Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or High School DxD or any of their characters. Those belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Ichiei Ishibumi respectively.
(Some Desolate Place)
A portal opened up on top of a small cliff a few feet away from the edge and out of the portal stepped a long haired blonde woman.
She was wearing a pair of black shorts that ended just above her knees, a red top which hugged her body; she had a pair of black ninja sandals adorning her feet. A red high collared cloak with black flame pattern at the end that reached till her ankles.
Natsumi looked around the desolate place for a moment noticing the red sky, 'So, I am somewhere in the Devils' dimension' she thought absentmindedly.
Before she could ponder something else, the stench of blood reached her nostrils making her grimace slightly.
Moving towards the edge of the of the cliff, she looked down, her eyes widening slightly at the sight that lay before her.
There were bodies everywhere she could see along with huge craters that littered the whole landscape.
Dread filled her at the sight. It was not the first time she was witnessing something like this, but the possible implications made her panic slightly.
Focusing her Mangekyo slightly, she recognized that the bodies belonged not just to the devils, but also angels and fallen angels as evident by the white and black feathered wings some of them possessed.
She jumped down from the cliff, landing softly on her haunches. Getting up, she started walking through the battlefield, trying to recognize the people.
She recognized some of the faces – Sirzechs, Grayfia, Azazel. She knew they were really strong people, signifying that the chimera like being that was still causing havoc in the distance must be really powerful if the likes of Sirzechs and Azazel together along with all the others couldn't take it down together.
Natsumi continued to look around, trying to find a specific person and hoping that she doesn't find that person. The longer it was taking for her, the complicated her emotions got. She was feeling relief and dread at the same time.
After looking around for a bit, her eyes landed on a brown haired teenage boy who was wearing the remains of what looked like the Kuoh Academy's boys' uniform.
The slight relief the blonde was feeling vaporized into nothing as she recognized the bloody body belonged to Issei.
Natsumi started to panic and doubled her efforts, now running around, checking the whole area for the one person she was hoping she would not find here.
She found some more of her students – Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Asia. Each time she found one of them, her heart filled with even more dread and her heart beat increased.
Having searched the battlefield for a few seconds, she noticed a familiar mane of red hair in the distance.
Her body just froze on the spot. Natsumi lost all hope she had at the sight. She had already found Sirzechs in the other direction. Her brain knew what this meant, even though her heart didn't want to believe it.
Natsumi started moving slowly towards the redhead, "No No No No No No No" she whispered to herself as she moved.
As she got closer, she recognized the Kuoh Academy's girls' uniform even though the clothes were torn at various places with blood staining the remainder of the clothes.
The red-haired girl lying face down and Natsumi was now close enough to see a small black rod sticking through her back where her heart would normally be.
Tears started to fall freely from the blonde's face as she continued to slowly close the gap between herself and the dead person.
Having reached the fallen girl, she crouched down, pulled the black rod out and put her hands under dead body in an attempt to flip it.
Natsumi couldn't help but hesitate though, 'Please. Please be someone else' she desperately pleaded before she steeled herself somewhat and flipped the girl over.
Natsumi gasped seeing the familiar beautiful albeit blood-covered face, lost her balance and fell to her knees. Her heart skipping a few beats in shock and realization.
Her breathing hitched as her tears doubled down at the sight of her redhead surrogate daughter lying dead in front of her, her worst fears having come true.
She cradled Rias' upper body in her arms embracing her as she continued to cry.
"I-I am so-sorry, I couldn't sa-save you. I sho-should ha-have come soo-sooner" Natsumi wheezed out, "I-I am sor-sorry. I-I am sor-sorry. I-I am sor-sorry." She continued to apologize while holding on to her dead surrogate daughter's cold body and crying uncontrollably.
(Uzumaki Residence, Night Time)
Rias had woken up in the middle of the night feeling parched and thirsting for water.
She got up from her bed and headed for the kitchen while rubbing her eyes slightly, still feeling sleepy. Once in the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator. Taking out a water bottle, turning the cap open, she proceeded to drink the cool water.
Once done, she put the bottle back and closed the refrigerator door and started walking towards her room.
Just as she was about to enter her room, she heard some noises coming from her surrogate mother's room.
The redhead deciding to check on her moved towards her room. As she moved closer to the room, she could make out her surrogate mother's mumbling. It seemed like she was apologizing to someone with a hitch in her voice that came with crying.
Having heard that, Rias hurried into Natsumi's room and found the older woman crying in her sleep while continuously repeating 'I am sorry' over and over.
Hurrying towards her bedside, Rias bent over and shook the blonde's shoulders slightly, "Kaa-chan, Kaa-chan" she called out.
Hearing her name being called, Natsumi opened her eyes slowly, purple bleeding out to reveal blue eyes.
'Were her eyes just purple now or Was I imaging?' Rias thought to herself, having noticed the change even in the darkness due to her devil eye sight.
