Chapter 19 Acceptance
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
Rias's summer vacation begins and she must deal with her troublesome feelings
AN: This chapter will take place during the same time period as 17 and 18. Because of that you will see references to events that happened already.
AN 2: For those looking for Penis is Mightier Than the Sword, you found it. I mentioned this in the last update so get ready.
As she sat on her family's train with her peerage by her side, Rias Gremory should've been extraordinarily happy. After a long year she was returning to the Underworld and now she no longer had the burden of her marriage to Riser to worry about. Unfortunately for her, Rias was thinking about something entirely different and it was noticed by Azazel who had become the ORC's advisor and Kuoh's latest teacher after the events at the Conference. "Something on your mind Rias. You should be a lot happier considering the circumstances." Azazel said calmly. He had an idea of what was bothering her, but he didn't want to assume.
"I'm fine. I guess I'm just wondering how Issei is doing." Rias said calmly something one of her servants was not pleased by.
"Lady Rias you need to stop this foolishness right now." Karlamine spoke up interrupting the group.
"Excuse me" Rias exclaimed.
"You're caught up in the Red Dragon Emperor because of what he did for you with Lord Riser, but he's shown that he doesn't care for you at all. Focus on making us stronger instead of fighting a losing battle or you will regret it." Karlamine said coldly.
"You've got a lot of nerve saying that. At least Issei does sexual things with you for legitimate reasons. Meanwhile he won't touch me unless it's to manipulate me." Rias said bitterly.
"Lady Rias have you forgotten that he made the two exorcists, part dragon to prevent you from getting a hold of them. That alone should tell you how he feels. The fact you pine over somebody who clearly dislikes you makes you as bad as Lord Riser was with you." Karlamine said with her own bitter feelings.
"ENOUGH!" Azazel yelled stopping the subject.
"But" Rias said angrily.
"Right now, you are Rias Gremory heiress to the Gremory Clan and a High-Class devil. Very soon you'll be returning home to introduce your family to your new peerage members and preparing for the Youth Devil Meetings that I mentioned to you. This is not the time to worry about Issei especially when he's in the human world doing whatever he is doing." Azazel lectured brutally. Both Valerie and Rias were so focused on Issei that they were making life far too difficult for themselves. If he didn't have to deal with it himself, he would find it hilarious but sadly he did and that meant he had to put his foot down.
"Right" Rias said bitterly at the cruel scolding. This was a crucial summer for her particularly since she was without a pawn and she would be meeting with the other young devils soon. She had to stay focused or she could find herself in deep trouble.
(Scene Skip)
"How is everything going in Kuoh Rias?" Rias' mother Venelana asked as her family gathered together for dinner in the massive Gremory family dining room. Venelana Gremory was an older version of Rias but instead of crimson red hair her hair was flaxen, and she had violet eyes. Her current outfit was a white low cut dress with black trim that went just above her knees showed off her absolutely mammoth breasts and she was seated next to her husband Zeoticus Gremory a man with crimson hair like Rias's that framed his face blue eyes and a small bit of red facial hair. He was wearing a white military uniform with a black mantle over it. The Gremory peerage was dressed in their Kuoh uniforms as they sat down.
"It's going well. Things could be worse but they could always be better." Rias said reluctantly.
"I see. By the way I'm surprised the Red Dragon Emperor isn't joining us." Zeoticus said with a smile.
"Issei is… otherwise occupied." Rias said bitterly.
"Considering what happened with Riser I thought for sure you two were an item." Venelana wondered. There was a hint of disapproval in her voice and Rias knew it but there was nothing she could do.
"Issei and I are amicable but that's it." Rias admitted with a slight blush.
"That's a shame. Regardless I would like a chance to meet him if that's possible." Zeoticus hoped.
"I'll do my best" Rias said solemnly. Considering what happened with Riser, Rias knew that Issei was her next best hope before she was inevitably chained to somebody else and she hated that idea.
"Of course." Venelana replied as the dinner continued without any more interruptions.
