Chapter 47 The Way of the Sword
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 46 and the final story of volume 8 (well my volume 8). Now the focus turns to Genevieve Arcana or Jeanne of the Hero faction. Get ready for some fun boys and girls because this chapter is gonna be very interesting.
(Jeanne's P.O.V)
'Hero's always show up at the last minute.' it was a phrase that both defined my life and was my life's goal. Even as a child I was obsessed with Hero's and that phrase was one of my favorites from a show I used to watch. My name is Genevieve Arcana, but those close to me call me Jeanne. I'm a second year at Nochizuri Prepatory School one of the most exclusive all-girls schools in Japan but I wasn't born here. I was actually born in France, and my life changed when I was six years old.
In addition to heroes I was also into kendo of all things. Then again, it shouldn't be that surprising since my ancestor is Joan of Arc, a fact I would learn soon after the day that changed my life. I was on the way back from a kendo class when everything changed and not for the better. My mother and I were walking on a regular street when a mugger came after us. Since my mother was a kendo champion in her own right, I figured that she'd fight him off easily and then we'd move on. Unfortunately for me, this was no ordinary mugger. The man snapped his fingers and sprouted black wings which shocked me but what shocked me more was when a small rapier materialized in my mother's hand and I felt a strange sensation appear around us. I would later learn that this was a barrier cast by my mother so nobody else got involved in the fight.
"Mother what's going on" I said nervously. I had no idea what was going on but one look at my mother's face told me that things were about to get ugly.
"Genevieve run home dear, Mommy will deal with this guy" my mother said sternly. My mother was usually very calm and kind so it was an odd change.
"But" I protested. I couldn't leave my mother. It goes against everything I felt as a hero.
"DO IT!" my mother yelled out. My mom never yelled and that meant trouble.
"Okay" I replied weakly as I ran from the scene. Arriving home I was so terrified that I couldn't eat or sleep. An hour passed before my mother appeared and she was incredibly bloody. Alive but bloody.
"Mommy what happened?" I said tearfully. After all I was a six year old girl and seeing my mother with blood all over her was not a pleasant experience
"We need to talk dear but first I'm going to take a shower." my mother said calmly.
"Okay" I replied nervously. As my mother went to take a shower, I found myself with more questions than answers.
(Scene Skip)
After my mother's shower she sat me down in our living room, "Listen darling what I'm about to say is a secret. Your father and I didn't want you to know about it until you were ready, but that Fallen Angel changed everything" my mom said nervously.
"Fallen angel" I asked nervously. Hey I was six years old. I knew angels existed from the bible but not fallen angels. My mother went on to tell me about my true legacy as Joan of Arc's descendant and about the power Blade Blacksmith, my sacred gear that hadn't awakened yet. I also learned that my father was actually an exorcist and the fallen angel that attacked us wanted revenge because my dad killed his comrades on a mission. She went on to explain the supernatural word to me and I couldn't help but smile. Now I could be a real hero instead of just watching them on television.
(Scene Skip)
Present day
"Hey Jeanne I'll see you in class" my roommate Momiji said with a smile as she left the room earlier. It was time for another boring day of classes at Nochizuri Prep or Angel Academy as some knew it, and I hated class. I went to this school because my mother and Cao Cao wanted me to get a proper education. What you thought my mother was dead and that's why I left France… not at all. When I was 13 I met Cao Cao and he told me about the Hero Faction, a group of people who were descendant from ancient heroes and that he wanted me to join them. Since I always wanted to be a Hero I naively agreed. My mother and father also agreed but under one condition. That I focus on school as much as possible. Cao Cao agreed and helped out by getting me into Nochizuri Prep when the time came to apply to high school. My school life was pretty boring, well other than this girl Yuuma Amano who transferred in during my first year at school. She was a strange girl and tried to get close to me but since I knew she was a fallen angel I kept her at arm's length. The odd thing was that she left after my first year. Good thing too because I was tempted to kill her so many times.
