Chapter Thirty-Four - Raw Clash
They say that you learn new things about your significant others all the time. Sometimes a little habit, or a quirk.
Turns out, that's absolutely true, because at the god-forsaken time of eleven-forty-three at night, Vin found out something new about Xenovia.
If she had the space to, she could be an absolute menace while asleep.
Vin stared up at the ceiling of the large room, sighing when he felt the covers of the bed ripped off his body by Xenovia when she rolled over for what must have been the eleventh time so far.
At first, Vin appreciated the offer for Xenovia to sleep with him, but now, it was looking like he wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep at the current pace of things.
Sure, he had performed quite a few all-nighters before, that was nothing new to him. Except he didn't know if the Gremory Family Estate had Red Bull's in supply, and even if they did, simply operating on fumes, caffeine, hopes and dreams wasn't going to be enough tomorrow. After all, tomorrow marked the beginning of their training, a time when all of them were inevitably going to be worked to the bone. Going without sleep simply wasn't an option.
So that left him with a few options. He could try sleeping on the floor, his old exorcist coat, something that he just couldn't bring himself to part with, could serve as a fine blanket, and admittedly, whether it was because of the sheer prowess of the Gremory family's hospitality, or his body screaming at him to rest, even the floor looked rather comfy.
Or he could try to somehow stop Xenovia from thrashing around, which frankly, was a bit more of an attractive prospect, since the siren's call of the mattresses' pure comfort was unmatched.
With a groan, Vin turned to his side, now facing Xenovia's back. How was he going to go about this? He didn't want to wake her up, after all. Slowly, he shuffled closer to her, reaching out with his left arm to gently loop it over Xenovia, his hand coming to rest against her exposed abs, which sent a shiver up Vin's spine.
This… This could work, right? The only thing Vin had to work out was trying to quell the butterflies in his stomach, which fluttered around like mad. He'd always seen Xenovia's rock-hard abs as nothing but an absolute treasure, but now, said object of his attraction was being turned against him.
Slowly, Vin paced his breathing as best as he could. It was simply a part of her body, just like her arm, or her shoulder. Yeah, it's fine, he couldn't exactly see her drool-worthy rows of glorious muscle like this, so if he just kept thinking of it as just any other part of her body, he could calm down, possibly enough to sleep.
That was until Xenovia started to roll away from him once again. With his hand risking being crushed, Vin's body acted in instinct, pulling Xenovia close to him, her back pressing up against his chest, his right arm snaking under her, reaching over her front, just under her chest.
Vin's breaths became more and more unsteady when he realized that he's just done. He'd begun to spoon her. Vin's face flushed, yet he realized that he did somehow manage to stop Xenovia from tossing around. That was good, that was good… The only problem was that he had to deal with a whole new issue.
His brain was being forced into overdrive by the sheer assault of stimulus. All at once, Vin went from just a light touch, to completely embracing his girlfriend. The soft notes of pomegranate wafted from her hair, and filled his nostrils, causing his brain to all but short-circuit. The warmth of her skin was so incredibly enticing, yet uncomfortably hot all at the same time, a paradox that was only possible under the extreme excitement that filtered through his very being.
Vin laid there for a time, trying his best to calm down. Eventually, Vin settled on trying to match his breaths with the light inhales and exhales of his girlfriend. Eventually, the red tinge of his face receding to a simple dusting of pink. Looking over, he saw the peaceful smile that decorated Xenovia's face, as she unconsciously snuggled deeper into his embrace.
Vin smiled softly, she was simply so adorable. He'd really lucked out with her, hadn't he? How could someone as incredible as she was, with everything going for her, from strength to beauty, end up with someone like him? He couldn't really ever know, could he?
Life had thrown both of them quite the hard time, but right now, in this moment, with her by his side, it all felt a little bit easier.
Breakfast at the Gremory Estate was quite the event. Piles of food of all sorts decorating the vast table. Each of the peerage members seated, chowing away at the most delicious of breakfast foods that the Gremory Estate could serve up.
Vin took a deep sip of the steaming cup of coffee placed before him, black as the bags that rested under his eyes. Shivering in delight as the caffeine flowed into his body, surging him to life.
Feeling an itch in his eyes, Vin groaned, raising a hand to his eyes, tenderly rubbing them to rid himself of the irritation. As his eyes opened once more, he was met by the concerned gaze of Asia, who sat across the table.
"Vin, did you have a good sleep last night?" Asia asked.
"Hm?" Vin blanked for a moment, before his brain caught up, "Oh! Yeah, yeah, I had a fine night, no problem."
As if I could tell her that I was too excited to sleep. Vin thought, right as Issei leaned over to join their conversation.
"That's good. We got to have as much energy as possible for training today," Issei turned to his right, "Buchou, you were the one planning this trip, do you have any idea what we're going to be doing?"
Rias shook her head, "Unfortunately, the planning for the training regimes was done entirely by Azazel, so I don't have much in the way of knowledge."
"Damn," Issei sank into his seat, "So we have no idea what we're going to be doing…"
"It's training, so it stands to reason that we'll be looking at areas where we need improvement," Rias sipped her tea.
"Huh, makes you think…" Issei poked at his food, before looking over to the fallen sitting across the table, "Are you going to be doing training with us as well, Vin?"
"I imagine I will," Vin looked down at his open palm, "I'm still really new to being a Fallen Angel. I've barely learned to fly properly, let alone any complex maneuvers; and I still can't seem to properly form my own light spears yet, it all just comes out as an unfocused spray of energy."
