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FICTION

High School DxD, New, BorN, Hero and other products related to the DxD Series are all owned by Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo and TNK.

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Chapter 19: Birbs! Birbs everywhere!

After such an enthusiastic nightly stroll, I had partly expected to end up dealing with a quirky morning. Just not of the overt-adorable kind.

As I felt my eyes opening up at something pecking at my exposed cheek, I slowly woke up with a closeup of a certain tiny dragon staring at me with an impassive red-eyed stare. Smiling at the sight, I sighed. "'Morning, Kimi-tan."

Her lips twitched upwards. "Morning, Papa."

I half snorted when she softly headbutted on my cheek, with my fingers carefully reaching up and scratching her chin. The action gained a pleasant noise out of the familiar, and I slowly adjusted myself on my bed as to accommodate the fiery gal by my chest.

But while I had some plans to enjoy a little more the morning, I took notice of a certain fox-eared blonde peeking at me from the doorstep with a pouty look.

"Kimi-tan, I said you had to wake him up. You can play with him once we're done with breakfast," Kunou muttered calmly, gaining a huff from the Sprite Dragon.

I patted Kimiko's head. "Ku-chan is right, pretty girl. We've to get to school properly and not make late."

Her annoyance softened up at the affectionate contact and soon the tiny dragon disappeared with a magical seal, but not before nodding at the kitsune and letting out a single sad 'Kii'.

I stood up from bed and started to walk by the door, but not before noticing the young girl's frown.

"What did Kimi-tan say before leaving?" The blonde inquired with a hint of curiosity, to which I merely smiled before patting her head.

"She said, 'I am sorry, Auntie'."

I could still remember when they first met up back the night before.

I had expected for Kunou to have fallen asleep because of school, yet the girl had decided on her own accord to spend the few hours I was away from home by the living room waiting for my return.

I was surprised, and kind of concerned over the girl's tired-looking expression when she spotted me by the entrance. Yet my own worry vanished the very moment that Kimiko took notice of the young Yokai.

I patted at the familiar's head quickly, whispering to her that Kunou was a little sister to me and that she wasn't a 'threat'. Differently than how the Sprite Dragon had dealt with Tsubaki, the response was met with a pleased nod and a quick interested look directed at the sitting Kitsune.

I could still remember the giggles from the blonde as I told her how to properly get to 'care' for the pretty girl flying and settling by her lap. Kunou was happy, Kimi-tan was cooing eagerly, and I stared at the scene with utmost awe at the immense wave of cuteness unleashed by the adorable duo.

I think I messed up the world with this. But… it was worth it.

Still, my comment was met with a long sigh from the blonde, the girl nodding at my words as she proceeded to go walk beside me to the bathroom-

…

…

"Ku-chan, can I ask you something?" I inquired with a calm tone, glancing at the girl as she nodded at me as we entered the small-sized room. "Why… shouldn't you be changing by the bathroom near to your room?"

Golden eyes sported an understanding glint. "Oh right," She muttered sheepishly. "It's just that I… I was thinking about a few words I've heard. Something about brothers and sisters aren't supposed to have issues changing together in the bathroom."

...Someone was dead. Someone had just tempted the sleeping dog.

"Sweetie, can you tell me who is such a silly individual to tell you this little lie?"

The girl blinked. "It- It's not true?"

"Well," I tried to reply, having some issue balancing out the fact that I was dealing with such a messy topic to have with the young girl.

While I was aware that Kunou was ready to understand the wrongness of such a situation, the real problem was that the idea of having a sibling she could trust upon had severely… lessened the thoughts of having trouble in being so close to me. Despite her age, the blonde was quite naive and quick to trust those that knew how to press the right buttons. Susceptible to certain comments, and easy to influence because of some people.

I had a couple of suspects in my mind's list, but I restrained myself from making crusades just yet. I still needed a name to go that far after all.

"The thing is that… siblings can be close like that. But it's mostly when they are quite young and… less prone to have some strange thoughts. Do you remember when I mentioned to you how Issei behaved a couple of months ago?"

