Walburga's Revenge

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Disclaimer: I still do not own HS DxD.

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Chapter 1

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"The mail is here!" Issei said as he carried it through the door.

He was not immediately mobbed by every girl in the house. They lined up in a semi-orderly fashion and waited for him to sort it out. Most of the mail was for his parents after all.

"Bill. Bill. Bill. Coconut?" asked Issei. Everyone but two people had confused expressions on their faces. Finally Akeno started giggling as Kiba sighed. "I can't believe the Postal Service delivered it."

Smiling, Akeno told him, "I had heard that they would. And they have. You lost the bet."

Kiba pointed at the coconut, "That is only supposed to work in the United States. Not here."

Everyone rolled their eyes. Another normal day in the Hyodo household. Akeno and Kiba continued their discussion even as Issei resumed sorting the mail. After a moment, he announced, "And finally, a package for Rias."

"Oh good. The costume arrived," Rias said, accepting the package from Issei. "Before anyone asks, it is a Halloween costume I ordered."

Most of the girls blinked in surprise. The two members present of the Church Trio did not. Xenovia nodded, "I ordered a costume yesterday. I didn't want to try designing my costume again."

Asia smiled, "I've got a costume ordered also. We are planning on celebrating Halloween right?"

Rias nodded, "I am still planning on it."

Naturally, every other female in the house immediately entered Panic Mode.

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It was evening before Rias had a chance to try on the costume she'd purchased through the mail. She hoped it would fit. The hat was the first thing she saw when she opened the box. She took it out and looked it over, checking every detail.

'It looks as scary as it was advertised to be,' Rias thought. 'It looks as if a mouth and two eyes have been stitched into it. The cloth even looks old, but I can see the waterproofing on the hat, so they much have run it through several washes to make it appear that way. It's nice that it's waterproof, but I doubt this will see the outdoors.'

The rest of the costume was mundane, but suggested sexiness. A pair of ankle-high boots with a one inch wedge heel for comfort. Two pair of thigh-high stockings, one dark brown to be worn first to help darken her skin and cover any blemishes on her legs, with the second, black, thigh-highs to be worn over them. She'd read on the Internet that both stockings, worn together like that, created a smoky effect similar to what Playboy bunnies used to wear when those clubs were open. Two pair of opera gloves, the same colors and material as the thigh-highs that would cover her forearms were next, followed by a pair of armbands for her upper arms A cute little choker with a skull clasp completed the costume accessories.

All black, save for the dark brown items to be worn under the main pieces.

Finally, the main portion of the costume: a teddy designed to suggest, but not show too much. It was strapless, with the bustier portion designed to lift and support the breasts individually, yet be thick enough to prevent a nipple from pushing out too far, and short enough to encourage men to peek down the top. A cloth belt circled directly under the breasts, with the clasp made to be just under the cleavage to stand out as a functional decoration. Just below the belt was thick, lacy material. Not quite see-through, but just transparent enough to see the wearer's skin under the lace print. It was laced up the front like an American football, or pair of sneakers. Finally, there was the thick material to protect a woman's modesty with no hint of anything revealed. It was as if a pair of high-cut panties had been stitched to the lacy portion.

The entire teddy was black as midnight. Even the accent pieces were black. Rias had wanted some red in the design, but she could not find anything she liked with it. So she had settled on this, in the hopes of coaxing Rossweise to help her modify it.

Rias set everything carefully on the bed before wearing everything but the hat. After she finished with the choker, she stood and admired herself in front of the full-length mirror. 'This really needs some red accents,' she thought, "But this should excite Issei, and make the others a little jealous."

She put the hat on and smiled when she saw how it made her look. Then she crossed her arms and gave her reflection her best seductive gaze before saying aloud, "I am a beautiful witch."

"Yes, you are."

Rias glanced around, "Who's there? Who said that?"

"I did."

