Chapter 2: Newton's third law Pt. 2
"Life is like a chess match. Every decision you make has a consequence to it." P.K. Subban
Scene: One town over from Kuoh
If he's being entirely honest with himself, Issei would never want to get used to transforming like this. It's such a rush, with his heart practically singing in his chest, a symphony reminiscent of the mating call of a Lyrebird. Once the overwhelming noise ends, Chainsaw Man sprints out of the alley with barely restrained laughter mixing into the puttering of his motor.
Once he's reached the end of the road filled with charred bodies, Issei lays his eyes on his assigned target. A long, limbless creature suspended in the air by electrical arcs connected to its body from the power mains around the town. When it finally glances behind it, Issei can clearly see its deformed and terrifying excuse of a face. He thinks it's a face but without any eyes, it's hard to tell. At least the mouth full of teeth clear it up for him. Running down its body, bulging tubes twitch and writhe beneath the skin at random intervals, with some parts exposed, revealing what they are. Frayed wires made of copper spark and zap the dead people's muscles into moving again, reminding him of when the zombie devil sent the undead after him. All in all, he can tell why he was sent after this thing instead of a normal devil hunter. The body count speaks for itself.
Wasting no more time, he charges with his chainsaws at the ready with every intention to turn this into his private Unadon supply. The Eel Devil doesn't react beyond turning its body to expose more of its soft underbelly. Thinking that it just decided to give up, Issei jumps at the exposed flesh, chainsaws whirring with fury.
At the last second, however, it slides out of the way at speeds he couldn't match, wrapping its body around him. While Issei thinks his body can take the pressure, the Devil jams its tail into one of his shoulders, while taking a bite out of the other shoulder. Only when he takes a look at what's happening does Issei begin to panic.
His theory on the Devil's plan is proven correct when his entire body lights up in unbearable agony, while also being unable to even move freely. The Devil baited him into a position so it could make a closed circuit and run his body through with the electricity taken from the cables suspending it in midair.
As much as he wants to call himself an idiot, he doesn't have the time to worry about that. The Devil finally released him, convinced that he was done for, as most of his body is just bones and muscle, with charred pieces around some parts. As the Devil floats off while leaving Issei to fall to the ground, his thoughts put together a few ideas that might be able to work.
The Devil seems to be able to electrocute anything, as long as it makes a closed circuit by using its mouth and tail. If he can get rid of the charge, then he can get rid of the tail, and then that fresh eel meat is up for easy pickings. But to do that, he needs an insulator that will disperse the charge, while also making it so that it can't control it at will.
Issei recalls a science class that he took not too long ago and comes up with a solution.
Crawling over to a dead body, he takes a bite and drinks the blood that drains out of the corpse. After the body has no blood left to give, he puts the remainder of his strength into his left arm and rips his cord.
*BDROOOM*
The blood he just drank disperses throughout his body, reforming it to its proper condition. His lungs finally return to proper working order, letting him catch a breath he didn't know he was missing. Now that he's back on his feet, Issei charges into a grocery store to enact his plan. Sprinting to the hardware section, he yanks a bucket out of a nicely stacked pile and books it for the spice section. When he reaches the aisle, he comes to a stop in front of the salt. Wasting no time, he throws the salt containers into the bucket, then shoves a chainsaw into the bucket, shredding the containers to pieces, leaving a bucket full of salt with some assorted cardboard and paper pieces throughout. Finished with his goal of coming here, he leaves the store and heads toward the asshole who's about to get up close and personal with his chainsaws.
When he can hear the crackling of electricity again, he gets rid of his chainsaws for the sake of getting a better grasp on the bucket. Coming face to face with the eel Devil again, he charges at it as fast as he can while carrying a bucket full of salt. When the Devil finally turns to face him, it doesn't have the time to dodge.
With a horizontal throw, the salt covers nearly all of the Devil's back spine. Trying to shake the salt off, its flailing tail slams right into Issei, throwing him back. Funnily enough, this goes nicely with his plan, since this distance has brought him close to his second step. Swiping his arms outwards, he roars his engine in challenge, and the Devil responds in kind. Slithering through the air at insane speed, Issei prepares for a head-on collision. As it makes its way down the street, Issei positions himself just where he needs to be to pull off his plan.
