Grammar
'Thinking'
Speaking
Warning: Their is some violence in this chapter. But since the story is rated M, should be fine.
...
"See ya tomorrow Issei. Remember, not a word to anyone about what were planning to do. If we keep this just between the three of us, that black haired bastard won't catch on to what were doing until its too late".
Having spent the majority of the evening partaking in the usual activities he did with his fellow perverts, watching porn, lamenting the fact that their attempts to get girl friends always ended in failure, and more recently, trying to figure out ways on how to lower the popularity of the academy's most sought after males, Issei acknowledged his friends warning with a wave of his hand before he started on his way home.
However on this particular night, the brunette's thoughts weren't filled with the usual fantasies of what he would do with a big breasted woman if he ever came across one that didn't spit in his face, nor was he thinking about the amusing, if unrealistic punishments he would inflict on those pretty boy students who hogged the attention of Kuoh's female students. No, on this night, Issei's thoughts were focused on the strange feelings that he had been experiencing ever since he woke up from that confusing dream.
"Its weird. I'm the only one who seems to remember anything about Yuma, everyone else is acting like she never existed. No one seems to remember anything about Yuma, its almost if she's been erased from their memories. And that dream..."
Images of his date Yuma, sprouting black feathered wings before stabbing him with a spear made of light passed through his mind.
"What the hell was with that dream? While its not far-fetched that I would imagine her as an angel, why the hell would she stab me? And why was Inumbro the last thing I dreamt before waking up. Its been giving me a headache all day. Thankfully its gone now, though its strange, I actually feel more awake now than I did during the day".
Having been voicing his thoughts out loud, Issei failed to notice that he was no longer the sole occupant of the darkened street. as he continued his journey home,the solitary pervert felt an odd mix of dread and danger, something which only grew worse as a slightly mocking voice spoke out from the shadows.
"How unfortunate. To think I'd come across something like you in a place like this".
Quickly turning around, Issei was met with the oddly menacing sight of a grinning middle aged man wearing a pale violet trench coat, and a stylish black fedora. Slightly intimidated by the stranger's oddly phrased statement, and now conscious of the fact that it was only two of them in this poorly lit street, the brunette unconsciously took a step backward. Something which appeared to amuse the man greatly.
"Planning to run? Tell me who your master is and I'll leave you be. If not, you'll probably not like what I'll do to you".
Terrified for his life, Issei decided to make a break for it, surprising himself by how much distance he was able to put between him and his potential rapist in such a short period of time. Choosing to hide behind a fountain to catch his breath, Issei cautiously poked his head above his hiding place in order to see if the guy had followed him".
"Phew. Gave him the slip. Should be safe here until I.."
"You didn't really think I'd let you get away that easy did you"?
Turning around in terror, Issei was shocked into silence as he beheld the unbelievable sight of what he was witnessing. hovering above him was his tormentor, with the same type of wings that Yuma had in his dream.
"Speak up boy. Tell me who you serve. Or are you perhaps a stray? Yes I can sense little power in you, so you must be one. If that's the case, then their should be no problem if I killed you right now".
As the black winged angel held out his hand, Issei watched in disbelief as a familiar looking weapon materialized in his hand. Suspecting what was about to happen, the brunette tried to run, but before he could get very far, he felt a searing pain pierce his leg, causing him to crash to the ground.
Laughing at the boy's feeble attempts to escape, Dohnaseek formed another light spear, intending to finish the struggling boy, shrugging off the strange familiarity he felt when he looked at the pain filled expression on Issei's face.
"Should have remained loyal to your master boy. Cause without their help, your nothing but a bug waiting to be squashed".
Closing his eyes as his winged attacker prepared to deliver the killing blow, Issei was both confused and relieved when he didn't feel anything pierce his chest. Daring to open his eyes to see why he was still breathing, the sight that greeted the pervert was more than enough to convince him that he should have kept his eyes closed.
Forced onto his back, the black winged angel, for in Issei's mind their was no other way to classify him, had lost his previous mocking grin, and was now looking at the speechless pervert with an expression that could only be identified as fear. As his eyes moved down the rest of his would be assailants body, Issei would have to agree that their was some cause to the mans terror.
