything that came with it. Irina was with us but she was mostly watching. "So everyone, as you know we're about to face off against Sona in a rating game and we have to start our planning right now. Despite her being my best friend I don't actually know much about Sona's battle strength so Issei can you tell us what you do know" Rias instructed. It was an easy task since Sona and I did talk strategy once in a while after sex so at the very least I knew who was a threat on her peerage and who was not.
"No problem and this should be fairly quick. There are only 2 major threats on her peerage as of right now. The first is Tsubaki and her Sacred Gear Mirror Alice. It's a power that lets her reflect the damage from any attack that's sent at her. The second is Saji and his new powers related to Vritra's sacred gear." I explained.
"New power" Rias questioned not aware of any new powers.
"Old man Azazel had the other gears of the prison dragon and gave them to Sona before the Youth Devil meeting." I said to Rias's shock. "The good news with Saji is that I can pummel him into the ground even with the power boost" I smirked.
"I see so what about the rest of the girls." Rias wondered.
"As far as I know, they're just regular humans, which means that going power for power is useless" I said calmly.
"So what do you think she'll do?" Rias asked curiously.
"I can't be certain but I know for a fact that she'll look to disable Gasper first and send Tsubaki towards Akeno. In the scenarios I've been able to come up with those two things are consistent" I replied.
"How many scenarios were you able to come up with?"
"Six actually" I replied.
"You have to be joking. How are there that many scenarios" Rias gasped in shock.
"Because of the advantages we have, Sona has to find a way to counter them without getting slaughtered" I explained. This battle will be a mental chess game between me and Sona and it was going to be a fun one.
"I see. So you'll explain the scenario's and we can get started" Rias said nervously as she finally understood that this battle was going to be a chess match and Sona was as good at chess as anybody, well besides me.
(Scene Skip)
(Sona's P.O.V)
As I watched my peerage train for the rating game tomorrow I was about as nervous as I'd ever been. Normally I wouldn't fear Rias, since I'm way smarter than her, but thanks to Issei it's a whole different story. Issei was every bit as smart as I was if not smarter and he had the power to make my life miserable if he figured out my tactics. I was in trouble.
"Are you sure will be okay Sona? I mean its Issei we're dealing with" Tsubaki asked walking next to me.
"I don't' know Tsubaki. Issei's tactical mind is something special and if I guess wrong we're in trouble" I admitted.
"The latest information suggests that we'll be facing off in a department store and we won't be able to damage the store. That will make things far harder for Issei due to the power of his team. We don't need those big attacks to win" Tsubaki said calmly.
"I know but is that enough" I replied curiously. There were about four different scenarios that I came up with based on Issei's knowledge of my team. Unfortunately for Issei, his knowledge of my team was incomplete.
(Issei's P.O.V)
As I lay in bed the night before the rating game I had to admit today was far more interesting than I expected. With our plan finally in place I thought I'd have some time to relax but I got a phone call from a surprising source. It was Murayama and she was curious how our summer in hell was going.
"Partner, are you ready? This will be your toughest battle yet." Ddraig reminded me.
"I know Ddraig but it has to be done." I replied with a smile on my face. Sona was going to push me to my limits and I couldn't wait. I was about to go to sleep when I got a knock on the door. I was actually surprised when it was Asia outside waiting for me since I really haven't spent much time with her since she became a member of Rias's peerage.
"You can come in Asia" I replied. Typically I kept the door unlocked because Xenovia Irina and Akeno liked to sneak into my bed for some late night fun. The fact that Asia came in was a surprise. Even more surprising was that she was wearing a light blue nightgown that my parents got for her.
"Can I ask you something" Asia said nervously.
"Sure" I replied as I leaned up in the bed; this time I had my pants on so there was no awkwardness between me and her.
"What would you have done if I had run from you that day" Asia asked nervously.
'That day' was when Sona and I revealed that we were devils and helped Asia with her Raynare issue. Of course at the time I was acting as a friend. "Honestly I would've let you go and simply dealt with Raynare when the opportunity came" I admitted. It was a big time gamble that Sona and I took that night but it was one that worked out in our favor. Given what I know now I was glad that the gamble worked.
"Thank you." Asia replied glad for my honesty. "So are you ready to face her." Asia wondered referring to Sona.
"Yes I am and I have all of you to thank" I replied with a smile on my face. I was no longer the man nervous about confronting Sona and ruining her dream. Now I was the man who was going to see just how great Sona's resolve was and if she was capable of overcoming the odds to stop me.
"Okay I have just one more question" Asia wondered timidly. This was odd since she was being even more reserved than usual.
"Of course" I replied with my smile.
"Is it alright if I cuddle with you tonight? I'm nervous too and Xenovia always tells me how nice it is to cuddle with you" Asia asked innocently.
I was curious just how much Xenovia told her but I didn't mind cuddling with her since Asia was in a sexual blind spot as far as I was concerned. "Sure no problem" I replied before moving my sheets to the side so she could hop in.
"Thanks" Asia replied before getting into the bed. I put my arm around her like I would the others and she quickly fell asleep with me not far behind. Tomorrow I would face Sona and it was sure to be the most interesting battle I ever had.
That's it for Chapter 31 everybody and I hope you enjoyed it. I felt like doing this chapter from the perspective of Sona and Issei because the whole Sona vs Issei aspect is a fun part of this story. Xenovia's aspect was also for fun since it's true that her loyalty was also tested after the Excalibur incident. Next chapter is something I rarely do and it's Sona vs Rias. This battle is going to be fun and I hope you guys enjoy it.