"That's not even mentioning my Sacred Gear," Vin clenched his hand tight, "I still have a long way to go."
"We all do," Issei comforted, "I'm in the same boat, I'm way too weak right now."
Vin raised an eyebrow, "Really? Dude, what you did at the Peace Summit was anything but 'being weak'."
"Heh, thanks," Issei rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "That was kind of a fluke, though. I don't think I could do it again if I was asked to."
"Hm, I see," Vin hummed, taking a finishing swig of his coffee, giving a quiet moan of satisfaction as the liquid gold worked its magic, "So, what do you think your training is going to be like?"
"I'm not sure, but it's easy to see my goal in front of me now," Issei replied, "I have to try and learn to use Balance Breaker, if I can do that… Then maybe I can stand beside everyone else here."
"Sounds tough."
"It probably will be," Issei sighed, "Knowing my luck, that damn Governor General is going to have me doing something stupid, like being tormented by that big dragon that he got to attack us before."
"Sekiryuutei, Ddraig, it's good to see you again," Tannin let out a powerful huff of smoke from his nostrils, "This will be the first time I get to train a Sekiryuutei. Dare I say that I'm excited for the experience."
Issei looked up blankly at the utterly massive, scaly bipedal dragon in front of him.
"I hate it when I'm right…"
"Toughen up, kid," Azazel grinned from his place beside Tannin, a small clipboard clutched in his hands, "Tannin here is the best person to help coax Balance Breaker out of you. After all, it takes a dragon to fully understand another dragon. This is my foolproof method to having you unlock the Balance Breaker; and by foolproof, I mean it's either going to happen, or you'll die trying."
Issei turned pale, "Oi, oi, excuse me? Did you just say that I could 'die trying'?"
"Glad to see your ears are functioning," Azazel quipped, "You'll be fine, kiddo. You're the hearty sort. You'll do just fine up there in the mountains."
"Wait, I don't want to go!" Issei wailed, "Buchou! I want to stay behind with Buchou!"
"Enough complaining, brat," Tannin's gruff voice grumbled, as he lurched downward, plucking Issei up in his humongous talons, all while Issei thrashed and kicked about in the air to no avail.
"Issei!" Rias stepped forward.
"Buchou, save me!" Issei cried out, "You wouldn't let me be taken away, right?"
Rias flashed the Sekiryuutei a smile, "Do your best Issei. Grow nice and strong for me, alright?"
"Buchou?" Issei paused, before the Tannin's wings unfurled, and gave a mighty flap, sending him and Issei into the air.
As they began to take off, Issei gave one final shout, but alas, it fell on deaf ears; with Rias simply waving him goodbye as he soared off into the horizon, kicking and screaming.
"That was the dragon you guys fought?" Vin leaned over and whispered to Xenovia.
"Yep," Xenovia replied, popping the 'p'.
"Okay, I can see why you couldn't win," Vin whispered back.
"Where did that belief in my abilities go?" Xenovia joked.
"I'm a realist, Xenovia."
The sound of Azazel clapping drew the two out of their hushed conversation, "Alright you two lovebirds, listen up. I'm going to begin going over the rest of the regimes."
Flipping through the papers on his clipboard, Azazel hummed, "Who to start with… Who to… Oh, here we go."
"Kiba, your speed and technique are arguably the best in the group, and with your newly awoken Balance Breaker, you're likely one of the strongest members of this group. However, you've only awoken your Balance Breaker recently, and as such, you're not yet experienced in exactly what it can and cannot do. Simply put, you're treating it like just another one of your swords, when it can be so much more than that," Azazel explained.
"I understand," Kiba nodded.
"With such a dramatic shift in your arsenal, you're going to have to learn how it differs, right down to the very fundamentals. I got in contact with your old master when I was with Sirzechs last night, and he was more than happy to train you once more," Azazel scratched his head with the end of his pen, "Admittedly, he didn't give me much of a location, he just said that you would know where to find him."
"Of course," Kiba gave a fond smile, before looking to the sky, "It should be nice to pay respects once again, especially after all that's happened. If I leave now, I should make it there by the time the sun begins to set."
"If you tell me where it is, I can arrange a ride for you," Azazel offered.
"I must respectfully decline," Kiba shook his head, as he began to pick up his bag, slinging it over his body, "Master knew what he was doing when he didn't give you the location. It would appear that my training begins right now."
"Right then, best of luck," Azazel smiled.
Kiba nodded back, before turning to Rias.
"Buchou, I'm going to use this opportunity to become someone truly worthy of being called Rias Gremory's Knight," Kiba vowed.
"Of course," Rias smiled fondly, "And I promise that I'll work hard to become a King worthy of your service."
With not another word, Kiba turned on his heels, and zoomed off in a burst of unparalleled speed. In a matter of seconds, he disappeared from view off into the distance.
With the blonde knight gone, Azazel resumed his instruction.
"Staying on the Knights, Xenovia," Azazel announced, causing the girl to perk up, "Your level of power is incredible, but it lacks a crucial level of control. Your current ability to control Durandal is causing you to be easily exploited in combat."
"..." Xenovia looked to her feet.
"You look like you understand what I'm saying," Azazel noted.