At the last second, before he's about to get chomped, he rolls to the right, making the Devil bite the fire hydrant that was behind him. Its teeth get stuck in the metal for a few seconds, and Issei doesn't let up on that advantage. With a hearty knee kick to the underjaw, the Devil gets stuck in there further, prompting it to drive its tail into Issei. Instead of dodging, he grabs it with all the strength that his body can pull out, which is actually quite a lot considering he can throw a car like a bag of trash and jams it into the fire hydrant, successfully making a closed circuit, and forcing it to zap the hydrant.
Now all he has to do is hold it there for a few seconds...
come on...
...
COME ON...
...
"WORK, GOD DAMMIT!"
As if on command, his plan has come to fruition.
*ping*
*PING*
*BANG*
The fire hydrant bursts with the force of a grenade. Boiling water rains down and floods the area around them. He planned to use the Devil's closed circuit electrocution ability to his advantage so the water in the fire hydrant will boil through conduction, leading to the steam within becoming so pressurized, it'll explode, disorienting the Devil so it can't dodge the water, which in turn will let the water dissolve the salt and make an insulator for its electricity to disperse to.
He was right about the explosion, the Devil had most definitely got a concussion. The boiling water raining down makes it writhe in pain, as the salt that sticks to it begins to break down and dissolve, conducting the electricity, and redirecting the current within its body to the puddle forming around it. Once the rain has stopped, the Devil tries to regain control of the electricity but only finds it being passed through its body, directly into the water.
The revving of a chainsaw makes its heart drop, and a glance towards the noise shows its executioner bringing down his weapon of choice.
*VRRRRR*
It screams louder than when it was being showered with boiling water, as a chainsaw severs its head. It takes a bit and a decent amount of effort, but he gets the job done. Surrounded by a cloud of steam and the rain of now-cold water, Chainsaw Man stands victorious over the Eel Devil. With a hearty exhale, Issei heaves out a cloud of smog.
Scene change: Kuoh Academy, Occult Research Club
In a sparsely lit clubroom, the members discuss their findings and events associated with them.
"Kiba, your familiar followed him the whole day, yes? Have you found anything worth noting?" The club president Rias asks.
"I did have it follow him, but to be honest, it's bland but strange. He went all the way to another town like he was looking for something, and went to a local cafe when he finally gave up." The blond boy Kiba reports his findings.
"What was so special about that town? Was there something worth going all the way there for?" Rias's vice president can't wrap her head around the possible reasoning. Only for a lack of solid evidence.
"I might be able to answer that." A voice breaks into their conversation.
"Ah, Sona. Welcome, do you know something?" Rias hopes her longtime friend will shed some light on the mystery.
"Yes and no. Kiba, what was Issei wearing when he was in the other town?" Sona begins putting her thoughts to paper.
"It was just a simple white button-up with a black tie. Surprisingly formal for walking around a town and getting coffee."
"Yes, and what stopped your investigation?" She prods.
"Something appeared in the town that my familiar felt threatened by. It flew off by the time Issei finished his coffee."
"I see, I see..."
"Sona, where are you going with this?" Rias can't understand her friend's train of thought.
"Koneko, does Issei smell like to you?"
"...he smells like metal...and a lot like blood..." Her slight shivering gives Sona the hint to drop it.
"Well, I may have come to the conclusion of several things. But I still need some solid proof. Rias, when you bring him in to talk, I'd like to be there as well." She doesn't elaborate and leaves not long after.
The club members don't know what to make of what just happened. Keeping secrets is one thing, but not explaining why she'd like to talk to someone she hates is another.
"Well, I suppose we'll figure out what's up sooner or later." Kiba doesn't let it bother him. Rias does not share the sentiment.
"Koneko, I'd like to ask you to tail him, but I won't force you, so we'll need a different idea on how to catch him in the open." The white-haired loli simply nods while munching on her biscuit.
"Akeno, would you be a dear and go get a summoning contract?" The group descends into their normal banter and activities.