Natsumi turned towards the person calling out to her, "Ri-Rias?" she asked as she got up and sat on her bed.
Rias let go her surrogate mother's shoulders and switched on the bedside lamp, "Yes, Kaa-chan, it's me" she replied with a small smile.
With the bedside lamp now illuminating the room slightly, Natsumi could clearly see her surrogate daughter, which brought some fresh tears to her eyes, 'It was just nightmare. Thank God' she thought, relieved to see the redhead alive and well.
Natsumi just embraced the standing redhead startling her a bit, the blonde's hands circling around Rias' waist as her head rubbed against her belly over her t-shirt. Natsumi could feel the warmth coming from the redhead, unlike the version she just witnessed in her dream. The thought itself caused the blonde's breath to hitch again.
Rias got a bit worried at her mother's reaction. It was the first time she had witnessed the blonde woman acting like this since they met a few years ago, 'The nightmare must be horrific for her to act like this' she had already figured her surrogate mother had nightmare.
"It was just a nightmare, Kaa-chan" Rias started, embracing the blonde mother back trying to console her by rubbing her back gently, "I don't know what you saw, but whatever it was , it was just a bad dream".
Natsumi simply nodded into her daughter's belly.
The surrogate mother-daughter duo remained in that position for a few moments.
Having stopped her tears and calmed herself, Natsumi let go of the redhead and straightened up.
She rubbed off her tear streaked cheeks with the back of her hands.
"Feeling better, Kaa-chan?" Rias asked, concern evident in her voice.
"Yes, Musume" Natsumi just smiled back weakly.
"Want to talk about it?" the redhead enquired further.
Natsumi just shook her head, "Not today, maybe some other time". The blonde did not want to relive the horrific memory again so soon.
Rias just nodded, "Okay. Whenever you feel like sharing, I am always here", she smiled softly. She knew her mother would come clean soon and so, she didn't want to force her to relive the nightmare when she was not ready.
Rias was about to leave the room, when an idea popped in her head, "Kaa-chan" she started, gaining the blonde's attention, "Would you like it if I sleep next to you tonight?" she finished.
Natsumi just smiled at her daughter's thoughtfulness, "Yes" she simply nodded back.
With a smile, Rias walked to the other side of the bed while closing the bedroom door on her way and got under the covers of the double bed.
Natsumi switched off the lamp and turned towards the redhead who was already lying facing towards her.
Natsumi herself proceeded to lay down on the bed, cuddling the redhead into her chest, "Thank You, Rias. Good Night. I love you" she whispered into the redhead's ears closing her eyes.
"I love you too, Kaa-chan" Rias replied back closing her eyes as well "Good Night".
The surrogate mother-daughter fell asleep soon, cuddling.
(The Next Day. Kuoh Academy Infirmary. After School Hours)
Natsumi was standing by the medicine cupboard, looking through the medicines she had in the infirmary, making sure that none of them had already expired.
She was wearing a white knee-length pencil skirt along with a red button up shirt. Her legs were covered in skin-colored stockings while her feet adorned a pair of red medium heeled shoes. She had her usual white nurse's coat on. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun with two chest-length bangs framing her face.
A knock on the door got her attention, "Come in" she smiled already knowing who was behind the closed door.
The door slid open revealing a smiling Rias, "Good Evening Nat-Sensei" she greeted the blonde surrogate mother, while stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
"Good Evening, Rias-chan" Natsumi greeted back continuing to sort through the medicinal supply.
Rias put her bag on one of the chairs and joined the blonde nurse, "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Just checking for expired stuff" Natsumi replied back while she put a bottle of cough syrup which had not expired back in the cupboard.
"I will help" the red head declared and started doing the same as the blonde nurse, focusing on the shelf below the one Natsumi was sorting through.
"Thanks" Natsumi just smiled.
"Um, Kaa-chan" Rias started, calling the blonde by the affectionate title now that they were alone.
"Hmmm?" Natsumi just hmmmed in response, signaling the redhead to continue.
"My brother contacted me during lunch break" Rias started again, "You remember Azazel, the blonde fallen angel that took Kokabiel away?" she asked the blonde nurse.
"The leader of their faction, right?" Natsumi asked back while looking at the expiration date on a bottle of antiseptic.
"Yes" Rias nodded, "He contacted my brother regarding the incident. He wants to call for a meeting between the leaders of the three major factions in order to discuss the ceasefire of a peace treaty we have now in hopes of converting it into a proper peace treaty"
"That's good news" Natsumi looked towards her surrogate daughter pausing her activity for a moment, prompting Rias to do the same, "That's good and safe for everyone" she smiled at the redhead.
Rias smiled and nodded back, "Yes. Yes it is" both of them resumed what they were doing before Rias added, "My brother wants me to host the meeting here in the club, as the governing lady of the territory where the attack happened"
Natsumi almost dropped the bottle in her hand from shock, but she composed herself before Rias could notice. She didn't want to worry her again.
