Author's Note: This Chapter was severely delayed. I am trying to catch up on DxD reading progress and I am somewhere in the middle of Volume 20 as of this writing. I am hoping not to deviate too far from how the actual story progressed.
This story is coming to an end as well. There are about a few more chapters before I will start wrapping this one up. There is just one more kink I have to work out.
Published 8/25/2016
Chapter 19:
The World Around Rito
"Hey! Come back here!"
Rito is on another summoning request. This time, a boy's father has kidnapped his girlfriend. He is trying to sell her off as a prostitute and make money for his living. The father was able to lure his girlfriend into his home by poisoning the boy and hiding him away in the bathroom. The boy knew about the father coming into his town when he received a telephone call from his mother about his father confronting her with a knife to fork over the money. The father has never held employment and is basically living on loans, fraud, scams, and theft. The boy's parents have divorced a long time ago and the boy has been living with his girlfriend since high school.
"Oh no! Father got away. Devil-san, can you find him?"
"Not a problem." Rito remembers Issei telling him about how devils' senses are more effective at night. He takes a sniff and could easily detect the girl's scent.
"Right this way!" Rito tells the boy to follow him. At first, Rito finds himself running in circles. Apparently, the father kept getting lost and went in circles. As Rito looks around for more clues, he hears screaming from far away.
"Is that it? Did the girl wake up? I better get to her fast."
Rito quickly heads toward the scream. The boy struggles to catch up with Rito. By the time Rito reaches the scream, he finds himself in the basement of an abandoned bar.
"What jou got there? Give me a look!" Rito hears the leader of the gang speak. As Rito peeks from far away, he finds the father presenting a girl all tied up with duct tape over her mouth. It appears that the father is attempting to sell the girl to a gang that he often does business with.
"That must be the boy's girlfriend," Rito thinks to himself. "How am I supposed to get to her?" Rito knows that exposing himself right now could lead to unwanted consequences. The gang might attack Rito and use the girl as hostage for interfering with the deal. Rito also needs to act fast because the illicit deal will happen soon. Who knows where the gang members will hide the girl?
"What good does this chick do?" Rito hears one of the minions questioning the father.
"Umm… she can be a great prostitute. Look at her! She's such a beauty. Her eyes, her nice shape, and even her hair. Won't this girl attract lots of people? You can make lots of money off of her too. I'm only asking for a small amount of what you will eventually earn."
As the girl continues to scream, the boss of the gang asks the minions. "So, what do you think minions? Shall we accept this deal?"
Aside from the screaming girl, the room remains silent. Then, one of the minions begins to laugh. The volume of the laughs increases, eventually filling up the entire room.
"We ain't interested in doing women business mate. You also don't need to worry about us anymore. We've done quite well thanks to your son who has been graciously covering your ass. Did you ever realize that you were always ripping us off?"
The boss then hands the father a stack of cash. "Move on; take this girl with you. We don't need you causing any more trouble down here."
The father is shocked at what he just received. "Seriously!? This is mine? YAY! I am so happy. Free money at last! Free! FREE! FREE!"
Rito sees the father run up the stairs of the abandoned bar with the girlfriend. As Rito chases him, he could hear the father making more praises. "I'm going to enjoy the life of my dreams. With this cash, I'm going to start a prostitute business and make lots of cash off of it. I'll get more girls and become a multi-billionaire in no time. That naïve wife and son will be so jealous when they see me in five years."
"Hey! Stop right there. You let go of the girl immediately!" The father turns around and sees Rito standing with the boy. The boy has managed to catch up to Rito.
"Boo hoo hoo. It looks like my tracks were uncovered." The father pretends to cry and then smiles at his son. "It's too bad that I ended up with a son instead of a daughter. Man, I never thought a daughter could be more useful financially. I could make her do anything I want without much repercussion."
"If you want a girl, make one yourself. Kidnapping your son's girlfriend is not an option!" Rito confronts the father.
"That's right. She's mine. I won't fall in your ugly traps again. You always made me believe that you were an excellent father. You called stealing a test of endurance and bravery and forgery a test of stealth and intellect. You took advantage of me because I was young and didn't understand morality. I realized the truth when your debt collectors went to me for the money. You put my name on the lender forms and ran off as soon as I turned 16. Why should I suffer because of you? I want all of my childhood life back." The boy confronts to the father about the deceptions and mistreatment.
