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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 29: A Taste of Quirky Normality

I was slightly impressed by the size of the building Azazel had assigned to the organization I was supposed to lead.

Bigger than I had initially thought, the place occupied five floors of one of the main skyscrapers sited in the Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo… or better known as the 1st Ward for the locals of the capital.

At the umpteenth discovery of a new series happening within this vast world, I felt that there was a high priority for me to research how many other 'big players' were around in this universe.

Without wasting unnecessary time, I had both Kahlua and Akua sign their contracts and integrate their respective PEs during our ride back to the 'real dimension' as I had planned to directly reach for the newest headquarters sited in the major Japanese city.

I was still sore from the spar with the Black Deva and I realized as we were returning to the real world with both vampires coming with us that there was a curious effect about 'going through dimensions'.

Nuranai had been quick to explain that the reason was that there was something of a jetlag during these kind of trips and the magical senses were somewhat drained during those predicaments.

Annoying but also understandable as the 'dimensional gap' between the 'Human' world and the pocket dimension were the Yokai Gakuen was sited could easily be conditioned by the same rules of the 'birthplace' of Ophis.

The Bus Driver had been kind enough to leave us by one of the least busy entry points of the Japanese Capital as the voyage from Kuoh Town to Tokyo would have taken… way too much. He did also warn us some caution to not wander the city at night in specific, less-developed Wards as the Ghoul's threat was a serious phenomenon even after years of 'purges'.

While the CCG seemed to be doing a good job in quarantining the worst cases away from civilians' everyday lives, there were still some attacks from the recently-active Aogiri Tree with large compounds within the former Edo being raided and turned in atrocious slaughterhouse by the terrorist group.

But it wasn't the talks about Ghouls that dominated my mind in that part of the day as once we reached the large complex of apartments where we were supposed to live for an indefinite amount of time, I found myself staring at two unexpected individuals standing by the front door.

The shortest of the two was a young girl which height was around 160cm, dark-brown hair combed in a simple ponytail. The lady was wearing what looked to be some casual clothes as she donned a simple, orange-and-yellow striped, half-sleeved shirt with dark-blue jeans that ended in a common pair of sport shoes. The normal-looking girl had a surprised look as she noticed so many people walking towards them and she kept a close distance to her… boyfriend.

It took me just glance at the taller companion to discern that the teen was Kozue Matsumoto, because the relatively tall young man, standing 171cm bulky, by her side was far too easy to recognize as he was the protagonist of another series I had watched quite frequently before being whisked away in this universe.

With unruly, brown hair, a pristine half-sleeved white shirt and some simple dark trousers, Baki Hanma, the 'Strongest Man' of the world, was waiting right by the entrance of our new home.

I blinked, contemplating if I should avoid going for the confrontation right now as this could as well be a trap but-

He could have been sent by Azazel. I would expect him to mess around just to help us out, just like he did with Akua and Kahlua.

So soon? I wouldn't expect him to-

'His posture seems rather pacific, he isn't part of an ambush.'

You heard the big guy, go for some greeting already.

Even in front of so many hints that this wasn't going to end up in a battle, I sighed as I decided to carefully advance, my posture a little tense and guarded, the others taking a step back and letting me take the lead as I went for the encounter.

Only Kunou walked close enough to where I was, but she still preferred to hide behind my frame as she studied the two strangers.

Kuroka approached Koneko, both Nekoshou keeping their cat-ears and tails hidden since we were in the presence of humans.

Finally, Akua kept a fixed look upon the stronger of the two 'strangers', her composure also tense but not daring to even appear challenging as she seemed more ready to defend her sister than attack the threat heads on.

We were all terribly displaying signs of being defensive to one another but we still managed to keep a united and collected appearance in front of the situation.

Kozue blinked and seemed a little tense herself at the group, but a comforting squeeze at her shoulders by Baki's kind and softened hands seemed to remind her that no harm was going to happen to her with him around to keep her protected.

The girl seemed to ease up at the lovely touch but her eyes didn't dare to leave the formation.

"Baki-san." I decided to omit his surname as I didn't wish to give him too much formality. While he wasn't as blunt as his much-hated father, the young man was still terribly annoyed by unneeded shows of politeness.

