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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
High School DxD, New, BorN, Hero and other products related to the DxD Series are all owned by Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo and TNK.
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Chapter 3: Of Study Sessions and Investigations
Koneko was starting to get bored after barely an hour of trying her best at Math.
As much as her dedication to her job and devotion to Rias was high enough to get her to start this slow and soporific study session, nothing did prepare her to deal with the dreadful subject's truest difficulty.
She had been twitching once or twice because her attempts of trying to solve the exercises she had brought for this session were quickly graded with some just attention.
I continued to analyze the minor errors sporadically lingering onto the paper and that rendered the equations wrong in several spots.
It wasn't something to be ashamed for, I was careful to point out during my corrections, as Math wasn't certainly the strongest point of everyone and, if I have to be honest, I was quite sure that she really needed this kind of help at school if this was her genuine approach to 'easy' tests.
Much to my delight the sickness I had been suffering early today had started to slightly reduce its cruel grasp over my sore brain, making it possible for me to work well with the younger student without showing any worrying sign of fatigue.
But I had yet to sing victory, most of the dreadful effects of the Holy energy injection still leaving me a feverish mess as I continued to deal with the explanations to be given to the girl and the corrections if Koneko's completed homework.
She was cutely scowling by the end of the first hour, her eyes narrowing at the piece of paper that I had just finished to correct as if it had killed her Uncle Ben.
Then the silver-haired girl groaned as she was presented with a new sheet with more exercises, her head slowly banging on the table and eliciting a brief smile from me at the adorable sight.
"You know, you shouldn't give up just yet."
She lifted her stare up from the table while keeping her head resting on the furniture as she gave a bored blink back at me, causing me to sigh tiredly at the display of unwillingness to continue.
"You know, you are actually doing better than I did back when I was your age," I hummed with a truthful voice, looking up in remembrance of… something from my former life. "I was quite the terrible thing at Math too, a grave of Fs did take most of my first year at High School after all and…"
Man, it's been a while since I thought about home. I wonder how are the others-
"And?"
I blinked down, noticing the interested tone in the young girl's voice.
Was I getting her attention now? Could it be that… she was suffering of that predicament herself?
"And I just ended up putting myself into it," I finished the sentence with a quiet tone. "I ended up realizing that a helpful hand can take you so far, most of the effort needs to come from within yourself."
"But isn't it still boring?" She sighed, her voice a little whiny but restrained.
Still, it was quite surprising to hear her speak this much genuinely, but I was quick to rule it out as a mere school-related frustration release.
"It is. I don't think I mentioned 'liking the subject'; Mind you, I still hate Math with a passion and I will be the happiest once I end school… away from those evil numbers..."
There was a brief snort which caught my attention almost immediately, Koneko's hand shot up to her mouth, but I could see her cheeks flaring in embarrassment at the agreeing noise.
"As I was saying-" I continued with a small twitchy smile in my face, basking in that sight a little more. "Math is not going to get easy, nor you are ever going to like it. You just need to put yourself on the line and deal with it swiftly and efficiently before getting to deal it in some late stage of the year."
The Nekoshou-in-disguise nodded at this, golden eyes taking in some determined glint while she resumed with her attempts and, much to my glee, I did notice some sudden improvements from her efforts.
There were still some minor errors in the paper as I looked at the mistakes she made along her calculations, but it wasn't as intense as it had been previously
She now gave a positive nod at the reduction of corrections, the development urging her to try more and more with this attemps.
It was after another full hour that I remembered a confusing detail of her current disposition, my eyes soon frowning at the lack of a certain device while she finished another multiplication done in a paper on the side.
"Koneko-san, why are you not using a calculator?" I found myself asking, confused by the fact she was doing calculations by hand.
Koneko paused, blinking twice before nodding.
"Teacher said that for this year calculators weren't to be used during tests." She glanced back at me confused. "Why do you ask, senpai?"
