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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
High School DxD, New, BorN, Hero and other products related to the DxD Series are all owned by Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo and TNK.
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Chapter 4: Studying Friendship
One thing I learned from DxD, which I could tell was applied as I met Reya, was that girls were distrustful of guys. All kinds of guys.
Nothing wrong with that. Especially if one takes under consideration the fact that I wasn't exactly... well 'approachable' by someone her age. I was a young man in his twenties, living alone, knowing Issei by being his neighbor- the more I thought about it, even now, and the more I found her gaze particularly apt for the situation. Still, I decided to not interact with that aspect of the circumstance, mostly because I knew it was best for indirect fact to do all the proper introductions. After all, I found out just at that meeting that Issei had planned a study group session in my house. Without alerting me of the situation and just mentioning this to his parents.
...
Now, I am a man of reason. Cruel logic dictated I kicked him off from my property and told him to be more respectful of my free time. But I had better plans than just letting the rest of the world know how much of an irate bastard I tended to be in these instances. No, I decided to pick him to the side and told him he would be staying over a bit more to clean up the garden for free. When he asked the silly 'why', I reminded him that it was either that or I told his mother how he tried to force a study group on me without asking. Mentioning his mom and the possible punishment that would come from this seemed to do the trick and soon I was talking with the two other students.
I shook hands with Saji, the guy was particularly chill as I spoke to him and reminded me of Issei, except he was more laidback. Nothing wrong with that, but I knew that this fella was going to be a bit of a relevant character when it comes to Sona's peerage. I could tell that right now he was pretty normal, with no connections to Sona beyond him making a few comments about his plans to join the student council. When pressed on the reasons he wanted to do that, he just wanted to 'get a headstart into this kind of responsibilities'. Which could either translate into a young man from a rich family which was trying to face expectations as enthusiastically as possible, or someone from a family like Issei's that just had the drive to get the best-paying job within his potential.
Reya was, with the few words she uttered through the early part of the study session, a soft-spoken intellectual. Very clever, perhaps an indication of her preference as a Bishop when reincarnated as a Devil, and definitely the serious brain part of the group.
Yes, I had divided the trio in three specific parts: Issei was the middle-man, he was the glue of this group as a whole; Genshirou was the 'lazy brain' as he had the right ideas but he barely applied those in action; and finally Reya acting as the best brain cell this trio could muster. From the frustrated but amused looks she would drop at the two guys, I think she liked being praised by the two despite their shortcomings. It kind of 'elevated' her in a smarter light.
So, I was stuck with a lazy butt, a cheeky butt, and a shy butt. Nothing unusual, nothing to really worry about. Especially as I noticed that they actually worked well together. In a very twisted turn of destiny, I was just baffled by the way these three worked and how, despite how dysfunctionally it looked, they could handle homework quite smoothly. Sure, there were some issues with Ise and Saji trying to copy from Reya's paper when going through exercises or grammar elements, but I had to chide the brunette whenever she tried to do... 'too smart' moves.
In math it was more evident as she used some advanced formulas that I knew from their textbook, which I had grown familiar with through Issei's visits, weren't meant to be taught until a long while after this stage of this first year. She was surprised by the fact I had to lecture her about it, but understood that the warning was more to 'prevent' two specific problems that tended to arise with this kind of approach: First being the teacher thinking she was too bookish and barely cared to follow the way they taught them how to solve problems, or she ended up getting scolded for 'cheating' due to the unusual problem-solving.
Reya argued how that was rare to happen but... no. It wasn't. Not when Saji confirmed it had already happened to him a few times, same for Issei. She didn't seem completely invested into it, but the seed of doubt had been placed down and that was enough for me. I didn't want it to happen, but both scenarios weren't as uncommon as she made those sound like.
Nonetheless, the girl seemed to warm up through the whole session. Not the 'huggie/cuddly' kind of warm up, but enough to not stare at me wherever I was as if expecting me to suddenly pull out a machete and start a massacre.
Not like I had a machete around to begin with...