She nodded at the explanation and at the query, yet her frown deepened at my words.

"But I know Niichan doesn't think any of that," The kitsune rebuked. "A-And it would be more efficient if I changed there with you."

…

"Can I ask why you feel so worried that I don't want to do this?" I asked kindly, trying to coax her to lower her current nervousness.

She huffed. "It's nothing."

I sighed, knowing that I was going to face a stubborn Kunou early in the morning.

"If you tell me thruth I might consider. But I need you to be honest about it," I proposed with a hum, quickly noticing her foxy ears twitching at the offer. "I don't want to… push you too much, but I feel like bottling things like this might hurt you in the long term."

The blonde nodded. "And you wouldn't want that, right?" She pushed back with a hint of tease. "Because Niichan cares a lot."

I smirked and patted her head again. The gesture finalized the little deal as the girl started to explain what drove her to try out what a certain brunette had suggested to her. I was sure as hell going to have a nice chat with Aika once I was done with my duties at the Student Council.

Still, I kept listening to Kunou's own worries over this matter. While we had both been showing positive interactions that would suggest the closeness that only siblings would have, the girl was still uncertain over the limits of the relationship. It was a new ground to work from, especially for someone that had such a lonely childhood like the young yokai.

In the end, I decided to accept the blonde's request of changing together with me by the bathroom, but only at the girl's acceptance of the simple rule that we both weren't going to look at each other as we changed for the school's uniforms.

It was pretty awkward at first, but then Kunou tried to make some conversation out of the situation. She was nervous herself, but the determination to try and make this experience somewhat 'normal' was met with some nods from my part while I responded to her own words.

Once we were done by the bathroom and we blitzed through breakfast, we were out of the house with a somewhat happy prospect for the day that had yet to fully start. In fact, I found myself wondering about the dangerous saccharine potential of having someone like Asia meeting with the tiny thing that was my pretty lady.

I knew that the former nun was going to be elated at the prospect of seeing and interacting with someone as cute at Kimiko, and I was certain that the Sprite Dragon would've enjoyed the kind soul of the girl. And the belly-rubs. Always the belly-rubs.

My brief thoughts were interrupted when I noticed that someone familiar was waiting by the entrance of the school. I blinked when I saw that Issei looked incredibly uneasy as he patiently looked around beside a calm-looking Asia.

"Ise-kohai, Asia-chan," I greeted them both with an apprehensive look. "What's with the long faces?"

The brunet was the first one to speak and… he wasn't bearing any good news. Not at all.

"S-Senpai, we need to talk," The young man began, his tone showing quite an avalanche behind it. "It's… it's about Buchou."

I blinked at the strange topic, but I decided to narrow down the issue to something that would get Issei to sweat bullets like this. I glanced up at Asia, the girl looking a little bit uneasy at the subject itself.

"Walk beside us… and start explaining," I mentioned with a tense but calm tone, unwilling to let out my own concern over the already-nervous kohais of mine. The brunet nodded and Asia followed his example as we made our way inside the school.

"It's about Phenex. Rias-Buchou said that they were visiting soon."

They? I felt a little bit at ease at the idea that Ruval had actually taken to heart the letter sent to him, yet I had my hopes restrained at the chance of the boy only referring to Raiser and his peerage as a group. The mere thought that the blond was going to make a cameo this early on was distressing, but not unexpected as to how things are moving with the plot.

I would've given a couple more of weeks before the 'fried chicken' turned up, but I guess that the shaking boat that is this world wouldn't just allow me an easy life about it. So I nodded at the brunet and glanced at him.

"Did Rias mention who exactly was going to visit?" I pressed to see this little question solved. "Some names or… even some titles?"

"She said that there was going to be the man she was supposed to marry… and I think she also said that his brother was meant to be there too to ask questions to her."

I nodded, feeling a smile forming at this development. It seemed like the plan Sona and I made to counter this issue was indeed working. I was still surprised over the suddenness of the situation, but I knew that it would only do well to us if the situation was dealt with earlier than planned.

