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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 41: Bluffing and Crushing
Kuoh Town, Hoitsu Sakakibara's House
Breakfast was surprisingly a calm affair, much different than the previous days.
It's been three days now since Akeno was officially invited to join Issei and Asia to share the first meal of the day at Hoitsu's home.
At first both the blonde and the brunet were hesitant if not adamantly opposed to have the young woman in their proximity. Time might have passed but redemption has been a fleeting thought during the period they finally settled in their new living quarters.
Yet the Himejima proved to be very accepting of the doubtful stance, actually keeping the distances when the former nun requested or properly avoiding discussing about the matter during school-time.
Issei was the one that staunchly opposed to an early process of receiving forgiveness, even the genuine words from Baraqiel vouching for his daughter seemed to do little as he trained under the Fallen Angel.
Speaking of training, it's been just a week but Asia decided to finally join some of the training session. It wasn't a daily occurrence as it was for Issei, but the astonishing affinity to Light-type energy and the surprisingly big magical core she has made things quite easier for her.
Her sessions were easier than his, but the host of the Welsh Dragon knew that it was because the girl was but just a simple human. Differently from Hoitsu, the girl wasn't trained in anything physical and thus the part of the training that should be entertained by sparring sessions were actually spent doing some little exercise to build-up some muscles on her.
Magic made it possible to speed up a process that would have taken a month or two as the blonde now sported a more refined frame and her body's curves were now smoothed to a delightful way.
It didn't lessen anything about her beauty, quite the contrary as she now looked… sexier.
Odd thoughts have been wandering for a while now in Issei's mind but seeing his girlfriend showing some more skin while also doing some hard-working tasks? For some reason the scenes that presented before him left him more flustered than anything had back when he was still addicted to 'magazines'.
It felt a little wrong to ogle at the gorgeous girl, but it was also something that couldn't help himself with. She was just that much good.
It also didn't help that Ddraig was keen to comment on her positive changes, sometime commenting really slowly over her physique and causing the boy to turn to look at her.
Both were perverts, but where Issei drew the line that he wanted to step over only when their relationship was much more developed, the Red Dragon was unrestrained and limitless in his distracting commentaries.
...And the Balance Breaker made things worse than usual.
After harshly training over the potential of the Boosted Gear, gaining more control over the Boost, the Reset and the Burst abilities, Baraqiel explained to the boy about the incredible potential Sacred Gears all shared.
The Balance Breaker was the full-power of a Sacred Gear, the quintessential final form that made the user capable of using the entire potential of their inner gift and… it also meant that the connection with Ddraig was expanded and… deepened.
Emotions and thoughts were shared and so the more lecherous ideas the Dragon has over Issei's mate left a massive blush in the youth's face behind that armor.
It was worse when the girl was in the training room, Ddraig's creative mind being rather experienced with the… knowledge of mating.
Oddly enough, even through the subject was something intriguing for someone like Issei, the fact it was directed at Asia of all people left him with a weird sourness in his mouth.
But while the distracting thoughts made his life very difficult, the raw strength the form contained was undeniable. While he was far from being able to go on par with Baraqiel, the sudden boost reduced the distance between him and the older man.
Returning to that curious breakfast, Issei munched calmly and cautiously through the pancakes that both his girlfriend and Akeno prepared together, his paranoia peaking when a possible 'threat' was nearby the kind blonde.
Just as he was about to finish the third of his set, the door bell rang and caught everyone's attention.
Out of habit, it was Issei that stood up and went to check who was visiting at that hour of the day.
He checked from the door's peephole, but the only thing he got were a… light-brown Ahoge?
It twitched once, then twice and the Hyoudou decided to open a little to see who it truly was.
The moment the door was slightly opened so he could peek outside, the boy found himself assaulted by a pair of slender arms and… two soft cushions pushing on his face.
He fell on the floor, a giggle keeping him from reacting aggressively at such an unexpected tackle.
