There are a few Japanese references in this chapter, but most are fairly easy to understand and if you look at the footnotes of the light novel translations or even just have a basic understanding of Japanese culture you should be fine. That being said if you want me to explain anything feel free to ask, not just in relation to Japanese constructs I use but for the story in general as well.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the High School DxD anime/manga/light novel all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Ddraig talking and Sacred Gear sounds'
"Ddraig thinking"
*expression*
Flashback
Chapter 5 – New Life
Kiba arrived at the club room last and upon entering, felt a strange atmosphere in the room. Koneko was eating her treats as usual and Akeno was giggling a little, something not too out of the ordinary. Asia looked a bit tired as if she didn't get a lot of sleep last night, something slightly peculiar. Issei seemed to be smiling brightly, the first Kiba had ever seen in their presence. The fallen angel looked sympathetic for some reason. However, it was his king who seemed to be creating the strange atmosphere. She was sitting tenderly and winced slightly every time she moved a little.
'President Rias, is something wrong?' Asked Kiba in concern, to which Akeno's giggles increased.
'She is fine Kiba; no doubt she had lots of fun yesterday.' Said Akeno, confusing Kiba slightly.
Kiba looked at Rias who was still sitting stiffly with the occasional wince while Issei's grin seemed to increase in size.
'Y-you don't mean Rias… and Issei.' Said Kiba shocked.
'Ufufufu Kiba I didn't know you had such a dirty mind. Thinking Issei and Rias gave themselves to one another, it is so unlike the Prince of Kuoh to think such things.' Said Akeno happily.
'What happened then?' Asked Kiba now thoroughly confused.
'Oh nothing Kiba, I was just making sure your king remembers important details in the future.' Said Issei nonchalantly.
'Don't worry it hurts less and less each time.' Said Raynare to Rias sympathetically, confusing Kiba once again.
'So, uh… oh I just don't know what to make of this situation.' Said Kiba flatly, as he moved to stand next to Koneko.
'I told you, you were a perfect match for Akeno and if you keep this up, you're just proving my point.' Said Raynare to Issei.
'That's absurd two sadists can't match up; it wouldn't work unless one was a masochist.' Said Issei sagely.
'I'll be a masochist instead of a sadist if you want me to, I have both in me.' Said Akeno happily causing Issei's jaw to drop slightly and his eyes to widen.
After a small pause Issei stood up stiffly.
'I'm sorry but I need to go now.' Said Issei in a dead tone of voice, as he slowly walked out of the club room and went home.
'I think you broke him.' Commented Koneko.
'Ufufu maybe he should be the M instead then, then I will really break him.' Said Akeno with a glint in her eye, which scared Raynare a little.
-line break-
When Issei got home he went up to another free room in the house and noticed Xuelan and Karlamine were still asleep on the bed.
'Maybe if I bound them and transfer them some energy they will wake up.' Said Issei aloud in thought.
After binding the two Issei powered up to the level of two boosts and transferred the energy between the two. Karlamine stirred slightly and Xuelan's eyes tightened slightly.
'Finally you two are waking up.' Said Issei, causing both of them to sit up straight and look at him on his spot near the foot of the bed.
'What happened, where are we?' Asked Xuelan in confusion.
'We lost, didn't we?' Said Karlamine flatly, to which Issei nodded.
'Yep, you two put up a good fight but you just didn't have enough in you to beat me.' Said Issei cheerfully.
'Where is Lord Riser, he won't stand for this?' Demanded Xuelan.
'Pfft probably still recovering after what I did to him.' Said Issei.
'You could never harm Lord Riser.' Accused Xuelan angrily.
'Uh huh, I guess that is why Rias no longer has to marry him and why he is no doubt still recovering from our battle, if you could even call it that. It was more like a one-sided beat down.' Said Issei nonchalantly.
'You beat Lord Riser? By yourself?' Asked Karlamine incredulously.
'Well yeah it wasn't even that hard, one little bottle of holy water and he was done for.' Said Issei, slightly off-put at the fact that both of them didn't think he could beat Riser.