The thought of the leaders of devils, angels and fallen angels meeting together with Rias and her peerage hosting said meeting brought back the memories from the nightmare, mainly because in her dream, the three factions lost to a single being and her Rias was there too.
As an image of the cold lifeless body of her surrogate daughter flashed through her mind, Natsumi bit her lip lightly, 'It was just a nightmare' she reminded herself trying to forget that image before focusing on the redhead, "Are you nervous?" she asked in an attempt to divert the topic slightly.
Rias took put the strip of cold medicine she holding back in the cupboard and turned towards her surrogate mother, "Yes. Slightly. Actually quite a bit. It is such a huge responsibility" she admitted.
Natsumi pushed away her concern regarding her nightmare, knowing how important such a meeting could be for the betterment of every party involved.
She smiled and put her left hand on top of Rias' head, "Don't worry. It's going to be fine. You will do great" she tried to cheer up the redhead.
Rias smiled at that, "I will do my best" she replied back with enthusiasm this time.
"That's all that matters" the blonde replied back.
"Oh, and before I forget," the redhead started again, "I will be staying the night at the Gremory estate" she added, getting a raised eyebrow from the blonde in front from her.
Understanding the not asked question, the red haired devil added, "Onii-sama wants to discuss about the summit. Also, Okaa-sama asked me as it has been some time since I have returned back".
Natsumi just nodded and smiled, "It has been a few weeks since you last visited, hasn't it?" she asked getting a nod from the redhead before both of them got back to what they were doing with Rias going through some of the ideas she had on she could host the meeting with Natsumi just adding some helpful pointers to her ideas.
Once done with the sorting, Rias looked at the clock in the room, noticing that it was almost time to head to her peerage.
"Alright, Kaa-chan. I guess, I should get going" she said to the blonde nurse.
"Okay. See you tomorrow then?" Natsumi asked her surrogate daughter.
"Yep, see you tomorrow" Rias smiled at her surrogate mother before she picked up her bag and went on to embrace the blonde in a hug, who happily returned it back.
"Have a good night, Kaa-chan" Rias said waving her right hand at the blonde, who waved her own hand in return with a smile, "You too, Musume. Have a good night".
The red haired devil then left the infirmary to join her peerage for her club activities. Natsumi, too, decided to leave early for the day, having completed the day's work.
On her way back home, the blonde's mind wandered back to the conversation she had with her surrogate daughter a couple hours ago as well as the nightmare she had last night, which brought on a frown on her face.
It had only been a couple of weeks since the redhead's encounter with one of the former leaders of the fallen angels who was after the redhead's life. It was all thanks to Natsumi's training that the redhead had gotten strong enough to take him down.
'And now the meeting of the three factions, just after I had that dream' Natsumi thought, her frown deepening, 'Could this just be a coincidence? Or did that dream mean something'.
"Well, there isn't much benefit to pondering. Guess, I will have to take some measures" the blonde thought out loud to herself.
She didn't want to interfere in something that could be a potential alliance between the three factions. But there was one thing she could do to make sure her surrogate daughter remained unharmed. Nodding to herself, Natsumi continued to walk towards her home, having already decided what she needed to do.
(Next Day. Uzumaki Residence. Post Dinner)
Both Natsumi and Rias were in the living room, relaxing on the couch after having dinner. Both of them were wearing casual shorts and t-shirts, with Natsumi sporting blue short with a red t-shirt while Rias was wearing a combination of black and white respectively. Both of them had let their hair loose.
They were watching a movie on the TV. Natsumi glanced towards her red haired surrogate daughter, contemplating on how to go on about the discussion without having to bring up the nightmare. She didn't want to worry the redhead.
"My brother contacted me with the meeting timings" Rias mentioned turning towards the blonde, "It will be held in a week's time, in the old school building, right after we finish classes"
Natsumi just nodded, "That's close" she commented.
"MMhmm." Rias nodded as well, "Well, with the circumstances leading into it, I guess they are in a bit of a rush to get things started on the treaty" she finished.
"It makes sense" Natsumi replied back, "Does that give you enough time to get things in order at the club? Need any help?" she asked the redhead.
"I appreciate the offer, Kaa-chan" the redhead started with a smile on her face, "But, I want to do this on my own. I will have to lead the Gremory family in the future, I guess I will have to start on these kinds of things at some point" she added, "I know you will never mind, but I just don't want to use your affections towards me for everything"
Natsumi smiled at her daughter's thoughtfulness, "Well, at least you know that I am always here ready to help" she said. Natsumi was thankful how the conversation had steered itself, helping her to bring up the topic, "Having said that, I have something to give to you" the blonde revealed.
Rias was confused slightly, "Umm, Kaa-chan, didn't you just give me that limited edition Son Goku figurine two weeks back?" she asked her surrogate mother.
