Notice: I've finally admitted that my 'one shots' and even my 'short stories' are neither. Except for the sole one shot I did(For The Mistress), every single one of them has been the start of a whole fic. So I've decided to treat them as such, and I will be calling them Side Fics from now on. My Main Fic is Gamer of the Void, and it will be until I finish it. But on the first of each month, I'll either update one of my Side Fics, start a new one, or do an actual one-shot. I've also added Villain of the Void to my list of Side Fics, so that has a chance at being updated soon. But the majority of my focus will still be on Gamer of the Void.
With that out of the way, enjoy my latest side fic, With These Swords!
Things started innocently enough. It was simple nerves that kept him awake that night. Tomorrow was the day they left the Gremory estate and moved to Kuoh, where they would enroll in the school as students.
Logically, he knew it would be fine. Devils weren't so different from humans when it came to basic social interactions, and the Gremory's were especially similar. So there shouldn't be any problems with him getting along with others his age.
But nerves and emotions cared little for rationality. It was the third big change in his life. The first had led to doom, the second had saved him from that doom. What would this one bring? That was the question that had him unable to sleep, wandering the dim halls of the Gremory estate.
It was only after he had patrolled the entire estate and was on the way back to his room to try to sleep once more that he heard it. The faint whimpering noise of a girl in pain. It only took him a second to find the source of the noise; the door to Koneko's bedroom.
He paused. It wasn't the first time Koneko had cried out in her sleep. Rias, their master, had insisted on giving the nekoshou girl her space though, letting her come to terms with what she went through at her own pace. That had rankled Kiba, but he had accepted it. Rias was the one that had saved him after all. If she believed that was best, he didn't feel that he was any more qualified than her to say otherwise.
But…was that true? He had been just as bad- no, he had been even worse than Koneko when Rias first saved him. And she had mostly left him alone, allowing him to work through it. But he hadn't worked through it by himself. There had been someone that helped give him a push and open his eyes, directing his anger away from the irrational path it originally took, and putting him on the right one.
He was far from recovered from his past and his trauma, but he had a goal to work towards, and a plan to get there, both of which helped clear his mind and prevent him from descending into the mindless rage he had been drowning in when Rias first found him. Rias had been pleased, and in a way, you could say her strategy of "do nothing and let them sort it out naturally" worked.
But he hadn't done it alone, and there was no one there for Koneko. The girl had wrapped herself in a barrier, keeping everyone else at arm's reach. She smiled and talked to them, but she wouldn't let anyone get too close. Rias and Akeno made no attempts to step past the boundary she had set. And, because of that, neither had Kiba.
But he was going to change that. Rias was wrong. She needed help, at least a little bit. And if Rias and Akeno wouldn't provide it, he would.
So, when Kiba heard another whimper from behind her door, he gently knocked on it. There was no response at first, but he didn't hear the sound of her whimpering anymore either. As he was about to knock again, he heard a faint voice. "Who is it?"
"It's Kiba," he said. "Can I come in?"
Another moment of silence. He waited patiently. He knew this was outside of the norm for both of them, and he'd accept it if she said no. He didn't want to push his way into her comfort zone. He had needed to be snapped awake, but Koneko's situation was different. A gentler approach was required.
The door suddenly opened up a crack, Koneko's face peeking out. "Why?" she asked, her words brief and clipped, but her tone wasn't unkind.
"I'm actually kind of nervous," Kiba admitted with a small smile. "I couldn't fall asleep, so I took a walk. I heard you so I assumed you were awake too, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to talk or hang out for a bit."
He hadn't assumed she was awake, but he was giving her an out, and an excuse, by making it about him being nervous and not her own issues. A small part of his mind noted that this situation wasn't unlike swordplay. Koneko was defensive, with a tight guard. Rather than try to push hard and be punished for it, he needed to be indirect, and use feints.
The look she gave him seemed to indicate she didn't fully believe him, but she nodded anyway, opening the door and stepping back, inviting him in. He smiled gratefully at her and entered her room, shutting the door behind him.
Koneko's room looked much like his own. It was large and filled with ornate furniture, fit for royalty. And like his own room, very little had been done to personalize it. Where Kiba had an armor stand, Koneko had a punching bag. He had books on war and strategy on his bookshelf, and Koneko had music albums and a laptop. But otherwise, their rooms had the same furniture, sheets, and curtains.
Koneko sat on her bed, drawing her legs up to her chest. His eyes glanced over her, assessing her. She was wearing a large and baggy t-shirt that went down to her knees. Though with the way she was sitting, it only went down to her waist. Thankfully for her modesty, she was also wearing a pair of athletic shorts.
But they were pretty short and left most of her legs exposed though, and Kiba's instincts told him sitting across from her where he would primarily be looking at her slender legs, was a bad idea. So, awkward as it was, he took a seat on the bed next to her.
She tensed ever so slightly when he did, and he worried that he pushed a little too hard. Maybe it would have been better to sit across from her after all? But when he didn't do anything else, she relaxed slightly.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" Koneko asked after a few moments.
"I'm nervous," he admitted. "Nervous about living among normal humans again. It's been a very long time since I last did. Did I ever tell you about my life before the Church?" She shook her head, so he continued. "I don't actually remember my parents. My earliest memories are of the orphanage I grew up in. In a way, that was a blessing, I think. Some of the other kids cried and moped or they got angry. But, in hindsight, I think they were just lonely and missed their parents. I never really had that, I just spent every day with my many brothers and sisters."