"Well, what your teacher is doing isn't condoned by the rules," I pointed out, my tone once again showing confusion but it was mixed with some annoyance at the fact a sensei might have tried to do this with his class. "Student DO need to have calculators this early in their experience at high school. The exercises are already difficult with those, to think that you did without one..." I finished with a sigh.
Then I nodded to myself.
"I guess I will have to call Sona-san to tell her about the situation."
The silver-haired teen looked surprised at the sudden development, but still managed a grateful nod before blinking in dread at a small situation.
"A-Actually..." She said before sighing nervously. "I don't have a calculator back home, senpai."
Now that was something I could understand for certain reasons.
Since she didn't put much effort in the subject before today, I guess that she didn't mind doing homework without the device.
Still, the girl needed that kind of help and… I slowly walked out of the chair and towards the couch, where my school bag had been resting for a while now.
"Senpai?" Koneko asked in confusion and I nodded as I pulled the small calculator out of my pencil case.
"Tomorrow I will have to skip school so… you can borrow it." I placed it on the table, pushing it towards her. "Once you are done with it, you will just need to give it to Issei and he will pass it to me when he pass around."
She frowned at the mentioning of the pervert. "Why should I even bother talking to him-"
"Because I am asking you to, Koneko-san," I replied with a calm but determined voice. "I know that you are both in the Occult Research Club, so I just hoped you would have the time to do that."
The girl contemplated the dreadful request and ended up sighing tiredly at it.
"Fine… but I will not do anything else with the perverted, correct?"
I nodded and she hummed in agreement, thus returning back to the practice.
The calculator quickly gave a major boost of her effort, time reduced between exercises and allowing her to validate her previous calculations better than before.
Two more hours passed and it was getting time for dinner when Koneko started to yawn tiredly, golden eyes softly sleepy as she rested a little more on the table.
I smiled. "I think you are ready for the exam, Koneko-san."
My words effectively got her attention, eyes widening in surprise at the quiet declaration and her jaw dropped for a moment.
"B-But there were some mistakes."
"Minor ones," I chided softly, causing her eyes to twitch in annoyance at my little stern tone. "You are more than ready to deal with the exam without major issues. Get some rest and-"
"B-But I think that I would enjoy more… time here."
… I hope that this is just about the job.
I hope this is only about the investigation.
"As I said, Koneko-san, you will have no problems in doing the test. Over-exerting yourself for some nervousness could end up making you too tired to sustain it if you continue to study session." I concluded with a smile.
"So… I should just-" She looked quite skeptical about it, but I wasn't finished yet.
"Go back home, eat something good and healthy for dinner and get some rest. You will deal with the exam with a fresh mind and a healthy body." At the end of my words she did seem to flash a brief pout, but she quickly hid it by nodding at me.
"U-Understood, senpai."
A few moments later, the little kohai was helped to the door where we exchanged some goodbyes before I found myself dealing with the aftermath of this all.
I felt incredibly exhausted and my mind cried for some well-deserved rest after the crap I had to deal today… but I still had to make some calls before going to get some napping done.
Thus, sitting silently in the couch I spent few moments to regain some mental energy and started to call the two individuals I had to call before the end of the day.
"Tsubaki-san? I hope I'm not disturbing but..."
"So… we got a situation."
With those few words, Azazel started the emergency session with most of the leaders at Grigori sitting by the large table of the meeting room.
From Shemhazai to Tamiel, the only one absent to this special sitting was Kokabiel.
Not a major surprise for everyone within the reunion, the man having long displayed the disinterest in partaking in those kind of meetings after the current leader had started to take a softer approach regarding the dealings with the other factions.
"What did you do?" Shemhazai and Baraqiel asked almost in unison.
The two shared an understanding glance before returning to stare at the frowning Azazel.
"I didn't do anything… this time," The Governor-General admitted with asigh, the last words with a little bit of embarrassment. "But the situation is still a grave one."
