"Talking"
Inner thoughts
"Mental reply"
Ability/attack/emphasis/weapon
[Ddraig]
{Albion}
*SCENE BREAK*
*HYOUDOU RESIDENCE; NIGHTTIME*
Issei and Kalina are left alone in the kitchen as Issei asked an absolute bombshell of a question.
"How did dad really die?" Issei asked solemnly
[Yes, I too would like to know the full story.] Ddraig chimed in.
"Guess I have to come clean at some point huh."
"Before that, I'll tell you everything, from how I met your father and the moment you were born, it's only right that both you and Ddraig know since he was Ddraig's student." Kalina said with a sigh.
Issei only nodded with a neutral expression as Kalina used magic to project her memories.
*KALINA POV/FLASHBACK*
"It all started when I was still actively working as a devil hunter much like your grandfather, unlike being all rowdy and flashy, I specialized in stealth missions, hence my ability to completely delete my presence."
"It was a usual job, clear out a bunch of demons, got a call in the shop, Nero decided that it was my turn to take a job, so I agreed to take it. I went to the destination in the underworld, I ended up setting camp in the mountains where I sensed a powerful entity. Being the curious cat I am, I decided to investigate and conceal my presence, I arrived at the location of the power signature, it was in a nearby river, I was terrified at what I saw, it was a massive dark red dragon, maybe thirty meters in length, had even darker colored horns, amber eyes, and a huge wingspan, what made it more terrifying was the fact it knew I was there, I completely deleted my presence yet it could sense me, it didn't attack, it just stared at me with its amber draconic eyes, I was frozen in fear, I heard of rumors that Ddraig had a student and me seeing it definitely checked the boxes of being the dragon that was trained by the Welsh Dragon, a dragon who could reach the two heavenly dragons in power and have a rivalry with the strongest Evil Dragon, Crom Cruach, and I was staring at it eye to eye, but the more I look at its eyes, the more I notice that it had a sad look, then it decided to speak." (A/N: Syrax's look is Terror of the Peaks from Magic: The Gathering)
"What brings you here?" The dragon spoke.
I could only stare at him as he had a male voice, but I soon gathered the courage to answer.
"I-I'm here on a mission to clear out some demons." I answered truthfully, I didn't want to anger a dragon.
"Hmm, strange, most devils, angels, and fallen angels faint or outright flee when they're near me, yet you're here, speaking to me, tell me devil, who are you?" The dragon explained then asked.
"I-I'm Kalina, descendant of Sparda." I answered.
"Hoo, a descendant of Sparda you say? Master once told me about the Sparda bloodline and their power, quite the feisty bunch you and your family." the dragon spoke amused.
"May I know who you are? Since you already know my name." I gathered the courage to ask a question.
"I go by many names, but you may call me Syrax, the lone student of the Welsh Dragon." Syrax introduced himself.
"So, the rumors were true, you are a student of Ddraig." I spoke.
"Yes, he had many other disciples, yet I was the only one who made it through his hellish training, the training to attain heavenly dragon levels of power." Syrax spoke.
"Why are you like this though? Aren't dragons supposed to be beings of pride and you know, battle maniacs?" I asked.
"Yes, those are all what you should see in me, but in truth, it's the reality of losing someone important is what's causing these emotions to stir and change me in a way." Syrax said solemnly.
"Was it family, or a friend?" I replied.
"Both." Syrax spoke sadly.
"What do you mean by both?" I asked
"Ddraig, was my master, yes, but he was also the only family I had, ever since I was a drake, I lost both my parents from the constant battles in the great war, Ddraig found me then trained me to be his greatest pupil, in time we grew close together, he saw me as the son he never had, and I saw him as the family I yearned for, but as fate would have it, him and Albion fought their last battle, and both ended up dying and sealed in sacred gears, I held no grudge against Albion, nor felt angered, because I knew that it was inevitable, but I was lost, depressed, had nowhere to go, and had no purpose." Syrax opened up to me.
"Why are you telling me all of this." I replied.
"I'm just as confused as you are, normally I would keep this to myself, yet speaking to you, brings me comfort." Syrax said with a grin.
I couldn't hold back a blush, a dragon just said that to me, out of all things it had to be a dragon.
"I can relate to you in way, I lost my father due to his rivalry with his brother, after saving the human world from a demonic invasion, him and his brother fought to their last breath and eventually died." I spoke sadly.
"By brothers you mean Dante and Vergil, the twin sons of Sparda?" Syrax asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"The human world huh, I always wanted to go there, not many dragons have been there." Syrax said.
"Would you like to? I can take you there?" I boldly declared.
"Hmm, alright then, it's about time I get out of this mountain." Syrax now spoke in a slightly joyous voice.
"You need a human form though." I spoke.
"As you wish." Syrax said as he started to glow a red hue.
His dragon form started to shrink, slowly morphing into a human size, once the light faded, I was greeted with a sight that I will never forget, in front of me was a man about six feet and two inches in height, had shoulder length red hair with black highlights, his amber draconic eyes that I grew fond of, and he was wearing a fairly flashy outfit, a black coat that had draconic scale highlights, cream white pants, red top, and a pair of boots.
"How do I look." He asked me.
"Wonderful quite the treat." I answered
"When do we go? I assume it's after your mission." Syrax said.
"Yes, I can teleport you along with me after my mission." I answered
"Lead the way." He said and I nod in response
We made our way to the destination and scouted out the demon camp.
"Is this how you usually do things? I thought Sparda's do things more directly." Syrax spoke
"Well, most of them, I decide to do things my way, which is be more subtle and stealthy."
"I see, quite unique how you approach things." He said.
"Damn right it is." I spoke amused.
"Come on, we strike now." I spoke.
I was about to jump out of our hiding spot when I noticed he wasn't moving at all.
"Why aren't you moving?" I spoke.
"This is your mission, right? I'll only be watching you." He said amused.
"Got a point there, whatever." I deadpanned and jumped right in.
