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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 64: Doubts and Assedio
This is the first time I felt this much cramped inside my bed.
I guess the issue has to be given to the three young women currently slumbering close to me, their collective warmth causing me an eternal wave of heat. Heat that was currently keeping me awake because of how uncomfortable it felt all around me.
It was surprising how none of the girls seemed to be minding the annoying situation, the smiles painted on their faces putting me in an even more complicated situation than expected.
I knew that problems were going to rise in a single bed, the trio having already show in their initial test how they would end up cuddling as close as possible near me, using my arms and my chest as natural pillows. I held back a sigh, my sight permanently fixed on the ceiling because of the cat-eared head pressing from below my chin.
Kuroka was the one that claimed my chest, Akua and Akeno accepting the spaces of pillows nearby my face, snuggling as close as possible as to not lose a 'competition' with the Nekoshou.
The result of such behavior was manifested by the feverish thoughts lingering in my mind, quietly keeping me distracted from the fact it was still summertime and I had to deal with this unplanned cuddle-pile.
At least they kept some decency.
Shiranai's words too my sight to briefly remind myself about the oddly conservative night-wear. While Akeno had picked a simple plum-colored Pajama, Kuroka chose a comfy Kimono with underwear underneath and Akua was wearing a half-sleeved shirt and knee-long pants.
It still doesn't absolve them from the terrible night I'm supposed to spend like this.
Not as terrible as it was back in our past life. Do you remember the cold?
...I don't need this-
Yes, you do! If you wanted to tell them to be a little less affectionate, explaining how the current summer's heat would make things unbearable as this, you could have told them that 'before' they went to sleep.
I wasn't thinking-
You don't. That's the problem.
...What?
It's been a while now but I think it's time someone point this out to you. It's something that I thought was just a momentary attitude but… you are getting lazy.
I've been training-
Your mindset. You are taking things far too calmly while getting bored of even doing some simple exercises.
I can't do stuff that doesn't improve me-
BUT YOU CAN STILL TRAIN BEFORE SHIT HITS THE FAN!
…
Do you think that when Lucifer will come out, because after dealing with so much I completely expect him to face us in the near future, he will care if we have a large family? If we have all happy and smiling?
Shiranai-
Don't 'Shiranai' me, Hoitsu Sakakibara. We both know that it has crossed in your mind more than once how the bastard didn't care for his family. We committed to a worthless cause because of some twisted order of things We decided to be prime part of.
…
Imagine yourself going so happily to reset the dimension. In Lucifer's mind, this should be undeniable… but why would we commit that? Why would we go so far to Reset everything in an endless loop?!
You mean that… something happened for him to go this far? And also become this… uncaring?
Since we are inherently morons with a propensity to be good-guys, I can only guess that… someone died. Someone important.
…
We should make sure they are ALL safe when the endgame begins.
I will have all of them protected. Even if this means keeping them all in the safest place in the world.
...But what if this isn't enough?
What?
Don't you think this thought has to have crossed his mind before 'falling'? Don't you think that he would have known that something wrong would have happened to his precious people with that encounter?
You think that… somehow he would still be able to hit them? But- how?!
I don't know. The figure of Lucifer, or at least this version of him is wrapped in mystery. The only thing we know about him is that he somehow got the loyalty of Azrael, getting him to switch allegiances from Heaven to only himself.
And that his wife is still alive- Actually, do you think that-
She will surely know about the Reset. From what little we have, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that Lucifer DID love Lilith to a high degree. She will have more answers to our questions.
I nodded to myself and… finally sighed.
I… I will step up my training then. I think it's time to bring stronger sparring partners to the count.
Oh? We could ask Issei and Vali. Both would surely accept, especially Vali. Actually, maybe inviting Vali isn't a good idea-
He is much stronger than in Canon.
But he is still obsessed with power, and we don't know if Rizevim somehow ended up finding him now that he is in Kuoh, wandering, and told him about our 'identity'.
That would end up in a very interesting way- but I think the issue by then would be… why didn't Lucifer tell anyone about our real… situation. The reason why 'we' all exist.
Possibly because that would be… considered way too much of a BS to be taken seriously. I don't know about Zekram, Azrael and other close loyalists, but I think… Lilith could know about this.
You think-
He has to have told her. As much as we can keep this a secret from friends, I think it would be the best for us to come clean once we got with someone like… a wife, a lover.
They will think of us as insane-
Not if we bring some realistic proof to it. We can do that. But I think the issue would then move to another dangerous situation.