'So what happened?' Asked Karlamine.
'Well first do you two want something to eat? I mean you have been unconscious for just over two weeks now.' Said Issei.
'Two weeks!?' Both shouted in surprise.
'Yeah, you only woke up because I decided to transfer some of my power to you two.' Said Issei.
After a slight pause, Issei left the room and told them to come downstairs when they were ready. Issei paused wondering if they would be able to process complex food after not eating for two weeks but ignored that thought as they were devils and human physiology probably didn't apply to them too much so he started preparing some scrambled eggs for them along with some juice and bread.
When the two came down, Karlamine started eating while Xuelan stared at the food.
'How can you sit there and act like nothing is wrong?' Questioned Xuelan to Karlamine.
'A good fighter must be well fed at all times.' Recited Karlamine, before returning to her meal.
'You know she does have a point, you really should eat something.' Said Issei slightly concerned.
'How can I eat when I don't know where Lord Riser is?!' Questioned Xuelan angrily.
'You know you no longer possess his Evil Pieces; you really don't need to refer to him so respectfully.' Said Issei in slight boredom.
'Impossible, there is no way Lord Riser would get rid of us.' Retorted Xuelan indignantly.
'Really? No way? Come on Xuelan, open your eyes, he has a harem I doubt he ever cared for us that much to begin with. We were each just one more girl he could control.' Said Karlamine bitterly.
'How dare you say such things?' Said Xuelan angrily standing up.
'She is right you know. Even after I beat you two, he didn't want to stay for a second saying you two were weak and a disgrace to the House of Phoenix. He almost left before I could give him your evil pieces back.' Said Issei.
'B-but.' Whimpered Xuelan slumping to her knees.
'Don't sound so surprised, counting us he had fifteen girls with him, I bet he probably didn't even care that he lost us as long as he can replace us with someone.' Said Karlamine sadly.
'Why were you guys even a part of that guy's peerage anyway?' Asked Issei in curiosity.
'Well, sometime before he found me, I had run into a Holy Sword user. I didn't know it at the time, being human, but that person was a pretty high ranked exorcist. I challenged him to a fight seeing it as a way to test myself, but he looked down on me, calling my blade inferior, he was rather arrogant, but at the same time he was just trying to cover up that he was a coward. He beat me in the end but seemed to think I was a devil trying to wrest his Holy Sword from him since I pushed him to his limits and almost won our fight, naturally he brought back reinforcements and they almost killed me, before realising I was just a human that was adept at using swords. Riser found me and informed me of this and promised to help me get stronger, so the next time I face someone like that I could hold my own and win. Seeing no reason not to, I agreed, and I've been a part of his peerage ever since.' Said Karlamine.
'So the only reason you joined him was to get stronger to ensure your continued survival, not a bad reason as far as a devil turned human goes, most usually just want power to abuse.' Said Issei thoughtfully, before turning his gaze to Xuelan who was still on the floor.
'W-well, I actually befriended a devil when I was a little girl. When I was ten, I lived in a small town on an island off the southern coast of Japan in the East China Sea, the devil was a girl like me, and we practiced martial arts together. One day we were practicing, and three men came by, they were looking for her family. They weren't home so it was just the two of us… and then they revealed that they were fallen angels and that they had come to kill the girl and her family for being devils. I-I panicked and didn't know what to do so I ran. The three tried to kill me with their light spears but my friend tackled me out of the way just in time. S-she told me to run and that I didn't need to get involved in this, that it was her battle. I ran home to my parents and told them what had happened. We planned to leave that night and move to one of the larger Islands of Japan, or to China, we hadn't decided yet since both were equally as far away. That night though, as we tried to leave… those fallen angels came by and they.' Said Xuelan, before suppressing a chocked sob.
'They killed my parents and were going to kill me as well, but then out of nowhere a large fireball came and incinerated the three of them, Lord Riser had shown up because those fallen angels had killed the girl and her parents and they happened to be old friends of his brother. He took pity on me and promised to make me strong so none of my friends would ever have to sacrifice their lives to save me ever again.' Finished Xuelan, before fresh tears sprung from her eyes remembering the pain of losing her friend, family and the recent loss of Riser, her hero.