"You were…close to them?" Koneko asked.
"I was," Kiba answered. "We played games together, went to school together, and got into trouble together. The nuns at the orphanage were kind to us, almost like mothers. So even if I never knew my parents, I was okay. While it lasted, at least." Until another man from the church came, checking all of the children. Until their scans showed that he had some vague potential and they took him away, stealing him away from his family. He found a new family in the others that had been taken the same as him. But in the end-
"Why are you nervous?" Koneko suddenly asked, pulling him from the dark train of thought he had been going down. "Shouldn't you be looking forward to it?"
He forced himself to relax, grateful Koneko had snapped him out of it. He was trying to help her, not burden her with his own problems. "Maybe," he admitted. "But it's not the same. I'm not the same. I've changed my name and I'm no longer even human. I can't go back to being Isaiah, not anymore. I'm Yuuto now, and this will be the first time Yuuto has been in the normal human world. So, I'm nervous. I'm worried if I'll be able to fit in. If I'll be able to get along with the others. If I can live that kind of life."
"You will," Koneko said with a surprising amount of conviction. He looked at her in surprise. She was looking back at him, a serious expression on her face. "You're a good person, and you're nice, and I know everyone will like you," she continued.
He smiled at her. "Thanks, Koneko, that helps a lot," he said as he reflexively placed a hand on her head. For a moment, the two of them hesitated and Kiba feared he overstepped. But a small little smile grew on her face and leaned against him.
They stayed like that for a few moments, her head leaning against his side as he patted her on the head. Her two fluffy white ears sprang into being, and he spotted her tail shoot out from under her shirt as well.
Normally she kept those parts of her hidden, even here in the Gremory household where everyone knew what she was. He understood why too. When it was discovered what her sister had done, what she was capable of, there were many Devils who looked at Koneko with fear. Like she was a threat that needed to be put down before she got a chance to turn on them. It was only through Sirzechs' intervention that she wasn't killed.
So he viewed it as a good sign that she was feeling comfortable enough to not hide her nekoshou features around him, at least at this moment.
"I'm nervous too," Koneko said in a quiet voice. "I've never been around many people. It was always just me and my sister." He felt her tense as she mentioned her sister, but she continued anyway. "I don't remember our parents, and she never said much about them. I- I sometimes can recall a face that isn't Kuroka's that I like to think is our mother. But I don't know if it's really her or just a face I made up."
Kiba didn't say anything. He just kept patting her on the head, showing that he was listening and was supporting her. "She didn't like me interacting with anyone else when she was…before everything happened. Which I didn't mind. All I needed was her. But now that we're moving to a place where we'll be around a lot of people, I don't know what to do. What will happen if they hate me? What if they come after me? What if-"
"It's okay," Kiba cut in as Koneko started working herself up. "It's okay," he repeated. "It's normal to worry about these kinds of things. But there's one thing you should remember. You won't be alone this time."
Koneko sucked in a breath and tensed as he touched on what she went through, but he pressed on. "We're all going together. You'll have the others, and you'll have me. I can't promise you'll get along with every single person in your class. But they won't come after you. And even if they do, I'll be there to protect you. Okay?"
Koneko didn't respond and her face was pointed at the ground so he couldn't read her expression. But he could see her cat ears pressed flat against her head and feel the way her shoulders trembled and she pressed herself closer against his side. "...promise?" she whispered so quietly he almost didn't catch it.
He moved his hand from her head to her far shoulder before pulling her into a hug. "I promise," he replied. "No matter what happens, I'll be there to help you and protect you."
She pressed her face into his chest as he hugged her. "Okay," she said with a nod, her already quiet voice muffled by his t-shirt. Her hands wrapped around him, hugging him back, and the two of them stayed silent as they found comfort in each other's arms.
Kiba wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but however long it was, it was enough for Koneko to fall asleep. He only realized when her arms loosened enough so they were no longer wrapped around him.
With a small smile, Kiba gently maneuvered the small girl into bed, tucking her in. But as he turned to leave he was stopped by her grip on his wrist. He looked at her to see her eyes open, awake once more. She met his gaze before quickly looking away and letting go of his wrist. But in that moment he had seen what she really wanted. He could tell that she didn't want to be alone, but was too afraid to ask.
Without saying a word, he crawled into the bed next to her. If he was being honest, he didn't really want to be alone either. He slipped under the covers before opening his arms, offering them to Koneko. She didn't hesitate this time, sliding forward into his embrace.
There was nothing romantic or even slightly sexual about the way they held each other. Such thoughts didn't even cross their minds. All they knew is that they didn't want to be alone, and that they found comfort in the arms of the other.
Together, they fell into a dreamless sleep, the burdens of their past and their worries about tomorrow briefly forgotten.
Not much changed after that night, at least not drastically. But Kiba was more aware of Koneko than before, and he could see the small changes in her. Her barriers came down ever so slightly, allowing Rias and Akeno to get just a little closer to her. She wasn't as gloomy either. She didn't quite participate in group conversations, but she paid attention and reacted more than she did before.
During their move, as they transitioned from the Gremory estate to their new home in Kuoh, Koneko was still nervous. But rather than pull away, she shifted over to Kiba, grabbing on to his shirt for support. Neither Rias or Akeno noticed, busy as they were managing everything. Especially the preparations for Gabi's room.
