Have you ever danced with the devil under the pale moonlight?
DISCLAIMER: DxD belongs to its respective creators.
Today is a full moon night, which means it's a familiar gathering night. At least is what Rina said as we now walk into the Familiar forest, the place where we find several magical creatures in order to make them our personal animal servants...
Under the pale moonlight, we devils don't dance but rather walk in this dense, abnormal forest in the night, sounds of beasts echoing all over the place yet the typical nocturnal darkness preventing us to fully understand what lies beyond the thick branches and dark vines of this wild jungle where supernatural creatures roam.
By the way, Rina was so entangled in visiting her sister and Annie back in the Beelzebub hospital she ended up eating all the tarts and pies on the way back home, completely forgetting about our date and rendering our time with tea and snacks utterly null. But I guess it was for the best, I wouldn't like to spend half an hour staring at Noin-san's face as she carves a hole in my head with her stare alone. Win-win, lose-lose, I guess. I'm hungry...
I digress, the current situation is thus: after a quick trip via teleportation rune, me, Rina, Whiswain, Tasha and Ryuubi-sensei found ourselves in this dense, fetid, dark forest illuminated only by the light of the full moon, noises of wild beasts coming everywhere and sparkles of sick colours directed at us. Not enough to kick my survival instinct into overdrive, but still a bad sensation; Whiswain clings to her fellow Bishop while sensei scans our surroundings with curious eyes. Meanwhile, Rina hums to herself...
"So, how do we actually get a familiar?" I call for Rina's attention, who snaps back. Truly, aside from Albert the ninja turtle and the Sekitoba, I don't think we touched upon this whole familiar thing that much, strange considering that Rina said those are one of the most basic devil requirements. But then again, Rina is not the keenest person to pass information. "Like, I suppose we don't have a pokeball to throw at them, so I think we have to talk them into joining us, like in Megaten?"
"Oh, I thought that game mechanic was from Persona5. Well, living and learning, I guess." She chirps back with a giggle, and I twitch an eyebrow. I'm not a fan of those mechanics, anyway, I rather Megido the whole opposite party instead. "Well, it's quite similar but also a bit different, too. We need the guidance of a Familiar Master into the forest and once inside, it will explain to us the intricacies and functions of certain familiars. If we find one that suits our needs or strengths, and if it likes us, we make a contract with it to bind us together."
"We won't have to shoot it down for that to happen, right?"
"No, we won't have to shoot it down for that to happen, no." She responds. Like I said, I don't like that game mechanic, so I'm glad I won't have to ambush or intimidate it to become my personal mystical servant. Speaking of which...
"Hey Rina, do you have a familiar too? Never saw you with one." I spoke. I don't remember her ever carrying or being followed by an animal of a sorts, not even in the Underworld, so maybe she doesn't have one? But that wouldn't make any sense from what she said before. Please don't tell me she was too bossy or bratty for any sane animal to want her as its master.
"I do, but... Uh, he's... Pretty moody, and doesn't like to be out much. He rather stays inside and do his stuff. He's also not that practical as a familiar, so that's why I don't bother either." She laughs sheepishly, and I arch an eyebrow. A familiar that is moody and not 'that practical'? What the hell does that even mean? What kind of beast does this girl have? Well, whatever, just good to know she has one, even if it's the mysterious type.
"Gremory-chin, hurry up. Whis-chin is scared. Gonna faint." A certain purple witch flags for our attention, and turning around we saw the reason for that: Whiswain was clinging so much on sensei she looked like a sloth, but her face shown an emotion on the complete opposite aspect of that animal, mumbling words of wake and crying buckets.
"Oh right. My bad, I'm will call him right away!" My redhead king nods back with a thumb up to comfort our grim reaper bishop. By 'him', I think she means the familiar master, and with that out of the way, she turns around, walks a few steps away and take a deep, long breath, even stretching herself a little for some reason. "Okay, and one, and two, and..."
"Rina, what the hell are you d-…"
"UNCLE LUTYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON...!"
And I think my eardrums just busted. Rina didn't lose a single second and screamed that name so loud into the woods some trees even shook and birds flew away, leaves ruffling and falling for the sheer volume of that call. Me? I can't hear a thing, my ears are ringing so much I thought I was a hunchbacked cuck. My entire body vibrates and when I finally was able to tell left from right, my head is still hurting. Holy shit, what was that?!
"Huh... I think he didn't hear me." My ears are still ringing, but I think she said this uncle guy didn't hear her. After that one, I can only assume two things: either he's deaf or he's dead. Rina shrugs to herself, coughs a bit and then sighs, a hand on her throat. "Well, guess I have to try it again, then..."
"Wait, what?! Rina, d-…!"
"UNCLE LUT-…!"
"I heard you loud and clear, Bero-bero. No need to shout." But before Rina could unleash another ghastly wail that would pretty much annihilate everyone and everything in the vicinity, a shadow lurks right behind her and shuts her mouth before anything could come into fruition. My first action was of course run as fast as possible against the assaulter! However, once she snaps back, my King turns to the figure behind her and smiles.
"Ah! Uncle Luttyon!" She exclaims with a happy face, and the silhouette finally shows itself: a tall, blond, handsome man who doesn't look older than 30, wearing an explorer getup with hat and everything and a rainbow scarf that looks made out of some kind of scaled skin. I stop on my tracks as my king recognizes this new stranger, who smiles back.
"Nice to see you again, Bero-bero. How's your sister?" He asks.
"Hospitalized." Rina answers.
What the hell did I say about Rina's ability to pass information?
"I... See. I should go visit her any day." He responds with quite possibly the straightest face imaginable, either accepting Rina's dim-wittedness at face value or having no other answer but to smile at her, and honestly I don't know which is worse. Instead of following this subject, that tall handsome turns to us and bows. "Those must be your dear servants I've been hearing about from your mother. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Evil Pieces of my dear niece. My name is Luttyon Teamo, and I'm a familiar master."
