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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 20: Fairly Unjust

I hummed a little as I slowly led the tired Suzaku Himejima out of the small room where the ritual has happened, the young woman still tired from the draining process and requiring some assistance to move around.

The priestess was thankful for the support and I was smart enough to not lose myself in watching her sweaty form. As much as she was extremely beautiful, the mere idea of ogling now of all times felt not only disgusting but despicable and dishonest.

Thus most of my attention was directed at cautiously move around the creaky wood ground of the hallways that made the upper floor of the establishment. Now that I had this little issue solved, I was quickly noticing that things felt much clearer than before.

My sensor capacity felt distinctly heightened, my body felt revitalized and my core seemed to purr contently while I first tried to check if things were now alright, electricity cackling within my fingertips for a moment before I got off the bed.

We finally descended through the staircase that led back to the first floor of the bar, the sight to the large room that housed the various clients hidden from the end of the stairs by a simple wall with a connecting door by the far left side.

Once this was opened, I was graced with a scene I had not expected to see back to the bar.

Vali was trying to claw at Tobio while at the same time dodging an attack from the black sword his opponent was holding in his hand, the man's body was covered by the Balance Breaker of Canis Lykaos and he had an irritated snarl plastered on his muzzle.

I blinked at the scene, but my confusion was diverted away back to the Himejima when she sighed tiredly. "I think I now know who is your companion." The comment wasn't made out of feeble evidence, the holder of Divine Dividing was using Albion's wing to bolster his current reaction speed against the clearly faster Ikuse.

"I should take you to safety first..." And then I will deal with what was going on over there.

The woman nodded and I proceeded to slowly go through the corners of the little battlefield of broken tables and chairs while eyeing the counter, Baraqiel shaking his head at the two brawlers while Sae was groaning in her hands.

Once we were there, Suzaku smile and nodded thankful as she took a seat back in one of the stools, giving me the chance of ask to the Fallen Angel what was going on.

"Sougyoku-kun decided to poke fun at Tobio-kun and ended up bringing a sore memory of my former student." There was a minor flinch on the man's face at the mentioning of that predicament, causing me to frown in renewed confusion.

A sore memory? Maybe something that had yet to appear in the Slash Dog series?

The LN was still leaving some questions about how things ended up like they were now, but whatever got the bartender this worked up it has to be something incredibly delicate. Tobio is far too chill in normal situations to be enraged by anything simple.

"The moron should learn to let go." Sae continued. "I'm still here and it wasn't his fault."

I tilted my head on the side, trying to understand the few words from the childhood friend of the Slash Dog and… I returned to watch the fight.

Tobio looked particularly winded, but not even close to concede a defeat, while Vali looked quite weak as of now, his reaction time sloppy and his ragged breathing that we could hear from this far were signs that he was close to collapse.

"Why isn't he using his Balance Breaker?" I asked softly, confused at the lack of the white dragonic armor.

Baraqiel sighed. "He did try to use it, but Tobio-kun's speed and claws shattered it before it could fully form."

The limited space offered little opportunity to pull a proper Balance Breaker without getting intercepted by the semi-rabid steps of the werewolf-like enemy. Jin was also stalking around and giving support with his own sword where he could, further aggravating the Vanishing Dragon's chances of getting some counterattack going.

"Why would he even try to go for a fight with someone he knew he was losing to?"

I turned at the sudden silence and blinked in shock as I found myself looked at with a deadpanned look from the three senior members of Grigori. Then I realized and sighed. "It's his cockiness, isn't it?"

"Yes. I reckon your partner is quite… an idiot in this kind of situations." Sae muttered, shaking her head in disappointment.

I shrugged helplessly as I had little control over the boy, but as I was about to ask something else a yelp caught my attention, forcing me to look back at the small battlefield.

Dark-red fire started to consume a portion of the destroyed floor, Vali was holding his left arm close to the chest and I could see some smoke coming from it, the owner of the Canis Lycaon snarling aggressively as his pace grew faster, more feral than before and giving even less mercy to the clearly disadvantaged Sougyoku.

'He isn't in control anymore.' Apophis was correct, the once well-planned stance was now fading into something animal-like, mindless.

We should help him-

Or maybe let the others intervene? We aren't certainly ready to face anything like that yet.

"Tobio, stop!" Baraqiel had his wings deployed and seemed ready to jump in action, but just as he was ready to stop this mess from degenerating further, Vali was brought down on the floor with a powerful slam, the bartender's claws poised up above his head and ready to strike down his 'enemy'.