Still, the chick had a bit of fun having a safe space where she could enjoy some study time with the boys and, from Issei's own explanation behind this current unplanned situation, away from Ise's mom showing Reya his baby pictures. And that was kind of understandable, I wouldn't want my own mother to spread out my pictures... except it didn't justify the fact he pushed this whole mess into my hands.
After a few hours of handling the trio and making sure they got all their homework sorted out, I saw Saji leave in a hurry. He mentioned that he had some plans with the family, so he literally bolted after saluting. Issei huffed as he knew from the glance I gave him that I hadn't forgotten about his chore. I was about to call it a day when I was interrupted by a little surprise.
"J-John-san?"
I blinked and turned to glance at the girl by the doorstep, finishing cleaning up the table as I had brought them some snacks while they studied and the crumbs had to be removed.
"Yes, Reya-san?"
"I know this is a bit awkward to ask but... are you really fine that we spend time studying here?"
I paused at that question, almost surprised by that form of concern. "I... Is this about what Ise is currently doing?"
Like cleaning up the garden for putting me through this situation that came out of nowhere?
"S-Sorta. It's more like... are you really okay in allowing us to come back for more sessions?"
Shrugging, I turned my attention back to the chore. "If any of you tell me a few hours before that, I can tell if I am available for that or not. It's more if I have stuff to do, or I have people around at home and can't help you with the homework."
"I see... I wanted to ask because... we didn't want to intrude."
"You didn't," I confirmed with a small smile. "Still, I don't mind, really. It's just fine for students your age to try and find a place and a tutor that can help you with some of the stuff."
"Really?" She perked at the response, and I decided to indulge her curiosity.
"I was a student myself just a few years ago. It's not like I don't know what you three are going through," I remarked calmly. "First year of High School isn't exactly a simple experience, especially when many just feel the shift is really radical compared to previous experiences."
She nodded. "I-It is. So, it's not... you know... odd?"
"No. From what I was told when I started my first year of Lyceum back in Italy, this is the big jump a teenager goes through to be educated in adult life. Or aspects of it."
"...You are not bad, John-sensei."
I turned to try and stop the trend from spreading, but I looked to see her form bolting from the doorstep and out into the streets, a brief giggle reaching my ears as I tried to make sense of this dreadful phenomenon. The last thing I needed was for this to become a thing for the rest of the kids from Kuoh.
Eventually Issei was done with his chore, and he left with a quarter of the usual money he would get from the activity. As much as I had turned that garden duty into a punishment for him, I wasn't the kind of guy that didn't pay someone for relatively good work. He sported a happier look when he got the money and he bid me a good day as I was finally done with everyone.
Everyone except Ophis.
A few steps into the house, and I saw her head peeking from the couch in the living room. Pure darkness that were her eyes peered over me as I calmly walked up to the couch and shifted to sit beside her. She gave me a look, and what I could only relate to a weak pout.
"Ise took a lot more from you. Time."
Blinking, I gave her a quizzical look. "Are you unhappy because of it?"
She turned away, almost uneasy before the chance of a staring contest with that topic.
"I was. I am not."
"Oh?"
"He brought friends. His friends," Ophis explained. "That's what he considers his hoard."
"Does he?"
"He behaves like they are his hoard. He showed them to you. Like a dragon would show his greatest treasure."
I cracked a smile at that thought, the imagine of Ise having this much faith in people that weren't putting him through some awkward circumstances. But I had some doubt about the 'hoard' allegory Ophis was making.
"I don't think that's quite true. Sure, he cherishes them, but I think the term 'hoard' doesn't apply to them," I argued. "After all, a hoard is generally a conglomerate of items, not people."
...
"Truly?" She asked after what had felt like a lengthy pause spent thinking about my point.
"I believe so. We humans have something that we call 'precious people', which is... similar to a hoard, except these are not things we own."
"But then what's the purpose of having 'precious people' around if not to own them? Why not just keep to hoarding objects?"
"That's a very complicated question. Mostly because it can be difficult to explain with a simple logic but... do you remember the show I had let you see? Pokemon?"