Scene Change: Hyoudou Residence
Finally back home after a grueling fight, Issei drops onto the couch with a huff, only to be reminded of his responsibilities by Kishibe.
"Hey, you have homework to deal with, don't you? Get to it or we're spending the evening training." Issei shivers and heads upstairs. On his way, he comes across a child with yellow-ringed eyes.
"Hey Nayuta, how was your day?" Issei smiles when he sees the closest thing he's ever had to a little sister.
Even if those eyes of hers still haunt him.
"It was good. Too long though." She raises her arms, silently asking for a hug. He gives one without hesitation, making sure to make it as enthusiastic as possible.
"What are you doing tomorrow? I wanna go into town, but Kishibe won't take me." She sounds sad that she doesn't have a supervisor for her interests.
"Then let's go ask together, yeah?" Picking her up and propping her underneath his arm, the duo march towards Kishibe.
Some minor debate happens, and by debate, I mean that Issei begged in the dogeza position for permission to take Nayuta out tomorrow. He agrees after some time, and the makeshift family each head off to bed.
(The following morning)
As Issei sleeps through his alarm, Nayuta comes in and starts repeating after his alarm clock. This does wake him up, but not in a pleasant way, as he feels like a part of his soul broke after hearing his little sister say that sort of thing. He readies himself for school while grabbing the alarm clock and tossing it in the trash on the way out. The pair leave for school, grabbing some sandwiches along the way. They say their goodbyes when they arrive, with Issei promising to come by after to take her shopping.
He makes his way to the high school section of Kuoh, only to get that feeling from yesterday once more. Looking around reveals nothing, but when he faces back again, a person speedwalks past him without him hearing or seeing her coming. A short girl with white hair somehow got by him without any noise being made.
Yeah, that's unsettling.
On the plus side, the sensation of being watched went away.
Shaking himself back to attention, he simply makes his way to his class. On the way, he reminds himself of how thankful he is that he's gotten almost everyone to leave him alone.
The rest of the day is uneventful, and before he knows it, the bell rings, making Issei practically skip out of the class. While looking at his phone to see if Kishibe has his paycheck ready so he can spoil his little sister, someone stands in his path.
Looking up makes his chainsaw heart stop, almost literally. Red hair invades his view, and unpleasant memories come back with a vengeance. The look on the woman's face certainly doesn't help, as it's all too similar to the one that Makima would plaster on every moment she was in front of him. The face of someone who's planning, who thinks they're better than everyone else, and the kind of face that makes his stomach drop.
Wanting to get the hell out of dodge as soon as possible, he speed-walks past her, giving her a bare-bones "Sorry..." on his way out.
With his back turned, he doesn't notice her smile rise ever so slightly. Hoping to leave the school so he won't have to think about her anymore, Issei heads off toward Nayuta so they can go shopping. Once he's made the journey to reach his little sister, she greets him with a hug to the legs, and Issei picks her up like he did yesterday. With a much more satisfactory hug being administered, the duo makes their way to the local mall.
Nayuta's reason for coming here was to look at the sweets that were being shown in the bakeries, while Issei wanted to grab some more shirts and ties since he was getting low, thanks to the fights he gets into being so detrimental to his clothing.
While he lets Nayuta go to the bakery across from the clothes shop he wanted to stop by, he bumps into a lady wearing some strange clothes.
Her attire mostly contains red, as well as a red purse, but looking twice shows that she seems to have an affinity for bats, with bat wings being strewn outwards from her back and her hair. She doesn't say anything, but before he even realized what happened, she merged into the crowd that surrounded them.
"Big Brother, I found what I wanted." Nayuta begins to tug at his pants but stops when she sees something.
"What's that?" She points to something on Issei.
Tucked into his shirt pocket is a paper that he was fairly confident wasn't there before. He pulls it out and opens it up, only to be met with a rose-adorned paper.
"Your wish will be granted?" Huh, that would be an interesting marketing slogan, if there was actually a business to refer to on the paper.
"Don't know, Nayuta. Doesn't matter, let's buy you those sweets, yeah?" He shoves the paper into his back pocket without care and follows Nayuta to the goodies she wanted.
