[Flashback]
[Spirit speech]
['Spirit thought']
Sacred gear names
Attack names
'Thought'
Time skips and other
I don't own Highschool DxD nor do I own any references I may use. That goes to Ishibumi Ichiei nor do I own any references I may use. I only own Shiro and any other characters I may use that aren't cannon.
Chapter 14
Shiro's eyes slowly fluttered open as the first rays of sunlight seeped through the gap of his curtains. He groaned softly and yawned as the last remnants of sleep left his body, expect his eyes but he remedied that by simply rubbing them. The teen then glanced to his side to look at his alarm clock only to see it was 6:30am. 'I still got some time before everyone is awake...maybe I should make breakfast for everyone like I used to.' He thought before glancing to his otherside to see the sleeping form of Rias. He smiled when he saw her peaceful face and brushed a strand of red-hair out of the way before giving her a kiss her forehead.
He then managed to worm his way out of her hug and quickly dressed himself in his school uniform. After he was dressed, he swiftly made his way downstairs and into the kitchen where he saw Kuroka, in her cat form, lounging on the kitchen table. "Morning Kuroka." He cooed, walking up to her and petted her head.
"Nyaaaaa~ MorningShiro~" Kuroka mewled as she stretched and yawned. "You're up early?"
Shiro glanced over to her before shrugging his shoulders as he made his way to the fridge. "I woke up early is all. So decided to make everyone breakfast...and yes, that also means you too Kuroka." Shiro chuckled as he pulled out a few ingredients to make breakfast.
Kuroka hopped off the table and changed into her human form and slinked up behind Shiro before wrapping her arms around his neck. "So what are you making~" She purred and began to nibble his ear.
Shiro shivered and nearly dropped some of the ingredients. "K-Kuroka don't do that!" Shiro chastised her as he placed what he was carrying on the counter top. "Anyways I'm making apple risotto." He told her as he put a few strips of bacon in a pan and got them sizzling.
"Awww what's the matter Shiro~" She purred and continued to nibble on his ear. "Am I distracting you~" She chuckled before sticking her tongue out in disgust. "And Apple Risotto? That sounds gross."
"I thought so too but it's honestly not that bad. Very filling." Shiro chuckled as he started to peel an apple as well as dice it and mince an onion, that was also skinned. He then put a bit of butter into a pan, after taking the bacon out and quickly rinsing it, before sauting the onions. Kuroka would finally stop nibbling his ear and opted to simply watch him instead, still clinging onto his back.
As Shiro cooked, Ddraig began talking. [Shiro...I've got something to say.] The red dragon spoke, a slight growl in his voice.
'I'm all ears Ddraig.' Shiro simply replied as he continued cooking.
[There's a powerful presence around you...one I recognise.] Ddraig growled. [The White One...]
'The White One? I...don't think you've mentioned him, her, it before.' Shiro questioned.
[The White One...also called the Vanishing Dragon] Ddraig growled. [We are known as the Heavenly Dragons but we never saw eye to eye on things.] The mighty Red Dragon snorted before continuing with his tale. [The hosts of the two dragons are destined to fight one another, as are me and the Vanishing Dragon.]
Shiro narrowed his eyes at this. 'Wait...if the hosts are destined to fight does that mean my dad also fought a White Dragon host?' Shiro questioned him as he began plating up the food, placing Kuroka's bowl on the floor since she had turn back into her cat form.
Ddraig sighed before nodding. [He did...but that's the problem. With each reincarnation, the one that lost grows stronger...which means.] Ddraig trailed off as Shiro sat down at the table with his food.
'My dad won...which means that the White dragon will be stronger...but how much stronger is the question?' Shiro thought just as Rias, Asia and his mother appeared.
[I do not know...be on your guard Shiro now that both the White one and the man who murdered your clan are active.] Ddraig warned. [I fear we are growing ever closer to the storm.]
'Will do Ddraig...will do.'
"Karaoke?" Shiro parroted as he rested against the hallway wall inside Kuoh academy. It was currently lunch time and Shiro was joined by Matsuda and Motohama and the bald headed pervert quickly brought up the idea that the three of them should meet up this weekend for Karaoke. "That...doesn't sound half bad actually." Shiro nodded in agreement.
Motohama smiled and adjusted his glasses slightly before speaking. "It's been awhile and the one in front of the station has insert songs but also ones from anime too." The glasses-wearing pervert smiled.
However, the three of them were soon intruded upon by Kiyruu, who managed to sneak up behind Motohama. "I love the sound of a good insert." She softly spoke with a sly smirk as Motohama and Matsuda jumpped at the sound of her voice. "So the three perverted stoogies talking about sex again?"
"Uhhh excuse, not as much of a pervert here." Shiro exclaimed with a roll of his eyes. "Anyways we were talking about meeting up this weekend for some karaoke." He told her with a shrug.
Kiyruu's eyes lit up and her smile only grew. "Karaoke you say~ I love karaoke, I wanna go." She exclaimed before turning to her side slightly to show that Asia was walking behind her. "What about you Asia?" She asked the ex-Nun as she too joined the trio turned quartet.
"That sounds fun." She smiled.