I took out my scythe Mercy and went straight for the ringleader, being a stray devil with 6 wings, meaning this'll take longer than anticipated.
I darted towards the target making quick work of it to down the underlings morale, I followed up by taking out the main forces then the perimeter guards completely wiping the entire camp.
I went back to Syrax who's sporting a raised eyebrow.
"What gives?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing, I was impressed by your combat style, quite fluent and quick." Syrax spoke.
"Thanks, I guess." I said lightly scratching my right cheek.
"So, are we going to the human world or not?" He added.
"Yeah, we are, come, grab onto my shoulder." I answered while I prepared a teleportation circle.
He did as he's told, but when his hand touched my shoulder, it felt warm, I couldn't explain it, but maybe it's dragons having higher than normal body temperature, it was a warmth I knew I couldn't get enough of.
We teleported back to the human world directly teleporting to Nero's shop.
"You're back early was it-" Nero was cut off as he saw Syrax behind me.
"Who the hell is that?!" He said now on guard.
"This is Syrax, a dragon I met while on the mission, he wanted to explore the human world, so I brought him here, and he's the lone student of the Welsh Dragon." I explained while introducing Syrax.
"Greetings relative of Kalina, I assume that you are her relative since you both share hair colors." Syrax spoke up.
"Can you let him stay here? Don't worry he's, my responsibility." I said.
"Fine fine, just don't get him into trouble." Nero said in defeat.
"Thanks, Syrax come with me, I'll get you settled in." I said with Syrax nodded in response.
I gave him the spare room we had around the shop, it wasn't much at first, but with some magic I turned into something he can use for the mean time.
"Not bad, not bad at all." Syrax spoke up.
"Yep, this is your room for now, whether you decide to move out or not is up to you." I spoke.
"I'd rather not, you're the only company I have, at least someone I know." Syrax said as I was visibly flustered from what he just said.
"A-a-alright then, you can get to know your room for a bit, dinner's gonna be ready in a few, and don't worry about your dragon's appetite, Kyrie makes a lot of food." I explained.
"Alright then." He answered as I walked away from his room
I closed the door and was met with a Nero who sported a smug look.
"So, the daughter of Dante, the legendary devil hunter finally has a love interest." Nero spoke with a massive grin.
"N-n-no! I'm only gonna teach him about the human world." I answered with a blush as red as my eyes.
"Your face and tone don't do a good job at hiding it, Kalina's in love everybody!" Nero announced to everyone downstairs.
"WHAT! With who?!" Nico asked with excitement.
"The dragon she brought home, gotta admit, the guy's a looker." He said amused.
"That's nice for you Kalina, you finally found someone, you really inherited Dante's luck with finding women, but in your case, men." Kyrie spoke with a giggle.
"Dante's gonna grind you for this hahaha." Trish now spoke.
"Yeah, I bet he would, god I miss the guy." I said with a sad smile.
"We do too." Trish responded.
"Oh, dinner's ready! Call your boyfriend down here, hehe." Kyrie spoke.
I went to Syrax's room and called him down.
"Yo, dinner's ready, come eat with us." I spoke.
"Alright, I'll be there with you." He said as he stood up from his bed.
We went down the stairs to the dining table where everyone stared at us.
"Wow, Nero wasn't kidding when he said the guy was good looking." Nico said in shock.
"Yeah, no joke." Trish added.
Greetings everyone, my name is Syrax, I am a dragon and friend of Kalina here, I hope to make your acquaintances. Syrax spoke regally.
"Hey there, name's Nico."
"Trish."
"I'm Kyrie, pleasure to meet you Mr. Syrax."
"Nero, I guess you could call me Kalina's cousin."
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, and please drop the formalities, I'm not one for them." He answered with a smile.
"What are you two waiting for, sit down and eat, food's getting cold." Kyrie spoke.
We sat down next to each other and ate in comfortable silence until Nero decided to be a dick.
"Syrax, how did you even meet Kalina?" He asked.
"Well, it was her who saw me first, I sensed her presence nearing while I was in the mountains, we talked for a bit, watched her fight an entire camp of demons, and then lead to here." Syrax answered.
"I see, you must be strong if you can sense her, she can hide her presence well, did you know she's in love with you?" Nero said barely holding back a laugh.
"NERO!" I bellowed.
"I do, I overheard your conversation." Syrax answered bluntly.
"When do you plan on making this a thing between you two?" Nico now asked.
Oh grandad, why does this happen to me.
"I don't know yet, but I do want her to be my mate, after losing my master and only family, I was left alone, then I spoke to her, for some reason I feel comfortable with her, she made the fading embers in my heart turn into a massive blaze whenever I'm around her, and I don't want to lose that feeling." Syrax spoke with passion as his draconic qualities shined.
"It's as they say, every dragon has their treasure, Tiamat and Fafnir have their collection of treasure and relics, my master and Albion had their rivalry, but in my case, it's Kalina." He added.
At this point my face was beet red, he spoke with so much passion in his words, that he really made me fall for him like that, I know in my head that the feeling is now mutual, I don't want to lose him, I want to be with him, forever.
"What say you, Kalina?" Trish spoke up.
"I-I feel the same way." I spoke softly but everyone still heard it.
Everyone in the table cheered apart from Syrax and I, it's official, I was in love with a dragon, and that dragon is in love with me as well.
"This calls for a feast!" Kyrie said as she brought out more food making Syrax's eyes widen.
"Your cooking is possibly the best I've tasted, so this is human cooking and food." Syrax said.
"Thank you, come on there's more than enough for everyone." She replied happily.
Dinner went on for another half hour, after that everyone went to their own devices, Nero stayed with Kyrie, Trish went out for a job by Morrison, Nico went to her workshop and worked on the van and our weapons, as for me, I was escorting Syrax back to his room until he struck a conversation.
"Kalina, back at dinner, did you really mean what you said?" he asked.
"Yes, I just have this feeling of wanting to be with you at all times, it makes me protective of you, I just hope you feel the same way." I answered as a blush crept up my face.
