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FICTION

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Chapter 26: Reconciliation and Road to the Gakuen

Akeno sighed as she finished placing the umpteenth box filled with important documents in the Student Council's classroom.

With Rias confined back to Hell and with Sona assuming the role of leader with those of the Gremory's peerage that decided to accept the offer of combining forces for any raids against Stray Devils that required more people than the Sitri's peerage had.

But it was the Himejima that had the extremely delicate role to act as the 'Regent' for Kiba, Koneko, Gasper and Issei as the Queen of the Rias-less peerage and that required no little tact with her rusty but available diplomatic side.

Sona was understanding and didn't put too much pressure on her new temporary subordinates, approving the idea of first letting some days pass but she there was also the fact that she valued the Priestess of Thunder less of the Crimson-haired Ruin Princess, considering that Akeno didn't have any major family backing her and because she was also a hybrid of Devil and Fallen Angel.

The young woman's eyes showed tiredness, the strain caused by the several events happening in the last few days denting at her own composure, draining her of the energy to properly deal with the more difficult lifestyle she was going to face for some time.

Akeno was glancing at the remaining boxes, thinking which one she should pick, when her ears caught someone knocking by the door. Violet eyes slowly and quietly turned to the origin of the noise and soon widened at the sight she was bestowed with.

The last time she saw her father was back when her mother died, when he failed to be there to save her from the aggressors bought by the Head of the Himejima Clan. Sadness swelled deep in her heart, her mind pushing her attention back at the papers that needed to be moved away, to try and ignore a reunion she wasn't ready to deal with after so much time has passed.

The girl had long hoped to face her father when she had found happiness in her life, when she would have had enough strength to brave that traumatic scene of her childhood and come out on top victoriously.

Yet this wasn't going to be the case from what the man standing by the door. Baraqiel took just two steps in, pausing the moment Akeno flinched visibly and glanced his way with narrowed eyes.

"W-What do you want?"

The involuntary stuttering messed her plans to appear at least strong outwardly, the reaction she got from him was one of pity and sadness.

Things that she truly wanted to have nothing to do about with this individual and yet the young woman felt hesitation at stating this even in her mind. He didn't make a move for some time, he seemed to wait for something and it was right in that moment the Himejima realized that her breathing had quickened, her eyes had gone wide once more and something wet was now trailing off her cheeks in two distinct lines.

Another step forward from the Fallen Angel, but Akeno didn't move. She couldn't move or- She couldn't bring herself to move as the man finally took the initiative and wrapped his big arms around her, pulling her close in a careful and caring hug.

She stiffened at first, her mind finally spilling some of her troubling thoughts in the form of emotional distress and then she let out a sob on his shirt. That kind of warmth, that kind of loving care and that large hand ruffling her hair softly…

The Himejima sobbed again, this time relaxing upon her father. It was just like when her mother had been alive, the times when her father would be at home to play with her, to be around as he slowly taught her about the nature and its beauty, of the surroundings of the small house they lived in and…

A small fragment, one she hadn't thought important until now, of the very memory that continued to terrify her even now started to clear up, the face of Baraqiel stained in tears while he tried to keep strong as she accused him of being the cause of her mother's death.

She had thought he would have forgotten about her, that he would have gone with his life by respecting her childish wish. Akeno was a fool, a very sorry one as the burly man that was her Papa continued to comfort her in that moment of weakness.

It's been so long since she had let go that little knot forming every time she tried to hold back her frustrations about her everyday and now that Rias wasn't there to give her a hug… she enjoyed one from her only family.

Hoitsu's words struck strangely well with what the young woman was feeling right now, the embrace now a primary necessity as she let go of that humble pride that kept her from being held by someone, to be an innocent bystander once more without the need to worry about being attacked by some assassins sent to eliminate her.

"My little girl..." Baraqiel muttered, playing a little with her hair. "You grew up so strong and beautiful."

His praises made her smile, yet the small line was quick to return thin and neutral as a sigh preceded her reply.

"I- I am not strong." The Himejima mused loudly. "I wasn't strong when Rias decided to accept Raiser's offer."

The Fallen Angel sighed. "That wasn't a matter of strength-"

"I could have advised her to doubt the integrity of- OF THAT BASTARD- Uh?"