Kiba didn't like the fact that, just like Koneko, Rias's approach to helping Gabi with her obvious issues was "do nothing". It hadn't worked for any of them. Kiba had needed help to face the reality of his problems, and now he was helping Koneko. But, for now, there was nothing he could do. Rias wasn't wrong in that it was better for Gabi to be alone until she gained better control over her sacred gear. But, in the meantime, Kiba would try to think of a way to help regardless.
On their first night in Kuoh, Kiba heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called out as he sat up. The door inched open, revealing a nervous-looking Koneko, her nekoshou features hidden. "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "Not used to my bedroom," she explained. "Can't get comfortable."
Kiba smiled. "Me too," he admitted. "Do you want to sleep with me?"
She nodded shyly. "Sorry," she mumbled.
He shook his head and slid further into his bed, making room for her. "No, you'll be helping me out too," he reassured her. She closed the bedroom door behind her and quickly slipped into the bed next to him, her white tail and cat ears appearing as her mood lifted. He pulled the covers over her and once again pulled her into his embrace. Together they fell asleep, taking comfort in not being alone.
Thankfully for both of them, their first days of classes went well. Akeno and Rias started as first-years at Kuoh Academy while he and Koneko entered Kuoh Middle School as a third year and second year respectively. He was glad he was able to go to the same school as Koneko, as it let him keep his promise to her.
He was even more thankful when he heard that Koneko was almost instantly popular. The word among the students was that most of the student body found her cute, something that was only enhanced in their eyes by her shyness.
Though there were a few that were too enthusiastic. "Oh man, did you see that new second year?" one of his classmates whispered to his friend during lunch. "She's totally my type."
"Every girl is your type Ichirou," the other boy replied.
"Nah, nah," Ichirou, insisted. "Maybe before, but I've matured now, and I have more refined tastes. I'm into quiet girls now, the ones that listen to whatever you say."
"Ah, I get ya," the friend said. "Less likely to say no to doing something ecchi, right?" He laughed at that.
Both boys flinched as Kiba suddenly draped his arms over their shoulders. "Hey guys, sounds like you're talking about something interesting," he said casually with a smile that didn't reach his eyes and that showed just a few too many teeth.
"What's your deal?" Ichirou said, quickly getting angry.
"Oh, nothing much," Kiba said, keeping his casual tone. "I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kiba Yuuto, and due to various circumstances, you can think of me as the older brother of Koneko, the girl you were just talking about." With that, he let a bit of his anger slip out, turning it into killing intent as Okita-sensei had taught him.
The two boys froze as the feeling of death washed over them. "L-look man-" the friend started to say.
"Kiba," he corrected the boy as he turned the killing intent up a notch.
"Kiba!" he yelped. "Look, we didn't mean anything by it! We were just messing around, right?"
"Ye-yeah, that's right," Ichirou agreed. "We won't bother her."
"Is that so?" Kiba asked. He was still annoyed, but it seemed like they had been properly taught a lesson, so he dialed down the killing intent. "I wouldn't joke about such things if I were you. Especially not about her."
"We…we'll be more careful in the future," Ichirou said, his gaze directed downwards and his voice a whisper. His friend nodded in agreement, his body language making it clear he was just as cowed.
"That's good," Kiba said in a friendly tone. He lowered the level of his killing intent more, but not entirely. "I'll let you two gentlemen finish your lunch now. I hope we can get along this semester." The two of them nodded and he stood up, cutting off the technique as he casually returned to his desk.
No one gave him a second look as he sat back down at this desk and continued to eat. He had approached the two like that just so he could avoid causing a scene, and his control over his bloodlust was good enough that only those two boys would notice it. Unless there was someone particularly sensitive to that kind of thing in his class. He casually cast his gaze over the classroom but judging from the lack of reactions, that didn't seem to be the case. He nodded, satisfied at a job well done, and finished his lunch in peace.
After classes were out he met up with Koneko and the two of them started walking home. "How were your classes?" Kiba asked.
"Fine," Koneko said. "I was worried they wouldn't like me, but if anything, everyone liked me too much. They wouldn't stop asking questions until the teacher made them."
Kiba chuckled. "Well, that's better than the other way around, right? That means they want to be friends with you."
"I guess," she said, sounding unconvinced. "What about you?"
Kiba shrugged. "Kind of boring, actually," he replied. "For all my worries, it was pretty easy to slip back into 'normal' life. Though it'll take some time to get used to how Japanese schools work." They were very different from the schooling he received as a child in an Italian orphanage.
Koneko nodded in agreement. "Too many rules," she grumbled. She glanced over at him. "Can we spar when we get home?"
"Feeling restless after sitting still all day?" Kiba asked. She nodded, and Kiba smiled. "Me too. We'll probably get used to it sooner or later. But for today, we'll make sure Rias doesn't have anything planned for us this evening. If she doesn't, sure, I could use a spar."
Koneko smiled at him, and he was filled with an emotion he couldn't quite identify. But it felt good, and it made him happy, so he smiled back, patting her on the head as they walked side by side.
The two of them settled into a routine over the next couple of months. They attended classes, quickly getting used to the life of a student. Most evenings, the ones where Rias had no particular plans for them, they would work on their homework together until dinner, and then afterward they would spar or train. They were too young for Rating Games, and their Peerage too small, but now that Rias was in charge of Kuoh, they were expected to take care of any Stray Devils that ended up here, so they needed to keep their skills sharp.
