Last of the Line
I do not own Highschool DxD or any of it's characters. I own only Vale Beleth. Takeru Marchosias is property of cloudfarron.
OP: I am Queen by SOSOSO
Chapter 19: Big Things Are Afoot
Rias sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs with her knees pressed into her chest and her forehead pressed into her knees. It had been about two days since the argument during dinner. Since then, she had locked herself in her room. Her servants had been in a few times to cheer her up, to no avail. The only other person to visit was Grayfia, who dropped by to drop off her meals. She couldn't believe her parents had thrown Vale out, regardless of the fact that they knew how much he meant to her. Her mother especially knew how much she cared for Vale. She had called her multiple times after the broken engagement to talk about him.
It had mostly been to apologize for the broken engagement and explain that it had been all Vale's doing, but after they had moved past that, Rias had told her mother about how much Vale had done for her. Her mother seemed to like Vale, she even urged Rias to pursue their relationship with greater intensity after the Kokabiel incident when Akeno had started to show interest in him. So why had she let her father throw him out, simply for defending her? If anything, she had thought that they would be impressed by how hard he had fought to defend her. But, it didn't matter now, he was gone and her parents probably wouldn't let him in the Gremory territory for the rest of their lives.
She was momentarily startled from her melancholy by the phone on her bedside table. She ignored it though and let it go to voice mail. It rang for about a minute before it went to voice mail.
"Rias? Hey, it's me." she heard Vale's voice call from the speaker. Without thinking, Rias sprang from her bed and picked up the receiver before pressing it to her ear.
"Vale, are you okay? Where are you?" she asked urgently.
" Yeah, I'm fine. I'm staying at your bro's house, he was nice enough to put me up after your pops kicked me out. I gotta say, the King of the Underworld has some pretty nice digs." Vale replied casually.
"But Onii-sama lives all the way over in Lucifaad, how did you get there so quickly?"
"Well, we took a magic circle to Grigori's research institute then we flew to Lucifaad from there. We made great time thanks to Tiamat, Vali made her his familiar a while back. So, how you been?"
"Terrible. I miss you so much." she replied sullenly.
"I miss you too Rias. So, you wanna open your window? I'm freezing my gonads off out here." Vale replied.
"What are you talking about?" Rias replied, obviously puzzled.
"I'm hanging from your balcony and my head is starting to hurt." Vale replied with his normal nonchalance.
Rias dismounted her bed in one smooth motion as she strode over to her bedroom doors that led out onto the balcony that over looked the majestic landscape surrounding Castle Gremory. She opened the door to reveal the empty balcony. She walked out onto the balcony and leaned out over the railing, looking for any sign of Vale.
She was just about to give up looking when she saw Vale's face looking up at her from beneath the edge of the floor. He was hanging upside down from the balcony wearing a huge grin on his face.
"Hey Princess, looking good." he said as he grabbed the edge of the balcony and jack-knifed himself up over the railing. No sooner ha his feet touched the floor than Rias wrapped him in a hug.
"I was so worried about you. I'm sorry my parents kicked you out, I begged them not to." She said as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck.
"Hey, it's fine. It wasn't your fault, I probably could have handled it better." he said as he patted her head and hugged her closer to him.
"It wasn't fair either way. So, what are you doing here?" she asked as she finally released him.
"Well, I haven't seen you in almost two months now save for that little time on the train. What can I say, I really missed your smile." Vale replied warmly.
Rias blushed at his heartfelt words. Recently, with Akeno's growing interest in Vale, she had started to think that he had only maintained the pretense of their engagement out of some old-fashioned sense of duty to her for all the things an alliance with her had gotten him. But now, he'd just admitted to trekking halfway across the Underworld, because he'd missed her...
"Vale... I didn't know you cared." she said quietly, to awestruck to say anything else.
"Of course I care. I've always cared." he replied as he leaned in to kiss her, Rias closed her eyes as she wrapped her hands around his neck as she leaned up to kiss him. Their lips neared each other until they were less than hair's breadth apart.. So close in fact, that they could feel each others breath on their lips. They were interrupted however, by a knock on Rias' bedroom door.
