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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 68: The Comfort and the Hurt

It was a sunny morning the one that welcomed Kunou and me to the little trip I had promised her.

The girl was exuding giddiness as she playfully looked around the train that was leading us to Kyoto, her mother having been more than happy, if not eager, to invite us to her palace. It was kind of nostalgic, the sight of the girl looking at everything and everyone with a curious but positive gaze.

She looked like a little child, something that had partly vanished quite recently as she had been fighting and building up her own maturity over life.

It's been now five days since she had that unique spar with Koneko and things had slowly taken a turn back to 'normalcy' for everyone. The day before had been incredibly curious as it was our return to Kuoh Academy.

Koneko had thought about going back too but… she ultimately decided against it. There wasn't much to do there and she preferred to spend her time with her sister while training and developing even more. A choice I was more than happy to accept at the price of getting a promise out of her about doing the usual homework load without whining, nor complaining.

Surprise was an underwhelming word to describe the overall reception from both students and teachers, as there had been a continuous stream of individuals greeting us and 'welcoming' us for our 'first' day at school.

Issei and Asia had been happy, the two attaching themselves to the small group as we went for a normal day at the Academy. The teachers were glad to have a 'model-student' as I was back at school, something that motivated me to appear a little more polite than usual.

The usual school day went by without any issue and then I tackled another situation about it as… I went back to the Student Council classroom. Tsubaki had greeted me with a quick friendly hug, her face sporting a happy smile as she welcomed me inside the room.

Sona had been fairly grateful that I did accept to return to the Student Council in my old seat as now she could get some rest from my 'absurd torture' of a paperwork, a decision that was 'religiously' praised by the two girls that had been assigned to my newly-regained post.

Reya and Ruruko literally crying tears of joy of having their 'insanely-burdened senpai' back. I chuckled in response to that and gave a brief hug to both girls while thanking them for their hard-work during my absence.

Saji gave the most normal of greeting, merely stating a 'Welcome back, Senpai' before being yanked away by the president herself for some manual labor. It seemed like some things never changed since I had left...

After-school was incredibly easier than I remembered, the new uniforms and other cuts to the other senseless papers within the School's budget having been either reduced or utterly removed from the official listing.

What would have usually taken more than three hours to conclude was done in a single hour and… the return home was instantly devoted to the small meal Akeno had prepared for both the Kitsune and me back at home.

Homework followed, my mind stirring quickly as I went through the Math exercises and the Japanese literature texts to read and paraphrase were easy because of the various exercises we both did ever since leaving the Academy.

Then… it was Saturday and, early in the morning, the blonde was already looking radiant and ready to tell her parent how things have been ever since she had left her family's home. She was 'glowing' at the idea and I merely smiled at the adorable display of impatience she would show once or twice during the voyage.

I yawned, enjoying the pleasant natural view of the various stops between Kuoh Town and the former Japanese capital. Two hours of quiet waiting passed and then… we were there.

Kyoto was as beautiful as I remembered it, the place having hardly felt the effects of the changes around Japan, and it was nice to see that something had gone unchanged after so much time. A month might sound a very limited amount of time for something as big as the city was to really change, but with what had happened in Tokyo, it wasn't that wrong to expect some… differences.

Kunou's golden eyes glanced around, the human-looking kitsune enjoying walking once more back in her hometown, her smile never faltering as we went for a long walk to reach the palace. The Yokai district was as vibrant as it was the first time I came to visit, the place that accepted the 'monster' population was well-guarded by several patrols checking all the corners, something that was indeed different from what I remembered.

Some of the guards stopped mid-walk, to either greet us with a bow or merely give a military salute before resuming with their task. Kind of an odd behavior from the knight-like men and women, I've to admit, but I guess that Yasaka did explain that her daughter was under my careful and caring watch.

The guarded front door was slowly opened as we presented proper documents at the garrison stationed there and we quickly entered inside the entrance room of the building. Maids, butlers and several other servants of different races rushed all over, some stopping to greet us after taking notice of our presence.

In the end, one of them, an elder cyclops decided to guide us to the throne room, his pace slow but quick enough to not appear like a delay of sort. He stopped right at the familiar doors that led to the very place where Kunou's mother would spend numerous days going through paperwork, complains and other issues about her Yokai faction.

The doors were pushed open and… the room was surprisingly void of any paper and people there and only Yasaka was there, waiting with a smile as her eyes were fixed on her daughter, barely glancing my way to greet me.

The girl's smile exploded as she went to rush towards her parent, her foxy features sprouting to life as she quickly went for a tackle-hug. The woman's arms were ready and prepared for the impact as she swiftly scooped her daughter from mid-air to hold her dearly close.

"My little Ku-tan is back~." The elder Kitsune whispered to the girl, making the teen go stiff for a moment before melting in the embrace. Yet her bright golden orbs were directed at her parent's face as she spoke back.

