Summary: Forced to stay home during his class's school trip, Meguri Souji never could have imagined that his life would be put in danger. After a run in with supernatural forces, he has no choice but to confront his past and decide how to approach the future. One thing is certain: he isn't going to be allowed to live a carefree life.
Pairing: OC/Kuroka
Notes: To preface this, I want to say that this is a more serious take on High School DxD. I absolutely love the setting, but the characters are done dirty way too often in my opinion. They're little more than one dimensional at times. If you're tired of that, I'd like to say you're in the right place.
Now, despite my issues with how the light novels and anime handle things, this story will be fairly explicit. It isn't a smutfic, but what kind of monster would I be if didn't include some sex scenes all the same? Just don't expect them to be the main focus of the story. The first will be in Chapter 13, and it's more wholesome than you'd expect.
Also, I won't be responding to any reviews or PMs asking about any projects other than this one, so don't be surprised if I ignore them.
Chapter One
In an ideal world, Meguri Souji would have been enjoying the sights in Kyoto with the rest of his classmates, not facing certain danger and potentially death. But the world wasn't what anyone would call ideal. This was just another in a long line of injustices.
Forced to stay behind due to his mother's family, Souji had decided to spend the day at the Meguri's shrine just outside of Kuoh. Maintaining the place was part of his duties, and it wasn't as if he had anything better to do.
However, after about ten minutes of traveling through the woods, an unnerving realization struck Souji. He wasn't alone. Someone was watching him. Another thought struck him, and it was even worse than the last. Perhaps it was not someone, but rather something.
Most people thought it was just an expression. Surely there was no way someone could know when they were being watched. But truthfully, it was something primal that humanity had possessed for millennia. There was nothing supernatural about it either. It was instinctual. Knowing when a predator was watching them was as natural to prey as breathing. Sadly, few people paid their instincts the attention they deserved.
A twinge of regret flickered through his violet eyes. Perhaps ignoring the elders and traveling to Kyoto would have been a good idea, even if they attempted to carry through on their death threat. At least with Gremory and Sitri around, he might have made it out alive.
He shook his head. Asking what if questions was pointless. He could not change decisions already made. Acting in the here and now was his only choice.
But what exactly was he going to do? That was the real question.
Unfortunately, he wasn't sure what kind of predator he was dealing with. With something normal like a wolf or a bear, he could just find a safe place to hide and wait it out. Responding with violence to scare it off was another viable option. But there were other kinds of predators out there. Ones that were far more dangerous than hundreds of wolves or bears. What if it was a supernatural predator? There were some species of youkai that treated humans as little more than sheep.
Expelling a breath, Souji gripped his walking stick a little harder and picked up his pace, though he kept his movement below a run. Running from a predator rarely worked out, so he instead moved purposefully, as if he had somewhere to be. Having come through here so often, he barely made a sound, nimbly avoiding fallen branches and twigs. Only the rustling of fallen brown leaves accompanied his movements.
When a few minutes passed without the hidden predator making a move, he bit back a curse. If it had been an animal, it would have made its move already. He was as sure of that as he could be. That meant that a genuine monster was likely watching him.
He still felt the ominous gaze when he reached his original destination, a small, dilapidated shrine. Even in its current condition, the shrine's aura could easily be felt by anyone that neared it. It held a sort of power that few places in Kuoh could match.
The moment he crossed the threshold of the shrine, he exhaled a breath that he hadn't even known he had been holding. His knees nearly buckled as the adrenaline that drove him began to ebb. But he couldn't afford to relax too much. Not just yet.
He closed the doors behind him and scanned the interior of the shrine. Contrary to the outside, it was almost pristine on the inside. Inari's altar was immaculate, though the ones dedicated to the other kami weren't in disrepair either.
If his suspicions were right and a monster was pursuing him, the shrine would be the safest place for him. The Shinto gods were passive when it came to the affairs of outsiders, but they acted swiftly and decisively when it came to their domain. Shinto shrines were their territory when it came right down to it, and they would not hesitate to smite any monster that dared to set foot within. Even those associated with other factions wouldn't enter such a place uninvited.
He took his backpack off and set it to the size. It contained a number of cleaning supplies and candles, the usual supplies he used for maintaining the shrine. Now, however, they were extra weight.
Souji gripped the walking stick that he carried and pulled it apart ever so slightly. It was actually a shikomizue, a Japanese cane sword that had been a gift from his father. He might not have inherited the Meguri clan's gifts, but his father had been insistent that he learn the way of the sword regardless. Still, his training wasn't so extensive that he could claim to be a master swordsman, even by mundane standards. It was, however, the only weapon he currently had at his disposal.
In the polished steel of the blade, he could see his features reflected. Even in the dimly lit shrine, his ashen hair and violet eyes shone clearly. Turning his gaze away from the steel, he was drawn to the beaded bracelet that adorned his right wrist. On second thought, his sword wasn't his only weapon, but that wasn't something that he could rely upon lightly. Sighing, he sheathed his shikomizue and made his way to another part of the shrine.