Natsumi smiled back, "That was different. This one has a different purpose. Let me explain" she said, before she took a deep breath and added, "Ever since you told me about the meeting, I have been feeling anxious. Even the attack on you and your friends last time could have gone a lot differently had we never trained".
Rias could only just nodded at that. She, herself, knew that without her training, she most likely would have ended up that. But the meeting part was unexpected. The most powerful people from each faction will be there, it might be one of the safest places on Earth that day.
"Is it because of the nightmare, Kaa-chan?" the redhead asked.
"I would be lying if I said no. But, I am still a bit uncomfortable talking about it for now" the blonde truthfully responded, effectively stopping Rias to question her further on that topic, "And that's why, I want to give you something" she added as she activated her Rinnegan.
Before Rias could say or ask anything, the blonde clapped her hands together molding her yin-yang chakra and chanted, "Banbutsu Sozo no Jutsu".
Her hands glowed slightly for a few moments. Once, Natsumi had successfully created what she imagined, she deactivated her doujutsu.
She opened her palms showing the redhead in front of her what she had created.
"Wow. Did you create that using chakra, Kaa-chan?" she asked in amazement. It was her first time seeing something like this. It was a gold chain with a gold tear drop shaped pendant about the size of her thumbnail. The pendant had a red sapphire in the middle in the same shape as the pendant, only slightly smaller in size.
Natsumi just nodded handing the necklace to the redhead, who took it with both hands, "So cool, Kaa-chan. And it's so beautiful" the redhead commented, admiring the simple yet elegant design.
Natsumi chuckled slightly at her surrogate daughter's reaction, "I am glad you like it. I saw it in one of the stores I visited recently. I created it from my memory"
Rias just nodded in amazement. She turned the pendant around, just to see how it was from behind, when she noticed the pendant had a spiral shaped engraving on the back and when she looked closely, she could make out some patterns in the spiral.
"Is this a seal?" she asked the blonde woman in front of her, showing her the design.
"Yes" Natsumi simply replied back.
"What does it do?" immediately came the next question.
Natsumi chuckled slightly at the redhead's curiosity "I will explain, but first, can you pour some of your energy into it?" she asked the redhead.
Nodding her head, Rias proceeded to do exactly that. She didn't know what the seal did, but she knew her surrogate mother well enough to know that she will get the answer soon anyways.
Holding the pendant using her left hand, she placed her right index finger on the seal and channeled some of her energy into it. The seal sipped her energy as if it was sponge.
"That should be enough" Natsumi said, stopping the redhead from putting in any more energy.
Natsumi extended her right hand forward, "Pass it to me for a sec" she asked her surrogate daughter.
Rias handed over the necklace and relaxed back a little.
Natsumi did the same as she had asked Rias to do and channel some of her chakra into the seal, before handing the necklace back to the redhead.
"Rias" the blonde started, this time with a serious expression getting the red haired devil's attention, "Whenever you are in danger and are unable to escape or fight your way out, channel some of your energy into that pendant"
This caused Rias' eyes to widen slightly, her mind already deducing what the necklace was for.
Though, Natsumi continued her explanation, "That seal is designed to let me teleport to your location in an instant".
Rias was about to speak but Natsumi cut her off, "I know you don't want to be a burden on me by depending on me too much. But, I just want to make sure you remain safe always. You are my number one priority, Rias. So, just promise me you will do as I asked you to" she finished, her voice wavering at the end slightly as the images from her nightmare came back to her.
Rias had already guessed somewhat about what her surrogate mother had dreamt about based on her reaction last night. But, it was now that she was facing some of the severity of the dream.
"I promise, Kaa-chan. You don't have to worry" Rias said as she went on to embrace the blonde in front of her, so as to alleviate her worries.
The blonde returning it back. The duo separating after a few moments.
"And I have locked your energy signature using my chakra" Natsumi started after breaking the embrace, "So, only you can use the pendant. So, keep it with you at all times" she finished.
Rias just nodded as she proceeded to hook the necklace around her neck.
"It looks great on you, Musume" Natsumi complimented the redhead getting some color into her surrogate daughter's cheeks.
"Thank you, Kaa-chan" Rias smiled with a blush.
The surrogate mother-daughter duo focused their attention back to the TV, now that the important conversation was over and continued to watch the film in a comfortable silence, before it was time to call it a night.
(Next Week. Old School Building. After School Hours)
Rias and her peerage were waiting for the delegations from each faction to arrive. Each of them were in their respective school uniforms, as the classes had just ended.
There was one new addition to her peerage though. The blue haired exorcist, Xenovia Quarta, who had visited them during the Kokabiel incident had contacted the redhead again the next day asking if she could join her peerage.
Having already befriended both the exorcists, Rias was happy to welcome a new member in her family and she resurrected the blue haired girl as her other knight.
Rias wasn't sporting the weighted wrist and ankle bands, Natsumi giving her the day off, as she was using the weights every day since her fight with Kokabiel.