Shiro had to quickly lash out to grab Matsuda and Motohama by their collars as the two had moved closer to Asia, closer then Shiro would've liked. "Well if Asia wants to come then I won't exactly be against you joining us." Shiro said as he held the two perverts up like cats as he addressed Kiryuu.
"Sounds like fun." She nodded. "So when are we all meeting?"
Shiro pursed his lips in thought berfore shrugging his shoulders, and also dropped the perverts. "Eh we'll finalise the plans more towards the time." He said just as the bell rang. As the group headed to class, Shiro couldn't help but pause and look at the window with narrowed eyes as he felt something pull his gaze that way. 'What...the hell was that.' Shiro thought as he gripped his right arm and scowled.
[Are you alright partner?] Ddraig slurred, rousing from his sleep thanks to Shiro.
'Yeah Ddraig...just, just thought I sensed something.' Shiro told the waking Dragon before shaking his head and continued on to the classroom. 'But it's probably nothing.' He said but in the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't 'nothing'. Shiro thought he'd sensed a large amount of Holy Energy coming from the front entrance but as quickly as it appeared did it also vanish, which is why he played it off as nothing.
After that, the day dragged on as normal until the final bell rang and both Shiro and Asia found themselves in the old school building, with a shiny new polish. "Daman, whoever the cleaner is they did a awesome job." Shiro whistled in wonderment as he stared at the reflective floor. "Hell you could probably eat off the floor." He chuckled before he noticed Asia was staring off in the distance. "You alright sis?" He asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
The sudden touch made Asia jump a little, turning her head to look up at Shiro before her gaze returned back to what she was looking at. "Sh-Shiro...what's that spooky door?" She asked, point a shaking finger towards a heavily locked door with chains and 'KEEP OUT' tape stretched over it.
Shiro stood besides Asia and stared at the door. "You know...I'm not sure." He replied with a shrug. "I mean that door has always been locked off but I never found out why." He told her before shaking his head and placed his hand on her shoulder again. "But it's probably locked for a reason so for now, let sleeping dogs lie and meet up with the others kay?" He said and, without waiting for a reply, started to make his way upstairs.
In a few short moments, Shiro and Asia would enter the room where they saw that only Rias and Koneko were in there. "Ah there you two are." Rias spoke the moment she saw the siblings. "Now that the building has been fully cleaned we can start fresh." She smiled as Shiro sat down besides Koneko, who siftly took her spot in his lap, and Asia besides Rias.
"Yeah...but where the hell is Kiba?" Shiro sneered, as he thought about the blonde's attitude last night.
"He's been absent from school nya~" Koneko swiftly replied as she grabbed Shiro's hand and coerced him to pet her head, purring and nuzzling when he did.
"Shit really...Rias, do you think this has something to do with what we talked about last night?" Shiro concerningly asked Rias, who sighed in response. "Rias please, you mentioned something about Kiba being the only survivour of the project. You never really got to explain anything last night." He reminded, remembering the fact his Mother interrupted them."
Rias slowly opened her, a disntant and far off look in them. "Before Kiba, there were many more children that were raised to be compatible with Excalibur." She started before sighing. "That's because there are seven known Holy swords with the name Excalibur."
"Wait there are seven Excaliburs?" Shiro questioned with a raised eyebrow. "How the hell is that even possible?"
[Were you even listening to me yesterday Whelp?] Ddraig sighed in annoyance prompting Shiro to look at his arm with a raised eyebrow. [I told you that during the three faction war, the sword known Excalibur was broken and scattered.]
'Oh right...I forgot you mentioned that.' Shiro chuckled sheepishly as he stared at his arm.
Rias stared at Shiro as the silver haired teen suddenly started to chuckle before she shook her head and continued. "The Church found the fragments and used alchemy to create seven new swords. Kiba and those like him, failed to become compatible with any of the Excaliburs."
"So...that's what my Mum was on about." Shiro scowled as he started to put two and two together. "She said the experiment failed so they wanted to wipe the slate clean...no survivours. No witnesses."
Rias solemnly sighed and nodded her head. "Yes and when I found him...he was practically dead." She said, her eyes gazing off in the distance as she remembered the look and Kiba's face when she first met him. How his eyes flickered with a fading flame and yet still burned bright for vengence for his friends that he lost that day. "Seeing how determained he was to live, even though he was so close to death, I decided to turn him into a Devil so he could use that determination of his for something else..."
After Rias finished, the room was eerily silent as every let the information process, mainly Shiro and Asia as Koneko had heard the tale before. However, said silence was broken when the door to the room opened and Akeno walked in. "Sorry to interrupt but Rias, I've brought some guests that wish to speak with you." She said and stepped aside to let Sona and Tsubkai enter the room. "They say they have some urgent buisness with you."
Sona nodded and stepped forwards. "Rias would you please accompnay me to my house? The information I wish to share isn't for everyones ears." She said, an aura of seriousness enveloping the young Sitri.
"Sounds serious." Rias remarked before she nodded and stood up. "Alright, everyone I suggest you all return home for today." She addressed her servants before looking at Akeno. "Akeno, I would like you to accompy me...if that's alright with you Sona."