But just as the killing blow descended upon the barely awake Vanishing Dragon, several strings of light appeared and latched onto the lycan-like body, tying it down while Tobio started to struggle to get free from my intervention.

I started to walk slowly towards the groaning Vali, crouching to pick him up and then made my way back to the stools, placing the injured moron on two of those and ignoring his confused stare and the surprised ones from the other three by the counter.

"Sensei." I looked at the Fallen Angel. "I have to deal with Tobio-san, alone."

The man's eyes widened. "What are you talking about, brat? You can't win-"

"I don't need to win. I only need to stall him enough for Tobio-san to calm down enough to drop the Balance Breaker and I'm quite sure that having you to help will only make him feel threatened."

I pointed at the glass ceiling and at the sky. It was darkening, one of the aspects of Canis Lykaon was render the skies to darkness, which was going to cause some issue if it continued or worsened.

Stretching a little, I went back to where I had found the downed Vali and looked up at the growling bartender. I blinked a little nervous about facing someone like goddamn Tobio Ikuse at his prime, glancing momentarily to the side as I did notice Jin stalking around us.

"I don't want to hurt Tobio-san. Just need him to calm down, he is angry and… he is scaring his friends." The large wolf-like familiar paused just a moment, glancing by the counter and saw Sae looking particularly scared at how her childhood friend was behaving.

The dog sat down, the sword on his teeth vanishing as he seemed to retire from the battle that was resuming now.

With a final roar, the owner of Canis Lykaon broke the last of the Silver Linings I had over him and he was quickly rushing for me, claws ready to strike and blade in his other hand prepared to defend.

I dodged the approaching attack, sliding by his side and slamming a fist upon his ribs… only to have my punch bounce away, knuckles hurting just a little.

'His armor is impervious to physical attacks. Start using magic against him.'

Nodding to myself, I quickly set down some Light Mines while jumping away from the recovered opponent. Tobio roared again, this time in pain as three consecutive explosions sent him flying several meters away.

He slammed on some chairs and tables, wood splinters propelled from his impact but bouncing away from his armor. Growling, the man's claws glowed a dark hue and I felt panic rising as I remembered one of his more obscure abilities.

Jumping high and far away from the ground, I saw thousands of black swords emerge from my shadows, moments away from tearing me up.

Nigh Haken was a scary ability, one I will have to be careful while fighting him. Still, it was better than deal with Ame-no-Ohabari and its flames, my Light Static being unable to properly disperse cursed fire and leaving me with nothing to deal with it.

But just as I found some relief away from that close call, I found myself slammed down by a large claw pushing onto my crossed arms.

I had just the time to groan, Tobio picking me up and bringing my face close to his muzzle. He opened up and showed his sharp teeth, while snarling and preparing to take a bite out of me.

Without even thinking twice about it, I let my Light Static course out of my body and into the close monster-like berserk, the Ikuse whining at the sudden pain and reacting by letting me go and… kicking me brutally on the stomach.

I slammed through several chairs before rolling down on the floor, my breakfast trying to get out of my mouth but failing as I put a hand under my mask to press my lips close, feeling the acidity leave a foul taste on my throat.

He doesn't look to be recovering from his furious state.

'He actually looks to be focusing more on his attacks, an animal wouldn't have gone through that 'complex' strategy to get you. Using the swords to lure you in a position you can't defend yourself in.'

Still that is kind of bad because I don't think I can hold for long. I need some help but-

Quit your nagging, Hoitsu. You asked for the fight and… I think I can help you somehow.

I thought you couldn't do much with the abomination taking most of the energy.

I still have the one that helped me in forming a consciousness and… I think we can pull something like the Vizards in Bleach did, minus the mask.

'Vizards? Bleach?'

I am talking about ripping off some 'transformation' from a fictional animated series which has to do with someone synchronizing with their own inner darkness.

I do remember that Ichigo couldn't go further than the mask tho.

That is because he had a dipshit as his own dark side. You have me and… I ain't a Hollow, thus let's see how this works, shall we?

I sighed, paling a little as I saw Tobio jump up above and directing his fall towards me, maws first.

Fine, but I hope you know what you are doing.

I felt something vibrate happily within my core and then time slowed down just a little, dark smoke starting to leave my arms, my legs and the sides of my face and… I smiled at the sudden energy recharge for my reserves.

The Isuke seemed to notice immediately the strange change, a bit confused as his mid-air stance soften a little, his eyes widening in realization as I rushed towards him with a quick burst and slammed my fist right on his chest.

'It… worked?'

