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 53: Amnesiac Danger
Trying to keep things safe in Tokyo was proving to be a task far more difficult than the 'easy mission' she had expected to deal when assigned to the case.
Last month has been rather unkind to Raynare.
After losing her wings, being stripped of her high role within Grigori and forced to go through the grunt's penance for the second time as the infuriating jobs were unbecoming of someone with her power-
Or rather someone that had that much power before being beaten by some no-name human.
Even thinking about that stupid bastard was enough to make her anger boil. Yet the wingless Fallen Angel was hardly interested in trying to get some revenge against those that condemned her through this downfall.
Not because she was dumb enough to ignore the infuriating group, but more like she still was afraid by threats the Governor-General had drilled in her brain just a month ago.
As much as she tried to explain how this was all done in the name of Grigori, to bring more power to the faction, Azazel dully rejected these affirmations, saying that trusting the words of someone like Kokabiel had been one of the worst mistakes the young woman could have committed.
It wasn't a secret to many low-tier officers that Kokabiel wasn't the most reliable leader, having tried more than once to kick-start some conflict either with Hell or Heaven.
Yet when she was greeted by this powerful commander and then promised power in exchange of caution and devotion of the Twilight Healing to Grigori, Raynare couldn't help herself but take a bite at the bait.
How foolish the girl had been to think that she would have been smart enough to try and attack that gullible Hyoudou to steal his Sacred Gear. By messing that simple operation, she ended up ruining the rest of her plans regarding that naive nun as she drew the wrath of that fucking nobody.
It still stung, literally. Her back ached once or twice every moment of the day as Azazel decided to leave a 'gift' before turning his attention elsewhere, either administering the faction or fooling around with other projects.
No matter which healing product she used during training sessions or while she was supposed to rest, her wings weren't going to grow back as the seal prevented that.
Deprived of the power of flight and weakened to a pitiful state, Raynare was ready to endure some hellish treatment by her co-workers. Teasing, chiding and lectures ensued by the moment she was reassigned to one of the densest garrisons in Japan that had one of the strictest training camp owned by Grigori.
She was supposedly 'guarding' the facilities with other Fallen Angels, but the Governor-General didn't back away from making her experience… worse than expected.
Raynare's days for two full weeks were filled with harsh training of various kinds. She wasn't given much relief, nor rest as the young woman was pushed to prove even more than the trainees.
She was a former field agent, she was rightfully expected to accomplish the tasks in peak performance.
But while the girl dreaded the beginning of the new day and wasn't allowed any luxury to spend her free time, her mind decided to experiment around something she had noticed during that fight and felt interested enough to give it a try.
With her power halved and her wings taken, Magic had turned to be an essential but limited tool. Magical training was something the camp allowed during free time and Raynare was quick to exploit the opportunity to improve herself and gain some-ability that could replace her previous spears.
The Silver Lining spell, the very atrocious nightmare that had been mostly responsible for her defeat, proved to be an extremely useful tool.
Not only to throw things left and right or latch onto an opponent or a thing, but to also create traps by adding new spells that could well-mix with the simple support magic.
Her strings were now strong enough to slash strong boulders and tie down multiple magical-enchanted automated dummies.
Physical-wise, her form was shaped carefully, her strength slowly coming close to match her enchanted blows back in Kuoh and her speed was almost double as when she began.
Quite painful, but from pain she found new strength and purpose.
The month proved that gaining power through training was… oddly gratifying. It wasn't easy as it was stealing the ones available to others, but she didn't have to deal with anything that could potentially kill her in the process of 'growing up'.
As strange and annoying as it might sound, that goddamn fight may have closed the door of a slow ascendance through the ranks of the faction but it also opened a massive door that held unquestionable and untapped potential.
It would have been a grand thing to accept if… something else hadn't happened.
While Raynare was sent to the rookies, Mittelt and Kalawarner were given a lesser punishment by being merely reassigned to another leader. Nothing else was changed, their ranks left untouched as their wings were.
Contacts were keep out of former camaraderie and respect, and news were exchanged every single day since they were split…
Until they started to followthat blasted FAN CLUB!
'Hoitsu-sama is so strong! Hoitsu-sama is so handsome!'
And even though those details were terribly true, it didn't make the sense of betrayal any less than how she initially felt it at the revelation.
Isolated and left alone to deal with her tasks, training seemed to be only thing left for her to embrace fully.
It was annoying when Tokyo was attacked and she was quickly moved out of the facilities and right to guarding duty. While the capital had recovered pretty nicely, the city was still hiding some of the monsters present during the assault.