"Too bad. You're unlucky that I'm your father. Maybe you should have come out from a better father. It doesn't matter anymore because… I'M GOING ON THE ADVENTURE OF MY LIFE! This girl and I have a long future together. So long buddies!"
Just as the father prepares to run off, someone tackles him from behind.
"Oh no you won't! You're not going anywhere until you apologize to your son! Give back his girlfriend." Rito tries to pin the father to the ground, hoping that he won't get up. Instead, the father brings out his secret weapon.
"SLASH! SLASH!"
The father had the knife that he used to stab his ex-wife. He uses it on Rito and lets out a large stream of blood. Rito feels power flowing out of his body and quickly faints.
"Nothing will stop me this time! For many years, I have been suffering too. Running from all those greedy money makers and the police has put a tremendous amount of stress on my body. It's also hard to cover my tracks everywhere. Don't you understand the fear and horror I go through every day of my life? Look at these wrinkles and my gray hair. That can finally come to an end. With my future business, I will make lots of money and pay them all off." The father makes his statement at a fallen Rito and quietly runs off. The boy tries to chase after the father, but the father is too fast for him. Suddenly, the father hits another roadblock.
"Not so fast!" A tree pops up from the ground and uses one of its branches to grab the father. As the tree lifts father off the ground, the father accidentally lets go of the girl. Momo moves into position to catch the girl.
"That's for hurting Rito-san you thief!"
"Ow ow ow! Alright, I'm sorry about the girl! Just let me go."
"Nope! Can't do that mister. You also need to pay for all the crimes you have done in the past. Issei-san just called the police on you and they'll be here shortly."
"No Way! My dreams!"
Shortly after Momo returns the girlfriend to the boy, Issei ties the father up and makes it appear as if Momo didn't use one of her plant monsters to stop him. While they wait for the police to pick up the father, both of them quickly rush to Rito.
"Rito! Are you OK? I had a feeling that something strange was going on. I didn't expect this mission to be this dangerous."
"Don't worry, Issei-san. I'll take Rito-san to someone who can help. Leave it to me!" Momo wants to use this chance to make up for her impromptu battle with Issei.
"OK! Momo. I'll let you take care of Rito."
The next day, Rito finds himself in a stretcher. He has no idea how he got here. The last thing he remembered was watching the father get away. Rito shortly passed out due to blood loss.
"Good morning, Yuuki-kun. It looks like the recovery went well. You're awake!"
"Huh? Mikado-sensei? Is this your clinic? Where am I?" Rito wonders where he is. This room looks too small to be a hospital bedroom. There isn't even a countertop to lay out common medical equipment.
"This is actually a small room inside Tearju's research lab. I often use this room to heal Tearju's injuries. Man, I can't even remember the first time she has fallen."
Mikado then turns around and looks at Rito with a creepy smile. "Say, since you're in here, why don't we do some experiments? You know, I really wanted to see how much your body has changed since you entered college. Shall we try the stimulation exam?" Mikado brings out a stethoscope and prepares to begin her examination.
Issei, secretly observing Rito from outside, hears Rito's loud screams. He is monitoring Rito and hopes that Rito's recovery will be quick. As he sits down by one of the windows to Tearju's lab, he tries to understand why Rito's last summoning request ended in failure. "Why did Rito do so poorly on that mission? He should have been able to counter that knife attack and not be stabbed by that criminal father. If I did the mission, I would have quickly tackled that father before he made it to the black bar. That father ran slowly and any devil could have outpaced him. Plus, that mission happened at night which it supposed to benefit devils. What did I do wrong as his master?"
Issei then looks at his left arm. "Say Ddraig, what do you think of me as a high-class devil? Am I a failure? It feels as if I am making Rito worse than before. Now, he has injury from that criminal father. What can I do to make Rito a better devil? More importantly, what will Rias think of me when she sees Rito is his current form?"
Ddraig wakes up and replies. "I don't think asking me will do much help. However, I feel as if you're pushing Rito way too hard. Don't forget that my existence as your sacred gear is the reason you were able to advance quickly. You should give me some credit."
