DISCLAIMER
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.
Please support the official release.
Chapter 50: We Dine in (not) Hell!
The living room was bustling with loud voices, amused laughs and embarrassed groans coming from the active table.
I blinked as the leaders of the Underworld and Grigori bantered mirthfully while eating the various dishes prepared by the kitchen. Preparing so much food without notice proved to be the tiring feat that I was expecting.
Thankfully I had some help in the form of Akeno, Kunou, Kuroka, Koneko and… Grayfia.
The 'Gremory Maid' was slow at first, trying to grasp the proper placements of the various products and ingredients in the room, but she quickly managed to recover and bolster the efforts of food-making.
Serafall did pledge her help too but she was surprisingly stopped and denied by the rest of the Satans… and the small group from Grigori.
Azazel might showed a brief instance of disgust at the idea, while Baraqiel sported some swift dread on his face.
In the end, even with still very few individuals working in the kitchen, the dinner began right on time as everything was served in record-time. From normal human food to devil-versions of some usual dishes, the table was filled to the brim much to everyone's glee.
Falbium and Serafall didn't hesitate in digging in much to everyone's expectations, the others taking a more moderate but still quick pace as some discussions seemed ready to be made during the occasions.
Yet what truly caught my attention were two small details.
The first was that Millicas decided to pick a seat a little distant from his mother and… right by Kunou's side. The kitsune noticed the gesture, failing to register it further than a mere friendly interaction much to the young redhead's chagrin… but minor success.
The second detail was… literally under my nose. Ophis was munching quietly and cutely from her own plate, set beside mine. She had been quite attached to me, physically as either by hand-holding or tugging at my shirt while sitting on the couch.
I was aware that dragons were incredibly protective of what they considered theirs, but to see this behavior accomplished by the young girl was… adorable.
The discussions did happen, Azazel being the one to break the ice and introduce the 'embarrassing stories' time by starting with the one detailing Baraqiel's predicament that morning.
I shot him a murderous glare, only to be submerged by the dreadful stare coming from the fellow Fallen Angel. Akeno's violet eyes were quick to turn slits at her own parent as something close to an eye-only Mexican Standoff endured just a few moments.
It was the Governor-General that intervened to defuse the situation, one of his arms wrapping around his friend's neck as he ruffled his hair. "C'mon, you old fool. I bet nothing weird happened about… whatever those two were doing in their free time."
I didn't show any reaction and the Himejima followed the same example. Normally that would have caused some hesitation to filter out in our expressions but we weren't certainly keen to begin some World War 3 out of a simple date… that ended with kisses and-
Wait, does that make us boyfriend and girlfriend?
I think she will say 'one of the girlfriends'. Remember how she said how she formed an agreement with Akua and Kuroka? I bet there is something about… 'titles'.
Just as I thought that the topic would have shifted elsewhere, maybe one of the 'elders' getting targeted rather than any of the other teens, I was soon disheartened when Grayfia decided to spoke about… what had happened a few hours ago.
"Alas, I hope that you have recovered from that encounter… with that individual." Azrael's name wasn't meant to be mentioned in this situation, not with so many young people all around. It was already a forbidden topic in normal situations, but what just happened … lessened some of the rules for the occasion.
"I'm fine." I replied tiredly, stopping to sip at my glass. Water refreshed my throat, then I continued. "If I hadn't fought that before today, I would have had some major trouble… but I guess the first beating just helped me up memorize part of his pattern, enough to deal with what happened today."
"S-Speaking about what happened," Irina bowed her head, her face was pale as her eyes showed utter shame at how things evolved into. "I-I think I should apologize for w-what happened."
"I don't think you should, Irina." I replied with a sigh. "In fact I think that by facing that alone for some time, I was able to get it away from harming anyone in Kuoh Town."
She stared for some time, the brunette broke away from the long glance as Asia poked her shoulder and gave her an understanding smile. The devoted exorcist blinked but nodded at the gesture, smiling herself back to the blonde.
"Yet I hope you understand that I find your reply… lacking," Grayfia pressed on much to my surprise, her red eyes narrowed on me. "Your last technique was far stronger and energy-packed than the one you used just a few days ago against Rizevim."
Of course Sirzechs has to have told her that. I refrained myself from facepalming, finally getting a clear message of the strange expression lying on the silver-haired maid's face.
There was… worry, concern, fear and… anger. It was difficult for me to discern if the last emotion was aimed at herself or at me.
"I'm sorry, Grayfia-neechan." I breathed softly, causing the woman to sigh and look away.