The objective was easy: Keep the assigned district safe from supernatural enemies while steering clear with the still-active conflict between Ghouls and Humans.
It was an odd addition, Raynare knew that Ghouls were dangerous to Fallen Angels if not taken seriously and she was put even in a greater disadvantage by being wingless.
The night shifts were the worst cases as those happened during the period of time of the day when the flesh-eaters were keen to wander around for a midnight snack.
The young woman was a target, not the easiest but still someone that could be quickly taken down by a good ambush.
That is why she carefully moved through the alleys and backed away from any large groups she would see during patrol.
Monsters were sneaky too, making tracking them quite the difficult mission but… she ended up already finding five in the last two days during her later shifts and she wasn't certainly backing down because of the difficulty.
Raynare was determined to not fail at her first test after so much time of 'inactivity' and that made her even more careful to not… mess things up.
Thus planning and paranoia became important elements during her work here in Tokyo, making sure to not spark any suspicious about her real intentions nor anything that could screw up her Yuma Amano fake identity.
Then… she met him.
-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-dd-
Her nose itched in disgust at the terrible smell coming from the trashcans and small dumpsters all around the alleys she was exploring.
This day-shift was already 'stinking' and Raynare was glad that it was now a matters of minutes before she could go back to the small bed of her temporary flat. It wasn't the best place where to live and rest but she knew that it would have gotten much worse if she decided to ask for another place.
Turning the umpteenth corner, the girl stopped and hid behind one of the bins as she heard and saw a punch slamming a young man against the brick wall of the building.
He had short, dark-blue hair that hardly reached the end of his neck, orange eyes giving off a goofy but intelligent light while he was being taken out by the man.
Is that a Ahoge?
A simple yelp, a surprised expression painted in the youthful face of the victim of the beating. Then the same hand that hit him, snatched him by his neck and lifted him up.
The young woman slowly turned to stare at the culprit, giving a flat look at the craze-looking ghoul donning the generic thug-like clothes set, trying to appear one of the toughest around but only making her eyes roll in dim annoyance.
The situation was clear, the boy had somehow been lured away from public's sight and the flesh-eating fiend was capitalizing on the idiocy of the young human.
...Nothing to see here.
Just as she was about to turn around and let nature be nature, she ended up hearing the reply of the supposedly scary bystander and… she stopped.
"I-Is this a game?" The boy asked naively, his burst lip slowly healing up. "What are the rules? How do I win?" His ahoge twitching curiously at what was going on.
The man snarled and slammed even harder the younger being onto the wall. "Playing dumb aren't you to avoid being killed? Also how are you managing to heal this quickly?"
The teen blinked, eyes widened. "Oh? Isn't that normal for hu- I mean, isn't that normal with other people."
"You are annoying, brat." The Ghoul remarked with some anger.
His chokehold increased, but no reaction at the sudden increase was visible in the boy's facial features.
"But I bet you will be a satisfying meal once I'm done with you." A malicious grin spreading on his lips as his kakugan burned fiercely at the idea of devouring the easy prey.
Raynare blinked, her eyes narrowing at the still-present confusion on the youth's face.
What the hell was his problem? Why wasn't he scared or afraid of-
She sighed, hoping that she had indeed heard correctly from the young man's words, the small detail alluding for him to be… non-human.
The girl couldn't feel much from him and… that was odd. He didn't feel like a human, he didn't feel like anything or anyone she had ever seen or felt.
A strange individual shrouded in mystery…
This sounded so terribly cringey but… she had to intervene now that her curiosity was begging to see more from this unknown element in the field.
The Ghoul's eyes widened when white-colored strings of light wrapped tightly around his arms, just below his elbows, and with a painful crunch cut both limbs up.
The boy was quickly dropped, his eyes widening too but instead of showing some disgust at the gruesome scene… he looked more fascinated by the fallen arms.
Pain and panic surged at the sudden strange attack, yet his eyes were quick to lock onto the culprit of this attack as Raynare slowly advanced towards him.
She was wearing a professional dark-themed tracksuit, her face hidden by a motorcycle's helmet as to not give away her 'identity' away.
"Y-You! You are of the CCG!"
The human-made group with the purpose of 'countering' Ghouls? What a squalid notion but… maybe it was the pain speaking- Nah, he has to be the dumbest bastards in the city if he thought that a masked girl was part of that organization.
"Leave." She tried to order at the Ghoul, but her annoyance dripping and influencing her words, making it sound like a pompous demand.
"Y-You think that you can just come here and command me, you bitch?! I am- I am going to kill you."
