A/N: Chapter six! Last chapter of this mini-arc, Author's Note at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own High School DXD
CHAPTER SIX: I KICK ASS
Caleb was not in a good mood.
It was one thing to run around an amusement park for an entire day, but running around an amusement park all day, then being woken up in the middle of the night for an urgent meeting was another thing entirely.
Understandably so, Caleb complained about the entire ordeal to Rias, who was not so keen on listening to Caleb rant at the moment, so she ended up leaving him at the apartment to go on ahead. Caleb normally would have just gone back to sleep, but Rias warned him against not going to the Occult Research Club. So in the end, he only had the choice of getting up and heading to their school.
The night was a little too humid for Caleb's liking, and a hollow feeling was forming at the pit of his stomach which made him nervous. The last time he had this sort of feeling was when his old baseball team was down two points in the final inning. It was the kind of feeling that Caleb knew he had to make some sort of drastic move to pull through a game. Suddenly feeling a sense of urgency in his gut, Caleb begins running towards his school.
By the time Caleb had burst into the room, Rias and Akeno were nowhere to be found, instead, he sees a slightly peeved but serious Issei speaking with a calm Kiba. He was slightly confused by the scene so Kiba filled him in on the discussion that had just taken place.
'So, what are you gonna do now?' He asks Issei, albeit knowing the latter's answer.
'I'm going to the church.' Issei says flatly, as if only speaking to his Sacred Gear. Caleb frowns.
'It's suicide. You know that.'
'It's better than staying here and doing nothing!' Issei shouts to Caleb, who in turn shouts back.
'The only thing that would change in that situation is that they'd have a dead nun and a dead devil!' Caleb's words anger Issei further, the latter lunging at him and tackling him down. Kiba and Koneko watch the two argue, letting them settle their argument on their own before intervening.
'Take that back, you asshole!' Issei punches Caleb in the face, landing square on his jaw. Caleb retaliates and head butts Issei, distracting him long enough for Caleb to turn him over so that he could get the upper hand. Issei tries to hit Caleb again, but Caleb beats him to it and lands a punch to his nose.
'Listen to yourself for a minute! Do you realize that if you die, you'd waste yourself as Rias' servant? You'd be using the power that she gave you to fulfill your own wants. You're her servant. Hell, we all are. We're all supposed to dedicate whatever time we have for Rias. You chasing Asia around and getting yourself killed in the process is just being selfish!'
Caleb heaves a heavy sigh. He could see that his words had stung Issei. What caught him off guard was that Issei was starting to tear up. Not from sadness, but from frustration. Caleb calms himself down and gets off, breathing heavily. He was still too tired to be dealing with this kind of drama.
'I get it. She's your friend. But the least you could do would be to think things through first.' Caleb says after a long pause, nursing his jaw. He had a new injury for that day. Kiba takes it as his cue to intervene.
'Which is why he needs us.' He says as he puts his hand on Caleb's shoulder. The latter looks over at Issei, then to Kiba and Koneko. He runs his hands through his hair in frustration, before sighing heavily.
'So you all just plan to waltz in there and fight everybody?'
'We'll plan as we go along.' Kiba states confidently. Caleb scoffs and looks around the room for a minute. Everyone waiting on him with baited breaths, but Caleb gets on his feet, and offers his hand to Issei.
'I'm haunting your ass if I die tonight.' He says seriously while walking towards the door. Everyone is tense until Caleb turns back to them.
'Well? What are you waiting for? Lead the way!'
'You guys were serious about waltzing straight in.' Caleb states frankly, in complete dumbfoundedness for their lack of a plan as they stop in front of the church. The heat was starting to get to Caleb, as he was sweating quite a bit compared to when he was headed to the Occult Research Club.
'Are you okay Hide?' He hears Issei ask. Kiba and Koneko take notice of Caleb's sweating, and take it as a sign of anxiousness.
'I'm fine, just not really used to the heat here.' The other three share confused looks, but let Caleb's words slide as feel the murderous intent emanating from the church.
'How many do you think there are in there?' This time, Caleb asks.
