Chapter 10 The Cadre's Call

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.

(Hyoudou Household)

Issei Hyoudou couldn't help collapsed on his bed after the tedious day had finally come to an end. Waiting for Irina and Xenovia to return with their few belongings was a minor annoyance but waiting around while his mother took the girls shopping. His mother was thrilled to see Irina but the knowledge that all she had to wear was her church battle suit was too much for his mother to handle. She grabbed the girls and insisted on taking them shopping which gave Issei a chance to focus on what would've happened had he not followed Kiba with Dojo.

Based on his new knowledge there was no doubt the girls would've fought Freed off but there was also no telling how much collateral would've happened and the thought was uncomfortable. Kiba's actions were foolish and dangerous towards the group and depending on when Freed attacked it could've even involved Murayama and Katase which infuriated him. When he got his hands on Kiba there would be hell to play. His musing was interrupted when somebody knocked on his door. "Come on in" Issei said calmly.

Much to his admitted surprise, Xenovia Quarta walked in and she was wearing a purple short sleeve top with blue shorts an outfit she must've gotten from the shopping trip. "Can we talk about something Red Dragon Emperor?" Xenovia said calmly.

"Sure" Issei nodded getting into a cross-legged position on the bed.

"What makes you so special?" Xenovia wondered speaking the thought that had been bothering her for some time.

Most people would be offended but Issei found the blunt question amusing. "What do you mean by that?" Issei chuckled.

"What makes you so special that we're being sent to live with you instead of some of the other devils? Irina speaks so highly of you despite not seeing you for years and from the sound of it that Murayama person is the same. All I see is a normal human with a sacred gear and I don't get it" Xenovia wondered.

Issei was wide eyed at the question and it was absolutely hilarious, "Somebody really needs to work on that blunt streak of yours." Issei mused.

"What do you mean" Xenovia wondered.

"Most people would be offended by the statement you just made. I'm not but you should probably learn to mind your manners" Issei smirked.

"I see" Xenovia pondered.

"Anyway, I can't answer that question because I don't know myself. A few months ago I was just your average pervert and I had no clue the supernatural world existed outside of video games comic books and the occasional eroge" Issei replied before summoning the Boosted Gear, "When I got this Boosted Gear I went from being a pervert who would do anything to see bare boobs, to being the Red Dragon Emperor a being whose power could destroy Gods and who could change the supernatural world forever based on what I chose to do with said power. Ravel trusts me because despite everything that happened I managed to keep a calm head and I guess that's why she trusts me with you girls" Issei acknowledged. His friendship with Irina probably had a lot more to do with it but he wasn't going to say that.

"I see" Xenovia nodded in understanding. She knew very well what happened when you were given a powerful weapon due to her own situation. The trust

"As for Katase and Murayama, it turns they were always interested in me but they couldn't act because I was so messed up as a person." Issei chuckled. It wasn't lost on Issei that had either girl acted on their feelings, Yuuma's date would've never happened and he'd still be human. Then again, Rias would've found a way to get him involved anyway.

"Do you ever wonder what could've been though? I mean if your current master didn't get involved with you."

"Of course I do, but I've learned that if you focus on what was, you can't move forward." Issei admitted. If Ravel hadn't gotten involved Issei would've been killed by Raynare and he'd be Rias's pawn that much was obvious. The young woman would attempt to manipulate him using her considerable charm and pray he didn't realize what was going on. Unfortunately for her the moment, familiars came up, Issei would've connected the dots and it would've led to a fair bit of resentment. What would happen from there was another story but fortunately Ravel stepped in.

Xenovia took Issei's words to heart and smiled realizing that Issei was just a simple guy who was letting what happened happen. He wasn't quite powerful enough yet to make a major difference but he was smart enough to know that he could do more. "Thank you for telling me all that Red Dragon." Xenovia smiled since it was nice insight into the young man.

"Of course" Issei chuckled before Xenovia left the room and Issei alone with his thoughts. A part of him was curious about his childhood friend but figured his love life was complicated enough as it was.

(Scene Skip)

Issei Hyoudou was a pervert and because of that he woke up to the sound of a young girl with various personality traits. Sometimes it was a tsundere wake up and sometimes it was a harsher one but nonetheless that's how he typically woke up. On this particular day, Issei wasn't woken up by a young girl's voice, but by a young girl's tongue and it was one he was sort of familiar with at this point. As Issei's eyes shot open, he saw the brown ponytail of Murayama right in front of him and a quick look down revealed she was naked and giving him a morning blowjob "What the… what are you doing here Murayama?" Issei said in disbelief.