Scene change, Hyoudou Residence
Once the two make their way back home, Kishibe makes Nayuta choose what sweets she wants for dessert, while putting the others into a cabinet she won't be able to reach. Issei, on the other hand, is hungry. Before he gets the chance to change into something more comfortable, Kishibe hands him some yen and asks him to go buy some pizza. He complains about not getting to have the Unadon that he rightfully earned from killing the Eel Devil, but Kishibe just tells him to get going.
As Issei strolls through town under the sly of a setting sun, he tries to think of what kind of pizza Kishibe likes before his thoughts are interrupted.
"Excuse me? You're Issei Hyoudou, from Kuoh Academy right?" A sweet, melodic voice comes from behind. Facing the source of the voice, Issei is met with the face of a beautiful and well-rounded girl. His gut doesn't trust her, even as his junk appreciates the view.
"Yeah, who're you?" Being standoffish will probably rid him of the potential headache before it can start.
"Hi there, my name is Amano Yuuma! I wanted to ask... are you single right now?" Her body sways ever so slightly, but just enough to accentuate her curves.
"Yes, I am." Wanting to get out of this situation, Issei leaves and continues his quest toward the Pizza place he was headed to before being sidetracked. He ignores the girl's attempts at making him come back.
A short while passes, and since the Pizza place he went to was an authentic one, where the dough was made fresh, the lines making up the customers tend to form a crowd during the later hours of the day. Once he's finally gotten his order, the sun has set, giving Issei a lovely view of the stars in the sky as he walks home, being warmed by the pizzas he carries.
Y'know... he doesn't remember the sky ever being purple. And for that matter, the people, where did they all go? His attempt at rationalizing his situation is interrupted by the sound of fluttering wings. Looking skyward makes his southern region perk up in joy, as the view he has been shown is one that he's only ever had in the wettest of wet dreams.
That girl from earlier seems to have taken up the exhibitionist route in life, while also growing at least another half-foot taller, not to mention the giant feathered wings.
Huh, she reminds him of the Angel Devil, except it's on the opposite side of the color spectrum.
Before he can continue his thoughts, a bright light flashes next to her, manifesting a spear out of thin air. She hurls it at his torso, but the only thing he worries about at that moment is not letting the pizza get damaged or contaminated in any way. True to form, her aim was dead straight, piercing him right in the chest. Or, more accurately, his right lung. The strike would be enough to knock him down flat on his back, but the spear blew straight through his body, getting stuck in the ground behind him, thus propping his body up. Blood leaks from his mouth in droves, while his attacker lands daintily on the ground.
"It's unfortunate that the last hours of your life were spent simply retrieving pizza when you could've prolonged it by a day, but this works out just as nicely." Her honeyed voice does nothing to soothe the pain of his right lung burning from the spear in his lung.
"I really am sorry, but you were simply too great of a threat to us. If you must blame someone, you should blame him, since he is the one who gave you the sacred gear after all." She begins to stroll over to the injured body of Issei, gently cupping his face while her other hand grabs the spear.
*RRRIIIPPP*
A burning white pain envelops the right side of his body as the cool outside air comes in contact with the exposed meat of his insides. Without any support left, he falls to the ground as the winged bitch begins to chuckle. She turns tail but fails to see that Issei isn't down for the count just yet.
With all the strength that his left side can manage, Issei reaches under his shirt for his ripcord, and with a mighty yank, evens the fight that she started.
*BDROOOM*
The whirring noise of a powerful motor signals the arrival of a force of nature. The winged bitch shoots her attention back to her victim but finds that his body is no longer there, even as the noise gets louder. Finally, she looks up and sees the horrifying visage of a man with chainsaws coming out of his arms and head.
"RRRAUUUUGHHH" The mighty distorted roar of Issei is all the chance she has to figure out what the hell the monster before her is. Tackling her to the ground at the end of his free fall, Issei prepares to righteously bring his chainsaws down upon her tits, but she manifests two of those glowing spears from before to guard. Sparks of metal and light flash around the pair as the chainsaws begin to win out, only for her to push back with more strength than he imagined coming from a lithe body like hers.