'With this much intent coming through, I'm willing to bet that there's a lot.' Kiba responds. Caleb walks ahead towards the church's entrance, and rests his hand on its surface. He was beginning to feel a dull ache in his head, and was hearing a soft ringing in his ears. Whatever was causing this, he had no time to find out. For now, he needed to help Issei get Asia back. During his musings, the other three make their way towards him, Koneko moves Caleb aside and kicks the door down and the four head inside. Caleb's thoughts were still asunder.
They walk in and the other three immediately tense up, for whatever reason, Caleb could not figure out why. The dull ache was starting to grow, and the ringing in his ears were getting louder. His vision was getting hazy, he tries to look around and can see Kiba moving his lips, trying to say something to him, but Caleb could not understand. The moment he starts to lose his cool, he hears a voice in his head.
Block it.
Caleb's hand moves reflexively, and shields his face, at the exact same moment, Freed, the priest Caleb had encountered before, held his sword mid swing, blocked by Caleb's arm brace. The latter currently bewildered by his Sacred Gear suddenly appearing unconsciously. Caleb continues to stand frozen, and bewildered.
Counter, get him away from you.
His body moves on its own, obeying the deep voice speaking in the recesses of Caleb's mind. He swats Freed's arm that was pointing a gun to his face, pushes him and his sword away, and then quickly sends a powerful kick into Freed's midsection, sending him flying across the hall.
Caleb's vision and hearing start to clear up, and he can hear Issei and the others trying to reach him. He looks around again, and sees Kiba currently engaged in combat against Freed. He racks his brain to figure out what was happening. He suddenly feels his Sacred Gear heating up.
Caleb tries to keep his focus and rejoins the fight, ignoring Issei's questions for the meantime, he catches a hit meant for a downed Kiba and strikes Freed with his bow, to which the latter dodges and swings his sword at him. Caleb looks at Freed's sword as he swings it, then is suddenly taken aback. Freed's hand moved slowly, as did everything around him. Caleb only looked at the approaching sword in wonder as to the current situation. Then, he hears the voice again.
Dodge it, then send him back.
Caleb does as he's told. Effortlessly dodging and punching Freed across the hall yet again. Whatever look he had on his face was enough to cause his teammates to worry about him. The dull ache was coming back. Caleb holds his hand to where the pain was.
'What the hell?' He whispers to himself. He looks to his Sacred Gear, feeling it getting warmer.
You have your power, use it.
The voice says again. Caleb feels nothing but the need to follow, and tightens his grip and summons his bow, feeling a sudden surge in power. He shots consecutive arrows to where Freed is currently fighting Koneko, completely unfazed by the possibility that he might hit her. Thankfully, he doesn't and instead hit Freed, giving Issei the opportunity to punch Freed in the face. The dull ache returns once again and forces Caleb to space out for a moment, clutching his head and dropping down on his knees.
'Hide!'
'Hey snap out of it!'
'...'
'HEY!'
They're calling for you
'What?' Caleb suddenly calls out, frantically looking around him, only to see his three teammates eyeing him with worry. Their looks ask him what's going on, and he decides that the best answer to a question he doesn't know the answer to is to shrug said question off. He hastily gets up on his feet and takes a few deep breaths.
'Where's Freed?' He asks, changing the topic. Kiba looks over to him questioningly, but decides to put off whatever just happened for later.
'Gone, he took off when he realized he was at a disadvantage.'
'Then come on, we have to go find Asia.' Caleb's attempt at deviating topics pays off, as Issei once again goes into rescuer mode and beckons them to get a move on. They spot a busted up podium that kept a hidden stairwell and begin to descend, the three's thoughts on the rescue mission, while Caleb's were on the unidentified voice in his head.
Asia on the cross, atop a massive staircase, dozens of priests littered on one side, Yuuma standing beside where Asia was hanging from, Issei's angry shouts, Caleb could comprehend none of those. The dull ache in his head was returning for another round. This time, the voice addressed him specifically.
Caleb..
It sounded like the voice was testing out how his name sounded, at the very moment his name was mentioned, Caleb felt like he was violently pulled into another space. Although, he could tell that he wasn't. He could still see his friends fight off the priests, but he himself couldn't move a muscle, any word he shouted out couldn't reach them, they merely echoed of invisible walls surrounding him.