"What I said back there was all true, you do realize that dragons are not the type to lie, we are always true to our word." He spoke.
"I see, good night then, tomorrow we'll go out for your first experience of human life." I said with a smile.
"Alright then, good night, Kalina." He said as he touched his forehead with mine, our lips nearly making contact.
"What do we have here?" Nico suddenly spoke up.
"What the hell Nico?!" I said as she ruined our moment.
"Aw shucks, don't be like that." She said amused.
"GET OUT!" I bellowed.
"Fine fine, no need to be so stuck up about it." She deadpanned as she left the scene.
"I'm so sorry about that, people in this place tend to be rowdy, including myself." I spoke with a soft tone.
"Don't worry, Kalina, I like it here, the atmosphere your people give off exudes being carefree and vigilant at the same time, it's a nice change of pace." Syrax spoke with a grin I never thought he could muster.
"Alright, see you tomorrow then." I spoke as I left for my room.
Next day afternoon arrived, and I took him out, I was wearing a casual outfit consisting of a white top accompanied with a red windbreaker, dark blue jeans, and a pair of white sneakers, Syrax on the other hand wore a black cardigan with a white inner shirt, cream pants and black loafers, gotta say, for a dragon who just knew about the human world, he's got class.
We went over to a baller ass restaurant that serves any food you can think of. The moment we walked, in all eyes were on us, I vividly remember what the onlookers were saying.
"Look at them, are they super models?" A woman spoke up.
"Man, I wish I replaced the guy beside her." A man spoke.
"They look so good together, and that man's eyes are something I could stare at all day." A woman swooned over.
Syrax was visibly pissed at the men with their non-stop ogling towards me.
We sat down and before ordering, I taught him some table manners.
"So, how do I get food?" He asked innocently.
"Well, first we have to wait for the waiter, and here's the menu, you can select what you want to eat and drink in there." I explained as I gave him the menu.
"Fascinating…" He whispered.
A few moments later a waitress arrived at our table.
"Good afternoon, I'll be your waitress and server for today, are you ready to order?" The waitress asked.
"Yes, we are, I'll have a katsu curry with an extra serving of rice and curry, a large pizza with everything on it except olives, and a large, iced coffee." I ordered the face the waitress made was hilarious as I ordered my food.
"Alright, how about you, sir?" She asked looking at Syrax.
"Hmm, I'll have two 32-ounce tomahawk steaks…your biggest portion of loaded mashed potatoes, and ooh, a large, iced coffee as well." Syrax ordered as he was captivated by the picture of the steak on his menu.
"How would you like you steaks cooked?" The waitress asked nearly fainting from our order.
"He'll have it medium rare." I stepped in to not confuse him.
"Okay, we'll have your food out as soon as possible." The waitress nervously spoke.
Fifteen minutes passed and our food was served, we ate in comfortable silence but was sometimes broken out of it when Syrax comments on how good the steaks were, and I made him taste the pizza I ordered that we ended up sharing, the other patrons couldn't help but stare at us, how could these elegant-looking people have quite an appetite and eat that much.
Our meal was ending until our waitress came over our table with a serving of strawberry sundae big enough for two.
"Hmm? We didn't order this." I spoke.
"Oh, it's on the house, the place is packed ever since you two came in, our manager decided to give you this as our form of gratitude." The waitress spoke with a smile.
"Alight then, thank you." I spoke.
"You should try this, Syrax, ice cream is amazing." I added as he nodded in response.
He did as he was told and took a spoonful and ate it. His eyes suddenly went wide, and his mouth went agape.
"Wow, I never though such a cold treat could be this delicious, the iced coffee was amazing already, but this is heavenly." He spoke in surprise.
I couldn't help but smile at the sight, he was like a child trying out food he hasn't tasted yet.
"There's a lot of other flavors too, our bowl came with a strawberry flavor." I spoke.
"We must hurry, Kalina, we need to find more flavors of this ice cream." Syrax spoke with determination.
"Alright alright, let me pay the bill first." I spoke.
"Bill?" Syrax asked.
"In the human world, you exchange money to get items you want, and you can earn money by having a job." I explained.
"I see." Syrax said as he grabbed his chin.
I waved the waitress over and requested our bill and payed, we left to go to the ice cream shop and have him taste various flavors of ice cream, he favored strawberry, funny enough, he and dad have similar tastes.
We went back home with a tub of strawberry ice cream in tow and Syrax in an act of his love for strawberry ice cream, decided to let everyone eat the tub, and we did, the tub was squeaky clean after 2 minutes of scooping.
"Today was amazing, Kalina, thank you." Syrax spoke as we sat down the couch watching TV.
"Don't mention it, you still have much to see and learn." I spoke.
"I'm looking forward to it." He said with a grin,
Damn, he's changed this much in a span of two days, this is a straight-up miracle.
"Heh, you better." I replied.
Our little human society training thing went on for a year, in that timespan, Syrax learned to converse with humans, I taught him slang to blend in better, he can now go out on his own whenever he feels the need to buy something for himself, of course, funded by me, since Morrison had a lot of jobs for us, Syrax even did a few for him, earning himself some spare change, he learned how to cook food from Kyrie as he favored Kyrie's cooking over the numerous restaurants we went to, he opted to stay with us in the shop with us and he grew closer to everyone, he liked Nico the most, her inventions always got Syrax curious on what it does, it got to a point where weapons made by Nico were sometimes laced with draconic energy.
Our relationship peaked when he surprised me with a date to a fancy restaurant, where he payed for everything, he wore a nice-looking suit, and I wore a red dress that complimented my features.
We sat down for our meal, and to my surprise he was quite the gentleman.
"Kalina." He spoke as he put down his wine glass and slowly stood up.
"Yeah?" I answered as I traced his movement.
He kneeled in front of me and pulled out a black box and slowly opened it revealing a ring, the ring was made of rose gold, and on the middle of it, a tiny set of dragon claws held an amply sized ruby.