"You have been doing this dangerous play more than once already. I think apologies hardly matter when you keep-"
"I didn't have much choices in both cases. Either I went full-power on them or someone would have gotten hurt." I admitted, sighing tiredly. "I'm sorry about it, but I can't certainly ignore what would have happened if I didn't go that far."
There was an odd round of silence, my eyes directed to the table as I was sure that the woman was going to headbutt a little more about the matter.
...yet the response I got was far from what I expected.
"J-Just avoid getting yourself hurt like that so frequently, foolish Otouto." She huffed tiredly before chiding her husband from snickering at the interaction.
There was a red hue visible in her face, something unique but also meaningful that…
She did care and… that was always nice to remember.
I was about to forcefully take the discussion elsewhere but Serafall managed to beat me to that by slamming her fist on the table and… pointing right at me.
"Y-you are Grayfia's young brother now?" She exclaimed surprised at first, then she looked intrigued.
Her blue eyes darted from me to the maid, the former Lucifuge merely closing her eyes while sipping from her water.
Was this going to be like it happened with Sirzechs? A 'competition' of sort?
"Sona-tan, we need to show them who is the best sib- oh?" The Leviathan paused, eyes fixed on her young sister as she fully stopped, confusion painted on her face.
The president of the Student Council was sitting idle, her stare deeply intense as she continued to direct it at her own plate, ignoring the sudden wave of attention she was receiving.
The dutiful girl had been like this since the beginning of the dinner, avoiding to make first-contacts and… yet I could see that she wanted to say something about what happened in the last few weeks.
She blinked, glancing at her sister with a blank expression and… didn't do anything else after that. It felt like she was waiting for something else to happen, as if… she was trying to get me to do the first step towards an approach to diplomacy?
Before I could do anything about it, I was once more interrupted by Serafall, the Satan gasping in a comical way. I knew that it was the prelude to some annoying 'Magical Girl'-like attitude, but I hardly felt that this was going to get the results the woman wanted.
"So-tan! You are annoyed by something, aren't you?" She struck a determined pose, eyes narrowed once more at me as her Maou Shoujo Levia-tan costume materialized over her clothes, finger pointing accusingly once more right at me. "It was that silly boy, wasn't it? Worry not, Levia-tan shall defeat this young man by using her Magical Girl's power."
I blinked and frowned at her, trying to ignore the fact that Ophis was tensing at hearing about a possible attack against me.
"Sona-san, could we share some words… in private." The only woman in the Four Satans froze at the request directed at her sister, the current Sitri heiress looking surprised as well but managing to nod and reply.
"I will be more than happy to oblige at your request, Hoitsu-san." She replied with a thankful tone, relief washing over her as she stood up from her seat.
The formality wasn't… as cold as many could perceive it in a normal instance. We were both treating each other as equals, a step forward compared to the 'boss-worker' relationship we shared back before I left the Academy.
It was a minimal detail, but one that mattered a lot for someone that religiously respected order above all.
Ophis blinked in surprise as I pulled her in a hug, bringing her up so I could stand up and then placed her right where I was previously sitting. She looked up, confused and annoyed at the sudden action but I smiled apologetically right at her while patting her head. "Sorry, I promise that after this discussion with Sona-san I will be back."
The goth girl, stood silent for a moment and then… "No."
I sighed, expecting this reaction from her and so I decided to go 'heavy'. "Not even if I leave Shironai here to keep you company?"
Her eyes lightened at the mentioning of the well-dressed individual and the Infinity Dragon ended up conceding a slow but clear nod at the proposal.
Sigh. I don't mind being around with 'Phis-chan, but I think you shouldn't be using me 'just for that'.
I will make up for you.
There is hardly something that could interest me to-
What about tomorrow you are granted a full day to spend with Ophis?
Deal.
The happy darkness materialized and Ophis eagerly jumped in his waiting arms, head snuggling on his chest as he took my seat and started to care for the goth girl.
As I started to walk with Sona on tow towards the kitchen ready for some heavy and serious words about what happened in the recent weeks, we found ourselves followed to the empty room by… Serafall herself.
"O-Oneesan, it's a private-"
"Nonsense, Sona-chan!" The woman rebuffed her younger sibling's protest at this unexpected join-up. "I have a duty as your smart and strong Oneesama to be there and make sure that this young man doesn't do anything weird to you-"
Rather an uncalled accusation since I've been fairly respectful and polite with… everyone during this event. Even before I never shown anything that could allude to anything bad about me so…
Where did Serafall get any idea about me trying something like that?
