Gremory's Black Knight chapter 2
Hey everybody, here's the next chapter for your amusement. It took longer then I expected since I realized I hadn't actually replaced chapter 2 after I lost it the first time, but you'll be pleased to know that the next three chapters are 100% complete, so I should be able to have the next chapter to you guys next week.
The results of the poll (Which I'm leaving open just so that I can have some more feedback as time goes on) are in, and as a result, 'Kirito' will be used in most instances. The only exceptions will be for people who already knew him as Kazuto (Sugu) and people who don't know him as Kirito yet (ORC). The latter may be changing soon, however.
So I won't keep you any longer. Go ahead and read the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or DxD. I thought that would have been obvious since I can't even get a consistent update schedule.
"Good morning." Kirito smiled at the receptionist after walking into the hospital.
"Good morning, Mr. Kirigaya." she replied with a smile, "Here to see Ms. Yuuki?"
"Yes ma'am." He replied, signing in while she filled out the guest pass.
"I heard you had security worried the other day." She said, handing it to him, "At least, I assume it was you who ran off despite being injured to see her?"
He winced slightly, "Yeah, that sounds like me…"
She gave a small smile and handed him his pass, "Leave it in the bin when you leave."
"Yes ma'am." He replied, walking past her towards the elevator.
Three nights ago, he was finally able to bring Asuna back. But more importantly, three nights ago, he made a deal with that girl. More than once, he'd wondered if he might've just been hallucinating the whole thing. But since he could make wings appear on his back and the broken rib from his fight with Sugou had healed before the doctors ever even checked on him, that left no doubt that it was real.
But despite what she'd said, she hadn't sent anyone for him. Or maybe she had and he'd been away from the house at the time. Either way, he was grateful to her for saving Asuna, whatever else might come of it.
Knocking on Asuna's door, he smiled slightly when he heard her voice.
"Come in, Ki- Kazuto."
"That predictable, huh?" He said, sliding the door open and walking over to the chair beside her bed.
"You haven't been late yet." She smiled, then asked, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Why?" He blinked in surprise.
"You just had a serious look on your face." she replied, "Is it your arm?"
"Nope." He smiled, "It's almost completely healed."
"Thank god." She sighed, "I was worried, you know. When I said I wanted you to be the first thing I see when I wake up, I didn't think I'd see you all beat up."
"You should've seen the other guy." He chuckled, and she nodded.
"Father told me." She answered softly, "Kazuto, can I ask you something?"
"Of course." He replied immediately.
"What happened to me?" She asked, "How did you save me?"
"It was Heathcliff." He answered truthfully, "He gave me his admin code. Since Sugou copied the ALO source code almost directly from SAO, and Heathcliff was set as the highest level, my admin rights outranked his. After that-"
"I know all of that." She cut him off. "I'm talking about after that. What happened here, in this room?"
He froze up, and Asuna reached back behind her bed, withdrawing a cut cord attached to a plug, "Someone cut my nervegear's power cord." She said, "After you logged me out of ALO, I thought that I was going to wake up, but I didn't. I just reappeared in an empty room. I tried everything I could, but there was no way out. I got a message when it switched to battery power. Just when I was starting to give up hope, I woke up. What happened?"
"It's… a really long story." He chuckled, and she held up the cord.
"Everyone insists that the Nervegear was taken by the government after I woke up, but I know I wasn't wearing it when I saw you. We have all day; so why don't you explain the whole th-"
"Good morning Miss Yuuki." Someone said at that exact moment, "Time for you- Oh you have a guest."
"G-Good morning." Kirito said quickly, turning to face the unfamiliar nurse.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to borrow her for a little bit. Would you mind waiting outside?" The nurse asked with a smile.
"Sure thing." He answered, "See you in a bit."
"This conversation isn't over." Asuna warned.
'Rias was right.' The nurse thought as he left the room, 'These two are cute.'
Sighing, Kirito helped himself to one of the complimentary sodas while he tried to work out what he'd say to Asuna when he got back. She knew him too well for him to lie, not that he'd really want to lie. But the truth was probably too crazy for her to believe.