A simple man with a terrible, natural strength.

The 'boy' blinked, his laid-back personality capable of reducing his reaction to a slightly-infuriating minimum as he seemed to barely react to the greeting, yet there was an understanding glint in his eyes.

The Hanma nodded placidly. "I suppose you are Hoitsu Sakakibara," The brunet commented calmly, his tone soothing but also quite lazy to hear. "You are the leader of this 'Omega Initiative' Azazel-san spoke about." He concluded with a nod.

"That's correct." I replied, my mind heating up at the idea that Azazel had to bring someone like 'Baki the Grappler' into the group I had.

Not that I had some trouble with the powerful human, but I was terribly aware of Yujiro's ever-thirsty need of bathing his hands in blood. The red-haired ogre was a monster I wasn't truly wishing to meet anytime soon.

Yet I was confused by the fact that looked… taller than the last reported by the 'Baki-Dou II' Manga.

Because this is the 'Baki' of the After-story. The one that after defeating Nomi no Sukune II, Musashi Miyamoto and Pickle, the one that had a 'draw' against Yujiro Hanma and… the one that found his way in life away from pure violence.

Not only he seemed to be taller than the end of the known series, but he seemed to be… stronger too.

He never stopped to train-

Possibly under threat. I could see Yujiro promising him that he would come and kill Kozue if he even slacked off for a moment.

"I… can only assume that Azazel wants to get you recruited to the 'Omega Initiative'." I continued quietly and I saw him nod while… Kozue sighed tiredly.

"It's to early to decide that." The girl replied calmly, just a sprinkle of uncertainty showing in her voice as she squeezed the boy's big arm to emphasize her point, drawing a surprised but embarrassed look at being this quick-minded about this decision. "I think it's best to known what kind of contract or duty a member of this… initiative has while working there." She finished with a small smile.

The reason why she was here is… because she didn't want his boyfriend hurled at another dangerous set of events that would see him hurt or worse. I knew about her propensity to act more as a smart and moral-driven decision-picker for Baki… but to see her sport that so confidently truly showed that the teen had grown up from her hesitant self.

"I understand." I admitted with a nod, turning my attention at the door they were both giving their backs at. "We can discuss this in private inside the apartment, I don't with to drag attention on us." My offer was regarded with a little bit of surprise but they didn't seem uneasy at seeing me walk towards it.

They both nodded as I finally took the key the leader of Grigori left in one of the boxes back home and went for the lock. With a simple click, the mechanism unlocked and the door opened.

Soon we were all graced with a small lounge that was connected to the first room of the headquarters, a large living room that had a grand view over the city thanks to a several windows making up most of a wall.

It wasn't as big as the one in the Gregory mansion, yet the difference of size was compensated with the presence of several modern devices, ranging from several HD TVs to various consoles and Custom-built PCs, all set all over the place.

From that room, one could see the large kitchen and the corridor leading to the stairs, possibly to the dorms and the rooms for the members of my group.

Everyone was surprised at the sight, but I was inclined to believe that Akua was the least intrigued as she hardly ever cared for how big or modern her housing situation was in the past.

But let us be honest and say that this is a big improvement and… man, I would kill to get my hands on some good ol' Hearts of Iron IV-

It's 2011.

Oh, right… Darkest Hour it is!

I blinked as everyone pretty much moved on their own to properly get a look over the place and even our guests were impressed by it.

Baki's eyes were wide open, the boy knowing full well the expensive costs of most of the equipment on sight after having lived a rich childhood while his mother was still alive. Kozue seemed floored and awed by the impressive place too, her eyes were almost glowing at the absurd amount of costly objects all around.

"T-This is the headquarters?" The Hanma's girlfriend asked with a wonder-like tone and I nodded slowly, my mind still basking at how this entire place was surprisingly better than the already-high standard I had back in Kuoh Town.

'But is it a reason to be truly awed? Grigori is supposed to have a large foothold in the 'human world' and I wouldn't expect anything less from this.'

Not everyone can live to this level of luxury and… yep, this is huge.

Immense.

"This is the headquarters and-" I blinked, realizing that my brain had to reboot at the unexpected gift from Azazel. This was… insane, but I had business to deal with! "W-We should return to our talk, yes?" I pressed on and I was quickly walking away from that… incredible place of fun.

