Disclaimer: I do not speak Japanese, possess a Sacred Gear, own Highschool DxD, nor make profit from any fan-written work based upon or derived from it.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Incantation"
('Albion, mental')
(Albion Speaking)
A companion fic to my main story, Holy Inferno Dragon. As such, only the nine women I've explicitly listed as Issei's harem are married to him.
Future Taking Flight: Crazy Night, Mellow Day
Alcohol is bad. Bad bad bad. Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad…
As Rossweisse begrudgingly began to wake up, she immediately began regretting last night's visit from the Norse faction. As expected, there had been feasting and drinking, song and dance. Her ability to function in two of those was highly dependent on one of the others.
As the resident Valkyrie, she felt somewhat ashamed and quite irritated that only a small amount imbibed would give her the worst of headaches and hangovers. She didn't have Issei's ungodly tolerance or Xenovia's insanely short recovery time. The long running stigma that the Norse were amongst the best brewers and drinkers in the world was a stereotype she didn't live up to. Gods be damned for her being a lightweight. Gods, what she wouldn't give for a…"
"Breakfast in bed, for the lady."
Vibrant blue eyes looked through a curtain of silver hair to see her husband standing at the door of the bed, a tray in his hands.
"Urgh," she moaned, waving her hands towards the tray as best she could.
"You really shouldn't have forced yourself," Issei briefly set the tray down so he could turn his wife over and help her sit up. "If it even affects me, you must have know what it would do to you."
"Hmmm," Rossweisse agreed halfheartedly. Unable to properly sit up, she made do for leaning against the finest example of the male species.
Issei snorted in amusement but allowed it, bringing a piece of toast to her mouth for her. Rossweisse nibbled on the plain bread and mumbled her thanks.
Switching the toast for a cold glass of water, Issei helped to tilt her head back, then set the now-empty glass aside. "Better?"
Rossweisse coughed but nodded. "I'll… I've been better. Just give me a few hours."
The dragon shook his head. "I didn't see everything, but I saw how much you managed to drink. You're not going anywhere."
"Nonsense, I only had…"
"You managed to finish off exactly one tankard of Orin's personal stock."
The Valkyrie paused and furrowed her brow. "I did? I did!"
"Congrats on the personal record, but you need to take it easy." Issei lifted up a spoonful of broth. "Bed rest for the entire day."
Rossweisse frowned at the offending silverware and soup it carried. "I don't need that much rest."
"Really? Pop quiz time, sensei. What were you and your grandmother talking about last night?"
"I, uh…"
"Did you or did you not make a giant ice sculpture because you were competing with Grayfia, who was also severely drunk and taken home by her in-laws."
"That, doesn't sound like…"
"How did Helmwige react when her mother passed out?"
That was a wake-up call if there ever was one. "Is she alright?" Rossweisse asked meekly.
"She'll be fine, worried out of her mind when mama wouldn't wake up and play." Issei brought up another spoonful. "I'll bring her up in a bit, once you're a little more composed."
Rossweisse' face turned red. The pop quiz she could have handled. Turnabout being fair play and all. When she and Issei had first started courting, he was still in high school, she his teacher. Pop quizzes like that had been a defining trait of hers; she often handed them out and had a high causation from any and all instances she grew romantically embarrassed during that time.
Composure was more of a critical embarrassment. In a house full of infantile reptiles and other assorted beings, personal hygiene was always a priority. It was hard to hide any scents from the kids, which was why after most nights the adults bathed to excess.
"I smell like a brewery, don't I?" When Issei didn't answer but only shrugged, Rossweisse buried her face in her hands. "I bathed last night, right?"
"Asia and Ravel helped you, just enough that they couldn't smell anything. But for Kuroka, Koneko, and the kids, you still reek."
Rossweisse then remembered that Issei had the highest sensitivity, and he still came in to help her. "Sorry." Oh Gods, she had kissed him with booze breath.
"Don't be." At her gesture, he sealed away the meal to keep it warm. He then picked her up gently and brought her with him to the connected bath.
He helped her out of the nightgown she wore and gently lowered her into the warm pool before entering himself with barely a ripple.