(Scene Skip)
The first few days went by quickly for Rias and while she was okay with that, she hoped to at least hear about Issei in some regards. To that end, she made her way over to Azazel's room to talk, but she was surprised to see the door open and a familiar face walk out. "Valerie what are you doing here?" Rias wondered.
"I had some business with Zaz" Valerie said nonchalantly.
"Alright" Rias replied deciding not to question anything else. Walking into the room, she noticed a sour expression on the normally jovial face of the Fallen Angel leader. That look faded when he realized she was in front of him, something Rias took immediate notice of.
"Hello there, Rias, how is everything?" Azazel said calmly.
"Fine, I was just wondering if you've heard from Issei." Rias questioned.
Azazel had the nerve to look bashful before smiling, "I haven't but I do think it's time to get down to business. Get your peerage and let's get some training down" Azazel said calmly.
Rias knew he was hiding something but since she wasn't willing to call him out, she just shrugged, "Alright."
(Scene Skip)
It took Rias a little over an hour to gather everyone and get them dressed in the school yard. Everyone was wearing the white shirt and blue bloomers of the Kuoh uniform with a smiling Azazel wearing a gray tracksuit with a white shirt underneath. "I figured it's time you guys got some training done and in order to help things along I've called in some backup." Azazel smiled.
Rias hoped somehow that Issei was involved but when a familiar magic circle appeared, she realized that Valerie's business was to help her. The Lucifer heiress was joined by most of her peerage (AN: the obvious exception being Kuroka). Unlike the Gremory group, Valerie's group was dressed in their standard outfits.
"Yo Rias are you ready to train." Valerie said calmly.
"I guess so" Rias frowned wondering who the people with Valerie were.
"Oh relax Red. Valerie may not be the dragon you wanted to see, but she is the dragon you need right now." Bikou chuckled.
"Really Bikou, did you have to go there." Le Fay pouted.
"Anyway" Valerie huffed to get the group focused again, "This is my 'peerage of sorts. The blondes are Arthur and Le Fay Pendragon and the guy with the bad jokes is Bikou." Valerie revealed.
"A pleasure to meet you" Arthur said with a smile before taking a small bow.
"Treat us well." Le Fay said with a small curtesy.
"What's up." Bikou smiled ignoring the bad joke sentiment.
"Hello there, it's a pleasure to meet some of Valerie's friends. This is Koneko Toujou Asia Argento Gasper Vladi Yumi Kiba and Akeno Himejima" Rias replied with a professional smile before introducing her peerage.
"What's up"
"Hi there"
"Hello"
"Nice to meet all of you."
"It's a pleasure." The Gremory group replied respectfully.
"Now that everyone's met, the training will be as followed. Koneko will be with Bikou since her rook traits will work really well with his battle style. Yumi and Karlamine can train with Arthur. Trust me girls he's POWERFUL so you can learn a few things. Asia and Gasper can train with Le Fay. I understand you're not a battler, but you can learn some cool stuff from Le Fay about healing and Gasper can work on his powers also if he wants." Valerie explained
"Ufufufu what about me." Akeno teased as Valerie went through the ranks.
"Akeno you'll be training with me. We're going to work on THAT together" Azazel said sternly. It was time she awakened her fallen angel powers and Azazel would see to that personally.
Akeno's body trembled at the suggestion since she knew what he was after, "Never. I refuse to acknowledge that side of me." Akeno said angrily.
"Then you're a fool." Bikou said coldly.
"Excuse me!" Akeno said angrily not appreciating the harsh response.
"If you think you're the only one whose got family issues you're wrong. Arthur was the heir to arguably the most important family in England, outside of the royal family and he left all of that because his family wouldn't accept the women he loved. Le Fay followed because her brother was the only person in said family who cared about her as a person also and with him gone there was no telling what they'd do. You guys know about Valerie's famous daddy issues and the fact she's even acknowledging that name is a step in the right direction. As for me, I'm a descendant of the Victorious Fighting Buddha Son Goku so that should tell you that I'm not where I need to be. You're blaming the wrong person for what happened to your mother Akeno." Bikou said coldly.
"BE SILENT BIKOU!" Azazel yelled interrupting the two of them and catching everyone off guard. Azazel was nonchalant about most things, but this was not one of them.