While previously the armor had rendered direct physical attacks useless, the energy flooding my coils were now reinforcing my limbs and my overall physical attributes. I was surprised myself, so much that I had to ask some more explanations about this.

What did you do?

Do you remember why Touki and Senjutsu are incredibly difficult to learn?

...Because both require time to-

Because both can cause the weakening of one's self and the strengthening of their own dark side. But what happens if the Dark Side refuse to accept the negativity? Look at the smoke.

I complied, eyes directed at it as I had some time before the owner of Canis Lykaon recovered from that powerful attack. What about it?

'It's negativity.' Apophis replied. 'You are filtering out the negativity within the natural energy Hoitsu is absorbing.'

Correct~! But sadly this form isn't eternal and I think you will last two minutes of staying in this form so… finish this off already?

I nodded to myself and narrowed my eyes at the still aggressive bartender, a howl preceding another rush towards me, this time several Silver Linings wrapped around his legs and forced him to trip down on the floor. More strings joined up and soon he was elevated away from his own shadow, enough light ropes keeping him stuck still as I advanced swiftly towards me to end this fight once for all.

My fist tightened a little more as I jumped and cocked for another punch, planning to make this the final hit. "Take this, Tobio-san!"

I slammed my closed palm upon his Linings-covered chest with the strength I had mustered, the impact tearing all of the Linings and sending him diving onto the ground like a big bullet.

The entire building gave a temporary shake as dust started to cover the 'exploded' section of the establishment.

Legs wavering, I fell on one knee as the form I had finally collapsed, my Core a little strained but still working at optimal levels and without lasting damages on my coils.

I was sure that I had managed to beat him once for all and yet…

Deflating at the sounds of footsteps approaching, I tried to stand up, only ending up to fall on my butt as a figure emerged from the still fluttering dust.

The werewolf-like armor stared at me silently, Tobio's posture relaxed for a moment and lacking any of the feral aspects I had to deal with until now.

"That… hurt." The armor disappeared in dark-purple particles, the bartender holding his chin while caressing it, the spot in question red and a little swelling. "Did you have to hit that hard?"

I breathed in and then out. "You know that you were in a berserk state, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but-"

"And that you were hardly holding back there?"

"Well, kind of but-"

"I had to hit you with my strongest attacks to get on your protected self a mere swelling, and let me remind you again that Canis Lykaon BB's armor isn't something that I could normally hit physicially."

"About that-"

"And you ask 'Why I had to hit you that hard'?!" He flinched a little at my words and he looked down to the ground, not daring to interject any further at the fact I wasn't showing any leniency at that stupid question.

I slowly got up from the ground and started to limp towards the counter, ignoring Tobio's attempt to help me with this task and eyeing only an individual in particular. Someone that was the prime responsible for this situation which I felt bitchy about and he looked better than before.

Tear of Phoenix from Baraqiel, I deduced as I was finally close enough to my target.

Vali looked confused, clueless of the troubling storm riddling my logical thoughts as I decided to seek an apology by other means.

While my arm was sore and my knuckles were still hurting, I felt better in punching the Vanishing Dragon right in the guts. The effect was instantaneous, the boy crouching a little and backing away from me as I went to walk towards the waiting man.

The Fallen Angel looked surprised, confused, suspicious but very relieved that I was still alive and well. "Do you need a flask?" I nodded and accepted the small bottle.

"I know that you want to ask about that, but for now I will say it has to do with Senjutsu, not 'whatever issue you found yesterday'."

Baraqiel looked skeptical but nodded slowly, accepting only because I looked still normal from the looks of it.

"Ara, Ara, Tobio-kun got quite the bruise on himself." Suzaku looked to have recovered from the ritual, the woman smiling regally at the now blushing bartender while ignoring the huffing from Sae.

"You should have been more careful with Sougyoku, Tobio-kun. By the way, what did he tell you to get you this much angry."

The owner of the Black Dog bar blinked, then directed a deadly glare at the groaning holder of the Divine Dividing Sacred Gear, sighing the moment he saw the others staring at him. "Nothing that will get me… next time."

Then he turned once more to stare at me. "I want to apologize for… almost killing you there, Hekishoku-kun. If there is something I can do to gain forgiveness, please, just ask."

I blinked, ready to refuse this but… then I glanced at the priestess and at the researcher, a small plan hatching within my mind.

"I think I have the rightful punishment but also the proper reward." I nodded with a smile. "But before I truly say it, I wish to know what is Sae-san's relationship with Tobio-san."

The brunette blinked in confusion. "We are childhood friends-"

"With all due respect and without meaning it as a tease, would you mind if I demanded that he gave you and Suzaku-san free massages?"