"I'm waking you up with a blowjob. What does it look like?" Murayama said as though it wasn't a big deal before resuming her actions.

"Yes… I can see that, but why now. For that matter….how did you get here?" Issei wondered as Murayama's teased his shaft with her lips. He should've been enjoying this but now he was just confused.

"That would be because of me." Katase said bluntly as she stood near the door watching what was going on with a massive blush on her face. Unlike Murayama, Katase was still clothed but Issei could see her nipples were hardened through her thin pajamas so clearly she liked what she was watching. "Mury wanted to thank you for warning her about Freed coming after them so she convinced me to teleport over here and surprise you.

"Well consider me surprised, now get out of here before." Issei started to say before his door opened and Irina walked in causing everybody to freeze. "Somebody comes to wake me up." Issei cursed. Ravel's spell prevented his parents from bothering him, but apparently the same spell was not in place for the church girls. Irina's eyes practically popped out of her skull at the sight of her childhood friend getting his dick sucked by the girl who had hosted them just the day before.

"Umm good morning" Irina said trying to hold back her blush but failing spectacularly.

"Hey Irina… tell mom I'll be down for breakfast in a little." Issei said bashfully trying to keep calm.

"Okay…" Irina replied before closing the door and presumably going downstairs to do just that.

"That was awkward." Murayama chuckled aware of what happened.

"Yep" Issei groaned in annoyance.

"So should I get going or…" Murayama asked.

"You might as well finish. Irina's gonna make up some excuse for me anyway" Issei deadpanned. There were times that his new life was a beautiful thing and this was clearly not one of them.

(Scene Skip)

"You did it to yourself Issei... That's what happens when you're so charming" Ravel Phenex smirked with her hands against the side of the gym storage room as Issei hammered her from behind. After gym class, Ravel manipulated things so she and Issei could be together for the cleanup and it provided a perfect opportunity for a school time fling and to chat without the watching eyes of Ravel's new peerage. That and spend some quality time with Issei without being interrupted a task that became much harder because of recent events.

"Maybe, but it's still annoying" Issei groaned.

"Yes but let's face it. You want that childhood friend of yours and I figured I'd help you along." Ravel smirked.

"Maybe" Issei said calmly trying to avoid the subject.

"Then why did your cock just get a little harder. I know she's cuddled with you once and given her reaction to your little fling I'm sure she likes you. Considering how easily you devoured me and the others, why the hesitation with her." Ravel said with a smile on her face.

"Because… Irina is different." Issei protested though unconsciously he was picking up speed.

"Yeah whatever. At this point it doesn't matter since they'll be leaving once this mission is over." Ravel reminded Issei.

"Yeah" Issei sighed as his movements slowed down from the reminder of the situation.

"Come on Issei. We've only got a few minutes before we really gotta move. You're lucky Sona is so good at manipulating the schedule to give us a free period after gym. Now make this one count" Ravel smiled.

"Got it" Issei shrugged realizing he could worry about Irina later. Making Ravel scream was kind of a priority and Issei was fairly good at that.

(Scene Skip)

'I know she's doing this on purpose. I just know it.' Issei cursed as he dodged another high kick from Xuelan. When the school day ended, Issei made his way over to the ORC alone since Katase and Murayama had a kendo match but when he arrived, Ravel decided on an impromptu training session. Issei's opponent for this particular session was Xuelan, while Akeno fought Ravel with Koneko watching since she didn't have another opponent for the moment. What made the battle different from most of them Issei was that Xuelan decided to use her old Chinese dress for their spar instead of the sporty outfit she had recently been wearing when school was over. Xuelan's body was bobbing and weaving with every movement and to add to the chaos Xuelan wasn't wear panties, something he discovered after ducking her initial high kick. In other words every time she went for a high kick, which was pretty often in this case, Issei would get a shot of her bare pussy.

"Come on Issei, you can't be that weak." Xuelan taunted well aware of what she was doing.

"You'll pay for that Xuelan." Issei groaned knowing she was going out of her way to not only tease Issei but make Irina blush at the knowledge that Issei was getting repeated views of Xuelan's lower lips which were getting wetter by the minute.

BOOST

"Now we're talking" Xuelan smiled as she lit her hands up in fire.

"Yeah and now I'll show you what…" Issei started to say before he froze instinctively and turned towards the bushes to the confusion of most of the group aside from Koneko who was even paler than usual.

"Issei what's going o-" Ravel started to say before she froze as well.

"Not bad at all. I have to admit I thought I hid myself well." a voice cackled causing the rest of the watching group to turn towards the bushes. When they did a man walked out with a smile on his face and caused everyone to freeze Even without an introduction everyone knew exactly who he was and that his appearance was nothing but trouble.