She raised an eyebrow as she peered at him, still wearing shorts. Noticing her gaze, he shook his head. "Last thing you need right now is a few rounds, I'm leaving them on." When she began to nod off, he jolted her with a brief burst of his aura. "Stay awake, you. This is for your benefit as much as mine."
"So… it's about you then."
"So you don't care?"
"..."
"Thought so."
Issei gently shut the door behind him. After the latch clicked, he turned around and looked down the hall. "Well?"
Eight heads of different color hair poked out from both sides of an intersecting corridor. Then Shin rolled himself out into the middle to look at his father upside down.
"Mama's better? She's not sick?" Helmwige asked, her light eyes glistening.
"Not smelly?" Five girls glared at Ex, Shin following their example. Each of the older three boys was wearing a surgical mask.
"She's doing fine; she's sleeping again but she took a long bath." Issei knelt to pat Helmwige's head, his daughter tilting her head into his touch.
All nine of his kids began to fist pump and cheer until Issei brought a finger to his own lips, "Sshhh."
On cue, they covered their own mouths with both hands. Issei picked up Shin and began to walk down the corridor, away from the bedroom. Eight children fell into two lines, each tiptoeing down the hall to follow. They had to break into a run to keep up at the end, but by then they were far enough away to not wake the Valkyrie by accident.
"So, what to do today?" Issei set his kid down in a high chair before peeking into the pantry. Taking some quality beef jerky out, he tore some strips for the kids gathered around him, all eagerly reaching for the treat.
The kids were just like him in that regard, always hungry. This would tide them over, especially since they weren't all that picky when it came to meat. That quirk they got from him.
"Hide-and-seek!" Helmwige shouted and the others chorused their agreement.
'Oh, Hell.'
The slumbering caretaker twitched as a door slammed open and shut below him. The scaled being blinked awake slowly and turned his head towards the scampering figures below his alcove.
Rassei had grown over the years, now he stood just taller than a horse. When he was finally able to vocally convey his thoughts, Asia had asked him whether or not he wanted to stay and continue to act as a familiar. He liked Asia, seeing her as his only mother figure and had said yes.
He'd kept watch over their homes ever since, moving with them to whatever residence they chose. Before Kurenai was born, he and the master's familiar would trade off on perimeter duty. After Akeno's son was born, he chose to reside in a customized den in and above the nursery. He'd keep a close eye on the hatchlings, watching where and when their parents could not.
The trio running around below him now were hiding. He'd played this game with them before, though he always had to be careful. He too possessed keen senses of smell and hearing and could easily find them. At this time of day, they'd most likely be playing with the Lord.
Not Lord as in God, Lord as in the White Dragon Emperor.
Rassei looked up to him, the closest thing to a father he had, but would not elevate himself above what was proper. So Lord it was.
Kurobara was in her kitten form. Tucking down her ears, she managed to topple headfirst into a colored vase. She fit, unsurprisingly. Cats after all are creatures capable of becoming entirely liquid at times.
Kurenai cannonballed into a toy chest the size of a dumpster. Bits of Lego flew everywhere, the boy would be found easily.
To his amusement, Airi was climbing steadily to his perch. Using the bookcases as a ladder, she managed to pull herself through the round entrance and curl up beneath his wings.
He knew that he shouldn't have favorites, but he couldn't help it. Airi was the daughter of Asia, of course, he'd be closer to her daughter than the other children. He lifted one wing to allow her access, she crawled into the space between his wing and flank.
Not a moment later, the Lord stepped in. Golden eyes looked around and took note of the nursery's state with just a glance. Rather than teach in and pull his son out, he quickly built a solid structure of Lego to act as a lid, trapping Kurenai within. He then peered into the vase only for a black paw to offendedly swipe at his nose.
"Now now, little lady," Issei tipped the vase over and poured the kitten into one hand. "Hitting isn't allowed. We've talked about this."
Kurobara looked decidedly uninterested in anything her father had to say. Which is, she looked like a cat who cared nothing for what her owner wanted.
It was a little amusing to Rassei to watch.
Issei sighed, glaring at the ceiling. "This is too early for teenage rebellion, you're only two!"
