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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 33: Heavenly Lunch

The small restaurant I found in the Chiyoda Ward was the perfect place to deal with Akeno. It was a little establishment that I picked out of the other more expensive alternatives mostly because I wanted to make it clear that this event was a mere friendly hangout.

No dating, no hints of anything even close to romantic approaches, this wasn't going to be the classic comedic relief situation where the real issue is suddenly skipped by her. She was going to apologize or return to Kuoh Town with a strong rejection for any attempt to make some reconciliation.

Convincing the group that I was going to talk with some Grigori contact proved to be far more difficult than the excuse used yesterday. Kuroka and Kunou were the most suspicious about the matter, but I managed to trick them with a stern mask and repeating that it was just some work for Azazel.

'There is also that Nekoshou, Koneko-san, she looked quite unconvinced too.'

She did promise to not follow me where I was going just like the others-

Better safe than sorry, she could think that you are going in some ambush with the crap going on in Tokyo.

I can't sense her and I will not snoop around just to make sure she isn't here.

I sighed as I saw some waiters passing around, some people already eating and chatting in the other tables as I waited for the Himejima to make an appearance. Eyes turned to the watch on my wrist, I blink at the fact it was still too early to say she was being late.

There were still only five minutes before the precise time for our planned meeting and the reason why I was being quite annoyed by this situation was… because I was feeling nervous.

As much as I could easily deal with Kuroka as we weren't dealing with any situation that could blow up on our faces, the situation with Akeno was completely different and terribly complicated.

While I knew from prior Canon knowledge that Akeno was and still is a good person, her mannerisms regarding normal instances and the way she decided to deal with what Rias did with Asia were still things that couldn't just be forgiven.

And even though I mightn't be the one that deserved the final apology, I was certainly embittered by the fact she just decided to ignore me and make it seem like a normal situation, which I shouldn't be worried about.

A behavior that infuriated me to the core and the only reason I didn't explode on her was that I deployed all of this frustration by smashing both magician forces and Diodora during the Rescue operation at the Gremory Mansion.

A few moments of relative thinking passed and then I saw her coming from the main entrance of the building.

Akeno was dressed in a simple pink dress with black, white and red decorations, a small skirt that reached near her knees and her hair were let free-

I had to blink to regain focus, for some reason the sight being actually… pleasant. It was the first time I saw 'personally' how she looked without her usual hairstyle and I was finding it a good change.

She was smiling a little, her lips twitching nervously as she stopped right by the table, waiting for confirmation before taking a seat. I nodded and she took a seat, silently picking up the small menu with the various dishes available.

I let her choose what she wanted to eat before truly tackling the problem, waiting even the waitress passed to pick the orders.

I decided on a plate of simple curry rice and some water, while the girl ordered some onigiris.

The worker nodded once she had both dishes written down and proceeded to walk towards the kitchen, leaving us once more alone.

The Himejima placed the menu down and glanced at me, violet eyes showing the same nervousness that she had early on the encounter. "Hoitsu-kun."

I nodded, showing that I was listening to her and the young woman sighed before showing a serious look.

"I wish to apologize." She started, her tone was tense but compact enough to convey her message. "I- I know that avoiding you when I learned about Asia's departure was a mistake and I know that I was terribly mistaken in assuming that doing so would have lessened your reactions on the matter."

She lowered her head a little, eyes turning at the table. "I know that doing so was a breach of the trust you had in me and that..." She stopped a moment, fidgeting just briefly. "I- I didn't know what to do at t-the time."

Her eyes closed. "I didn't want to go against Rias and break her trust, but I also didn't want to- to fully lie to you and-" She stopped, hands going near her face to cover a sob, failing as some tears trailed down.

I sighed tiredly, deciding to intervene before the situation escalated to an unsustainable level. Standing up from my seat, I picked a tissue from the small dispenser on the table and slowly went to reach for her face.

Akeno noticed my shadow looming over her and froze in her crying, hands moving away so she could see what was going on. Her eyes widened as the tissue touched near her right eye.

There was shock on her face, but soon I explained what I was doing. "Akeno, I might be very disappointed with what you did about that situation." Then I stopped to smile. "But I sure don't hate you and I think you know my perspective about seeing girls crying, right?"

The Himejima blinked, then her sadness twitched in minor comfort and… she nuzzled my hand. "I missed you." She whispered, her hands softly holding the one with the tissue.

Another accommodating sigh and soon she let go of my palm, taking the tissue in her own hold and helping herself with the tears.

Soon after, the waitress returned with the two plates containing our orders and the discussion shifted to less tense topics.

"Seriously? You caught Sona swearing?" I asked in utter shock at what I just heard.

Akeno giggled a little. "The president was quite… surprised by the amount of paperwork you would receive on a daily basis, Ruruko and Reya were almost overwhelmed by the number of requests they had to sign while filling your role."

I frowned. "But for it to be that bad?" I pressed a little more. "Surely there had to have been another reason for causing her to react that way."