Sona looked at Rias for a few seconds before smiling. "Of course, Tsubaki will be joining me after all so it's only right if Akeno joins you." She replied.
"Well I guess that's our cue." Shiro said as she lifted Koneko off him and placed her on the floor before standing himself. "Let's go Asia. I'll see you back at the house Rias." Shiro smiled as he walked up to Rias and kissed on softly, which she returned. Once they seperated, Shiro was the one to lead Asia and Koneko out of the room, sending a smile to Akeno as he passed her. "I wonder what that was all about..." Shiro muttered the moment he shut the door behind him.
The three members walked in silence to their respective homes, or at least until they reached a cross-roads that lead to Shiro's home and the apartment Koneko stayed at alongside Kiba and Akeno. "I guess this is where we part ways for now." Shiro said as he waited for the lights to turn red. "So...what do you guys think Sona wanted Rias for? Maybe it has something to do with Kiba?"
"Dunno but whatever it is...it's serious." The petite girl said, her eyes narrowed before he gaze softened. "But...I'm worried about Kiba."
Shiro sighed and petted Koneko's head, making her purr softly. "So am I Koneko but...Rias told us to leave him be for now." He spoke before looking up at the stoplights. "We just have to hope Kiba snaps out of his funk." Shiro sighed as the lights turned to red. Koneko noticed this change as well as she simply nodded and walked off to the apartment complex she lived at.
Once the white haired Nekomata saftely crossed the road, Shiro began to lead Asia back home. "Are you sure Kiba will be okay?" The Nun asked Shiro with a tilt of her head.
Shiro looked down at his blonde haired sibling before sighing and shook his head. "Honestly...I have no idea." He admitted. "When I last talked to him he seemed hell bent on getting his revenge and after what Rias said...Kiba's revenge will pit him against the Church." He replied. "I just hope he doesn't do something stupid like actually try and fight the Church." Shiro muttered as they both rounded the corner of their street before freezing as they both sensed a familair and menacing aura. "Wh-What the hell..." Shiro mumbled before his eyes widened and he broke off into a sprint towards his home.
Asia, who'd also been frozen in fear, snapped out of her stunned state when she realised that Shiro had ran on without her. She too broke into a sprint, albeit not as fast as Shiro, and joined her brother at the front door to their home. Shiro glanced down at Asia and gently pushed her back so that he was in front of her. One he'd postioned himself in a protective way, he slammed the door open before calling out. "MOM WE'RE HOME! ARE YOU OKAY!" He yelled. He didn't think he'd need to worry about his mother considering how powerful she was but with such an aura emanating from his home, it was hard not to.
"Ah there you are Shiro." His mother called back from the living room. "Hurry up, we have special guests." She yelled, causing Shiro and Asia to look at each other before quickly making their way to the living room. Once they reached the doorway, both Devils froze as they saw two figures sat on the couch opposite Lilith, who had her arms and legs crossed.
Both figures were woman, judging by their shapes, and both wore white robes with hoods, that were lowered revealing their faces. One had brownish-ginger hair done up in twin ponytails while the other had gunmetal blue hair with a green highlight. Both woman wore crosses around their necks showing that they were from the Church which explained the menacing aura Shiro and Asia had felt...but it didn't. In fact, the aura coming from the crosses were being overpowered by the cloth covered item that was resting next to the blue haired one.
"Heya Mum...so who are these two?" Shiro asked as his eyes glanced from the two woman to the cloth covered item. 'What's with this intense aura...what even is that thing?' Shiro thought as he managed to tear his eyes away from whatever it was to stay firmly locked on the woman.
Lilith huffed through her nose. "These two, as you've guessed, are members from the Church, Vatican and Protestant respectively." She explained as she glared at the two members. "Now then, you two were in the middle of explaining why you are here." Lilith said with a roll of her hand. "And I'm not talking about this city."
Both woman only glanced at Shiro and Asia before the ginger one returned her gaze to Lilith but the one with blue hair...her gaze was firmly locked onto Asia, almost glaring at her. Noticing this, Shiro stepped in front of Asia and met her glare with one of his own. "Shiro enough." Lilith suddenly said, alomst noticing his aggressive posture. "And you there, would you mind stop staring at my precious little adopted daughter."
The blue-haired one continued glaring before sighing and closed her eyes before looking at Lilith. "As we were saying, we've been ordered to look into a certain rumour while on our mission." The blue-haired one said. "And it seems like the rumours were true. Members of the Katsura massacre survived. What more, the members are the head of the clan and her child." The blue-haired one spoke.
Lilith's eyes narrowed at both members as she allowed some of her own aura to leak out. "I see...I pray for your sakes that you've only been orderd to investigate the rumours and not eliminate us?" She questioned. Lilith was making her intent clear that if the two were there to eliminate her and Shiro, she would most likely fight back.
"You don't need to worry Lady Katsura." Finally, the ginger-haired one spoke up and her tone was a stark contrast to her comrade. While the blue-haired one's tone was very stoic and stern, the other was bubbly and jovial. "Our orders were only to see if the rumours were true, nothing more." She smiled as Lilith recalled her aura.
