1) Some Random Dude: I had to do it. XD
2) 54godamora: Now I was gonna respond to your review, but after looking it over, it seems kinda personal. I don't know if you'd want that ALL out there on this page for everyone to see, so if you want me to remove it, I will. But I can see your starting to feel a deeper connection to Anthony, which is good. I want my stories to be relatable to people, which makes it more entertaining and enjoyable in my opinion. Compared to my first major OC, Nosfer-Ben in the Ben10/Vampire series, I personally feel Anthony is more relatable as he's still human. The only non-relatable thing he has going on is a dragon living in his arm, who is dealing with his own issues about his former master.
Now with the shout-outs done, ya know what I HAVEN'T seen done before?... Adapting the DxD Specials into a fanfic, so I might as well start! This chapter will include one of them, along with the Dodgeball match that I skipped. Said match will also include some original scenes, as well as the first original power for Anthony. It's not too impressive of a power, so I'll expect a few WTF responses from you guys... but it's an original power nonetheless. ENJOY!
Season NEW - Chapter 3: Getting Back in the Game
It's been 5 days since the... incident, and Anthony wasn't taking it well. He was silent and gave off an aura of constant anger and distraught. It was expected since Azazel revealed he helped Anthony get on his feet, but it was an intense feeling of betrayal as the Fallen One was also responsible for sending a psycho after him. He still did his normal routines; such as cook day and night, go to school and did some contracts; but his mood affected his performances in all of those things. The quality of his cooking, while it was still the most divine thing the ORC had, seemed rushed and had no care or effort put into it (AN: Ask ANY Italian this, so much time and passion goes into cooking). His grades began to drop, though not by too much, it was still noticeable. Also when he did contracts, clients would say that while he did his job well... he lacked any of the energy or heart he once had, and they were concerned.
In fact, when there was a Rating Game announced between Sona and Rias, Anthony called out immediately. Normally; Rias is VERY competitive when it came to Rating Games, but was willing to put those feelings aside because of Anthony's change in behavior, figuring a Rating Game wasn't the best thing for him right now. As bad as he felt about not going, he knew it wasn't something he was ready to start again. Just imagine the carnage he'd cause with these emotions swirling around inside him!
It ended in a tie, as both Rias and Sona were equally matched. While Rias' team had the strength, Sona's had the smarts; which leveled out the playing field and ended the match in a Draw. Rias was pondering in her office one day of a way to cheer Anthony up, when a knock on the door occurred.
"It's open, Sona" said Rias and sure enough, Sona let herself in.
"Busy?" She asked, poking her head in and walking inside the room.
"Just finished actually. Would you like some of Akeno's tea? I just have to heat it up" said Rias. Sona sat on one of the sofas, looking in Rias' direction, and held up a hand.
"No, I'm fine. I was just wondering if... he's ok" asked Sona, lowering her hand and setting both of them on her lap.
It didn't take a genius to figure out who he was. Sona had come to like Anthony, he seemed to be a great guy, and it tore her heart to hear he was... relapsing, we'll say. She didn't know the details, but had noticed his persona had changed as she walked down the halls and noticed him. He'd normally flick his chin in her direction with a smile... it was something Americans' do apparently, as a quick way of saying "hello" or "what's up". Once she picked up on it, she'd bow gently as that was Japanese custom. While she wasn't a Great Lady like Akeno and Rias, boys still gave her enough attention for her to technically be classified as one, so you could imagine the jealous stares the duo had gotten. However, HE'D usually do the greeting first; but when she initiated it herself, several times in fact... he didn't return the gesture.
"He's fine, just... parental issues" Rias explained, but being vague about it.
"Oh, I see... Give him my condolences" said Sona, who knew about the Raynare situation... that's what Rias meant, right?
"Of course, I'm sure he appreciates it... just don't tell your boyfriend, Saji" joked Rias... why did Sona flush for a quick second?
"He's not my boyfriend, nor am I interested in Anthony like that" claimed Sona, her face normal again.
"I don't know. He WAS the first person to beat you in chess" said Rias as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Heh. He only won the game... not my heart" Sona denied with a chuckle. "Although... he missed the Rating Game. That doesn't seem like him at all" she continued.
"He's going through allot right now... I wish I could help him" said Rias.
"A way through an Italians heart is through their stomach" said Sona, half-joking and half-serious.
"Asia and I already tried that, it barely did anything" said Rias, making Sona feel like an idiot. Rias and Asia actually surprised Anthony one night by making dinner themselves while dressed in tight aporns. While he thanked them for a good meal, he was still emotionless about it.
"Did you try anything else?" The Council Head asked.
"We went to a vacant island a couple of days ago for a small getaway. He said the States had amazing beaches, so we figured it'd cheer him up" said Rias.
"How did that go?" Asked Sona.
"Well..." Began Rias, recalling the memory...
-FLASHBACK-
2 days ago...