Less dangerous threats along the road, and more opportunity for Issei to grow up to stand well against the obstacles between him and success. And his success was also going to be my win because of how much I was investing in his positive growth.

"Then the situation isn't terrible. Quite the opposite I would say," I finally replied to the young man. "The only thing I will ask from you, Ise, is to keep yourself from warranting any escalations from Raiser."

…

"What? Why would I even-" He tried to defend his own manners, but I was quickly responding to his little surprise.

"His peerage is structured like a Harem," I dropped the bomb with a cautious tone, instantly regretting telling him that so bluntly with the way his body went stiff at the revelation. "He will try to goad Rias by 'playing around' with his own peerage. And I know that you can see why I want you to not make any sudden moves about it."

"B-But-"

"T-That's horrible, Senpai," Asia quipped with a frown. "I understand that Ise-kun shouldn't be risking himself with that- but if this 'Raiser' turned women in his slaves then-"

"Not slaves," I intervened again. "That's where I want to focus the issue about moving onto about it. They are all willing servants to him. Their loyalty is legitimate."

"But?" Kunou pressed on with a degree of interest over the matter, drawing a brief glance from me.

"But that doesn't mean that they are inherently good people. That's why I don't want you to be singled out because you're trying to be a good guy," I continued with a sigh. "It will rile you up that you've to stay put and offer him no reason to act, but for how delicate the situation currently is, I'm afraid I will ask you to do this sacrifice."

"It's unfair," He muttered with a huff. "But I guess that you know what's going on there, so I will try my best, senpai."

I nodded at him, looking at the half-crowded hallway in front of us making it difficult and slow to go through it. I decided to take a detour to a corridor with less people, the rest followed close as we walked around the obstructed hall.

"Also Senpai, I don't want to sound a little odd but..." The boy resumed with a confused look. "But I feel something is odd about you, and even Ddraig said that your scent has 'something new' to it."

Frowning at this comment, I found myself nodding and smiling jovially at him. "That's because I got a Familiar."

…

"Wait, really?!" He exclaimed in a mix of surprise and annoyance, making me hush him to a quieter tone as to not draw any attention to us. "But I thought that you just wanted to do something else there."

"And I did that too, but… let's just say that my current familiar is quite the determined gal."

The comment got a smug look from Issei. "Ne, Senpai, you mean to tell me that you scored with a girl-"

"Just have Ddraig show you an image of a Sprite Dragon."

The curt interruption made him stammer in his attempt to tease me, causing me to smirk as he seemed to think about it and… deflate when the Red Dragon decided to actually comply with the request.

"But- that's so tiny."

"And adorable," I added happily. "And perhaps even braver than the Welsh Dragon himself."

"That sounds like an overstatement."

I gave a surprised look at the sudden appearance of the gauntlet. "Hello Ddraig."

"Explain how exactly the brat is 'braver' than me."

"She called Tiamat 'Fat and Dumb'." The response had the Dragon to keep quiet for a while.

"T-That sounds like a lie."

"Right now your 'nemesis' is dealing with issues at the fact a 'brat' stood her ground against her," I continued without hesitation. "I will let her say it if you want, but it will have to happen after the whole 'Phenex' situation is over for today."

…

"Deal."

Once the lessons were over, I finally had the chance to share some words with Sona over the current situation. The girl was positive that things would solve well now that Ruval had been brought to study the situation.

It would be a lengthy process, but hopefully one that lacked any issues that would escalate into a Rating Game. It was a success for our plan. One that saw the short-haired bespectacled girl smile for the remainder of the day.

Tsubaki looked happy too, but she wasn't smiling as much as the usually impassive Taichou. The rest of the Council seemed influenced by their chief's good mood and thus the day there seemed to be 'lighter' and 'calmer' than usual. So much that I had expected to be finally granted a normal day away from risking my cover over silly issues.

I was reminded pretty soon that God was dead in this world when my prayers soon hauled me facing quite the unexpected circumstance. During today's session of volleyball practice done outdoors, one of the balls was sent soaring into the school and broke one of the windows there.