"I hope this is indeed something important, Azazel-kun." Penemue stated, the General Secretary then giving him a teasing smile. "I still have to give you today's paperwork and- oh my, this time its twice than yesterday~."
"Cruel woman," The man started with some fake tears falling off at the mentioning of the greatest threat of them all. "But yes, we have an issue involving our elusive Kokabiel-san."
"The war-hawk?" Shemhazai asked curiously. "I thought he was already monitored after the recent situation-"
"But it seems it isn't enough!" Azazel interjected with an exasperated sigh. "He did some more naughty things and..."
The large screen in the room turned on, several documents and bank details of large transfers highlighted.
"We are risking another war."
…
"What?" Baraqiel slammed his closed fists on the desk, creating some minor cracks on it as he stared confused and angered. "Why didn't you inform us of this before?"
"Because I got this information quite recently and… because I had to confirm some situations within your cadres." The leader explained swiftly, a tired smile on his face as he slouched on his chair. "You know that there are some rebellious elements in your departments, right?"
There was a full minute of silence at that question, some dreadfully nodding while others looking as confused if not more than Baraqiel.
"You mean that Kokabiel could… spark a civil war in Grigori?" Armaros asked cautiously, looking around the table and finding some nods of agreement at his legitimate query.
"He could but… I think he will not do it now," Azazel replied with a careful voice. "At least not until he is sure to have the power to win the eventual struggle."
The man then stood up, his eyes continuing to glance at the documents visible from the screen.
"I think he is trying to poke hard at the Church and at the Devil's faction to spark the second conflict."
"And you are sure of this… because?" Tamiel inquired while frowning at the precise theory, confused over the accurate thinking.
Yet Azazel did smile and gave him a nod.
"Because he has been buying the loyalty of some stray exorcists sited in Rome," He answered with an irritated voice. "I think he is aiming to stole something from them or maybe even go as far to kill some important figure."
"He isn't suicidal to go after the Pope." Shemhazai considered carefully and quickly.
"But he would give a try to kill a Cardinal and get some attention shifted in Japan," The leader interrupted with a serious look.
"Why Japan of all places?" Tamiel mused over, glancing at the sighing man.
"Because that is the place alluded by my little source, he did mention that a group of Fallen Angels went rogue after some simple orders of studying a subject in Kuoh Town."
Baraqiel shifted nervously, knowing that his daughter lived there.
"K-Kuoh Town? What were they doing here?"
"The Red Dragon Emperor," Azazel revealed with some little hesitation, having kept the news limited to just a few of the members in that room. "I found him almost a decade ago in that part of Japan and I just wanted to make sure to get him to join to Grigori once he was old enough to train."
"What did the group do then? Did they kill him perhaps?" Penemue suggested but, seeing Azazel nodding at her, she let her eyes widened in shock. "What!? You mean to tell me some recruits of Grigori went that far to go against an order from you? Who are this idiots?!"
"Raynare, Mittelt, Kawalarner and Dohnaseek."
The answer got some head-shaking from most of the group.
"You sent some rebellious fools and you expected them to not get cocky about their roles? What did you smoke, Azazel?" Sahariel finally stated, annoyed by how things were turning out to be grim this suddenly.
"I tried to have them re-assigned somewhere else but…" He took a brief pause, then sighed again. "I got news that someone of high importance decided to have them still sent there."
"Kokabiel?" Baraqiel suggested and was met with a nod. "Damn it!"
Some furious whispers were exchanged through the table and the leader of Grigori let this happen for a while, trying to get everyone to release some steam before continuing.
Much to his displeasure, his close friend and Vice decided to ask a very important but uneasy question to answer.
"Still, you mentioned a source gave you all this material, how do we know that this isn't just a trap from Kokabiel so he could gain some advantage?"
Azazel looked partly hesitant as he considered his next words and… that was weird for everyone present to the meeting.
Their leader, as much as sheepish he might sound once in a while, would never look this much clueless about something in any particular situation.