"Seems like you are still a slug with your reaction, Ise!"
He struggled a little to not drown in that heavenly bosom and his eyes were quick to take sight of the owner of the cushions.
A smiling face, eyes closed, the girl looked familiar but… nobody that he could exactly pinpoint in that exact moment. Where did he saw her? Maybe at elementary or middle school?
Her light-brown were tied in twintails, her eyes opened to show a particular violet shade and…
Nope, couldn't remember anyone like her.
The smile faded a little, then a little pout appeared instead of the pleased line. "Y-You remember me, right Ise?"
He didn't reply and while he felt he made the right choice, the dreadful sensation of having done something wrong didn't vanish. Her eyes narrowed and she looked ready to say something else, maybe scolding him for something he was completely unable to answer to but he felt footsteps and he looked at the corner that led to the living room to see Asia peeking at the scene with wide-eyes.
"I-Ise-kun?"
While he expected some jealousy from the former young, the brunet was once more surprised by the girl as the most he could get from her eyes was worry and concern rather than something… selfish.
It was the same look she would have when he happened to clumsily trip on someone during their time at school, her understanding over his 'bad luck' was summarized in few words.
"I know that you were trying to avoid that from happening."
And that genuine trust he felt bestowed by the girl was more than enough to finalize his love for her. He could remember his mother saying how it was learning about his father's soft-heart that got her to fall in love with him, nothing of the perverted nature he was known to his son.
The stranger blinked in surprise at the new girl, standing up as she helped him by pulling him up.
"S-Sorry, I almost forgot- Your mom did say that you were living there with someone else..."
The boy nodded at the apology but still was confused over the identity of this familiar individual.
He was about to ask when someone else spoke up over him.
"I understand that you are enjoying your friend, Irina, but I remind you that we aren't here for pleasantries."
The brunette flashed a blush and a scowl at the blunt comment from the blue-haired girl standing right behind her.
'How did I miss her?'
"My name is Xenovia Quarta and she is my partner, Irina Shidou." The serious-looking girl introduced herself and the other girl. "Irina and I are Exorcists from the Holy See and we seek to speak with the Devils' representative of this region."
A blink, then two. Finally some sweat rolled of his head as he remembered few words from Sona before deciding to not be part of her group.
Since his Master wasn't allowed to rule over the territory, he could easily be mistaken as a Stray Devil and-
"I-I can call him." Asia replied quickly, phone in her hands and number composed much to the surprise of the three people in front of her.
"Him? I thought that both controllers from the Devils' side were female."
"T-Things changed few weeks ago." The Blonde explained quickly and a little embarrassed. "Hoitsu-Nii can explain this better than I can."
The two girls nodded slowly, eyes narrowing on the former nun much to her surprise and… dread.
"I think I've seen you before..." Xenovia commented with a suspicious tone. "Were you perhaps part of the Church?"
The fellow Italian girl blinked in surprise at the question but… she smiled and decided it was time to employ Hoitsu-nii's tactic for this specific case.
"I may have visited at a certain point of my life." She muttered slowly.
The blue-haired young woman tilted her head on the side with a confused expression. "So you haven't lived there?"
"It's been an extensive point of my life." Asia continued with a calm but restrained tone. "One could easily mistake living there with merely visiting."
Irina huffed. "So you were part of Church or not?"
"I'm quite devoted to the Lord, one could say… I could have been close to be a Nun because how much I loved the Church's teachings." She felt victory getting closer…
"What are you even saying here?" Xenovia broke her composure right in that moment, eyes widening for the sheer confusion torturing her mind. "Were you or not part of the Church?!"
Asia's mouth opened again to deliver another confusing round of words but then the receiver of the call answered.
"Hello?" The familiar voice of the owner of the house started the conversation.
"Hoitsu-nii, we have a situation here and-" The blonde started to speak but soon she was interrupted.
"Before you continue, could you put on speaker? I think I know who it is- or better, who they are."
The girl complied and soon his voice could be heard by everyone else.