"Kalina, would you be my one and only mate for life?" Syrax spoke in a tone I've never heard of.
Tears welled up in my eyes and dripped as I covered my mouth from the shock that hit me, Syrax just proposed to me! My mind was in disarray, I loved him yes, but for him to take the initiative was something I did not expect or even thought of.
I looked at him in the eyes and spoke.
"Yes." I answered shortly, but the message was clear, Syrax is my mate, and I am his.
He slipped the ring on my fourth digit, he slowly went forward, and our lips touched, we shared a kiss for a good minute, uninterrupted, and full of passion.
The moment we returned home, both our faces were plastered with visible happiness, the others asking what just happened.
"You two look chipper, something good happened?" Nero asked.
"Yes, Syrax and I are engaged." I happily said while showing the ring.
"Finally, looks like I was right, Kyrie ha-ha!" Nero spoke proudly as Kyrie came out of the kitchen.
"You two are official?! When are you two getting married?" Kyrie asked.
"Yes, we are, and we're going to take our time in terms of marriage." I answered
"Oh, this is just exciting to hear!" Kyrie squealed in delight.
"So, you took a bet on this, Nero?" I asked.
"No money was involved; it was just a lil fun we had while waiting for the two of you to arrive." He answered.
"Anyway, yeah, we're official, end of story, and please don't be a dick about it." I begged Nero.
Syrax and I went to our own rooms and slept the best sleep we've had in a good while.
*TIMESKIP*
A year and a half past, Syrax adopted the surname Hyoudou and we got married and went to our honeymoon in France, we moved out of Red Grave City to Kuoh in Japan, we mated and after nine months of pregnancy, I gave birth to you, Issei.
"He's beautiful." Syrax spoke softly.
"Yes, he is, what should we name him?" I replied
"Issei, I want him to grow up and be an honest and pure-hearted man." Syrax answered proudly.
"Do you feel it?" I asked Syrax ominously.
"Yeah, he's bound to be a powerful being." He answered fearfully.
Syrax and I decided to seal your powers and change how you looked, but at the sealing ritual, your power was so immense that it took all of your fathers power to seal it, it was complete, but your father was very weakened, a week passed after the sealing ritual, Syrax suddenly lost consciousness, I stayed by his side until he stirred awake, little did I know that it would be the last time I'd see him awake.
"Kalina, raise our son and make him live a human life, it may be selfish of me to request this of you, but please, let him live a normal life, I don't want his life to be endangered, because of us, and here, and please make him read this once he's grown enough." Syrax spoke weakly as he gave me a black envelope with a red wax seal.
"I will, and I will protect him with all of me." I answered as tears welled up in my eyes.
Syrax reached out his hand and patted your head.
"Issei, I may not be around anymore by the time you grow up, but I know that you blossom into a great man, I may not be able to hear you call me father, see you take your first steps, or study as a student, but knowing that you exist, is enough for me…goodbye, my dear sweet child." Syrax spoke his last words and his life faded away.
Nero and the others soon came to me, and we mourned your father's death, and for the first two years of your life, Kyrie lived with me, and we raised you, and sixteen years to now, here you are, knowing the full story.
*FLASHBACK END*
Issei and Kalina are seen in their home's kitchen as Kalina finishes her story.
"And that's story of your father and I, Issei."
Issei is in tears after his mother conclude her flashback and watching the memory hologram.
"So, he died sealing my powers?" Issei struggled to speak as his tears continued flowing.
"Yes, I'm sorry that I hid from you." Kalina spoke sincerely.
[Syrax was a dragon who surpassed my expectations, but this is something I never would've thought of, a dragon who sacrificed itself for someone, not even sage dragons can do this.] Ddraig spoke in the saddest tone he can muster.
"Was he that good of a dragon, Ddraig?" Issei asked recomposing himself.
[Yes, when I first found him, he was already different from any other dragons I've met, it seemed that losing his parents at such an early changed him to the core.] Ddraig answered his host.
"I see, about the envelope he gave you, can I read it? Mom?" Issei asked switching to his mother.
"Yes, come with me to the basement." Kalina gestured her son to follow.
"Basement?" Issei asked in bewilderment.
"Just follow me." Kalina spoke with a solemn expression.
Kalina lead Issei to a very specific spot in their house, a secret panel of the house floor was removable by magic where a ladder is seen leading downwards to the basement.
The pair went down and was met by a large room that was easily bigger than their home's living room.
Kalina opened a safe where she reached for an envelope and a briefcase, she put the two items on a nearby table where she presented them to her son.
"I'll be honest, I don't know what your father wrote, you're on your own when you read the contents of it, and this briefcase is for after you read the entire thing." Kalina confessed as she gave Issei the envelope.
Issei opened the envelope and read the letter that came with it.
Dear Issei,
By the time you're reading this, you're probably in your teens and have unsealed your powers, but I just want to say that I'm sorry, for being gone your entire life, I wish I could see you grow into a proud devil dragon and be badass like your mother and grandfather, but to make that happen, I had to pay the ultimate price.
I wanted you to live a peaceful human life, but being the son of a near heavenly class dragon and the daughter of the legendary devil hunter has its drawbacks, the supernatural will always find a way to get to you, and I didn't want that to happen, so your mother and I made the decision to seal your powers, but it ended up costing my life, but I know that it was a worthy sacrifice knowing that you will live on, your mother also used a lot of her concealing magic as a precaution to ensure that your aura wont leak out and attract the supernatural.
But during the sealing ritual, I realized that no matter how many seals we put on you, it's inevitable that you'll be involved with the supernatural whether you like it or not, I regret not being able to see you right now, but the knowledge of you living on is more valuable than anything to me.
Fulfill one wish for me, Issei, your mother protected you, now do the same for her and everyone you care for, always love them like you would love your family.
Again, I'm sorry for not being with you and Kalina, I wish I could be there with you and be a happy family together.
Never forget, I love you Issei, my dear sweet child. Your Father
Syrax.