"Sorry man I was just making a point." Bikou said bashfully. It was one of the rare times that Azazel ever got angry and everyone took notice.
"I know that, but Akeno's issue is a very delicate matter" Azazel said with a look of clear regret in her face. "Valerie. You take care of Akeno and I'll work with Rias." Azazel instructed the energy seemingly drained from his body.
"Got it." Valerie replied. Even she wasn't going to argue with Azazel after that display.
"Alright guys get going." Rias frowned. The heavy start to the day wouldn't change anything and she knew it. For now, she could focus on getting stronger and hope the rest took care of itself.
(Scene Skip)
Training with Valerie was brutal and even though Akeno would admit she enjoyed pain, she didn't enjoy being at the mercy of the Lucifer heiress. It didn't help that she was also distracted from the earlier display. Azazel's outburst was a rare one from the man and she couldn't help but wonder more. It was easy to forget sometimes because of how he acted, but he is the Leader of the Fallen Angels and that includes her estranged father. Making her way over to the bedroom she hoped that she could figure out just why the normally calm man was so angry. Arriving at his door Akeno knocked calmly, "May I come in Azazel." Akeno said nervously.
"Of course you can Akeno?" Azazel said calmly and the half fallen opened the door and walked into the room. Azazel's room was a simple one with a decent sized bed and a small desk that he could use for business and a comfortable chair for him to sit on. Azazel was sitting at the desk but what drew Akeno's eyes was the wine bottle sitting on the table. It was an ornate gold bottle with a gold cap and various flowers along its body with the words Eden stitched into the body in white lettering.
"That can't be" Akeno said in disbelief since she realized what a significant thing this simple bottle was. The Garden of Eden was the legendary home of Adam and Eve and in the Garden was everything that a person could ask for including grapes for wine. According to Rias, the wine from the Garden of Eden's grapes is said to be the finest wine ever produced but nobody knew how to get it including her brother.
"Yes, it is. This is one of the bottles of wine made from the original Garden of Eden's grapes. This bottle was given to me by God himself back when I was still one of his Seraphs which should tell you how ancient it is and how valuable it is to collectors and to me. Because of a special property of the grapes the taste remains the same throughout the years and I can even make more of it by putting water inside it. One could say this wine is made of God's power."
"I see" Akeno said in shock since that truly was a valuable bottle.
"I've personally opened my bottle a grand total of 4 times since I received it. The first was right after I withdrew from the war and it was done to celebrate my father's death. One of those times, was the day that your father Baraqiel got married to your mother." Azazel said solemnly.
"What!" Akeno said in disbelief.
"Kokabiel might have been my most powerful cadre, but Baraqiel was my best friend. He was as loyal as they came, and I showed him my blessings by allowing him and your mother Shuri to drink from this bottle.
"Why are you telling me this?" Akeno wondered.
"Because I want you to know that if you should blame anybody for your mother's death it's not your father but me." Azazel said solemnly.
"That's a lie" Akeno said angrily her anger returning.
"Unfortunately it isn't" Azazel frowned. "Your mother's family is one of the most powerful clans in Japan and the idea that one of them had a child with a Fallen Angel was blasphemy. To be completely honest her family had been after your mother and you for years, but thanks to Baraqiel constantly watching you they couldn't do anything. They feared him as much as they hated him which said all that you needed to know about the man's power."
"So why. Why did he leave me?" Akeno wondered tears forming on her eyes.
"Because I asked him to. A mission came up that required his power and I had no choice but to call him in despite the fact I had all but allowed him to leave to raise you. I already knew Shuri and I was going to take his place, but he left before I could arrive. By the time I did, it was too late." Azazel admitted barely holding back tears of his own.
"What happened to my father?" Akeno wondered. She could see the emotions in his eyes and knew he wasn't faking.
"When he learned what happened to you, your father was inconsolable. It got so bad that we had to start bringing him food or he would've starved himself to death. It was only when he learned you were alive that he left that room. The reason I'm here in Kuoh now is to watch over you the way I failed to do so back then."
"What!" Akeno said in shock.