"Hello, am I perhaps speaking with Shidou-san and Quarta-san?"
The Japanese girl blinked in surprise and nodded. "That's us-"
But before she could continue, she found herself interrupted by her partner.
"You're Italian, aren't you?" She asked without hesitation. "You said well my surname and-"
"I speak Italian, yes." Hoitsu replied over her following explanation. "But I think there is something called manners, signorina, and I think your warden was good enough to teach you those."
"You don't know anything about me," Xenovia fired back with an annoyed tone. "Plus, I don't think I need lessons of manners from a Devil-"
"I'm a member of Grigori and I know that you are making some heavy steps with the way you're tackling this case, signorina Quarta." The young man responded in kind. "And I'm fairly sure the Church isn't keen to rekindle the Great War, so if I was you I would be keeping my mouth from ruining the chances of peace."
That seemed to silence her, but Asia could see that the girl was seething at that little exchange.
But the moment the blue-haired girl bailed from the discussion, Irina decided to replace her on the chat. "So you are part of Grigori, sir? I thought we were talking with the current representative for the Devils in Kuoh Town."
"That would be Sona Sitri, you will find her at Kuoh Academy during school hours." The young man on the other side of the call answered. "By the way, I'm Hoitsu Sakakibara-"
"T-The 'Hoitsu Sakakibara' Lord Michael spoke about?" The blunt exorcist butted in with a surprised expression, her eyes moving to Asia. "S-So that means you are the Blessed Maiden that was unjustly banished from the Church."
Asia's eyes widened at the words and Hoitsu sighed. "I kind of forgot to say but… I spent some words with Michael and he said he would have given a look at your case and, from Xenovia-san's words, I can say he pardoned you already."
"S-So that means-" The blonde vibrated in pure cheerfulness.
"You can pray to God without having to be hunt down as a Heretic."
She squealed in victory and went to hug Issei much to the brunet's surprise and genuine happiness.
In that exact moment Irina pouted at the scene but, much to her shock, her anonymous reaction was shredded by the man's following words.
"By the way, Ise, that girl with chestnut hair is your childhood friend," Hoitsu said calmly. "You mightn't recognize her because you confused her as a boy-"
"W-What?!-"
"Because she looked like one at that age. Irina, I do remind you that you had short hair and you preferred boyish clothes than feminine ones, I wouldn't be doing any ruckus over it if I was you."
"B-But-"
"No butts, you are smart enough to not fall in that silly mistake."
"L-Lord Hoitsu, can I ask why the Blessed Maiden lives together with a… Devil?" Xenovia finally blurted out, causing the owner of the house to sigh at the phone.
"Simple answer would be: They are boyfriend and girlfriend."
The Exorcists' eyes widened at the truth bomb.
"The full context is: Issei was almost killed by Stray Fallen Angel and was reincarnated by the former controller of Kuoh Town. He is currently on a 'free stay' and no, he isn't a Stray. He took care of Asia from the very day she arrived in Kuoh Town and they decided to step up their relationship."
"Oh." Irina replied with a simple but sad note. "So… I think we should be going." Her tone somber as she turned around and started to walk towards the door.
"I-It was nice seeing you once more, Ise-"
"I don't think I'm done with you, Irina." The little command got her to stop from leaving, eyes going wide as she stared at the phone.
"W-What?"
"Issei's mom did tell me some things about you and I have this as an advice for your new… plight." The young man started to say, his tone surprisingly kind and very wise. "If you care for someone, the real objective is to make them happy while being yourself happy. Don't beat yourself over it and… it doesn't mean making any competition. Compromises exist too-"
"H-Hoitsu-nii!" Asia interrupted with eyes narrowed at the phone in shock at his words. "W-What are you talking about?"
"Something that I will explain to you once your guests are out and you aren't at school. It's nothing meaningless, but something I forgot to explain to Issei and I think it's best you are around for that."
She sighed but nodded softly. "I… I trust you on that."