"Good. Seems like those fools at the Church know not to send their members towards a meaningless death...but that makes me question now, what is your mission here?" Lilith questioned as she gestured towards the clothe covered item and the ginger's arm. "I can sense what you two are carrying which makes me very concerned for my son and his friends, which is quite understandable."
Both woman closed their eyes and the ginger had a slight smile on her face. "The rumours about your abilites are very true. However, we've set up a meeting with Lady Gremory tomorrow to discuss everything." She said before they both stood up. "We must be going now." She bowed.
"Are you sure, why don't you stay for some tea?" Lilith asked, but her tone made it very clear that she wanted these two out of her home.
"That won't be necessary." The blue haird one said as she grabbed the item next to her. "We must be off as there are more preperations to be done." She replied as she and the Ginger started to head out, walking past Shiro and Asia, the former still being sheltered from their gazes.
Shiro's eyes watched the two with intent as they made their way over to the door, gave one last glance back before they left and closed the door behind them. "Mum...who were they?" Shiro asked through gritted teeth as his body continued to quake and tremble until he couldn't sense their aura's any more.
Lilith simply sighed and stood up before making her way over to her children and comfortingly hugged them. "They're members of the Church Shiro. But don't worry about them, I won't let them harm you or anyone close to you." She told them before releasing them and made her way past them. "I'll get started on tea so why don't you two head up to your room."
Shiro said nothing and simply nodded as he grabbed Asia's hand and lead her upstairs and into his room. Once the two were inside and Shiro had closed the door, he slumpped against his door and sank to the floor as he finally let his body release the tension he held. "H-Holy crap that was scary." Shiro mumbled as he held up his hand to show that it was shaking. "How are you fairing Asia?" He asked, worried that the intense aura effected her but to his surprise, she seemed to be fairing better then him.
"I'm fine thanks to you brother." She simled as she sat on his bed.
Shiro smiled at her as he finally stood up and made his way over to her where he gently patted her head. "I'm glad. I know you used to be a member of the Church so I didn't know what those two would do or try if they saw you." Shiro told her before both looked towards his door as it was suddenly opened.
"You're both safe..." Rias spoke as she stood their panting, her shoulders slowly raising and lowering, before she dropped her bag, rushed over to them and pulled them both into a hug. "I rushed home as quickly as I could once I sensed their aura was close by." She softly said, almost being close to tears at the thought of losing both her servants and lover.
Shiro simply stared at Rias as she comfortingly hugged both him and Asia before he softly smiled and hugged her back. "You silly girl." Shiro chuckled. "If anything were to actually happen, you know my Mother would've stopped it." He told her as he gently pulled away. "You know how powerful she is."
Rias stared up at Shiro before smiling softly and nodded. "Yes you're right...but that doesn't mean I can't worry about you two." She told him as she joined Asia on his bed while he sat down at his desk. "So why were two members of the Church here?" Rias asked Shiro, curious to find out what's going on.
"Well...they said that they were here to investigate rumours of me and my Mother surviving the, as they dubbed it, the Katsura Massacre." Shiro spat, even mentioning what they called it made his blood boil and he could feel Ddraig seething right alongside him.
"I see...so even the Church have heard of that tragedy." Rias mumbled before she huffed. "Well I learned from Sona that they wanted to meet with me s-"
"Yeah they mentioned something like that." Shiro told Rias as he cut her off. "They send that they've set up a meeting tomorrow?" He questioned, hoping he had heard them wrong.
Rias was shocked when he interrupted her, already knowing that those two had set up a meeting. "You heard correctly, we're meeting with them tomorrow after school at the clubroom." She told them both.
"I see...well I just hope Kiba doesn't show up." Shiro said with a heavy sigh before looking at the shocked faces of Rias and Asia. "Think about it, two members of the Church in the clubroom and with how Kiba's been acting, I wouldn't put it past him to do something stupid." Shiro admitted as he crossed his arms.
Rias stared at Shiro before nodding her head in agreement. As much as she loved all her servants, she knew that Kiba's hatred for the Holy Sword Project and the Church was clouding his judgement. "Well I guess I'm going to have to rely on you to keep Kiba out of trouble." She told him with a warm smile before her eyes went wide in surprise as she heard a phone start to ring.
Shiro also went wide eyed in surprise before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Huh? Unknown caller?" Shiro muttered before he answered it. "Hello? Oh hey I remember you...what, you want me to complete a pact right now? Uhhh sure but I'll have to ask my Master if it's okay." Shiro conversed with whoever was on the other end before moving the phone away and looked at Rias. "Hey so an old client of mine want's me to join him at fishing. He said he would make it a pact if needs be, that okay with you Rias?" Shiro asked.
Rias, still shocked at the sudden call shook her head. "Well normally he would need to send in a formal request but I can allow it this once since you're so low on making pacts." She teasingly winked.
Shiro rolled his eyes before he returned the phone to his face. "Hey you still there...good, my Master said it's okay so where do you want to meet? Underneath the bridge by Kuoh, got it." Shiro said as he hung up. "Well I guess I'm off now." Shiro said as he stood up and made his way to his door. "I'll see you two when I get back." He told them before walking out of his room and down the stairs just in time to see his mother walk out of the kitchen.