The girl frowned as the man ceased the embrace and-

"O-Owie!" His hands were now on her cheeks, pinching those with extra caution to not hurt her too much. The Himejima groaned, the small punishment kind of annoying but whatever protest she had planned to express, her father decided to speak before she could do so.

"I remember how you would be this much thoughtful of past things, evaluating how things could have gone if you had done something or another different from your original choices. Why I remember a certain 'accident' about cold tomato juice being spilled all over Shuri when you thought it was blood." At that embarrassing story from her childhood, Akeno sported now a blush.

"I-I was only a child and Mama said that it was what vampires drank a-and I remember someone bringing mud inside the house-"

"After a certain little pest decided to make mud-cakes and ruin her pretty dress her Mama had bought to her just the day before." Her father rebuked smugly, her blush intensifying at the sight and at the words.

"I-I wasn't that much of a pest!"

"I can disprove that too but then again, I think I will stick to just call you my 'little girl' at this point."

A pout formed in her face. "M-meanie and-" She finally smiled. "Thanks for that, I needed it… dad."

His smile seemed to explode with pure happiness and she felt her heart beating at a relaxing pace.

"Your dad is also at fault for some… things that had happened in the last few years too..." He paused a moment, then he decided to tell everything about what had happened with the Himejima Clan.

Akeno was skeptical at first to learn that the new head, her cousin Suzaku, was now seeking to bring reform and harmony to the family and that she had been trying to find her to apologize about what had happened to her after Shuri's death.

But then Baraqiel pointed out how Hoitsu had promised to filter letters directed at her to start to reconnect with her estranged family. It was news for her that the boy promised such thing to her cousin, but she was the least surprised to know how kind the young man was and…

She frowned as the mental picture of his smile flashed momentarily as he was mentioned by her father. The following question, completely distanced from the actual topic, didn't bring much shock to the Fallen Angel.

"I- Papa, d-do you think Hoitsu-kun would accept an apology at this point?" Her voice was frail as her determination to ask was the lowest possible she could get. "I- I don't think he would accept it but- But I still wish to try and make amend for betraying his trust."

Her father sighed tiredly and looked a little disappointed about… himself? "I thought you wouldn't be giving pursuit to the brat, especially since he was that much unwilling to accept your affections-"

"He's only shy." She nodded, convinced of this idea. "If I had been given some more time before this whole mess… I would have certainly got a boyfriend out of him-"

SLAM

Akeno's eyes widened instantly as Baraqiel punched the nearby wall, almost cracking it open in the process. "T-That brat- I mean, surely there is still some time before you will truly need someone to love you that way."

"I've been thinking about this very seriously and he would make a good husband and father, that is why I wish to make a big family with him and- D-Dad?"

The Himejima now looked a little bit worried about the Fallen Angel's sudden new round of tears, the man recovering a few moments later. "I-It's nothing, A-Akeno-chan. Y-Your papa is just enduring the gnawing of his paternal instinct."

"Oh?" She blinked quite surprised by the response she got. "So that means that you wouldn't… approve of him?"

He sighed gravely and… shook his head. "He might be a brat to me, but he would certainly be genuinely caring. The problem is..." He double-facepalmed. "HE IS TOO GOOD AND I CAN'T FIND A REASON TO HATE HIM!"

Hearing this the hybrid frowned. "So… can I bang him?"

"A-Akeno-chan, you mean 'date' r-right?"

She shook her head and gave a serious look back. "No, I want to make some loving baby-mak-"

"PLEASE STOP! NOT MY BABY GIRL!"

The young woman suddenly let out an amused giggle, seeing her father suffering because of her 'honest' approach regarding the currently missing Sakakibara.

"By the way, dad. Do you know why Hoitsu-kun was absent today? He certainly wasn't there today."

The Fallen Angel sighed, recovering from that dreadful 'torture' and nodded. "Currently the brat is out of Kuoh Town and I don't think you can contact him with the phone because of the place he is currently visiting."

She frowned. "So you mean that you were going to keep from me the fact he was going to be away from Kuoh for a while, do you have even a little bit of shame?" A sigh left her lips. "At least he will be back tomorrow, just like the usual."

But the Himejima quickly caught on her father's brief guilty face and narrowed her eyes at him.

