Chapter 41
Disclaimer: I do not own High school DxD or Fairy Tail they are property of Ichiei Ishibumi and Hiro Masima respectively.
Kriim-Sauce786: I'm happy you are enjoying the story so far, and I agree, that would have been funny. Your review gave me an idea with how I will go about having Koneko and Kurako developing their relationship with Natsu as the centre point and if you don't mind I will probably use what you suggested since I really like it.
-Train station in the Underworld-
Rias and Wendy were the last of the ORC group who still needed to board the train that would take them back to the human world.
"And remember you are always welcome to drop by any time you want," Venelana said as she embraced her daughters.
"See you Mom, Dad," Rias said with a wave as she boarded the train shortly followed by Wendy after she said her own good-byes.
Once the ORC group boarded the train, Wendy, Asia, Kiba and Issei took their seats and started to talk about everything that had happened while they were in the Underworld while Koneko searched for something to snack on. Akeno and Rias stood to one side as they looked out the window and just observed the beautiful view of the Underworld.
As Akeno and Rias were looking out of the window they saw Koneko taking a seat away from the others. Exchanging a look the two went to the Nekoshou to see if everything was okay.
"Hey Koneko, mind if we join you?" Akeno asked as they approached her. Koneko didn't make any move or even acknowledged them which concerned the two older girls.
"Hey Koneko, is everything okay?" Rias asked as she sat down next to Koneko and rested her hand on the white-haired girl's shoulder. Koneko's head shot up with an alarmed look on her face at Rias' touch, but once she saw the concerned faces of both Rias and Akeno she regained her composed expression.
"Sorry Rias, did you want something?" Koneko asked.
"We were wondering if we could join you for a moment," Akeno answered with a smile. Koneko gave them a short nod as the two took a seat on either side of the smaller girl.
"Koneko, is there something bothering you?" Rias asked once they were comfortable. Koneko's eyes narrowed a bit and she looked down at her feet which was answer enough for the two.
"We are here to help you Koneko, so please don't bottle everything up, it's not good for your health," Rias said as she laid a comforting hand on Koneko's shoulder once again.
"It's not really something you can help me with, sorry," Koneko said as she looked up at the older girls.
"Maybe we can give you another point of view if you tell us what's bothering you," Akeno suggested with a gentle smile.
"It's about Kuroka and my Nekoshou powers," Koneko said with a sigh as she looked down to her hands. A light blue aura began to flicker in her palm before vanishing.
"Would you be willing to tell me what's bothering you?" Rias asked with her concern for her rook evident in her voice.
"During that battle with Loki, I was able to harness this power but after Kuroka arrived it seems like I am unable to manifest it on my own. Every time I try I begin to call upon it but before I have enough power to do something with it vanishes," Koneko said with a sigh and a saddened look.
"The first time you activated your powers, how did you do it?" Akeno asked.
"I actually didn't do anything. It was during the time Loki attacked you guys at the gathering and when I first saw Kuroka again. Natsu said that he was awakening the power that I already had," Koneko explained, the saddened look ever-present. 'Am I just a failure?' Koneko thought.
"And what about during the battle with those wolves, There you were able to bring out your powers," Rias said as she remembered seeing Koneko with cat ears and a tail.
"I think that was more to do with being in the heat of battle, I was just trying to beat the wolf so that no one will get hurt," Koneko confessed.
"That's a wonderful motivation Koneko," Rias said with a smile.
"Koneko, you said that Natsu helped you activate your powers the first time around, won't he be able to help you with this as well?" Akeno asked. Koneko looked at Akeno with a blank stare for a moment before smashing her head into the table in front of her, surprising Rias and Akeno.
"K-Koneko are you all right, why did you do that?" Rias asked in surprise while Akeno quickly stood up and went to fetch an ice pack for Koneko.
"I'm an idiot, I never thought about asking Natsu," Koneko said with a groan as she happily accepted the ice pack Akeno offered.
Akeno and Rias looked at one another with a smile but their attention was pulled towards Koneko as she asked them a question.
"Uhm, do you guys know what this is?" Koneko asked as she pointed to a small lizard made entirely of fire that was standing on the table. Once Akeno turned to look at it the lizard made its way towards her and once it reached the edge of the table it looked up at her in expectation.
"Do you know what this is Akeno?" Rias asked, seeing the lizard looking at Akeno.
"I have no idea," Akeno said as she started moving her hand towards the fiery lizard. She heard muffled expressions of surprise and words of warning but they never reached her as she was fixated on the little fire lizard. She placed her open hand on the table and the lizard quickly ran up her arm and onto her shoulder.
As the lizard did this even more shouts came from the two next to her and the three gained the attention of the other ORC members. The lizard made its way to where Akeno's mating mark was and dove into it, disappearing without a trace.
A smile formed on Akeno's face as she heard the voice of the man she loved speaking to her in her mind.
"Ak…en...Akeno," Rias' voice finally reached her as she snapped out of her trance.