"Your father never stopped loving you Akeno and I hoped to eventually bring him to you but when I realized just how deep your hatred ran, I gave up on that. I'm not going to ask you to forgive me for my failures but I would ask that you not hold it against your father and find a way to embrace your fallen angel side once again."
Akeno was silent at the admission since it was so jaw-dropping, "I'll try" Akeno said with a bittersweet smile. She had a long way to go before accepting her father but after hearing this story, she was willing to try.
(Koneko's room)
Koneko Toujou was in a very awkward place as she curled onto her twin bed in frustration after the day of training. Bikou was a brutal opponent, but it wasn't his fists that hurt so badly. It was the fact that he seemed to be going out of his way to use senjutsu on her during their training. It was almost as though he was taunting her because he knew what she really was. To make matters worse, there was the odd feeling she had in the back of her head that she was being watched the whole time. In fact, she still had it and due to her frustration, she decided to act on it. "Come on out already. You can't keep hiding forever." Koneko said angrily springing up from her spot on the bed and ready to attack.
"Well done Shirone. Looks like there's hope for you yet." A voice purred to Koneko's shock.
"It can't be" Koneko said with her eyes wide open. Her thought was confirmed when none other than her older sister Kuroka shimmered into her room by the small desk she was given.
"It's been a long time Shirone. I believe it's time we have a talk." Kuroka said calmly as she walked over talk" Kuroka smiled but she had to quickly block a punch from her sister.
"What are you doing here" Koneko said angrily trying to attack her sister with everything she had.
"Calm down Shirone. I just want to show you something" Kuroka smiled.
"What is it" Koneko wondered pulling away from her sister.
Kuroka activated a magic circle and Koneko watched as a small and shallow grey dish appeared on her desk. Then Kuroka placed her right hand on her head and Koneko watched as a small stray of grey matter appeared and almost like it was destined to do so, fell into the grey bowl. "This is called a Pensieve. It's a powerful artifact that can be used to store memories."
"Why are you showing me this?" Koneko wondered.
"Because I want you to know the truth about why I really killed our former master and why I was forced to abandon you for all these years. All you need to do is stick your head in and you'll see my memories of that time" Kuroka said calmly before placing it on the bed and backing up.
"Why should I trust you?" Koneko said warily. This seemed far too convenient.
Kuroka was visibly hurt by the response, but realized there was only one way, "It's impossible to manipulate a Pensieve so I can assure you it's genuine." Kuroka replied though she did stay rooted to her spot far away from Koneko. Koneko was hesitant at first, but she realized that her sister had come all this way to show her this and wasn't being violent at all. The fact she could finally answer a question that had bothered her for years didn't hurt.
Dipping her head down, she watched her sister deal with extraordinarily painful experiments done to her by the devil who took them in from the Naberius clan. She watched her sister endure painful experiments, but always come back with a smile to her at the end of the day. She watched her former master reveal that he was going to start experimenting on her and Kuroka responding by slaughtering him in cold blood and saying, "You'll never get your filthy hands on Shirone." Koneko could feel the tears in her eyes form as her sister dragged her away from the house and left her hidden while she escaped her pursuers. As Koneko left the Pensieve she only had one thought in her mind.
"Big sister" Koneko cried and her sister responded by walking over to her and hugging her tightly.
"Shirone I'm so sorry for abandoning you. Will you ever forgive me?" Kuroka said with tears forming on her face.
"I forgive you on one condition." Koneko said trying to gather herself.
"Anything Shirone." Kuroka said with hope in her eyes.
"Call me Koneko. I want to put the past behind me and I'm Koneko now."
"Alright Sh… alright Koneko." Kuroka smiled before making the Pensieve disappear. Kuroka walked over to the bed and sat down with her legs crossed with her sister soon following. To Kuroka's shock Koneko's white ears and tail appeared on her body before she lied on her sister's lap and a large smile appeared on Kuroka's face as she stroked her sister's ears and enjoyed a moment many years in the making.