"Sona-san was angry because it wasn't alright for a single individual to deal with that much work-load. In fact, she even went as far as to say that she wanted to apologize for this situation after giving you a lecture about asking for help." The girl continued to narrate while I facepalmed a little.

"I-I was alright with that much work." I tried to defend myself. "It wasn't unhealthy or-"

"Sona-san said that there were 126 papers in those daily stacks of paperwork, if you were still there I think she would go as far to give you a wage." The Himejima giggled as she interrupted me with that.

I sighed. "At least I will be able to return by the end of the month while also having this work continue."

At hearing about the mysterious reason keeping me there, Akeno raised an intrigued eyebrow.

"By the way, Hoitsu-kun, what are you exactly doing here in Tokyo?" Then she realized the phrasing of her question and shook her head. "I mean if it's possible to know."

I hummed, thinking if giving her that detail would or wouldn't truly be that harmful.

I think Azazel did say that the name and the function of the Omega Initiative had been already told to the Satans and Heaven, I don't think Akeno will genuinely cause any issue if she knows about this.

I nodded at that reasoning and started to explain to her about what had happened until that very day, excluding some of the secret situations like the one with Anteiku and Zerkram's words about my 'legitimacy as the heir of Lucifer'.

She showed surprise, curiosity, awe and… annoyance.

"I notice that you have many women in this group of yours." She pointed out with a suspicious tone, causing me to sigh tiredly.

"Excluding Koneko and Kunou that are little sisters to me, Kahlua doesn't feel anything but friendship for me, and Akua and Kuroka are very professional with their jobs-" I went to reason, but sadly the girl was far from done.

"And you didn't spend some special time with Kuroka-san and Akua-san?"

I frowned. "I did take a walk to the Ueno Park with Kuroka but that's it-"

"So you did go on a date with her." She affirmed with utter certainty.

"It was a friendly hangout." I corrected with a stern tone and the young woman narrowed her eyes at my face.

"And pray tell, what do you consider this little situation we are having?" Akeno asked with a strange tone, causing me to give her a confused frown.

"A… friendly hangout?" At my words, the Himejima lowered her gaze to her now empty plate and closed her eyes.

"So, it was a date."

What is she talking about?! I just said that it was a friendly hangout.

Anime logic: guys are generally too dense to understand the difference between a date and a friendly hangout, thus Akeno is thinking you don't see the flirting from Kuroka.

Which isn't true!-

Which isn't true.

Just as I was about to rebuke this misunderstanding and explain that I knew what was going on with Kuroka, I felt a sudden energy pattern appearing near the restaurant.

I felt my face paling, Akeno's eyes widening too as she felt the immense amount of energy slowly moving towards the entrance of the establishment and…

Blue eyes widened, a big smile appeared on the blonde walking through the open doors with her gaze fixed at me. She was incredibly gorgeous, heavenly so.

The woman stopped by our table and I frowned as I knew who she was but… why was she there?

She closed her eyes and let her smile turn bigger.

"Onii-san, I finally found you!"

And thus I ended up glomped by Gabriel, much to my surprise and Akeno's dread.

After paying for the check, I decided it was best for us to get moving, the innocent and naive Seraph deciding to attach herself onto me, her arms wrapping around mine as I took the lead for some walking around the area.

"I'm not your 'Onii-san', Gabriel." I tried to reason but, much to my dismay, the girl refused to believe my words.

"It has to be you!" She shook her head childishly. "It's you, Oniichan!"

The Himejima frowned. "Hoitsu-kun is just a human, Gabriel-san." She tried to join on my side but… the Angel turned to bore a strange look at her.

"Who are you?" The blonde asked cautiously, tightening her hold over my poor limb as she protectively kept me from the hybrid girl.

"I'm Hoitsu-kun's friend, G-Gabriel-san," Akeno replied strongly. "A-And you are hurting him by squishing his arm that hard."

At hearing those words, the naive Seraph turned back to her hold as her eyes widened in surprise and embarrassment. "S-Sorry, Oniichan, I-I didn't w-want to hurt you a-and-" I sighed as she was starting to flinch a little, almost expecting some scolding.

It was instinctive but the moment I put my free hand over her head and patted it just once, the girl froze, eyes widening astronomically at the gesture and, for some reason, I felt danger approaching.

"I-It's just like when I was little!" The Angel squeaked before hugging me once more. "Oniichan remembers that!"

To think that Lucifer would… treat Gabriel as his little sister…

I think the real shocker is that she said 'when she was little'. Aren't Seraphs supposed to be created already in their maturity by God?

That should be the case… but maybe-

"Oh! Do you remember my nickname, Oniichan?" Gabriel asked out-of-the-blue. "The one you gave me saying that it was adorable and-"

"Gabriel." She stopped at hearing my tone, a surprised look on her face. "I'm not you 'Oniichan'."

She opened her mouth, ready to dismiss this but… I gave her a sad look, something that caused her to pause and reflect. The pause lasted several seconds and then… the woman frowned confused.