Each limb was pinned to the ground by coils of what appeared to be barbed wire, causing the angel to whimper in pain as his restraints dug deeper into his bleeding flesh as he vainly tried to escape his bonds. A similar strand of wire had wrapped itself around his neck, preventing him from speaking, while his wings were also similarly held down. Shocked as he was by this new development, it was the seemingly impossible features of this terrifying scene that made Issei question his own sanity.
For one, the restraints that were keeping his would be murderer from fleeing seemed to be moving of their own free will, tightening their grip in a manner that reminded Issei of a python constricting its prey. But what was even more perplexing was that the wire seemed to originate from the shadows themselves, something which by all rights should be impossible.
"Your lucky Hyoudou. If it wasn't for the fact that I happened to be passing by, you probably would have been killed. This time without the option of being saved by a magical chess piece".
While the tone was slightly colder than what he was usually used to, at least when other people where around to hear them talking, Issei wasn't sure if he should feel relieved to hear a familiar voice, or to fear for his own safety since the owner of that voice had never tried to hide his dislike of him.
Materializing out of thin air, for Issei had been staring at that shadowed patch of trees ever since he guessed the direction from where his classmate had spoken, Dante glanced unconcernedly at the still injured brunette before his hand transformed into a black metal looking gauntlet.
.
"Hold still. This might sting a bit".
Having on the barest of seconds to brace himself, Issei was unable to keep a scream of pain from passing his lips as the black haired foreigner quickly grabbed hold of the still embedded light spear and pulled it out with a sudden sharp motion.
"FUCKKKKK! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR"?
Watching in slight curiosity as the light spear faded in his protected hand before disappearing comply, Dante merely responded to Issei's angry pain filled outburst with a dismissive shrug
"Your body would have been poisoned if it was allowed to remain embedded in your leg. And since you were incapable of removing it yourself, I did you a favor. Now be quiet, I have some questions for our friend over there, and would prefer to do so uninterrupted.
Ignoring the pained cries of protest from his as yet unaware teammate, Dante vanished his shadow constructed glove and casually walked towards the restrained Fallen Angel with a look that could only be described as feral.
"You know, I'm in a bit of a quandary in what to do with you Crow. On one hand, I would very much like to kill you since your the reason why I have to obey the whims of an air headed aristocrat, something which annoys me greatly I might add".
Stomping on his captives wing with his newfound strength, Dante smirked in satisfaction as Dohnaseek could only offer a strangled cry of pain as he felt the bones in his wing break.
"Or I could let you live since you did provide me with the opportunity to become stronger, even if it was your original intention to murder me".
Casually stepping on the other wing, Dante waved his hand to slightly loosen the wire around the Fallen Angels neck, sending the trapped killer into a coughing fit as he struggled to regain his breath.
"Plea..cough...Please let me go. cough...I swear I had no idea he was with you. I promise you'll never see me again. Just allow me to live".
Stepping on the tip of the black colored wing, smiling as another pain filled shriek escaped from his captive, Dante was about to give an answer to his pleading killer when an angry, yet familiar voice filled the nearly deserted park.
"DANTE! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS"?
Sighing in annoyance, Dante turned his back on the whimpering Fallen Angel in order to give his clearly infuriated master an expressionless shrug.
"What exactly does it look like? This insufferable Crow here was trying to kill Hyoudou. Since I happened to be walking through the park at this time, Knowing you'd be quite annoyed with me if I let the pervert die I decided to intervene before anything unfortunate could take place".
Rias, While pleased as she was at Dante's heroics, though suspecting that he had a more selfish reason for getting involved,Rias took a brief glance at her heavily confused pawn before pointing a finger at the trench coat wearing fallen angel.
"While I'm happy to see that you rescued your teammate from certain death, I'm certain you could have done so with less bloodshed. Was it truly nesseary to tie him up with...is that barb wire"?
Dante,Briefly glanced at his still bound captive before he turned his attention back to the impatiently waiting red head,Sporting the same blank expression Rias had come to associate him with.
"It was a spur of the moment decision I admit. However Hyoudou was seconds away from death, so i chose to go with the first option that would have left the Crow unable to cause anymore harm, while keeping him alive so I could question him".