"U-Uh, the pleasure is ours." I bowed, together with the rest of my peerage. As always, politeness is a way to disarm me. By the way, is he really Rina's uncle? For what I know, she doesn't have any blond relatives since she inherited the Gremory's signature red hair and her father has white hair as snow. I tilt my head to her anyway. "Hm, Rina, is this gentleman really your uncle? He's a bit... Different from either aunt Alice or Cohen-sama."
"Well, he is married to my auntie, so I guess you can call him my uncle." She points out. Oh, I get it now, he's Cohen-sama's in-law, makes perfect sense I guess, although I don't know shit about devil genetics either. I turn back to my group, and all dread and fear seemed to just leave them as both Tasha and Whiswain were mesmerized by the man in front of us. Oh shit, he's one of those. Rina turns to her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Luttyon, we came so that we can find some familiars for my peerage! Would you help us, please?"
"Anything for my dear niece." He smiles with a ruffle on her hair, and for some reason one of eyes twitch and a sting pokes the side of my head. Calm down, he's her uncle and they're apparently very close, no need to be upset, me. Cleaning his gloved hand, he signs for us to follow him, and we do so, Rina in the front so she could help us. "Follow me, dear servants. Watch your step, please, even an expert like me was tricked several times by these woods. Although now that I have Bero-Bero's pieces with me, I'm sure my survival just skyrocketed."
"Whoooah~." Tasha and Whiswain sighed dreamily to his words. Ugh, I roll my eyes in discontent to that cheesy line, but doesn't mean it doesn't affect me too, he trusts us to that degree despite the fact we barely even met. Bu still, his ikemen aura pisses me off a little.
"So, does any of you have a particular liking for a familiar? I will see what I can do." Luttyon-san asks, turning his head to us while walking alongside Rina though the woods. What kind of familiar I would like? Can I even choose it like that?
"Hm~, If you don't mind, one that is cute and not scary." Whiswain lifts her head a little and nods. The said familiar master nods to that, a hand on his chin.
"A black cat. Witch stuff. Pretty neat." Now it was the purple witch to do so, and she really buying into this whole witch stuff. Me? I don't fancy anything, really, but something cool like Kan'u's motorbike would be great, not gonna lie.
"Great choices. Those are easy to find since they tend to avoid getting too deep into the forest unless they're suicidal. That makes my job a lot easier." He smiles, but unlike last time, the bishop girls flinch a little, probably realizing how truly dangerous this place is. Sensei, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind, but makes sense considering she is the big fish around. Lattyon-san turns to his niece. "Speaking of which, Bero-bero, how is Fortunato? Is he getting used to living in the Gremory manor?"
"Well, he is reacting way better than before, but mom almost killed him after getting slapped on the boobs. He also doesn't seem to like Nemesis that much, but maybe that's just me..." My king nervously laughs at the question, and only makes me even more curious as to what the hell her familiar is, aside from the fact that it has a name, 'Fortunato'. And here I thought she would name him after a Kamen Rider or something. I come closer to and wave a little for her. I also draw his attention.
"Say, is it hard to pick a familiar? Just asking." I question him. Lattyon-san looks a bit pensive, but after a quick hum, he smiles.
"It really depends of what of familiar you would like to have. Some are quite easy to catch and tame, such as natural spirit animals or small beasts. Others, well, tend to be as wild and violent as they come, like dragons, hellhounds, hydras, ogres and the like." He responds in a calm yet warningly voice. "Even working as a familiar master all my life, they still find ways to surprise me. Some even tend to choose their masters on their own, based on the potential and strength they see on them."
"Huh. I see." I nod to that.
"That is a plus to you, isn't it, Ichijou? I bet there are lots of familiars who would love to have the sekiryuutei as their master, right?" Rina turns to me and waves an optimistic hand, and that made me think. Yeah, maybe finding a familiar won't be all that hard, but I'm still a bit on the edge, especially considering... I'm not good taking care of things, I let Kaji die, after all.
"Oh, the Sekiryuutei? You mean Ichijou-kun?" Lattyon-san turns his attention to me with surprised eyes, smiling all the way through though. I nod to him to confirm my status as the red dragon, but to my surprise in turn, he holds his chin in a thoughtful pose. "Fascinating. Indeed, there is a 50/50 chance to be either the easiest catch or nigh-impossible. Familiars tend to choose their masters based on compatibility and strength in order to protect themselves, but too much of the latter might scare them away. They also tend to see beyond what normal devils see, so if Lord Ddraig gets jealous of his position, they might sense his killing intent and flee on sight."
"Oh, really?" I tilt my head to a side for that new information. Well, since both my strength and killing intent tend to be on the lowest setting, not being that high to begin with anyway, I guess I can bother to try. On the other hand, what if he says is true, then I need to control my Boosted Gear partner so that I can have a shot. Hey, Welsh dragon, you won't be jealous if I get a familiar of my own, right? But don't worry, nothing will replace you as my one and only true partner, okay?
[…]
Okay? Don't worry, you're my one and only.
[PARTNER, I DO NOT CARE IF YOU CHOOSE A FAMILIAR COMPANION AT ALL, MAINLY BECAUSE I CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT IF YOU DO IT OTHERWISE. I AM THE RED DRAGON EMPEROR OF DOMINATION, WHETER YOUR CHOICES IN LIFE, I WILL NOT AND WOULD NOT INTERFERE IN THE SLIGHTEST, NOR FEEL INTIMIDATED OR THREATENED BY THEM UNLESS THEY DIRECTLY INVOLVE ME.]
I know, I know. I just making sure you'll understand. I mean, we have been through a lot ever since that day at the springs, and I value you a lot. I just want you to know that, whatever happens, you'll always be my number one partner with Yagura, and nothing will change my mind, even if I get a super cool familiar.
[…]
…?
[I... I SUPPOSE I SHOULD FEEL COMPLIMENTED. YOUR WORDS CARRY NO WEIGHT ON ME, BUT IF YOU MEAN WHAT YOU SAID, THEN I SHALL TAKE AND THANK THE CONSIDERATION.]
…
…
TSUNDORAIGUUUUUUUUUUUUU...?!