"Are you Kazuto Kirigaya?"
He jumped slightly at the question posed by someone he hadn't even noticed entering. It was a boy, roughly his age, wearing a vaguely familiar school uniform.
"I am, but do I know you?" He asked, wracking his brain to try and remember all of his classmates before being trapped in Sword Art Online, but he didn't seem familiar...
"I'd be surprised if you did." The boy laughed, extending his hand, "I'm Kiba Yuuto. I'm also Rias Gremory's servant. So I guess that makes us comrades."
"...Well, she said she'd send someone." He said once he recovered from shock, "Can't say I was expecting you to show up now, but…" Shaking his hand, Kirito smiled, "Nice to meet you, Kiba."
"You as well, Kazuto." He nodded back, "Since we've got a bit of talking to do, what do you say we go someplace we're less likely to be overheard."
Following just behind him, Kirito gave a quick glance back towards Asuna's room and gave a small sigh. And he thought that once she woke up, things would get less complicated…
Kiba led him straight across the floor to a stairway to the roof. The door was strangely open, but the alarm wasn't going off. Since Kiba wasn't concerned, he assumed that it must have been taken care of ahead of time and walked up the steps.
"So, I'm sure you must have some questions." Kiba said, leaning against the wall once they reached the roof, "Go ahead and ask. I'll answer to the best of my abilities."
"What now?" He responded, and to Kiba's surprise, he sprouted his wings and started to hover, "I mean, I get that I'm a devil now, and I can apparently fly, which is cool, but I find it hard to believe that she saved Asuna and made me a devil for nothing."
"You're taking this extraordinarily well." Kiba noted with a slight chuckle, "I guess there's no need to beat around the bush. You're Rias' Knight, the same as me. What that means is that you'll be responsible for fighting on her behalf in Rating Games, as well as making pacts, and assisting her with combatting strays."
"Great…" Kirito laughed weakly, "Now my life really is a game. Killing trash mobs and completing quests... It's almost funny."
"Not a bad analogy, actually." Kiba replied, spreading his wings as well, "And, just like in a game, you can level up, and get rewarded along the way."
"Rewarded?"
"You received a lot of powers when you were reincarnated." Kiba answered, "They should serve you well, not the least being near immortality. You can also receive a large plot of land in the Underworld as your own, and, if you become a High Class Devil, you'll receive evil pieces of your own."
"Evil Pieces?" Kirito asked, confused by the term.
Kiba placed a hand to his chest, and from within him, a crimson light glowed faintly. "The Evil Pieces were created to allow devils to reincarnate other races. Fifteen pieces, named after the pieces on a chess set, that allow a high class devil to reincarnate others as their own servants."
"Seriously?" he blinked in surprise, "That easy?"
"I wouldn't call it easy." Kiba shrugged, concealing his wings again. Kirito took the hint and hid his own, "But yes, once you reach High Class, you earn the right to ask the devil kings for a set of Evil Pieces of your own."
Almost immediately, he reached a plan that just might be enough to appease Asuna's anger at his recklessness. But he still had one thing left to ask.
"Can I tell anyone else? About the whole being a devil thing?" He asked, though Kiba didn't seem the least bit surprised.
"I'm assuming that this is about that girl?" Kiba asked him back, "In that case, I don't think you'll have the problem. Just for the sake of answering, though, you can, but make sure that they keep it to themselves. If it got out, it could endanger you and all of us."
"Got it." He smiled, "Thanks."
"No worries." Kiba replied, "Let's get back and see if they've finished."
The question of who 'they' were was answered as soon as they reached Asuna's room.
"Welcome back, boys." Rias said, sipping tea beside Asuna's bed while the nurse from before was standing beside a teapot that was already steaming, "I hope you don't mind, but I've been bringing Miss Yuuki up to speed on recent events."
"I did say that you probably wouldn't have to worry." Kiba chuckled, shutting the door behind them while Kirito stared in shock.
"Is what they're saying true?" Asuna said, looking at him curiously, "You're a devil?"
"Yeah, I guess." He chuckled nervously, expecting her to snap at him, but she sighed and leaned back in her bed.