"B-But you- you have to be him." She pressed on. "You- You are like him a-and-" She stopped again, her face turning blank for a moment, causing me to tense a little as she smiled and started to laugh.

"Oniichan is joking! It's just like when you told me that Michael was actually a girl but he wasn't!"

...Okay, now I will have to check on that story from Azazel once I find some time to call him.

Nonetheless, Gabriel was in denial. There was no way for me to truly make her see reason about the matter and I decided to sigh tiredly.

Knowing that continuing this endeavor was as risky as fruitless, I passed at the following question. "Did you come here with Michael or are you alone?"

Surprisingly enough, the most innocent and naive Angel in Heaven gave me the fakest distracted look possible. "I-I went for a walk, yes!" She looked pleased by the flimsy reason offered but I gave her a suspicious look before pressing on.

"I think someone is lying~." She pouted at my words and looked away from me.

"T-That's not true." She replied with an unconvincing tone. "I- Michael said that I could go and take some rest-"

"But I bet he was referring still to Heaven." Her pout intensified and she flinched a little at being caught on that detail.

Still, I knew that the situation wasn't going to be resolved by dealing with Gabriel alone and thus, I turned to Akeno and stopped. "Gabriel, can you let go for a moment? I need to say something to Akeno."

The blonde squeezed a little. "It's important?"

I nodded. "Very important and, once I'm done, we will be going back to my home so you can get some rest."

The Angel frowned. "B-but I'm not sleepy-"

"But your Oniichan might need some rest or he might fall unconscious and you wouldn't that, would you?" At hearing my words she blinked, eyes going wide open and she nodded.

Moments later she let go of my arm so I could turn my attention to the Himejima.

The girl sighed at seeing my sad expression but nodded. "I guess that you will have to deal with this now, Hoitsu-kun." She had a disappointed look but still sighed, a small smile piercing through her gloomy mood. "I hope you could still offer some other hangouts in the future. I found this one to be… interesting."

I smiled and nodded. "I liked it too and I will organize others, yes." Yet I closed my eyes and nodded. "Also, I'm sorry for letting you go this early in the day, Akeno. I did enjoy spending time with you and- Uh?"

A brief giggle, two steps forward and I felt my left cheek conquered by her lips.

The girl stepped back, eyes closed as she gave a grateful and happy smile. "Thank you and… I don't mind. I understand the situation requires you and..." She nodded. "I shall see you soon, hopefully."

I blinked and nodded. "Y-Yes."

The Himejima turned around and started to slowly walk away, leaving me to look at her until she left my sight.

She knows how to press our buttons when she gets in her comfort zone.

'A beautiful and cunning woman. You have quite the following, Hoitsu.'

I sighed and nodded, turning around only to find a fuming Gabriel.

"Mou, why did you let that girl kiss you on the cheek?"

I blinked. "I think that's called being good friends, Gabi-chan."

The blonde froze for some moments, then her eyes widened once more. "Y-You remembered my nickname." A giggle left her lips as the Angel tackled me down to the floor. "Oniichan remembered my Nickname!"

I think that this is getting quite ridiculous. I can understand head-patting, hugging and the kind tone when addressing her but… getting the nickname Lucifer gave her?

You are failing to see a fatal flaw in this connection. Her words are slowly manipulating you to consider those coincidences into truthful proof of her words. While Lucifer could certainly have been someone considering her as his younger sibling, the connection between you and him is frail at best. You might share some 'energy' similarity and some personality that is actually very common, but I wouldn't go as far as calling yourself a true 'Second Coming' for Lucifer. Also, the nickname thing is kind of easy as the nickname for Gabrielle is Gabi for many families.

...Maybe you are right. I could be getting manipulated unconsciously by Gabriel's childish fanaticism and it's all a massive coincidence.

It is. Don't sweat it too much.

I nodded and, groaning at the giggling Seraph latching on my arm once more, I proceeded to walk back to the apartment, my free hand fishing out of the pocket my phone as I started to call Azazel.

This sure was going to be quite an interesting day for me, wasn't it?

AN

Allergies caught me unaware! That is why the chapter is so terribly short and I promise some lengthy chapter tomorrow. It will be a chapter of stealth, of surprises and battles.

It will be EPIC GAMING TIME! And there will be a continuation of the Gabi's predicament. I bet no one will expect how I will mold Michael in this situation.

Fun Fact: I was baptized in a Church named after Arch-Angel Michael so… yeah.

Also, we reached the 696 Follows milestone- HUZZAH!

And now our newest milestone:

Future milestone 1: 717 Followers and Favorites.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

REVIEW Q&A!

Darkmaster10000000: There will be some more Jojo's watching but I don't think there will be any Jojo joining the cast of this story.

RedBurningDragon: It will be a funny scene.

Fafnir1404: FF doubled your Review and by your idea I think I developed something similar but that could still work. I can't make Mio Vali's half-sister, but I can still have them related. I will explain when she and Maria will appear.