During the past week, they had renovated the main assembly hall of the building to be able to host the summit.
They had cleaned the hall and put a large circular table in the center for the members of the delegations to sit.
They also had put up a barrier field around the building in order to keep the unwanted guests out.
It was a tiring week for everyone in her peerage but they had pulled through.
Now, the only thing to do was to wait.
They didn't have to wait long though. The floor in front of them shone brightly as a result of a magic circle. The light died down revealing that it was the Devil faction that had arrived first.
The devils' delegation consisted of Rias' brother Sirzechs Lucifer, a black haired girl and a green haired man.
The beautiful girl who appeared to be in her late teens had black hair which was tied into twin tails and blue eyes. She had a child-like body but with large breasts. She was wearing a dark green knee-length skirt with frills at the helm along with a double breasted full sleeved shirt in a lighter shade of green. She had a light pink colored scarf around her shirt collar while her twin tails were tied up using a pink ribbon.
The man was bewitchingly beautiful and attractive and appeared to be in his early twenties. He had light blue eyes and slicked back green hair. He was dressed in a camo green three piece suit with a black shirt and matching green tie. His feet were covered in black leather shoes.
Sirzechs was wearing a white three piece suit with a white shirt but red tie. His coat had black and gold embroidery on the shoulders. He was also wearing white leather shoes. His long red hair flowing freely behind him.
"Rias-chan" the red haired man exclaimed on seeing his sister in a long time, "How are you and your friends doing?"
"We are doing fine, Onii-sama" Rias replied back with a small smile before she greeted the other satans bowing politely, "Good Evening, Serafall-sama, Ajuka-sama" her peerage reflecting her actions.
"Good evening, Rias-tan" the twin-tailed girl, now known as Serafall, was the first to reply, followed by the man in green, now identified as Ajuka, "Good Evening, Gremory-san".
Before anything more could be said, another magical teleportation circle interrupted them. Out of the circle came the delegation from the fallen angels led by Azazel and consisted of Vali and a white haired man.
Rias noticed that both Azazel and Vali were in the same outfits as they had been in when they came to Kuoh to retrieve Kokabiel.
The white haired man had the appearance of a handsome man in his twenties, with purple eyes. His outfit consisted of a purple beret hat, purple trench coat over a black vest, white pants and black boots.
"Hello everyone" Azazel started as they joined the other group, "I am the Governor-General of the Grigori, Azazel" he introduced himself extending his right hand forward towards Sirzechs who reciprocated the gesture for a hand shake, "This is one of the leaders of my faction, Shemhazai" he gestured towards the white haired man on his right, the now named Shemhazai nodded politely in greeting as well.
He then gestured towards the man on his left, "And this is my protégé, Vali", said protégé nodding in greeting as well.
It was Sirzechs who took the role of introducing his own delegation while Rias introduced herself along with her peerage. Each person nodding politely in greeting reflecting the actions of the fallen angels.
It wasn't long before another magic circle signaled the arrival of the last delegation, that of the angels. The delegation consisted of two blonde males and a blonde female.
"Hello, every one. Sorry, we were a bit late" one of the blonde males started, the three having joined the group as well. "My name is Michael, I am the current leader of the Seraphs as well as the angels" he introduced himself in a polite tone.
He had the appearance of a handsome-looking man with long blond hair and green eyes. His eyes were shaped in a perpetually sad manner. He was wearing a black three piece suit with a white shirt underneath and a black tie. He also had black leather shoes along with white socks. His long blond hair had been left loose.
He then gestured towards the blonde woman on his right, "This is Gabriel, another of the Seraphs" he introduced the lady. "How do you do? I am Gabriel" re-introduced the blonde female.
She had the appearance of an extremely beautiful woman with curly blonde hair and a voluptuous figure. She was wearing white business suit with a blue shirt under the coat and a knee-length pencil skirt. Her legs were covered in skin-colored stockings while her feet in white medium heeled office shoes. Her hair was left loose.
Having seeing the beautiful blonde, Issei was having trouble controlling his urges to just ogle her beautiful clothed breasts and praise whoever created them. Though, he did try his best knowing the importance of the meeting.
Michael then gestured towards his left, introducing the other blonde male, "This is Dulio Gesulado, my Joker" getting a polite bow from the guy.
He was a handsome young man with blond hair and green eyes. He was dressed in priest clothes.
There were another round of introductions by the devils whereas Azazel just introduced Vali, the angels already familiar with both the fallen angels' leaders as they were once angels themselves.
"Now that we are all here, we should start" it was Sirzechs who initiated, getting a nod from all the leaders.
Rias, nodding towards her brother, got her peerage members to show the leaders to their respective seats around the table.
The three delegations were sitting equidistant from each other around the round table. Sirzechs was in the middle for the devils, with Serafall on his left and Ajuka on his right.