"I don't know why I should be surprised." She said with a small smile, "This is the absolute craziest story I've ever heard, but somehow, it fits."
"Sorry I didn't say anything before." He said truthfully, sitting in the chair on the other side of the bed, "But like you said, it was so crazy, I didn't think you'd believe me."
"Of course I believe you." She replied swatting his arm, "You know that. It's a lot to take in, but at least I know what's going on."
"Asuna, I-" He started, but she held up a hand.
"I might not have understood much of what she was saying, but there is one thing I remember." She smiled, looking him in the eye, "I expect you to become a high class devil as soon as possible."
"You mean it?" He said softly, "Asuna, you-"
"Of course." She smiled back, "Just don't take too long. I don't want to become a devil when I'm an old woman."
"Well then-" Rias said, drawing both of their attention away from each other, "Kazuto, you'll have a package when you return home. I hope that you're fine with transferring school." Asuna opened her mouth to respond, and Rias gave her a smile, "I've already gone ahead and transferred you along with him. Don't worry."
"You can do that?" Kirito asked, and the nurse giggled.
"Her father's on the school board." she answered, handing him and Asuna each a cup of tea, "So it's not much trouble for her to get away with whatever she wants."
"Akeno, you're making me sound like a delinquent." Rias said, rubbing her forehead, but she smiled at Asuna, "She's right though. As soon as you're fit to return, you're welcome to come to the school. I'll see to it that you're in Kazuto's class."
"Is there anything you didn't think of before this meeting?" Kirito asked, shaking his head in exasperation.
"I pride myself on thinking ahead." Rias responded, and with a wave of her hand, a glowing red circle appeared beside both Asuna's bed and the table beside Kirito. Out of the two circles appeared a large stack of books. "I know that you're both a tad behind on school work, but poor grades aren't allowed. So I expect you to study hard, alright?"
"I'll do my best." Kirito said with a mock salute, while Asuna picked up one of the lighter textbooks and flipping through it.
"I'd planned to ask my father to bring me something to read, but this should be plenty to keep me busy for a little while."
"Here-" Kiba said, handing him a slip of paper, "If you need any help, give me a call. I'll help as best I can."
"And if you still need help, I'll pitch in to help my newest junior." Akeno added, and then gave Kirito a small smile, "Speaking of, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Akeno Himejima, Rias' Queen and a third year at Kuoh. It's nice to meet you, Kazuto Kirigaya."
"N-nice to meet you too." Kirito bowed back.
Getting to her feet, Rias smiled at them both, "Well, we've taken up quite enough of your day. Kazuto, I'll see you soon. And Asuna, I wish you a speedy recovery. I'll ask one of my bishops if she can help. She's very good with healing."
"I'd appreciate it." Asuna smiled back at her.
"See you later." Akeno said, following Rias out the door, and Kiba waved before following after her as well.
Leaning back in his chair, Kirito let out a sigh, "That was so not how I expected this day to go."
"Me neither." Asuna admitted, but she gave his hand a reaffirming squeeze, "But I'm happy about one thing, at least. Now I really will be able to spend an eternity with you."
Kirito squeezed her back, "You're right. I promise, I'll be high class before you know it."
"That's my Kirito." She replied.
After spending a few hours with Asuna, Kirito returned home after her parents came to visit. Just like Rias said he would, there was a package waiting for him in the living room. Inside, he found a notice that he'd been accepted into Kuoh Academy, several school uniforms, and various information about the school, clubs, and the like.
His adopted parents were still a work, but since Sugu wasn't downstairs or back behind the house in the dojo, she must not be home. After dragging the package upstairs to put it away, along with the study materials Rias left for him, he pulled out his Nervegear and his laptop from before SAO. Since he had bought an Amusphere the day after Asuna was rescued, he really didn't need it to play any games, but there was still something very important he needed it for.
Booting up the laptop, he set to work creating a virtual space within the computer, then moved a large file from the Nervegear's local memory to the virtual space. After some configuration and toying around with an old VR map creator he'd bought before Sword Art Online was announced, he connected the Nervegear and loaded up MHCP-001.