"I do," Xenovia admitted, "Despite spending what feels like my entire life training to use it, I still don't feel like I can do any more than just steering the direction of its power. It's hard to admit, but it controls me more than I control it. It's a shortcoming that's frustrating to still have."
"Well, at least you're aware of the issue," Azazel sighed, "You're correct, that's the number one thing that you need to work on before anything else. Without control, you won't be able to learn anything else to improve. So I got someone to help you master your control."
A look of utter bafflement overtook Xenovia, "With all due respect, short of Vasco Strada coming to hell, I don't know if any swordsman can help teach me to control Durandal."
Azazel smirked, "Not even the Vermillion Star?"
"The Vermillion Star?" Xenovia repeated in awe, "How… How did you ever get her?"
"I did as anyone else would do to get her, I hired her for a job," Azazel shrugged, "She is a mercenary, after all."
"I can't even begin to imagine how much money that would have been…" Xenovia remarked.
"Oh, trust me, it was a lot," Azazel replied, a forlorn look in his eyes, "When the girl is usually able to finish jobs in a day, paying her for something that takes up to three weeks costs a small fortune. But that's what you get, paying for a top-class Sword Saint. Think you'll be able to learn a lot from her?"
"Without question," Xenovia nodded, "It would be interesting to practice under someone that Griselda considers stronger than herself."
"Good, good. Make sure you learn a lot, alright? My money's on the line here," Azazel reiterated, "There's a caravan right over there set to take you to her."
"Understood," Xenovia picked up her bags, and began to walk over towards the caravan, before a hand snapped hold of her wrist, keeping her in place.
Turning around, she was not at all surprised to find that it was Vin who stopped her.
"It's going to be three weeks where we're apart, huh?"
"It will," Xenovia agreed, "I'll miss you."
Her eyes shot open when Vin moved in, his lips crashing into hers, causing her to drop her bags to the ground, and wrap her arms around him. Content and happy to soak up as much of each other as possible before they would be going their separate ways.
Slowly, the need for air overtook them, and forced the two apart, panting, flushed, but undeniably happy.
"Consider that a good luck charm," Vin smiled, as he stepped away, "And wait one second, let me grab this…"
Vin ran back over to where his bags sat on the ground, rummaging around in his duffel bag, before pulling out a grey bundle, tossing it over to Xenovia, who easily caught it out of the air. Unfurling the material, Xenovia stared in surprise as she held up Vin's exorcist jacket.
"Vin, this is-"
"I know we aren't technically Exorcists anymore," Vin cut off, "But I couldn't quite part with it, y'know? So I went and had it repaired. You hold onto it, okay? It'll be like taking a little piece of me along with you."
Xenovia looked over the jacket for a moment, a smile spreading across her face as she slipped it on. It fit a little big, but it was far from unwearable.
Vin couldn't held the dumb smile that graced his features as he gazed at Xenovia. He'd known about the whole trope of how cute a girl was wearing your clothes, but to see Xenovia wearing the jacket which fit a little looser on her… It was so sweet and adorable of a sight, that it could genuinely give him a sugar rush.
"Thank you," Xenovia finally spoke up, reaching down to pick up her bags, "I'll see you in three weeks, alright? I'm going to do my best to get over this hurdle, so make sure to do your best too."
"Will do," Vin nodded, as Xenovia walked into the caravan, "Xenovia!"
The knight looked out the window, "Yeah?"
"... I love you."
"I love you too, Vin."
With the huffing of their snouts, and the clopping of their feet, the two mighty underworld horses began to clop away along the cobblestone pathway, dragging the caravan, and by proxy, Xenovia away from the now-thinning group. Vin remained where he was standing, waving goodbye, until finally, the carriage was gone far enough that any hope of his voice reaching his girlfriend's ears finally disappeared.
Vin began to walk back over to the gathering, right as Azazel turned his attention to the next member of the group.
"Asia, your Twilight Healing is exceptionally powerful, and you've already proven to have quite a good grasp on utilizing its mechanics. However, you still haven't reached the peak of your abilities yet. Your training is going to focus on developing skills that build off of your strong fundamentals; stuff like increasing its effective range, so you can heal people from afar."
Asia looked down at her open hands, "I… I can do that?"
"Sure you can," Azazel doubled-down, "Sacred Gears are unique in the fact that they can develop and mold themselves to line up with their user's wishes. Think of your Sacred Gear like a ball of clay, in its base form, it's simply a ball. But, put enough time into molding it, and you can create something you never thought possible. I mean, c'mon, we saw the evidence first-hand at the Peace Summit. So think about it, I have no doubt that you'll become even more skillful with Twilight Healing in the future, and through training it, you can possibly save even more people than you'd think."
"Right…" Asia slowly clenched her hands into fists, before looking up, a newfound fire in her eyes, "Okay, I can do this! I-I'll work my hardest to make sure I can be there for everyone!"
"Atta girl, I like that gusto!" Azazel laughed, "We've got a carriage arranged for you as well, so head on over there, and you can get started."
Asia nodded, an adorable look of determination plastered across her face. She picked up her bags, and turned to Rias.
"I-I-I'm going to work super hard!" Asia declared with an unexpected shout, "That way, all of you can work your hardest without fear!"
Rias smiled, laying a hand on Asia's head, "I'll count on it. Thank you."
With a nod, Asia stepped back, heading towards the carriage set to carry her off to her training. As she rolled away, Azazel returned to his notes.