"Oh, it seems we found a nice specimen over there." And snapping me after that revelation that the dragon inside my Sacred Gear is a grade-A tsundragon, Lattyon-san stops our tracks and makes a silencing gesture, pointing to a direction where we all turned to: out in the wild, exposed under the moonlight, there was a black rabbit creature eating some grass. Huh, cute. "See that? That's a fine little specimen of familiar, quite inoffensive unlike its white counterpart. Not quite strong, but agile and docile, can also work as a pet. Little miss, does that fit our criteria?"
"Aaaw~, it's really cute." Whiswain, who I think the familiar master was referring to, could only moan, seeing the small cute creature now scratching its ears and shaking its head. Indeed, a cute. She nods to him, and steps forward next to him. "Can I... Can I keep it? It's cute and looks pretty tame. I think I can take good care of it since its not scary."
"Sure, go ahead. I'll be right behind you to instruct you." The blond master says, and now the two walks forward towards the wild animal, oblivious as before. The rabbit-looking familiar shakes its head once again and only now notices our presence, but doesn't move, only blinks, apparently confused. Seeing this, Lattyon-san taps Whiswain on the shoulder, and begins to lecture her. "Now, extend your hand and see if you can tame it. Don't worry, it won't bite, and if it likes you, then you can keep it as a familiar. Those kinds are usually the easiest, so go without fear, little miss."
"L-Like this?" The grim reaper extends a hand towards the black hare, and in response Lattyon-san gives her a thumb up, which she reciprocates with a smile. Now turning to the small animal, she nods her head and chants. "H-Hey there, little fella. Would you... Would you like to be my familiar? I... I will understand if you don't, but... Uh... If you do, come here. Psst, psst, psst~!"
"Yes, you're doing great." Lattyon-san reaffirms our bishop, who comes closer and closer to the animal, who slow but steadily also comes closer to the girl. Huh, who would've thought it would be that easy. The small rabbit comes closer, and Whiswain slowly touch its snout, now scratching its chin. The animal simply sniffs her hand... And then snaps its neck backwards, eyes wide as saucers and all of the sudden, all of its fur turning pure white in shock! "What?"
"H-Huh? What's the matter, little fell-…?!" Whiswain tries to approach it once again, but the hare familiar didn't give a shit and dashed back into the woods, leaving a smoking hot trail behind it being so fast! After that, silence, everybody me included was shocked by the rabbit's reaction, and didn't speak or move for a good few seconds.
"Bero-bero, is that girl, perhaps, a grim reaper or some sort?" Lattyon-san was the first to speak, questioning his niece, who dumbly nods to affirm his doubt. The familiar master sighs, scratching his ear. "I had a hunch about it. Grim reapers and those dark beings tend to exhale an aura perhaps worse than killing intent, and familiars are not... Fond of those, unfortunately. It's in their nature to flee on the sight of danger and, well, what's more dangerous than death incarnate?"
"Uuuuh~. He ran from me~. The little cute rabbit ran from me~. Uuuuuh~." Now our bishop, the so-called death incarnate, cries disconsolate in Tasha's bosom, hugging her and moaning pathetically there, the witch patting her on the head.
"No need to cry, little miss. It wasn't your fault." Reassured the familiar master. We hear a roar amidst those shows of misery, and coming forth from the woods, a massive black dog with with two heads, fiery eyes and fire-spewing mouths jumped, roaring and screaming like a wild animal that it is, or would it be animals? Lattyon-san gasps in surprise, shielding us from such beast. "By Lucifer, an orthros dog! Stay back, people. Those literal hell spawns have no mercy for the weak and are hard to deal with! Stay behind me, I know how to deal with them...!"
"Oh, what an adorable little canine. Mayhap I should try to make it into my personal familiar?" But it fell on deaf ears on sensei, who stood up a few steps forward to face the so-called hell spawn. Lattyon-san goes forward with a warry look, while the rest of our peerage just accepts it. Our rook opens her arms against the two-headed devil dog. "Hello, dear orthros! Do you fancy yourself to become the familiar of yours truly? I promise to take good care of you!"
"Wait, miss! Don't go there! It's very danger-…!" The familiar master extends an exasperated hand towards the chinese warlady, but all comes down once the devilish hound looks at her and then... It yelps, yapping and flinching in fear against her mighty presence unti it ultimately flees from sight, crying all the way through, almost ripping itself apart since one head wanted to go one way and the other, another. After that, sensei lowers her stance and tilts her head to a side, confused. The familiar master also hums curiously. "What...?"
"Oh no, it seems my presence was too much for that little animal to handle. What a shame, but I guess it was expected, even the Chì Tù Mǎ was scared of me after transferring to dear Guan Yu." The warlady laments, but smiles once again turning to us, doing a V-sign. "But worry not, Lady Berolina. This won't discourage me at all. In fact, I am eager to see what kind of beast fits me the most in this place!"
"Bero-bero, dear... What are your servants, anyway?" Sighed the familiar master, taking one exasperated sigh before smiling weakly again. I have been asking myself that same question for a while, Lattyon-san, you have no idea. The blond master shakes his head, slaps his cheeks and signs for us to gather. "Well then, shall we resume our exploration. Don't worry, there are many familiars for us to choose from, no need to be upset."
What a nice fellow, reassuring us like that. If it were me, I would've lost my patience the moment one of those beasts ran from me, but he is a familiar master, so maybe he has to have a ton of patience to deal with both devils and beasts. He signs for us to follow him, and then we do, deeper into the forest of wild supernatural monsters for us to tame.
Hm? I suddenly stop feeling a tug on my leg. Wait, what's that? Strange, for a minute I thought this root just lassoed itself on m-…
*VUPT*
"There, another good species, a baby wyvern. Ichijou-kun, since you're a dragon, why don't you try to... Ichijou-kun?"
"Hm? Ichijou? Hey, there did he go?"
Its full-moon night today, this means it's that time of the month again: devils venture inside the familiar forest to find and capture familiars.
The moonlight shines brightly from where I hang, and bathed by it, I slowly and carefully move through the woods of the familiar forest, hearing some distant voices among the roars and noises of my fellow spirit animals...