Like many shrines, this one was both a place of worship and safekeeping. Within this chamber of the shrine, a single katana was displayed. Its blade shone with light that was not reflected from any external source. Rather, its origin was the blade itself. It was the sword of Meguri Kojirou, his late father. The sword was one of the Totsuka no Tsurugi, a type of holy sword that wasn't particularly rare or special.
His eyes lingered on the blade, sorrow upon his face. He longed to take up the sword, but in his hands, it would have been nothing but wood and steel. For him to wield it would have been an act of disrespect. His sword might have been completely ordinary, but it would have to do. Even so, he knelt before the sword with his eyes closed. When his lips moved, no words came out, but it wasn't as if saying the words aloud would carry to his father any better.
After a long moment, he rose to his feet and made his way to the entrance of the shrine. But he had no intention of going out to face whatever had been watching him. Instead, he sat down near the door with his back against the wall and set the shikomizue within an arm's reach.
It was technically possible to just hide inside the shrine and wait until the predator lost interest and left. Unfortunately, he had to keep the Rule of Three in mind. A human could only survive three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, or three weeks without food. Without water on his person or in the shrine, it was entirely possible that he could die before the predator left. A flicker of dark amusement brought a smile to his face. Someone of that bloodline dying of a lack of water. Now that was irony.
A thought struck him, and he took the phone out of his pocket. He thumbed the cheap gray plastic of the device and flipped it open, only to let out a soft curse. The battery was nearly full, but the cell service was another matter entirely. He didn't even have a single bar. Calling for help wasn't a possibility.
That was not the only way to call for help, admittedly, but as he glanced around the shrine, Souji knew that the other way would not work any better. He had been forced to call upon the aid of the Sitri heiress before. Doing so again would have been a simple matter, albeit a costly one. But to try doing so inside of a Shinto shrine would have been like juggling torches above a vat of oil.
Souji scowled. "So, I either wait here or make a run for it."
In theory, he could try making a run for it and calling for help once outside the shrine, but that seemed even more likely to get himself killed.
With a sigh, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Only the sound of wind from outside the shrine could be heard. Apart from that, it was almost eerily silent. Even so, he knew deep down that he wasn't alone. He couldn't quite feel the gaze of the predator anymore. He couldn't exactly be seen from where he was, but that wasn't the only instinct that he was attuned with. After having lived alone for the better part of a year, he was well acquainted with the feeling of being completely alone, and that feeling was absent now.
Still, he relaxed as much as he was able to and kept his eyes closed. Sleep claimed him shortly.
The first thing Souji did after he woke up was to check his phone. Unsurprisingly, the battery hadn't gone down much. That was one benefit of using a flip phone over a smartphone. The lack of service was unchanged as well. What he had not expected, however, was seeing that it was now just after seven o'clock in the evening. He must have been even more exhausted than he had realized. Six hours had passed while he slept.
He slowly rose to his feet and stretched. The numbness left his extremities after a few minutes, and he felt his mind begin to clear, albeit slowly. His impromptu nap had never been about getting rest. It was just the most practical way to kill a few hours and see if what had been stalking him would give up. Considering he still did not feel alone, it seemed that his stalling tactic had been in vain. At least he felt a little more refreshed now.
"I don't hear snoring anymore. Think he's awake now?"
The sudden words caused him to turn on his heel. The words were barely audible, but he was not quite out of earshot. The voice itself had a melodic like quality to it, something that would draw in anyone that heard it. It was not unlike what he heard from videos of popular idols.
A deep sigh could be heard following the words. "Souji Doumon, we would like to speak with you. Will you step outside so that we may do so?" This new voice was not light like the first. Rather, it had a slightly deeper voice, one that could be described as both husky and sultry.
He did not answer at first. Instead, he calmed himself and reviewed what he knew. First, there were at least two individuals outside of the shrine. One sounded young, perhaps no older than fifteen, while the other sounded to be several years older than him. Admittedly, how old they sounded wasn't a great indicator of anything, but it was one of the few details he had. Second, he had certainly felt as though at least one predator had been watching him earlier, and by their words, they had been waiting outside the shrine while he slept. More than likely, the two feminine voices belonged to individuals that were not human. He wasn't too sure if they meant harm to him even if he was right. And third, the second speaker had made a serious mistake when she spoke his name. He hadn't used that surname in years, and the fact that she had spoken it in the wrong order meant that she was foreign at the very least.
Ordinarily, he would have seen no reason to speak with the pair with all that in mind, but that first detail left him no choice. If there were multiple people outside, that meant that they could take turns watching the shrine. There was no way that they would fail to outlast him, an escape was even more unlikely.
With a sigh, he picked up the shikomizue from where he had set it earlier and stepped in front of the door. With his sheathed sword in his left hand, he placed his right hand on the door.