"I know," Issei replies. "But, a champion fighter with a successful track record in stopping evil gods and rebellious leaders shouldn't have servants who perform this poorly. Look at Rias; she could turn her servants into excellent soldiers. Even Asia's healing ability became 10x more effective under Rias. Akeno-san and Kiba probably have outstanding servants by now."
Ddraig continues. "I wouldn't call Rias successful. You guys and girls were just fortunate from all the opposing forces that attacked the Three Great Powers when you were in high school. Rias's group was best fit to defeat those enemies. Also, if I were you, I wouldn't consider myself as a model high-class devil. You are excellent when it comes to combat and breasts, but you do horribly with other devil duties. For example, you often forget to collect a pact for your summoning requests. Don't you remember how many times Rias has chastised you for doing that?"
Issei feels embarrassed by Ddraig's responses. He understands that he excels physically, but not intellectually. It's probably why Issei can't devise a proper lesson plan for Rito. Issei knows that devils succeed in many ways. Rias's peerage is mostly concentrated on power. Now that all of the enemy forces have been suppressed in the Kuoh region, having lots of power is meaningless for Rito.
Issei continues. "I'm sure Rito can do better than what I've seen. Based on my observations, Rito is holding himself back as a human. If he thought of himself as a devil, he'll surely be motivated to work hard as a devil. Maybe I haven't flipped his devil switch yet."
"Since you're his master, it's your job to get him to realize the benefits of becoming a devil. Rias flipped your switch when she told you that you could become a harem king with girls that obey every command you give them. You were motivated by that and trained extra hard to make that dream come true. You wanted to be a harem king so badly that you embarrassed Rias and me with all sorts of unwanted labels. You were even jealous of Riser's 15 girls during Rias's first rating game. In fact, your choice of Rito was a surprise for me."
"Oh, I forgot about that." Issei laughs for a little bit then thinks to himself. "What triggers Rito's switch? It's definitely not more women, breasts, and butts. Power? Impossible! Rito always plays down the idea of becoming the next king of the universe. Technique? Rito's not that bright. I also can't see him being a Support or Wizardry type. Is there something that Rito wants but knows he can't achieve? There has to be! I can't let his bright future go to waste."
"You should slow things down a little Issei. Maybe Rito's golden opportunity hasn't arrived yet. After all, when you first became a devil, you never knew that I existed inside your body. It wasn't until Rias's engagement party with Riser that I awakened. Sacred Gear, dragon, or not, if Rito has any hidden powers, they are still dormant."
"I guess so." Issei watches Rito scream in pain as Mikado and Tearju give Rito his procedures. They're joined by Mea and Oshizu who are quietly jotting down notes. Rito is soon joined by many girls from the Floral Club. They are all interested in working with Tearju on many biology experiments. Not surprisingly, boys from the Animal Assistance Club join too.
Issei continues to think to himself. "No matter how Ddraig puts it, Rito can't go on like this forever. I have to get him to wake up and realize his new life as a devil sooner than later. At this rate, Rito is hurting himself. He's a man with lots of energy and potential, but he's wasting it on being too nervous, molestation, and frequent apologies. He is also hurting so many girls by leaving their confessions hanging. Poor Haruna-chan, Lala, and Momo. There are probably other girls whom Rito did this to that I don't know yet. If Rito keeps this up, all of them will eventually turn away from him. He might probably lose his succession as well. There's also the concern of being a strong and resilient leader too."
As Issei continues to observe Rito's procedure, he hears a quiet voice coming from the side.
"Umm… Issei-san. Are you watching Rito-san too?" Issei turns around and sees Momo standing next to him.
"What's wrong Momo? You did the right thing by bringing Rito here." Issei is surprised at Momo's appearance.
"Nothing really," Momo shrugs it off. "It's just unusual to see you here."
Momo and Issei both see Mikado and Tearju wrapping up their procedures. Mikado notices them outside and gives them a thumbs-up, indicating a successful recovery. As the Animal Assistance boys put away all of the equipment, Momo turns her attention.
"Say Issei-san, since you're here, can we have a private talk?"
"No problem." With that, Issei and Momo move to a nearby table. They can still see Rito's recovery room from here.
"First of all, are you still angry at me for causing such uproar the other day?" Momo is still worried that Issei is still upset at the surprise attack Momo set up.