For the angels, it was Michael in the center, with Gabriel sitting on his right and Dulio on the left.
For the Grigori, it was Azazel in the center, with Vali sitting on his right and Shemhazai on his left.
It was Azazel who started the discussions with the attack on the Gremory heiress, asking Rias to narrate the incident from her point of view.
She obliged with the request, narrating almost everything that happened that night. She obviously left out her surrogate mother from the story knowing that if the blonde wanted to be known, she would not be living with her power sealed.
"I know, this was something that was orchestrated by a leader from my faction" the Governor-General of the Grigori started, "And I am truly sorry for that. But I can promise you all that, war is not something we crave. Also, we all know there are people in each of our factions who want the war to resume" he finished looking at the other leaders.
Neither the devils nor the angels could refute that claim. Sirzechs knew that the older devils definitely craved for war, while Michael knew that there were some people in his faction that wanted the same, they might not be angels, but his faction consisted of exorcists as well.
"And they still try mainly because they know we merely have a ceasefire at the moment, not a true treaty or alliance that will guarantee peace." the blonde fallen angel added.
"I agree" it was Ajuka who spoke up this time, "It is much easier to violate a ceasefire agreement with very little consequences to an individual. As long as we don't do something about the it, incidents like these will continue to happen."
"It wasn't the first time, and it definitely won't be the last" Serafall agreed with her fellow Satan.
"We agree as well" it was Gabriel who spoke from the angels' side getting satisfied smiles from everyone present.
"So, we all agree to put an end to the existing ceasefire and aim for a proper peace treaty" Michael summarized the collective sentiments of the three delegations, getting nods of approval from each faction's leaders.
"So, I guess, this moment effectively marks the end of the Great War as we take a step towards a truly peaceful future" Sirzechs smiled at the leaders, "I say, we extend this summit, so as to reach a definite conclusion regarding the negotiations that will need to be put in place"
"I second that" Michael replied with a smile.
"So do I" came the reply of Azazel.
Rias was happy that the meeting was a success, but was also groaning inside for having to host the summit longer than she expected.
Before anything else could be said or agreed upon, they were interrupted by another magic teleportation circle at the center of the table. None of them recognized this one though, which made each of the party to stand up from their seats, their guards up.
Out of the teleportation circle, appeared someone who had the appearance of a middle-aged man in his forty's . He had dark silver hair, a goatee and hazel eyes. He was wearing white colored robes with blue and gold highlights over some black colored inners. He had blue and gold shoulder pads over his shoulders, much like the ones on Michael. But, unlike Michael's, his had multiple plates that went down till his elbow.
The Satans recognized the man, but before they could do something, the man cast a wide teleportation circle, teleporting the entire group including Rias and her peerage out of the Old School Building in Kuoh.
(Kuoh Academy. Infirmary. A few minutes earlier)
Natsumi was in the infirmary, giving first aid to a student who had gotten himself a scratched knee during his club activities.
The student, a boy, was sitting on one of the beds, with Natsumi herself sitting on her chair which she had dragged across the room.
The blonde woman was in her usual outfit consisting of a black pencil skirt along with a green button up shirt over which she wore a white doctor's coat. She also had her usual black stockings and medium heeled black office shoes on. Her hair was tied up in a high pony tail.
The unnamed student in front of her was of average height and build, had short brown hair and black eyes. He was wearing a magenta colored tracksuit. He had both his legs up on the bed, with the track pant on his left leg propped up for easy access to his scratches.
"All done" she said once she was done, putting the bandages back in the box and got up, prompting the student to roll down his pants get up as well.
"Thank you, Sensei" he thanked the blonde nurse bowing politely, getting a soft smile from the blonde.
Natsumi might have been working, but her main focus was towards the old school building where Rias' Occult Research Club gathered. She had her senses extended looking out for her surrogate daughter, just in case something unexpected happened.
The blonde knew the redhead was in a safe place with the strongest members of not only her race but other factions as well present and she could tell from their emotions that they didn't mean any harm and truly wished to co-operate with the others. But that didn't satisfy the paranoia she was feeling.
Normally, she would have liked to be present as well, but Rias wanted to handle the affair on her own. There was also the fact that her presence there would raise more questions.
Then there was also the fact that she didn't know much about the workings of the factions apart from what little information Rias knew and had told her. As such, she didn't want to interfere with their summit.
What she was doing right now, using her chakra to get a sense of the place was the next best thing for the blonde.
Just as the unnamed student left the infirmary, the blonde nurse felt a hostile presence where the delegations had gathered.
The presence didn't last too long though and only a moment later, she couldn't sense a single living being in the old school building.
This caused the blonde surrogate mother to panic for the safety of the one person she had come to love after her family had passed away.
'Wi-will it come true' Natsumi thought, the dream she thought was just a nightmare seemed to be coming true.
She rushed out of the infirmary, running towards the old school building with all the speed her sealed form could provide, which was still much quicker than an athlete. In her panic, she had forgotten about the seals she had placed on her and the other quicker modes of travel available to her.