They can't hear you, boy. The voice tells him after his third shout. Caleb no longer makes any effort to hide his panic, his breath suddenly becoming ragged, and mind trying to find a way out of the space he was currently occupying.
'What's going on? Where am I?' He finally asks the voice, every sound he himself made bounce off somewhere and echo back to him.
You're in your mindscape, the very recesses of your mind, where your most intimate thoughts lay. The voice says, the sound it produced was deep and raspy, almost villainous, in Caleb's opinion, and it spoke with a tone of authority, as if he owned some part of Caleb and was rightfully claiming it.
'Who are you?
Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that you possess a part of me.
'What?'
Your Sacred Gear, boy. As if on cue, Caleb's bow materializes on his arm.
'A part of you, this?'
Stop with your questions, boy. I only need to tell you a few things. Without waiting for a reply, the voice continues its speech.
Your power is directly linked to mine, through your Sacred Gear. With this, your own strength could increase in leaps and bounds.
'And?'
Don't interrupt me, boy. As I was saying, your power can only increase if I permit such an action, all you need to do is fulfill one request of mine. As I see it, you'll need all the power you can get if you want to rescue your friend. Caleb weighs his options, fight like he normally would, or believe the creepy voice in his head. He sees his friends struggling from the sheer number of enemies surrounding them, and decides.
'What do I have to do?'
Obliterate everything.
With those parting words, Caleb was shoved back into reality as fast as he was pulled from it. He moves his limbs around, and tries to see if he had complete control over himself. Just then, an incredible sense of power surges through him, and almost knocks him over. His senses were insanely heightened, and he could feel his strength increasing. He takes this moment to go and help his teammates, clearing a path for Issei, who was now carrying Asia, as well as a path for Koneko and Kiba. The three look at him incredulously, surprised at his sudden jumpiness.
'You three go ahead, I've got this.' He says confidently.
'Caleb, were a team, we can't just leave you here!' Kiba argues back.
'I said leave!' Caleb suddenly shouts. He even surprises himself at the harshness of his tone. That was not what he wanted to say. The other three are taken aback with his change in demeanor, and try to reach out to him once again.
'You'll only get in my way, and I can't guarantee you're safety.' He hears himself say. It was, without a doubt, his voice, but the heaviness and delivery was different. It was darker that how he would usually say things. Kiba, Koneko, and Issei, carrying Asia, reluctantly give into Caleb's order and rush up the stairs, leaving Caleb in a room filled with armed priests.
For some, sick, demented reason, Caleb felt excited. It was a fact that scared a part of him; this was not him, at all.
Remember, boy,
It was the voice again, and then Caleb suddenly remembered his condition. He could hear the delight in the dark voice, egging him to start fighting.
Obliterate everything.
Everything after was a blurry haze.
The heat that Caleb had been feeling throughout the entire night was nothing compared to the heat he was currently feeling. His vision was still blurry, he was probably sweating buckets right now, his breathing was labored, and his body was completely tired out. But he felt alive. He had never felt this way before, ever. He was completely lost in euphoria, oblivious to whatever was currently happening around him, and he didn't really care much at that moment. His body felt like it was going to collapse, but whatever it was he did to get such an insane high afterwards was worth it. Caleb closes his eyes; trying to remember what he was doing only mere moments ago, in an attempt to redo everything. He wanted more of this high, he needed more.
Fighting... I need to fight more! He shouts in his head. Just then, in a sheer stroke of luck, he feels two presences behind him. His breathing starts to speed up from excitement. He takes a second to compose himself, then turns around and lunges.
It's only after he recognizes who he was about to attack that Caleb's head starts to clear up.
Rias, he was in front of Rias. Akeno was beside her. Something was wrong, as both of them were looking at Caleb with concern and alarm. He reevaluates the current situation, and finally snaps back to his senses. He was mid swing with his bow, mid swing because his arm was suddenly bound in place, so was the rest of him. He tries to move, but nothing budges. He looks back at the two, and then he comes to another stunning conclusion.