In this beast-eats-beast world, I've learnt to survive and adapt to it, from stupid animals trying to find in me their next prey to snotty-nosed devils wanting me as their familiar. I've avoided all of those and crown myself the absolute king of adaptation, hence why even now, without a King, I can say I stand atop my peers as the King Cobra of this play. Indeed, indeed, if I had a crowd, they would be cheering by now.
Today is another day I shall avoid detection, and such, my limbless body sneaks and hangs from branch to branch in the deep entrails of this forest. I'm hungry, I should try to find something to eat before sleeping and doing everything over again...
I spot a black rabbit running for its life for whatever reason. I ambush the black rabbit, I poison and strangle the black rabbit, I kill and eat the black rabbit. Black rabbit good. Black rabbit tasty. BURP!
My, ain't I the epitome of manners in this mad, savage world? Indeed, indeed, it is so lonely at the top, I feel like there is only one place to such perfection.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH...!"
Hm? What is this? I hear a powerful scream come my way, and with it, a chap that doesn't look at all like a familiar. Oh, is he perhaps a devil? He has the aura of one, but at the same time, I don't know, he oozes an unparallel presence not unlike mine. How odd, how odd indeed. He was being dragged around by the branches of a cursed willow and by chance he slipped from its grasp, losing a shoe in the process. One, two seconds pass, and he stands up, dusts himself form the dirt and looks around, confused.
"Well, that was a thing. Now, where the hell am I?"
"HYARAHARAHARAHARA...!"
This laugh, this laugh strikes yet again echoing into the woods, and the chap looks around, confused. Indeed indeed, he's not from here. The sound of a whip snap is heard, and out of the sudden, several beasts appear and charged against the devil chap.
*ROAR!*
"Oh, fuc-…!"
And he was silenced by the massive crowd of familiars that came from the gutters and attacked him without apparent reason, forming a mountain of roaring and moaning animals bundled together in a bloody orgy. Oh dear, it seems someone doesn't like this chap. Well, he is history now, not surviving that one...
*BOOOOM!*
Or maybe yes. From the centre of that massive gathering, a powerful red aura exploded from within and pushed all the beasts away, even creating a shockwave strong enough to bend some mighty trees. In the middle of the destruction, the chap was taking heavy breaths, clothes ruined and scratches all over, but alive.
"What the hell was that all about?!"
I hear him moan, stretching himself and walking away from the ground zero. What an interesting fellow, indeed indeed, to shove off many of my fellow familiars so easily. Perhaps I should follow him and see what it ends up like. Undetected as always, I sneak and snuggle onto trees and branches, right behind that devil fella. I feel strangely excited...
"Shit, guess I'm lost. Lost, in the middle of a familiar forest full of deadly animals. What the hell~. Hey, do you guys have any way to walk away from here? I guess you have been around here before..."
What a strange chap, is he talking to his left hand? Maybe he hit his head or something while being dragged by the cursed willow. Indeed indeed, he might be going bananas now, and that lack of survival instinct will cost him dearly in this place.
*SNAP!*
Another sound of a whip snap, and once again he was attacked, but not animals, but trees! The treefolk, which are strong and sturdy, yet gentle, slowly crawled their way to the devil fellow without stopping, and it was only too late when he noticed the coming flora, now surrounding and trapping him into their wood prison.
"N-Now, we must not be hasty."
He quotes something for some reason, and for that, the treefolk descend a barrage of slaps and throws at him, who could only brace himself and dodge their assault, jumping him way out of the wood prison! Me, who was hiding up to this point, saw him coming closer, and then he lands on the branch I was on, only to escape another slap from the flora, but not before we cross eyes. Such bright green stare, indeed indeed.
"Okay, now there must be something or someone messing with me."
He talks again to himself like the lunatic he is, now running away from the wandering branches that were still on chase. They are sturdy and strong, but in motion they're nothing but heavy and slow trees, which allowed both the devil chap and I to escape them. Finally out of their way, we found ourselves next to a lake, a deep dark lake which I always wary about. The devil chap looks over it, and slowly walks away. I guess he's learning...
*SNAP!*
*FUUUUUEEEEEE~!*
"Oh, COME ON!"
But unfortunately, wasn't enough to save us: another snap from a whip, and a massive ghost whale emerges from the depths of the lake and hurled itself against him, causing a massive shockwave and flood a portion of the forest! As fast I possible, my limbless body climbed the top of the trees and saw the disaster happening underneath it, the boy and my familiar peers being taken by the waves until they were washed away completely, even knocking some trees off and making familiars to fall.
In the end, they were all washed away, no rhyme or reason, the devil chap simply stood there immobile, like he was just admiring the full moon blessing us through. It took him like a few seconds to stand up and try again. What a strong fellow, I feel some heart in him too.
"Well, this has been a fiasco. I swear to whatever deity there is, I will punch the next threat that ever shows itself now. I don't care whatever it is, I'm gonna fucking...!"
*SNAP!*
*GROWL!*
And just like that, with another laugh and another snap, what comes his way came from the skies above, and landed right in front of him. I was blinded by the sheer power of its presence, but once it cleaned up, my entire body trembled seeing what was summoned in front of the boy: a massive, shiny, threatening sprite dragon that towered even the tallest treefolk, blue scales decorating its body while its mouth echoed a zapping sound, much more like wild electricity. The devil chap stared at the massive monster from top to bottom and then up again, while said dragon looked back with its dark stare, drool and lightning coming from its fanged mouth.
Oh, I heard about this one: he is a lone familiar, aka, a familiar who lost its master and returned to the familiar forest out of instinct. Those are rare since devils tend to live very long lives, but after the war, lots of them migrated back here for obvious reason. This one in particular was said to have a pretty powerful master who fought and died in the catastrophe, and thus returned here, being crowned the king of sprite dragons, not even yours truly trying to usurp such title. Indeed indeed, this one deserves our utmost respect and pity...