Issei's eyes softened after hearing such a tragic story and knelt down and hugged Xuelan, letting her cry into his chest.
"Poor girl, she lost everything, and Riser was her only lifeline, then he cast her away like common trash, bastard." Thought Issei in annoyance.
'There, there, it will be alright.' Comforted Issei as he rubbed her back.
After a few minutes, Xuelan calmed down and had stopped crying, as she had fallen asleep, Issei carried her over to the couch and laid her down softly so as to not wake her up, before walking back to Karlamine.
'So I guess she must have idolised Riser since he gave her a new life, such a shame he was an arrogant ass or I might have respected him.' Said Issei aloud.
'What are you going to do with us now?' Asked Karlamine, having finished her meal.
'What do you mean?' Asked Issei in confusion.
'Well, you are a devil, aren't you?' Asked Karlamine, now being a little confused herself.
'Nope human, uh well kind of… it is sort of complicated.' Said Issei.
'What do you mean?' Asked Karlamine in shock.
'Well, you see, when I was a little kid my friend and I were attacked by two stray devils and long story short, I gave my human heart up to temporarily have enough power to kill the two before they did anything to me or my friend and in the process, became a pseudo-dragon of sorts as my heart is not a human one, but rather a dragon's one, which caused my body to grow differently to adapt to it.' Issei explained quickly.
'Strange and here I thought you were part of Rias' peerage.' Said Karlamine.
'Why do people seem to think that, I hated devils with all my guts until only about a month ago?' Questioned Issei in annoyance.
'Well, the only times I saw you was with Rias, so I just assumed, sorry. Wait a minute, if you hated devils, what changed your mind? I mean, you risked your life for a devil you've only known for a short time.' Explained Karlamine.
'Well, Rias did a big favour for me a month ago and she showed me that not all devils are what I thought them to be like, like Riser for instance, I thought all devils were like him. Rias and her peerage however showed me that not all devils are that bad, true, she is a bit dumb and did try to get me to join her peerage, but she didn't force the matter and accepted my desire to not become a devil.' Said Issei with a shrug.
'So if you are not a devil what are you going to do with us?' Asked Karlamine.
'To be honest, I really just wanted to weaken Riser so Rias would have a chance to beat him, if he had sent eight pawns against me, I would have done the same thing.' Said Issei, getting Karlamine to look down and let out a small sigh.
'So I am more or less obsolete now.' Said Karlamine, before feeling a hand cup her chin and lift her face up.
'No you are not, you are a person who has been dealt a bad hand at life and deserve a chance at a better one. So why not stick with me, I doubt Riser cared for you two all that much, so I will do what he should have and give you two everything you deserve and more.' Said Issei softly.
'For what purpose?' Asked Karlamine.
'Do you really need one? For what purpose do you want to live, if it is still to get stronger, I will train you, I mean, not to brag, but I did knock Riser out in less than ten seconds.' Said Issei.
Karlamine thought about his offer, get stronger and be treated better; it was a win-win situation so the answer was obvious.
'Very well then, from this day forward I will serve you.' Said Karlamine passionately.
After Xuelan woke up, Issei gave her a similar talk to the one he had with Karlamine and after much persuasion on the fact that Riser abandoned her and didn't deserve her adoration and idolisation, she too decided to stick with Issei. Issei told them that they would have to share a room since his house wasn't that big and that there weren't any more spares. The two agreed that they would manage and that it wouldn't be an issue much to Issei's relief.
-line break-
'Issei, I'm back!' Shouted Raynare as she entered the house, seeing as how she had left the meeting when they started taking contracts, Asia having received one, was not accompanying Raynare today.
'Ah, Raynare, great, guess what, Xuelan and Karlamine woke up.' Said Issei, sticking his head out the hallway.
'Really?' Asked Raynare in surprise.
'Yup they're taking a break from sparring with me, but still, come say hi.' Said Issei, before going back to his favourite room in the house.