"Kokabiel" Issei gasped the words barely getting out of his mouth.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Red Dragon Emperor. I must confess you're growing quite marvelously. It would be a shame if somebody were to cut you down so soon." Kokabiel smirked causing Issei to freeze.

"What… what do you want?" Ravel stammered unsure of what else to do. He was suppressing his power that much was obvious but he was still more than powerful enough to kill everyone here.

"I simply wanted to tell you that I'll be coming to this school in a few days to complete my plan since there's no way you can stop me as you are now. If you have a few days to prepare, perhaps you can make this this more interesting for me. That includes you girls from the church" Kokabiel taunted before turning away and leaving. It took close to ten minutes for the group to calm down after he left but Kokabiel's impact was unquestioned.

"Lady Ravel we need to call your brother." Xuelan insisted aware of the same thing instinctively as the others. They were no match for this man and if they didn't get help, they would be in deep trouble.

"Xuelan even if all three of my brother's teamed up it wouldn't be enough to stop him. That man… is just too powerful." Ravel said in shock. The reality of the situation was as clear as day. Kokabiel was a monster and one that the group simply couldn't match.

(Scene Skip)

Nightfall had arrived and for Irina Shidou the day's events were horrifying in a way that she never could've imagined. Kokabiel left without doing anything but it wasn't lost on her that if the man wanted to, all of them would've been dead and he'd have a close to fully functioning Excalibur. Her belief that she was a sacrificial pawn was driven even deeper and it made her re-think a lot of her life particularly her feelings for her childhood friend. The reality was that they were all as good as dead and if she was going to die, she was going to do it knowing she made her feelings known and acted on them. Her cross and Excalibur fragment still in the guest room, Irina made her way towards Issei's room in a pink spaghetti strap top that showed off her impressive breasts and a pair of blue shorts. With any luck Issei was alone and this time she might be the one enjoying his member instead of the brown haired girl, "Here we go" Irina said to herself as she arrived at Issei's room just for the young man to swing the door open catching both of them off guard.

"Sorry Irina but I'm actually headed to see a friend." Issei said bitterly. Her outfit made it very clear what she wanted to happen and normally Issei would jump at the chance but he had his own plans.

"A female friend?" Irina questioned.

"No actually it's a male friend. He called me a moment ago and asked me for a favor that couldn't wait so I need to go." Issei said calmly.

Irina couldn't believe her rotten luck, "Okay but can we talk when you get back." Irina said nervously. Her chance may have been ruined but she could still salvage it.

"Absolutely" Issei replied with a smile as he made his way downstairs and out of the house. Issei was completely lying but for the sake of his future and the future of those he cared about, turning down Irina for a night would be the right move.

(Scene Skip)

Ravel Phenex was not a happy woman as she enjoyed lunch after a troublesome morning. The night before, she got into an argument with her knight Xuelan over what happened with Kokabiel and Ravel barely managed to talk her out of calling her brother or even the Maou for backup. She was hoping to see Issei and calm down for a bit before class but he wasn't here and even as first period started he was nowhere to be found. None of the girls seemed to know what was going on and that wasn't what she needed. "So we know nothing about where Issei is." Ravel said angrily as she sat with the kendo club and her loyal rook in Xuelan.

"That's not quite true. I managed to get a hold of Irina and apparently he left in the middle of the night to see a male friend." Murayama revealed having snuck away during the second period of the day to call Issei's home.

Ravel's eyes widened at the response, "I think I know where he is, but it means we may not see him today." Ravel frowned. For Issei to seek that person out meant that he was desperate and Ravel couldn't exactly blame him.

(Issei)

Issei currently found himself in a Grigori Lab in a town to the north of Kuoh with a smiling Azazel accompanying him. Just before Irina arrived in his room, Issei called Azazel to ask if there was a place he could go to get some serious training and Azazel revealed that he had a gravity room set up in an old lab and Issei could use it if he truly wanted. Getting there was easy with Azazel simply transporting him over there once he arrived at his house but because of the state of the lab, Azazel spent half the night preparing it while Issei slept. "Dragon Ball Z made it look a lot harder than it actually is Issei." Azazel taunted as Issei, who was wearing a black tracksuit with white stripes along the arms and legs, a red shirt underneath and red and black sneakers, tried to move around. "You're telling me. How can anybody train like this? I mean in real life" Issei grunted knowing the cadre could hear him.

"Honestly I don't know myself. I made it because I wanted to see if I could. Even once I did, I didn't have anybody who wanted to give it a try so I left this base to its own devices." Azazel admitted.