Now, silence. There were stares, there were small sounds, but neither the two beings staring nor any familiar in the vicinity tried anything, how could we? This was beyond our wildest dreams, and the sheer amount of dread and killing intent oozing from that single place could put any other being in this forest a run of their money. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours, all in less than a few instants, but in the end, the fellow devil sighed to himself, lowering his guard and turning to the massive beast in front of him...
"Sigh, whatever. There goes nothing..."
Hm? Is the chap giving up already? Compelling himself to his fate instead of humouring us with his agony or screams of terror? Gotta give it to him, that's bold in the face of a dragon, where lesser beings would probably attack out of desperation of beg for a quick death. I can respect this one, not even yours truly would react in such a way. He lowers his head as the sprite dragon comes closer and prepares to unleash a powerful roar.
Goodnight, boyo, I hope you find your peace in the afterlife or something...
"Konooooo~… Aoi hoshi waaaaa~…[In this blue star]"
Wait, what? Instead of accepting his fate, he simply starts..Singing? All the assaulting familiars and even the sprite dragon stopped on their attack, seeing the chap sing wih his heart out, as if he was on the brink of tears due to passion.
"Ima~… Ai ni dakare... Hikaruuuuu~… [Is now being lovingly embraced, in a bright shine]."
And then he finishes this line with a long pause, as if waiting for judgement to come, eyes closed and everything, regardless accepting what comes next. After that, silence.
Just... Silence.
…
"USO JA NAI ZEEEEE~![It's not a lie!]" Out of the sudden, the Sprite dragon lifts his head and starts to sing as well with his powerful voice.
"Yume ga odoru Chiryuu o![In the Earth where my dreams dance!]" And now the treefolk familiars continue where it left off, breaking their harden faces in order to put that same passion as the dragons.
"KOWASU YATSU WAAAAAA~...![AGAINST THE BAD GUYS DESTROYING IT...]" Continued the sprite dragon.
"... Ore ga damatchainai! [I won't stay in idle!]" Now water spirits undines are summoned from the depths of the lake to bless us with its powerful macho voices! From here, I can see that the spirit is back to the devil chap, who takes a deep breath and then does a pose with its fist in the air!
"Kattobi no PASSION...! [My overwhelming PASSION...!]" He sings, and overtaken by the passion and power of the song, I jump into frame and do a pose with my limbless body, the lights now turning to me.
"DRAGON BAAAAAAAALL~!" I finish.
As the song continues, more and more familiars of all species and sizes begin to gather around us as the sprite dragon grabs the smaller one and put it on his head, now turning this whole place and people into a giant familiar parade!
"PUNCH tobaseba...! [If you try a Punch...!]" The devil chap sings...
"... Kemuri no yô ni kieru! [It will dissapear like smoke!]" Continued the chorus of magical animals in the parade, the sprite dragon spilling lightning in a spectacle lights!
"Kondo no teki nya...! [Those enemies...!]" Now it was time for the azure dragon to start.
"... bikkuri gyôten shichau ze! [… Will take you aback by surprise!]" The rest sang.
"GO!" Chanted the undines while flexing their massive muscles.
"Yudan suru na! [Don't let your guard down!]" The chap mimicked them in a heartbeat! "(JUMP!) Gohan and Videl!"
"GO!" Lines of phoenixes, three-legged crows and wyverns dab at the same time.
"Moshi nakama ga...! [Even if my buddies...]" And again, the dragons mimic such move, another shower of sparkles flying off everywhere! "(KICK!) DOWN shite mo...![… Are beaten down!]"
"Saigo ni wa kono ore ga...! [In the end, if I don't do it...]" The blue one screams at the top of his lungs...
"Yaranakucha dare ga yaru?! [Then who will?!]" But it was completely eclipsed by the passioned little one, who made another pose atop his head!
"Uso ja nai ze o-…! [It is indeed not a lie...!]" The treefolk sing in unison, hand on hand crawling besides us.
"... Asobi wa koko made da! [… That I have been not serious until now!]" Unicorns, bicorns and pegasuses shake their manes sexily, beauty sparkles going everywhere!
"Misete yaru yo...! [Let me show you...!]" The hellhounds and Cerberuses howled into the moonlight for that!
"... Chou Saiyajin POWER! [The POWER of a super Saiyan!]" Gnomes, imps and rock golems pose for that one. In one final move, The boy jumps from his place on the Sprite Dragons head and makes a pose on the ground, again punching the sky!
"Suttobi no FIGHT...! [Is an extreme FIGHT...!]" The sang in chorus.
"DRAGON BAAAAAAAALL!" And again I jump into frame, making a pose in front of them as the instrumentals make their final note and the beat drops, sparkling lights everywhere!
DAN-DAN-DAN! DAN-DARAN-DAN! DAN!
WEEEEM! BAM! WEEEEEM! BAM! WEEEEEEEEM!
DAN-DAN-DAN-DAN!
…
…
"Okay, everybody, that was great! Everybody did their best, and it shows! Congratulations, folks! Now, we can end it for today! Again, a big thanks, you guys rule!"
And the devil chap smiles to the parade of familiars at his back, clapping excitingly as every one of them nods and smirks proudly at each other, soon dismissing all the hostilities and leaving the place and the boy behind, all happily and satisfied with each other, completely forgetting what brought them here in the first place. All of them... But me. Indeed indeed, I am the top dog regarding intelligence here!
Once they were all out, the boy simply turned away and started to walk to a random direction, his smiley face now dropping to a wary grimace, probably doing his best to not call for the wrath of the beasts that not too long ago wanted a piece of him.
Fine, strong, intelligent and quite nimble and understands his way out of dangerous situations. Perhaps... Besides, this smell, he has some relation to dragons, I can feel it. All of those mashed in such an interesting young man... I guess... Perhaps... Huh, why not?
"Okay, now to get the hell out of here... I don't care if I don't get a familiar, I rather survive away from this...!" And he walks away from the crowd of familiars, but stops dead on tracks when he sees me, all confrontational standing in his way. He takes a few steps back in surprise. I suppose it was too much for now, indeed indeed, seeing a massive, limbless familiar like me might be a bit of a shock even after encountering a dragon. After that, his eyes sharpen a little, and he adopts a new pose. "Okay, get the hell away from me, you snake bastard. I suppose I can't convince you to get away by singing CHA-LA-HEAD-CHA-LA, right?"