"Alrighty then…" The Governor General hummed, "We still got a lot of these to get through… Guess it's time for a lightning round…"
"Gasper. Frankly, you might have the most powerful Sacred Gear here," Azazel admitted, "The ability to stop time is an invaluable resource to your teammates. However, that usefulness is offset by your phobias of other people. While I understand that I might not ever be able to fully remove your fears, the least we can do is try to lessen them. While it may seem tough, scary, and maybe even a little cruel, I think training you in a mixture of exposure therapy, as well as some general Sacred Gear practice to help you get a handle on using Forbidden Balor View may be the best option in the long run. Do you think you can do that?"
Gasper turned several shades paler, which was rather concerning, considering the Dhampir boy was about as pasty as they came. With anxious sweating covering his face, he opened his mouth to speak, until he looked over the Rias.
For a moment, he stood there, gaze transfixed. Slowly, his mouth shut, and he turned to face Azazel's expectant gaze. While the boy couldn't get words out of his mouth, and frankly, looked like he would burst into tears at any moment, he shakily nodded his head.
"Koneko, you're already an exceptionally strong member of the team, and fit your role as a Rook to a T. However, that doesn't mean you can't find areas of improvement," Azazel walked up to the somewhat distant girl, and handed her a folder of paper, "I've drafted up a pretty comprehensive workout plan for you, each day of these three weeks filled out. If you follow these, you should see some considerable improvement in your striking power, stamina, and overall durability. All important traits for any Rook to have."
"Good news is that everything you could possibly need for your training is provided in the Gremory Family's gym, so unlike everyone else, you get to stay here," Azazel grinned, "Now get out there, and get started!"
Koneko nodded, before turning on her heels and slowly walking away, back towards the main house.
"Rias, you're the King of this peerage, and that means everyone is going to rely on you, not only as a source of orders and direction, but also as a pillar of strength. After all, a King should be the strongest member of a peerage, no?" Azazel flipped through the papers on his clipboard, until resting on a page, "Your Powers of Destruction are potent, no doubt: but it's a power that's only effective as long as it lands, and that's being generous. You've seen firsthand during your fight with Kokabiel that without proper control and mastery of your powers, you essentially become useless to your group."
Rias grit her teeth, and looked to the ground. While his critique was scathing, and dug deeply into her, she couldn't deny the truth behind it.
"Your training is two-fold. First, we'll begin with having you study up on tactics, strategy, and anything else you might need to operate as a grounded and effective King. Not only are you going to have to manage your pieces in a combat sense, but also in regards to proper communication. You'll be learning all about communication and people skills as well, just to really assist you if you need to iron out any kinks in your team's communication mid-battle. After that, you'll be focusing fully on getting a handle on your Powers of Destruction. Your brother has been rather excited at the prospect of spending a week and a half catching up with you, while serving as your mentor."
Rias couldn't suppress the groan that slipped through her lips, "... Brother is the one who's teaching me?"
"Don't look at me, I thought the guy would be busy. But apparently, when it's a matter of your younger sister, running an entire nation is just a hobby that you can drop for ten days straight," Azazel shrugged, "But oh well, look on the bright side, there's no better person to get instruction from than the Lucifer."
"That's precisely what I'm worried about…" Rias sighed.
"Well, you have another ten days to worry about it first," Azazel remarked, "Wait here, and when I'm all done, we can head back to the Gremory library, and gather some material for your studies."
"Very well."
As Rias stepped to Azazel's side, the Fallen Angel clicked his tongue, staring at the pair of teens standing before him.
"... And then there were two…" Azazel murmured, before putting his clipboard under his arm, and clapping his hands to draw their attention.
"Akeno, Vin, you are our lucky final contestants, which means you win a prize!"
"If it's coming from you, I'd rather be the first eliminated," Akeno scoffed.
"Yeowch, sticks and stones…" Azazel joked, before finally losing his smile, "Okay, you don't actually get a prize, but I left you two till the end for a specific reason."
"And that is?" Vin asked.
"Well, unlike everyone else, you two aren't going to be training on your own, but rather, you two will be training under the same person, together."
"Oh, great…" Akeno drawled.
"Well, I might as well rip off the band-aid early…" Azazel sighed, "Baraqiel, you can come out now."
Everyone's heads turned to the right, as the large, stoic Cadre stepped out from behind a cart, and towards the group.
"Perfect timing, I just finished transporting all the other supplies to our location," Baraqiel informed.
Akeno turned on Azazel, unbridled fury in her eyes.
"Is this your idea of a joke?!" Akeno reached forward, and grabbed two fistfulls of Azazel's blazer, "You bastard, do you find this funny?! DO YOU?!"
"Akeno!" Rias yelled, setting a hand on her Queen's arm in an attempt to get her to back down, "I signed off on this training! Azazel approached me prior with the idea, and I approved it."
Akeno recoiled as if she'd been slapped, "... Rias… You… What?"
"Akeno, I know what you've had to go through, and this isn't me trying to insult you or hurt you," Rias reassured her friend, setting her hands on Akeno's shoulders, forcing the Queen to look into her eyes, "But I think that if you can separate the idea that he's your father from your mind, you'll see that there's a lot he can teach you."
"So please," Rias wrapped her hands around Akeno's "If you can't do it for yourself, may I be so greedy to ask you to do it for me?"
Akeno slowly drifted down to her hands, interlocked in Rias'. Slowly, she wretched her hands out of Rias' grip, and intertwined her fingers with her oldest friend's.