Whatever his frustrations, his attention turned to the toy chest Kurenai was in. A swarm of multi-colored Lego robots were steadily dismantling the impromptu lid. When there was a hole big enough, Kurenai jumped out only for Issei to catch his shirt collar.
Issei paused, then turned and strolled out of the nursery, as if nothing had happened and he was simply retrieving two kids. He did nothing about Airi. Rassei was puzzled by this behavior until he found that the little blond one had fallen asleep against his side.
Ah, so he didn't wish to disturb her then. Most the women in the household were notoriously light sleepers, Airi was not the sole exception. Rassei was careful not to shift about as he laid his own head down to rest.
Personally, he'd love nothing more than to join the Lord in battle against the Evil Dragons and Fakes. However, he knew his own limitations and withheld the request, nor did Issei ever embarrass him by asking. For now, he was content here.
The current head of the Gremory clan sighed as she submerged herself in the bath of the War Room. Not that any combat or actual military strategy was discussed there. It's only entrances were inside the master bedroom of the manor house. Specifically, it connected to the personal walk-in closets each woman had and was painstakingly tuned to keep one certain dragon out. Despite Issei never seeing the inside of the chamber, it was his favorite room too.
"Oh, I needed this," Rias moaned in delight as the warm waters of the bath did their work on her. "Almost perfect."
"Nya, Rias, are you thinking of our man, nya? Careful, if you let the beast in, none of us will leave, nya."
"Tempting, but some things are best left to his imagination," Rias looked over to the eldest Nekoshou in the house.
Kuroka had a saucer in hand, a bottle floating in a bucket beside her. "Well, what say you all, nya? Let him in, nya?
"NAY!"
"Oh well," Kuroka abandoned her usual verbal tic in disappointment.
With Rias' arrival, all nine of the harem were present; each gathered in the luxuriant bath situated in the center of the room. With them sitting against the edges in a circle, they were ordered like so: Rias, Kuroka, Koneko, Ravel, Asia, Akeno, Rossweisse, Irina, and then Xenovia on Rias' other side.
"Well, we're all here," Akeno clapped her hands together. "So, how will we punish him for neglecting us?"
"US! More like ME!" Ravel stood. "You've all bedded him several times in the past week, I'M the one who has been neglected!"
"Oh?" Kuroka took another sip. "I can hear a canary crying about its height."
Ravel cringed, pinned by a non-existent arrow. It had been a shock towards the middle of her second year in high school, the time when Koneko had gone into and woken from her week-long coma as her body's maturation finished. It was also the time where in terms of the harem and the endless competition for Issei's affection, she had become painfully aware that she was now the shortest and her best friend had grown into a woman that could compete with her sister and the older girls in terms of bust.
Kuroka had teased the girl terribly about it, even a decade later it still hurt. Worst of all, Kuroka's body, hers and Koneko's now, were perfect! Ravel had nothing to criticize now!
Koneko laid a hand on Ravel's, pulling her back down into the water. "Don't let her rile you up so. You're not the smallest."
"Ouah! Asia, please, never grow!"
It was a pitiful sight to see Ravel crying into Asia's neck, the only other blond girl sighing with resignation to be the woman with the smallest breasts. She'd grown, but not enough to compete with Ravel or even Koneko's bountiful growth. The gap between her and Ravel was similar to that of Xenovia and Rossweisse now, painfully obvious.
"We're getting off-track," Rossweisse sipped her tea, the last bit of treatment from her night prior's drinking. "For the first time in awhile, we're all together us nine."
"Us nine, our Fellowship of the Wing."
Ravel facefaulted with a splash and caused the bath to steam with excess heat, the others facepalming at Xenovia's terrible pun. Issei was contagious, and as Xenovia had developed her own humor, she had imprinted on his.
"As I was saying," Rossweisse took another sip, both glad and bemoaning that it wasn't anything stronger, "we're all here. And my schedule's free for the next few weeks."
"I've no plans."
"Free for the time being."
There were a round of affirmations that each woman had time available for the next few days, a week at most where they all were free from other responsibilities.
"Can we stop dancing around the subject?" Kuroka took another sip from her saucer, "we just want to tie him down and fuck."
"Must you be so crude?" Irina sighed, though her Halo sprang into existence only to immediately begin flickering.