"Shiro? Where are you off to?" She asked him as she wiped her hands on a dish cloth.
Shiro paused before turning to look at his mother before he smiled. "Oh I've been called out to a job with an old client. Nothing too much, he just wants a fishing partner." Shiro told his mother to which she simply nodded in understanding.
"Alright well I'll put your food in the oven." She said before yelling up to Rias and Asia that food was ready for them. "Stay safe sweetie." She told her son as he opened the door and left the house. "Kuroka...follow him and make sure he doesn't do anything reckless." Lilith told the Nekoshou, who was in her cat form nearby.
Kuroka said nothing as she sighed to herself and casually stolled past Lilith and out the front door door, which Lilith quickly shut when she sensed Rias and Asia walking down the stairs.
With Shiro...
Shiro soared through the air, flapping his wings every so often, towards his destination.
[Your thoughts are everywhere Shiro.] Ddraig suddenly said, almost making Shiro drop from the skies.
"Jeez don't do that Ddraig." Shiro replied with a heavy sigh. "But you're right...ever since hearing those two girls from the Church mention the massacre, I just couldn't help but wonder who else knows about it?"
Ddraig didn't reply for a few seconds before the mighty dragon huffed. [If I hazard a guess..only the three factions and a handful of members outside the factions.] He spoke as Shiro neared the bridge. [The Katsura's were a well known clan that birthed some powerful mages, as your Mother mentioned, plus they also alligned themselves with Devils during the war so it's only natural that rumours and stories of your clans destruction would be passed down in the Church.] Ddraig theorised.
Shiro didn't reply to Ddraig, since he believed what Ddraig was saying, as he descended to the ground and landed behind the old man. "Sup old man. Caught anything while I was on my way here?" Shiro asked the old man as he walked up next to him and sat down on the spare chair.
The old man smirked. "Nah kid, In fact I just set everything up." He said as he held out a spare rod to Shiro. "You ever fished before?"
Shiro took the rod off him before shaking his head. "Nope but how hard can it be?" He asked as he grabbed some bait, a small cube of cheese, put it on the end of the hook and whipped the line forwards where it landed in the water with a small plop. "There, simple." Shiro smiled as he leaned back and watched the bobber.
The old man simply smirked at Shiro and flung his own line fowards and into the water. "So what's been going on in the life of a Devil?"
Shiro sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Same old same old. Hunting down stray devils, completing contracts, training to get stronger. You know, the usual things...but something came up as of late that's affected my friend in a really bad way." Shiro said as he stared at the bobber with a distant gaze.
The old man just stared at Shiro before he smirked. "Hey now, never thought I'd see a depressed Devil." He said before patting Shiro on the back. "Listen kid, you shouldn't act all gloomy. You shouldn't think about things too hard, life's problem always seem to find a solution themselves." He told the silver-haired teen. "I've found that if you worry about every little thing that lies ahead, you'll just send yourself to an early grave."
Shiro looked at the old man as he spouted words of wisdom before he chuckled and shook his head. "Heh thanks old geezer but this is the kind of problem where I need to think ahead." Shiro replied before his attention had turned to his fishing pole as something started tugging at it. "Looks like I got the first bite old man." Shiro smirked as he quickly reeled the fish in...only to find that the fish had escaped his line and stole the bait.
"HAHAHAHA!" The old man barked in laughter as he watched Shiro begrudingly put new bait on his hook and throw the line back in. At the same time, his own pole starting twitching. "You may of gotten the first bite kid." He said as he quickly yanked his arm back. "But I got the first catch." He said as a decent sized Bass was flopping about. "Heh that's one to me." He said as he released the fish back into the water.
Shiro's eyebrow twitched as the old man flashed him a peace sign. "So you making this a challenge huh. Alright I'm game, I bet I can catch more fish then you old man."
Meanwhile, on top of the nearby bridge sat Kuroka in her cat form. 'Are you kidding me Shiro?' Kuroka questioned herself as her eyes were firmly locked on the old man sat next to the silver-haired teen was sat next to. 'Are you really that oblivious as to who you're sat next to?' She thought as she shook her head and began walking back to the Katsura's home.
It took the Nekoshou no time at all to reach the household where she found Lilith sat in the living room with Rias or Asia nowhere to be seen. 'I have returned with...some news.' She said as she hopped onto the sofa and laid down besides Lilith. 'Seems like his client...is non-other then Azazel.' Kuroka told Lilith.
Lilith, upon hearing who Shiro's client was, felt her eyebrow twitch. "...Are you being serious?" Lilith asked and upon looking at Kuroka's expression, knew she was indeed telling the truth. "What does that Fallen Angel pervert think he's doing?" Lilith muttered. "I swear if he's thinking of taking the Boosted gear I will tear his wings off."
'I don't think he's gonna harm Shiro, Lilith.' Kuroka told her as she stretched out on the sofa. 'I mean if he was going to...don't you think he would've done it by now?' Kuroka asked with a matter of fact tone.
Lilith huffed through her nose before sighing as she knew the Ex-Stray Devil was correct.