Let me out, so I can destroy you at some videogame.

You want me, bro?

'While I don't understand what you both are talking about, I feel like I should seriously facepalm at your behavior.'

The two humans blinked at my question, the girl blushing but nodding decisively as we too a seat by one of the small sections of the living room with two comfy couches standing right in front of each other and with a glass table in the middle.

The others were given the freedom to explore their new home as I began addressing this situation.

I took the proper documentation out of my backpack and passed it to them, giving them the time to read and inquire about some of the points written on the paper.

Kozue was quick to ask, her eyes narrowed on specific terms within the text.

"You… you are joking, right?" Her index tapped at the line that caught her attention as the girl questioned about 'that' point.

"'Angels and Devils'? There is no way that this crazy paranormal beings exist-"

"I can assure you that Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels and other supernatural beings all exist in this world." I interjected calmly. It was strange to hear this kind of skepticism, especially with Ghouls being a known condition within Tokyo and other major cities in Japan. "In fact, I will point out that I'm the only human within the Omega Foundation as of now." I dropped the revelation and the two looked incredibly shaken by the news.

There was silence, both thinking about this shocking development and possibly being still skeptical about it, but then Baki nodded slowly much to Kozue's surprise. "So that is why I felt like some of them looked odd." He admitted curtly, causing me to frown.

"Odd?" I bluntly parroted, quite surprised that… he could have felt something different about them.

There are martial artists that can pinpoint some hints from mere behavioral actions. I bet that this is the case.

"Something in their posture, their inner fighting spirits were different than anything I've seen in the past few years." The Hanma explained with a little more emotion, yet his eyes still fixed on the paper. "Speaking of different, might I ask what this 'PE' is?" He changed topic quickly, frowning at the detail itself. "It says that enchant the members of the group, but what exactly is it? Some drug or-" He was tense at the idea of making use of that kind of stuff, mostly because his half-brother almost died by making use of drugs to keep up with their father's strength.

Maybe we should really add some more lines about this as, it could be easily mistaken as such.

Azazel just isn't that good in making proper reports-

Either he didn't give it that much attention or he just wanted to have us deal with this kind of situations.

"It's not a drug and it's not anything with dangerous withdrawals." I replied calmly and carefully, thinking properly how to defuse this little predicament. "It can be removed as easily as it can be integrated and it's not mandatory… but it's heavily advised." I concluded with a sigh.

The human girl nodded with a slower nod from her boyfriend, she then proceeded to point at another section of the paper.

"This here says that you are going to deal with anything remotely connected to this 'Khaos Brigade' and it says there that… there are numerous descendants of famous heroes?" There was some little surprise in her tone.

At those words the young man looked also surprised and… incredibly interested. "Could there be Japanese heroes too? Maybe Chinese also?" He asked with a little more intensity in his tone, making me frown just for a moment.

I nodded. "From my understanding it's a mix of European and Asian people born within important heroes' bloodlines." I paused just for a moment before asking. "Are you hoping to find the spirit of Miyamoto Musashi among the group, or maybe his descendant?"

He looked partially surprised at that, but he decided to merely shrug at my question.

"Perhaps, but I doubt he would accept to fight for ill intentions. He wanted to fight just for the sake of it and… from my understanding this Brigade doesn't care for fairness and honor." There was a brief pause and then he continued. "But yes, I do wonder if he truly has a descendant to prove my worth against."

And Musashi wouldn't digest such disrespect of a fight's conduct. Maybe his descendant, if there is one, could have refused just for this very reason.

"Indeed." I nodded my agreement at his reasoning. "Are there any other questions you wish to have some clarity about?"

"Only one about the mandatory term." Kozue said, some confusion plastered in her face. "I don't understand why it's one year and not less."

"It's still unsure how long this Initiative will last, especially with how many people we will have to deal against," I hummed as I glanced at the specific lines on the paper. "Anyone leaving too early could easily disrupt any future operations if not also bring the full attention of our enemies on themselves and their families."

"I thought that Grigori would keep Kozue-chan and her mother safe." Baki spoke quickly, his tone a little tense.