"M-Mama, I'm back." The girl replied with a happy stutter, nuzzling close to her… revealing chest. I had to look away more than once, out of respect and… dignity. "I-I missed you." Kunou admitted while burying herself in her mother's chest.

"And I missed you too, sweetie." The woman replied with an amused tone, squeezing the younger blonde closer.

Moments passed before Yasaka noticed my presence, her eyes briefly going wide as she saw me. I admit I could have easily caught her attention by waving and… all of that, but I decided to leave them the chance of properly reconnecting.

"O-Oh, I almost forgot about you-" Her face sported some little mortification before switching back to a genuine friendly smile. "Hekisho-kun."

I frowned, showing some confusion and embarrassment at the nickname. It's been a while since… I was called like that.

"Hoitsu will do fine, Yasaka-san-" I tried to answer back, but I was interrupted by a huff from her.

"Then please, if you wish to be called as such, then you may call me with the same tone." She demanded with a calm tone, her smirk hiding something odd but I went along with it. I didn't see anything that could have hinted at what was going to happen and thus… I spoke up.

"Understood, Yasaka-"

"Mama." She interrupted, with a bigger smile, her lips twitching upward at my shell-shocked expression. Confusion, embarrassment and… even more confusion stirred in my chest and the woman giggled at the look I had plastered all over my face, Kunou soon following her example.

"Ku-tan told me in her letters that you both consider each other siblings in all but blood, something that you were keen to mention even in yours." The woman explained with a smile. "This is why I wouldn't mind to consider you a child of mine too, especially since you are quite interesting to have in my family."

I blinked. "I-Isn't that hasty-"

"Considering that time is a feeble thing?" Yasaka asked with a calm but tired tone. I wonder if this was referring to what had happened recently or… about something deeper in her past. "I can assume it's quite sudden, but I wish to explore this possibility, Hoi-bou." A giggle left her lips as I frowned with some annoyance at the childish honorific used to address me.

I mean, I can see her using the masculine term that resembled the -tan after the affectionate manner displayed with Kunou, but I was slightly irritated by that nonetheless as I wasn't… that young.

I huffed, nodding at her. "Understood, Yasa-haha."

I called her 'mom'. Even though Lilith did show some propensity to consider me her surrogate son and that I did have a mother that didn't show that affection before being hypnotized, I think Yasaka was the closest being that got to get to be called as such by me.

Not mother, not the overly-sweet 'Mama', but 'mom'.

There was a pleased look on her face, surprise manifesting for a while before mixing with the happiness in her regal expression.

Another melodious giggle ensued. "T-That was an interesting approach, Hoi-bou." She admitted with a mirthful note. "I suppose that now it would be proper to learn more about each other."

And in that moment, I felt some odd dread forming within my chest. She stood up from her chair and started to walk towards me, Kunou's smile twitching giddily as soon I was… tackled down by both Kitsunes.

With a groan and enduring a round or two of tickling, I was sure that this day was going to be a fun one for sure.

Azazel was fairly sure that his luck had just taken a sudden turn to the shittiest situation possible.

When his lovely secretary peeked in from his office's doorstep, the Fallen Angel had a fatigued smile on his face as he had been close to end the paperwork of the day. Seriously, it was impressive how many issues were caused by older members of Grigori rather than rookies, some even going as far as citing brawls because of mere indecision about who was going to get the last pudding in the cafeteria.

He turned his attention to her, surprised to see her actually by the door rather than just buzz from the intercom installed in her cubicle. The girl was just too shy to consider the option of walking to him to give him news and… it was also a matter of efficiency, he could say without any problem.

If there is something that made life easy for everyone, why not apply it to his faction.

That was a thought that even that moron of Ajuka was keen to show with his toys sold at the various families in Hell. Azazel couldn't still forget of the time when the green-haired nerd would go as far as to test if by selling simple Iphone, people would have noticed the scam and got him in trouble.

The thirst of the danger, he defined it, something that the Fallen Angel considered more of an 'idiocy of the dumb nerd'. The resulting effect? People were trying to build temples in the former Astaroth's name just for bringing that useful and delightful device at everyone's reaching.

Ah, good old times-

"A-Azazel-sama, there is-" She paused, gulping nervously. The young woman looked incredibly frightened in that moment and the Governor-General felt that something was definitively off about this. "There is a… someone wishes to join Grigori." She finally said, waiting silently for a reaction to that.

"Shouldn't that be Shemhazai's work? I swear, if he's lazying around with Ajuka again, I will-"

"I-It's her request to speak with you, sir." She interrupted quickly, her face getting paler and paler the more time passed.

At this point, Azazel felt that whoever was standing a few meters away from his sight… was someone that knew about him and wanted him, of all people, to vet her for the group.