The culprits had already been punished with proper detentions, but I was meant to take notes over the overall damage and then check the money it would take to fix this damage. It was the first time in months that I saw this kind of instance happen, but I couldn't exactly deny that sudden accidents could happen without any notice.

So I was there, with some paper and pen, studying the glass on the floor and the damaged window with a critical eye. Japan had quite the efficient repairman service, but it was also easy to contact an organization that asked for more money that the task required.

Once I was done getting the estimations done, I would've to return back to the Student Council's room and start contacting various companies specialized over the matter to check on their prices.

Another yawn left my lips as I was almost done with the report, genuinely hoping that the next part wasn't going to be as draining as the first one was.

Maybe I really need to start drinking again coffee with how much crap I've to go through on a daily basis.

Before I had the chance of actually conclude my task 'on the field' and make my way back to the club room, my attention was taken by footsteps coming towards me. I glanced away from the paper and to the side, noticing that there was a young man walking through the corridor, a regal smile painting his face.

With blond locks covering his head and partially hiding his dark-blue eyes, I blinked at the curious individual that was wearing so calmly and densely what looked to be old-style noble clothes. It wasn't the 'ancient' kind of old-style. More like the early 20th century kind of style some aristocrats would have when donning their clothes, a little militaristic but still sober enough to not get annoyed by its patriotic gleam.

"I'm sorry to disturb your activity, sir," The blond started, sounding quite apologetic. "But I wished to inquire if I could help myself and request your assistance in finding a club-room in this fine establishment."

I didn't need to think twice to finally make sense of the familiar face, so I merely nodded at who I could tell was Ruval Phenex, the official heir of the Phenex Clan.

I nodded slowly. "Sure… but may I ask you first which club are you trying to reach out?"

I needed to sound as 'ignorant' as I could get out from that sudden situation. Any major understanding visible in my face was going to spark a degree of suspect that I didn't need to face anytime soon. Especially with a Devil of his caliber.

"The Occult Research Club." He mentioned thoughtfully, looking particularly uncertain about it. "I think that is it's name, my only interest is to have a chance to speak with the club president as there is a reunion planned between her, my brother and I."

"Rias Gremory?" I asked quietly, sounding as naive I could over the 'odd' situation.

Ruval nodded with a smaller, but still cordial smile. "Yes, that's her name. I suppose that she's renowned in this fine school."

I nodded. "She's considered a prodigy. A model student by many considering how devoted to school's work, and how polite and graceful she is."

The Devil blinked. "Interesting. Then I suppose you could lead me to the classroom that's assigned to her club."

I nodded once more, still trying to get a grasp over the overtly polite and 'antiquate' his overall tone was. Plus, I couldn't just get how the man and his younger sibling were related with the way he was displaying no hints of arrogance before me, a human.

Still, I proceeded to lead him around the school, making just a couple of steps before I heard him speak again.

"I almost forgot-" He bowed once more, a regal look in his face as if an act done and redone but with a hint of surprising genuineness. "I am Ruval Phenex."

I nodded calmly at the words, but didn't turn around as we continued to walk.

"Hoitsu Sakakibara."

I couldn't see if my lack of formality had gained a bad reaction out of me or not, yet the following happy humming coming from behind suggested that he was still in a happy mood.

"Sir Hoitsu, can I ask you something?"

I wanted to retort that he did already ask me a question, but I nodded at him.

"Is it true that Kuoh Academy is considered one of the most advanced high schools in Japan? That its teachers are deemed top-notch and… that there is a variety of clubs to expand one's true interest in a specific career's path?"

I blinked at the massive question, or more like numerous queries packed in a big one, but I gave him a sigh.

"Kuoh Academy offers this and much more," I confirmed with a nod. "In fact, one of the things that many schools lack is the recommendations that are signed by teachers and the principal to help hard-working students to achieve high positions of a good job, or even try their luck in their next step of their education at high-quality colleges."

He blinked, his smile widening a little bit more at that. "Interesting, and I suppose that you're aware of this… because?"