She perked at the anime, eyes widening a fraction as she had made it clear in her own way that she liked the show. A lot.
"Yes."
"Well, Ash and Pikachu aren't buddies at first, in fact Pikachu electrocutes Ash many times but... then they start trusting each other, and they want to protect one another."
"But Ash owns Pikachu, isn't that expected for a Pokemon to care for his master? Like a servant?"
"Not necessarily. Sure, many captured pokemons have a bias to help their trainers, but there are some that tend to ditch their master if mistreated. So, there is still a sense of mutual trust and affection driving a good bond between the two."
"And so, if one of the two is hurt, the other goes to protect them?"
I nodded, but Ophis spoke up at that gesture.
"So, the friend goes and protects those he cares... like a dragon does with its hoard?"
"Yes, that's correct," I confirmed.
"Because the friend cares for them. Not because he owns them."
"Yep."
...
She glanced once more away from me. "I think I got it."
I smiled and nodded again, this time proceeding to turn on the TV and go through the usual binging I would engage with the girl. But, before I knew it, the Infinity Dragon had something gnawing at her thoughts that soon reached out from that previous talk. A topic that I didn't expect to have to deal with soon and from this kind of character of all viable options.
"Do you miss your precious people, John?"
My heart felt grasped by a cold claw. The question hadn't come out with malicious intent or voice, with Ophis actually voicing her own curiosity as usual, perhaps unaware of the gravity of that question. Simple answer? Yes. I missed my family. I missed my friends. I missed my prospect of a future... I missed the victories and the failures of the past. All of that erased and no longer of 'value' to me in this circumstance. It was the kind of subject that had me squirm a bit, but I eventually decided to be honest for the sake of honesty.
"Yes."
Humming at my single reply, Ophis surprised me as she calmly leaned to the side, resting her side onto mine while still looking at the TV screen.
"You are my friend, John."
For many reasons, that sentence felt heavy. Not only because it made me realize the girl had noticed my own upset, but that her admission meant more than just the classic 'You are a friend'. It wasn't 'a' friend. It was more than that. I was 'her' friend. Or better, I was her 'only' friend. And if my own dismay made me annoyed at being subjected to this unplanned trip down memory lane, I couldn't help but accept with some restraint that her own plight was bigger than mine. And that, even though I had given her just this little in so little amount of time, she was still experiencing much more than I could imagine if subjected to that kind of limited affection.
This was Ophis' first taste of friendship, of a relationship that was cordial and of trust and that didn't see any of the two plotting the demise of the other. This was... a novelty to her. And, from the way she was now slowly purring (or whatever the grumbling-like vibration noise she was doing), I could tell that she was fine with all of this.
So, I smiled a bit and decided to return the favor in my own way.
"And you are a good friend, Ophis."
I couldn't see it, but I had the distinct feeling that Ophis was smiling when she heard my response. And I could tell that... this was going to be pleasant but I knew deep down that it was also going to cause a few issues with plot-relevant matters once the shit kicked in. Even though I was putting an effort to be dragged into this. Even at that point, I could tell that something was going to happen...
I just didn't know it would turn out that bad at the beginning of 'canon start'...
AN
The Sensei Squadron is growing (no, we will not use the acronym, I don't want to get butchered ffs~!), and Ophis is being the wholesome infinite cookie that is learning how friendship works...
Also, next time I will see the new girl. Stake your claims, this time Ophis isn't in that list and... it's going to be a bit of a surprise, but also expected.
P.S. Otakuweibo on WN is authorized to post stuff of mine in WN. So, stop with the 'he is stealing' or 'he is copying you'. Just look at his page and comments, he even has screens of our conversation. Geez...
REVIEW Q&A!
Plebston323: Witness me! XD
Yoyo: To Azazel's growing dismay and jealousy, yes.
Crowbars357: A lot of stories. A good part of which are QQ-only or AH-only because they are either A) Too lewd and depending on pics that I can use on QQ, and 2) Historically to a degree.
Guest (Chapter 3): That and Jojo. And Pokemon as mentioned up above. After all, DxD has many names and a character referencing Pokemon.