"Akeno…" Rias looked up, blue eyes dancing with hope.
The Queen smiled pitifully, "...I can't possibly say no to you, can I?"
"Does that mean?"
Akeno tightened her grip, "I'll try, Rias. I can't guarantee anything will come from this, and I can't claim to understand your reasoning… But you've never let me down yet… So I'll trust you."
"Akeno… I…" Rias stuttered, the beginnings of a tear filling her eye, "...Thank you…"
"You shouldn't be crying. After all, aren't you supposed to be our emotional pillar?" Akeno weakly chuckled, wiping Rias's tears, "I'll see you in twenty-days, alright?"
"Right," Rias smiled.
Slowly, Akeno made her way back towards her luggage, "So, how are we going to get to our training location?"
Baraqiel, suddenly shocked by his estranged daughter's enthusiasm, stumbled for a sec, before finally collecting himself, "When both of you gather your things, I'll warp us there."
Wordlessly, Akeno walked over to where her bags sat, grabbing them and carrying them over to her father's side.
"Are you coming?" Akeno called out coldly to Vin, who stood caught in thought for a moment.
"Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there," Vin replied, quickly snatching up his stuff, and running over to the other two.
"Best of luck you two," Azazel said, "Baraqiel, train 'em well, okay?"
"Of course," The Cadre nodded, waving his arm to the side, casting a golden circle along the ground, "Is everyone ready to depart?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Vin remarked.
"Akeno?" Baraqiel looked over to his daughter.
"Just do it," Akeno sniped.
"Very well," Baraqiel snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the three vanished from view.
When Vin opened his eyes again, the sight had changed drastically. Gone were the soft, sun-bathed rows of exotic and beautiful flowers, the paths of cobblestone, the ornate fountain installments. No, what stood before him now was far different.
All around him was harsh and jagged stone and rock. The endlessly echoing howl of the wind assaulting his senses, while thick, heavy droplets of rain pelted down onto him, already matting his hair to his head and back, prompting a shiver out of his body. A decently large path stood underfoot, surrounded by a massive rock wall on one side, and on the other, a massive ravine, the sounds of thunder and the distant strikes of crashing thunder.
The words 'Windswept Crag' passed through his head. The environment looked like it was taken straight out of a metal album cover in his collection.
Despite the utter hostility of the environment, Baraqiel pressed onwards, apparently unbothered by the deluge overhead. With no other visible options, Vin simply forced himself to follow behind, tailing Akeno. After all, nothing was going to be gained from standing around out here in the rain.
From there, the three travelled in silence. At one point, Vin recalled the travel umbrella that sat at the bottom of his duffel bag, however, he quickly realized that it was probably futile, since the wind was either going to tear the poor things to shreds, or alternatively, sweep him into the air like some unfortunate imitation of Mary Poppins. So sticking it out in the rain was the only option, much to his chagrin.
Thankfully, their journey soon ended after about ten minutes of walking down the path. There, they found the area opened up to a sizable degree, a large, but sloping decline down to the treeline at the base of the mountain, and across from it, a well-sized lodge, quite the welcome sign in the torrential weather.
The three stepped onto the porch, finally protected by the wood roof now under their heads. Baraqiel opened the door, and turned back to the two teens.
"Grab your bags and bring them up to the second floor. There are two rooms there that you two can take. After that, change into your workout clothes, and meet me back here."
Stepping inside, Vin was instantly relieved. The lodge was cozy and homey in all the right ways, making the rather bitter trek towards it melt away from his body. A crackling fire in the fireplace, soft lighting, it all worked to fill him with a content bliss.
However, this wasn't the time to be complacent. From the sounds of things, Baraqiel's training had already begun, and that meant it was time for him to go full throttle. He may have had nine months of training under one of the most decorated exorcists of their generation, but he still had leaps and bounds to grow.
Marching up the stairs, Vin took the second room in the hall, throwing his somewhat soaked bags on the floor. Unzipping them, he breathed a sigh of relief when he found everything inside to still be dry. Yanking off his shirt, which clung tightly to his body, Vin tossed it to the side, as it landed in a heavy, wet splat on the ground.
Digging, he quickly pulled out his workout gear, a frayed and worn RUSH shirt, that he'd gotten from going to a concert with his father in his earlier years. He'd originally had a different one in red, but since the thing had been purchased when he was at the ripe old age of twelve, it quickly lost its fit.
The one he held in his hands now was the one his father had bought, and subsequently handed down to him a few years prior. It was dotted with a few holes here or there, but that just meant it was perfect for training. Plus, it felt… right to wear something that had originally belonged to his father when training.
Snapping out of his nostalgia trip, Vin threw the shirt on, yanking his ponytail out of the back of the shirt, giving it a wringing to take the water out of it before letting it fall against his back. Yanking on a pair of track pants and his running shoes, Vin got out and headed for the door, before screeching to a halt, and slowly walking back to his bag. After a bit of rummaging, he pulled out a dark green raincoat and put it on.
Thank goodness for the Corsetti tradition of utterly overpacking for every scenario, which thankfully still was alive and well in his veins. People could mock him all they wanted for it, but they wouldn't be laughing when the shark repellant actually ends up being useful!
Trotting down the stairs, Vin found that he was the last to return, Baraqiel and Akeno already standing in wait awkwardly, neither of the two bothering to even look at the other, as they desperately avoided making any form of contact. The alienating tension dug deeply into Vin, making him feel like he absolutely shouldn't have been there.