First, the heat he was now feeling was not from the weather or because of the cramped underground chamber, it was because more than half of the said underground chamber was engulfed in flames, not just any flame, blue flames, eerie, dark hued blue flames. Second, the euphoric feeling he had a few seconds ago and the need for more of it was not actually euphoria. It was bloodlust. Pure, unadulterated bloodlust, and he had almost attacked his master because of it. The memory of the deep voice suddenly makes a comeback in Caleb's head.
Obliterate everything.
And obliterate everything he did. The memories come running back full force to Caleb. The increase in power, strength, and senses. The fact that he could crush his opponents bones with his bare hand, anything he touched with his left arm immediately went into spontaneous combustion, and how he had taken out, or 'obliterated' every single person in that room other than him. A wave of nausea comes over Caleb, and he makes an attempt to soothe his suddenly sick stomach.
At this point, Rias deems Caleb safe to be around and tells Akeno to let him go, who then immediately doubles over on the ground and heaves, although having no success in letting anything out. Rias and Akeno share a look before helping Caleb up to his feet.
'Caleb, what happened?' Rias asks in a serious manner, although it was for naught since Caleb's body was finally starting to give into the fatigue. Whatever he did drained all the energy out of him. All he could give as a reply was a shake of his head. Then he drifted to and from consciousness before finally passing out.
Caleb woke up from the demand of his stomach for food, albeit groggily. His sense of smell is the filled with the delicious scent of food being cooked. He finally decides to sit up, lazily rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before surveying the area. He was in his couch bed, in his apartment. He looks around the place a bit more, and spots a anomaly, four anomalies, to be exact.
First was Rias, who was cooking in the kitchen, then there was Koneko, munching on something on the dining table, then there was Kiba and Akeno, chatting idly by the couch adjacent to Caleb's couch bed. Then there was Issei and this blonde girl talking to each other, also on the other couch, all of them completely oblivious to the fact that Caleb was awake.
It's Akeno who first notices Caleb, as she immediately rushes over to him and asks him if he was feeling alright, prodding and poking him around, much to Caleb's discomfort. Soon enough, Rias and the others crowd around him to check on how he was doing, the amount of people suddenly crowding Caleb suffocating him. A knock on the door catches everyone's attention, and brings relief to Caleb's distress.
'I'll get it.' Rias says before getting up and heading towards the door. The others ask Caleb about how he was doing once again, before a voice catches their attention.
'I see you're awake now, Caleb.' Caleb shoots straight up from the couch from the second he heard the voice. Lo and behold, a middle-aged man stood inside the apartment, clad in an expensive looking suit, and possessing what Caleb liked to call, the most glorious beard a man could have ever possessed.
'Akano-san!' He says excitedly. He takes a quick step forward, then collapses on the ground, his head spinning. 'Ugh, why is the room spinning?' He asks as Kiba and Issei lift him back on the bed. The blonde girl walks over to him and looks him over.
'Nothing seems wrong; it looks like you fell over because you stood up too fast, that paired with the fatigue.' She says. Caleb rubs his head and looks over the girl. He had seen this face before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then it clicked.
'You're that nun we were supposed to rescue.' He states frankly, the faces of everyone in the room, sans Rias, Caleb, and Akano, pale and make uncomfortable expressions. Rias claps her hands to call everyone's attention.
'Let's all just discuss this after breakfast, shall we?'
Needless to say, they were serious about discussing everything after breakfast, as no one spoke a single word about the entire ordeal. The silence was filled in with everyone prying incriminating information about Caleb from Akano, who, to Caleb's relief, gave dodgy and safe answers, much to everyone else's dismay.
By the time they had all finished eating, Caleb's impatience was becoming obvious to everyone present, and so Rias decided that it was time for explanations. Instead of having the entire team hear the discussion, she, Akano, and Caleb went to the bedroom to discuss matters privately.
'So what really happened?' Caleb asks, plopping down on the bed, Akano and Rias remain standing.
'We were hoping you could explain that.' Akano answers curtly, he takes a chair and sits in front of Caleb, Rias following suit. He looks intently at Caleb before asking,
'Do you remember what you did that night?' The question hits Caleb with an unexpected force, as he admittedly did not remember. 'Caleb, I need you to remember.' Akano asks again. Caleb runs his hands through his hair, trying his hardest to recall what happened.
'We were at the church, it was really hot, there was this dull ache in my head, and my ears were ringing...' Caleb stops mid-sentence, his eyes widening in realization.