With an exposed midriff from being pushed back, she stabs into his sides, right through his kidneys, part of his liver, and his whole stomach. His bloody cough is also marred with humored chuckles, as she just gave up her only advantage in this power struggle.
A brutally fast headbutt has her tugging her body to the right as much as she can, but frankly, it's all in vain. The chainsaw on his head gouges into her left shoulder, easily cutting the skin, and announcing that he sure as shit hit her shoulder bones. She screams in agony and flares her wings in an effort to gain some distance. It works for the most part, but her left wing is noticeably lagging behind the right wing.
"WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF SACRED GEAR IS THAT?!" Her voice is ladened with terror and anger, even as she clutches her bleeding shoulder. Issei's voice is laced with the same anger but lacks the same terror.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS A SACRED GE-" Bloody coughs interrupt his question. The spears on his sides are preventing the majority of his blood from draining out, but they are still pretty damn hot.
Oh well, time to remove the problem.
Willing the chainsaws on his arm away, he yanks out the spears, going slightly lightheaded at the release of pressure to his insides, but mitigates the issue by pulling his cord.
*BDROOOM*
He can feel two things more than anything else. The holes in his sides close up, along with the relief that comes with it, and the sensation of the winged bitch staring at him. A heaving sigh of relief lets him gather his bearings in preparation for the continuation of combat. But before that...
"Anyways, back to my question, what the fuck is a sacred gear? You said that you wanted to kill me because I have one?"
She refrains from responding, choosing instead to stare at him like he's the weird one in the room.
"More importantly, what devil are you? I've only seen a few that actually resemble humans, and they've either been wicked to the point of monstrous, or actually passable as humans."
Her face scrunches in rage and indignation as if his words were pure acid.
"Who the hell are you calling a devil?! I am a proud member of the Grigori, not one of you bottom-feeding devils!"
"Uh-huh, right. And what exactly is the Grigori? Never heard of it."
If she could, she would likely be trying to kill him at this very moment, but the pain and blood loss from his earlier strike is finally catching up to her without any adrenaline to cover her. Seeing him regenerate from her last two attacks certainly doesn't ease her mind. Her already pale-ish skin doubles down on the visuals, while her arm is stained with the crimson from her own body.
She doesn't have time to waste, as she's as good as dead if she faints here. Garnering that last of her strength, she flaps her wings while heading skyward, and Issei just watches her go.
The chainsaws start to melt, leaving behind the conflicted face of Issei, who doesn't know what to make of the experience he just had. Bending down to grab the untouched pizzas, looking back up reveals the orange sky once again.
He internally makes a note to ask Kishibe to get him in touch with the Angel Devil to see if he's got any idea as to what just happened.
As he heads home with his family's dinner in his arms, he gets the feeling that the future is about to resume its fucking with his life.
To be continued in Chapter 3: Confrontation or Revelation
A.N: Hello again, it is I, the writing goblin who has chosen to sink his teeth into High School DxD. There's a number of things I'd like to build of this story with, but first I'll cover what I think was done best in this chapter. First, the fight against the Eel Devil. This was one of my favorite fight to think up, as it can be dealt with through the use of real science, like closed circuits, to how saltwater is an insulator, to how coffee makers use the same method to superheat water in mere seconds, like how the Eel Devil was forced to. Also the joke about Unadon. That's a dish that used a grilled eel filet over white rice and eel sauce. It looks great, and I want to try it. Secondly, after examining the fight between Raynare and Issei in canon, I concluded that Chainsaw Issei would absolutely dog stomp Raynare, as he has regeneration that surpasses Twilight Healing, and her light spears would be mere annoyances. Against the entirety of Raynare's group of exorcists and other fallen angels, they would win against him, but solo Issei against her, he stomps her without mercy. So, don't expect some glorified power boost for Raynare, Twilight Healing will only go so far at its most basic power. Also, Koneko's heightened senses will absolutely let her know that something's different about Issei, Sona's already onto him, and Rias just thinks that he's a sacred hear user. Which, she isn't wrong about, but he doesn't have it right now. There's too many things to cover right now, so look forward to future chapters.
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