Nonetheless, Vin managed to summon up enough courage to throw himself into the middle of the awkward atmosphere, clearing his throat loudly, causing the father and daughter to turn around.
"Hey, uh… I'm ready to go," Vin called lamely, nearly every fiber of his body screaming to return upstairs and seal himself in his new room in order to escape the mood. Still, he stood his ground.
"Right," Baraqiel nodded, turning back around and making his way to the lodge's front door, "If you two will follow me."
As the two teens were led back out of the house, and into the downpour, Vin silently thanked himself for his foresight to pack a raincoat. The green vinyl doing wonders to keep his hair and shirt from being soaked to the bone in the ceaseless flood. The small group marched in silence, up and up the gradual incline of the mountainside trail.
As they continued, the rain only got heavier and faster, increasing in intensity with what felt like every step. The air slowly became thinner, and that, combined with the strain of the hike, began to take a toll, robbing Vin of breath, leaving him less and less air to fill his lungs with foot ascended.
For a few hours, they marched; combatting the hostile conditions and the lessening oxygen. At one point, a wave of dense fog rolled in, dark, almost smoke-like clouds billowing around their feet, and obscuring their vision, until finally, they took a final step, and it all faded away.
Vin looked around in awe. No longer were they surrounded by thunder, rain and lightning. Now, it was nothing but the endless expanse of the blue sky, stretched across the horizon as far as he could see. As he gazed out, Vin came to the discovery that the fog they had just emerged from wasn't fog at all, but rather the thick, heavy storm clouds that filled the sky.
What awaited them at the summit of the mountain was a massive open ring. It was as if the very peak of the mountain had been chopped clean off to make a crude circular platform. The sight was breath-taking, like a painting that had come to life.
"Wow…"
"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" Baraqiel chimed in, "This is the sort of place a human could never survive naturally. However, since our species are suited to flight, our bodies are especially designed to endure rapid changes in both air and altitude. Give yourself a moment, and your body should acclimate to the oxygen levels up here."
Vin followed his mentor from the trail into the platform, "So how did this place get like this? Last time I checked, the peak of a mountain wasn't so…" Vin bent down and gazed his fingers along the surface of the ground, "... Even… Or smooth for that matter."
"That would be the work of Sirzechs Lucifer," Baraqiel explained, "He used his Powers of Destruction to make this area for us. If he hadn't, where we're standing right now would have been close to another twenty stories worth of rock."
Vin sweated, "Really? Geez…"
"That's not even a noteworthy feat for him," Baraqiel grunted, before clapping his hands together, "But enough about him, if you're both used to the air up here now, we can begin training properly."
Vin sucked in a few breaths to test, pleasantly surprised when he found his lungs feeling just as full as they would have if he swallowed a breath at the very base of the mountain, "Whoa, that's… That's kinda cool."
"Good, you both got used to it faster than I thought you would," Baraqiel nodded, "Now, I want you two to face across from each other right here and here."
Unzipping his raincoat, Vin tossed it to the side, before taking a few paces into the middle area of the platform where his mentor had pointed to. Akeno silently followed suit, her gaze never losing their distrustful edge, and her mouth twisted into a slight scowl.
"This first exercise is going to be simple. I want both of you to spar against each other until one person is pinned for three seconds," Baraqiel instructed, "However, neither of you will use any form of magic: be that Sacred Gears, or even your wings."
"That seems counterintuitive," Akeno commented.
Baraqiel shook his head, "On the contrary, this is supposed to test your most basic of fundamentals. Your fundamental skills form the absolute foundation of your abilities. Your King is a great example, she has exceptionally dangerous magic, however, without any foundation, she's only able to flail around with that power in an uncontrolled manner. Sure, you may be able to hit something, but no matter how strong you are, without mastery of the most basic of fundamentals, you will lose against someone who knows what they're doing."
Akeno furrowed her brow, "If you think you can insult my King, then you're mistak-"
"Not to mention, what would happen if you were in a situation where your magical abilities were compromised? What if you ran out of your magic reserves, what then?" Baraqiel cut off, "Having a good knowledge of combat in its most simplistic form can and will save your life. Do you understand?"
"I feel like this is a waste of time. I've been practicing with my abilities all my life, I've learned all the fundamentals I would ever need."
"Azazel believes the contrary," Baraqiel pointed out, "But, if you believe that you have all the fundamentals that you possibly need, you should have no issue beating a relative novice like Vin in unarmed combat, no? After all, you've been in a peerage for what, around eight years now?"
Akeno grit her teeth, "Fine. I'll beat him, and show you just how much you really know about me."
Baraqiel nodded his head, before turning to the teenage boy, "As for you Vin, are you ready?"
Vin bounced on his toes, shaking his limbs around as he loosened them up. Planting his feet, and drawing his left foot back, Vin fell into a basic martial arts stance. A fire ignited in his eyes.
This was an opportunity. An opportunity to show them that he wasn't dead-weight, that he wasn't just some weakling. This was his chance to get stronger, and Sacred Gear or not, he wouldn't be putting on any half-assed show.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Good. On the count of three."
Akeno clenched her fists, holding them up to her chest, as she pivoted her feet.
"Three."
Vin met Akeno's heated glare, his eyes narrowing in iron-clad focus.
"Two."
The muscles in Vin's legs tensed, his eyes picking up all the subtle twitches of his opponent's body.