"He is going to be back tomorrow, right?"

The man started to sweat a little, nervousness plastered in his face as he replied in a half-whisper. "A-A month."

Akeno didn't reply immediately after hearing this, pausing a moment to contemplate about something and then… smiled sweetly.

"Daddy dearest, I have the strong suspicion you just tried to not tell me about this very important detail. May I ask why you did so?"

"I-I thought that this was going to be a d-day for us, s-sweetie. I d-didn't want to worry you and-"

"Oh, but I'm not worried, quite the contrary." Electricity started to dance around them as her smile widened. "Why, after learning about this I was thinking of making this bonding session… really special."

The circle of electricity started to tighten up around Baraqiel, the man gulping and blushing as he was given a final confirmation as the 'thunder' struck.

Her baby girl did really take after his beloved Shuri after all!

A few hours ago...

Like Azazel had promised some hours ago, the two expected medium-sized boxes arrived early in the morning.

One of those contained all the papers and the documents explaining what the 'Omega Initiative' was meant to be and represent, while also providing more info about what I was supposed to do with the recruitment gig.

A group formed to intercept, dismantle or utterly destroy the forces connected to Khaos Brigade and any other terrorist groups from the supernatural world, formed by the strongest heroes this generation is renowned for while aided by Grigori with resources and commodities.

What truly surprised me was how members were supposed to be 'incorporated' within the group.

The other box contained several paper-thick discs that reminded me of Hockey's pucks because of their relative forms. Continuing to read the documents I was given a clear description of what those were.

Those 'Paradigm Enlists' were a creation from Azazel himself, enchanted pieces that had functions similar to the Rating Game's chess pieces, with the main difference being that those who accepted this object wouldn't be eternally attached to the King piece.

There wasn't a King piece actually as I wasn't supposed to have one of those.

The PEs offered a minor overall boost to the people owning them, draining a small amount of Magic energy once every few minutes as a price for the improvement. It was the first attempt from Grigori to make something based off from Ajuka's best-known invention but the results yielded also some minor flaws within its usage.

The large number of unused PEs that had been sent to me wasn't an unusual circumstance as it was expected for the pieces to break if powerful surges of energy were pushed onto them, weakening the user but also putting them in danger if they don't remove the defective one as quickly as possible. Thankfully, the pieces could be safely removed once these broke and could easily be replaced by new ones.

There was also the difference about the contract used to bind the members to the organization compared to Grigori's common paperwork. While it didn't enforce any loyalty from the members to the leader, the rules forced the member to commit to the cause for at least a full year before being granted the chance of resigning from the role.

While it wasn't something many would worry about as only those that wanted to fight for the cause were going to be accepted, the presence of this rule was surely going to create some friction with the group.

I sighed tiredly as I finished drafting the first list of members for the group, my brain trying to make some sense about Kuroka's decision to join up the group without hesitation. The young woman was incredibly difficult to predict, especially with how her attitude was more accentuated compared to the small appearances in the series.

I had expected her to do something the complete opposite, part of me thinking that Vali would have been incredibly annoyed that someone from 'his team' would suddenly jump ship and get in my group.

But it was the Nekoshou herself that decided to explain why she had decided to go for this gamble, knowing full-well how the white-haired hybrid was going to react at her decision.

"Mou, Vali can be prudish once or twice in a while," Her tone playful as she poked at my nose, while talking, drawing an irritated sigh from my lips. "But he mentioned that he wouldn't mind 'getting rid of me by letting me go with nyah'. He was rather… interested at your reaction at such situation, I do reckon~."

I will fucking find that bastard's phone and spam him with SMSs. I know things that would give him nightmares and- No, let's not get too much angry about it.

It wasn't 'that' bad, nor I expected it to get worse than that.

Ignoring this big concern, my attention was mostly directed at the decision of having both Kunou and Koneko to join up the organization too.

The doubt was mostly led by the worry I had of them having to fight some dangerous enemies and… not being prepared for the encounters. While some people could be beaten with proper preparation and improvement, there were some nasty monsters in this world that certainly wouldn't go down without a reasonable amount of strength already present.

Some people like Rizevim, even Euclid being a powerful individual as a second-in-command. The descendants of the Original Satans aren't certainly people to scoff at without knowing the extent of their full power.