"-Especially since you are so much taken by him. I mean, you did mention him quite a lot in the last letters and-" The incriminating words would have easily passed as proof of Sona crushing on me, but since even the headstrong woman was hardly reacting to this fact, I knew that it was all about teasing her sibling.
"N-Not in that way!" The glasses-wearing girl stuttered irritated, cheeks reddening in embarrassment.
The girl then turned to look at me. "I-I was referring at the fact that I...-" Sona stopped, her words failing to fully leave her lips and I frowned.
"Sona-san, I know that I shouldn't just assume about this but… can I guess that you missed me?" I interjected softly, giving a supportive smile to the girl.
Her whole face was now engulfed by the blush, her eyes widening in surprise before she suddenly realized how I knew about this.
"It was Himejima-san, wasn't it?" She asked and sighed tiredly as I nodded at her question. "Should have thought of it before doing this much… I suppose you also know how things turned out back at Kuoh Academy with your absence."
"Paperwork overwhelmed, I guess that I will have to focus much to have it reduced drastically when I'm back-"
"It shouldn't have this much from the very beginning!" The young Sitri whispered furiously, huffing in annoyance at the frown I gave her as a reaction. "Why didn't you even mention that it was that much difficult?"
I shrugged. "Didn't feel it was 'that much'. Seriously, it was nothing-"
"I had to personally intervene to cut 70% of the useless expenses. Just the corsets for the girls' uniform were costing us more than the food served at the cafeteria did in a yearly basis."
I flinched, remembering seeing that specific number with my own eyes but there was a reason I never questioned this specific info.
"I admit that there were some instances like that… but I then learned who put them in the budget and just decided to roll with it." I tried to explain, trying to avoid pulling the culprits about the matter too quickly.
Pink eyes narrowed on my frame at the mysterious words, I swear one of her eyebrows twitched angrily at my answer.
"Who? Who is the utter idiot that decided that short skirts and corsets were a good idea in a school?" Sona asked, my eyes widening in surprise at how much incensed she sounded like.
Serafall started to sweat profusely, the situation taking rather the troublesome turn.
Sadly, her reaction was caught by the very person that wasn't meant to know about her implication over this topic.
"Neesan-" The young Sitri tried to begin, but was quickly interrupted by her older sibling.
"I-It was Sirzechs' plan! H-He said that those adjustments would have brought out the cutest appearance a-and he was… correct." The Leviathan deflated at the last word.
"You mean to tell me t-that you just pushed this excessive addition… because of Rias and me?"
There was an odd tone in that query, something both Serafall and I picked right as it sunk in our brains.
… "Will you be angry if I said ye-"
"OF COURSE I'M ANGRY." The girl replied loudly, furious and annoyed at the same time.
The situation was already insane as it was because the changes were added for 'menial' reasons by the two semi-patented siscons, add to the compound the fact short skirts with a school with a 'perverts issue' didn't mix at all…
Well, I suppose Sona was scraping the barrel that was her sanity at this point, the Perverted 'Duo' having been one of the greatest annoyances since she started to work as president of the Student Council.
"S-So-tan, I didn't mean to annoy you- please, don't be angry at me-" The pleads fell deaf to the strict female, she wasn't finished yet after all.
"Four years. I've been trying to figure out why nothing could truly deplete the perverted population from the Academy and..." She sighed, a stern look plastered on the girl's face. "Neesan, you did something terribly wrong and… I'm angry at you."
The effect of her seemingly harmless words were instantaneous as THE Serafall Leviathan, one of the most cheerful beings in the Underworld, started to twitch while tears flooded through her eyes.
It was more of a comical display, like the ones before… except the twitching, the tears were all real. It wasn't a fake display of true sadness, but something that was mixed with some 'funny' elements that made the character the former heiress to the Sitri Clan… alive.
I blinked, knowing that any further escalation wouldn't see me unscathed, especially with how… unstable girls could get while in that much distress. Especially when said girl has the power to vaporize the entire block without issues.
"Sona-san… I know that I shouldn't meddle in this situation-"
"Indeed, you shouldn't." The girl interrupted without hesitation. "While I understand that you wish to avoid any family troubles within your house, I've to ask that you keep out from this subject-"
"Then I should be condemning you too, Sona-san?" I interjected loudly, eyes narrowing at once at her much to her sudden shock.
"W-What?"
"While Serafall-san and Sirzechs-san did start the problem, it is also true that the budget is to be checked upon and revised in case of abnormalities by the Student Council… yet there wasn't much attention put over the matter." I pointed out sharply, pink eyes darting away from confrontation as… I knew what was going on with Sona's furor.