Rias still unsure of what really transpired Suspected that there was more to the story. looking at Fallen Angel's condition indicated that he had been tortured rather than interrogated,still the buxom Devil was willing to let the matter rest for another time, since she still had a terrified Fallen Angel to deal with.
"Fallen Angel. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rias Gremoy, and these 2 boys are my servants, and as such are under my protection, no matter how unwillingly one of them may be".
Pausing to offer a slight glare towards her latest rook, who merely responded to her comment with a slight narrowing of his eyes, Rias continued.
"Since you were unaware of this, and the fact that you have already been punished for your crimes, I am willing to let you escape with your life. But understand this, Kuoh is under my authority, and should I ever come across you hurting my servants again, then I will show you that Dante isn't the only creative Devil under my care".
Despite the pain, Dohnaseek nodded his head in acceptance at the female Devil's words, for if he was to have any chance of revenge for what he suffered, he had to ensure that his teams plans came to fruition, and to do that he needed to convince his captors of his sincerity.
"I understand Ms. Gremory. I won't ever bother you, or your servants again. Just please..let me go".
Starring at the pleading Fallen Angel for a moment to evaluate his sincerity, Rias turned to give a pointed look to her black haired servant, who reluctantly released his captive with a wave of his hand, causing Dohnaseek to shoot up into the sky, and fly away as fast as his injured wings would let him.
"Now that that's out of the way, I think it's time to check on my other troublesome servant. Poor boy's probably questioning his sanity at this point".
Keeping his narrowed gaze fixed on the fleeing form of the struggling Fallen Angel until he was out of sight, Dante turned to his master with a deadpan expression.
"You think? This is the second time that pervert's been stabbed with an angelic weapon, only to be saved from death by the most unlikely of individuals. So I would think he has the right to question his grip on reality".
Brushing off Dante's sarcastic, if admittingly, truthful observation with a slight wave of her hand, Rias calmly walked over to the now unconscious brunette with a slight frown marring her usual confident expression.
"Thankfully he's still alive. The spear didn't hit anything vital, and thanks to your timely intervention, it wasn't in his body long enough to poison him severely. Speaking of which, how were you able to remove it? Since you are a newborn you shouldn't have been able to get near this weapon, let alone touch it".
Holding up his hand, Dante willed the shadows to surround it before they solidified back into the armor gauntlet that had allowed him to pull out the light spear from Issei's leg.
"Does this satisfy your question"?
Starring at the conjured armor with a mixed expression of amazement and curiosity, the heiress nodded her head, concealing the tiny bit of annoyance she felt towards her servant's continued lack of deference behind a smile.
"It does. Though I'm also curious as to why you happened to be in the same area when Issei was under attack. However that can wait til tomorrow since your primary responsibility is to get Issei home without any more attempts on his life".
For the first time since discovering her newest servant's less than cheerful nature, Rias was granted the amusing privilege of watching her rook's usually emotionless façade melt into something that could only be described as disbelief.
"I'm sorry. You want me to do what exactly"?
Offering the incredulous Devil a smile to show that he hadn't misheard her, Rias proceed to list the particulars of Dante's newest task, taking great enjoyment from how Dante's expression changed from disbelief to sputtering indignation.
"You heard me. Since your the one who saved him, it is your responsibility to ensure that he makes it home without any further complications. I trust you have no objections to this"?
For a moment Dante actually considered telling the crimson haired beauty that he wasn't interested in babysitting the pervert, but thoughts of what she would do to him convinced the black haired Devil that it was probably less stressful if he accepted his appointed task. Didn't mean that he had to like it .
"None what so ever".
Ignoring the clearly sarcastic tone of her servant in favor of preparing a magic circle, Rias turned towards the irritated rook with a smiling expression on her face.
"I'm pleased to hear that. Because I also intend for you to be the one to inform him about his new life as a Devil. I would do it myself, but I have some business to attend to in the morning, so I'm afraid the task of bringing Issei up to speed falls to you".
DDante didn't even bother to hide his displeasure at this new piece of information.
"Are you kidding me? You expect me to wake up early just so I can inform this hopeless pervert that he's not human anymore"?
Activating the circle to transport herself out of the park, Rias turned towards Dante with a thoughtful expression before breaking out in a amused smile that made the black haired Devil regret his earlier statement.