Beyond that, Kiba had a larger goal he had set his eyes on. One that would require him to be far stronger than he was now. It was this goal in mind that he trained, improving not only his body and skills with a sword but training his mind and his Sacred Gear as well, pushing the limits of what it could do.
Koneko didn't have the same drive that he did, but she worked hard to keep up with him, and she made a good sparring partner, especially once he convinced her to use her nekoshou abilities, something that had required another promise to protect her, even from herself.
One day, after their sparring, Kiba remained in the training room. He was standing in the middle of the room, his eyes closed and his brow furrowed in concentration. His hands were in front of him like he was grasping a sword, but there was nothing in them.
Koneko, who had been cooling down by doing stretches, watched him with curiosity in her eyes. She didn't say anything though, not wanting to interrupt. After a moment, a sword suddenly appeared in his hands, as she had seen happen countless times. Kiba's Sacred Gear, Sword Birth, allowed him to create magic swords at will.
But when Kiba opened his eyes and looked at the blade he had created, a thin rapier made of a blue metal. He sighed in disappointment. He could already tell, without swinging it, that it was another failure. But he gave it a swing anyway, visualizing his desired effect.
A weak current of air stirred inside of the room, strong enough for Koneko to feel it as a breeze, but too weak to do anything more than ruffle hair and clothes. Kiba grimaced, having expected the result, and dismissed the blade.
"Didn't work?" Koneko asked.
"Not as well as I wanted it too," he admitted. "It was meant to make a sharp blade of air. Or at least a gust strong enough to knock someone over."
Koneko hummed thoughtfully, thinking for a moment. "Why didn't it work?" she asked.
Kiba sighed. "I don't know. It might be that I'm just not strong enough yet."
Koneko frowned. "If you were good at magic you could do it with a spell," she countered. "You're strong enough."
Kiba mulled over that for a moment. She wasn't wrong, but he wasn't sure if magical strength for spells and magical strength for Sacred Gears could be neatly equated like that.
"Explain how it works," Koneko said suddenly, causing him to look at her in confusion. "Maybe if you explain it, you'll get an idea?"
Kiba shrugged. It was worth a shot. "Sword Birth is a Sacred Gear that lets me make magical swords," he started explaining. "They can be any shape or size, so long as it's actually a sword, or is close enough to a sword. For example, I can make a dagger, but I can't make a spear or an ax."
"Does it have to be a blade?" Koneko asked.
Kiba shook his head. "I can make stuff like bokken and shinai or other training swords just fine," he explained, creating one as an example before dismissing it. "A lack of sharp edges is fine, so long as it's still a 'sword'. I've tried to create some things that are a mix, like spearswords, and I can, but they take more power."
"Is it a lot more?"
Kiba shrugged. "Kinda. It's hard to measure since my ability to determine my magical power isn't that precise. But it takes noticeably more energy to create and maintain them."
Koneko blinked. "It costs more over time?" she asked in surprise.
"They do," Kiba confirmed. "Each time I make a sword it drains me of magical energy in one big burst. Then it'll keep draining me of a much smaller amount while I have it active. It's why I don't just leave them lying around, or have my strongest one out at all times. Also, if they have any special abilities, those are fueled by my magical energy as well."
"Even if someone else used them?" Koneko asked.
Kiba frowned. "I've never tried that," he admitted.
Koneko held out her hands. "Let's try then," she said simply.
Kiba paused, surprised, but then he smiled. "Alright, here, one of my more simple swords." A sword appeared in his hands, and he carefully handed it to Koneko, who looked over it. It was a plain European longsword with a hilt wrapped in simple white leather. But both the blade and the hilt had what looked like subtle scorch marks on them.
"What does it do?" Koneko asked as she got into the stance Kiba had been standing in earlier. She had no experience with swinging a sword, but just holding one was easy enough.
"I've named this one Flaming Fang," Kiba explained. "As the name implies, it can ignite, coating the blade in flames. To activate it, you just need to imagine it on fire."
Koneko nodded and pictured red hot flames running up the blade. Almost instantly her imagination became reality, and a wave of heat rushed over her as the blade caught fire. But…
"It's not using my magic," Koneko said out loud.
Kiba nodded. "And I can feel it draining mine," he said. "But despite that, you were able to trigger it. I half expected you to not be able to, but it's nice to know that I can arm other people if need be."
Koneko imagined the blade no longer on fire, and it obeyed her instructions in reality. "Wouldn't that tire you out?"
"It depends," Kiba replied, taking the sword back from Koneko and giving it a few casual swings, carefully keeping it away from her. "If I were to compare it to stamina, then summoning this sword would be like running up a flight of stairs. Not nothing, but I could summon a bunch. Keeping it summoned would be like going for a walk. I couldn't do it forever, but I could do it for a long time without issue. But when you activate the fire, it's like I start jogging instead. Again, something I could do for a good bit, but I would get tired faster than just walking."
Koneko nodded, showing she understood. Put like that, it was easy to follow. She was still relatively new to fighting, but stamina management was the most basic of basics and something she was always working on improving in her own skills.
"But fights don't usually last that long," Kiba continued. "My magical energy and my stamina are separate. Unless I'm using a sword with a more expensive cost, or I'm making a lot of swords, I can spare the magic to maybe make one or two more swords for others." He shook his head. "Not that any of the others are sword users."