"Oh no! Quick hide in my closet!" Rias said urgently as she turned and pushed him towards her closet.
"Ha! Oh boy if I had a nickel..." he said with a laugh as he took refuge inside the closet.
Rias walked over to the door before opening it to reveal Grayfia standing there in her maid outfit.
"Hello ojou-sama, I'm just here to deliver your lunch."
"Thank you Grayfia, that will be all." Rias replied curtly.
"As you wish ojou-sama. I know it is not my place but, I hope you will forgive your parents, they only want what's best for you." Grayfia said as she placed the tray she had been carrying on the small table just inside the doorway.
"Grayfia, I appreciate the thought, but I will deal with my parents on my own in the way I choose. You may go now." Rias replied as she gestured to the door.
"As you wish ojou-sama." Grayfia said with a bow before turning and exiting the room. Rias closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it before she ran back to her closet. She threw open the door to see Vale wearing a black, strapless dress of hers and examining himself in the mirror.
"Does this dress make me look fat? I feel like it makes me look fat." Vale said as he turned to face her. Rias burst into a fit of giggles as Vale began to change back into his black jeans and tight long-sleeve black shirt. Rias took a few seconds to admire how the shirt hugged him tightly enough that she could his abs through the shirt.
"How do you do that?" she asked as she finally stopped giggling and regained her composure.
"Do what?"
"Just not care like that. You never seem to care what people think of you. How do you do it?"
"I just say to myself 'Self, fuck what they think. You're awesome.' and then I just do what I want. You should try it sometime."
"Maybe I will." she said as Vale moved to exit her closet. As soon as he caught a view of the rest of Rias' bedroom, Vale froze in his tracks.
"Jesus tap-dancing Christ..." he gasped he turned to examine the entirety of the room. There was Japan-themed decorations and souvenirs all around the room. When asked about it later Vale would reply, "I mean freaking everywhere".
"Oh yeah. Sorry, did I forget to mention I'm kind of a-" Rias began when Vale cut her off, saying,
"You're a nerd!" Vale exclaimed gleefully as he turned to face her, once more wearing his enormous grin. Rias was beginning to worry that one day his face would get stuck like that.
"N-no I'm not, I-I just really like things from Japan." she stuttered and began to blush.
"No no, you've got it wrong, I don't mean it as an insult. I love that you're secretly nerdy!" he said as he patted her gently on the head. Rias shook his hand off as she said,
"Look, it's not like I asked for all the souvenirs and things, Souji just liked to bring me things after he visited Japan when I was little." Rias pouted.
"Okay, if you say so. So, now that I'm here, what should we do?" Vale asked as he wandered over and took a seat on the edge of Rias' bed.
"Well, we can't do anything outside my room due to the little fiasco a few nights ago. So I guess we're stuck inside my room for today." she said as she sat down next to him.
"What can two people do in a bedroom to keep themselves busy?" Vale asked as he laid down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you, if you don't mind." Rias asked apprehensively, something about her tone made Vale sit up as he replied,
"Sure, shoot."
"Are you okay?" Rias asked slowly as she turned to face him.
"Yeah, I feel fine." Vale replied casually.
"No, I mean are you okay regarding... you know, your mother leaving? You were pretty broken up about it after the conference..." Rias said cautiously, as she knew that this was likely a touchy subject for Vale. Vale did not reply immediately, electing to simply stare at his lap instead.
"Honestly, I don't know if I'm okay. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel. At first, I was angry that she just left me without the guts to say goodbye. Then I realized something, I had no idea how my mother felt, living 700 years in the human world all by herself. Everyone she had ever known grew old and died, while she never aged a day. I have no right to judge my mother or her actions. So, all in all, I just had to hope I'll see her again one day. All I really know is that I miss her." Vale said as he turned his gaze towards the door to the balcony.