It wouldn't be for another twenty minutes before Shiro returned home and by the time he did arrive, everyone had already gone to sleep. Shiro quickly ate the food his mother prepped for him before he made his way into his room, stripped down to his boxers and joined Rias in his bed.
The next day, things were rather uneventful for the ORC members, even Kiba showed up to school. Then, the meeting with the members of the Church arrived.
The two woman and the members of the ORC had all met in the main club room. The two Church girls were sat on the couch facing the window while Rias took the couch facing them while the members of the ORC stood behind her, expect Kiba who decided to stand in the far corner of the room and was giving the two an icy-glare.
"We appreciate your Cooperation Lady Gremory." The Blue haired woman said, seemingly completely unphased by Kiba. "I am Xenovia." She introduced herself.
"And I'm Irina Shidou."
Rias stared at the two for a few seconds before finally speaking. "It's nice to meet you...now explain what reason two servants of God would have to meet with a Devil?" Rias questioned, skipping straight to the point of the matter.
"While one fragment hasn't been found, the Church was in possession of six sword fragments." Irina explained. "However, three have been stolen by Fallen Angels." She admitted with a heavy sigh.
That's when Xenovia lifted up the cloth covered item she held with her. "This one is called Excalibur Destruction."
"And the one I have is Excalibur Mimic." Irina held out her right arm and pointed to a strand of rope that was tied around her upper-arm.
'So...one fragment can litterally change it's shape? That doesn't seem fair.' Shiro thought as he glanced over to Kiba as he could practically feel the anger leaking from him. Catching his eye, Shiro sent over a glare at him which practically screamed for him to calm his shit. 'You better not do anything stupid Kiba.'
"So, what exactly do you want from us?" Rias questioned, however the look she had betrayed the fact she seemed to already know the answer.
Xenovia suddenly pinned Rias with a glare. "This matter is between the Church and the Fallen Angels thus we can't afford to deal with the Devils of this city." She told Rias who sighed in response.
"As I suspected." Rias said before a vicious smile crossed her face. "You thought we would side with the Fallen Angels to help deal with the Holy Swords. Did I get that right?"
Xenovia scoffed and met Rias' smile with one of her own. "You Devils despise Holy Swords...which means you also stand to gain something from their theft and or destruction." She told Rias. Rias, in response, would let some of her power leak out as her eyes started to turn from their normal emerald green to a crimson red and magical energy swirled within them. This show of power didn't deter Xenovia nor did it seem to phase her. "If we must, we will annihilate you...even if you are the sister to Satan."
Rias took a deep breath to calm herself. "If you know that much then let me tell you this, I will never side with a Fallen Angel." She sternly said. "In the name of the Gremorys, I will never do anything to humiliate the Satans."
This seemed to be the answer Xenovia was looking for as she smirked at the red-head. "I'm glad to hear that. That's exactly the answer the Church was looking for. I'm sure that the sister of a Satan would not be so foolish."
Rias' eyes washed over the two before she smiled once again. "In that case you must also know that I won't side with you and your God either."
Xenovia nodded at Rias. "I gathered, we simply ask that you promise to not intervene in this ordeal." After that, both woman stood up and got ready to leave. However, before they left, Xenovia pinned Asia with a glare. "I thought It you at Shiro Katsura's house...you're Asia Argento, aren't you?"
Asia jolted at suddenly being addressed by the two members. "Y-Yes?" She replied, questioning why Xenovia had such attention on her.
Xenovia suddenly scoffed and what she said next, made Shiro's blood boil. "I never thought I'd see a Witch here." She spat, putting as much venom in the word Witch as she could muster.
'Stay calm Shiro. Don't do anything stupid.' ]
"Ohhh you're the Ex-Nun who became a Witch?" Irina inquired before smiling. "I did hear that you were exiled because you are able to heal Devils and Fallen Angels but I'd never thought you'd actually become a Devil." The ginger said.
Shiro looked down at Asia before scowling as he saw that her eyes were watering and her shoulders were shaking. "Yeah she became a Devil." Shiro suddenly said as he placed a hand on Asia's shoulder and put himself between the two woman and Asia. "But only because she had her Sacred gear stolen and was murdered."
Xenovia, upon hearing this, scoffed. "Seems like a befitting end for a Heratic." She said before pinning Asia with another glare. "Tell me, do you still have Faith?" Xenovia asked. "Do you still believe in our God?"
Irina chuckled softly and waved a dismissive hand. "Xenovia come on, she's a Devil. There's no way she would still have faith."
"U-Um...I-I can't let it go..." She mumbled as her shoulders trembled even more. "I've believed in him my entire life." She told the tear as a single tear fell from her face.
"In that case." Xenovia took a single step towards Asia and raised her sword. "Let us kill you now."
"What did you just say?" A low and deep rumble came from Shiro as he bared his fangs at Xenovia.
Xenovia merely glanced at Shiro before scoffing and closed her eyes. "Whatever sins she has committed, if she allows herself to be struck down by my hand then maybe, maybe God will forgive her." She said as she raised her sword.