As she ran, she ripped the left side of her skirt till just below her hips, providing herself with some much needed free movement.
It didn't take long for the blonde to reach the barrier surrounding the building, which she easily bypassed using her intangibility.
She then continued to rush towards the main assembly hall, where Rias had told her the meeting would be held. Once there, she pushed the doors open looking around with her Mangekyo, as well as extending her chakra so as to find any clue she could about the whereabouts of her surrogate daughter.
Finding nothing, she started to hyperventilate a little from panic, before she got a hold of her emotions.
'I need to calm down if I want to find her' she thought and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down.
'I am sure she will contact me, in case things go south' she thought, trying keep her spirits up. She went ahead and sat in one of the chairs and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the little chakra she had sealed in the necklace that she given to the redhead.
(With Rias. Somewhere in Devils' Dimension)
Rias and her peerage along with the delegations from the three factions were somewhere in a desolate barren land in the Devils' Dimension, as evident from the red sky above.
There were no signs to any kind of flora or fauna for miles. There was nothing but small hills, cliffs and rocks everywhere.
Though, there current location was the least of their worries. All of their attention was on what was in front of them, a sight which had shocked all of them.
In front of them stood a large beast with characteristics coming from different animals like a lion, a leopard, a bear, a dragon, etc. It had seven necks, seven heads, ten horns, as well as seven long thick tails of different shapes. It also had four stout arms and two legs, even thicker than its arms. Its main body was that of a primate leaning forward and it was covered in black fur and what appeared to be scales all over its body. Its size was well over several hundred meters.
None of the people present were even had the capability to gauge the power that the beast possessed, giving them the understanding that it severely outclassed everyone in not just size but raw power as well.
In front of the currently dormant beast stood two people, the silver haired man who had teleported all the leader here and one brown haired person.
The other person had the appearance of a handsome man dressed in black armor with a cape. He had long brown hair that with many bangs covering his right eye.
"What have you done Rizevim Lucifer, Shalba Beezlebub?" it was Sirzechs who asked the two guys in front of the beast, shock filling his voice.
"HA HA HA HA, of course we know" the silver haired man started, "Shalba and I have just gotten our hands on something that will help us wipe out you bastard Satans, the angels, the fallen angels and rule the world" he continued identifying the brown haired man as Shalba Beezlebub and indirectly himself as Rizevim Lucifer.
"We have been keeping tabs on you, trying to find a perfect opportunity to destroy you. But, guess our luck, we actually got the leaders of all three factions together under one roof. It became so much easier to just kill you all at one go" Rizevim added with an evil chuckle.
"Once we destroy you all here, we will destroy the other factions and we will have what was always rightfully ours" Shalba added with a boisterous smirk of his own.
"How did you even manage to find it, let alone unseal that beast?" Michael asked, still shocked that someone had managed to undo a seal that the Biblical God himself had created.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Rizevim asked a rhetorical question in return, "Not that I am gonna answer that question" he added smugly.
"That doesn't matter anymore anyways. You are fools, if you think you can control Trihexa" Michael stated, his usual calm demeanor already vanishing in front of the beast, now identified as Trihexa, and replaced with slight panic. The panic was mirrored on everyone faces on learning exactly what or who the beast with immeasurable power was.
"You have doomed us all" it was Azazel who spoke up this time, gritting his teeth, already aware of the difficulties that lay ahead.
Rizevim just chuckled evilly in return. He knew he couldn't control the beast completely, but he had enough control in order to direct the beast in certain direction and let it loose. Not that he would say that to anyone.
Well, everyone except a few. "What is a Trihexa?" Issei asked in a hushed tone. His question aimed at his King.
Before Rias could calm herself enough to answer the question, the newest addition to her peerage, Xenovia decided to answer, "That is Trihexa" she started pointing to the beast in front of them, "It's an ancient beast, said to rival even the Ouroboros Dragon Ophis and the Apocalypse Dragon, Great Red in power."
This got wide eyes from the brown haired teen. Rias had told him about the Dimensional Gap and the beings who supposedly resided there.
'God sacrificed himself to seal the monster' the dragon in his boosted gear supplied further, 'It would be a miracle if we survive this encounter' he added further, getting Issei to gulp from fear this time.
Rias was in deep though herself. She knew they stood no chance against the apocalyptic beast they were facing now. She took out the pendant her surrogate mother had given her from inside her shirt and clutched it tightly.
She was a bit hesitant to call for the blonde former shinobi. The redhead knew that her surrogate mother was much stronger than any of the people that were on her side in the inevitable fight that would soon follow.
But, now that she had witnessed the power of the apocalyptic beast, she didn't want her loving surrogate mother to face off the beast, knowing full well that once she called her, she would end up facing the Trihexa. She knew the blonde was strong, but so was the beast in front of her.