And that… is?
What happens after that? If we go beyond Lucifer, if we end the Loop, what would happen next?
I blinked, my breathing softening as I felt Kuroka nuzzling lovingly on my chest, her face turning just enough to show her happy look once more.
We continue to live, I guess. We will deal with consequences, with growth and… with love.
And also hate, assassins and other bastards going after us. But… I can see the appeal to that. Also-
Hm?
I want you to know that, the reason why I want you to put your best effort out for the preparations is… I love what I am seeing.
...Uh?
We have met, befriended and even brought in our strange family people that we only saw a mask of. People that we knew little of but now are an essential part of our lives. We have Kunou, we have Koneko, we have the girls here, Mio, Maria and… those that put their trust on us to never back down from the danger that is meant to strike very soon.
...I- But why? I thought you wouldn't-
I can mind my own business until a certain point, but I think you will understand if I found infuriating as worrying the little chance of seeing all of this vanish, erased by some twisted version of ours. I care for them too, I'm part of this too and… don't let them vanish. I beg you.
There was quiet, there was silence and then… I looked down only to find two quiet orbs of golden staring back at me.
"Hey." Kuroka whispered, adjusting herself in a comfortable position while also making sure that the two other girls were still asleep. "Is everything alright?"
I blinked, giving a surprised look and then… I sighed. "Just… thinking." I whispered back, catching a curious frown from her.
"Oh?" She mused softly, blinking slowly as she continued to stare at my face. "It has to be important if it kept you awake until..." She glanced at the bedside, a small digital clock there with a red '3:54' written on it. "This early in the morning." The Nekoshou yawned, but she hardly seemed ready to return back to sleep. "What was it about?"
It was a difficult question, one that had me in silence for some time before the girl huffed back.
"That much important?" She glanced with minor annoyance. "I thought we would have had less secrets about us." She commented with a worried tone. "After all, I did pour my own mind for you to help me with Shirone." The dark-haired woman finished.
… "It's… complicated." I replied curtly. "It's not that I don't trust you but… It's just some silly worry of mine that is that. Silly-"
"Yet it kept you awake." Kuroka pressed on. "So, are you going to spill the beans now?"
I sighed, the decision weighting a lot as… I should be bothering them with my paranoia. It would be wrong to a degree and… I sighed again.
"I was thinking about Lucifer and- Uh?" I found one of her fingers pressing on my cheek, poking at it in a very annoying manner. Yet the smug grin was what got me partly irritated. "What?" I asked with a dull tone, her grin widening.
"Silly thinking indeed." She mirthfully replied, ignoring my annoyance and continuing to poke at my face. "I bet it has to do with you connecting Lucifer with yourself… but I bet you are also ignoring something important about him."
I frowned. "And that is?" I questioned, drawing a soft sigh from her.
"That your name is Hoitsu Sakakibara." The Nekoshou shot back. "That while Lucifer could be a version of you, he is a completely different person compared to what you are, to who you are." She emphasized her last words by pressing my cheek even more.
"I can only guess, but I can see you having worries about… becoming like him. Ending up alone and… tired." The young woman sighed again and finally retracted her finger. "But I can say without hesitation that your concerns are incredibly stupid. It's not going to happen."
… "W-What?! But Lucifer-"
"Isn't the Hoitsu Sakakibara I know about." She interjected with a huff. "You are mine, he isn't it. You are Akeno's, you are Akua's, you are Kunou's, Shirone's, Lith's, Ophis' and… everyone else that know you and know who you are really." Her smile was incredibly bright in that dark moment.
She leaned in, her lips lingering onto mine for more than just a few seconds. It was chaste but… it was also meaningful. It wasn't as embarrassing as I would have expected it to be and… I kissed back.
Her smile twitched in amusement as she softly backed away, sporting a goofy look on her face. "And that was but just the beginning of what tomorrow is going to be." She proclaimed in such a whispered way. "Akua will have precedence after both Akeno and I claimed our first spoils."
I sighed, the girl nuzzling back onto my chest and… soon I felt cooler than before.
"I noticed that you were sweating." She commented tiredly, not bothering to glance my way as she was already returning to her sleep. "Why didn't you apply the cool-breeze spell?"
Wait, there is something like that-
Are you seriously questioning the existence of a practical magical spell like that one?
I… I will look up to it before the date.
Moments passed and soon… I was granted some sleep, the Nekoshou joining mere instances later.