That's when a red-clawed hand grabbed the blade, smoke wafting from the hand as well as the soft sound of sizzling. "That's enough." Shiro growled, ignoring the agonizing pain that was coming from his hand. 'H-Holy shit this fucking burns. This is way worse then a Spear of light.' Shiro thought
[THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE TOUCHING A FRAGMEN OF EXCALIBUR YOU IDIOT!] Ddraig roared at Shiro, who recoiled under the booming voice. [DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THE WARNINGS YOU WERE GIVEN!]
'Ddraig, any other time I would listen but right now.' Shiro responded through gritted teeth. 'I'm trying to make a point here.'
Xenovia, while Shiro was talking with Ddraig, stared at his Boosted gear covered hand with a glare before looking back at Shiro. "Just how foolish are you?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
Shiro glared daggers at Xenovia. "Cut the crap. You were the ones who put Asia on a pedastool and when she did what was asked of her, when she healed someone, you branded her a heratic and forced her into the arms of the Fallen Angels." He growled, still holding the blade despite the intense amount of smoke wafting from his hand.
"Shiro that's enough." Rias' voice suddenly cut through the tense air as she stood up and glared at Shiro. "Shiro, remove your hand before you lose it." She sternly told him. Shiro didn't listen to her for a second or so before removing his hand and desummoned his Boosted gear. The moment he did, everyone could see that damage that had been caused by him grabbing the Excalibur.
The skin of his palm was completely burnt off, revealing the tender muscle beneath and even that was burnt slight. Upon seeing this, Asia instantly being to use her Twilight healing to heal Shiro's hand. "Heh, even now the heratic continues to use her powers."
"Stop calling her that dammit." Shiro spat. "She's not a Witch. She's not a Heratic. She's a person. A person who wanted to be loved, by God or anyone else. She never asked to be isolated, all she wanted was friends."
Xenovia merely scoffed at this. "A Saint can live on just the love from God. Those seeking anything more like friendship are not worthy of being a Saint." She told Shiro like it was a fact of life. "Tell me, what are you to Asia Argento?"
"I'm her brother." Shiro told her. "Her family. Which means if you want to get to her, you have to go through me." Shiro told Xenovia as he got in her face and scowled. "In fact if you even touch a single hair on her head, I will kill every last one of you."
Xenovia simply smirked at Shiro and gripped the hilt of her sword tighter. "Should I take that as a challange to the entire Church? Are you really willing to start another war?"
Shiro sneered down at Xenovia, clearly knowing that she was trying to bait him. "Well it's a good thing I won't fight as a Devil. I'll be fighting as a very pissed off Dragon and Dragons were neutral." Shiro told her as his eyes became slitted and a low, deep rumble emminated from his throat. Shiro, realising what he was doing, he took deep calming breaths. "Anyways you get the point, you want Asia then you'll be dealing with a Dragon, not a Devil."
"This is perfect." Suddenly Kiba, who had been silent, spoke up. "I will be your opponent." He said as he pinned Xenovia with a glare. Shiro blinked and stared at Kiba before scowling and swiftly made his way up to the blond and stood in front of him, earning the blondes glare. "What?" He asked Shiro, who's response was to punch him in the face.
"Shiro!" Rias yelled in shock as she watched her 'Pawn' punch Kiba. "Shiro what is wrong with you?" She asked.
"Where the hell do you get off on butting in with my fight?" Shiro asked the blonde, who was wiping the blood from his mouth and was slowly standing up. "You've been MIA for the past two days and the first thing you do when you show back up is pick a fight?" He questioned him before reaching out and grabbed his collar. "What you should do is apologise to Rias for making her worry that you became a Stray Devil."
Kiba glared at Shiro before slapping his hand away. "Your concern isn't needed Shiro." He said as he pushed past Shiro. "Now then, you will face me."
Xenovia, still looking unphased, stared at Kiba before raising an eyebrow. "Who exactly are you?" She asked him.
"Your superior." He simply repiled before he darkly chuckled. "But I guess a faliure would be more accurate." He told them.
Soon enough, the group were gathered outside behind the old school building with Xenovia and Irina facing the old school building and Shiro and Kiba. Akeno, Rias, Asia and Koneko were stood off to the side and both Rias and Akeno had set up a protective barrier. Also, both Xenovia and Irina had removed their robes to reveal a black, skintight bodysuit that clung to their bodies. "So this is going to be a private spar right?" Shiro asked as he went through a series of stretches.
"Of course." Irina said with a wink as she tugged at the rope that was tied around her arm which then suddenly turned into a katana. "If the higher ups found out about this then we would be in serious trouble."
"We'll do out best not to kill either of you." Xenovia added as the cloth that was wrapped around her blade suddenly burst apart to reveal the Excalibur Destruction.
Suddenly, a chilling laughter echoed through the clearing and all eyes were on Kiba as his shoulders shook softly as he continued to chuckle. "Finally." He said with a menacing grin. "Thing very thing I've sworn to destroy is brought to me." He said as dozens of swords eruppted from the ground, with him reaching for the one that was closet to him.
Xenovia, upon seeing Kiba's Scared Gear in action, swung her blade around so that it was resting on her shoulder. "Ahhh I know you now. It was said that a sole subject managed to escape the Holy Sword Experiments disposal efforts."