"Got it" I replied knowing that today was going to be a headache. Why you ask? Because today my kendo club is facing off against Kuoh Academy. Why is that a problem you ask? It's a problem, because the Red Dragon Emperor is there and he knows about me being a part of the freaking Khaos Brigade. You're probably asking why is a group called the Hero Faction, associated with a group called the Khaos Brigade. Well my dear friend Cao Cao failed to mention that detail when I first joined and I found out by accident. Sure I was pissed, but he explained that he was trying to save the Supernatural world. It was pretty arrogant but Cao Cao was freaking strong. The worst part is I was pretty sure that by now the devils at the school knew about me and would be watching me closely once I arrived.
(Scene Skip)
"Here we go again" I groaned as we arrived at Kuoh Academy for the match.
"Will you lighten up Jeanne it's just as kendo match. Who knows, maybe that cute guy from Kuoh will be there." my captain said with a gleeful smile which my teammates followed. The cute guy she was referring to was the Red Dragon Emperor Issei Hyoudou. The girls all saw me leave with him before and they bugged me about it for days. Well hopefully this match will get my mind away from everything.
"Maybe" I said back grumpily. Then again I'd be better off if he wasn't there.
(Scene Skip)
'I'm going to freaking kill him for that' I thought in utter fury as I sat by my bench staring right at the Red Dragon Emperor. Why was I so furious? Well when I arrived in the locker room there was the very distinct smell of sex in the locker room. I was a virgin but thanks to some of the more vulgar members of the Khaos Brigade, I knew what sex smelled like. Hell this guy Freed was undressing me with his eyes for the better part of a year when I first joined. I knew that the culprit was the Red Dragon Emperor and one of his women but I didn't know which one.
"Uhh Jeanne calm down. You look like you're about to blow a gasket" my captain said nervously. Shit I must've been leaking my killing intent by mistake.
"Sorry I said bashfully managing to calm myself down. The good news was there was another 30 minute till I had my fights so I could relax. At least until the Red Dragon tried to speak to me mentally.
'For the record it wasn't my idea' he said bashfully through a mental communication link. At least he did it this way because I swore I would've stabbed him with my rapier if we spoke in person devils be damned. Looking towards the crowd, I found him staring at me discreetly with two guys next to him.
'Well next time keep it in your pants. My school isn't called Angel Academy as a joke. Most of the girls here are so pure it would make real angels cringe' I growled. To say my school was filled with naïve princesses would be the understatement of the millennia.
'Yea yea blame my partner. It was her damn idea' he groaned.
'Was she a member of the kendo club' I asked curiously. It was an odd question considering that according to Momiji's source in Kuoh, most of the kendo club hated Issei. But my instincts told me that it was since it would be considered a preemptive strike.
'I don't kiss and tell Jeanne. After all, nobody mentioned our little date in the paper despite all the reporters.'
'THAT WASN'T A!' I started to yell but he cut off the link. I watched him closely and I could tell something was bothering him, but I couldn't tell what it was. All of the sudden the Red Dragon Emperor who got up and left the hall. I was sort of confused until somebody else tried to speak to me with a mental link.
'Good luck in your match Jeanne. Meanwhile, I'm going to have a chat with the Red Dragon Emperor' Cao Cao said whimsically before cutting off the link.
I couldn't believe it. My boss was here in one of the devil strongholds and he was about to have a friendly chat with the Red Dragon Emperor. This day couldn't get more annoying if I tried.
(Issei's P.O.V)
As I tried to apologize to Genevieve, I paused when I sensed an extremely powerful aura trying to contact me. 'Hello there Red Dragon Emperor' a person said into my head. Since the person clearly intended to speak to me, I was forced to cut off the link with Jeanne.
'So mystery person who are you and what do you want with me.' I said calmly. Luckily for me, I was with Matsuda and Motohama because the girls would've realized I was having a mental conversation with somebody not named Ddraig since I got over that weakness a while ago.
'I wanted to thank you for taking care of Jeanne the other day.' he said calmly knowing that I'd realize what was going on.
I was shocked since it meant that the leader of the Khaos Brigade was here and watching what happened. I guess he knew about Jeanne's concerns in regards to the devils and came to make sure we didn't capture her. "Since I'm assuming you're here at Kuoh go to the rooftop of the main building. Don't worry about the others, they won't interfere unless they have a reason to" I said calmly. Rias and Sona might do something but only if forced to. With all the students here there was a buffer and it helped out negotiations rather nicely.