"There are some strong elements within the Khaos Brigade that can't be fought with mere guards" I pointed out much to his chagrin, "They would easily bypass any defense we could set up to protect them."

He looked dismayed, but I still continued to talk. "That's why we need to deal with those enemies quickly and without hesitation." I pressed on with a calm tone. "The faster we deal with them, the quicker we will be able to end this threat before it can hurt our precious people."

I stood up from my chair and sighed. "Baki-san, I wish that you understand that among the members of the group there are people I care a lot for but there are also people that I've left home that are unprepared for the monster hailing in the group." I blinked, eyelids getting a little heavy. Maybe I should catch some rest after being done with this…

"That is why the organization is a must for me and for others joining us and that is why Azazel wanted you to join us." I concluded with a sigh.

There was something sparking from the young man's eyes, some… sympathy and understanding at my words.

"That sounds about right." He stated quietly, then he turned to his girlfriend, flashing a bright smile. "Would I be able to spend time with Kozue-chan, even within the headquarters?" He asked quietly.

The girl blushed at the smile on the boy's face and I gave a slow nod. "You would be able to do such thing only if she is escorted by either you or someone within the Initiative." I gave the only requirements for such situation. "With you joining our group, you will have to accept the fact you will have a target painted on your back and that they will still try to hurt those precious to you."

He bowed his head. "I understand, Hoitsu-san. Thank you for the offer and..." His big hand stretched open at me for a shake. "I will accept."

The brunette huffed a little, disappointed that her boyfriend was supposed to fight once more for his life but… at least he wasn't going to be alone.

We shook hands and… his hold was stronger than I had thought it to be.

He isn't holding back…

Yep, I think my hand is even sorer than before...

We shared a nod and a smile, then I escorted them by the entrance of the apartment, giving both of them my phone's number to contact me and warn me for any issues with their situation. Baki accepted the piece of paper and said that he would be ready to move in only tomorrow.

I sighed as the door closed and I turned to the strangely silent house. I had expected to at least hear some muffled squeals of happiness from Kunou at her new room but… oddly enough there was nothing.

Confused, I decided to venture towards the stairs and proceeded to check to the upper floor to see what was going on. I could already see some half-closed doors from the beginning of the corridor, my eyes narrowing as I slowly went ahead to check indirectly how things were going.

There were name tags in all of them, some blank ones that weren't assigned and some with the new members names and-

How exactly did Azazel get Akua and Kahlua name tags before we recruited them-

'Didn't that man, Issa, say that he had already talked to Azazel? I guess that it was a sure thing for him and he decided to gamble about your acceptance.'

Doesn't make it any-less creepy to think that someone know how my thinking works in action and… to this precise level.

Sighing again as I felt my bones aching just a little, I paused just a moment at the sound of muffled giggles coming from one of the closed door rooms. It was Kahlua's and, knowing that her sister was inside with her too and knowing that the series they were from had a grand penchant to have people trip in perverted situations, I merely shrugged and continued for my stroll in the corridor.

I paused again, this time at the sounds of things, boxes, being moved around in… Kuroka's room. Yeah, that was another big no-no to check about and thus I went event farther right by the door that led to my own room.

I saw that the door was curiously-enough half-closed and I frowned at this situation as… there could have been only one individual capable of doing such thing.

With a small smile, I peeked inside my new, big room and noticed at first the PC, the medium-sized HD TV, several audio devices and shelves filled with different kind of music pieces and then… someone was sleeping in my bed.

Completely stopping at this last bit, I took a closer look as I walked inside just for a moment and from the covers I could easily see the familiar golden-tinted fox ears that Kunou had and… Koneko's silver-colored cat ears.

I blinked, my ears finally adapting at the soft and almost impossible to hear snoring from the two girls. I glanced at the clock by the bedside and sighed at the fact it was 4AM.

Shiranai. Demands. Napping!

It was odd how time worked in the pocket dimension Yokai Gakuen was set in, thus I guess I hardly perceived that we were there for so long. Feeling tired myself, I yawned and slowly approached the bed, gaining a proper view of the two sleeping girls.

With a nod then I proceeded to slowly and silently pick a small spot of the ground near the wall to sit down and… catch some rest there.