It was a strange predicament where his logic was quick to tell him to refuse to meet with this person, yet his sanity wasn't allowing him to properly understand this and...

What a curious yet terrifying situation.

It just felt like he had to check about whoever was waiting on the other side, the very curiosity that brutally murdered the cat. But what if the cat was actually the Schrodinger's kitty and his brain was derailing to the worst trail of thoughts possible?

Feeling that after several hours of mind-breaking paper-signing his mind was ready to crack down, the man nodded at the secretary.

"Please, invite her in."

The young woman nodded quickly, disappearing even faster to bring to him… her.

His eyes went full-wide when the smiling redhead walked in holding what seemed to be a… recruitment leaflet. "Hello, Azzie." The woman greeted mirthfully, bowing just for a moment before approaching his desk and taking one of the seats in front of his. "I suppose I have to properly introduce myself as per regular job interview-"

"Why." He interrupted her with a flat tone. "Why are you here, Lilith-"

"I think you are forgetting something to add at my name, Azzie. You were after all a little trouble-maker that had a partner-in-crime in me back in Heaven." She pointed out with a smirk.

"Was that before or after you literally sent me flying into a volcano during the Great War?" He sarcastically asked. "But sure, Auntie Lilith, why are you here annoying me?" The man finally demanded and the lady sighed.

"Do you remember what I was keen to nag about even during the peace talks?" She returned with another question much to the Fallen Angel's groan.

"Rizevim?" He guessed, getting a half-hearted negative from the woman. "Either that or the 'pompous bastards that keeps whining at our doorstep'. You were very active in drilling this in Michael's and my heads, seriously I can understand paperwork can be unfair but-"

"They are still trying to get me back on the throne." She replied dryly, getting a frown from Azazel.

"You mean Zekram-"

"It's all Sirzechs… and Serafall. Ajuka is stuck in his lab doing… stuff, while Falbium is still the same sweetheart that could decently keep up with some hard-work." Lilith corrected with a nod. "But I think it's mostly Serafall. The girl was always a soft-core worker even back in her teenage years… now she is all stuck between papers and nagging people, I bet she has been regretting for some time saying that my job was easier than a mere soldier… that prissy little moron of a giggly girl."

"You mean that-"

"She tried to 'capture me' in broad daylight while I was going to buy some groceries," The woman admitted. "But sadly enough, either nerves or lack of a proper crying shoulder for dealing with some idiots with roles within the Foreign Affairs led her to adopt the mantle of… a magical girl while trying to kidnap me."

The leader of Grigori nodded. "She has been at it for decades now, saying that Magical Girls are cool and that kind of stuff."

"Always the weird one in the bunch… but I thought she would have liked more Kamen Rider and Super Sentai because of the flamboyant attacks and action rather than frilly-dressed Magical Girls." There was some confusion and surprise, something that the Governor-General understood to the fullest.

He could still remember when the already-giddy girl would start walking around as Magical Girl Milky Spiral Seven, her bright dress making her stand out even more than usual… while blinding people that were unfortunately too close to here.

It had taken the very culprit of the 'change', that idiot of Ajuka with his Anime-related hobbies, to convince her that having her clothes bathed in intensely-reflective clothes wasn't a good idea for the sake of people's eyes.

In the end, even Azazel had to admit that the reasoning behind the girl's style was legitimized by… Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Things had never been the same for him ever since the day where he went to check that 'children' cartoon.

She had slowly gotten less chance of showing pride in her 'uniform' as her younger sister did found the whole concept aberrant as everyone was. Subdued as it was, her hobby was still quite insane to try to understand even for a nutty guy as Azazel.

"So you decided that the solution to this problem was joining Grigori." The man returned back to the main issue of this very moment. "Lilith, you know that-"

"I don't want any leading position." She interjected quickly. "Even working as the chef for any of the garrisons would be fine by me, just… don't let them take me back to the nagging, I beg you, Azzie!"

"I can't risk war-"

"B-But then I will have to tell my son that you were a jerk and didn't help me." She rebuked with a faux sob, Azazel frowning at that statement and he sighed.

"Look, while Rizevim could prove to be a problem, I don't think I will even consider accepting if-"

"I wasn't referring to him." Lilith smiled giddily. "I was referring to Hoitsu."

…

"Beg your pardon, did you just call the boy 'your son'?" He asked blankly, his eyes widening once more at her eager nod. "Excuse me, but how the fuck did you get this idea through?"

"He is like a mini-Heliel, why would I refuse to adopt someone that adorable?" She shot back with a calm tone.

He frowned. "Wouldn't Rizevim-"

"Oh, I thought too that he was going to get angry at it but… he was actually happy about it." Her voice sported some surprise. "He was glad that now he wouldn't have to fit the whole 'model heir kind of shenanigans'."