Yet, even in my slumber, the words she told me remained, seeping deep in my mind as…
As I felt like she was right about it.
I'm Hoitsu Sakakibara and I'm certainly not going to become Lucifer!
If there was something that the woman had learned to love after so many years of exile, it was the beautiful garden she had built from scratch.
The previously empty, but humongous room was now the sole aspect of life that persisted in the Realm of the Dead. Flowers of various kind, all tended by her motherly touch, an attempt to keep her mind distracted from the dreadful effects her loneliness brought after so many years have been spent away from the spotlight, away from family. Her family.
She sighed, softly passing the watering can she had finished to use on the rare glowing green rose in front of her to one of the Grim Reapers assigned to her as her entourage. This particular specimen had required an incredible effort to be born and properly taken care of.
A stubborn thing that reminded her awfully how the difficulty of dealing with her eldest. Rizevim was a cheeky pest, from his childhood to his early adulthood, a son that managed to awe and annoy her even with the simplest of situations.
Yet he was loving, caring, always there to present himself as his father's counterbalance for sometime. Her dearest husband, once the sweetest being in the world, had turned ever so slowly into a tired and weary man, still kind and loving, but very annoyed by the slightest of distractions to his word.
The War was stressful, especially with the bickering commenced by the young Lords of the Underworld, teens at the time that would only cease with their blabbering when their surrogate father was around.
The formality was what kept the proper familiar terms to be used, Zekram being devoted to the leader of the new faction more as a minion than a child of his, something that her lover found as amusing as annoying at times.
The prideful youth was also one of the few ones in the group made by the original 72 lords that believed in absolute victory rather than a negotiated truce. Something that would end up becoming a torn for her when she would lead the Underworld's delegation in hope of gaining a proper white peace with Heaven and Grigori.
Lilith, former Queen of Hell, was quite happy that the turbulent years that followed the Civil War were now behind her as she pleasantly enjoyed her secret self-proclaimed exile.
Hades… was crass in the worst case, but the God of the Dead would never go far out of respect of her late husband. When Lucifer was struck down from Heaven, Hades was one of the first Gods to try and seek an alliance with him.
It was a declining period for the Hellenic Pantheon and the 'King on Earth' was more than pleased to accept this offer and bring the deity in his ranks. There was mutual respect for their individual titles, a silent case of coordination between their respective forces. Hence the closeness there was between the Morningstar family and Hades, something that made things easy for Lilith when she sought refuge in the Realm of Dead.
The place was unique as those who 'lived' in here where undetectable and 'invisible' to the rest of the Pantheons. The ideal escape that was continuing to work even now that centuries had passed.
The redhead hummed quietly as she carefully trimmed another plant nearby. Hard-work that was repaid in precious fruits. Beautiful results that made the whole experience of gardening even more pleasant… compared to when she had to headbutt with the various Lords of Hell trying to make some stand against her way of reform.
Her husband had been clear about reforming society after the Great War, leaving numerous lines to follow. Instructions that would have actually worked and improved the Underworld's overall life expectancy.
Yet the 'nobility' reared its ugly head and made things impossible, causing the administration to collapse once a rebellion emerged. She resigned instantly, crippling the leadership of the 'Loyalist' camp and getting away from the dumpster fire before burning because of it.
People died, some were jailed for treason and war crimes. But Lilith?
Lilith stopped to care about governing, even when Sirzechs Gremory came to ask to head the new society. A young fool that reminded her of the brief moments of naivety her former lover was known for back in Heaven.
To expect that Zekram would just allow four youths to rule the faction was stupid, something she was particularly sure they all learned after so much time had passed.
And while she wasn't allowed to leave the Realm ruled by Hades, the God was keen to bring her interesting news happening all over the world.
This month had been… fairly significant.
The picture showing Hoitsu Sakakibara that the Hellenic deity of Death obtained mere weeks ago answered one of the major questions the woman had over her ever-so mysterious husband. Lucifer looked quite… cute as a young man.
He looked so innocent, inexperienced about the world around him and… she couldn't help but giggle at how 'cute' he was. It was like another child of hers, younger than Sapphire, that had a striking resemblance with Lucifer.
Yet he was Lucifer… while also not being him.
Oddly confusing but also endearing as she knew everything about the two dummies.
She could see him already squirming if she somehow ended up meeting with little Hoitsu, the secrets her lover had told her about himself. A true Outsider, one that bypassed history and become someone else…
It just was so 'cool', like her flamboyant hubby would say.