(Scene Skip)
Rias Gremory was thrilled and everyone around her knew why. Today was the day that Issei Hyoudou arrived at her home. His month with the kendo club was over and now he was with her and her peerage for the next month. Sure, it was mostly due to supernatural business, but that didn't matter.
"Try not to look too excited Rias. You know he's here on business right" Valerie Lucifer reminded her as she stood in her leather outfit as they waited in front of the mansion for Issei to arrive. Surrounding her, was the remainder of peerage dressed in Kuoh's uniform and Valerie's peerage dressed in their usual outfits besides, Le Fay who decided to dress in the Kuoh uniform in order test a plan that Valerie had to help deal with her odd situation with Issei.
"I know Valerie, but I can't help but be excited." Rias admitted. The Lucifer and Gremory heiresses may have started out badly but Valerie helped her not only deal with Akeno's issues but Koneko's as well.
"Whatever" Valerie replied as she rolled her eyes. A few minutes later the carriage carrying the group arrived and a smiling Issei hopped out with Irina Xenovia and Azazel behind him.
"What's up everybody" Issei waved with a smile as Irina and Xenovia acknowledged the group as well.
Rias walked up to Issei and stood a few feet away, "I'd like to welcome you to my humble abode." Rias said with a pleasant smile and a small curtesy much to the amusement of everyone else.
Issei rolled his eyes also but decided to have a little fun himself, "I thank you for the privilege Lady Gremory and I hope that my presence won't be a problem." Issei replied before shocking everyone by grabbing Rias's hand and placing a small kiss on it.
"Way to lay it on thick Issei" Valerie deadpanned.
Issei walked towards the Lucifer heiress and smiled, "I missed you too Valerie. I must confess I'm surprised to see you brought everyone from your little crew." Issei smirked noticing Kuroka and then paused when he saw Le Fay.
"Umm hello." Le Fay said bashfully wondering how this encounter would be when compared to their last one.
"Hello to you too miss Pendragon." Issei replied with a surprising amount of calm to the shock of everyone.
'It worked' Valerie thought to herself. This was a game changer.
"Okay guys let's get moved in. We can have reunion talks later." Azazel smiled wanting everyone to get focused.
"Of course" Issei replied calmly as he walked into the Gremory mansion.
(Scene Skip)
A smiling Issei relaxed in his room after a very amusing first day in the underworld. It took Issei all of thirty minutes to get his stuff set up in his room and not even five minutes later Yumi and Karlamine barged into his room with obvious intentions. They didn't leave the room till four hours later with big smiles on their faces.
After being introduced to Lord and Lady Gremory along with Rias's nephew Millicas, Issei had a relatively simple dinner which suited him nicely. The best part of the dinner was that most of it was spent talking about the Gremory group's training. since everyone knew that Issei spent his time with the kendo club and they didn't really want to discuss what happened. "This went well" Issei commented as he thought to the way things played out. So far nobody was aware of just what happened with the kendo club besides Azazel and that's all that mattered.
"Yes but you're going to need to discuss the elephant in the room sooner or later." Ddraig reminded him out loud since they were alone.
"Yeah" Issei replied before he received a knock on his door. "Come on in" Issei shouted and in walked Rias once again.
"Hey there" Rias said with a smile. She was in a sheer pink v cut nightgown that showed off her magnificent breasts.
"Hey yourself." Issei smiled.
"This might sound like a weird request Issei but can I… can I cuddle with you for a little bit. I may not be one of your lovers but I would like to know what it's like just once." Rias said bashfully.
"What what's like?" Issei asked with a smile on his face.
Rias blushed heavily but realized he was teasing her, "I'd like to know what it's like to have the Red Dragon Emperor in my arms as a passionate lover." Rias confessed.
"Alright but how about I do you one better." Issei smiled as he got up from the bed.
"Huh" Rias said in disbelief. Did she hear him right? One better would suggest that Issei was actually about to sleep with her.
"You heard me Rias. How about instead of just cuddling with me, you get the full Issei experience and not as a punishment" Issei smiled as he walked over to Rias with a calm stride.
"This isn't a joke is it. You're going to actually have sex with me this time right. You're not going to just fuck my ass brutally and leave" Rias said nervously recalling the time Issei claimed her anal virginity before Issei trained Gasper.