"I'm sorry. I can't imagine what I'd do if I lost my parents or onii-sama. But your mother was the only family you had, I can't begin to imagine what you're going through." Rias said as she placed a hand on Vale's thigh. Vale took her hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Well, I also have Chacha-nee. But she's always working, so mom was the only one I was close to. But, her leaving wasn't all bad. While I was gone, I had a lot of time to think. Do you know what I thought about, day after day?" he asked as he turned to look at her.
"No, I have no idea."
" I thought about you. Everyday, I'd get up, train, eat breakfast, and I'd plan out my schedule for the day. Then, I'd pull out my phone, scroll through the contacts, down to your name, an then I'd stare at it. Usually for 5 or 10 minutes, one day for almost a full hour as I tried to find some good reason to call you, just so I could hear your voice. But, I could never bring myself to hit the dial key. I just had nothing I could tell you, I've always told you I never wanted to burden you with the knowledge of what I've done to survive." Vale said as he took Rias' hand in both of his.
"I thought about you everyday too." Rias said as she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Rias, are you glad we're engaged?" Vale asked, Rias was caught off-guard by the off-topic question. But it only took her a few seconds to reply,
"Yeah, I am. I don't think there's anyone I'd rather be engaged to right now." she said as she placed her hand on his thigh again.
"Me too, and I don't think I ever plan on breaking it off. Heck, I don't think I'd mind actually talking details over with your folks, after we clear up our little misunderstanding, that is."
"What are you talking about? Are you serious?" Rias asked as she sat up and turned to look him in the face, her shock evident in her wide, blue-green orbs.
"I am. Rias, I realized while I was gone that I am truly, madly, head-over-heels in love with you." he said with a grin. Rias gave a small gasp as she tried to think of a way to answer Vale. Sure, he was very important to her and she loved spending time with him. But did she love him?
"Vale, I don't know what to say..." she replied after a several seconds of silence.
"Look, its fine. I realize this is a lot to take in. Especially, now of all times. Let's just start small. Rias Gremory, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked as he took her hand in his.
"I'd love to." Rias said as she began to lean in to kiss him, but midway through her attempt, they were interrupted by Rias' mother calling to her through the door,
"Rias, open up; it's your mother. We need to talk." Venelana called through the door.
"Wow, we can not catch a break today." Vale exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"Uh oh, I know that tone. She's gonna be here for a while, you better go. I'll talk to you later." She said as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Vale got up off the bed and headed over to the door leading to the balcony and began to climb over the railing until he was straddling it.
"Yeah you're right. I'll see you later. Oh, and Rias?" Vale asked while he was still straddling the railing, one leg hanging in the open air. Rias paused with her hand on her bedroom door handle, and turned to face her fiancee and new boyfriend.
"Yes?" she asked as she looked back at him.
"I love you." he said with a warm smile as he prepared to jump from the balcony. Rias paused, unable to keep a smile from breaking out on her face as she replied,
"I love you too"
Vale waved goodbye to her before he flexed his powerful legs and leaped from the balcony and made for Lucifaad...
One hour later...
Vale entered the resort his mother had left him via magic circle. He appeared in the middle of the giant pentagram etched on the tower that served as a helipad connected to the main rooftop. He looked ahead to examine the stone obelisk that sat on the rooftop of the main building, it was a plain marble pillar that stood 5 meters tall, coming to a point on top. He headed across the narrow walk way to the main building, careful not to fall off the 2 meter wide walkway.
The resort was comprised of a large, cylindrical, marble structure that stood approximately 100 feet tall. It sat on a sandy beach, surrounded by water on all sides, the water continued for about 150 feet before one ran smack into the glass bottle the resort was enclosed in. He arrived on the main building before turning and passing under and archway before arriving at the door underneath it. He opened the door and began to descend the stone staircase.
He arrived at the library a few minutes later to see Le Fay poring over his research notes regarding Lucifer's Twin Halos. She had books open all over the table, most of them were dictionaries for cuneiform characters. Her glance alternated between his notes and the dictionaries, as she tried to make sense of his chicken-scratch.