Aggressive little fella, ain'tcha? But I guess I would be wary too if I went through what he went. We stare at each other for a few seconds, no reaction, but then I slowly bowed to him, as in a reverence to say I mean no harm. I would lift both my hands to show I'm unarmed too, but alas, I lack limbs to do so. Hohohohoh, such a comedy king I am, indeed indeed.
"What are you planning? Anything at all?" He declares with me still with a lowered head. It seems that moment was only a spark of genius and he needs some motivation to understand. I see. I have an idea. Slowly as possible, I lay on the floor and crawl myself all the way to him. He looks a bit worried, but once I reach his leg, I slightly tap the tip of his remaining shoe and flick my tongue, sharing stares with that green orbs of his. He blinks in confusion a bit, but takes a deep breath. I guess I'm getting into his thick skull. Again, as slow as possible, I hang myself around his leg and start to climb my way upwards. I sense that it was too much for him. "H-Hey! Watch it, snake! What the hell are you doing...?!"
I say nothing, only hiss as now I wrap myself around his body, my lower end hanging from one of his legs as I embrace his torso and circle his head like a scarf, resting my jaw on his shoulder. I am ever so loosely wrapped around his body, yet I can feel that despite his slender frame, he's quite toned, and the aura around him is very powerful, overwhelming even. He freezes for a few seconds, but I feel him now lower his guard, and then he turns to me.
"So, uh... We cool?" He speaks. I simply flick my tongue at him and nod. Even with my signs, he's still a bit tense regarding my presence, so he walks ever so slowly and choppily into a random direction. After a while, he simply accepts our unspoken deal and starts to walk in a normal way. "I guess we're buddies now, eh? At least I got something from that mess..."
Huh, he says this, but I was the one who won. A possible master like this... Even for a free spirit like me... Is hard to come by.
Indeed indeed.
"Oh, it's Ichijou! Hey, Ichijou...!"
"Tsukino-chin...!"
"Hong Long...!"
"Ichijou-san...!"
"Ichijou-kun...!"
"Yo." I tiredly lift a hand to greet my peerage and Lattyon-san, not even bothering to say anything else despite their worried looks. I just had to escape from an otherwise deadly situation plus a walk of twenty minutes trying to find them, I have no forces to even bother anymore. Soon, despite my sluggish pace, they come for my aid.
"By Lucifer, I'm glad you're okay! The familiar forest is dangerous even with a familiar master around! I'm so sorry for not seeing you getting kidnapped or whatever, I know you wouldn't wander on your own and...!" Rina begins to wail, face tighten and trying her best not to cry, but she snaps back when she notices the... Thing wrapped on my neck, my body and hanging on one of my legs. "... Uh... Ichijou... You do know there's a snake around your body... Right?"
"Yes. It followed me here." I said, pointing with my chin the long, bronze-scaled, dark-eyed snake-like familiar that was resting its head on my shoulder. It simply flicks its tongue out and bows politely, at least I guess it bowed. "I dunno what's the deal with it, but I guess it likes me. I didn't try to kill me, at least."
"Oh, fascinating." Lattyon-san comes closer to me to try to take a look at the snake around my neck. Unlike what I expected, the scaled beast simply turned its head elsewhere and made a proud pose, as if it was saying 'take a photo, it'll last longer'. The familiar master took a quick glance at it, and nodded. "I see, I see. This one seems to be quite intelligent, at least enough to be vain, and I suppose since it was the one who chose you, perhaps has some form of self-awareness? Those are rare in familiars. I must say, you got yourself quite a treat, Ichijou-kun. However, that does not excuse my carelessness regarding your safety. I apologize for realizing only too late your missing self. Forgive me."
"C'mon now, Lattyon-san, it... It happens." I wave a hand negatively to his bowing self to assure him that it was okay, those things happen all the time, again his politeness disarming me completely. I know it's not his fault, and that only makes matters worse. Man, I should be the one apologizing, he's just such a nice person. Better change the subject. I tilt my head to the rest of my peerage, all of them carrying some sort of animal with them. "It seems everybody also found their match."
"Yep. New pet, super cute." Said the witch, petting the small white owl that was resting on her shoulder. It barked a little in response. A witch and an owl, why am I not surprised? It was kinda cute too. "Named it Hedwiges. Avoid copyright issues."
"By whom?" I ask. She just shrugs.
"Look, Ichijou-san! I got myself a familiar that isn't afraid of me!" Now who calls for my attention is Whiswain, lifting happily the black cat in her possession, who mews at me with a kitty grin. It's small and very cute too, but for some reason it has a really freaky aura around it. Makes sense, it's a black cat. "I named him Tom! Say 'hi', Tom!"
"Meow." It answers me. I'm not gonna ruin her fun, she's probably the happiest right now. I turn to my last member, the sole rook, and I notice that she wasn't carrying any animal with herself. Oh no, did she scare all of them? Tough luck.
"Sensei, didn't you find an animal for yourself? That's too bad." I said to her. For that, she laughs a little, almost like a giggle, and then nods back.
"Oh, you think mine is as small as others? Sorry to deceive you, Hong Long. But I found my fit in here." She laughs. I tilt my head in confusion, and she whistles into the forest, making everyone around flinch and jump away from her. Wait, what? Out of the sudden, from the depths of the woods, a large hellhound appears next to her! Black as the night and just as vicious, not to mention it was massive! No wonder they ran off! "Here's mine. Isn't it beautiful? I named it Cujo. Although its size might prove itself quite difficult to retain some form of practicality. Cujo, greet your fellow familiars, for they are your family now!"
And the beast from hell howled, almost bursting my eardrums and blowing a few trees away. Some people are just not fun. But at least we got what we came here for, and that's all that matters. I guess...