That was true. Rias and Akeno were both ranged magic casters, Koneko preferred her fists and Gabi… Gabi didn't really fight. But, considering she had a Bishop Evil Piece, she'd probably be a ranged caster as well. Now that she was thinking about it, Koneko realized their party was too unbalanced.
"Why does it look like that?" Koneko asked, changing the subject.
"Like what?" Kiba asked. "You mean the burns?"
"That too," Koneko replied. "But also, why that kind of sword? Is that the kind you use?"
"I use all kinds of swords," Kiba answered. "I haven't settled on one kind I like more than the others yet. But I picked this appearance based on a legendary sword I read about. I don't know if it actually looked like this, but when I read about it, this is how it looked, burn marks included. Since the swords I make are based on my imagination, how I picture it is how it comes out."
"Is the appearance important?" Koneko asked.
"I'm not sure…" Kiba said thoughtfully, his mind racing. He thought of all the swords he had made and how well they had performed. The number of actually useful swords he had made was fairly low, and while it wasn't definite, they did have appearances that matched their purpose more than the failures did. A little, at least.
"You might be onto something there," Kiba added after thinking about it.
Koneko perked up. "For your wind sword, maybe it should be more like a bird's wing?"
Kiba's brow furrowed. "A sword that looks like a bird's wing?" he repeated. "That does match the theme of controlling wind, but…I can't really picture it."
"Hold on," she replied before dashing to the door. She grabbed her phone, which had been left on a table near the door for safekeeping, and then came back, tapping away at it. After a couple moments, she turned the phone to face him, showing him the image she had pulled up.
"Like this," she said. The picture was a 3d rendering of something that looked like a sword, but Kiba had his doubts. Instead of being clean, sharp, and practical, it looked more like a piece of art than a weapon of war. But, in a strange way, he found it appealing.
The sword looked similar to a scimitar, except the back edge had metal coming off it stylized as feathers, with a lot of effort put into detailing each one. The guard, hilt, and pommel were all sleek with more etchings of feathers, though thankfully seemed designed to be comfortable to hold. All in all, it was exactly what Koneko had said earlier; a sword that looked like the wing of a bird.
"What is this?" Kiba asked as he studied the picture more, drinking in the details.
"It's from a game," Koneko explained. "I saw a streamer get it last week."
Kiba blinked. Koneko watched people play games online? He hadn't known that about her. He smiled. Strangely, it felt nice learning more about her.
But he returned his attention to the sword she was showing him. Would it work? Maybe. He hadn't ever tried to make a sword like that. But there was no harm in trying. He held his hand out and closed his eyes. Using Sword Birth wasn't complicated. He just had to imagine the sword he wanted to make, and then push that thought into reality. He found the easiest way was to first picture the sword in question, keeping in mind all the properties he wanted it to have, and then letting that image fade as he imagined feeling the weight of it in his hand.
This time was no exception. After a moment of concentration and a small loss of magical power, the familiar sensation of a sword's grip filled his hand, and he opened his eyes.
"You did it," Koneko said, her normally monotonous voice tinged with excitement.
"So it seems," Kiba agreed, examining the blade he had created. It wasn't exactly like the one that Koneko had shown him, but it was basically the same. Steel in the shape of a wing, with decorative feathers. Normally he would dismiss such a blade as impractical, but there were two things stopping him from doing so.
First off, most of the things that made it impractical or useless didn't really apply here. Forging such a sword would be difficult in the extreme, and it was likely to break easier with a shape like this. But neither of those mattered when he could easily just make a new one, no forging required. The edges were still sharp, and it would function as a sword just fine.
Secondly, and more importantly, he could tell just by holding it that it was one of the most magically potent swords he had ever made.
"Stand back," Kiba warned Koneko as he lifted it, ready to slash. As she took a couple steps back, anticipation clear on her face, he aimed at one of the self repairing training dummies on the far wall. He imagined the effect he wanted, holding the image clear in his mind, and then swung the blade in a diagonal slash.
The air rippled and the training dummy suddenly split, a gouge appearing that opened it from shoulder to opposite hip. The air in the rest of the room barely moved at all.
"It worked," Koneko remarked.
Kiba felt a smile grow on his face. "It did, didn't it?" he replied as he turned to face her. "And all thanks to you."
Koneko tilted her head. "Me?"
"You," he repeated. "I never would have thought to turn a wing into a sword that could control the air. And not just that, but if I can do this, then what else can I do if I start tailoring my swords to match what I want them to do?" He stepped towards Koneko and, with his free hand, patted her on the head. "Your suggestion has helped me figure out an important aspect of my Sacred Gear. This is going to help me a lot."
Koneko smiled, both at the praise and the headpats. "I'm glad," she said, beaming up at him. "I can show you more, if you want. I know lots of games with cool swords."
Kiba had read a lot of mythology, some from the accounts of Devils who had seen it with their own eyes and some from more human and mundane perspectives, and he had drawn some inspiration from those for his swords. But he hadn't ever considered looking at games before.
"Sure, I'd like that," he replied. "Just let me grab a notepad from my room, so I can write down ideas."
Koneko gave him a strange look. "Why not just type them up on the computer?" she asked.
"Oh. Right," Kiba responded with an awkward chuckle. He basically only used his computer to do research on weapons and tactics, watching videos and reading articles. He had forgotten that it could do a lot more than that.