"Hey, what goes on?" Vale asked as he pulled up a seat next to her at the cluttered table.
"Oh, hello Vale. I was just reading some of your journals on the Abyssal Gears. I hope that's alright." Le Fay said as she turned to look at him, causing her golden curls to be set bouncing.
"Yeah, that's fine." Vale said as he put both of his elbows on the table and leaned forward to see what page she was on.
"Actually, maybe you could help me, what's this word right here?" Le Fay asked as she pointed to a particular word on the page. Vale leaned in to get a better look at the book.
"That word right there is...the." Vale said as he settled back into his seat.
"The? But if that's the case, then I-" she began when Vale silenced her by patting her affectionately on her head.
"Le Fay, why don't you take a break? We've got a big day tomorrow and you need your rest. Your bro will literally kill me if I let you study yourself to death." Vale said as he closed his research notes. Le Fay nodded and hopped off of her seat and trotted off to parts unknown.
Vale had moved his peerage into the resort the day that Sirzechs had offered to let the Beleth heir stay with him in Lucifaad. His peerage had had mixed feelings about living inside the bottle building. It had the general feel of a tropical island vacation. Which had of course, delighted Kuroka to no end. Kuroka had spent nearly all her time on the beach. Edith had followed suit, apparently the descendant of Blackbeard enjoyed attractive bodies of both sexes. Bikou didn't complain but seemed to be antsy all the same. Arthur and Le Fay had both been excited to access the large library contained in the resort. Kanda had reacted in his typical gruff manner, electing to simply harrumph and head for the beach. Vali, Isley, and Hao had disappeared to parts unknown.
Vale decided to take a short nap before waking up to help Le Fay to cook dinner, as he and Le Fay were the only two among his team with any experience in the kitchen. After dinner, he retired to his bedroom so he could get an early start before the Young Devil's Gathering the following day.
The next day...
Vale was awoken by the feeling of a scratchy tongue licking his neck .Vale shook himself awake to see that Kuroka had sneaked into his room and crawled underneath the covers with him.
"Wake up, Vale-nya. Wanna fool around before we head out-nyan?" Kuroka asked as she sat up, revealing that she was in fact, naked underneath the covers.
"Sorry Kuro-nyan, I have too much to do today. I want you to go get dressed, we'll be leaving soon. Don't forget to put on underwear today." Vale said as he got out of bed and headed for the shower.
"Aww, you're no fun Vale-sama. Where am I supposed to get underwear from-nyan? I don't have any and Le Fay's won't fit me-nyan!" Kuroka exclaimed as knelt on his bed, her twin tails waving through the air excitedly.
"What about Edith's? Her boobs are about as big as yours." Vale observed as he headed for the bathroom door.
"She doesn't wear underwear either-nyan!" Kuroka explained as she hopped from his bed and followed him into his bathroom.
"Of course she doesn't. Fine, just make sure you don't embarrass yourself or me at the gathering. If you won't do it for me, do it for Koneko. She'll be uncomfortable enough with you there." Vale sighed as he turned on the shower.
"Hmm... okay. For Shirone, I'll behave myself. But only if you let me shower with you-nyan." she said with a wink as she grabbed him from behind as she pressed her body against his back and wrapped her tails around his legs. Vale ignored the soft, elastic sensation of her breasts pressing into his back as he removed her hands from his hips.
"Fine, but I'll tell you the same thing I told Akeno. I bite." he said as he stepped into the shower...
Two hours later...
Vale stepped off the elevator into the wide banquet hall. The hall was lavishly decorated, the dark red carpet stretched toward the double doors at the far end, expensive looking tables and chairs dotted the . Banners depicting the crests of the 72 pillars decorated the walls starting with the Bael crest and continuing all the way down to Andromalius. His peerage wore their standard get-ups while he had elected to wear a black three piece suit with a crimson dress shirt underneath with a golden silk tie.