"In the name of Tsukino Ichijou of the Gremory house, I make thee my servant. That we share pains and wonders together from now on, my dear familiar." And with one final chant, I was able to finish the contract between me and the snake familiar. The rune under it vanished and nothing of new was added, the familiar simply nodded and now I can feel we're somehow bonded. Huh, it was simpler than I thought. The snake again crawls itself on me and wraps around my body. "Wasn't half-bad, was it? I guess not. Now, to give you a name..."
"Oh! Oh! You're gonna name it?! Awesome! That's always the best part!" Rina jumps up and down next to me in clear excietment. This one loves giving names to things, although not always they sound cool, I have one or two exceptions. However, I already have one in mind. "Since it's a snake, you're gonna give it a badass name like 'Orochi', or 'Cobra' or 'Hydra', right?! Ow, better yet! How about some really kickass related ones like 'Ladon' or 'Fang' or 'Poison'?! Perhaps something that sounds and means something cool...!"
"Montresor."
"..."
"...?"
"Montresor. I guess it's a good name." I ask, turning my attention to the viper next to me, which looks pensive for a second, but then nods with a catty smile. Rina is still a bit baffled by my choice of names. For that, I just shrug. "I mean, 'Nemo me impune lacessit' sounds cool, right?"
"Your poetry classes are really paying off, eh?" She sighs, but then giggles with a light tap on my shoulder. I blush a little, scratching my cheek sheepishly as the snake around me licks my face. In the end, all of our familiar companions leave and walk/fly/crawl back into the woods, but not before waving or signing one last goodbye, with us doing the same.
"Very well, very well. Now that you have successfully bonded with your familiars, you can summon them wherever and whenever you like using this special rune." Lattyon-san continues with his lecture, passing us a small piece of paper with a rune unscripted on it, the same rune we used to bond with our familiars. "This rune is the one you'll use in order to summon them. It's a simple incantation, so just imagine your familiar while concentrating some demonic power into them and you will be able call them. With practice, you'll even be able to summon them from your mind, so memorize it well."
"Neat." I said, looking at the rune. Calling Montresor wherever and whenever I want, that's convenient, although I don't do it while it is minding its own business, or at least tell me who it's going so that I won't bother it. Everybody seems satisfied, so I guess we're done for today. I turn to my king. "Well, it was a hell of a trip, but I guess we're done now, eh?"
"Yes, we are. Fortunately, everything went as expected, and everyone got a nice familiar." She sighs, satisfied, seeing everyone happy and talking to each other about their new pets. Kaji, wherever you are, I hope you're happy. My redhead king gives her uncle in-law a big hug and receives a headpat in return. Calm down, she's just being affectionate, no need to be upset! "Thanks a bunch, uncle Lattyon! You're just the best familiar master in the world!"
"You give me too much credit, Bero-bero. I still have much to learn." He smiles. "Well then, have a safe trip, Bero-bero and pieces. May the demon lord smile to your day and beyond."
"Yes. Thanks for everything. See you ar-…!"
"Not so fast, DEAR LOVERS OF NATURE!"
"What...?!" But we couldn't leave just yet as another figure appeared. We were a bit lost considering the voice came from nowhere, but we soon saw the source of that voice: sitting seductively on a tree branch, was a dark-skinned, wild-haired, grey-eyed young woman wearing a swimsuit maid outfit, with a black whip guarded on her hip and a smile decorating her face. Once they saw her, Lattyon-san let out a small laugh while Rina chuckled and pointed at her. "Ah! Revoll-chan! Long time no see!"
"Hello, Berolina. I shall deal with you later." The maid says, now turning her attention to me. Oh crap, don't tell she's one of them. "You, red dragon emperor. I, Revoll Teamo, am..."
*CRACK!*
"Kyah...!" And her moment was cut short when the branch holding her couldn't take her weight and snapped in the worst moment possible, making her fall face-first onto the ground. There was a beat after that, and once she could tell left from right, Revoll-san started to massage her bruised face. "Owowowow~…"
"Revoll, dear, how many times do I have to tell you to not play around on branches?" Lattyon-san says while coming closer to her and hand her a handkerchief, which she took it to clean her face. Wait, both of them have the same name? Does that mean she's somehow related to my King? Questions for later. Once she recovers from her fall, her bombastic entrance continues.
"CAHAM... As I was saying... You, red dragon emperor." The swimsuit dark-skinned maid points again at me, completely ignoring the eyes on her, while getting closer and closer in a sexy catwalk, her feminine attributes shaking with every step, so much it forced me to look away. "It seems that you were able to completely and utterly tame the several beasts your way. Master Noin did say you would be a tough cookie to break, but to see you be able to control even a sprite dragon and several of my familiars... How romantic. You truly are a presence to be feared."
"Wait... You're telling me that all of that was your fault?!" I shout back, probably making a face. No wonder all those attacks didn't seem random and i heard some noises every time they would assault me, she even got the whip! She was the one who was dealing all that shit! I almost died with those! "Why, you little...!"
"Hold your horses, my dear sekiryuutei. I might have thrown my dear familiars at you for the trial, but after your display of bravery and power... What can I say? You passed this maid's trial." She comes closer, completely ignoring my rage assault, and instead holds me in a half-hug, her massive jugs colliding with my chest as her hand goes lower to her navel, where a piercing was. She snapped it off her skin and put it in my mouth, licking her lips with a dreamy face. "Revoll Teamo, my pride being to tame and care the wilds as family, give you my commitment ring as a reward. And if you like... *LICK*, maybe something else."
"Fang yuu, I gweff..." I said, holding the commitment ring on my lips. Huh, ring getto, I guess, although this one feels so weird. One, two seconds pass, and I notice that the weird comes from the fact that everyone was looking at was weird. I pushed Revoll-san in a moment of clarity, and recomposed myself, snapping the ring off and putting in my pocket. "I-I mean, thank you, but I'll pass your offer."
"Oh wow, hard to get? I like it..." She licks her lips again. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with those girls?
"Uh, Ichijou, what is going on?" Rina asks me, and then... I froze. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Don't tell me he heard us? Of course she heard it! But then again, maybe it's not too late! I lift both my hands and try to dismiss it, starting with the obvious, but then she cuts me. "Something about Noin-chan? Commitment rings? Maid trials? What's going on?"