"One."
Vin clenched one hand into a fist, keeping the other loose and open.
"Begin!"
Akeno immediately charged forward, raising a fist and cocking it back, prepared to deal a hook to the side of his head.
How basic.
Vin stayed his ground, waiting until Akeno was right on him. Just like he predicted, her fist sailed in from his left, heading right towards his temple.
Vin parried instantly, his arm coming up to bat her forearm off-course. The girl opened her eyes in shock. Even though they weren't allowed to use magic, her natural traits as a Queen made her inherit a notable amount of a Rook's strength. Yet the boy had parried her strike like he was swatting away a group of flies.
Instead of stumbling away from the sudden deflection, Akeno used the momentum to swing her left leg towards Vin. Without hesitation, the boy ducked under the sweeping kick, and as Akeno's palms came to the floor to catch her fall, Vin had free reign to drill a jab into her exposed and vulnerable lower-back.
With a cry, Akeno collapsed to the floor. But instead of going for a pin, Vin took two paces backward.
Sure, it wasn't the smartest move, but honestly, she'd been needlessly cold to him for the last little while, and if Vin was anything, then it was occasionally petty. He wanted to show just how strong he was, and finishing the fight immediately wasn't going to tell his new mentor anything. Plus, taking the girl who seemed to loathe his very existence down a peg was just a very, very nice bonus that came along with that.
Akeno clambered to her feet, unrestrained fury in her eyes. The Queen charged towards him like a bull. Once she was in range, she shifted her body, sinking down a bit.
Vin's eyes widened, his instincts gained from nine months of getting his ass kicked screaming for him to lean back, which saved him from receiving a nasty uppercut to the chin. However, as he dodged, Akeno's other hand grabbed onto the scruff of his shirt.
She attempted to push him to the ground, but with no leverage aside from a pointless hold on his shirt collar, his spread legs made her attempts all but pointless.
Growling, Akeno tried to raise her knee up to Vin's stomach, but the boy shifted his body a few inches, her attempt at a knee strike failing, while Vin looped his right arm under her thigh, trapping her leg in his grasp. Akeno tried to swing a backhand at him, but his left hand came up to catch it before it could strike.
Vin's eyes glinted, and before Akeno could realize she was trapped, all the air in her lungs was forced out of her body as Vin's knee slammed with the force of a jackhammer into her stomach. A gob of spit flying out of her mouth as she recoiled from the force, Akeno lost her balance, just enough for Vin to take her body, and with a heave, swing it over his right shoulder, leaving her sprawling on her back.
Vin slowly turned around and stalked towards her, circling her body slowly, looking for the best opening to grab her.
But Akeno hadn't given up yet. With a snarl, she swung her legs along the ground in a wide arc, forcing Vin to backstep to avoid getting his legs swept out. Using that moment, Akeno forced herself to her feet.
No more letting herself get played by that pathetic reincarnated Fallen. If he was content with countering her hits, then she would just give him more than he could possibly react to!
Akeno charged right towards him once again, right before making impact with him, she leapt into the air, changing her charge into a flying kick. Vin kicked off of the ground, shooting himself to the side, landing a few meters away, establishing distance between the two fighters once again.
The two glared at each other, and without a word shared between the two, they immediately took off, running towards each other as fast as they could.
In Vin's head, words of his former mentorship echoed in his brain. A former lesson he received from Griselda, all about efficient takedowns on charging bipedal Stray Devils.
Reciting that lesson, Vin skidded to a halt at the last possible moment, lashing out with his legs, which coiled themselves around Akeno's midsection. Using the momentum of the girl's incredibly fast charge, combined with every trained muscle in his legs, Vin swung himself around her body, to her back, his upper body raising up, as if he was on the receiving end of a piggy-back ride.
It was time to end this. He had a lot of fun playing around, but it was time that he finished this fight up. The last step of the takedown involved stabbing a blade or putting a blessed bullet into the Stray's brains. But because of a lack of any appropriate armament, and also because he didn't actually want to kill the girl, his fist would serve fine. So, with all his strength, Vin slammed his fist into the back of her head.
As expected, the combination of an additional one-hundred and sixty-some pounds, and the sudden rattling of a fist into her skull sent Akeno tumbling to the ground. Vin unlatched from her to instead place a hand on the back of her head, and a knee to press down on her back, effectively using his body weight to push her down.
Akeno awkwardly struggled to force him off, her arms swinging back to try and force his hand from her head. Normally, he would've been instructed to grab hold of her hair to stop her struggle, but he didn't quite feel like being that needlessly cruel, so Akeno was free to grab hold on his arm, and yank his hand off her head.
She used the moment to roll over onto her stomach, before Vin pounced once more, straddling her stomach and forcing her arms to the ground.
"Let… Go… of me!" Akeno huffed and puffed, thrashing in Vin's grip.
"No can do," Vin cracked a smile, leaning in close to Akeno's head "There's no way I'm gonna lose this thing."
Akeno looked ready to explode, as she reared back her head, and slammed into Vin's fade with a headbutt, causing the boy to stumble away, nursing his nose.
Lowering a hand, Vin scowled when he found his blood coating his palm. Memories of his very first fight at the Vatican resurfacing in his head.
"Not again!" Vin growled, looking up at Akeno, "You're going to pay for th- WHOA!"
