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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 4: Sweet Meeting and Cold Refusal
I was regretting my little experiment.
Waking up with a migraine and with my body suffering with something close to a hangover situation, I was pretty much feeling like crap when I started to eat some cookies for breakfast.
My stomach felt churning in disgust, rejecting even the small baked goods and almost sending me to the bathroom for the aches I was experiencing.
Said effects were difficult to hide and father picked quickly that something was wrong with me.
Cue the several questions coming from the renowned doctor of Kuoh, the man pestering me for a good hour before nodding at the sufficient level of knowledge I had over the matter: I was sick because of an infection happening in a cut in my hands, I had it already bandaged and I've already taken in the medicines to deal with the resulting symptoms of the infection.
There was some confusion regarding the extent of the effects of the medical pills to counter the infection, seeing that I looked way more ill than I should be when he first noticed me, but I managed to shrug it off by saying it was just a minor allergic reaction and that I would be fine.
Maybe it was the pressure of possibly turning late for work if he continued with the interrogation what truly made him back down from that subject, but the man easily accepted the excuse and waved me a goodbye as he and mother went for the car, directed at their respective jobs.
Once the vehicle was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief and went back to my room.
Opening the wardrobe I picked some good clothes and started to change with those, folding my Pjs at the end of the bed.
While I should seriously take some rest from this long process of energetic integration, I had to move quickly to make sure to alter a crucial bit of the timeline.
Asia was supposed to be coming in Kuoh today and… I should also catch up with Issei.
The intrusions of yesterday taught me that planned encounters were going to be monitored and if I wanted to have a chance to finally explain some of the new things to the owner of the Welsh Dragon Sacred Gear, I needed to intercept him while he went to school.
Before doing so I also needed to go and buy some groceries as the fridge was starting to get quite empty.
Thus I first ventured to the local super-market to buy some ice cream, some fruits and other veggies.
There wasn't a shortage of meat-related food back home, thus I just went to get the products that were actually missing.
I did concede myself some ice cream to deal with the painful effects of the integration, hoping that suddenly ingesting a cold treat wasn't going to slow down the biological process.
Once I got everything paid, I walked out of the store and started to think where Issei could be around this time.
It was fairly early in the morning, but I didn't doubt the younger student would be already out to walk to school, his house quite distant from the place.
It was odd to think that, as perverted the boy was, the youth didn't make any other issues with the school's rules.
Very respectful of the classes' times, good grades and praised numerous times by his curious interest in Japanese History.
Odd for someone with a bad reputation with the entire student population.
It was in that moment I did remember a minor detail I was almost forgetting about.
In Canon, Issei meets Asia near the local park and, wasting no more time in my thoughts I proceeded to take the proper path to the next section of the town I had to visit.
It took me few minutes and, much to my awe, I was bestowed with a familiar sight from the show.
Being that I was looking at someone with 'real life glasses', Asia Argento was breath-taking.
Her golden locks were well-cared considering that she lived a humble life, her hair was clean and pristine while her suave face was something I had trouble to not look at.
It was just like the first time I saw Akeno and Rias, the beauties of this series so incredibly impressive to look early on and yet… there was just something incredibly 'more' about the little nun.
Asia was surely going to give some harsh competition to the girls even without trying, of that I was sure of.
As I finished looking at the nun, the young girl fixing her clothes after her clumsy fall, I slowly turned to the little problem of this scene.
Issei was slowly helping in putting back the various piece of clothes that had fallen out of the suitcase of the foreign female, stopping more than once to stare at… intimate objects within the case.
I narrowed my eyes and starting to pace towards the unsuspecting kohai of mine, stopping moments before crashing onto him as I waited for him to notice my presence.
Being that I was covering the sunlight that helped the boy look better at the panties he was currently holding, Issei slowly turned to see who was causing the shadows coming from behind and…
He blinked once.
Then twice.
Finally he paled, eyes widened and his jaws dropped.
"S-Senpai! W-What are you doing here?"
"Doing some groceries and thought of try to find you now to speak about that important things… to think you would do that to a poor nun of all people."
He looked back at the panties and dropped them back inside the container, swiftly doing the same with the other clothes before staring back at me with a nervous look.
"S-See, just a minor mistake." He chuckled sheepishly, expecting some retribution at being caught in a perverted act but… I decided to grace him and merely sigh.
"Just… don't do that ever again." I blinked as I slowly turned back to the blonde. "By the way, who is the- Uh?"