"That is an excellent idea Dante. But you only have to tell him about the basics since I intend to hold a club meeting to introduce him to everyone else. Attendance is mandatory so I expect you to be there".
Smirking at the annoyed look that passed over Dante's face as he realized that he had unintentionally increased his work load, Rias waved goodbye as she disappeared in a flash of red, leaving the black haired Devil alone with the still unconscious form of his teammate.
Turning his attention away from the spot where his master had vanished, Dante regarded the unconscious pervert with an irritated glare before he called out to the shadows to prop him up the limp boy like a scare crow.
"Your lucky our shared master doesn't hold your perversions against you Hyoudou. If she did, I suspect you would have woken up naked in the school yard rather than at home. Though given your idiocy, I suspect that might have already happened to you at one point or another".
Manipulating the supports so it appeared that Issei was capable of moving under his own power, even if he moved like a inebriated sailor, and regretting the fact that his usual method of transportation prevented him from easily dropping the boy off at home, the odd pair made their way out of the park. Unaware that their departure was being watched by two sets of eyes, one mixed with a curious blend of amusement and arousal, while the other one had only the slightest hint of curiosity present in their grey colored eyes as she listened to her hazel eyed companion.
"Nya"?
"You were correct. I thought they had all been killed years ago, but it seems that one of them survived".
"Nya"?
"No. We'll let him get used to his new life as a Devil before we offer him the chance to join our cause".
"Nya Nya".
"Yes, you can continue to keep an eye on him. But don't reveal your true form unless I say".
"Nyyyyaaaaaaa".
"Don't complain. From what I can tell, he seem's strong willed. So it's likely that you'll be able to claim his purity before any of the Devils do".
"Nyyaaa"
A ghost of a smile graced her child like lips as she petted her feline servant, pleased by the chance of fate that had allowed her to find one of the few mortal beings capable of helping her achieve her desired wish for silence.
...
"Issei. Wake up".
Turning over in his bed, Issei attempted to ignore his wake up call, but this was proven to be useless as his mother was insistent that he get out of bed.
"Issei. Get up. Honestly, you have enough of those childish alarm clocks, so it shouldn't be this difficult for you to get going in the mornings. Besides, one of your classmates is waiting in the living room, so you'd better not keep him waiting".
Yawning as he regretfully disentangled himself from his his bed, Issei looked at his mother with an exhausted look of confusion.
"Classmate? What are you talking about mom"?
Scowling at the perceived forgetfulness of her only child, Mrs. Hyoudou preceded to explain.
"Your classmate Dante is downstairs waiting for you. He said he had some things to discuss with you about your application to some research club. Why didn't you...ISSEI WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG"?
Startled by his mother's high pitched yelling, Issei looked down at his uncovered leg and saw that a bandage had been placed right over ..where...
Instantly the memories of the previous evening came roaring back, convicning him that his dream of being nearly killed by a black winged angel only to be spared at the last second by his foreign born classmate had in fact really happened. Recovering his wits, and realizing just why Dante happened to be in his house this morning, Issei flashed his near hysterical mother a slightly embarrassed smile as he struggled to offer an excuse.
"What this? Oh its nothing, I was running home last evening, and I happened to fall and scrape my leg on the sidewalk. Its fine mom. Really".
As expected, his excuse failed to convince his mother, who merely glared in concern at her trouble prone offspring.
"Don't lie to me Issei. Tell me the truth".
Knowing that his mother wouldn't believe him even if he did tell her what had really happened, Issei sighed as he came up with an excuse that even his mother wouldn't question.
"Yesterday after school, me and my friends..well, Matusda found a new spot to spy on the girls of the Kendo Club, only we were caught, and I was...".
Holding up her hand to prevent him from continuing, Issei was relieved that his mother bought his totally plausible excuse, even if a little bit saddened that she readily assumed the worst of her only son.
"Issei...I really hope you get accepted in this new club, since its clear you desperately need a new hobby. Now hurry up and get dressed. Dante's been waiting for 5 minutes, and you don't want to make a bad impression on him do you"?
Turning her back on her perverted son, Mrs. Hyoudou completely missed Issei's panicked expression as he recalled what his fellow student had done to the last guy who had managed to tick him off. And as he quickly gathered his uniform together, the brunette Devil could only hope that Dante was in a far better mood than he had been the previous evening.