"And I love you for that, piccolina."
Xenovia snorted at the nickname and Hoitsu sighed.
"Something funny to say, signorina Quarta?" He replied with an amused tone. "By the way, I do hope you remember to call your 'warden' before going to bed. I can only think how much angry she would be at her apprentice not answering her phone calls-"
"H-How do you know that?!" She blurted in shock.
"I know many things and one about you is very, very important."
"A-And that is?"
"You lack common sense, signorina, and you should call your 'mom' right now."
She blushed a little, appearing suddenly nervous while nodding. "I- I will once the mission is over-"
"Do it before the end of the day and spare yourself some punishment from hers, would you?"
The girl conceded a defeated nod and the call ended the moment the two girls decided to take their leave, bidding a polite goodbye before leaving the two teens' sight.
"They are…" Issei started with a placid tone.
"Interesting." Asia hummed with some happiness. "I still can't believe Hoitsu-nii managed to contact Lord Michael."
The brunet nodded too. "Yeah… unbelievable."
The girl stopped at seeing the boy's somber look. "Something's wrong?"
"I-I don't want to ruin the mood or anything… but it's been a while now that we see Senpai and-"
"He said he will be back in less than two weeks from now." The blonde interrupted with a pretty smile. "So he will be back by that time."
Issei nodded, accepting the optimistic point of view pushed by Asia as… he had nothing to worry about with Senpai.
If he promised something, he would always maintain it.
Ophis was incredibly annoyed.
Frustration has turned out to be a common emotion every time she had to deal with the affairs of the very organization she created.
The Hero Faction was filled with young humans craving for action, ignoring the importance of subtlety and preferring to strong-arm situations rather than being smart with their opportunities. Cao Cao was powerful, the possession of the Longinus and the outstanding capacity to use it to the very best made him a strong warrior but sadly those very abilities hardly influenced his poor leadership and sheer incapacity to calm the hot blood of the youths under his care.
The Old Satan Faction was the one that barked annoyingly and did the least for the Khaos Brigade as a whole, trying to get their ambitions settled the quickest possible even at the cost of sacrificing the other factions. Rightful claims, they pranced around by imposing some 'undeniable' rights that Ophis was starting to get annoyed to hear about.
The Qlippoth under Rizevim Lucifer was possibly the calmest but also the most confusing of the factions. While the son of the original Lucifer was polite while she was around, the Infinity Dragon wasn't blind enough to ignore the pure madness he was so keen to promote with those under his command.
It wasn't damaging as the other factions were with their personal motivations but something about him felt 'weird'. Familiar but also twisted, annoying but also not.
With a sigh, she found herself shifting out from the KB's headquarters and… in an unfamiliar big room.
It was the first time she decided to visit Hoitsu and Shiranai-nii after the Diodora's fail and she was ready to show to both how much well she has behaved in those days. Maybe a naughty act or two in allowing some generally chaotic actions, but she was hopeful in believing in apologies for those little cases.
The moment her eyes adjusted to the new place, she noticed almost too quickly that… there was no Hoitsu, nor the shadow part of his around.
Ophis gave another look and… her eyes locked onto the floating green spirit staring back at her with a shell-shocked expression. It looked funny but… also kind of depressing at how frozen it looked at her sight.
How odd, she mused silently and then her eyes moved to the second occupant of the room.
He was a young teen, much younger than Hoitsu and Vali, and he was suffering a little while trying to lift some weights. A blink, then two and… her confusion increased as the activity continued.
The boy was clearly strong enough, the power visible to her magically-enchanted sight and… yet she was unable to fathom why would he commit himself to the task without making use of his powers.
She slowly walked towards him and stopped to see more attentively at his actions. He was genuinely putting his physical best in the exercise, forfeiting in that moment the use of his immense energy for… no reason.
It was illogical and… she decided to do what she knew would work best. She spoke.
"Why?"