"I'm part of Student Council. The Treasurer to be more specific, Ruval-san."

"That's an important role," The blonde pointed out. "From my understanding, you would be in charge of making sure that the economic aspects of the school… work."

I nodded. "That's correct."

"And you would be the best person to ask about tuition cost, I can only assume you can offer some numbers over that," The High-Level Devil subtly inquired, making me understand what he was referring to.

He wanted to enroll Ravel at Kuoh Academy… but why now? Why so soon?

That was a sudden development I hadn't expected, but maybe I was going to be able to get some answers if I played my act correctly around him. Because I really needed to know what was driving him to ask about this.

"Are you interested for a friend or a family member?" I found myself inquiring, deciding that playing any dumber than that would just be stupid and worth of some more suspicions from him.

"I wasn't much subtle about that, was I?" He asked rhetorically, shaking his head. "I guess it's true. I'm trying to… find a good place where my young sister can have… someone else other than just her family."

"Home-schooled?" I pressed on politely. "I can relate a little bit since my parents had tried to go through with that with me when I was much younger, Ruval-san"

"You could say that, Sir Hoitsu," The blond commented, quickly deflecting the chances of bringing up the fact that not all Devils from the 72 Clans were sent to study out of the Underworld. I was aware through of it thanks to the show, and thus I didn't need to appear too much curious about it.

"Well, from what I remember when I first enrolled… I think the tuition was around ¥ 450,000. With the last cuts to the budget, I think it's even lower than that, but I can't offer a proper estimations without the official papers."

To be fair, the tuition was actually enticing. The price were just… acceptable, especially with how well-furnished and excellent the school was compared to other competitors in this sector. I wonder if something like this ever existed back in my first life.

"It's surprisingly close to the tuition from other schools," Ruval remarked with a hum. "And I suppose that there aren't extra fees to the cost."

"No, only the tuition. If else, any extra fees is related to a handful of more complex clubs, those few ones that require a fee from the members to sustain a shared fund to use for activities."

My answers were met positively from the heir, the man pondering over the matter for a while now as we continued with our walk through the school. I was still unsure as to 'why' Ruval would've wanted to leave his youngest sibling to face this environment, leaving me confused over what he would gain from this plan.

Just as we took one of the corners, I noticed that I had something grasping at my shirt right by my chest. I stared down, noticing a certain pretty girl hanging tightly with her small claws. I felt panic swelling at Kimiko's sudden appearance, but I managed to steel my face from actually displaying any of the shock I was feeling over this escalation.

The Sprite Dragon tilted her head with a confused look, failing to understand the delicate situation she had crashed into so unceremoniously. With one of my hands helping her stand without the need of gripping at my clothes, and with the other one patting her head, I tried my best to think up of a solution to deal with this sudden appearance.

The familiar seemed to understand just enough to keep herself quiet, yet I had nothing that could've been used to hide away her visible presence. So, instead of looking around and give away my current cover, I decided to try something risky. Carefully but swiftly so, I pushed Kimiko under my shirt, lifting her up to the end of the collar as her face popped up with a surprised look.

Once she realized how close she was to me, her first reaction was to nuzzle at my chin and happily nestle herself safely near my face. Smiling a little at the cute 'retaliation', I carefully applied Darkness Shroud over her form, effectively hiding her frame and the bulge she had created on my shirt thanks to the spell.

Feeling a little more confident, my pace increased just a little bit, enough to finally cut through the remaining distance left for the ORC room. I stopped there, gesturing Ruval the door in front of us.

"So that's where it is? Quite distant from the entrance," The blond commented with a hint of curiosity. "Still, I'm glad that you offered me this much help and good service, Sir Hoitsu. I find myself indebted to you-"

"Nonsense, Ruval-san," I interjected calmly, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible, hiding my genuine smiling at the affectionate nuzzling from my familiar. "It was my duty to help as part of the Student Council. There is no debt between us."

He smiled. "I suppose you're correct. And I can be quite… brash when I want to. I suppose that's one thing that I do share rightfully with my siblings, through the good things and bad ones too."