Koneko rolled her eyes, but she still had a big, for her, smile on her face. She grabbed his hand and started heading for the door, pulling him along with her.
Kiba smiled and let himself be pulled, finding her enthusiasm was infectious. He reflected on how she used to be, just a few months ago, so lonely and cut off from the world. Seeing her having come so far in such a short amount of time was heartening, and it filled him with a warm feeling.
She wasn't fully recovered yet, and likely never would be. But neither was he. The scars of their past wouldn't ever truly go away. But, by relying on each other, they helped the other bear the weight of their past, enabling them to continue forward.
And Kiba would do anything to ensure they did keep moving forward. No one would ever take his family away from him. Not ever again.
One evening a few weeks later, when Koneko was busy, Akeno approached him. "I have a question for you Kiba," she said with a smile that looked friendly on the surface, but he knew her well enough to know that there was danger lurking underneath the friendly facade. "Do I need to teach you about the birds and the bees?"
Kiba blinked in confusion. "Birds and the-" his eyes widened for a moment as he realized what she was talking about. He shook his head, annoyed at the faint blush on his face. "No, that won't be necessary," he said. "Okita-sensei already gave me that talk." Okita-sensei was the Knight of Rias's older brother, Sirzechs, and he was the man that taught him how to wield a sword.
"Oh, did he?" Akeno asked, sounding mildly surprised. "Well, I suppose if it would be anyone, it makes sense it was him. I guess that leaves me with my second question. Does Koneko need to have a talk about the birds and the bees?"
Kiba frowned. "I…don't know?" he asked. "I would hope that someone has talked to her about that kind of thing already."
"Someone like you, perhaps?" Akeno asked, her smile still friendly, but his instincts screamed that he was in danger. But he couldn't see how.
"I don't think that would really be appropriate," he replied, struggling to keep his cool under the pressure Akeno was exerting.
"I agree," Akeno said. "But I had a feeling that perhaps you were teaching her all about the birds and bees, what with the two of you sneaking into each other's rooms at night so frequently."
Kiba froze as the implications of what Akeno just said sank in. Most nights he and Koneko would sleep in their own bedrooms- but it was just barely the majority. Once every two or three nights, one of them would make their way to the bedroom of the other and the two of them would sleep together.
Neither of them had done much to hide what they were doing though, nor how close they had become. They hadn't been doing anything wrong after all. But, in hindsight, he could easily see how Akeno had reached that conclusion.
"No no, it's not like that!" Kiba insisted, flustered. "We're not doing anything like that!"
"Oh? Are you sure?" Akeno asked, lightning sparking between her fingers. "I understand that you're both at that age where you're starting to get interested in these kinds of things, but you're both too young-"
"Akeno-senpai," he interrupted her, embarrassment threatening to overwhelm him. "I promise you, that's not what is happening. We're not- we're not having sex."
"So you say," Akeno said. "But I can't think of any other reason a young boy and girl would so frequently spend all night in the other's room. So unless you have a good excuse-"
"It's because we didn't want to be alone," Kiba said quietly.
Akeno paused. "Pardon?"
"We just- we don't want to be alone," Kiba repeated. It was easy to talk to Koneko about this kind of thing, but explaining it to Akeno, who was an authority figure to him, was much more difficult. "Sometimes we have nightmares, or we worry so much that we can't fall asleep. But, if we're together, the nightmares don't come, and our worries seem a little less."
The lightning in Akeno's hands faded away. "I see," she said, her smile gone from her face, but so was her anger. "When did this start?"
"Since right before we came to Kuoh," Kiba said. He briefly explained the circumstances of their first night sleeping with each other, though he didn't go into detail on what they talked about. That was between them.
"It's never been s-sexual," he finished. "At least for me it hasn't, I guess I can't speak for Koneko's thoughts. But not once have those kinds of thoughts even crossed my mind."
Akeno sighed. "I guess we just assumed when maybe we shouldn't have."
Kiba shook his head. "No, from what you could tell, it made sense," he denied. "And I don't exactly disagree that being something we shouldn't be doing." His hate for the Church and his time with the Devils had done much to loosen his morals, so on that front, he didn't really have an issue with it. They were perhaps a bit young, but they were close in age and neither of them were socially or physically above the other. But he was concerned with how it would change their relationship, perhaps even ruin it, and he was afraid of that happening.
Akeno nodded. "Good, I'm glad you understand. But that does leave us with another problem."
Kiba's brow furrowed. "And that is?"
"The fact that you disobeyed Rias's order to give Koneko space," Akeno said with a glare.
Kiba flinched, but he steadied himself, forcing himself not to back down. "I'll accept whatever punishment for that, but I don't think I was wrong."
"Oh?" Akeno asked, intrigue and danger both present in the singular syllable.
"I think- I think Rias-sama was mistaken," he said. "It was her decision to not push the issue with Koneko. But I felt a kinship with her, and I thought that maybe all she needed was an extended hand, like what was done for me. And it has helped. So, whatever happens, I don't regret my decision." He stood firm and looked Akeno in the eye.
She met his gaze with a glare, but after a moment she sighed and shook her head, breaking their eye contact. "Fine, fine. I can't get mad if you're going to act so manly about it." Kiba struggled not to blush at that, but from the smirk that appeared on Akeno's face, he didn't think he managed it. "I'll explain the situation to Rias," she continued. "And she has the final say on it. But if it were my call…so long as you two continue to behave, I don't see a problem with what you're doing."