Raynare slowly made her way there, seeing no reason to rush and saw both of them a little dishevelled but ultimately fine.
'Really, you start them on physical exercise straight after they wake up from a two-week coma?' Questioned Raynare in surprise.
'Yeah, unlike you, they had decent physical conditioning before they were bound to me.' Teased Issei.
Raynare stuck her tongue out in response.
'What do you want from me? Fallen angels primarily do either hit and run quick kills or seduce others to our side; we don't really need physical conditioning.' Said Raynare.
'So are you to have me believe that the higher tier fallen angels don't maintain combat ready bodies?' Asked Issei disbelievingly.
'Well of course they do, they are top tier fighters, I was very low down on the power chain.' Said Raynare.
'You two have… a strange dynamic.' Commented Xuelan in surprise.
'Yeah, for a fallen angel, you're kind of bratty, the ones I've usual met are haughty and full of themselves.' Said Karlamine, before Issei burst out laughing.
'Oh yeah, you were just like that, until I knocked you out in a few hits.' Said Issei hysterically.
'Hey, I told you I was only a lower tier fallen angel and you were supposed to be a weak human!' Retorted Raynare, with a blush of embarrassment on her face.
'Yeah, yeah whatever. Although, since you are here now, maybe you should spar with them next to see how far you've come. Yeah, that's a good idea.' Said Issei.
'What are you going to do then?' Asked Raynare.
'Mm just watch, maybe throw something at one of you if you leave a glaring opening or something.' Said Issei thoughtfully.
'Is fighting all you think about, don't you ever do anything else for fun?' Asked Xuelan.
'Well, I went on a date once, you still never apologised for trying to kill me you know.' Said Issei before pointing at Raynare.
'Aw come on I was ow!' Shouted Raynare, as a small medicine ball hit her leg.
'No excuses you went against orders and nearly screwed your whole faction, stop making excuses for your mistake.' Said Issei sternly.
'*sigh* I'm sorry. There, happy? Now can we let it go?' Whined Raynare.
'Alright, although while we are at it, what does this Azazel guy look like anyway?' Asked Issei.
'Well, he has black hair with golden bangs at the front, a goatee, really tall and very charismatic with a smile to match.' Said Raynare, in a slightly dreamy tone.
'Hmm do you know if he happens to like fishing and ogling girls' breasts as well?' Asked Issei.
'He doesn't ogle!' Said Raynare angrily.
'Ok, I need to head out and get some more supplies. I suppose you two can take a break, maybe you can motivate Raynare into training harder if you want, other than that, don't burn down the house, also, I mean that literally, no fire techniques in this house without me being here. Raynare if you feel up to it you can have a spar with them, you would benefit a lot from it. In any case, I'll be back in a few hours and bring something back for dinner since I think I'll be a bit late. Have fun.' Said Issei before leaving.
'So what do you do for fun around here anyway?' Asked Karlamine after a while.
'Well, I mostly try teasing Issei, although it tends to backfire a lot, other than that, not much.' Said Raynare thoughtfully.
'Want to spar?' Asked Xuelan.
'Sure why not?' Said Raynare, after some thought.
-line break-
Issei quickly and purposefully walked to the pier, it was close to five in the afternoon, and he knew he would be there. He sat down after picking up the spare fishing rod on the pier conveniently located next to the man.
'To what do I owe the pleasure of having some company on this fine afternoon?' Asked the man Issei had sat next to.
'I just felt like going fishing today.' Replied Issei.
'Ah I see, do you have some good bait, it helps bring in the bigger fish.' Supplied the man helpfully.
'Well, it is good enough I suppose.' Said Issei, as he reeled in a small catch.
The man watched as Issei unhooked it and sent it back.
'Although, small catches help bring the bigger fish in.' Said Issei, as he re-cast his line.
'What if the bigger fish don't rise to the bait?' Questioned the man.
'They will eventually, as the small fish take the bait, bigger fish become more anxious to find the source of food, and then.' Said Issei before pulling up a fish around a metre long.