I think I was adamant enough in promising to them that once we were done with this first task, I would have them begin training even more than before with Kuroka going to focus in teaching her sister how to properly tap and use Senjutsu while I focusing on unlocking the blonde's inner potential.

Kunou was born a strong, she had the opportunity to become far stronger than I could ever be given enough attention and care for the training schedule, but right now the little girl was much weaker than me, her physical stats just a little above someone her age.

I yawned as I tried to catch some rest during the bus ride, ignoring the fact that Kuroka had decided to pick my shoulder as a pillow and was now snoring and snuggling against it.

The two younger girls currently sitting in the row in front of the one the dark-haired Nekoushou and I were sitting in, either glancing at the lights of the dimensional tunnel or going for brief naps.

The magical bus and his mysterious driver, Nuranai, had arrived right on time as we punctually presented by the bus stop given by Azazel in the paper he had left to me.

It was odd to know that a world like DxD contained different series at once and, making some serious research about any other possible series there, I ended up finding out that there were… many.

Like tons.

Some were happening in Japan, others in Europe and quite the events in the United States.

The American ones did sure leave me some confusion as… why?

I don't know, I just didn't expect them to be in this world of all people.

I was also half-tempted to contact some of these 'renowned' individuals, to cut the chase before things got messy, but in the end I decided to let this first mission come to an end before starting to plan the recruitment campaign.

There were some mighty warriors of different sizes, age. Great men and women that were going to be essential for the Second War that was now looming around the end of the one month time limit.

"You got yourself a curious group, young man." The ominous voice of the bus driver took me back to reality and I found myself blinking at him with a hint of interest. "I would dare to say that I see some parallels with someone studying at the school we're currently directed at." He mentioned in a nonchalant tone but…

Seriously, was he comparing me to Tsukune of all people? Nobody turned me in a literal chew-toy-

Yet.

It's not going to happen.

It is.

I frowned at the comment and decided to fire back. "I don't have a harem chasing after me, headmaster." My tone was mindful, but I did highlight the 'honorary' title the driver was supposed to be part of.

He shrugged, glowing eyes still staring at the inter-dimensional road. Then he replied.

"And that wasn't what I was referring to, Hoitsu Sakakibara." I flinched at the tone he used for my full name. "But I understand that it is a sore spot to you, for a man to have the attention of so many women at once."

I glanced at Kunou and Koneko, relieved to see both napping right now and giving me the chance of truly speak about this.

"Big harems aren't… a healthy thing in my opinion." I explained cautiously, the man nodding absently as if to gesture me to continue. "I think the more girls are after a single man, the more it's easy for him to unconsciously break one or more hearts in the process of politely picking the 'right one'." I said with the proper honesty.

People were quick to jump the fun-wagons of Harem stories, but just a handful actually minded the possible aftermaths of the story. Harem as a fictional genre, at least if as big and extended like the one in Rosario + Vampire, was to be used mostly for comedic relief rather than a proper push for the story.

In fact, I can easily say that the proper reason why Tsukune decided to go after Moka was… because she was the traction behind the entire plot. It was her family's past, the ambitions of her step-mother and her ancestor's resurrection.

It was the plot, or at least the more serious bits of it.

"That is something Aono-san braved mostly flawlessly, the affection of those girls still persisting even after he picked Akashiya-san." The driver pointed out, something I was more than aware about.

The former human did indeed achieve some peace with the others, while also keeping up that rom-com tone with the entire 'Harem'. But still...

I decided to nod at his point, yet I wasn't fully agreeing to him.

"Success is achieved all by being careful with what you have and being lucky enough to not get killed by heart-broken ladies." I shot back with a polite nod, waiting for a comeback.

And I got one a few moments later.

"Ah, women are passionate beings," The man sighed, his smoke brightening a little before he let out a tiny cloud to the side. "But I see that someone as young as you are know more about them than you let appear." The precise jab made me a little nervous, having hardly faced someone that would actually come and try to use some arcane wisdom against me.

Still, I nodded and ended that conversation here, unwilling to let myself open like a book to someone I had little trust about.

You did have a good relationship.

I did.

Do you remember how feisty she was? Always affectionately trying to get your attention on her.