Kiba bowed. "Thank you for your understanding," he said, grateful that she had listened to him.
Akeno turned away from him, heading for the door. "You just better hope Rias is as understanding as I am," she called back. As she reached the door, she stopped. "Oh, and Kiba?"
Kiba frowned, something about her tone sounded off to him. She was facing away from him, so he couldn't read her expression, and her body language seemed relaxed. "Yeah?" he asked.
She stood there for a moment, and then shook her head. "No, nevermind, it's nothing." Then she slipped through the door and disappeared from sight.
Kiba finally let himself relax. That had been tense, in a lot of different ways. And to think it was all because of a misunderstanding.
Not that he blamed them. After all, they spent those nights in each other's arms, Koneko's small and cute body encompassed by his larger one, her chest pressed against his close enough that he could feel her heartbeat, and every breath was filled with her scent-
Kiba froze, his heart hammering away in his chest. Wait, what were those thoughts? He hadn't ever thought about any of that before, not like that. But now he was getting…excited?
He shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. No, their relationship wasn't like that. His mind was just distracted by what Akeno had been talking about. He conjured a metal shinai and headed for the training room. Some practice swings would help clear his head, and he'd be able to go to bed without worrying about such things, just like normal.
That night Koneko came to his room. Kiba was in bed, but not asleep yet. She silently slipped under the covers, her movements familiar and well-practiced, and he reflexively opened his arms so she could snuggle against him.
It didn't take long for Koneko to fall asleep after that, but unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Kiba. The feeling of Koneko sleeping in his arms should have been a familiar one, but it was different this time. He was so much more aware of her now.
Before, she was just a friend, a sister really, who he cuddled with to keep warm and to keep the nightmares away. But now he felt the way her legs intertwined with this, the way her chest, small as it was, pressed against his own, and the sound of her breathing, so close to his face. Her tail curled around their waists, working together with her arms to pull them closer together.
His heart thrummed with a nervous pattern as he felt the blood rush to his groin. He desperately tried to think of anything else. Kiba wasn't used to feelings of lust and desire. He knew about those kinds of things of course. As he had told Akeno, Okita-sensei had taken a day to explain things to him. And he certainly had an interest in girls, enough to know that most of the girls around him were very attractive.
But his interest had always been somewhat muted, even secondary. Something he noted, but never thought about beyond that. Thoughts of romance and sex had always felt like something to worry about after he got his revenge on the Church and the men involved with the Holy Sword Project.
They certainly weren't secondary thoughts right now though. He could feel his erection growing, straining against his pants and pressing into Konkeo's dangerously soft body, separated only by a few layers of thin cloth. Kiba tensed, ready for her to stir and get mad at him- but it never happened. Koneko's breathing was steady as she remained asleep, unaware of what was pressing against her.
Kiba let out a sigh of relief, but it wasn't like the situation was resolved. He tried to think of a way to shift himself so his boner wasn't touching Koneko, but he was afraid that any movement would cause her to wake up instead. In the end, he decided his best bet was to force himself to fall asleep. Surely once he was asleep, it would go away, right?
It was a task that was easier said than done with his new awareness of Koneko sending his mind and nerves into overdrive. But after what felt like hours, but probably was less than one, his eyes grew heavy, and sleep washed over him.
When he awoke the next morning, he was aware of two things. First, whether it had lasted all night or had reappeared before he woke up, his dick was still erect and pressed against Koneko's body. Second, Koneko was awake, her open eyes watching his face.
"G-good morning Koneko," he said, stuttering slightly due to a mix of surprise and nervousness. She nodded- she usually wasn't very talkative shortly after waking up, so he was used to a nonverbal greeting from her in the morning. He unwrapped his arms from her so she could separate from him, but she didn't move. "Koneko?" he asked, still keenly aware of his erection. "Are you going to get up?"
She shook her head. "Don't wanna," she said, clinging tighter to him.
"Well, I'd really appreciate it if you did," he said awkwardly, avoiding looking at her.
"Why?" the catgirl asked. Under normal circumstances, he would have noticed something off about her tone, but he was distracted by suppressing the new urges of his hormonal body.
Additionally, if he was thinking clearly, he would have come up with a reasonable excuse. But he wasn't thinking clearly. "I uh, don't think it's a good idea for you to stick so closely to me right now," he said. "I have a…situation going on right now."
Koneko didn't move. Instead, she stared at his face for a few moments as he avoided meeting her gaze. Finally, she looked away. But rather than move away from him, she just buried her face in his chest. "It's fine," she said, voice only slightly muffled.
Kiba froze. "...what?" he croaked out.
"It's fine," she repeated. "I don't mind. That is part of Kiba too. And…it's warm."
Kiba's mind blue screened at that, his thoughts descending into a scrambled mess. "K-Koneko?" he replied, shocked. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"I do," the girl calmly insisted. "Akeno-senpai talked to me last night."
"Oh," was all Kiba said to that, incapable as he was of more complicated thoughts.
"She wanted to make sure you were telling the truth, and that I knew about that kind of stuff," Koneko continued. "I know enough. Know that it's normal for a boy your age. Even if…" she started, before trailing off.
Even if it hadn't ever happened before, Kiba mentally finished. "That doesn't make it okay," he said out loud.
"Why not?" she asked, just a little petulantly. "If we don't do anything, it's fine."