Tears yet again are seen trickling down Issei's face, but instead of frowning, the boy is smiling.
"I will dad, I promise it to you and my pride as a dragon." Issei spoke with determination.
"Mom, what's in the case?" He asked composing himself.
"Well, this is a gift from your father, he and Nico created this together, but I don't know what this actually is." Kalina answered.
Kalina presented the case to Issei, Issei opened the case and found two items. One was a Winchester 1887 shotgun with draconic engravings all over it and was laced with demonic and draconic magic, the second item was a simple wine-red long coat, but it's inside had draconic designs.
"Cool, what was grandpa's shotgun's name?" Issei asked Kalina.
"Coyote-A." Kalina answered.
"Hmm…This will be, Orion." Issei said proudly.
"Nice name, you sure got our naming scheme down." Kalina said with a chuckle
"This coat sure looks badass, what do I do with it?" Issei added.
"Wear it in one of your battles? You gotta represent the family." Kalina answered.
"Great idea, let's go back up now, this place gives me the creeps." Issei confessed.
"Sure, but before that, I have something for you as well." Kalina said as she approached a sliding door.
Kalina opened the door and grabbed a two very familiar looking rocket launchers.
"Here, these belonged to my mother, when she fought with dad back in the qliphoth incident." Kalina spoke as she gave Issei the rocket launchers.
The first rocket launcher had a black exterior, a serrated bayonet on the end of its barrel, and mini missile pods behind it. The second rocket launcher was silver in color, looked beefier than the other launcher, had a darker shade of stripe camo decals, grappling hook on the end of its barrel, and a more high tech looking mini missile pod on its behind.
"Those are Kalina Ann and Kalina Ann 2, your grandmothers rocket launchers, you can connect those two together to fire a big ass laser, and of course, blow shit up." Kalina explained.
Issei opened his pocket dimension and stored all the given items to him, but he kept the letter his father left him and neatly kept it in its envelope.
"Well, this supposed sad day turned into early Christmas for me." Issei said amused.
"Sure is, now let's go up, for real this time." Kalina said as the pair climbed up the ladder again.
The pair made their way back to the surface and was greeted by drowsy Asia who was grabbing water.
"Uhh, did I miss something?" Asia asked innocently as she downed her glass of water.
"Not much, you can go back to sleep." Issei said sheepishly.
Asia complied and went back to bed.
Their landline suddenly rang.
"I'll get it." Kalina spoke.
Kalina picked up the phone and spoke.
"Hyoudou residence." She said through the telephone.
"Kalina, it's Nero, mind bringing your kid to the shop? The others want to meet him." Nero spoke.
"Sure, is Saturday good?" Kalina asked.
"Yeah, it's been too long since they last saw him, Kyrie especially." Nero answered.
"Alright, see you on Saturday." Kalina answered hanging up the call.
"What was that about?" Issei asked.
"The others from Nero's place wants to meet you." Kalina answered bluntly.
"Oh, when do we go?" Issei asked.
"This Saturday." Kalina answered.
"Alright then, I'm off to bed, Asia and I have school tomorrow." Issei said as he went back to his room.
*ORC CLUBROOM; LUNCHBREAK*
The ORC members are seen eating their respective lunches in comfortable silence until Rias broke the silence.
"Ise, would you mind us going to your house tomorrow for our club meeting, the clubroom's getting its monthly cleaning." Rias asked.
"Sure, I don't mind, I'm sure mom would love to meet the rest of the club members." Issei replied with a smile.
"Splendid! I've always wanted to meet your mother, Issei, I heard a lot about her from, Rias." Akeno cheered.
"It'd be a pleasure to meet her." Kiba gracefully spoke.
"Can't wait." Koneko said while munching on her sweets.
*NEXT DAY; HYOUDOU RESIDENCE*
Issei along with the ORC are seen just outside his home, Issei entered and announced his return.
"I'm home!" He spoke.
"Welcome back dear, my, who are they?" Kalina asked as she came out from the living room.
"They're the rest of the ORC members and Rias' peerage, we're using my room as the venue for our club meeting since the clubroom is getting its monthly cleaning." Issei explained.
"I see, do come in, I'll get snacks and drinks for all of you." Kalina said with a smile.
So many friends already Issei, I'm so proud of you.
The ORC members except Asia couldn't stop looking at Kalina, her beauty captivated even Kiba, and Issei though he was gay, since he never seemed to show interest in girls, but all of them found one thing strange, they couldn't sense her, not one bit.
The group made its way to Issei's room where Rias began assessing her peerages devil duties.
"Alright everyone, here are everyone's contract numbers for the month" Rias announced.
"Akeno has eleven, Koneko with ten, Kiba has ten, and Asia made three contracts." She listed down the numbers.
"That's great, Asia."
"Ara, good job Asia-chan"
"Pretty good"
"I'm proud of you, Asia." The ORC members and Issei praised Asia.
"Thank you all so much." Asia said humbled.
"Great job guys, let's work hard and aim higher for next month's assessment." Rias spoke proud of her peerage.
Issei's door opened violently.
"Sorry for barging in, I got something for you all." Kalina spoke with a grin showing three photo albums.
"Oh no." Issei spoke much to his dismay.
Kalina proceeded to show baby pictures of Issei, well magically altered pictures to match his looks.
"Here he is in elementary school." Kalina said as she presented a picture of a naked Issei drinking a bottle of milk.
"Ara-ara, he's stark naked, so small and cute." Akeno spoke
"So, this is the bare-naked truth of Issei-senpai's past." Koneko deadpanned intently staring into the album.
"Just great." Issei sarcastically commented.
Though in Issei's mind he was happy for his mother, he's never seen her so talkative before, granted the material used is embarrassing for him, but he's happy, nonetheless.
"Little Issei, little Issei!" Rias spoke excitedly.
"I completely understand you, President." Asia answered.
"You see the appeal too, right Asia?" Rias said gleefully.
"Man, you didn't have to bring that up here, Mom." Issei spoke.