"Very well then. I'll be there in a second" the person said calmly. Once I opened my eyes I immediately sprang into action.
"Dude are you okay" Matsuda said nervously since my eyes were closed for a good few minutes.
"I'm fine man, I just need to get some air" I said calmly before getting up. I made my way out of the hall and once I knew that nobody could see me, I used my magic to get to the rooftop where the person in question was surely waiting.
(Scene Skip)
When I arrived on the rooftop there was a single person waiting for me. He had short dark black hair and black eyes. He was wearing a dark black blazer with gold trim along the sides of the shirt and dark black pants. I recognized the uniform and was pleasantly shocked, "Rising Sun Academy. I'm impressed" I said offhandedly. The uniform the young man wore belonged to Asahi (Rising sun) Academy. It was the male equivalent of Angel Academy and one of the hardest schools in Japan to get to.
"Thank you. I admit that I don't have much time for class because of my side work but it's a great school" the young man said with a snide smile.
"Issei Hyoudou Red Dragon Emperor" I said politely before snapping my fingers and activating a special barrier to keep our conversation private. It was a barrier that even Sona and Rias couldn't break and ensured that we'd be left alone.
"Cao Cao Leader of the Hero Faction" the young man replied as he offered his hand. I figure he knew that the barrier was to keep the conversation private so he was forthcoming.
"You do realize how ironic it is that you call yourself the Hero faction, but work with a group like the Khaos Brigade" I replied before shaking his hand.
"Jeanne said the same thing when she found out about the true nature of my group." Cao Cao chuckled.
"I imagine. I mean having a group of people who were descendant from heroes makes sense, but you should've probably picked better company." I smirked. I was kinda annoyed that he didn't react more but I guess he knew how smart I was.
"I'm surprised that you're so calm. I mean you have the leader of a group like mine in front of you and you're not even attacking." He said calmly.
"That's because I'm not stupid. You came onto a Devil stronghold by yourself. You wouldn't do that unless you were either extremely arrogant or had an extremely powerful weapon. Amusingly enough it appears to be both" I replied. I couldn't tell what he had next to him but I knew instinctively it was dangerous and if it was dangerous for me it was a powerful weapon.
"I see so you could sense it. I thought I concealed most of its power" Cao Cao smirked as he focused his energy and a large blue spear shimmered to life next to him. The ornate design of the spear was something and I could feel the dregs of power coming from it.
'I never thought I'd see that weapon again' Ddraig said nervously.
Care to fill in the details Ddraig' I said nervously almost afraid of the answer. The power coming from that thing was insane.
"What that young man is holding is THE Holy Spear. The original weapon of the Lord Almighty and the most powerful of all the 13 Longinus. This guy is a serious powerhouse,"
I frowned because I realized that my first instinct was very much right. This guy is dangerous and I mean legit life threatening dangerous. 'I see. So basically even with all of us together'
"You'd pretty much all die. Outside of you and your rival the only people who could last more than 5 minutes against this guy are Bikou and Arthur" Ddraig explained.
"I see" I replied. So the situation was as bad as I thought.
"So are you finished speaking with Ddraig." Cao Cao smirked.
"Yes and we both agree that us fighting would be bad for me. So why have you really come?" I asked calmly.
"I suppose I was curious about you. You've dealt a crippling blow to a third of the Khaos Brigade."
"Really" I replied with intrigue. To offer up this kind of information was a beautiful thing. I wasn't going to say no.
"That's right" Cao Cao replied. "The Khaos Brigade is made up of three factions under Ophis's rule. The first is the Old Maou faction run by Shalba Beelzebub which you've decimated. The second one is the hero faction run by me. The final one is a faction run by Rizelvim Lucifer though I don't know much about his group admittedly."
"Why are you telling me this" I wondered. It made no sense at all and I couldn't read the guy.
"Because I'm curious what you'll do with the information."
"I see. So shall we get back to the match? Jeanne will probably be nervous since she doesn't know what we're going to do.