He quickly surveyed the room and identified the six other heirs. There was the Bael heir, he was taller than Vale with the physique of a pro wrestler with short black hair and violet eyes dressed in noble clothing. He was probably the biggest battle maniac in the whole hall outside of Vale's peerage. Vale could tell in an instant, birds of a feather as they say.
Next their was the Astaroth heir, dressed in noble clothing with blonde hair and a gentle smile on his face. Vale had heard things about him and his peerage from Kanda and Dulio Gesualdo the few times he'd worked with him. The boy looked harmless, but if the stories were true, Vale would have to try his best to not to vomit and then beat the heir to death.
Sona Sitri stood over in the corner coolly surveying the competition with her Queen, Tsubaki Shinra at her side. Vale recognized the rest of the the Student Council dressed in their Kuoh Academy uniforms.
Then there was a green-haired youth, the younger sibling of Falbium Glaysa-Labolas, Zephyrdor. He wore no shirt dressed only in his pants and the tattoos covering his body and head.
There was another girl he recognized as Seekvaira Agares with blonde hair(guessing) wearing glasses and a modest, blue robe. She had a cold, sharp gaze.
Then there was a silver-haired Devil, the Marchosias heir, who stood in the corner surrounded by a peerage exclusively made of women. He wore jeans and a tank top with a long black glove on one arm. Vale couldn't get a red on that particular Devil. He radiated an aura of cold readiness. He had seen real battle, that much Vale knew.
"What's the matter Agares? Can't go anywhere without your guards? I bet a virgin like you is too scared to let a man get near her. That's the problem with all the siblings of the current Satans- you all reek of virgins." Zephyrdor sneered at the Agares heir.
"Why don't you shut your face Zephyrdor? The current rankings suggest that you're the weakest one here. On top of that, why don't you put a shirt on? No one wants to see your nasty ass tattoos anyways." Vale said as he sauntered up to the Glaysa-Labolas heir. Zephyrdor shot him a dirty look before saying,
"That's rich coming from a traitor like you, working with Grigori? You call yourself a Devil? I guess that's not as bad your taking in strays." Zephyrdor hissed at Vale. Vale froze in place as he turned to glare at Zephyrdor,
"Uh oh. Now you've done it. You've made him mad." Bikou said with a grin. Vale cleared his throat quietly before he slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket and handed it back to Arthur without a word Arthur took the jacket from his King, all the while deathly quiet.
"Hey Zephyrdor?" Vale asked quietly as he turned to face the youth once again.
"Yeah?" he sneered in reply.
"You mocked my servants, that was the last time you will do so."
"What makes you think that?" Zephyrdor replied mockingly.
"This!" Vale said as he kicked Zephyrdor square in the groin with no warning. Zephyrdor gasped as he clutched his groin as Vale proceeded to kick his testicles back up into his abdomen before placing a palm on his chest.
"Fulguratio Albicans!(White Lightning)" Vale exclaimed as a lightning bolt sprang from his hand, leaving a nasty burn on the Devil's skin before sending him sailing into the far wall. There was a smell of burnt flesh as Zephyrdor was launched across the room, flying through several of the table's, splintering like so many matchsticks until he hit the wall with a CRASH! Splintering several of the wooden panels around his point of impact.
"WHO ELSE WANTS SOME?!" Vale shouted to the other Devils in the room who thought of picking a fight with him. No challengers stepped forward.
Rias arrived a few minutes later, along with the rest of her peerage. It was only a few minutes later that the Young Devils were called into the meeting room for the beginning of the ceremony.
"Here we go." Vale said as he followed Sairaorg and the rest of the Devil's into the chamber...
Author's Note: Alrighty, there you go. Next chapter will mostly be Vale and his servants training for their first Rating Game. Though, a little hint for you, there will be a small bit of a Fairy Tail crossover in future chapters. I think instead of Fenrir, Vale's final piece will be Acnologia. What do you all think? It'll be a while before I update. As I have to update a few Sekirei stories first. Also, does anyone have any ideas as to who Vale should face in a Rating Game first? Don't forget to review. This is the 19th Angel, signing off...