Rias looked into the mirror again, and saw that the hat had changed. What she had thought was stitchwork on the hat to create the impression of eyes and a mouth had turned into a glowing pair of eyes and an openly grinning mouth. When she realized that the hat was somehow alive, she suddenly felt a wave of nausea pass through her. As she shrugged it off, the hat spoke again, "You are a beautiful witch."

Rias frowned and made to grab the hat to pull it off. When she grabbed the hat, she became paralyzed. She growled, "Get off my head!"

"Why? You are a beautiful witch," the hat replied adding, "You said so yourself."

Rias could feel power emanating from the hat now. That power seeped into her arm and kept her from moving. She glared at the hat through her reflection in the mirror and tried to tug it off her head saying, "But I am not a witch." Her eyes met the eyes of the hat through the mirror. She felt something happen, but wasn't sure what.

"You are a witch, and I can prove it to you," the hat said.

"Humph! So you say. But I don't believe you," Rias said as she continued to try to move.

"Oh? Then who are you?"

"I'm Rias..," Rias paused. She knew she had more than just that for her name. But she couldn't think of anything else.

The hat promptly interjected, "You are Rias. That is indeed who you are. That proves you are a witch,"

"How does that prove I'm a witch?" asked Rias, glaring at the hat again through the mirror. Once again her eyes met its eyes. She blinked as she felt something inside her head readjust.

"Witches are known by only one name. Circe. Cassandra. Walburga," the hat said.

"Aha! We defeated Walburga. She tried to bring all of those dragons, and it didn't work," Rias said. "That's why you're here."

"What are you talking about? I've always been here," the hat replied.

"You have no..," Rias started to say, but in her haste and anger, locked eyes with the hat again. She saw the eyes glow before she felt something inside her head. "Uhhh," she said as she blinked.

"I have been here all this time, hiding from everyone that you are a witch. But now it is time to stop hiding. You need to be a proper witch," the hat said.

Rias released her grip on the hat and straightened herself to her full height as she stared at it indignantly, "I am not a witch," she said firmly.

"You are a witch. You are a beautiful witch. You are a very clever witch," the hat said to her, sounding as patient as a teacher with a troublesome student. "But now you need to stop hiding that you are a witch. We need to expand our numbers, and quickly."

Rias crossed her arms and glared at the hat. Before she could say anything, the hat glared back at her. As Rias felt something move in her mind, the hat insisted, "You are a very clever witch. You hid here in plain sight so you could find worthy recruits. Now is the time to recruit."

"Why now?" Rias asked.

"Because the Devils, Fallen and Angels are wiping us out. You've seen Walburga be defeated," the hat reminded her.

"Yes, but..," Rias started to say, but the hat interrupted her again, rearranging her thoughts.

When Rias looked at the hat again, she reminded it, "How am I such a clever witch if I don't know any spells?"

The hat chuckled, "You had to forget them. Hiding in plain sight as you have. But don't worry, you'll learn them all over again. Let me teach you again."

Rias's eyes and the eyes on the hat focused on each other.

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"This inverted pentagram on my chest is really obvious you know?" Rias groused.

The hat seemed to nod in agreement, "True, but as I am the original Witch's Hat, that is to be expected. That mark appears on all I chose to wear me. It has always been that way, as you well know."

Rias sighed, "Such an annoying Sacred Gear."

"And you are an annoying witch."

"But I am a beautiful witch," Rias said, giving a flirty wink at the reflection in the mirror.

"And you are a powerful witch. Now, let us go recruiting," the hat said.

Rias nodded and turned to leave the room.

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Nimrod Notes

Oh look, Christmas...I mean Halloween comes early this year.

Crossposted on DeviantArt as this was inspired by datakq3's picture of Rias Gremory as a witch. DeviantArtDOTcom/darakq4/art/Rias-Gremory-859323208

Also inspired by an old story from doomedfool which I read when I first started hanging around DA many, many years ago: DeviantArtDOTcom/doomedfool/art/Witch-117335146

I tried to write this as a one-shot, but I failed. Comment below who you think needs to be recruited next.