...
"Can I get you a fresh cup of tea Mr. Inumbro"?
Seeing that his cup was nearly empty of the surprisingly delicious beverage, Dante offered a apologetic smile as he shook his head at the middle aged woman's question.
"No thank you Mrs. Hyoudou. Delicious as it was, I'm afraid I haven't the time to properly savor it since I'm running a tad late this morning. But I do appreciate the offer.
Smiling at his manners, since she couldn't quite remember the last time her own son was as polite as the black haired young man sitting in front of her, Mrs. Hyoudou bowed her head to show her gratitude with his demeanor.
"Think nothing of it. It's nice to see my son is associating with people who are not afraid to remember the niceiities of polite conversation. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against his friends, its just at times I wish..."
"Wish they weren't so energetic in their pursuit of adult rated material"?
Giving an embarrassed laugh at the nicely worded phrase used to describe her son's perverted activities, Mrs. Hyoudou was prevented from commenting further when Issei walked into the room, causing Dante to greet him with a cheerful wave.
"Ah Issei perfect timing. I was beginning to think that you never were going to show. Rough night"?
Despite the friendly tone of his classmate's greeting, Issei could detect the subtle traces of mocking amusement in Dante's voice, further convincing the suddenly nervous brunette that he had not dreamt up last nights events.
"S..Something like that. I'm sorry if you've been waiting long".
Waving aside the apology with a smile that Issei now suspected to be forced, Dante sat up and went for the door.
"Not to worry. We can discuss your admittance into the club on the way to school. I trust your not averse to having me walk with you"?
Knowing that he had little choice, Issei shook his head.
"No. I'm good".
"Splendid. Then we can be on our way. Mrs. Hyoudou thank you again for the tea. It's the best I had since coming to this country".
Smiling at the praise the black haired student had given her, Issei's mother watched with a feeling akin to joy as she witnessed her only child leave the house with someone who didn't seem obsessed with the beauty of the female form.
"Goodbye you two. Stay out of trouble".
Waving back to the optimistic mother, Dante's expression morphed back into the cold demeanor that Issei had come to expect from his classmate, of whom he know knew to be increasingly more violent than he had first presumed.
"Listen up Hyoudou, For I'm only going to say this once. The only reason I'm wasting my morning to explain your new circumstances is because I was forced to. So do me a favor, and save any questions you may have at what I'm about to tell you until later. Got it"?
Deeming it wise to keep his mouth shut lest he find himself experiencing the same treatment that fedora wearing angel had gone through, Issei merely nodded at Dante's abrasive question.
"Good. First off, yes you weren't dreaming. A Fallen Angel tried to kill you last night, and another one succeeded in killing you the previous evening. The reason your still alive is because a Devil decided to strip you of your humanity, as well as mine, and turn you into one of her servants. In short Hyoudou, you and me are no longer human, but are in fact the very creatures the Bible goes out of its way to warn people about".
Trying to wrap his head around this shocking, if bluntly delivered, piece of information, Issei couldn't help his curiosity from getting the better of him.
"And who decided to turn us in to Devils? And why me? Obviously your scary enough to be recruited by the forces of evil, but I'm just a regular high school student".
Regretting his comment as Dante shot him a glare that promised to beat him to a pulp should he open his mouth again, Issei was surprised when his black haired classmate answered his question instead of resorting to a more violent alternative.
"First off, don't you ever call me evil again. You'll find that good and evil don't necessarily mean light and dark. So keep that in mind, otherwise I'll make what I did last night seem like a light slap of the wrist compared to what I would do to you".
Violently nodding his head to show he got the message from the violent tempered Devil, Issei wisely kept his mouth shut as Dante continued his explanation.
"As for who turned you, I have no doubt that you'll be pleased to know that our respective master is Rias Gremory. Though as to why she picked you, I have some suspicions, but nothing I'm willing to share ".
Despite the insulting nature of his dangerous companion, Issei allowed himself to feel a sense of joy at the knowledge that one of the, if not the hottest girl at school, had decided to choose him as a servant to cater to her every immoral whim.