Almost immediately, a little girl appeared on the screen. She blinked a few times then smiled, "Daddy!"
Plugging in his microphone, he replied, "Hey, Yui. I used an older software to create a temporary environment for you. I'm not sure how compatible your program will be with it, though. Any chance you can perform diagnostics?"
"Sure!" She replied happily, closing her eyes again. While he let her work, he pulled out one of the workbooks he'd gotten from Rias, and with a sigh, returned to battle his greatest enemy.
Homework.
An hour and a half later, he heard a knock on his door, "Kazuto, are you there?"
"Come on in, Suguha." He answered, thankful for any excuse to put down the math book.
She opened the door and looked over his shoulder at the computer, "What's all this?" She asked, and at that moment, Yui opened her eyes.
"It looks like that's everything." She said simply, "I've made the necessary changes to the best of my abilities. There aren't any major errors as a result of my core program, so I should be able to handle all the maintenance for the foreseeable future."
"That's great, Yui." He answered, "Well, Sugu, as you can probably guess-"
"Hi, Yui." Suguha said into the microphone without letting him finish, "Do you recognize me?"
Yui tilted her slightly, "Are you… Leafa? You look different…"
"Yeah, I guess I do. "She chuckled back, "It's nice to see you again, Yui."
"You too." Yui responded, "But why aren't you on ALO?"
Breaking the bad news to her, Kirito answered, "Once everyone found out what happened to Asuna, they… The game was shut down. So soon after SAO, when the market's already on edge for VRMMORPGs…" Shaking his head, he gave her the brutal truth, "I don't know how long it'll be before we can find another game like it."
Suguha also looked sad. It was to be expected, of course. He'd loved the game for only a few days, but for her, who spent months playing it, this must have been a devastating blow.
"Couldn't you make one, Daddy?" Yui asked, "Isn't that what the other file is for?"
"What other file?" he asked, and she opened the local storage on his Nervegear. For some reason, there was a massive file that took up nearly all of the remaining space on his Nervegear. The moment he looked at the last author, he realized exactly where it had come from.
"Heathcliff." He said softly, "Sorry, Yui, but I need to check this out."
"Sure daddy." She answered cheerfully.
"Anything I can do to help?" Suguha asked after seeing the serious look on his face.
"Can I borrow your computer for a bit?" He asked, already loading up the files.
"I can't believe this." Andrew Mills, better known as Agil said the next day when Kirito brought him the contents of Kayaba's 'Seed', "This is an entire Full Dive system, complete with world editors and system controls. Where'd you get it?"
"A parting gift from Heathcliff." Kirito responded, to Andrew's shock.
"And you haven't deleted it because?" He asked immediately.
"I owe him something, given he helped me save Asuna." Kirito responded, "I'd like to go public with it, but not until I'm sure that it's safe. I spent all last night examining it as best I could, but I didn't find anything. Yui too, and she literally went through the entire source code. But I'm still not convinced."
"So you want me to pass it along and see if someone with a bit more training then a first class gamer and a literal computer program can find anything?" Andrew guessed, and Kirito shrugged, half expecting him to refuse. "...Man, I still owe you for bailing us all on during SAO." He sighed, "I'll pass it along. No promises that it'll amount to anything, but I'll ask them to take a look at it."
"I appreciate it." Kirito said truthfully, ejecting the flash drive containing 'The Seed' and passing it to him, "I'm going to check a few more angles to see if I can find out more."
"Yeah, gotcha." He waved, "Tell Asuna to get well soon. As soon as she's out, I'm calling the old gang together for a party."
"Looking forward to it." Kirito smiled, "It's two months overdue, but better late than never." Looking at the time, he grabbed his backpack from the stool beside him, "I've gotta go. I'm expected at Kuoh Academy for a tour, and if I missed the train, I'll be late."
"Kuoh?" Andrew asked, "Weren't you going to the school for the SAO survivors?"
"That was the plan, but things changed." Kirito shrugged, "At least it's not too far away, so I can still meet up with you guys on weekends."