"I… might have got news that one of the members of Raynare's camp had been killed; Dohnaseek was found dead in Kuoh's park, the wounds that were found on him were caused from a Light Spear created by him."
"You mean he impaled himself?" Tamariel asked with a quizzical look on his face.
"No, the angles which the holes were found suggested that someone took his weapon and used it to kill him." Azazel answered without hesitation. "And the possibility that this was committed by a fellow Fallen Angel is disproved by something else our investigator found in that place."
"And that is? Don't keep us in the dark, Azazel." Baraqiel pressed on, now intrigued by the situation considering whom lived in that city.
The leader blinked and then smiled once more.
"Silver Lining. Several seals to be exact were found and were supposedly used to keep the man's body stuck as he was killed by his aggressor."
"Isn't that basic magic… that even humans can use?" Penemue muttered curious about this whole development. "Do you think it was a human that caused it and then sent you this info?"
"It wouldn't be a Devil because our Fake Holy energy would hurt them and I think from the message this whole documentation had reached me with was written by someone young, I would dare to say a student sent me this." The man nodded at his own suggestion. "The lack of details and the informality of his wording make it clear that he is inexperienced over the matter, but resourceful enough to make use of modern devices."
Baraqiel sighed. "So you think there is a young Magician at Kuoh Academy?"
"That is correct idea, my dear friend!" Azazel clapped his hands once to praise the intervention. "But I think I will get some more proof once I will be there to personally oversee the scene and the area to find my elusive contact."
Shemhazai's face darkened at the last bit of his proclamation.
"Azazel, you are not leaving me to deal with the paperwork-"
"Sowwy, Shemmy, but I've already taken a ticket for a flight to Japan for tomorrow," The man-child hummed without restraint. "I'm sorry I didn't give much of a notice to deal with, but this is an… emergency."
"You will not leave me to-"
But the outburst was interrupted by quite the sudden action.
"Too late~!"
In that very instant the windows on the side of the building broke as a laughing Azazel deployed his wings and flied out of the building, leaving behind some surprised subordinates behind.
An incensed Vice-Director tried and failed to give chase as a giggly Penemue latched at him, the notes about the amount of paperwork he would have to deal today and tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a chuckling Baraqiel stared at this familiar scene from afar, keeping himself away from the dreadful fate of his good friend.
This very situation proved how refusing the offer of becoming the Vice to the organization years ago had been a wise one, already knowing well enough how Azazel would have made him suffer through his career by dropping on his already imposing stack of paperwork his own tower of suffering.
And yet, as he contemplated over the behavior of his old friend, the man couldn't but consider the nervousness the man had while talking about the Red Dragon Emperor and… the situation at Kuoh.
It's been so long since he had seen his baby girl and maybe it would have done Shuri happy if he had finally gone and see how she was faring as the Queen of Rias Gremory, after so many years of avoiding meeting up with her.
It didn't help that his paternal instincts were acting up at the knowledge that Kokabiel was planning something terrible right in the city where his baby girl was trying to enjoy a normal life as a student at high school.
Part of him also wondered if their daughter got other than her Mama's appearance also her 'interesting' personality bits. How nostalgic, how intriguing!
AN
The Plot is moving, Koneko is not going to open up suddenly and unrealistically this chapter (we are too early for that) and Asia-chan is going to appear next chapter. I have plans to screw with the plot just a little for the sake of coherence as the encounter with Azazel will coincide with another major event.
I know that it might seem like I am trying to pull something weird there with the canon plot, but I have plans of having our MC do some extra work away from the original story. Important work too.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
Tom24800: I mean, I consider energy absorption kind of like a blood transfusion. If it isn't done carefully it could end up killing the one getting the procedure and I wanted to limit his Opness this early on. Spoiler Alert! He will get OP.
Guestic: Yes and also no. I am going to make sure to reference multiple characters with the various additions to the arsenal. While Silver Linings is currently referencing to Walter Dornez, there is also another character that inspired this particular spell and it will become evident once this spell get upgraded.