But on the other hand, the redhead had made a promise to the blonde surrogate mother and she knew how the blonde would react if something ever happened to her.
She didn't want herself to be the reason of sadness for her mother. It wasn't just the blonde surrogate mother either, she knew what the reaction of her family as well will be, if they learned of what happened to herself and her brother.
'What should I do, kaa-chan, Okaa-sama?' the redhead asked to herself.
As Rias was in her moral dilemma, the leaders of the three factions had started releasing their energy, getting ready for the fight that was soon to follow.
Sirzechs had activated his Aura of Destruction, covering himself in his power of destruction, much like Rias' Ruin armor, the only difference being the density of the energy being less than his sister's version. Though, Sirzechs had never seen Rias using it, so he didn't know.
Ajuka got ready to use his own special magical ability, the Kankara Formula, ready to take control of the battlefield. Though, she seriously doubted if that would work on the beast of apocalypse.
Serafall started molding her ice magic as well, evident by the surrounding atmosphere growing cooler by the second.
All the angels released their wings while molding their light magic at the same time, Michael unleashing his twelve golden wings and Gabriel and Dulio unleashing their pure white ones, twelve and ten in number respectively.
Both Michael and Gabriel created spears of light using their energy while Dulio created twin broadswords, one in each hand.
The fallen angels followed suit, both Azazel and Shemhazai unleashing their twelve jet black wings ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Vali called forth for his scale mail armor, covering himself in a white armor with two energy wings unfolding from between his shoulder blades.
Rias' peerage, except Rias, geared up as well with Issei calling forth his own crimson scale mail armor and the two knights calling forth their swords using their sacred gears.
Koneko and Akeno got ready to fight as well, calling forth their demonic power with Koneko unleashing her nekoshou features.
"Asia, take shelter" Akeno asked the lone healer of the group, who nodded in return. She knew her role was in support and not direct confrontation.
Seeing their futile efforts, Rizevim smirked and sent a mental command to the beast behind him, waking up the currently dormant beast from its slumber. The beast opened all of its eyes and roared loudly releasing some of its power, getting ready to do what it had been created to do, destroy everything in its sight.
The roar sent shockwaves all around the desolate region forcing the people to brace themselves so as to not get blown away.
Rizevim and Shalba themselves powered up, already knowing someone will come after them. Also, they knew couldn't control trihexa completely, so they had to be ready to take action.
Before, any shots could be fired from any end though, Rias reached her decision.
She decided to call for her surrogate mother. She had made a promise after all and she knew her surrogate mother was strong, strong enough to maybe defeat the apocalyptic beast and if not, she knew she will be able to find a way. So, she decided to uphold her promise and put her faith along with everyone else's into her surrogate mother's strength again.
She channeled a small amount of her energy into the pendant as the smiling image of her surrogate mother flashed in her mind. The red sapphire glowed a bright red in her hands, with beams of red light escaping from the crevices of her folded hand, catching the eyes of everyone present.
(With Natsumi. Kuoh Academy Old School Building. Main Hall)
Having sensed the familiar call of her own chakra, Natsumi opened her eyes with a relieved smile on her face.
Her redheaded surrogate daughter had activated the seal, that meant she was safe, at least for now. Also she now had a marker to teleport to her location.
"Hold on Musume, Kaa-chan is coming" she said to no one before she concentrated on the chakra signature of the marker and vanished from the spot she was occupying in a golden flash leaving behind an empty hall.
End of Chapter 5
Author's Note: Here was the penultimate chapter. Let me know your thoughts on it.
Also, it was fun and encouraging as always to read your reviews.
Just in Chapter 3, I said I most probably will not be introducing Trihexa, and here I am today, ha ha ha.
If somebody feels that the whole Trihexa and Rizevim thing was out of the blue, I get it. But, just to point out, if it wasn't obvious, this whole story is mainly from the point of view from Natsumi with Rias point being second. They don't know what is happening behind the scenes so to speak. They don't know about what other characters are plotting and since, this fanfic is from their point of view, things seems sudden.
Also, I don't know about how the DxD story pans out exactly, as I never followed it after the 2nd volume. So this is me being a bit creative about it.
Ohh, if anyone wanna take a guess as to what exactly the nightmare is supposed to be, go ahead, leave a comment in the reviews. There should be enough hints in the previous chapters so as to make the guessing a piece of cake. I guess, bonus points for anyone who can get the closest, LOL. I don't have anything else to give, unfortunately. I will let you know in the next chapter of what I intended it to be, even if you all guess right.
Nothing else to add this time, so I will see you guys again in the final chapter.
Ohh, the technique used for people who might not know:
Banbutsu no Sozo no Justu: Creation of all things technique. This is directly taken from the Naruto franchise. It allows the user to create things using their chakra. The amount of chakra required depends on the complexity and size of the creation. The necklace in this chapter is fairly simple and small, so it didn't require much from our blonde.