"Sure. I haven't seen Jeanne face off against normal humans before. Though depending on who she fights, I may not have to worry about that"
I was slightly shocked that he knew about Murayama but only slightly, "Alright why not." So we made our way back and watched the rest of the battle. Ironically enough Jeanne did face off against Murayama and Jeanne was pretty pissed when she realized that Murayama was the one I had sex with in the locker room. That's a story for another day though.
(Genevieve P.O.V)
An aggravating day finally came to an end when I arrived back in my dorm room. Luckily for me Momiji was gone, so I had a moment to myself to reflect on all the irritation I felt that day. The fact that Cao Cao spoke with the Red Dragon for ten minutes bothered me also since Cao Cao was unpredictable. Luckily, they came back peacefully just before my matches began and I hoped that was the end of my issues. Sadly I was wrong. It turns out, the one that the Red Dragon had sex with was Murayama my biggest kendo rival. I only found out because she whispered as much to me just as we were about to start the finals. I almost used my powers on her out of annoyance but held back at the last moment because I didn't want to blow my cover. The fact that she pushed me to my limit didn't help my mood but ultimately I won. Luckily for me, neither Cao Cao nor Issei came to see me after the match so I was able to go home without any issues. With my reflection done, it was time to find out what Issei and Cao Cao were talking about. Naturally, my cell phone rang at that time and it was Cao Cao.
"Hello Jeanne I hope you've recovered from that match" Cao Cao teased realizing that he saw me about to use my powers.
"Let's just say she was a tougher opponent then I thought." I lied smoothly since he would give me grief for what really happened.
"Well that's no surprise since she's a devil" Cao Cao revealed much to my shock.
"Murayama's a devil. That's impossible" I screamed. There's no way she could've concealed her power from me.
"She's a devil Jeanne, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Just great, my kendo rival was a real life opponent, "So that means I might have to face off against her sometime soon" I groaned in annoyance.
"Sooner than you might think actually. We have a new mission and I was curious if you'd be joining us"
"Sorry can't. I'm one of the representatives for the student council and there's a big class trip to Kyoto next week. I'm gonna be swamped with stuff" I groaned. I don't know why I joined the student council but I was starting to regret it.
"Well that's a lovely coincidence." Cao Cao said in a whimsical voice.
"Why?" I asked nervously. I had a feeling I knew what was coming and it spelled trouble
"Because our mission is actually in Kyoto" Cao Cao said with a stern smile.
"Ughh, what is it" I groaned. Missions with Cao Cao generally ended with a lot of headaches and if I was dragged into it by accident, I wouldn't be happy.
"We're going to kidnap the leader of the Kyoto youkai the nine-tailed fox Yasaka and use her power to summon Great Red" Cao Cao said calmly.
"Excuse me" I said in disbelief.
"You heard exactly what I said Jeanne"
"Yes I did but I can't believe you'd be that reckless. I'll meet up with you guys once I arrive in Kyoto but not until then." I replied. If they were summoning Great Red, I'd have to be there even if I didn't want to.
"Fine fine" Cao Cao said sarcastically before hanging up.
"That bastard" I groaned. I can't believe he's up to something that so idiotic. Well the good news is that there aren't any devils in the area so we wouldn't have too many issues.
"Hey Genevieve you're never gonna guess what my source in Kuoh told me" Momiji said with a cheeky smile as she abruptly walked into the room. I had to focus quickly because my personality at Angel Academy was very different from the one I used with Cao Cao.
"What did she say?" I said sweetly hiding my nervousness.
"Well we were exchanging gossip stories and it turns out that Kuoh Academy is going to Kyoto for a class trip next week just like us. That means the guy from the kendo tournament will be there" Momiji smiled since she wasn't aware of the real nature of my relationship with Issei.
'FUCK!' I thought to myself trying not to curse up a storm. This was the last thing I needed after the day I had. "I see" I replied weakly as that was the only thing I could say. The class trip was going to be an even bigger headache then I imagined and it meant that the next time I see the Red Dragon and Murayama they might be my opponents. Oh goodie.
That's it for Chapter 47 and I hope you've enjoyed another unique story. Next chapter Kuoh Academy prepares for the trip to Kyoto and nobody has any idea of what's going on behind the scenes. Things are about to get fun boys and girls so get ready.