"I'm coming out." As much as he didn't want to, he couldn't see any other choice.
As he stepped outside, he immediately spotted the two figures about ten meters ahead of him. They were both incredibly beautiful and female, but he knew that neither one was human immediately.
The one on his left looked to be even younger than him due to her barely noticeable curves and diminutive height. Her blonde hair was fashioned in twintails, and he could make out her vivid blue eyes without trying. The elaborate Gothic Lolita dress she wore was perhaps the most noticeable thing about her though. There was not a doubt in his mind that she had been the first speaker.
The one on his right was like day and night with the other. She was about as tall as him with long navy-blue hair that fell below her waist. Her eyes were dark, and with the sun having already set, he couldn't tell anything more about them. Even if the area had been illuminated, he wasn't sure he would have noticed her eyes regardless. The maroon outfit she wore was strained by her incredibly generous curves. She didn't have the most voluptuous appearance he had ever seen, but that outfit enhanced it in ways that the school uniform did not.
There was silence until the door closed behind Souji, but he made no effort to move beyond that. There was a measure of safety in his current position. If the women used any kind of ranged attack and missed, an angry Shinto god would show up. If the fact that they had refused to enter the shrine was any indication, then they must have been aware of the repercussions of intruding upon the territory of the kami.
"May I ask why exactly you two are here?" There was a coldness to Souji's words. It was not a threatening coldness, however. Rather, he spoke politely and utterly without emotion. The last thing he wanted to show a predator was weakness.
The one on the left opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped when the more mature woman lifted a hand.
"Souji Doumon, my name is Kalavana, and my associate is Mittelt. We are here on behalf of an organization that has watched over mankind for many years."
It took considerable willpower for him not to stiffen at the name, but her words quickly pushed that to the back of his mind. An organization of watchers… that answered one question at least.
"Grigori, you mean." Souji's words were flat and earned an appraising look from Kalavana while Mittelt showed an expression of surprise. "I'm familiar with the Books of Enoch, at least in passing. What do the fallen Watchers want with me?"
Kalavana and Mittelt shared an incomprehensible look before the former spoke. "We were sent to observe you on the orders of our superiors. As you detected us, we have no choice but to be more direct than we would otherwise." With that, she gave a nod to the younger looking girl.
At the gesture, Mittelt moved. Describing what she did as movement failed to give the action the gravity that it deserved. He saw her body tense and the beginning of a step. And then she was gone. The next thing he knew, she was at his side, swinging a wicked looking pink spear at him.
If he had just stood there, Souji was certain that he would have died. He did not, however, stand unmoving. He instead moved closer to Mittelt and met her spear with his sheathed shikomizue.
Under ordinary circumstances, her spear should have cleaved through his weapon effortlessly. It was easy enough to recognize Mittelt as a fallen angel, which meant that her spear was made of condensed holy energy. Against such a weapon, ordinary steel shouldn't have been an obstacle. However, even as deadly as her spear was, it mattered little when she couldn't put the necessary force behind a swing. His counter was perfect, and she only managed to cut into the scabbard of the shikomizue. The blade was unblemished from the encounter.
Surprise could clearly be seen in her striking eyes. She hadn't been expecting him to so nimbly block her strike. That surprise cost her precious seconds. By the time she overcame them, his fist crashed against her face. The impact of knuckles against her nose earned a sharp cry of pain as she staggered back, her spear of light fading as her concentration broke.
As she retreated a few steps, Souji grasped the hilt of his shikomizue and drew it free from the damaged scabbard. In a single motion, the blade leapt from the scabbard towards Mittelt's exposed throat. Mere moments before it would have claimed the fallen angel's lifeblood, a spear of light struck the blade halfway down its length. His swing passed harmlessly by Mittelt as half of his sword fell to the earth.
Glancing at the other fallen angel, Souji found that Kalavana had taken to the air. A pair of black wings held her in the air. The dark feathers reminded him of a crow, but her wings did not move an inch as they kept her suspended a dozen feet up. It was only thanks to her flight that she had been able to throw her spear of light at the right angle to break his sword without hitting the shrine.
Souji's eyes darted between the fallen angels several times. Mittelt was staring at him in fury even as blood marred her beautiful face. Kalavana, on the other hand, appeared to be calm with undertones of relief evident in her features.
Disarmed as he now was, Souji knew that he was at their mercy. As much as he wished otherwise, he had no choice but to fall back on his last resort before either of the fallen angels could react.
The broken sword fell from his hand, but his resolve was stronger than ever. Without that resolve, he could never have done what he planned. Only a deliberate action could break the seal. Such was its nature.
As the broken sword hit the ground, both fallen angels found their eyes drawn to it. That distraction allowed Souji to slip a single finger between the beaded bracelet and his skin. With a sharp tug, the bracelet snapped and the world around him seemed to shudder as power rushed out.