"Nobody is perfect, and I hope that you manage solving up the situation between you, Gremory-san, and your brother in the most peaceful way possible."

"I hope so to, Sir Hoitsu. But I suppose I will have to put a serious effort to achieve good results out of this situation… and I think that this talk has offered me a couple of means to reach a decent enough compromise for both sides."

I frowned at the last bit, but I still nodded at his comment, seeing him knock at the door and then enter inside. I sighed in relief as the door was finally closed, leaving me to sort out the current situation created by my pretty girl.

"You know, you should give me a warning instead of appearing suddenly, Kimi-tan," I chided softly, my right hand reaching her chin and scratching softly at it. "You almost got me caught by someone I don't want to reveal myself to."

She hummed. "Why? Why would you even need to hide? You're strong, Papa."

"While I'm strong… I'm not strong enough to face up the complications of my identity getting revealed," I replied with a sigh. "Until I'm certain I can protect everyone, I will keep it a secret from those I don't trust well enough."

Distracted by the nuzzling, she seemed too lost in the warmth to continue with the conversation, leaving me to enjoy a couple of moments of silence in that desolate hallway, my tired mind almost craving and urging me to go back home instead of dealing with the rest of the workload waiting me at the Council's room.

I sighed, my own consciousness chiding my tiredness away as I wandered back to complete this blasted situation before going back home. Strangely enough, despite the lack of major physical activities, I felt… drained.

Maybe it was the fact that I had been having some trouble catching some rest in the last few weeks, or maybe it was because I was pushing myself beyond my limits a few more times than I was meant to.

Once I was back to the Student Council's room, I finally dropped the covering Kimiko and I decided to focus on finishing quickly with the calls I had to deal with. The decision resulted with various girls within the club, mostly Momo and Ruruko, melting at the adorable sight of the Sprite Dragon curled by shoulder and pressing her cheek by my own.

With Kimi-tan snoring quietly, I went through with this final task smoothly and swiftly, ending up walking back home with a tired but satisfied mood. At least I was making progress in changing a major part of the plot I really wanted to avoid to happen.

And I really wonder what Ruval wants to do by enrolling Ravel early on compared to the Canon timeline.

AN

I'm back! (Kinda- I mean, I never left). I had lots to deal in the last two weeks and- my, oh my, we're soaring with the plot.

I assume people are by now inquiring how much closely this story will match with the first draft, and when I say that this is an improved version, I'm not joking about it.

Some will criticize the fact I'm taking my 'sweet time' getting all of this done and… I can bring the previous story as an example of what happens if I speeds things a little too much.

So yeah, a little escalation will soon happen as Hoitsu had terribly forgotten one small detail while dealing with Ruval. Something that he will learn more about when Ravel will (Censored) and then he will (Censored).

Lots of censure, but it's all for the Greater Good.

Current Milestone: 540 Followers.

Next Milestone: 630 Followers.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

REVIEW Q&A!

Loulloko: Kimiko the next Chaos Karma Dragon? XD

FleshyBalloon: First thing first, thank you for the detailed comment. I understand both the merits and the flaws you've brought up and I will try to give as many answers as possible:
1) There will be parts in the near future which I will switch the POV to other individuals in a sort of Pseudo-3rd POV with a focus on a specific character (It's kind of a constant in many of my stories);
2) The reason why Hoitsu is afraid of letting certain people know his true self is because of the ramification such decision would cause. When Issei started to get noticed by Rias, the world turned around for him as he leaped into higher heights the more he stayed close to Rias. To a certain degree, the MC is wrongly frightened by the prospect of being 'known' from many. Tactical Anonymity is his weapon against threats bigger than him, and the least people know about the truth, less are the chances of the world come crumbling onto him.

MPrevil0: Hoitsu isn't 'immune' to Akeno's advances. He is just capable of hiding it well and away from hers, knowing that any 'reactions' to her behavior will result in a worse situation for him to face with the perverted girl. It's not that he is some shining beacon of self-righteousness, he is someone that knows the risk of playing the 'anime character' for too long and with certain people.