"Everything is fine Rias," Akeno reassured her friend with a smile ever-present on her face.
"How can you be so calm, that fire-lizard thing just jumped into your neck. Wendy Asia, quick help her," Rias shouted with a concerned tone.
"Rias, I'm fine, Natsu sent that lizard here with a message," Akeno said with a serious tone, not wanting her friend to be worried for her.
"Wait what do you mean?" Rias asked with a questioning glare while still motioning for Wendy and Asia to look at Akeno.
"From what I understand, Natsu created that lizard with his magic and with it he sent me a message," Akeno said with a smile.
"Wow, to think someone can send a message like that…" Xenovia said in wonder.
"So what was the message about?" Rias asked, a bit of worry still left in her eyes but much more at ease.
Akeno only smiled as the peerage tried to get her to reveal what the message said until the train arrived at the station in Kuoh.
"Still going to be stubborn about this?" Rias asked already having given up cracking Akeno and now she only wants the rest of the peerage to give it a break because hours upon hours of constant asking was getting on her nerves.
"Might as well tell you since you had to go through all of that without the enjoyment," Akeno said with a giggle.
"Of course you give in as soon as the others aren't around," Rias sighed with a smile as she had a feeling Akeno might do something like this.
"Well, that might have played a minor role, but more importantly Natsu asked me to meet him at the park as once we get here so I just wanted to let you know that I'm off," Akeno said.
"What got a date with him?" Rias asked sarcastically but once she saw the slight blush on Akeno's face her eyes widened.
"No way, you're going on your first actual date," Rias squealed in joy. She grabbed hold of Akeno's arm and started pulling her toward their home.
"Hey Rias what are you doing?" Akeno asked as she tried in vain to escape the vice-like grip of her best friend.
"I will not allow my best friend to wear that on her first date," Rias stated as she pulled the helpless Akeno to their home.
-The Kuoh public park-
Natsu was sitting on a blanket that was under a tree as he stared up at the sky, deep in thought. A scent invaded his nose as a smile formed on his face.
Akeno was walking towards him dressed in a light purple sundress with black trimmings, a thin black belt around her middle. She was wearing black sandals and a light purple wide-brimmed hat.
"You look beautiful," Natsu said as he stood up and embraced Akeno.
"Thank you and you don't look too bad yourself," Akeno replied with a bright smile. Natsu was wearing a simple white t-shirt and a pair of black dress pants and black shoes. Akeno saw a dark grey jacket neatly folded next to a basket on the blanket Natsu had been sitting on.
"Hope you're hungry, I made a few things," Natsu said with a smile as he opened the basket, revealing an assortment of different cheese, fruits, pastries, a quiche and a jar of juice.
"That looks wonderful," Akeno said as she took a seat on the blanket. Natsu started taking out the food and allowed Akeno to choose some first. She decided to try the quiche fist and once the mixture of cheese, ham and peppers touched her tongue she couldn't help but let out a moan.
Throughout the meal, the two started chatting about various things with no real direction until the food was nearly done. Natsu took out the last item in the basket which was a small pie but had a sweet aroma about it.
"Hope you don't mind some apple pie," Natsu said as he offered her a slice.
"I love it," Akeno smiled as she happily accepted the slice and marvelled in the taste.
"So do you have any specific request for where you want to go on this date?" Natsu asked as he wanted to make sure that if Akeno had any requests that he would accommodate them in combination with the few things he had planned.
"To be honest, I have no idea even what to do on a date, this is the first one I have ever been on," Akeno said with a soft voice and a blush as she looked down to the ground.
She felt a finger under her chin as Natsu made her raise her head and their eyes met. Natsu placed a quick kiss on her lips before a smile formed on his face.
"Then I will just have to ensure this is an unforgettable date," Natsu said with a toothy grin as he stood up and offered Akeno a hand.
"Do you enjoy a good festival?" Natsu asked with a grin as an idea popped into his head.
"I simply love festivals, but there aren't any around though," Akeno said with a confused expression.
"True there isn't anything here, but I know a place with quite an amazing festival around this time of year," Natsu said as his grin grew even larger.
"And you are saying that we can go there?" Akeno asked with a hopeful twinkle in her eyes. Natsu merely extended his hand and as soon as she took it he pulled her into a tight embrace before the two were surrounded by a mixture of different colour flames.
Once the flames died down Akeno's eyes widened in shock as a massive palace stood before them with light orange-brown roofs and deeper orange colour on the walls. Pillars supported the overhanging roof was lit up by red, yellow and green lights, similar to most of the surrounding area.
"This is known as the Forbidden City, we are currently in Beijing to enjoy their New Year Festival," Natsu explained with an amused smile seeing the awestruck look on Akeno's face.
"Amazing, and look there are even Dragons here," Akeno said with a smile as she saw the Dragons in the parade. Natsu chuckled at the obvious excitement that Akeno displayed.