"You there, Katsura." Irina suddenly said as she glared at Shiro. "There's no hard feelings when I beat you." She said as she held her blade out in front of her.
Shiro chuckled as he stood up straight and raised his arm. "Back at you."
[BOOST!]
The moment that Shiro summoned his Boosted gear was also the window Irina used to strike. "Amen!" She yelled as she leapt into the air and towards Shiro before slashing down at where he was standing.
The silver-haired teen bent his legs before swiftly leaping back. 'From how bad my hand hurt from grabbing Xenovia's blade, I really don't want to get cut by one.'
[No you don't.] Ddraig commented as he watched Shiro dodge the more agile and nimble Irina's strikes. [Even a small cut will drain you of all your energy. Only a Satan level Devil could stand a chance to take more then a single strike.]
'Good to know.' He said as he ducked under another swing before he attempt to sweep out her legs, which she easily jumped over. However, when she jumped Shiro would quickly reach up and grab her ankle before tossing her backwards. 'Gotta be on the offensive. Can't give her time to strike.' Shiro thought as he chased after Irina.
Irina would easily flip onto her feet, showing off her impressive flexibility before raising her blade above her head and swung down at Shiro as he approached.
Seeing her prepare a strike, Shiro would plant his feet in the ground to stop his moment before jumping away from Irina.
[BOOST!]
Yet another callout from Shiro's gauntlet made power surge within him. However, he wasn't able to take advantage of it as Irina would chase after him with a constant stream of slashes and stabs. At one point, she almost made contact with Shiro's side as she fainted a stab which she turned into a diagonal slash. "Heh, I'm surprised you can keep up Devil." Irina smirked as she kept her gaze on Shiro.
"Yeah well, I've got some tricks up my sleeve." He told her with a smirk. In truth, he had no idea how he was keeping up with Irina, just that he was.
[It's because I've been channeling Senjutsu through your body.] Ddraig told him, seemingly reading his mind.
Shiro raised an eyebrow at Ddraig before he remembered what Kuroka told him about Senjutsu. 'Oh right, Senjutsu can be used to read people's movements.' He thought before his eyes went wide as he felt the ground rumble, almost like there was an earthquake. "What the hell!" Shiro thought as he steadied his balance.
Irina, however, wasn't so lucky as she suddenly fall down. "Ahhh Xenovia!" Irina yelled at her companion as she stood up and dusted herself down. "Give me a warning when you do that."
Shiro raised an eyebrow when he heard Irina yell at Xenovia before glancing over to where she and Kiba were fighting before his eyes went wide as he saw that Xenovia had managed to crater the ground by stabbing her sword into the ground. 'No way...there's that much destructive power in that sword?' Shiro thought as he glanced over to Irina as he wondered just what her sword could do.
"The name Excalibur Destruction isn't just for show." Xenovia said as he yanked her sword free from the dirt and pointed it at Kiba, who was muttering something under his breath.
"Jeez, I hate it when she does that." Irina mumbled as she reached down and picked up her sword. "Now, I think it's time to end this." Irina said with a smirk as she pointed her blade at Shiro.
"Yeah you're right."
[BOOST! EXPLOSION!]
"It is." Shiro said with a smirk as Demonic energy swirled around him. He then crouched down before pushing of the ground, shooting towards Irina and managed to crater the ground when he pushed off it. With his hand clenched into a fist, Shiro charged at Irina with a straight jab which she dodged with ease. Shiro continued with his momentum and landed on his hands before he flipped around and launched a roundhouse kick at her temple which she blocked with the handle of her blade.
"You're good Devil...but not good enough." Irina smirked as she pushed Shiro's foot away from her which threw him off balance and gave her a large window to strike. "Game over." She smirked as she raised her blade above her head and slashed down.
"Heh, I'll have you know that's my line." Shiro smirked as he made Irina do exactly what he wanted. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared beneath Irina. "Improved technique, BINDING DRAGON CHAIN PRISON!" Shiro yelled as several silver chains, each adorning a dragon head, shot out of the magic circle and wrapped around Irina's wrists, waist and neck before it yanked her to the ground.
Irina struggled to free herself from Shiro's technique but found that she couldn't move any of her limbs. After a solid minute of trying, Irina sighed in defeat. "Haaaah I admit defeat." She said and the moment she declaired her defeat, the chains vanished as Shiro released his technique.
"Heh good fight...now time to see how Kiba's fairing." Shiro smirked down at her before glancing over to Kiba before wincing as he saw that he was wielding a sword twice the size of his normal blades but Xenovia had gotten into his striking distance and slammed the hilt of her blade into his stomach, making him cough up blood.
"Hmph..." She scoffed as Kiba fell to the ground, defeated. "Your weapons are the mass amount of varied swords you can make and your speed as a 'Knight'. Not only do you not have the strength to wield such a large blade, but you also sacriface that precious speed of yours." She told him before walking away.
"W-Wait..." The downed 'Knight' weakly muttered, struggling to even keep an arm raised.
Xenovia stopped before glancing over her shoulder. "You should fight me when you're more rational...my Superior." She said with a smirk while Kiba just glared up at her, angered at his defeat by the hands of an Excalibur.