… "W-What? Th-That sounds incredibly perverted and-"

"I know that the teasing material would be immense, but I do notice that you are interested in something serious with Tobio-san and… I think you wouldn't like to be excluded if I did that only with Suzaku-san." I interrupted, once more bringing more reasoning out for this and I noticed her hesitating from responding. "Plus, if he tries anything perverted you could just tell me and I would come back here to give him a beating."

The bartender sputtered at that. "T-That sounds incredibly lewd a-and I don't want to importunate Sae-chan and Suzaku-nee-"

"It's Suzaku-chan, Tobio-kun, and I think the 'punishment' is quite fitting for my needy sore body." She turned to her fellow female with a smile. "Sae-chan, I promise you that I will not tease you about this if you just accept it."

The confirmation of no teasing, plus my sugar-coated words seemed to do the trick as the young woman sighed tiredly. "Fine, but I hope you will uphold that promise in case he did something perverted."

"I will get back on training and reach Tobio-san's level in no time. Plus, I will have Sougyoku-kun's help in any future fight with him." I turned to look at the grouchy-looking Vali. "Am I right, partner?"

He didn't reply at first, giving me a deadly stare before sighing. "If we combine our strengths… it could work."

I smiled widely at that comment and nodded his way. Finally some progress!

We continued to chit-chat amiably for an hour or two, finishing around lunchtime.

Since I had left no one back at home to keep care of Kunou, I had to return quickly and so, after leaving Vali in the spot where we had found him earlier that day, Baraqiel left me by the door's entrance before leaving for a quick walk to the pub.

It would seem like there was going to be a serving of a special beverage by lunch and thus he didn't want to miss it.

Removing the mask and cloak, putting both back in my backpack, I opened the door of the house and walked inside. Quick footsteps preceded the Kitsune's arrival to greet me but, while I had expected a happy look on the girl's face, the moment she turned the corner I saw tears falling from her eyes.

"N-Niichan! T-They took her!" She hugged me tightly and I panicked a little, returning the embrace.

"What do you mean, Ku-chan?" I asked, a little confused at her scared tone. "Who took who?"

She merely sobbed on my sleeves and I heard more footsteps approaching from the living room. Issei emerged from the living room, shoulders sagging and his face gloomy while he continued to stare at a small piece of clothes. A light-green string that was usually used to tie women's hair and…

"Do you like it, Senpai? Issei-kun bought me this as a gift and I love it."

No…

"S-Senpai." The brunet's voice was broken. "I- They-He took her."

...No, no!

I- This wasn't possible. There isn't a chance in hell Rias would have let Raiser take Asia, not even the marriage threat would have worked.

"Does Rias know about this? Did she tell you how-"

"SHE LET HIM GO WITH HER!" I paled at his outburst, his hands going to his head as he trembled a little, tears falling down as the realization struck fully.

It would seem like you forgot one small detail in that plan of yours.

...And that is?

Asia-chan… she isn't close to Rias as in Canon and her connection to Grigori is unknown to many.

I-I should have-

What? Planned for some smuggling? Created a bunker only for her? Trouble would still come to her and the only fault I can attach to you is the fact you didn't train her for the occasion. She should have been prepared for this scenario-

I- What I am supposed to do then-

Calm down and think. Asia is still Grigori's responsibility and if some bird-brain plan to make an hail-mary by using her then we have all the good reasons to crash his castle already.

Then my mind moved back to Rias, the Gremory should have done something about it and- and-

Focus on Asia first. We will deal with that bitch later when we have time and everyone is safe.

…You are oddly fine with letting some bashing go.

I know that there is a time to punish and there is a time to focus on what it matters and you know it too, it's just that your anger is hindering your logical thoughts and I am not influenced in any way.

Without wasting further time, I reached the telephone and called the Governor-General.

What followed was a lengthy call that lasted two full hours, the man wanting full details on the situation and proposing different plans before settling for a plain and simple 'door-knocking' after consulting with the Four Maou and gaining their approval.

A full day would have to pass, but once things were approved some vindictive actions for meddling in Grigori's affairs in broad daylight.

And while the situation seemed to be shifting back to a favorable fate, my mind couldn't help but still linger around a question in particular.

Why did Rias let Raiser take Asia?

AN

Another fighting chapter, a sudden twist and my, oh my I finally dropped the infuriating thing Rias was supposed to do. While right now it seems quite illogical for her to do so, the explanation will be furnished next chapter.