Admittedly, Raynare should have expected that the Kagune could have been a problem. Depending on situations, Kagunes were the bane of people like her as these were used as major weapons either for long- and short-range.
So when a wing-like construct formed from the thug's back and started to shoot at her with some pellets, her reaction time proved to be… disappointing even for her standards.
It wasn't like she was arrogant in thinking she could easily take a single Ghoul, it was more of a case of ignorance regarding her current mental state.
She was tired after some intense shifts, barely getting any rest those days and the lack of proper training was destabilizing her pattern just a little.
So when she rushed out of the pellets' way, two or three still managed to sharply cut at her leg.
Hissing in pain, the Fallen Angel gave a deadly glare at the smug-looking Ghoul before ordering her Silver Lining to wrap around the fool's neck and decapitate him.
The bloody show that followed didn't hit anywhere near her, nor near the silent boy as he stared in awe at the scene unfolding before him. His stare was… childish, as if he was a little kid looking at a clown making some animal balloons in front of him.
With the threat neutralized and the teen ready to be taken away, the girl made just a step towards him and stopped, flinching in pain as three large gashes were bleeding by her leg. The very limb wobbled a little, strength failing but she wasn't certainly going to fall because of it.
Sighing, she turned at the 'human' and tensed when he started to walk towards her.
"W-What kind of game is this? Did you win or-"
"S-Shut up! T-This isn't a game!" The woman replied sharply and angrily, the pain causing her wording to be more aggressive than usual. "I'm- Can you give me some help, I did help you back here and-!?"
The boy showed some realization, nodding mid-speech and crouching a little so he could tap her leg and…
Light engulfed the limb, a soothing warmth coating it as the wounds and the blood vanished.
The Fallen Angel blinked, surprised at such sight and her jaws falling in reaction, but then turned to stare at the smiling young man and she… felt her cheeks flushing.
W-What did- Why?!
"W-Who are you?" She finally asked, her mind riddled in confusion at such enigmatic individual and his unknown abilities.
The youth smiled and nodded. "Oh? My name is Nobody, Kind Lady."
A confusing introduction that gave her more questions than before, something that wasn't helping her growing headache.
She wanted genuine answers, not this… crap!
Yet part of her reminded her than wasting time around in this area of the city would hardly help her in any way.
While the Ghoul was dead, who knows how many more there are all around, lurking to join in the 'little banquet' both she and this stranger were presenting by staying idle.
She needed to go… back home.
Sighing, Raynare took hold of the collar of the teen's shirt and started to pull him, encouraging him to follow.
"Keep quiet and don't get away from me." A simple command, one that would have easily made people question her intentions… but the very individual interested by the statement was just smiling and complying to the simple demand, like a newly-adopted puppy would do to its new owner.
But things were far from over…
Nobody was his name.
He knew the meaning of the term and how it could be intended as a derogatory word, but he also knew that it was the truth.
He had no name, thus Nobody was his name.
The reasoning also had a nice ring to it and thus he kept calling himself as such.
He remembered how he woke up in a large forest far away from Tokyo, how he had started to walk away from something. Something he knew nothing from but for some reason felt scared to encounter.
But what was fear? What was being 'scared'?
Questions increasing every step he took, aimlessly making a path away from that very forest and right towards civilization.
The cemented roads were good signs that he was going in the right direction and his optimistic perspective undeterred by what ended up being a two-days long trip of endless walking.
His legs weren't aching, nor he felt anything that could get him from stopping to walk.
Walk was moving, moving felt like things were changing all around him and thus he walked until he found the next interesting thing.
He knew what Tokyo was… a city. His mind was empty from anything that could add to the beautiful series of buildings captured within the civilization of mankind.
He wasn't Human, Nobody was sure he wasn't human, and yet he felt a sense of kinship regarding them, a connection that also kept him from annoying the strange patterns they were adopting all around the streets of this massive settlement.
Encountering the rather odd but comical man, the one that snarled a lot and had some strange eyes, proved to be beneficial because he then ended up meeting with…
Her.
She didn't offer him her name yet, her face and body hidden by some heavy clothes that left him intrigued and confused.
During their walk that ended inside one of the many buildings all around, the woman was keen to tell him that he had been put in danger and that he should be thankful of her intervention.
An odd depiction of the situation since… he hasn't been truly in danger… hasn't he?
He didn't certainly perceive anything threatening from the recently-killed man, but if this curious woman said that she was his savior, who was he to refuse her?
The world was just that odd.
Odd enough to make his mind question how things really work in this silly place, odd enough to make him amused and endeared by how silly it truly was.