It's been a tiring day, alright and… I needed some rest. Yawning again, I let my back reach the wall, my head tilting a little as I felt sleep easy to conquer and… my consciousness faded.

Unknown to Hoitsu, half an hour after he had fallen asleep, the door of his room creaked a little more open as a pair of golden eyes peeked at the inside of the room. After sparing an enraptured look at the two sleeping cuties on his bed, the yellow orbs locked onto his sleeping form on the floor and the figure decided it was time to move in and get some 'reward' for being a 'good girl'.

With maximum carefulness in her approach, Kuroka sneaked within the quiet room and softly walked up to the sleeping young man, pausing just a moment to glance at the bed and catch the most adorable sight ever once again.

She finally took out the camera she had found back in his new room and the young woman took a picture out of that cute scene, an ear-to-ear smile as she returned the small device back in one of the pockets of her special battle kimono.

Her attention shifted back to the sleeping Hoitsu and she cautiously started to sit on his undefended lap and then she let her head rest on his warm chest.

Kuroka waited for a moment, remembering seeing something happen mid-sleep to little Kunou while she was this close and- Yep, his arms slowly wrapped around her, bringing her closer while cautiously snuggling her more on his chest.

A purr formed in her throat and she managed to reduce its noise in an attempt to not wake him up, yet she was unable to fully contain it from leaving her lips.

His warmth was just… so nice. She would have preferred that this happened on a bed, after some long-deserved love-making and obviously without those pesky clothes but… surprisingly enough this worked too in her mind.

The genuine care and love she could feel, the soft lulling of his heartbeat her ears were listening so attentively and simple setting they were in…

She loved this. It was a nice way to catch some sleep, away from the nightmares.

A soft yawn left the girl's lips as sleep finally made an advance on her tired mind and soon… she surrendered for some long nap.

Tomorrow she was surely going to be reprimanded for this… but this? This was worth the cost.

And while most of the people of Tokyo enjoyed some silence at that early hour of the morning, in a small establishment of Nerima, the 20th Ward of the city, an old man continued to silently clean some used mugs with a piece of cloth.

Those last few months had been rather unique for Kuzen Yoshimura, starting with the addition of Kaneki Ken as one of the newest waiters at Anteiku. A young man, once a human and now turned in a One-Eyed Ghoul. It sounded absurd for this situation to even occur, and yet the young teen had shown to have quite the unfortunate life.

The sudden switch of diet was a shock, the owner of the cafe knew well enough of humans were not made to eat their own flesh from personal experience, but the young man was starting to improve he noticed.

It was good that he was receiving support from most of the group here, but it was also quite tragic that his unique condition got the attention of some 'unpleasant' individuals. While Shuu Tsukiyama was polite and reserved individual that hardly caused problems within the Ward, but his obsession with the young Kaneki had led to some sourness to develop between the Tsukiyama family and the Anteiku.

The brunet's mind suffered too during this period, straining as he discovered the unfairness of some situations happening only to Ghouls.

Fight for dominance of the Feeding Grounds, the need to have masks when fighting back against attackers and… the cruel hand of the CCG.

Ryouko Fueguchi died while facing Kureo Mado, giving the chance to his daughter to escape from the ambush set up by the Doves.

The infamous Quinque Expert was known for his interest in harvesting Ghouls' Kagunes to create powerful tools to continue his job, his prowess in fights was one of the best an Investigator could offer to powerful Ghouls, but he was also known for the strange compassion he held over some cases.

Many innocent Ghouls facing him that were keen to divulge the info the man required were mostly sent to the Ghoul's prison rather than die by his hand. This very compassion was unknown to many individuals, but Kuzen knew the reasons of the man after having had the chance of offering him, his wife and their daughter the few times they visited the cafe.

Family was a good weakness to have, Mado showing this unique trait recently when he didn't show up to continue the case about the Fueguchi family, possibly ending up 'debunking' the existence of the 'Fueguchi Child' to his superiors out of mercy than anything.

Touka had been particularly hurt by this development, having stayed back home for a full week, letting in her room only her brother and father to bring food and other objects for her needs. Giving her some time to recover proved to be a good decision, the girl returning back to work by the beginning of the new week and focusing on helping the orphaned Hinami.