'They're caught hook, line and sinker, but if they are released again, they go about their life just as they normally would, not caring that they came dangerously close to trouble.' Said Issei.
Issei stood up after setting the fishing rod down.
'Well, I might head home, I have three birds waiting for me and I need to tell them that the fish didn't take the bait today.' Said Issei.
'You know if you wait a bit longer after throwing back a big catch, it comes back eager to get more food.' Said the man, gesturing towards the same fish Issei had caught which was swimming around the area where Issei had cast his line.
'I see… has the crow taken the bait.' Asked Issei vaguely.
'Not tonight it seems, perhaps it is waiting for the darkness to set upon the land.' Said the man.
'See you around then.' Said Issei before walking off.
Issei paused and turned his head back slightly.
'Azazel.' Said Issei, before walking home, only stopping to pick up some grilled chicken skewers on the way.
The man continued to sit there after Issei left and continued to fish and throw his catch back.
'So you are in fact still a human it seems, for the most part anyway. I suppose that is good, still, after what will happen shortly, I wonder what side you would take if it came down to it.' Said Azazel, before standing up and leaving with the two fishing rods and an empty bucket of bait.
-line break-
When Issei arrived home he was deeply surprised.
'Mum, dad, you guys are back already?' Asked Issei, seeing his parents sitting in the living room, his father chatting with the trio Issei had left behind, while his mother talked with Asia who had luckily arrived before them.
'Oh hello Issei, we were just talking with your friends while we waited for you, mind explaining who these people are?' Asked his mother, worrying him slightly.
"Uh-oh, um… crap, think." Thought Issei nervously, before a quick stroke of brilliance struck him.
'Uh Yuuma and Asia are cousins from Italy, they were lost since everything here is Japanese, so I invited them to stay here since we go to the same school and are in the same class and I've been helping them learn Japanese.' Said Issei, mixing equal amounts of truth with his lies, so the girls could at least partially play along.
'Yes, Issei has been very helpful; he gave me little tricks to remember all the hiragana and katakana by likening them to certain pictures.' Said Asia, which was true.
'Indeed, Issei has helped me, and my cousin, adjust to Japanese life quite well.' Said Raynare, who had the presence of mind to change back into her other form when she felt two non-hostile, human energy signatures arrive at this house.
'Also, these two moved here recently, Karlamine came from England and Xuelan from China and since I was quite successful in helping Asia and Yuuma integrate into Japanese culture, it was suggested I do the same with them as well.' Said Issei, while thinking he had suggested they live here himself, but they didn't need to know that, all they needed to know was that someone suggested the idea, so what if it was him.
'We are sorry if this is an inconvenience.' Said Xuelan apologetically, bowing slightly from her sitting position on the couch.
'Yes, we didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.' Said Karlamine sadly.
'Oh no, that is quite all right, you are all more than welcome to stay, although, have you made sleeping arrangements?' Asked Issei's mum.
'Yes, everything is fine. When Karlamine and Xuelan arrived, I moved into my cousin's room, we enjoy it since we are very close and getting another bed in there was little trouble at all.' Said Raynare with a charming smile.
'Good, I would hate to think you didn't have a room to sleep in; sadly, aside from Issei's room, we only have two spares and a guestroom.' Said Issei's dad.
"Wait, when did Raynare get a bed into Asia's room?" Thought Issei in puzzlement, before remembering something.
'Oh, I bought some yakitori, although there may not be enough, since I didn't expect both of you to be home today, sorry.' Said Issei sheepishly.
'Ah that's alright, your mother and I had some dango on the way here, so we aren't that hungry. Honestly, go ahead and eat, growing bodies need food after all.' Said Issei's dad, making Issei's eye twitch in amusement.
"Still not very subtle are you dad." Thought Issei in amusement.
Dinner was a lively affair, with the living situation explained, Issei's parents were much warmer to the four, dubbing them their unofficial daughters, something which slightly irked Issei for reasons unknown to him.
After eating, Issei mentioned that they should all finish off their homework before going to bed, with Issei discretely gesturing that they all come to his room without his parents noticing.