"Lucky me." Issei grunted. Issei's current training regimen consisted of him walking around the gravity room which was set to twice the gravity of earth comfortably until he could do his normal workout of 100 pushups and 100 sit-ups before Azazel turned off the gravity so Issei's body could reset.

The first set took him close to 2 hours before he was done and he needed 4 special energy drinks from Azazel and an hour long break just to recover and now it was time for set two which would be more intense at 4 times so Issei could get used to a more intense level.

"Remember Issei, if anything goes wrong I'll step in." Azazel smiled as Issei began the second set. To Azazel's surprise this set only took an hour which said a lot about Issei's determination. 'This kid is going to be terrifying.' Azazel thought to himself

(Scene Skip)

After another break for food, Issei resumed his training and as Azazel watched him work on set number 3 which was at 6 times gravity and Azazel gave Issei the option of using the boosted gear if he wanted. Set 3 took an hour but Issei was forced to use the boosted gear. Issei was working on set 4 a massive 8 times gravity when the Cadre received a call on his phone. He answered quickly since the person calling was pretty obvious and turned off his microphone so Issei wasn't aware of who was calling.

"Hello there Gregori, is now a bad time?" Ravel Phenex smiled using his false time.

"Please call me by my actual name Lady Phenex and now's actually a good time, Issei's in the middle of his fourth set." Azazel smirked.

"That's impossible. According to what I've heard Issei's been with you since last night so how do you only have four sets done" Ravel said in disbelief.

"He's training in a gravity room so it's not exactly normal training for anybody. That and I needed some time to get it ready" Azazel revealed.

"How many times gravity is he using." Ravel replied calmly. The few things she knew about the man suggested gravity training was possible and Issei clearly trusted him enough to ask him. She didn't like it but it couldn't be helped.

"Right now he's on set 4 which is eight times gravity but the boosted gear is helping him" Azazel admitted. The fact Issei was able to do that much was amazing as far as he was concerned.

"Alright. Take good care of my pawn, but I expect him back tonight." Ravel said sternly.

"Got it" Azazel smiled as he looked towards Issei who was going through the fourth now. 'Poor Kokabiel won't know what hit him.' Azazel thought to himself enjoying the fruits of his labor.

(Scene Skip)

Issei arrived back at his house after the training session and he was absolutely drained. The five sessions wore out his body like nothing he could've expected and while he felt much stronger, he needed to rest for at least a day before he actually did anything productive. Opening his door he walked into the living room just to find Ravel sitting in the living room in her actual appearance and her favorite pink dress. "Welcome back Issei. I trust your training went well." Ravel said calmly.

"Yes it did. I'm a little worn out but that's about it." Issei smiled.

Ravel walked over to Issei and smiled before reaching into her pocket and grabbing a small vial. "Remember the day I saved you from Kiba's blade. I used this vial to save you."

"What is it" Issei wondered.

"It's called a Phenex tear and it can heal you from any injury and recover your fatigue. If you take this, you'll be back to normal and you're gonna need it." Ravel admitted.

"Really and why's that." Issei said with a raised eyebrow though he did take the vial.

"Because as much as I missed you, somebody else was just as worried about you. Somebody, who I interrupted before and won't interrupt again" Ravel said with a cheeky smile.

Issei's eyes widened when he realized who his master was talking about. "Thanks Lady Ravel." Issei smiled before kissing his master on the cheek.

"Just go." Ravel said with a slight blush before teleporting away.

"Of course" Issei smiled before taking the Phenex tear and drinking it feeling his power quickly restored. He also couldn't help but recognize the taste as a part of the drink Azazel gave him.

AN: The special energy drink was concentrated Phenex Tear along with other stuff. There's no way he could recover from actual gravity training in an hour but I digress

'Seems I owe Azazel far more than I thought.' Issei thought to himself as he relaxed enough so he could go up to his room. Opening the door he found Irina Shidou sitting on his bed wearing a purple sleeveless baby doll that went to mid-thigh and showed off her impressive body.

"What do you think Issei?" Irina said bashfully as she stood up from the bed. Convincing Issei's mom to go with her to a store to grab it was embarrassing, but she wanted to do something special for Issei before the final battle.

A smiling Issei walked towards Irina and cupped her face with his right hand, "I think that you look absolutely amazing in that baby doll Irina, but I think you'd look even better with it off." Issei smiled.

"Care to find out." Irina said with a smile on her face as she stared into her childhood friend's eyes. Issei and Irina knew what was coming and this time, they wouldn't be interrupted.

That's it for Chapter 10 everybody. Next time Issei and Irina become one and Issei reveals the results of his training.