"Come on, it's not every day I get to show your baby pictures." Kalina answered as she left the room.
"She seems like a great mother." Kiba said with a smile.
"After everything I just discovered, I dare say that she may be the greatest." Issei answered proudly.
"Must be nice having a family." Kiba spoke in a solemn tone.
"Oh yeah, how about your family-" Issei was cut off when he noticed Kiba's change in demeanor.
"Issei-kun, about this photo." Kiba spoke with uncertainty as he looked at a picture of Issei and his childhood friend.
"Oh, that kid lived in the same neighborhood, we used to play a lot, him and his family had to move overseas, because of his parents' work." Issei answered not noticing the sword in the background.
"Do you remember this sword?" Kiba asked pointing at said sword in the background of the photo.
"No, I was a kid, so I wouldn't know better" Issei answered.
"I guess things like this happen also, huh." Kiba spoke cryptically.
"What things?" Issei wondered.
"This is a holy sword, Issei-kun." Kiba answered in a serious voice.
"Holy sword?" Issei again asked.
Kiba closed the album and handed it to Issei.
"Never mind that, thanks, Issei-kun." Kiba spoke switching to his normal demeanor.
"Issei-kun, just wondering; How come we can't sense your mother at all?" Akeno asked catching Issei off guard.
"Yeah, even I couldn't sense her." Koneko chimed in.
"Well, it's her specialty, she used to be a devil hunter, but instead of going in guns blazing, she preferred sneaking in and taking down the boss first, and to why you can't sense her, it's because she can delete her presence entirely or lower it to a degree that not even leader class beings can sense her." Issei explained earning curious looks from the ORC members.
"So, she's a rouge class of some sort." Rias chimed in.
"Yes, you can ask her personally if you want." Issei spoke.
"I'll keep that in mind." Rias replied.
"Well, we've taken too much of your time already, Ise, we'll be taking our leave." Rias spoke as the other members prepared to leave.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all, I'm actually happy that you guys came here, I haven't seen my mother talk like that." Issei spoke with a chuckle.
"Alright then, we'll see you and Asia tomorrow, goodbye." Rias said as Akeno teleported them away.
Holy sword huh, I must call Azazel about this. Issei thought to himself.
Issei grabbed his phone, but much to his surprise the person he was thinking of calling, called him.
"Yeah?" Issei answered.
"Issei, come over to my place, I have something to discuss with you, it's your first job from me." Azazel spoke through the line.
"Alright, I'll be there in a bit." Issei spoke hanging up.
"Mom, I'll be out a while, I'm meeting with Azazel." Issei spoke to Kalina.
"Ok, sure, be safe out there." Kalina answered as she focused on completing a rubiks cube.
Wait, did he say Azazel? Kalina thought.
"DAMN IT!" Kalina cursed from her mistake.
*AZAZEL'S APARTMENT*
Issei is seen in front of Azazel's door, he knocked.
The door opens and reveals a Raynare who's wearing a black spaghetti top and shorts.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Raynare asked the boy
"Oh, Raynare, where's your dad, he called me over for some business, nice outfit by the way." Issei answered with a smirk.
"Issei, just in time, I'll take it from here, Raynare." Azazel spoke as he came out of his mini bar.
The pair are now seated on Azazel's couch, Issei struck a conversation.
"I have something to ask of you, but I'm assuming you have to, so go first." Issei spoke.
"Alright, you know the cadre that Raynare's team are watching for me? Well, he's coming in Kuoh soon, and I need a helping hand when things go south, not an "if" but a when, this guy is a warmonger down to the teeth." Azazel explained earning nods from the boy.
"I see, so you need a hired gun, I can do that, but why can't you do it yourself?" Issei asked.
"I'm a leader, and if I interfere with business in devil territory, the devils will see it as a declaration of war, and war is at the very bottom of the things I need right now." Azazel, spoke with a sigh.
"Alright, I'll do it, now for my question." Issei answered.
"Go ahead." Azazel replied.
"What are the holy swords? The ORC went to my place earlier, but something was odd about Gremory's knight, he's demeanor immediately changed when he saw the sword in the photo." Issei explained.
"I can only give you the main ones, because there're been reports of holy swords being stolen, specifically Excalibur fragments."
"Fragments?" Issei asked in confusion.
"Basically, the original Excalibur was broken into seven fragments: Destruction, Mimic, Rapidly, Nightmare, Transparency, Blessing, and Ruler. Destruction can unleash pure destructive power, Mimic can take the form of any weapon, Rapidly grants a speed boost and creates afterimages of its wielder, Nightmare can cast illusions, Transparency can turn itself or the wielder invisible, Blessing can grant powers, but it depends on the wielders beliefs, and finally, Ruler, the strongest of the fragments, it can manipulate any living being, granted you made contact with your target." Azazel explained earning nods from the boy.
"They all sound powerful, I assume they're effective against us devils?" Issei asked.
"Yes, anything holy can severely injure a devil." Azazel answered.
"Which leads me to the main point of your job for me, because I just get intel from Raynare that three fragments were stolen by Kokabiel, the cadre I told you about, and he's working with rogue members of the church, and one of them caught my attention, Valper Galilei…" Azazel trailed off in his thoughts.
This made a lightbulb flicker on in Azazel's mind.
"Oh no." he said cryptically.
"Oh no what?" Issei asked.
"If Galilei's involved, then they plan to fuse the Excalibur, that's the only thing I can think off right now with the current information we have." Azazel explained.
"Who's this Galilei guy anyway?" Issei asked.
"I don't know much, but according to my sources, the guy is obsessed with Excalibur, and was involved with some sketchy stuff in the church." Azazel explained.
"But why Kuoh of all places…" Azazel trailed off again.
Then it all clicked Azazel thought of the worse possible outcome.
"Damn it! Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Azazel was visibly pissed.
"Think of what?" Issei asked.
"That ass hat Kokabiel plans on killing Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri to declare war on the devils." Azazel snarled.
Issei was visibly shocked and pissed by this revelation.