She was rather lovely…

I sighed as my eyelids dropped, my mind relaxing as I slumbered for a while and let myself wander in my thoughts of the past.

'Care to give more details? Sounds like an interesting story.'

Long story short, I was romantically attracted to a very precious girl that she returned the feelings… but we ended up returning just friends after her father discovered my… less than acceptable views of things.

'I don't think I've ever seen someone causing issues for something like this. Different religions or rival families, sure, but this is quite strange.'

This age is filled by morons that get dictated by the words of a few voices and then realize much later, when they get screwed by those voices, they start to lash out at everything around them.

It's a mad world!

"By the way," The driver's voice dragged me out of my rest once again much to my dismay. "I can only assume that you are aware of the situation at the school. I hope Azazel did tell you about our current… issue." There was some ominous tone around the last word and… I sighed.

"Cloaked figures recently attacked the school." I replied, remembering the scarce info the Governor-General left among the documents I had yet to finish to read.

"Stray Exorcists." The man pointed out with a minor frown. "They were trying to capture the heir of Mikogami and Akashiya-san's first-born." Nuranai commented with some… annoyance? It wasn't normal for the usually-stoic character to show this much negativity over something like these. Tsukune did face far worse than that in the last two years… so why did it matter now?

"There was also a similar attack against Akua and Kahlua Shuzen," He finally revealed with a tight voice. "The girls were being safely escorted by their father back to the Shuzen Manor to protect them from those that remained from Fairy Tale."

"I bet that Issa-san connected the two attacks and is now going at Yokai Gakuen right now."

"That is correct." The driver nodded again. "But the real issue is that the man decided to bring his daughters with him to the school, saying that the barriers at the Manor are still compromised and the one at the Gakuen are better than nothing." And I knew exactly why that is a problem.

As much as the author of the R+V series tried to give him a lighter attitude in the After-Story, the man was still a powerful being with a prideful and pragmatic mind.

But for me, the worst thing was that… Issa Shuzen was currently staying where I was going right now.

Fucking great, now I will have to deal with a high-level Vampire too...

It's still weird that he managed to recover Kahlua. Wasn't she taken by Kuyo at the end of Capu2.

The final chapter does mention that Issa spent the whole month after the final battle trying to bring back the Shuzen family and I wouldn't put above him trying to find what happened to his two missing daughters.

Still, Issa Shuzen will be… quite troublesome to face if he decides to do any funny stuff with us. We could become a pawn for any of the remaining games if he wants us in that situation.

I find it hard for him to strike first but-

"We are almost there," The bus driver announced with a clear tone, then he grinned. "You should wake the ladies up now before you lose too much time there."

What is that even supposed to mean?

Mysterious words from mysterious folks.

Yet I was more than happy to comply to go and wake the three girls up.

Kuroka proved to be the greatest challenge of the trio as she decided to make a staunch stand and not budge out from her newly-acquired comfy 'pillow'.

Two minutes of tugging myself out of her grasp passed and we found ourselves off the bus and staring at the Academy from afar.

The nearby lake was red as blood, there were tombstones placed all around and there was some eerie feeling of dread only a decent horror movie would give to a spectator.

Yep, this was the place we were supposed to be.

Hopefully we aren't going to be road-killed by a silly vampire driving her bike to go to school.

AN

Little fluff, the OI reaching Yokai Gakuen and… I do feel like this chapter short. You know what this means right?

Next chapter will have some fighting!

P.S. Rosario + Vampire was what made me comeback from my self-exile from Anime in general. I was busy with homework, difficult school years and that funny series managed to get some laughs and 'nose-bleeding' out of me. Then Anime Capu2 happened.

Future milestone 1: 696 Followers and Favorites.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

REVIEW Q&A!

User may be a smug prick: Since this story will surely go beyond what the other ones are doing, I will expand a little differently from a certain point onward, I will not copy-&-paste in this case.

SkullWolfSteam: Fairy 'Tale' is a canon organization in Rosario + Vampire. I will not be x-overing with Fairy Tail because it has little connection with the DxD series and I want to keep the x-overing at least realistic.

About the members of Omega Initiative: It will have both dudes and chicks, I ain't planning a harem like that and… the first male member is going to be the 'Strongest Man on Earth'.