'There was this voice!' He says, snapping his fingers to emphasize. 'What voice?' This time, Rias asks. Caleb was about to answer, when he suddenly found himself unable to. He closes his mouth and thinks the situation over. He wanted to answer, but felt like he shouldn't, but this is Akano-san and Rias, I can trust them. He thought. Still, even after knowing that Akano and Rias had good intentions, Caleb felt that not telling them was the best option. He had to figure out for himself, first.
'Well?' Rias presses. 'I, don't remember, just that there was this voice.' Caleb was fairly good at bluffing, but he was anxious since this was Akano and Rias he was trying to bluff at. The two sitting in front of him share a look of concern, before turning back to Caleb.
'It's a very big problem that you can't remember.' Akano starts 'But, I can't force you to try and recall everything, especially since you've only woken up today.' Caleb's father figure gives him a smile of reassurance that he wouldn't be prying him for any more information. Rias, though, looks skeptical, and doesn't try to hide it as she eyes Caleb. After a few seconds, she sighs and decides to give up the topic.
'I'll also let this slide, for now. We can't really do anything about it if you can't remember.' She says. Caleb can sense that she still doubts him, but let's out a breath of relief, he had avoided it for now.
'I guess we should just fill you in on what you missed, and you have missed a lot of things.' She says, tapping her chin in thought. Akano nods in response, a small smile on his face.
'Wait, how long was I out?' He asks incredulously.
'Four days. I had gotten worried so I went down here immediately after I got a call from Rias.' Akano answers.
'…'
'Caleb?'
'Four days?!'
After promptly explaining to Caleb everything that had happened thus far, which included most of their activities being put on hold, Rias and Akano let Caleb reintroduce himself to Asia, as the other members of the Occult Research Club also told stories of what they were up to for the past few days. By the time they had finished talking, it was already mid-afternoon. Akano thought that this would be a good time to bid his farewells and head back to Northern Japan. Caleb offered to walk him out, but Rias beat him to it, telling him to rest easy. Albeit bummed out, Caleb gave in and let Rias escort Akano out of the apartment.
'So, you honestly think he doesn't remember anything?' Rias asks Akano as the walk down the steps of the building. 'I've known that boy since he was a child; I know when he's lying.' He answers.
'Why do you think that he'd bluff like that?'
'I'm not very sure myself, but I am sure that he's not stupid, and if he has a reason to not tell us, it's probably valid.' Akano pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a sigh, addressing Rias.
'You were saying his Sacred Gear changed?'
'Yes, his arm brace enveloped his entire arm, and parts of his shoulder and chest.'
'And?'
'It didn't look like armor being put on, it almost looked like it was growing on him.' Rias recalls the armor crawling on Caleb's shoulder, engulfing a part of his chest. Akano's eyes narrow ate her description.
'That's not something I've ever heard of before, was there anything else that changed?'
'The color.'
'What about it?'
'His Sacred Gear was brown with some accents of gold, but back there it completely black; almost an obsidian color.' Akano stops for a moment and turns to Rias, his eyes showing seriousness.
'I'll try to get information on Sacred Gear that would fit whatever description you just gave me. In the meantime, I need you to keep an even more watchful eye on him. It was right for us to decide to keep you close to him. If anything changes, anything, you contact me immediately.' He says to Rias, who in return nods to him, understanding the seriousness of the situation.
With those parting words, Akano leaves Rias and heads off in his car.
CHAPTER SIX END
A/N: Okay, I'm posting this a little later than I had anticipated, mainly because the program I write in on my tablet froze, and I went full rage mode cause I didn't save it, hence I had to rewrite. I apologize.
Next, this is the last chapter of this mini-arc(hooray!) and with this, I am going on my little break to fix up things for my school and dorm and whatnot. Not to worry, next week, I will be posting the introductory chapter of the next arc. The arc I am very excited about, because this is where the story gets serious. I left a lot of things hanging this chapter, all of which will be explained in the next arc. Thank you guys for following this story so far, I appreciate the reviews that you guys send and please don't hesitate to keep them coming.
OCfanboy: His rise is about to begin, don't worry :]
Kai out!