Vin fell back to the floor as Akeno's kick sailed over his head by one a mere foot. Instincts howling the loudest he'd ever heard them, he scrambled backward, right as Akeno's foot stomped down on the earth, cracking the stone where his crotch had been positioned not a moment prior.
"You're going for below the belt hits?!" Vin exclaimed in outrage as he got to his feet.
"As. If. You wouldn't. Do the same!" Akeno hissed, each of her words punctuated with a swing at Vin, who weaved backwards.
"Take this!" Akeno swept an incredibly fast roundhouse kick right at Vin, one powerful enough to cause a deafening crack to fill the air.
Vin grit his teeth when he raised his forearm to block, only to be met with a strike that had the force of a freight train. He struggled to hold back the blow that could probably knock him out cold, sweating profusely as neither he nor Akeno backed down.
But he had to act. While her strike was indeed powerful, she was also completely open.
Drumming up all of his strength, Vin began to shift.
"Ggggggggggrrrrraaaaaaaaaahhh!"
Vin lunged forward, his right hand snapping out to latch onto Akeno's face. With the force of a man possessed, he pushed, toppling Akeno off her feet, and slamming her down to the ground.
Yet still, the girl struggled, so Vin did the only thing he could do.
He pressed all his weight down onto his knee, and forced all the air out of Akeno's body once more. The girl wheezed and choked for a moment, as Vin counted in his head.
One.
Two.
Three.
And after a final beat, Vin released his hold on Akeno, and stood up. There, he patiently waited for Akeno to recover, before he lowered his hand to her.
"You fought really well," Vin grinned, "I mean it, you nailed me with some nasty stuff."
"I don't care," Akeno swatted his hand away, and stood up on her own.
Akeno walked past Vin, leaving the boy to slowly retract his own hand, "Yeah, alright, good match to you too…"
"Well done you two," Baraqiel congratulated, "It was evident that you both fought to your best, and as such, I was able to get some valuable information."
The Cadre's focus shifted over to the emerald-eyed teen, "Vin, many of your techniques were quite unique… A fair bit of mixed martial arts, but also grappling and acrobatics."
Baraqiel hummed, "You used to be an Exorcist, correct?"
"Yep, only for nine months though."
"I see, who was your mentor?" Baraqiel asked, "Those techniques you used certainly weren't orthodox."
"I guess so, my old mentor was Griselda Quarta, sir."
Baraqiel's eyebrows raised considerably, "Griselda Quarta, you say? I wasn't aware she was training proteges."
"The Vatican kept it pretty under wraps, we were a small group," Vin shrugged, "A lot of what I was using were techniques meant to help take down Stray Devils."
"I could see that. Those techniques served you well," Baraqiel complimented, "However, there were still some areas of weakness I could spot. Starting tomorrow, we'll begin to address those accordingly."
"And for you, Akeno."
"I don't want to hear it," The girl snapped.
"Haaaaaaaaaah…" Baraqiel sighed, "Very well, we don't need to go over what areas need improvement today. Let's head back to the lodge, get you two patched up and in bed. You'll need all the rest you can get to heal up for tomorrow."
As the adrenaline of the fight wore away slowly, and the throbbing pain in Vin's face and bones became more and more pronounced, the teen couldn't agree more.
I'm here, I'm here…
Man, it seems like every time I say that you'll see me again soon, it takes more time to get these things out. I'm sorry this took this long, but I hope that this chapter made up for it.
This chapter had a lot of ground to cover, but I think it turned out well. Now you all can see why I'm so excited for this arc, since it's going to be taking a very different direction. A smaller cast, with Vin, Akeno and Baraqiel, and a singular setting in the mountain. It's going to be fun having to explore the character conflict and interaction between these three, especially considering that Akeno seems to have a chip on her shoulder not just for Baraqiel, but Vin as well.
The fight in this chapter was a big event, we finally got Vin pitted against a member of the ORC in earnest. The condition of the fight, that being the restriction on using magic, was designed to show that the members of the classic members of the ORC are not especially trained (with some exceptions like Kiba) in more basic fighting techniques, and for someone like Akeno, who works as a Queen, having the versatility is very necessary. However, it was also here to show something important, and that's the fact that while he doesn't have as much raw firepower as other people in the main cast, Vin still has nine months of very rigorous training under an extremely decorated mentor under his belt, and that he's a lot more competent of a fighter than people actually think. Plus, Vin needed some time to shine and grow, and this is just the beginning of the guy getting some much-needed growth.
The next chapter is going to go more in-depth to addressing some of Vin's shortcomings through training, like his occasional hesitation in combat, the fact that he can't make his own solid light spears yet, etc, etc. So look forward to that.
Additionally, people who have read Crimcrom's DxD fanfiction Azure, may have noticed a certain cameo from a character in that storyline, who is serving as Xenovia's mentor for this training arc. This is both a loving cameo, and haunting foreshadowing. But hey, what can I say, universe to universe, the lives of people can change drastically…
Other than that, I don't have much more to say. Please leave a favorite and/or a follow if you enjoyed what you've read, and want to be updated via email the moment that these chapters come out. Also, if you have any thoughts, feelings, ideas, theories, or even criticism of this chapter, or any other chapter of the story, please leave a review. I really appreciate all of the reviews I get, and I make it a point to read every single one I get. So if you want to tell me something, that's the best way to do it. Plus, reviewing is the best way to continue to support this fanfic.
Until next time, when we finally get Vin some training, rock on!