He sighed, keeping the silence for some time and… then he nodded. "So you want to join Grigori, this means there will be no 'your highness' there." The Fallen Angel reminded, unsurprisingly the woman smiling at that.

"More than happy to not have that of all things I'm trying to avoid." She replied happily.

"You will be assigned to Kuoh Town for the time being." He added, drawing a brighter smile from her.

"That is perfect!"

"And you will be keeping watch over Rizevim-"

"Oh c'mon-!"

"No complaining. If I have to be your new boss, I want a guarantee that you will follow even the 'scariest' of orders." The man pressed on much to the redhead's annoyance. "By the way, can you tell me where the boy is right now? I know from Baraqiel that he isn't in Kuoh Town right now."

"A two-days long holiday in Kyoto. He said something about spending some family time with Kunou and her mother." The woman commented distractedly. "I'm quite glad that these two are as close as true siblings, kind of makes me sad since it reminds me of… how Rizevim never thought well of Wilbert and Sapphire."

With the brat out of Kuoh Town and relaxing with some trustworthy people, Azazel felt relief washing over him. It has been nagging to him for a while now that Hoitsu wasn't getting any proper rest away from the workload.

Sure, the boy was capable of dealing with the infuriating amount of paper but- to think that he would get this far from that little time? It was intriguing and concerning. The boy, albeit stronger than when he started in Grigori, was still a mortal and capable of dying by over-work.

Some rest was more than needed and happily-given considering the recent circumstances.

The Governor-General shifted the discussion back to Rizevim, unwilling to spare too much attention to the recovering youth.

"There is always a rotten egg in the family-"

"To the point of killing their own brothers?" Lilith shot back with a harsh tone. "I am his mother, Azazel. While Rizevim could be a fucking moron when he wants to be, I can't condone the fact he killed his brother, my child." She sighed, eyes closed in contemplation. "I thought hard and long about it and I came to realize that, while he is my son… he will have to pay for several crimes."

Azazel nodded. "There are just too many horrible deeds he committed and-"

"I wish to be the one that will execute him."

… "W-What?"

She sighed gravely. "When Lucifer was still alive and… not yet fighting with the entire world, he would always tell me to keep an eye for Rizevim's unique behavior, saying that he needed a close attention to grow properly." The woman hummed quietly. "Maybe I was… still grasping the concept of being a mother or… or I just missed the moment he just stopped to care about trying to make people care for him."

"Rizevim could have asked help to his father-"

"But he was afraid of latching too much onto him, that he needed to… become his own man rather than be his father's shadow." The woman's red eyes were fixed on the desk as she slouched on the chair. "I… I am at fault for his behavior-"

"You are not." Azazel interjected with a stern voice. "You were there for him, Lucifer was always there for his family and… it was Rizevim's fault that he didn't need any help."

…

"Thank you, Azzie." Lilith nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. "It's nice to know that… you are still somewhat wise about this topics." She praised him, her words warming him as he remembered back when they would spare some discussions about mundane stuff.

There wasn't a general topic, it was always so random and… he really missed those times.

The self-whine coming from that level of hard-work, he presumed and soon… he nodded.

"Since you haven't technically caused Grigori any major issue, I think you fit with the requirements of recruitment." He stretched his hand towards her. "It's good to have you- oh?"

Why his hand felt this warm now? And why it was… so comfy.

The woman's hair covered her expression while Azazel slowly realized that his distracted mind had unwittingly sent his lone palm upon the midst of two hills.

Mistakes were made, would have been his words if Lilith hadn't moved quicker than him.

The slap was painful, it was strong enough to send him crashing onto the library behind his back and… onto the concrete wall behind said library. He groaned, his eyes catching the sight of the woman leaving with a huff, but still waving calmly at him as she left.

He sighed, feeling like he had aged a thousand of years with that little hit and… Gods, he had missed having to deal with that intriguing and crazy woman.

She, Heliel… they were what made Heaven a tad bit easier to live in before he questioned God's rule himself.

Good times, the Fallen Angel thought before falling asleep, a slowly-approaching Shemhazai stopping just a few meters away from him and… started to poke his nose with a wooden stick.

That utter bastard!

AN

Shooting lazers, hitting the beat, preparing a lemon and… tomorrow is December 1 (LeGasp!) and that means I will also upload the first chapter of the sidestory starring Junichi and Raynare.

Want to see something fun? Try God-tier comedy.

Also… yes, I think I will nap right now. It's quite late and -ZZZZZ!

...Psst! This is Lady Ambar and I silently hijacked his planning schedule to add a Golden Month's update. Let's hope he doesn't miss it… and I think he is planning to do a censored version of it for other forums- (Connection Lost!)

Future milestone 1: 950 Followers and Favorites.

P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

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