It was a good thirty minutes later, until all five supernatural beings gathered in Issei's room.
'Ok, I suppose I should have seen this coming so I need to make a few things clear. Raynare, you might not like this, but as long as they are around, you need to stay in your "Yuuma form".' Said Issei getting a nod from Raynare.
'Asia you can't use any magic in front of them, which includes healing and teleporting via magic circle.' Said Issei, getting an obedient nod from Asia.
'This goes without saying, but please don't use any fire related abilities, also, Karlamine, if you could, keep your weapons somewhere safe so they don't notice them.' Said Issei, getting two more nods and a verbal response from Karlamine.
'Don't worry I hid them with Raynare's help.' Said Karlamine, pointing at two anklets that weren't there when Issei left.
'Also, I'll need to get in touch with Rias quickly after this, so you two can join our class, if you don't actually go to school, they will get suspicious, sorry if that is an annoyance.' Said Issei.
'No, I don't mind at all, it might be fun.' Said Karlamine enthusiastically, with Xuelan merely nodding that it wouldn't be an inconvenience.
'Great, all right now, I'm going to go to the bathroom and summon Rias as soon as I find that blasted summoning circle. In the meantime, please try to distract my parents; they always wanted a daughter, so they will love talking to any of you.' Informed Issei, before the quartet left him to his search. Issei was crouched down on the floor searching through the bottom of his closet when he stiffened slightly.
'Ufufufufu why do you only think of summoning Rias?' Asked a seductive voice, before he felt two firm globular objects press onto his back.
"Is that… what I think it is?" Thought Issei slowly, feeling two slender arms wrap around his torso and pull him deeper, into whatever was causing the sensation on his back.
'A-Akeno?' Questioned Issei, not daring to turn around.
'Ara, so you know it is me, how cheeky to recognise me from only my voice, have you been having lewd fantasies about me?' Asked Akeno.
'Or maybe you realised it was me thanks to something else?' Suggested Akeno, as she pressed her bust harder against Issei.
'H-how did you even get here, if you used a magic circle I would have noticed?' Asked Issei nervously, but also genuinely curious.
'A woman never reveals her secrets, Issei.' Whispered Akeno huskily, into Issei's ear, making him shiver slightly.
'My poor little dragon, are you cold, maybe I should warm you up?' Said Akeno, as she draped her body around Issei and pulled him towards her more tightly.
"Oh man I'm not going to make it." Thought Issei, feeling "little Issei" start to rise.
'S-so A-Akeno do you think that you will be able to get Xuelan and Karlamine to be able to go to Kuoh?' Asked Issei desperately, trying to take his mind off what was happening to him.
"She smells like lavender and those boobs are so big, I can't take much more of this." Thought Issei, feeling his arousal growing dangerously.
'It shouldn't be a problem, it won't be hard at all in fact, although I can't say that about everything.' Said Akeno throatily, as she placed her head on Issei's shoulder and looked down.
'Naughty Issei, getting excited over little me, I don't think you could be the S between us, why don't you be the M hmm, I know you remember what your date wore when she tried to, finish you, did you know that I have something very similar to it.' Said Akeno freezing Issei.
'My mind. I'm done.' Said Issei weakly.
'Aw, giving up so soon, oh well, I suppose I can go.' Said Akeno, with a fake whining tone.
'Akeno.' Said Issei in discomfort feeling Akeno's hands roam across his body, her hot breath in his ear, his pants were not designed, to take this much torture.
'Ufufufu Issei, you naughty boy, I'll let you go this time, but you're mine, my little kouhai.' Said Akeno, before letting go of Issei and leaving without Issei noticing.
'I need a freezing cold shower.' Said Issei before proceeding to do just that.
Hope you liked the end there, as well as the back story for Karlamine and Xuelan, I used what was given in the light novels of her facing a holy sword user for her reason to become a devil and fleshed it out, but Xuelan was all me, since nothing is given on her. Hope you liked the chapter, it is more or less a transitional chapter, tying up a few loose ends, while also starting to introduce the next arc. Thanks for reading.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.