As I spun around to face the nun, I found myself facing Asia, blue eyes looking concerned at my gloved hands as her very soft ones started to caress it. "Did you get hurt?"
I blinked. "I may have, yes. Why do you-"
It was kind of sudden but then a soft green light coated my entire arm and… I started to felt vigor returning to my entire body.
Gone was the fatigue and the tiredness, gone was the aching from my belly and the back pains that had tortured me for a full day now.
My eyes were wide open as I let the girl finish her treatment and blinked once the light stopped covering the limb.
I had merely thought about the possible sensation 'Twilight Healing' could have given to the patient being cured and… to think that it would so…
"Meraviglioso..." Wonderful…
The girl gasped for a moment, my mind catching up quickly that I did speak in my native language for a moment and had to hold back a flinch at the recognition in her eyes.
"Siete un Italiano anche voi?" Could you be that you are an Italian too?
I almost gave out my entire cover, what the hell is wrong with me? Why did those cute girls have this effect on me of all people?!
"Parlo poco la lingua, imparato da cliente di Padre." I can barely speak it, I learned from client of dad.
"Oh?" She deflated a little but then seemed to regain some happiness at the fact someone could partly understand her. "T-Then could you help me find the local church, good sir?"
I blinked at the was she was addressing me and I faked a frown at her mentioning the 'local' church.
"You mean the one that is not used, young miss?" I smiled at the pale blush at the way I returned the addressing, but then sighed. "I am sorry to say that it is not a safe place to go. The police did issue a warning to not visit it."
Her eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. "W-What? I-I thought that-"
"There had been some unpleasant people there and… some found a dead man in the park quite recently."
She gasped at the following news and Issei frowned at the mentioning of Dohnaseek at the girl but I nodded to him as I hummed in thought.
"Young miss, would you like to accept my gratitude for your kind gesture by inviting you to the local ice cream parlor? I think they just finished to refurbish the store and-"
"M-My name is Asia, Asia Argento. A-And the offer is truly kind but I healed you without a need of a reward or-" In that moment a soft growl reached for my ears, Issei blinking in surprise too as he heard it too.
The girl's blush worsened and she looked away as her treacherous belly ruined her selfless moment.
"I think you would do well with some breakfast, signorina."
She smiled at being called 'young lady' and sighed. "F-Fine, but it is only because you are insisting..."
I chuckled and Issei was the one taking the suitcase, his strength partly augmented so he barely felt the weight in his hands.
A few moments later, Asia took a spoonful of her cup of 'Fior-di-Latte' ice cream, enjoying the delicious flavor as Issei took a chocolate cone and I picked a cup of watermelon flavor. I just enjoyed the chocolate bits.
"S-Senpai, y-you kind of promised some explanations-"
"And I am ready to give some answers. But let's start with something you wish to know more about."
He appreciated the offer of having some of his important questions solved and nodded.
"W-Why is Asia-chan here for this?" He turned at the confused girl and tried to wave in an appeasing way. "I- I mean, this discussion should be kind of private and-"
"That is because I wish to discuss about Asia-san's current living quarters from now on." I glanced at the blonde. "Asia, do you understand that the local Church is a stronghold of Fallen Angels, right?"
She looked surprised at my knowledge of the race but nodded with a sad look, causing Issei to narrow my eyes in my direction. "I… I do."
"I want to say that I don't find the fact you healed a Devil to be a reason to warrant the punishment you suffered, signorina," I stated with some genuine interest. "Quite the opposite, I found it a commendable act."
The nun perked, eyes sparkling at the mentioning of the event that costed her the place within the community of God, but I think the kind comment was what got her mostly happy.
"I… I don't know what to say and… actually, why is Issei-san needing your assistance, Mr-"
I softly facepalmed and groaned at forgetting that important thing. "I kind of… forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" Smiling, I gave a quick bow with my head. "I am Hoitsu Sakakibara and I am Issei's senpai at school."
She tilted her head by the side. "S-Senpai?"
There wasn't a clear translation of that specific term in Italian, so I had to explain it to her.
"I am his senior at school and thus there is a relationship of support for him to growth and get a grip over his study."
The boy blushed as I patted his shoulder. "I- I am not that bad-"
"You are if you have to be taken to the teachers with your 'naughty' behavior." His blush worsened, the fact that he was a pervert still eluding the confused nun.