"Why don't we get a bit close to the parade?" Natsu suggested. The rest of the early evening the two enjoyed the Chinese New Year Celebration and Akeno had a large smile plastered on her face the entire time.
Once the sun had set the two had found a seat in a park where they were able to see the Forbidden City and the lights that lit up the massive palace.
"This next part will be amazing," Natsu said as he pointed towards the palace. Just as Akeno turned to look a firework was set off. It exploded in a burst of yellow, white and green lights that soon formed an image of an Ox. This was followed by multiple fireworks filling the night sky with their brilliant lights.
A serene smile came to Natsu's face as he saw the look of pure happiness on Akeno's face. He slowly cupped her cheek as she turned to look at him and their eyes met with their love for one another filling their gaze. Natsu brought her closer as the two shared a loving kiss that stretched on until they had to break apart for breath.
"I love you Natsu," Akeno said as she rested her head on his shoulder and continued to look at the fireworks show.
"I love you too, Akeno," Natsu said as he snaked his arm around her middle.
The show ended as Akeno nearly fell asleep on Natsu's shoulder thanks to the excitement of the day combined with the warmth he was giving off.
"Akeno, there is one more thing I wanted to show you today. Would you be able to stay awake until then?" Natsu asked softly as he saw her nearly drifting off to sleep.
Akeno smiled up at him as she sat up straight. Taking that as a 'yes' Natsu once again pulled her close to himself and surrounded them with the multi-coloured flames.
When the flames disappeared the two were nearly on top a barren mountain range. Akeno gave Natsu a questioning look as this was a bit strange, considering the other places she was shown today and the fact that she had no idea where they were.
"We are currently in the Dragon Realm, at the other side of this ridge there is something I wanted to show you for some time now," Natsu said as he indicated to the mountain behind him.
Natsu led Akeno to the top of the ridge and once she looked at what was on the other side her eyes widened at the beauty of what she saw.
A vast canyon spread out in front of them. There was a river flowing at the bottom of the canyon but Akeno could see that something was up with the river. The foliage that scattered the terrain looked livelier than what plants were supposed to look. But the thing that demanded the most attention was the skies.
The sky was filled with different coloured bolts of lightning raining down their thunderous claps on the canyon below. Akeno could see red, orange, yellow, purple and black lightning raining down on the surface below.
"I never knew lightning could be in these colours," Akeno said with wide eyes as she turned and saw Natsu smiling at her.
"This canyon is known as the Skies of Thunder. If you look closely you will be able to see that the river consists of blue lightning and the plants are actually green bolts of lightning," Natsu said.
Akeno looked in amazement as she saw that what Natsu said was indeed true.
"This place is simply amazing," Akeno said in awe.
Natsu raised his hand towards the sky as a beautiful golden bolt of lightning raced down towards them. Akeno was about to cry out in shock when she saw that the lightning bolt started dancing around Natsu's arm instead of electrocuting him.
"This golden colour can only be achieved by the purest form of lightning. A lightning that doesn't burn yet burn, a lightning that destroys whatever it comes into contact with yet births new life, a lightning that obeys yet is free," Natsu said as the bolt began to circle around itself in the palm of his hand.
"That's amazing, but how are you able to control it?" Akeno asked as she felt the amazing latent power in the golden lightning.
"As the Dragon King, I have some proficiency with all the elements and lightning is the element I am the most proficient with after fire. I have spent weeks in this canyon trying to gain control over lightning during my training. To control this golden lightning one must be able to hold all other forms at once," Natsu explained as he moved his other hand over the bolt of lightning in his palm.
"How is that even possible, to control all of these different kinds of lightning at once?" Akeno asked as she looked out to the canyon once again.
"I was nearly impossible, to be honest. Once I managed it I fell unconscious for several weeks. I haven't used lightning that much yet since there are rarely opponents that warrant that amount of power," Natsu said as he walked up behind Akeno.
Akeno was so fascinated that she didn't feel Natsu putting something on her neck until he had already done it. Looking down what she saw brought a tear to her eye. Natsu somehow moulded the bolt of golden lightning into a necklace. The chain it was attacked to seemed very delicate, yet strong, a thin silver chain that resembled one of the long Chinese Dragons they saw at the festival. Attached to the chain was the golden bolt of lightning.
Akeno was stunned by the beauty of the bolt and the fact that it seemed to be calm and static while still giving off the feeling that it was brimming with electric power.
Akeno jumped on to Natsu and nearly caused them to fall down as she began covering him with kisses as words of thanks. Natsu laid out the blanket they used for the picnic before he gently laid Akeno down on it.
"I love you," Natsu said.
"I love you too," Akeno replied.
Well guys, for this story I think this is the longest chapter yet. I just want to say that I don't really care too much for any possible timing problem concerning the Chinese New Year Festival since I wanted to put it in due to it being upon us and I thought it would work well with having Akeno and Natsu being there on a date. As for the beginning of this chapter I also didn't want to jump straight into the date since I never had the chance to set it up. Hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review with your thoughts and I will see you in the next one.