Kaneki was there, learning how to work while also becoming a brotherly figure to the young Fueguchi, teaching her about letters and words she was still unable to read. It was good to have someone as cultured as the boy around, but it was particularly amusing how such relationship was bringing quite the curious jealous side from one Ayato Kirishima.

Hinami and the young male ghoul had been childhood friends, but the boy was entering that stage of his life when… certain things weren't as 'cool' as before, deciding to distance himself from the young girl. With the 'puny Kaneki' hanging around his childhood friend, Ayato couldn't help in sparing himself from showing that he still genuinely cared for Hinami.

An adorable comedy that happened once or twice everyday.

Arata was also pleased by those scenes too, but sadly his thankfulness directed at the former human was easily taken over by his paternal instincts regarding the 'closeness' the boy had regarding his daughter… or the lack of any.

The two had some chemistry, Yoshimura knew it, but the two were just too young to see it blooming anytime soon. Sadly, the lone father was inexperienced about this kind of situations and thus misunderstandings about the two 'getting too close to each other' happened too within the walls of Anteiku.

Just as the old man placed the properly cleaned mug down, he paused at the sound of the door-bell ringing, eyes moving to see whom could be visiting this early in the morning and… he smiled happily.

A young woman returned the smile with one of her own, eyes half-closed because of tiredness. Her hair were combed in a short, but clean style, she was wearing a baggy shirt and simple gym pants while on her back was an interestingly big backpack with some papers ready to burst out of it.

"Good morning~!" She announced melodiously, still a little too loud at this hour, causing him to shake his head at her. She giggled at his reaction and she approached him.

"A little loud, I know but I still have to finish somethings before-" She started but stopped to look at what he was doing, eyes narrowing and arms closing close to her chest. "Kuzen Yoshimura, what did I tell you about working at unholy hours?"

"I think it was me telling you to not write so late in the night or so early in the morning, young lady." He remarked, the pout twitching as she seemed embarrassed by his words.

"S-Still, I can't let an old man like you work alone. This is why I shall join you in this endeavor-"

"Didn't you have other things to do?" The manager asked out of curiosity.

"Writing can wait. What kind of daughter would I be if I didn't help my tired and old father-"

"Perhaps a writer block?" The guess was super-effective, the girl flinching before giggling nervously… and then she sighed.

"It's not my fault that the pacing is that insane. Shiono-baka just can't ease up with the schedule."

"I can have a talk with him if you want." Kuzen offered but the girl sighed.

"Would do little as he would go on a tirade about 'this job requires extreme attention and capacity to produce new books very quickly as to not get fans to yadda yadda.'" She yawned and nodded. "That is how the situations end into."

"I guess this 'old man' can accept some help from my 'beloved and helpful' daughter." The manager chuckled as his child sighed at her 'kind offer'.

"Fine!" She huffed, starting to walk towards the Storage room. "But I want pizza for dinner!"

Hearing her father snort at that one-sided deal, Eto Yoshimura, a 23-year old Tragedy writer and a natural One-Eyed Ghoul, giggled as she went to change for her old uniform.

Today was going to be another slow day in Tokyo, so what if she just wanted to take it easy?

AN

Eto will not be in the Harem. I've other plans to her that aren't pairing-related and… I do reckon that a question is now important with how I disposed certain events:

Who is leading Aogiri Tree then?!

Also two new s (Jacob Lawter and Jaune Pendragon)!

I'm growing stronker, muhahahahahahaha!

P.S. Considering if I should do a Live Q&A once we reach 696 Follows, which is going to happen soon at this rhythm.

Future milestone 1: 696 Followers and Favorites.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

REVIEW Q&A!

Answering to those asking how many X-Overs: Dunno, it depends from how well I know the franchise and how those can fit in a logical way with the ones I've already laid out.

Ascandas: Hopefully I didn't disappoint in this chapter.

RedBurningDragon: I didn't have the pleasure to see this show until recently. I will consider it once I've got some more knowledge about it.

Guest 1 (Chapter 28): The only ones that can take armies are Yujiro and his father Yuichiro. Atomic bombs? I don't think that is a thing proven, only that it's uncertain if one could kill Yujiro or not. While powerful, Yujiro can found some serious fight in some other humans like Vasco Strada.