Why she was being this much aggressive with her older sister, why she was trying to shift all the blame at the instigators of such trend…
She was silent, unwilling to provide evidence of this strong theory of mine, thus I pressed on for an opening.
"You didn't give the budget a proper look, didn't you? I know that the budget remained mostly unchanged for the last few years, including the one which you started your role as president of the Council, the only exceptions being the small sections to accommodate clubs' expansions and special events." I accused quietly, Sona getting more and more fidgety as I turned the table on her.
"Sona." I stated in a teasing tone, the girl blinking at the informal manner I was addressing her. "Are you trying to push all the blame onto your sister?"
Her face was completely red as I took a step towards her, her eyes widening as my hands moved near her face and-
"Gwuh! No, sthwop!"
The girl yelped in surprise as I started to pinch moderately both her cheeks, surprise was replaced by 'agony' as the Sitri wasn't experienced in this kind of 'torture'.
"Apologize right now for pushing an unjust part of the blame on your Neechan." I pulled a little more. "Now."
She squeaked and gave a defiant look, trying to appear unfazed by this childish display but… soon her squeaks intensified and she 'cracked'.
"F-Fwine! S-Swowwy N-Neechwan!"
I stopped just in time to hear a quick 'clicking' noise coming from Serafall, the Satan was holding a small camera in her hands and froze as she was caught in the act of taking some blackmail material.
I sighed. "I'm trying to get you partly-saved and this is how you repay it? By worsening things for yourself." My words seemed to annoy the Leviathan, her blue eyes showing annoyance at being called out in that way.
The woman huffed. "One can never get enough photos of their younger siblings, especially cute ones like Sona-chan!"
"Then you will be happy to capture the moment Sona realizes that she has the right to punish you about the 'clothes' debacle." I turned to look at the aforementioned girl, her eyes widening as a devious smile formed on her face at realizing what I was talking about.
Serafall Leviathan started to sweat profusely once more, this time the words leaving her adorable So-tan being far worse than expected.
"Then I suppose… I shall pick an appropriate punishment for Neesan." She hummed quietly, then moments later she nodded to herself. "And… I think the proper one should be…"
"Neesan shan't wear a Magical Girl costume for two months!"
A Thud followed, the Leviathan knocked out by the sheer fear and dread those words coming from her most precious person brought to her.
I blinked, thinking if it was worth trying to meddle once more but…
The price sounded about right for a situation happening for years now, thus I didn't intervene any longer.
"You know that I will return the favor about the..."
"Cheek-pinching?" I guessed much to her annoyance, the pout worth the situation.
"I will see that you deal with someone that requires special attention… like Aika Kiryuu-" She suggested.
"I am not dealing with-" I tried to protest, but I was interrupted by the heiress of the Sitri Clan.
"Too late." The girl giggled, a rare sound that she seemed to notice that she had let out moments later as her face reddened once more.
Picking up the unconscious Serafall, Sona and I proceeded to return back to the living room as we braced for what was going to happen at seeing the girl's sister in that state after just some 'talking'.
Let's just say that the escalation persisted for a while, driven by the questions regarding the snoring woman being dragged to a couch, yet the dinner ended up… pretty normal by the standards of the small group of strange people that were visiting today.
AN
Ended up dragging this chapter for long. Mom needed help with groceries and I had to interrupt for a good hour or two (the Super-Market is fairly distant from home) but I managed to write something… decent. (Hopefully?!)
Some fluff, some long-deserved interactions and I've yet to address Millicas and Kunou with their situation. The scene with Grayfia was also the appetizer for what I've planned for the next few chapters.
Someone is coming back!
P.S. I've promised that I would have updated New Principal, I failed to do so and… tomorrow I will write the update before the next chapter of this story. I need to shift back to my previous pacing and… get some stories done, dangit!
Lastly, quick question: do you prefer that I stick to 3,5-3,7k+ chapters with some revisions or that I go for the 4/5k+ chapters?
Future milestone 1: 845 Followers and Favorites.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
Illusion of Time: ...Who said that was Azrael's limit? Thanks for the kind words and I think the reason why some stuff feel weird in some chapters is… because those aren't self-explanatory or 'It is all a big arc, thus some answers fit in the following chapters rather than in the chapter itself'. I've planned for a 'Dual' Ending for this story (It's going to be a strange surprise -nothing terrible, as one of the endings will happen… very soon.) but I've planned a sequel and some sidestories after I've this completed.
Evyplayz121: Azrael is Original! So no material-reading is required. Also thank you!
CodeZerone: In Canon yes, but in this story things are much more complicated than that.