Issei smiled as he arrived in front of Rias and wrapped his arms around her waist, "That's right Rias. I'm going to fuck you properly. So what do you say?" Issei smiled. He soon got his answer when Rias slammed her lips against his.
(Scene Skip)
As she relaxed against Issei's naked body Rias should've been thrilled, but instead of being happy Rias couldn't help but wonder why the sudden change. She shouldn't have been complaining, but it simply wasn't issei's style. "Hey Issei" Rias asked as she moved her head towards the man who took her front and back virginities.
"What is it Rias" Issei replied before pecking her on the lips.
"Why now?" Rias wondered ignoring how much she enjoyed Issei's lips against hers.
"Why now what" Issei replied again.
Rias twitched internally because Issei was messing around. If anything it all but confirmed that he had a less than honorable reason for sleeping with her, "Why did you decide to sleep with me tonight. We both know you have plenty of options and I'm typically not one of them. What are you hiding?" Rias frowned.
"My trip to the beach wasn't as cut and dry as everyone thinks." Issei replied.
In other words, he slept with her to soften the blow of some bad news. "So what happened?" Rias pouted.
"A member of the Khaos Brigade ran into the girls from the club on their way back from a spa trip and kidnapped them." Issei deadpanned.
Rias gasped a bit but quickly calmed down. If anything major happened, Issei would've gone on a rampage and she would've known by now, "So what's the damage." Rias wondered.
Issei smiled before kissing her on the lips again, "Ironically enough very little. Due to some luck on my end, I was able to safely get to the girls and they were unharmed. After Irina and Xenovia saved them, I tortured the hell out of the guy who kidnapped them before killing him." Issei said nonchalantly.
"I see" Rias sweatdropped. The nonchalance with which he said he tortured and killed another human being was slightly terrifying.
"The girls accepted everything and in due time I was forced to reveal you guys but the girls promised to keep it a secret. Katase's aunt was the only other person involved and we erased her memories instantly. Actually I wonder if the girls all decided to keep it a secret because of that" Issei smiled. Knowing he could erase their memories was terrifying and that probably made it easier to keep the secret, the sex helped also.
Rias wanted to be angry at him but the fact that there was no harm done was a good thing. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about or should I just leave until your real partner for tonight comes." Rias said with a bit of mirth.
"There is one more thing actually and this one is a bit of a doozy." Issei smiled bitterly as he got out of the bed and walked over to his desk.
"What else happened?" Rias wondered as she leaned up.
"Just before I left, I asked Valerie to see if she could look into the incident that got Asia kicked out and see if she could figure out what happened to her" Issei admitted as he looked through his backpack for the photo he printed out during the small time period he was at home.
"You found out who the devil was." Rias stated. Admittedly she was curious about that herself but since she was careful about triggering things with her peerage, never bothered to ask.
"Yes I did. Valerie got a photo of him on a flash drive and she gave it to me while I was at the beach. Naturally, I printed it out when I had a chance so." Issei smiled before reaching for the photo and handing it to the naked heiress. It took all of three seconds for a look of horror to appear on Rias's face.
"Issei… is there any chance at all that this photo is faked?" Rias asked with a mix of fury and sadness on her face. Issei could see the thin veil of power forming around her body.
"None." Issei replied.
Rias gave Issei back the photo and walked over to the bed. If Issei could see her face right now he would see a level of fury that was almost unheard of from the young woman. "Well Issei I know who this is and right now I'm so furious I could scream. I want you to fuck the anger out of me, NOW!" Rias requested as she got back on the bed and got into Issei's favored doggystyle position and spread her pussy for him.
"That can be arranged" Issei smiled before going back to the bed and fucking Rias until early the morning to calm her down. Issei had a feeling that if he hadn't, Rias would've done something similar to what he did to the Khaos Brigade member, to the person who she was talking about. Not that Issei minded at all.
That's it for Chapter 19 and the fun is just beginning. Next time Issei's revelations change everything and not in a good way. Things only get worse when a mysterious young woman shows up in the Gremory Territory out of nowhere.