Kiba had to suppress a groan of frustration at that. That was easy for her to say, but for him, every second she spent pressed against him was a struggle to not lay his hands on her, to do all of the things Akeno had been worried about.
"Does it hurt?" she asked in a quieter voice.
He paused, then shook his head. "No, not at all," he answered truthfully.
"Does it feel good?"
He breathed in as he considered the question, air filling his lungs to their bursting point. After holding it for a moment, he slowly breathed out. "Dangerously so," he admitted. Lying to her wasn't an option after all.
Koneko didn't reply to that, but he had the vague sense that she didn't dislike his answer. "I trust you," she said, voice even quieter.
Her words were like a bucket of cold water thrown onto his overheating mind, snapping him out of his strange state of mind. He finally closed his arms, hugging Koneko. His concerns were pushed aside, the urges of his body easily ignorable in the face of his desire to do what was best for Koneko. "Thank you," he said, the tension rapidly draining from him.
He felt more than heard the cat girl purr against his chest as she clung tighter to him. His erection didn't go away, and it was still trapped between their two bodies. But it no longer felt so important, and his mind was no longer controlled by his desires. Instead, the two of them cuddled like they normally did.
For a few moments at least. "I'm glad you're so understanding about that particular subject," Kiba said. "But…it is a school day. We need to get up and start getting ready."
Koneko grumbled into his chest, but he could tell from her tone that she knew he was right. She slowly untangled herself from his grasp and crawled out from under his sheets. She stretched, and Kiba did his best not to pay attention to the way her shirt rode up to reveal more of her legs as she did so, averting his eyes. She turned back to him and cocked her head. "Getting up?" she asked him.
"You go on ahead, I'll be up in a second," he told her. His erection hadn't gone down after all, but the sight of it was currently hidden under the covers.
Koneko shrugged before turning away and leaving the room. Kiba let out a sigh of relief once the door closed behind her and then got out of bed. Sure enough, there was a very obvious tent in his pants, the thin material of his pajamas doing nothing to hide his arousal.
He sighed before checking the time. He nodded and then quickly headed for the bathroom. He could take a quick cold shower to get rid of it before joining the others for breakfast, hopefully dealing with his not-so-little issue before the others saw it.
As he stepped under a spray of ice-cold water, his mind thought over how he had gotten here. It had started with an innocent desire to help his family. And now he was lusting over her, and she didn't mind. She should have minded, but she didn't.
Kiba sighed as the shower further calmed him down. He couldn't regret the decisions that led him to this point though.
Shifty's SubscribeStar: subscribestar com / shifty-s-fiction
Shifty's Discord Server: discord .gg/aWJrmhf4Hy
AN: I wrote the majority of this in one day after being filled with a powerful desire for Koneko lewds, courtesy of one of the members of my discord. I had a different idea slotted for this month, but I hadn't started writing it when I got hit with the desire to write this.
Though no, it doesn't have anything lewd in it, not beyond some awkward morning wood. When I started writing this I was treating it like I've been treating these monthly fics. Like a one shot that I planned on continuing, which is why the chapter is so focused on Koneko and almost rushes through their relationship. It was originally going to rush even faster, jumping all the way to Koneko entering highschool, where she'd be old enough for me to be okay lewding her.
But, after my realization that it would be better to treat these stories as fics I update whenever, I realized rushing would be a detriment. So I ended it there, with Kiba having his eyes accidentally opened to the fact that Koneko is a cute girl.
And then I spent a few days planning out the rest of the fic. The premise of the fic is simple. Kiba is the protagonist of DxD, not Issei. I've long held the opinion that he makes for a far better one, and planning this fic has only made me more and more sure of it. I've come up with a rough outline for the entire fic already, and I'm slowly filling in the details. The harem has been decided though.
Volume 1 will be all pre-canon stuff, showcasing this new Kiba and the changes he makes. After that, the next couple arcs will look somewhat similar to canon. But beyond that? This fic is Kiba as the protagonist of DxD, and that means DxD has been changed to more suit him. A setting exists to tell the protagonist's story, and the villains are crafted to be obstacles for the protagonist.
Kiba is not Issei, so things will be different here. I've tweaked factions, timelines, and other such things to make a story that is about Kiba. It's still very recognizable as DxD, I've tried to limit my changes to just what I feel is necessary, but it's also very much an AU. I'll also be keeping the scope of things narrower and won't be including the Norse, Greek, or Hindu pantheon stuff.
And finally- Sword Birth. As should be clear from the training scene, I've buffed it a little bit. I don't wanna hear any complaints about nerfing it. In DxD canon, Sword Birth was severely lacking in both screen time and details. Once Kiba gained the ability to create Holy/Dark fusion swords he stopped using anything else except swords not made by his Sacred Gear. What he showed here is already far more than he showed in canon.
No, I don't have any plans on going full "here team, have a sword that conceptually boosts your abilities 100x over, because I have no limits to my ability!". He is a shounen battle harem protagonist. He will struggle and grow, and I will neither turn this into a cakewalk for him or fuck up the power scaling by making his enemies even more dangerous. Sword Birth is a mid-tier Sacred Gear, and I have no plans on changing that. Kiba will have to use his wits, skills, and sheer grit to accomplish his goals. Sure, there will be a few powerups along the way, including an original Balance Breaker I have planned, but they will be appropriate for the genre, not born of a desire to munchkin.