"OH NO HE WON'T!" Issei's demonic voice and aura flared out startling Azazel.
"Kid, as much as I trust you and your powers, I'm calling another person to back you up, I won't tell who, but you'll find out soon enough." Azazel explained easing the boy off.
"Should I tell anyone?" Issei asked managing to not destroy the entire complex.
"Not now, they'll suspect your sources and none of the devils here know of my presence." Azazel spoke in a serious tone making the boy nod in compliance.
"Alright, is that all? I have another thing to ask." Issei spoke.
"Shoot." Azazel said.
"You're an inventor, right? I need some sort of contraption that can make me remember stuff instantly, the promotion exam for high class is on next week and I don't have a sliver of knowledge on their history or language." Issei explained.
"You do realize you can boost any part of your body with your sacred gear, right?" Azazel deadpanned.
"Oh yeah, now that you say it, I haven't tried boosting my brain, anyways thanks, I'll be going now." Issei said dismissing himself.
"Sure kid, stop by again if you want to play a few rounds of Tekken." Azazel replied waving goodbye to the boy.
Hours pass by Azazel's apartment until Vali teleported in.
"Sup Zaz, you called me?" Vali spoke garnering Azazel's attention.
"Hey Vali, I need you for a job regarding Kokohead."
"I'm lisetening-" Vali was cut off when her sacred gear manifested on her back.
{Mind explaining why I smell Ddraig in your home, Azazel?} Albion spoke sternly surprising the two.
"To put it simply, I'm setting you two up to meet, I'll be honest Vali, you and the Red Dragon Emperor would look good together." Azazel said with a smirk.
Vali was flustered at his adoptive father's antics.
"I-I'm not looking for a man right now, all I want is to fight strong guys." Vali spoke as her blush disappeared.
{Now that I analyze Ddraig's scent and his host, it can't be…} Albion stopped in realization.
Bingo. Azazel thought to himself amused.
"What is it Albion?" Vali asked her dragon.
{Vali, the red one's host is very powerful, when Ddraig awakened I knew his host was powerful, but I didn't think he was this strong.} Albion spoke in uncertainty.
"What makes you say that?" Vali asked in curiosity.
{His lineage is one that I thought was long gone, Sparda, the legendary dark knight himself, to put it in perspective, he singlehandedly slew an entire demon army and sealed its leader, the dark prince Mundus.}
"All the more reason to fight the guy." Vali spoke in visible excitement.
"But you won't be fighting him, it's Kokabiel who you two will be fighting." Azazel explained.
"You've gotta be kidding me, are you playing matchmaker right now?" Vali deadpanned.
"You bet your ass I am, hehe." Azazel replied while downing his drink.
{You can't be serious Azazel; we need to fight the red one and his host.} Albion spoke in an irritated tone.
"Fine, don't blame me if he beats both your asses, guy's a powerhouse and he hasn't reached his prime yet, word has it that he got Tiamat to submit to him, making her his rook in his peerage, and that feat itself speaks volumes to how strong he is." Azazel spoke in an ominous tone.
{That indeed tells a lot about his strength, I know that Ddraig and Tiamat have a history, and his host managing to quell her hate and making her submit is a true testament of power.} Albion spoke in a serious tone
"I have to at least fight him once, opponents like him are hard to come by." Vali spoke in excitement.
"Hey, it's your funeral." Azazel said amused.
*STREETS OF KUOH; NIGHTTIME*
Issei is seen walking home as supposed to teleporting or using Cavaliere, he sensed six energy signatures, five belonging to the ORC and one he doesn't know.
He tracked down the signatures and lead him to the abandoned factory, he went to the entrance and saw the ORC members preparing for a fight.
"Oh, Ise, what are doing you here?" Rias spoke.
"Just passing by, I was walking home, but then I sensed your energy signatures, and I figured why not check it out." Issei answered
"I see, we were just about to fight a stray devil, care to join us?" Rias said inviting Issei.
"Sure, could use some target practice." Issei spoke.
"Target practice?" Rias wondered.
"Got some new gear from my mother and father." Issei spoke.
"I thought your father was gone?" Rias asked.
"Let's say he left a few gifts for me before his passing." Issei answered while summoning Orion.
"Awesome." Koneko chimed in.
"Alright, Asia, Akeno and I will stay behind here, while Yuto, Koneko and Ise draw out the enemy."
"Yes, Buchou."
"I'll do my best."
"Gotchu."
"Alrighty."
"…" Akeno, Asia, Koneko and Issei answered while Kiba remained silent.
"Yuto?" Rias spoke garnering her knight's attention.
"Yes, I understand."
"Alright let's get to it, I'll only provide cover fire for you guys, I'll only step in if things go south." Issei spoke earning a nod from Koneko but not Kiba.
Strange, is it because of the holy sword that he's acting this way? Issei thought.
The trio approached the metal doors of the factory and Koneko busted it open with a punch.
"Let's go." She spoke.
Issei and Kiba followed and the three of them saw the factory completely empty, apart from the random scrap that was spread all over the place.
"I can't see anything, but I can sense her." Issei spoke.
"There it is." Koneko spoke.
Koneko pointed towards a big metal tube, the three of them saw a naked woman with bluish-green hair and pink eyes.
"That's it? WOAH!" Issei spoke but was then surprised when the stray lunged towards him.
The stray transformed itself to its more monstrous form, it had a long singular horn at the center of its forehead, elongated ears four arms, four legs, and an abdomen that's shaped like a spider.
"Yuto-senpai, come on." Koneko spoke.
"Yuto-senpai!" Koneko again spoke in a louder tone finally getting the knight's attention.
The stray crawled up the ceiling aiming its abdomen towards Koneko and shot a thick liquid of some sort, the shot made contact and melted part of Koneko's outfit.
"Damn it!" Issei scowled while covering Koneko.
The magically enhanced buckshot from Orion was enough to deal significant damage to the stray giving Koneko enough time to recover.