32%
The boy tensed, stopping just a moment mid-lifting to turn around and look at her. Dark eyes meet dark eyes, there was curiosity well-hidden in the boy's and maybe some surprise too if she considered the brief confused twitch appearing in his face.
35%
"Uh? What?"
An elaboration? Did he need for details? The Infinity Dragon merely nodded.
"Why aren't you using your power?"
43%
He blinked. "O-Oh." His eyes turned to the floor and he nodded. "I-I don't want to cheat."
Cheat? Why would using powers that are his own be considered cheating?
"But why? Why is it… cheating?" She pressed on, now that sounded like something… curious that she needed to know.
48%
"Well..." The boy said calmly stopping his exercises.
54%
"I want to have some muscles?" He replied with some uncertainty. "M-My former Sensei said that women loves muscles."
Muscles as in the bulky form of some men? Why would they be important to woman? Does those help with mating or-
"Why are muscles good?" The goth girl asked once more and the boy frowned.
59%
"Well, if I have muscles then… I would appear cooler and… I would be able to do things without my powers."
62%
"Why?" Her voice was blank, unbreakable and she took a step forward.
81%
"Why?" She continued to ask, drawing a confused look from the boy.
96%
She leaned forward, hands carefully straddling on his sweaty shirt.
99%
Her face was close to his and she noticed a strange difference from before.
99,6%
There were… pretty colors around his and his hair was now floating to an invisible wind.
100% Confusion
His eyes were wide open at the embarrassing intimacy they were sharing, one of her fingers pressing on her lips as she softly nodded.
"You are interesting." She said before backing away calmly and walking towards the stairs. "See you later, Pretty Colors."
Moments of silence passed as the girl silently left the room and… Dimple recovered.
"M-Mob, we need to stop her before-" The spirit's eyes widened in shock at seeing the boy's face. "M-Mob?!"
Eyes wide open and trembling a little, the teen's face was sporting a full-face blush at the embarrassed moment. To have a girl to not only show interests on him but to also ignore his powers while he let those out?
His lips twitched and Dimple narrowed his eyes in confusion at what seemed to have been a… fleeting smile?
AN
Poor Mob is crushing on someone.
One would question me why it has to be Ophis and… the reason is that they match actually pretty-well.
Both share the same affinity which is Infinity itself: In Mob Psycho 100, Mogami proved that powerful espers gain immense power by ascending their mortality after death. Abandoning his human body, Mob would be easily matching Ophis in pure power and capacities.
About Ophis being genderless: after re-reading some entries in the Wikia and re-watching, re-reading some of the material, I can say for sure that while Ophis is genderless, she prefers to be female. There is only an instance where he was a man and that was revealed by Azazel, but it was just that, a single instance. Her preference to being female could stem from the fact that girls are better-received by people around compared to boys, her childish demeanor requesting affection as a replacement to her 'Silence' once in a while.
So yeah, this might be a pairing after all.
Irina and Xenovia are here… their timing precisely the same as in Canon and I have some words to say about them:
1) Irina: I've plans about her, Issei and Asia. I know people want to preserve AsiaXIssei purity, but I will have to do that just this once. It's not a full harem but Issei will be getting her as a second girlfriend… with my powerful Magic! (I will not pair her directly, I will make several chapters pass before focusing on this spot so… right now it's only Issei and Asia.);
2) Xenovia: She will not be part of any Harems but she will be a very important character in the story. I've a detailed storyline dedicated to her and it will culminate in her growth and peak.
Also new Milestone!
Future milestone 1: 796 Followers and Favorites.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
The Hoitsu vs Rizevim fight: Will be super epic and memey!
Guest-Questioner: I can understand some little concern, but there is nothing to worry about. It will all converge back in DxD and- I think I already did reconnect with previous chapter and this one. (The attack on the Tepes Castle is Canon, but I altered some elements to twist the final objective of the plot and the characters present there).
Jalalfof5: He will learn Touki, which is the thing Sairaorg uses.