"Uh..." I dumbfoundedly tried to come up with something as accusatory eyes stare at me to the point I thought they wanted to carve a hole with stares alone. However, the one to take action was Revoll-san, and then...
"Oh, didn't you know, Berolina? Well, you see, master Noin and the sekiryuutei..."
"No, Revoll-san! Wait...!"
But it was too late, the swimsuit maid started telling my king everything that happened and was made between me and the headmaid known as Noin Abraxas, and from curious, Rina went amused, then surprised, then nervous, then mad, then pissed, then angry, then furious, then irate, then wrathful, then vexed, then...
Well, I think you get the idea.
And for that, I could only muster a single word...
.. Shit.
To tame and care the wild beasts as family, that's her pride as a maid. In the name of Gremory.
Ufuu~. To think I would finish a chapter in the first week of the year. Maybe because I already had the chapter in mind, hence why it came so earlier.
But hello again, DxD fandom. It's Houki Minami again with this little story and debuting the year 2021 with a chapter in the first week. Maybe i was inspired today and something good happened my way, but regardless of such, here's the chapter. Our dear evil pieces get their familiar companions and now Ichijou got a new pet, the sneaky snake familiar Montresor, who apparently has a thing for him. Are familiar genderless? Maybe the sexual tension between a boy and his pet snake was too much, Tasha would have a field trip. We also got introduced to the new maid, and with her loose tongue, all hell shall break loose next chapter. But yeah, everyone got a new familiar and we all had fun.
BTW, the song that the familiars and Ichijou sang was the ending song from Dragon Ball Z's 13th film: Wrath of dragon, named 'Ore ga Yaranakya Dare ga Yaru'. The film has a special place in my heart despite being nothing special and the song is quite a banger. Does it make this a songfic chapter? I hope not. At least is bettee than just slap "SONG: XXXXXXX" and wait for people to imagine the events with it in the background. At least make it part of the story, otherwise its dumb!
With this rant out of the way, I hope you liked the chapter and hope for more! Hou ki Minami out!
Ikkun's friends and their predecessors
[Ichijou] - Ichijou deeply respects Issei and but wouldn't see him as friends or even close if they shared classes. He also thinks Akeno is a beautiful woman and would probably admire her from afar, but once known, Ichijou wouldn't want to hang out with her or make friends with, probably out of fear of her S-mode.
[Shiori] - Shiori would hire bodyguards to turn Motohama and Matsuda into mush. She knows Kuoh is fullof perverts, but they would be history if they tried anything with her.
[Berolina] - She would have a girl crush on Rias, following and kissing the floor she walks, making the gremory heiress uncomfortable. Rina would wonder why Rias wouldn't want to be friends with her.
[Kurama] - Yasaka, mother of us all. She sees the wise fox as a close friend and master, and likes to talk about her with others, especially Kunou.
[Annabelle] - Annie would have a hard time dealing with the pretty boy known as Kiba Yuuto, would prank on him and shove him into embarrassing situations only to backfire and take it in strikes like the mr. prince charming that he is. Would probably develop a crush on the guy.
[Tasha] - On the worst occassion, she would turn Gaspard into her boytoy, and Rias would kill her, but not before traumatizing the poor dhumpir.
[Liu Bei] - Koneko would sleep and rest on Liu Bei's immense bosom and she would spoil the Nekomata rotten like a kitty. Since she doesn't drink, she would be Roseweisse's chauffer off the bars and nanny her back to health and the hangover after.
[Whiswain] - Her and Asia would get along just fine, not that close, but close enough to make good memories of. They would hang out together and talk about nice stuff and play in the fliperamas a lot.
[Guan Yu] - CATFIGHT WITH XENOVIA! MUSCLEHEAD VS. MUSCLEHEAD! ONLY TONIGHT!
[Serena] - She doesn't like to talk about grandma Sona that much since she usually thinks of her as an hypocritical bitch, but if she stops and listens, she would share and understand where Sona was going for and find some new respect for her. She would help Genshirou shotgun marry her grandmother.
[Yagura] - She doesn't know, everyone sacrificied themselves for her father, and they probably wouldn't want to talk to her.
[Lucrezia] - She respects and look up to Grayfia, some of her mannerisms even mimicking the super silver-haired maid. Just like her, Grayfia would be solidary and help Lukky overcome her imcompactibility with Nemesis and they would lick each other's wounds regarding loved ones.
[Irene] - She has a great deal of respect for the demon lord of Beelzebub, how he created the Evil Pieces and the immense intellect not even her mother could match. However, Irene also wants to become stronger than him.
[Raven] - Raven resents Ravel a bit. She was an intelligent and powerful devil and deserved her place in history, but she only wished she didn't look a lot like her. Raven stopped kissing her dear grandfather because he would remember and cry as a result.
MAID FILES: Revoll Teamo
- The Fourth and final maid under Noin's tutelage. She's the same age as Haen, 18-years old.
-She and Berolina are not actually related: She is the daughter of Lattyon's late wife, who later married Cohen's sister Flora. Hence they're not related by blood in anyway, but still know each other.
- Because of the death of her mother, she has a hard time socializing, but had no problems dealing with animals of all sorts. Noin taught that to be an extremely useful ability, and thus gave them the idea to become a beastmaster, something that Revoll does with gusto nowadays.
- She doesn't know how to deal with people most of the time, but she is quite flirty and seductive because she likes to see reactions. When with animals, however, she tends to be careful, docile and motherly on one time and commanding, headstrong and tyrannical on another. Most of the beasts in the familiar forest knows she's strong and smart to tame them when she wants to.
- Her commitment ring is on her navel which contains a small vial of antidote for most venoms from wild familiars.
- She's agile, extremely nimble and has a great knowledge of animals and mythical creatures, several familiars under her command which she can control with whip signs, whistles or calls. She is also not all that bad wielding a whip. She's an animalistic dominatrix!
- Seeing from afar, she thought Ichijou might have potential to even stronger and bigger familiars. Since he's a guy, she also can't lose the opportunity to mess with him a little, either salaciously or not.