"HEY, PRETTY BOY, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ZONING OUT?!" Issei bellowed at Kiba.
Kiba finally gained his bearings and went up for a slash cutting the stray's abdomen, but then tripped.
The stray saw the opportunity to attack, and body slammed the knight, luckily Koneko was holding one of its legs in place.
"Blast off." Koneko spoke as she threw the stray through the factory's skylight.
Issei saw this as an opportunity to use his two rocket launchers, the boy connected the two rocket launchers charging a huge beam, directly hitting the stray burning its body to a crisp, its alive, but barely.
The body landed just in front of Rias and Akeno.
"For disobeying the wishes of your master, on behalf of the duke Gremory, I will blow you away!" Rias announced as she obliterated the stray's body with a blast of p.o.d (power of destruction).
The trio of Koneko, Issei and Kiba soon came out of the factory.
"Ise, what was that beam earlier?" Rias asked the boy.
"Oh, those were my newest weapons, Kalina Ann and Kalina Ann 2." Issei answered as he summoned the two rocket launchers from his pocket dimension.
"It was very cool." Koneko answered in her monotoned voice.
"Ara-ara, quite the big gun you have there Issei-kun, I wonder what else is big~" Akeno spoke licking her two fingers.
Issei now had a blush from Akeno's last remark.
"Koneko-chan, let me see your injuries." Asia said as she approached Koneko.
Asia proceeded to heal the burn wounds from the acid the stray shot at the girl.
"Sorry and thanks." Koneko replied.
*slap*
The rest were drawn to the source of the noise, being Rias slapping Kiba on the face.
"Have you gotten your senses back? With one mistake you could have put someone else in danger." Rias sternly spoke towards Kiba.
"I'm, sorry, Buchou." Kiba answered.
"What's the matter? This isn't like you." Rias asked her knight.
"I'm just having an off day; I'll excuse myself for today." Kiba said as he bowed.
Kiba started walking off until Issei grabbed his shoulder.
"What's wrong with you Kiba? It's not normal of you to speak that way." Issei asked the knight.
"It's got nothing to do with you." Kiba spoke as his hair covered his eyes.
"I'm worried, you gotta tell me something." Issei pleaded.
"Worried? Why are you worried for me? Devils are creatures of selfish desires after all." Kiba spoke.
"What are you on about?" Issei asked.
"I do think that I was on the wrong today, I'll see you later." Kiba spoke as he walked away.
"Hold up, if there's something you're worried about at least tell me, swordsman to swordsman." Issei spoke.
"Issei-kun, you're quite the passionate individual for a devil at least, but I remembered something basic."
"Basic?" Issei said in confusion.
"My reason for living, that is, the reason I'm fighting." Kiba said with a half-smile.
"You're fighting for Buchou, right?" Issei retorted.
"You're wrong, I live for revenge, to destroy the holy sword Excalibur. That is my reason for living." Kiba sternly stated as he walked away disappearing in the darkness of the night.
"I fucking knew it." Issei said to himself amused.
*HYOUDOU RESIDENCE*
Issei, Rias and Asia are seen sitting around Issei's room discussing what had just happened earlier.
"And that's about it, he told me that his reason for living is to destroy Excalibur." Issei said finishing his summary of events.
"Holy swords are the worst best weapons to use against a devil, anything holy for that manner. Just touching it will burn a devil, to be cut by it is imminent death." Rias explained as Asia and Issei listen intently.
"Sounds like a barrel of trouble." Issei spoke.
"The bright side is that those who can wield them are extremely limited, but then the church thought of a way to artificially create Excalibur wielders, and that was The Holy Sword Project.
"The Holy Sword Project?" Issei asked in confusion.
"I've never heard of that even when I was still in the church…" Asia trailed off.
"I wouldn't think so, it was a long time ago, word is that the project failed completely."
"I see." Issei chimed in.
"Yuto… is one of the survivors." Rias spoke in an ominous tone.
"Hold on a minute." Issei spoke as he reached for one of his photo albums.
"No doubt about it, this is a holy sword, but not as strong as the actual Excalibur." Rias spoke while inspecting the photo.
"Kiba looked at the photo and said that it was a holy sword, I'm pretty sure that he started acting weird after he saw that picture." Issei explained.
"For a holy sword to be this close to Issei-san." Asia spoke in disbelief.
"I remember now, this kid and his family would invite us to go to church with them, mom always declined, but we stayed tight with them until they went overseas." Issei explained.
"I see, I now understand why the predecessor here is gone now. But I thought…" Rias spoke but was cut short.
"Buchou?" Issei spoke trying to get Rias' attention.
"Oh, my bad, look at the time, I'll be going home now." Rias excused herself.
"Are you walking home or teleporting?" Issei asked.
"Well, if you escort me to my apartment then I won't mind walking~" Rias teased the boy.
"Let's go then." Issei said with a smirk.
"No fair Buchou!" Asia suddenly spoke.
"How come? You live with him; I'd like to get some time with him as well." Rias replied.
"Alright fine, just teleport home Buchou." Issei said as Rias frowned.
"Aww, too bad, goodbye you two see you in school." Rias teleported herself out.
*ABANDONED CHURCH*
Two hooded figures are seen inside the church, one has a wrapped item that seems to resemble a sword from the outside.
"This place is a mess." One of the figures spoke revealing a feminine voice.
"I heard that there was a skirmish here caused by devils and fallen angels." Another feminine voice answered.
"It's the middle of the night already, are you sure this is where we're supposed to meet?" The woman said while removing her robe revealing her blue hair with a green fringe.
"I'm sure of it, I spent my childhood in this place." The other woman answered who has orange hair and presented a very familiar picture of her and Issei.
Well, took me over a month to write this, mostly due to my negligence, no going around it.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this flashback chapter and prelude to the Kokabiel arc, this is where I'll take a few liberties and do my own take on the upcoming arc.
Do give this story a follow/favorite if you enjoyed your time reading.
Stay classy stay cool and don't be a fool. B)