"Anyway, I was saying that the church was under Fallen Angels' control and- those are not the good kind of people within Grigori, Asia-san."
"B-But I thought that they were there by A-Azazel-san's order?"
I nodded partially at her outdated knowledge.
"This was the case at first, then their leader decided to rebel against him and try to steal the Sacred Gears she could get." Then I pointed at the boy. "Issei here has a Sacred Gear and was attacked a few days ago by the leader of the group here, left to die as his 'gift' was mistaken for something weak."
Issei flinched at the telling of his near-death experience and was taken by surprise as Asia quickly looked at him with a genuine worried look. "R-Really, Issei-san?"
"I-I almost died, yeah but-"
"I think I should explain that myself, Issei," I interrupted him, the boy frowning at the intrusion in that intimate closeness of theirs. "As the topic is fairly complex and it has to be… well-detailed."
The nun frowned. "W-What do you mean? Y-You think I could mistake something?"
"Kind of, yes. You see Kuoh Town is currently the fief of the heiresses of two Devil Clans, the Gremory and the Sitri-"
"Y-You mean that Issei-san-?" Asia interjected as realization materialized in her features.
"Was turned in a Devil, yes. Previously a human, this young man has been recently thrown inside the big tug war."
Her innocent stare returned to the brunet and she frowned. "Y-You think that I would doubt the g-genuine helpfulness of Issei-san, Hoitsu-senpai?"
I blinked at the honorific and the stubborn tone behind her voice.
"I mean, without some context some people would be careful around a Devil. No, I wasn't thinking you of that… I mean, you did heal a Devil before."
She blushed at the remark and nodded, accepting the quick explanation given. This time it was Issei that spoke.
"Senpai, you also mentioned that I had this 'Sacred Gear'. Buchou explained to me what it generally was but… she didn't know which one I had."
"The knowledge of one Sacred Gear's identity is given by the power it can deploy. I would be lying in saying I knew certainly the true identity of yours, but I did found your energy pattern… unique," I carefully explained, trying to bring some logical reasoning behind my discovery instead of blowing my SI cover. "Rather similar to how a dragonic one should feel like and, since you are hardly someone driven by logic but by heart and emotion, I would say you have the Red Welsh Dragon."
…
"W-What?"
I sighed as I knew I had to go fairly deep in the lore for this. "The Red Dragon Emperor is part of the 13 Longinus, the Boosted Gear is how it's known commonly," I continued to tell, careful to not rush too many things at once. "Differently from Asia's Twilight Healing, this is a very powerful Sacred Gear and it is considered to be one of the few ones that could manage to kill the Satans if its full potential is unlocked."
"B-But how does it work?" The brunet asked, a little awed by the description. "I can form the gauntlet but-"
"You ended up with a very lazy Dragon within yourself, Ise." My comment surprised both teens and I smiled smugly as I continued. "You see, Ddraig is not as helpful as Albion is, he sleep all-day and has the least victory against his rival. I wonder why he is considered a Heavenly Dragon if he is that dumb."
Issei blinked, eyes widening the more the words left my mouth and he let out a nervous chuckle as his gauntlet formed right as I finished this little session of roasting.
Asia blinked in surprise at the appearance of the dragonic arm on her new friend, but I think she was mostly taken by what I was trying to do here.
I was glad that there weren't many people there and that the workers were all sitting inside and chatting away while waiting for some other clients, thus unable to see what was going on here.
"U-Uh, senpai, I think you should-" But the teen's plea fell deaf as I continued.
"And let us not forget about the time he and Tiamat went-"
"Okay! That is enough, Magician!"
The sudden outburst coming from the Boosted Gear ended up making me crack a smile at the familiar voice. "And here is the sleeping drake-"
"Desist from that remarking, I know what you are trying to do here by trying to get a raise on me."
I raised a brow at that. "Truly? Then pray tell, what do I want from you?"
"Support, help and… power-"
"Wrong, wrong and also wrong." I sighed tiredly. "I want a very simple thing from you, Ddraig, and… that is something that has to do with Issei."
The brunet blinked in surprise, pointing at himself with his normal arm. "M-Me?"
"Oh? Do you wish to have him as your minion or-"
"Can you stop with throwing senseless accusations?!" I interrupted with a groan. "It's starting to get quite annoying and what I meant is…" I sighed. "I need you to train him."
"Train this weak host?" Issei let out a soft 'Hey' but the dragon ignored him. "While he does have an… interesting group of people around, I fail to see the potential he might have."