A mirthful chuckle hid behind his lips as he was led in a strange… cubicle?
Its walls were metallic, the 'doors' closing as the woman started to press the curious display of lights and then… he felt moving up.
So this was how people went to the upper floors?
Nobody was sure that it had to be the good replacement of stairs, this contraption helping simple humans to go through numerous floors at once.
How convenient and genuinely complex!
His smile widened as the woman sighed in relief at the clicking noise the door they reached made, entered inside the… house?
He blinked, awe reaching up to an astronomical level as he was greeted by what looked like to be the interior of a house.
A wondrous sight for sure, he admitted within his thoughts with overly-enthusiastic giddiness.
Just as he was about to finally comment about what he was looking at, his eyes locked onto the young woman and… he stopped thinking for a moment.
Her helmet-like cover was off and her hair fell freely out of it. Long and well-cared black hair reached down below her lower back and her violet eyes looked… unfocused for a moment as she started to slowly remove her attire.
Soon a white sleeveless shirt was revealed and her… chest was given some more freedom.
He blinked and for some strange reason felt the need to look away, his face reddening a little at the sudden action of the woman.
She seemed to notice, a frown plastered in her face but also some… amusement?
"Something caught your attention~."
Her tone was soft and… strange. A funny strange, a strange he was unable to truly understand but…
"The house is nice." He replied happily, the girl's frown deepening while her smile disappeared in a… pout?
"It's small," She commented quietly. "But yes, it's fairly nice."
He nodded. "So… what now?"
Were they now going outside once more? Meet other people?
"Right now I need some sleep," She blinked tiredly. "But first, I need to eat something."
Sleep? Eat?
His mind knew what those were but… did it mean that he had to… eat and sleep too?
He was gestured to the small yellow-colored table and soon Nobody took one of the seats for himself and… waited.
He was so excited by everything around him. So many unknown objects and devices that all had quirky purposes, simplifications of more difficult labors rendered easy to the comfort of many.
Mankind was odd but also smart. So smart that they even explored beyond Earth!
His thoughts were interrupted when a strange cup-like container was placed in front of him. It was opened by the upper section as steam softly lifted from it.
The boy blinked at two wooden… sticks?
What was… this?
He paused, eyes looking up right at the dark-haired woman. The girl hummed as she slowly took the sticks in one of her hands, interwoven in her fingers, and then brought one of the strings present inside the deliciously-scented liquid in the container to her lips and…
Slurp.
He blinked again, this time turning his attention back to his steamy cup and… emulating the same pattern the female sitting in the opposite seat of his.
He managed to slowly got the hang behind the sticks and then… fished one of the strings. It was rather limp but he managed to coordinate well enough to bring it to his own lips and…
Sl-urp~!
At first he was ready to copy even the small sound the girl made but… the intensity grew higher than hers. It was just that… the limp string was so good~!
As soon as he devoured the first one, he moved to the next one and again… again… and again.
His mouth sent delightful notes and he could feel a strange positive sensation from his stomach.
His face glowed in pure glee and he paused a moment to bring a hand onto his cheek.
A snort briefly interrupted the heavenly reaction, the girl seemed entertained by his reaction.
"You know that this is just some cheap noodles?"
Cheap… noodles? That is the name of this food?
Yes, this was certainly proof that humanity was going forward. If this was cheap, such a delightful treat that filled everyone with this gorgeous emotion, then Nobody was now intrigued what 'expensive' food could taste like.
"By the way, your name is… Nobody, right?"
He nodded, happy that she remembered. "Yes." He replied, showing his cheerfulness.
"You mean that… you don't have a name or someone gave this to you-"
"I picked it." He admitted with minor pride, causing the woman to blink.
"Is that so?" The teen nodded again and she sighed. "What if… someone wanted to give you another name?"
He stopped from eating the noodles and stared up with a starry-eyed expression.
"It would be nice." He muttered calmly.
"What if I decided to call you..." She hummed quietly and then nodded. "Junichi?"
Junichi felt something pressing on his chest, something internal and… it was an emotion. What was it and… why he felt his eyes getting wetter?
"That's… nice?" He was confused over the meaning behind this word but… he knew it was better than nobody.
"Good." She sighed and then stopped while looking at his face. "Are you alright?"
The wetness started to slowly fall off his cheeks, drops of water reaching the table's surface and then…
A handkerchief was softly pressed right where the water was falling, a small scowl present on the girl's face. "You are crying because I gave you a name? Are you a crybaby?" She asked with a placid tone.
What was a crybaby? Did- Did he offend her?
"I-I'm sorry."