A pity that she couldn't just waltz out of the Realm without being nagged by the Four Pests about wisdom and whatnot. Lilith wanted peace, something that the brats would deprive her of if she was to ever step outside of her 'jail'.
Just as she started to tend to the umpteenth flower, her ears caught the distinct sound of familiar footsteps approaching. Red eyes glanced back and a small smile appeared while she turned to greet Hades.
The tall 'pile of bones' nodded back at her, huffing and looking particularly annoyed. Nothing from her, of that Lilith was sure of.
"Something bothering you, Lord Hades?" The woman asked out-of-curiosity, getting a surprising sigh from him.
"I think the brat has noticed the 'trick'. He sent three individuals to try and rescue you." The God bluntly stated in such an informal manner. Still, her eyes widened in shock at the news and she stopped thinking about her garden.
"Three individuals?" Part of her was interested about their identities but- "And you are sure it's little Hoitsu-"
"The youngest bear the allegiance to the group he leads, the other two have been shown amicable to Azazel." The grand skeleton stated dryly. "The big issue is that I know two of those and… the third one is just related to one of them."
"Sounds like you don't want to fight them." Lilith narrowed her eyes to the God, Hades blinking back.
"I had worse people to face, especially that smiling bastard and his foolish puns. But the Belmont and Alucard are not people I wish to deal with… this soon." The Hellenic deity admitted with some minor annoyance.
"This soon? You wanted to-"
"Little plan that will happen in 24 years from now. Something about bringing Vlad back from the death once more." He shrugged. "No biggie."
"You know, I think I heard him saying he just wanted to rest after being resurrected ten times right as a Belmont manages to find him and 'whip him up'." The woman crossed her arms under he bosom. "I think you have something against him."
"Other than the fact he sent me to die against Richter?" The Deity shot back. "I admit that it was impossible to foresee the potential of that man, but I came close to genuinely perish against him. Like, what would have happened if I died-"
"Probably come back here and… continue to exist?" Lilith guessed, drawing a murderous glare from Hades as he humphed and turned around, already walking away. "Are you at least going to put some resistance against them?"
He shrugged. "Just some cannon fodders. I will not lose any of my good guards just for some family's issues and… I think it's time you stop leeching from me, woman."
She tensed, a furious expression plastered on her face. "Excuse you!?"
"You have been taking money from my personal treasury to buy yourself this garden… which I don't need!" He stopped, turning around and ranting about it. "Do you seriously expect me, a walking skeleton, or my other servants, also walking skeletons, to need nourishment in the form of fruits or maybe some 'pretty' flowers to stare at during our non-existing free time?!"
There was some silence, Hades nodded happily as he returned to walk out of her hobby room. "You are officially evicted, Lilith Morningstar. So you better be packing when they arrive to pick you up."
The door closed behind him, leaving an incredibly irate redhead alone with her now-former assistants.
T-To think that she would be kicked out in such a crass manner! She huffed, pacing a little around as she thought what to do and… then her shoulders sagged.
Maybe it was time to face the music and… deal with whoever decided to have her taken out of the Realm of Dead. And with this difficult decision made, the woman ventured out of the room and back to her living quarters, ready to spend a few hours to… get everything packed.
In her rage, a bright theory roused within her mind, gaining evidence the more she evaluated it.
There was just only an individual that would do this to her, to bring little Hoitsu's attention on her and… her eldest son was surely going to pay for the gloomy mood she was right now.
Oh! Of that she was completely sure of!
AN
Little fluff and the prelude for next chapter. What? Hades should be less sassier? Who said that?!
Lilith is now introduced in the present time and… she will be a fun character to further increase the number of romantic shenanigans among everyone. Beware as the Hellish Matchmaker is coming for you~!
Also lastly, I wish to address something I think everyone (in the forums) should know about: I officially open the chance to write Omakes of the story. Whoever wishes to add a snippet or anything about it, I will be more than happy to add it to the story (that is if said stories are respectful of the rules and not-overly violent.).
Future milestone 1: 950 Followers and Favorites.
REVIEW Q&A!
Illusion of Time: Nothing is made for casual reasons, or it will all make sense… eventually. I know it sounds forced as a relationship but I just wanted to address 1) some of the readers asking for Sapphire's and Raphaeline's relationship now that there wasn't Jin around and 2) it will have a specific reason for this description to exist in the plot.