"Suppose so." Andrew said, waving goodbye while he left the Dicey Cafe.
After a twenty-minute train ride, Kirito took a quick walk from the station to the entrance to Kuoh Academy. Kiba was already waiting for him.
"Hey." Kiba said with a wave, "Made it okay, I see."
"Sorry if I'm a little late." He waved back.
"You're fine." Kiba answered, "Anyway, shall we get the tour started?"
"Yeah, let's go." He replied, following Kiba's lead into the school. It was pretty big, though not as big as the school that was being set up for the SAO survivors. The school layout was nearly identical to the map in the brochure he'd been sent with his acceptance application, though it did help to know which classes he'd have to attend in the first few days of school while he was still getting used to everything. Outside, he was given a quick tour of the archery range and the Dojo, though because club activities were under way, they weren't able to stay long.
The last part of the tour was the old brick school behind the main building.
"I figured we'd save the best for last." Kiba said, "This is the headquarters of the Occult Research Club."
"Occult Research?" Kirito said with a raised eyebrow, and Kiba chuckled.
"Yeah, it's a pretty bad lie." He said, opening the doors, "You'll see soon enough. But for now, let's introduce you to everyone." Walking through the foyer and up the stairs, Kiba knocked on the first door to the left, "It's me."
"Excellent timing. We were expecting you." A familiar voice said from inside, and Kiba opened the doors.
"Hello, Kazuto." Rias smiled from the other side of a desk directly across from the door, "Welcome to the Occult Research club."
"Hey." Kirito waved, looking around the room. Akeno was standing just behind Rias, but there were a few others he didn't recognize.
"Sup." The little girl with white hair said, stepping forward and extending a hand, "I'm Koneko."
"Hi, I'm Kazuto." he said, shaking her hand, and her grip nearly crushed his hand.
"You're tougher then the pervert." Koneko said approvingly, jerking her to the sigh.
"It's not my fault my he's got lead for bones…" The brown haired boy in question mumbled, getting up from the couch and extending his hand as well, "I'm Issei Hyuudou."
"Hi, I'm-" He started again, but Koneko stopped him.
"I wouldn't touch him if I were you." she warned, "You don't want to know where those hands have been."
"That's awfully mean, Koneko." Akeno giggled, but she didn't refute the claim.
The last person in the room that he wasn't familiar was a girl with a kind expression and long blonde hair who almost looked like she was trying to hide behind the door.
"H-Hello." She stuttered, "I-I'm Asia Argento… I'm looking forward to working with you…"
"It's nice to meet you too, Asia." he said, extending his hand towards her. She stared at it for a few seconds before enthusiastically shaking it with a smile and a few tears.
"Now that introductions are out of the way, let's move on to our real business." Rias smiled, gesturing for him to come closer to her, "I'd like to welcome you into the Occult Research Club."
"I'm guessing that this is more than just a school club?" He said, and in answer, every member of the club (Except Issei, who looked dejected) spread their devil wings.
"Yes, the club provides a legitimate reason for us to meet after school to conduct our devil business." She replied, "Of course, that's no excuse for you to slack off at school. So we'll have to do something about that." With a smile, she waved her hand and a huge stack of books, enough to even put the stack she'd given him before to shame, appeared on the table between them, "So we'll have to whip you into shape before you start school next week."
Given the heartless giggle from Akeno, he had a feeling that this was not going to be enjoyable.
So, next chapter Kirito starts to make a mark on the DxD canon, and you'll be happy to hear that its a good deal longer then this one, just over 5600 words long without any A/N. There's also a bit of a reveal next time, and more action then in this one, though that's nothing compared to the two chapters after it.
Now, another question to everyone. Not guaranteeing anything, but would you rather me skip parts of the SAO canon that don't change much (GGO, Calibur, etc) or write them anyway? There aren't any colossal changes planned for any of them, and I could likely cover them in a chapter or so, but if you REALLY want to see Kirito cutting bullets in half and touching the untouchable, I can see whether I can write them in their entirety. Again, not making any promises, and I won't be releasing an actual poll, but let me know what you guys want.
With that said, go ahead and review!