"I don't wanna hear it from the Angel who went at it for nearly the whole day!" Xenovia shouted standing as she pointed at the only Angel present. "I need to get laid again!"
"Get in line," Kuroka stood, making sure to do so in a way that caused her assets to bounce slightly, if only to showcase how she triumphed over the taller woman. "Shirone won't say it, so I'll say it for both of us, our mating cycle is coming back with a vengeance, nya. We'll be having as much time with him as we can get, nya."
Koneko's face turned red, but she didn't deny it, fidgeting in the water.
"You're not the only one who wants strong kids," Xenovia cracked her knuckles. "If it takes a fight to have them then let's go!"
"Ara ara, this is getting out of hand, ufufu?" Akeno laughed as Kuroka and Xenovia began wrestling in the pool's center. "If we're going this far, then I'll through in my own bid for one on one time with him." The Fallen's absolute superiority in bust making itself known as she drew herself to her full height.
Rossweisse made to stand but failed as she was still recovering. She made do with a few Norse spells prepared and floating around her, while Ravel jumped into the fray, her wings heating the water around her into steam and making it most uncomfortable for the impromptu match.
Koneko got pulled in, then Irina and Asia though Asia did little more than hug onto Irina as little more than a hindrance. But that all paled when a red-haired beauty made her claim.
"It's been two weeks since Ise and I have slept in the same bed," she bemoaned her duties as Gremory clan head, "and twice that since he last slept with me. If anyone deserves a night alone with him, it's me!"
Black flames of destruction erupted along with Lightning, Phoenix Fire, Ki, and Light.
The sex drive of a mature devil plagued most of them. Even Irina got in on the action, if it weren't for the enchantments around their home she would have fallen many times by now. And so, the Hell that was the competition for Issei began once again.
The War Room was like all other rooms, heavily soundproofed. This way, there was no indication to anyone in the master bedroom that there was a war of femininity being raged behind its doors.
Sometime late in the night, the door exiting into Rias' closet opened. The nine women poured out, hurrying to the bed where their dragon ought to be. Though Asia, Irina, and Rossweisse had managed to weather most of it, they and the others all sported light scrapes and scratches. However, all of them shared the hungry look in their eye as they threw the final door open to find…
Nothing. Just a well-made bed, with a note.
Rias managed to cool her both her temper and libido enough to read it. Issei's handwriting was messy as ever, but legible nonetheless.
Outnumbered by kids. Majority vote for Disneyland Tokyo. Will be back late tomorrow. Love you all. Will make it up to you all when I get the chance.
The women couldn't help but smile when Rias informed them how 'all' had been underlined and emphasized frantically.
"That man," Ravel sniffed but she couldn't stop smiling. "Who does he think he is to get off so lightly."
"We love him, that's why." Irina. "But really, can he never say no to them?"
"Issei has always been kind and loving," Xenovia declared, hands on her hips. "But since when has he said no to us? Since that's the case, why are we surprised?"
"True," the women echoed dreamily.
Ravel was the second to break out of the collective daydream when someone embraced her from behind and began to fondle her chest. "WHA! KUROKA!"
"Nya, Shirone, I found a pretty bird, nya," Kuroka grinned as Ravel struggled to break free and lean into her embrace at the same time. "Can we make it sing, nya?"
"Sorry, Ravel." Koneko stepped before her sister-wife with an apologetic yet eager look. "Sorry, not sorry."
The Rook tackled the two Bishops onto the bed, pinning them both before lowering her head. Immediately, Ravel started moaning as she found herself once again at the mercy of the Nekoshou mothers.
"I mean really," Irina huffed, turning away. "He's gone and we immediately goooo…!"
Xenovia had lifted her over one shoulder. "DIBS!" She jumped on the bed, taking her prize with her and without disturbing the threesome on her right.
It was a large bed after all.
Rossweisse and Asia shook their heads in amusement, yet still cuddled close together, the older woman's hands wandering.
That left Rias and Akeno to look at one another, smile and then throw themselves into the fray. There was a further benefit to sleeping with each other, beyond the hours and hours of mind-blowing sex. They had gained greater control of sending emotions, feelings to their idiot, absent dragon.
Issei would be absolutely feral by the time they were done.