Another sigh. "You truly are something, Junichi." She commented distractedly, before glancing back at him. "By the way, I'm Raynare."
Raynare?
Ray…Nare.
Ray-na-re.
Raynare!
He nodded, waiting for Raynare to finish cleaning the unknown wetness and return back to her seat.
The 'Eating' session continued for a little more before the two cups were taken away back to the kitchen. The young woman returned and gave him some instructions.
"I will be sleeping for… maybe four hours. I would advise you to rest for a while and to not cause any issues while I'm resting." She pointed her finger at the long couch and gave him a sheet.
"Use this to cover yourself and… you know what to do."
Yet he didn't, but he decided to merely nod and accept the orders.
Happy of his reaction, Raynare went ahead to leave him alone in the living room as he tried to find a way to cover himself with the short sheet.
He tried to find a way but… in the end his socks were visible at the end of the couch, uncovered and feeling cold.
And now… what was he supposed to do?
Junichi had never thought that he would end up thinking too much about… sleep.
What was sleep? The act of sleeping was something that had to do with… closing your eyes and… and then what?
The boy closed his eyes but… he just would be awake, only with his eyes closed.
He huffed, this challenge taking his full wit for fifteen minutes before he conceded defeat and… decided to ask for help.
There was a strange silence within the 'house' but Junichi was quick to find his way right to Raynare's room and… He frowned at the sight he was offered.
Instead of the expected a large bed with the girl tucked in, the young man blinked in surprise at the small… thing which resembled a mini-bed.
There was no mattress underneath it but it was… functional?
He could see Raynare's hair, her head set away from looking from the entrance and… she was shivering.
His eyes widened, this time in… apprehension. Was she feeling cold? Of course that silly mini-bed wasn't going to offer enough warmth but… what was he supposed to do?
He was grateful that she saved him, that she took him to her home and… gave him food and a place where to 'rest', so he had to help her somehow.
Could he offer her his sheet?
No, then he would be left without something to keep himself warm and… then his mind picked up some information about warming up someone.
It… It could work.
Without hesitation and with a determined smile plastered on his face, Junichi slowly went to lie beside the girl and, lifting up the cover of the mini-bed, snuggled inside the tight contraption, using the sheet to cover up the new gap. His arms slowly wrapped around the shivering girl's waist and… the effects were instantaneous.
The shivering ceased moments later as her soft snoring replaced the sound of her shivers. He blinked, nodding happily at his success and… decided to try to sleep there.
His eyes closed and… this time he felt his attention diverting from his thought and… right on the warmth he could feel coming from Raynare.
It was a nice warm, something that felt delightful and…
Without thinking too much about it, Junichi fell asleep beside the woman that saved him.
The following day, Raynare would be the first one to wake up and… subsequently beat where it was possible the confused boy. When the reasons behind such a closeup happened were disclosed by the recovering male, the Fallen Angel was reported sporting a full-face blush for the rest of the day.
AN
'Ow now! Thewe iz a new character! This story is over!'
Seriously, after receiving this comment just a few times and… having someone read the fanfic to know if it was that bad, I grew resilient to this kind of comment. I can understand if you were 'dropping' the story for grammar issues, I admit I suck once or twice in a while, but I fail to see how the story is 'literally dead' for you all readers.
But alas the story of Raynare and Junichi will be fully explored… in the upcoming Christmas Sidestory called 'Amnesiac Danger DxD'.
It will be an Investigation and Lore-explorer for what happens to Tokyo while Hoitsu isn't there and… the main protagonists are the duo presented there.
But worry not, Junichi and Raynare will be part of the main plot anyway and… will appear several chapters from now.
And yes, I've decided to relegate the secondary plotlines like the 'Harry Potter', the Nanoha and the JoJo storylines to sidestories.
I know that many were expecting those to happen in this main story, but I felt that I was trying to lift a 1500KG weight by going for that route.
There will still be some references and the 'Jojo react' will still be there. Also, lots of WRYs and ORAs coming very soon!
Lastly, Junichi might be relevant and 'dangerous' later in the plot but… I can admit without shame that he will be the perfect example of Man-child cinnamon roll. Lots of chaos, insanity and mayhem and… he will grow up to be a little more human. They will both grow up.
P.S. New Schedule is now up in my FF Profile Bios. Magical Trickster DxD will still be a daily-updated story.
Future milestone 1: 870 Followers and Favorites.
P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
REVIEW Q&A!
Middernacht: Could happen during a Bake-Off challenge between the two, either by Serafall's unique tastes in bakery or Gabi's inexperience with Kitchens.