"No. I understand what you're going through Momo. I don't blame you; you're just insecure about your feelings for Rito. Am I correct?" Issei could easily see Momo's intents when she vigorously tried to protect Rito as he returned to the dormitories from his first summoning request.
Momo nods. Issei is one of the few people who acknowledge Momo's problems. Nana, the only other person to know about it, harshly denounces it knowing that Rito is destined for Lala. Nana often convinces Momo to drop the harem nonsense as well.
Issei asks more questions at Momo. "Say Momo, would it be fine if you told me more about your history with Rito? I wonder what got you attracted to Rito in the first place. Rito helped your sister break away from those unwanted marriage meetings. What about you?"
Momo shakes a little. "Well, it's just that Rito-san always looks cute, especially when he's sleeping. When we talked, I realized that we share many things in common such as plants. In fact, all the plants in Rito-san's house talk about how they're happy being under his care. Rito-san feels like a true hero and I want to be just like him. There was even a time where Rito-san covered up my mistake when I accidentally sent Rito-san into Peke's body. Peke served as onee-sama's uniform in high school. However, I wonder what Rito-san feels in return. Am I just a sister-in-law under his eyes?"
Issei looks at Rito for a moment. "I don't think Rito knows that you have feelings for him. Based on what you did to him and what he told me, he probably thinks you're a seducer looking for rape."
"No! That's not true. I'm helping him feel better from his stressful life at school. He frequently gets yelled at by girls for causing too much perversion, beaten up by boys out of jealously, and notified by his teachers for his low performance. I believe Rito-san would benefit from having a girl like me soothe his wounds."
"What about the beast you were trying to create?" Issei remembers Momo's declaration from before and wants to see how it fits in.
"Umm… the beast thing was just my attempt to move forward with Rito-san's harem plan. If you don't know, Rito-san always has crazy and wild dreams that make him grab onto anything and thoroughly examine it. When I sleep with him, it feels as if Rito-san is being intimate with me. If only Rito-san could do this out of his own will." Issei sees Momo fantasizing in her mind.
"I think there will be a perfect time to do all that Momo. Now isn't the right time. In his earth-Japan mind where one man can only marry one woman, he has chosen Haruna-chan to be that one woman. Despite having feelings for her ever since middle school, Rito has not confessed to her yet. I believe that you and your sister are probably farther down the progress to love, especially you."
Issei's response puts Momo down. However, Issei quickly makes a positive comeback. "Don't worry Momo. This is why I'm here. I will do my best to accelerate Rito's progress."
"What can you do Issei-san? If my attempts don't work and neither does onee-sama's, what else works? I've used tips from many visual novel games and none of them seem to be working on Rito-san. The ideas are always insightful."
"What games are you talking about? Maybe you can show them to me sometime in the future. I'm pretty sure I have played through some of those games."
"Oh Great!" Momo smiles knowing that someone else has an interest in those games and won't mock her for it. Momo then changes the topic. "By the way Issei-san, can you tell me about your harem with the red-haired lady and those cat people? Maybe I can meet them in person someday."
"Of course!" Momo has hit one of Issei's prized memories. "Right now, everyone is busy with their studies so it's kind of rude to bother them, especially when the final exams are looming around the corner. Maybe when break time comes around, they'll come over here for a visit. I'm pretty sure they will anyways. All my girls came from diverse backgrounds and it's excellent for you to learn about each and every one of them. It will probably help you as you continue your quest to build Rito's harem. Let's bring your sister and Nana in as well."
Momo thinks to herself. "Onee-sama is too pure to understand this. Maybe I'll bring Nana along though. It's time for her to grow up and see lots of wonderful women."
"Say Momo, let's go look at some of the other photos I have of them. You'll be very thrilled to see all the fun things we have done together. My favorite one was the camping trip to Grills Valley. I used my fishing skills to catch a large fish weighing about 25 kg. Do you want to go see it?"
"Sure!" Momo agrees and follows Issei to his dorm room. As they walk, Issei begins telling Momo about other harems. He relates Momo's harem plan to Diodoras's harem and explains the negatives of it. The girls under Diodoras were literally deceived and corrupted by him. Issei then went on to Raiser's harem and explained how Issei has changed him. Before Issei's influence, Raiser treated his peerage like slaves using them only to boost his pride of winning rating games.