Sensing the direction of the brunette's thoughts, and knowing that he couldnt use his shadow controlling abilities while his body was still adapting to the now dizzying effects of the sun, Dante smacked the perverted Devil on the backside of his head.
"OWWW! What was that for"?
Unsurprisingly, Dante was largely unsympathetic to the brunette's plight, and simply stared at the annoyed pervert with an expression that clearly stated that he would have no issues doing it again if Issei provided him with an excuse to do it.
"That was for being a pervert while I was trying to inform you about your new circumstances. Speaking of which, you'll have undoubtedly noticed that you feel slighly ill during the day time, but that should pass in the next day or 2".
Allowing a relieved smile to cross his face as he massaged the developing bump on his head, Issei couldnt help his curiosity from getting the better of him as he bombarded his fellow Devil with even more questions.
"Is their anything else I need to know? Like... will I become irresistible to woman if I smile at them a certain way? Or will I grown horns and a tail?
Pinching the bridge of his nose in attempt to summon the remaining slivers of his already frayed patience, Dante looked at the chattering pervert with a glare that thankfully caused him to cease his talking.
"The answer is highly unlikely for your first question. and no for the second. Now do me a favor and shut up. Any further questions you have will be answered after school today by Rias herself. I trust your smart enough to keep all of this to yourself"?
Seeking to avoid yet another painful blow to the head, Issei nodded to show he understood what was required of him, causing Dante to lessen his scowl until it more or less resembled a frown.
"Good. I would find it unfortunate if I had to clean up yet another of your messes. Once was enough thanks".
With that final comment, the unlikely duo continued the rest of their journey in silence. One thinking of the positive benefits of his new found status, while the other quietly lamented the fact that he had missed his chance in making the one responsible for his current situation suffer
Annnnd that's another chapter done. Yay
Unlike previous chapters, this one was generated from scratch, while the others were rewrites from the previous story I had deleted. So who hoo for progress, and the fact that the story has now caught up to the beginning of the series lol.
Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, since it is always great fun to write Dante's interactions with Issei...especially now since Dante no longer has to keep his more..anti social behavior hidden. I find that in the series, Issei lacks a character that he can be both fearful and respectful (Female characters...and Miltan don't count). Dante fills this role.
I tried to make Rias's reaction to what she saw as believable as possible, since in the series she seems pretty undisturbed when she witnesses violence...but hasn't really come across a brutal scene like I had depicted (difference between seeing a dead body cut open and crucified and seeing a living breathing thing wrapped in bloody chains)
I confess I had intended to write a more brutal scene with Dohnaseek, since Dante blames him for his status as a servant. But decided to save that till Asia's resurrection.
And of course we see that Dante's presence have attracted the notice of some other characters, and will be making on an off apperances in the story until its time for them to be regular characters. Also we have someone who is fully aware of what Dante is, so always exciting lol.
Now, for the harems.
I've gotten a lot of comments about how I have them structured CURRENTLY. While I appreciate some of the comments, others were not as welcome, since they were only filled with negative replies without offering any advise on how to better the story. I am open to the opinions of others...but if your going to leave a comment about how cliché some pairings are...please list ways in which I could improve them, since it is still early in the story to make changes. Also playing around with the idea of gender bending some of the characters that are introduced later in the series. This of course will add to the composition of the harems.
If you have any suggestions for additional pairings..please state them :). wont delete a suggestion...unless of course it is flames.
As it is...this is the current pairings I have envisoned, which as I've said can change.
Issei: Asia, Irina, Xenovia, Ravel, Kunou, Yasaka, Rossweisse, Gabriel, Kiyome. Yuebella. And possibly gender swapped Vali
Dante: Akeno, Raynare, Serafall, Kuroka, Sona, Ophis, Koneko. Possibly gender swapped Gasper.
Kiba could also be changed into a female character. Or perhaps another pairing will develop outside of Issei and Dante.
As for Koneko...I see her establishing a bond with Dante. But haven't decided to have it either be as close friends, brotherly bond, or romantic (though if I don't pick romantic the other 2 are very doable)
Anyways...a big THANK YOU to those who have replied to my story (most of your opinions have been taken under advisement :P)
PLZ Keep the REVIEWS coming. no flames obviously.
til next time.