"I consider him your best bet against the current owner of Albion," I shot back with a huf. "The host is a powerful Devil which… I would like to see kicked around here and there."
"Some revenge? Did he slight you?"
"Just angry at how he could ruin things around if not stopped early on."
"Some preventive strike? You wish to make use of my rivalry?!" He seemed angry but at this point I could recognize the bluff from his heated tone.
"Would you truly mind that? You would still get some victories against Albion."
"T-That is true but- ARGH! You are one of the most infuriating humans I had to deal in my entire existence!"
Okay, I think that was kind of flattering knowing the lengthy presence of Ddraig in this universe.
Sadly, the smug victory was dampened by his following words.
"Differently from the fair and gorgeous babe sitting near us."
Asia blushed a storm at that unexpected barrage of compliments compressed in that sentence and Issei poked at the Gear.
"Excuse you?! What are you saying to Asia-chan?"
"Being a blunt and honest male with good ideas for her beauty- Gah, stop poking now!"
Despite the protests, the boy continued to poke even harder than before.
Meanwhile, the blonde had a hand pressed on her lips as she tried and failed to contain her mirthful giggles at the comic scene.
A few moments later, after the bickering of the boy and the dragon was finished, Issei did remember that he had to go to school.
So bidding goodbye after some guarantees and assurances that I would take Asia to a safe place (which was his house and I forgot to tell him about that), the girl and I started to walk towards the Hyoudou's residence.
Every corner I would glance first before going with the nun in tow, knowing full well that Raynare might as well have decided to wander around to find Asia to avoid any other hindrances to her plan.
It was weird for someone as cautious as her to attack in broad daylight but-
I heard a gasp and then I was pushed forward, almost falling on the ground and I turned around at the sound of something making a loud noise.
Thud
My eyes widening at the sudden noise, I was greeted with Asia fallen on the road and a pool of blood forming underneath her clothes. The liquid was coming from the gaping wound in her lower chest and the cause of the injury was the vanishing dark-pink light spear piercing her.
I-I almost died!
"Shit! She had to jump and take the hit, that idiotic nun-" Raynare was flying right above us, she sighed as she turned her attention at me. "That means I will have to take care of you so we can go ahead with the process. To think that I have to risk this much..."
Several other light spears formed above me and, feeling the shock starting to get replaced by seething anger, I decided to try out if Twilight Healing did bolster the integration process to completion.
I remembered the composition of the spell and the pure emotional grade required to fully form the spears and soon I was graced with several dark-gray blades of light.
The Fallen Angel blinked in surprise before snarling, her six dark-pink spears launched towards me. Responding to the threat, my own Light Spears propelled to intercept her own and minor blast of lights echoes across the street.
There was surprise and fury within the woman's eyes but I wasn't going to back down now.
Asia required help and I had to kill this bitch as quickly as possible.
Why can't things just go my way even this early on the story?!
AN
Cliffhanger, Raynare just attacked! And she has mortally damaged Asia-chan!
The battle will be epic and… divided in two sections and times.
While our MC could technically work around the odds with some ingenuity and good-thinking, doing so would prolong the fight and further reduce the chances of saving the nun.
Can he works in this situation to win and saw our lovable young, Italian nun?
Quick explanation about the Light Spears and other Magical Constructs: While a Magical Construct is connected to its creator and could be dispelled in normal circumstances, the connection between creator and construct can be severed or altered by external magic. This was the case with Dohnaseek's spear being used against him and, before anyone ask how someone with 'Earthly' magic is capable of sustain the spear, the answer lies in what the drain entails. The spear drains energy, Earthly energy could work as an alternative for the toll but it would require much more because of its lesser quality compared to Holy energy.
Also about Twilight Healing: I know, I am going a little over the usual AN's length but I wish to avoid any issues with what I am pulling there. This Sacred Gear can only cure injuries and wounds, but cannot cure sickness and fatigue… and yet it worked on the MC? The solution is that those two are not independent things but are caused by the process, an injury to one Magic Core that allows the implementation of a secondary magical energy within the body. With the process concluded swiftly, the two bad factors are removed from affecting the MC.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
RedBurningDragon: Yes.
NazgulBelserion: There are plans to change Ise a little. His harem will receive a minor dynamic change but mostly everyone will be there (Keyword being 'mostly').
Bearticguy7: He will become something unique and powerful, close to something already existing but it ain't a Dragon.