Also, before dropping going for the next section… here is something I have also promised:

-d-d-d-d-
Omake: Kunou's first heat (with a twist!)
-d-d-d-d-

Of the many things I had to deal in my daily life, from fending off monsters and aiding Grigori with the mission I was sent to complete, the very predicament I was forced to deal with right now wasn't something I had expected.

Kunou was red-faced, her breath incredibly ragged as she latched onto my my arm, nuzzling her upper body in an attempt to seemingly scratch an itch.

I was horrified to find the girl in a pool of sweat waking up early in the morning but I managed to get her a little better by turning on several cooling devices, the girl pleased at the help to deal with the sudden warmth but still suffering from her first heat.

I discovered what this meant by Baraqiel's explanation. Differently from common animal knowledge, Yokais with animal-like traits had a kind of heat based upon their own magics. Some of those were also a sudden cold or even feeling energetic over the days of the heat, but most of those were solved with sexual activities proposed by their partners.

With Kunou being a young teenager and this being her first heat, the situation had required some drastic planning to properly solve this in a family-friendly way.

Massaging her shaking shoulders, I brought my mouth near her ears and whispered. "C'mon, Ku-chan, you just need to take the aim and blast that away."

"B-But what if I miss a-and I don't know, I'm so nervous." I patted her head, trying to calm her a little as I pointed at the fake targets from afar.

"It's not important that you get it right the first time, just keep trying until the target gets caught in flames or explodes." She hummed, trying to lock her golden eyes on the various targets that I spent some time spreading around the empty junkyard for the girl to practice around.

Some were dressed the same way as the magicians that had given chase to her back in Kyoto, thus helping also to face that little fear of hers.

Finally she nodded and took the aim with her open palms, her hand warming up as they glowed golden, small circles with seals appearing in front of them and-

KA-BOOM!

The first explosive spell hit the center of the large 'army', decimating most of the first, second and third line. She blinked, then eyed her hands and finally tried again.

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

Her tails were waggling madly as a giggle continued to resonate the more explosions she created. I patted her head and smiled at the incredibly powerful blasts my little imouto was creating thanks to her over-charged core.

The fun explo-fest continued for three more hours and I had to urge some pauses to place new targets for the fox-eared dynamiter with lots of energy to waste around.

At a certain point, I joined the little girl's fun by using my own explosive spells and destroying some old cars in the process.

By the end of this 'bonding session', Kunou and I had a smile plastered on our faces, walking away from the now empty lot of land, we decided that an early return back home to enjoy some delicious lunch was now the main objective with the girl's heat dealt with.

Meanwhile, not too far away…

"T-That was Kunou-chan?" Asia asked in visible awe while watching the brother-sister duo leave the burning, destroyed junkyard.

"Y-Yeah." Issei Hyoudou wasn't unsure if he should have taken that sight with the same awe as the blonde by his side or be dreaded by the destruction capacity the little chibi was showing there.

The former nun turned to look at him with a determined look. "I want to make things explode too! Will you help me, Issei-kun?"

His common sense was there to remind him of the potential effects of such endeavor, knowing that if the police ended up seeing them do anything even a little explosive, things would end up poorly for them.

But with that angelic smile and that adorable set of eyes begging him to help, the gentleman side within his head supplexed the common sense and supported the proposition.

And thus Issei Hyuodou and Asia Argento ended up buying a fairly impressive amount of fireworks that they set off by nighttime. Kuoh Town enjoyed some unexpected beautiful colors painting the night, but the police spent few more days trying to find the responsible ones that caused such unregistered act.

I bet someone got in Protecc mode because of the title, but it was I, Explosive Fluff, and not anything lewd!

REVIEW Q&A!

Sanas22: 'Trihexa' was weak because it was within the MC's mind. The reason it was a 'easy' fight was because it wasn't born yet and fighting in the MC's mindscape, it couldn't use any of the magic it had accumulated. But, if it had managed to leave the MC's soul, then it would have been a second coming of Trihexa.

Evyplayz121: Dragons and monsters of high level aren't conceived naturally as many other beings in the world. They are formed by large amounts of energy and the emotions latched in those amounts ends up determining the personality of said creature. Since God lacks a Dark Side, when negative energy started to accumulate, the resulting effect was the birth of Trihexa. The monster contained a large amount of energy from God himself and that is why he was weak during the Great War. The MC had already a Dark Side and, when the negative energy accumulated, the results were similar to what happened to God, creating a Proto-Trihexa. Also no, the MC's dark side (which will receive a name next chapter) will have that fixed soon.

Blaze2121: The letter will be given via indirect way. Maybe I will also copy some techniques from some shows, yes.