(AN: Mind you, DxD specials were never dubbed, and I couldn't find any that were subbed without the video getting spammed with ads every 30 seconds and opening up new pages. So I had to figure out what was said and going on the whole time on a version, WITHOUT subtitles... you'd better appreciate the work I do for you guys.)
In a flash from the Gremory magic circle, the ORC appeared before a beautiful island. Best part, it was uninhabited, meaning they had it ALL to themselves! While Koneko was the only one to go through the circle in her actual swimsuit, which was a white one piece with a red pair of googles and a pink inner tube, the other 3 girls wore clothes over theirs. Asia was wearing a green zipper shirt that brought out her eye color, and had an light-orange sunhat on top of her head. Rias wore a faded pink button-down shirt, though only used one button to at least cover up her breasts and the top half of her violet skimpy bikini. Akeno only had on a white T-shirt, and Kiba wore a green speedo. Anthony opted to wear normal trunks in the color of red.
It's not that Anthony was ashamed of what he had... he was just not willing to show it. If he was in his normal state of mind however, he would've joked that the girls: 'wouldn't have stood a chance'. Heck, Koneko tried busting his chops about it, asking if those trunks were to impress Rias or show his love for Ddraig... but the Italian didn't respond with a snappy comeback like the duo usually do. Not that she'd admit it, but it felt odd to Koneko not getting a response back.
Being the only boys of the group; Kiba and Anthony carried the umbrellas, towels, etc., and began to set them up. While they were doing that; Rias, Akeno and Asia began to take off their shirts to reveal what they chose to wear for the day. Asia unzipped herself to show a blue swimsuit that didn't conceal her stomach, but it was still fairly innocent. Rias' was in a V-sling and Akeno, of course, had the skimpiest one of them all. It only covered her nipples with a pair of green triangles... both that and the bottom part left NOTHING to the imagination.
It was fun. They had water fights and even played a game of volleyball, though it didn't appear Anthony was having much of a good time, only doing all of this just to distract himself from what was bothering him. Rias saw this, and pondered what she could do... then, a light bulb appeared over her head. She had an idea, but needed to wait till she and Anthony were by themselves...
About maybe a half hour later, Rias was sunbathing next to an umbrella Anthony was under. He was just looking out into the open water, lost in his thoughts. While the redheads eyes were closed, she was only pretending to be unaware, and she noticed Anthony just stare aimlessly with a blank expression.
Looking back and forth with her eyes, the others were off doing their own things: Kiba was swinging a branch he found, one that actually looked like it could be a sword (if Rias paid further attention, she would have noticed an odd glint of anger in his eyes); Koneko was eating an ice cream cone that Akeno poofed into existence; and Asia was drawing Crosses in the sand with a small stick, as she couldn't do much else that's considered Holy without Ddraig's arm shielding her (poor girl must've still missed her time in the church). With everyone else occupied, now was her chance!
Putting on a seductive face, she arose from her spot and sat up, looking at Anthony. "Anthony, could you do me a favor?" She asked.
"Certo... what's up?" Asked Anthony, looking at her. And since he'd become accustomed to, what he called, her wiles face; combined with his not-so-happy mood... the effects she was trying to instill into him weren't working as well as they should.
"Would you mind rubbing oil on me?" She asked, still retaining her wiles face.
THAT got a reaction out of him. "Scu... sami?" Anthony asked, stuttering over the Italian word for 'excuse me'. He did not just hear her ask what he thought she asked, did she?
"I need a dragons touch... you don't mind, do you?" Asked Rias, batting her eyes now that she had Anthony's undivided attention. She was also holding out an egg-shaped container, which was probably the oil Rias was talking about. When did she use oil? Now that Anthony thought about it, her skin did always feel silky smooth against his own...
*SLAP!*
He mentally slapped himself, then shook those thoughts away. Either her wiles face was starting to take affect, or Ddraig was imagining things again...
[Can't blame me this time] he said in Anthony's head, making it clear he had no hormonal thoughts at the moment. Rias watched him carefully, looking for any sign of the Pawn she knew. If Anthony wasn't in this funk, she knew for a fact he'd flirt back with something along the lines of: "These hands... you sure you can handle them?"
Disappointingly, he only gave a half-hearted: "yeah, fine". It was a shame, but Rias dealt with it. Maybe their normal chemistry will start to mix again once he starts rubbing her. She laid down on her stomach, awaiting for Anthony to start his job...
SLIP! SLIP, SLIP, SLIP!
Like a wet bar of soap, once Anthony opened the container, he had trouble getting a good grip. He started to juggle it a few times, but it ultimately fell all over Anthony's front. He dropped the container on Rias' back but when he tried to pick it up, he slid on her, causing the redhead to yelp out in surprise. She tried getting up, but that only caused Anthony to fall right on top of her.
"GAH! I'M SOR...!" Anthony tried to apologize, as he also tried to get up, but the slippery oil made him instead slide his hand up into the V-sling; making Rias moan at the unexpected intrusion. The more they struggled, the more they slid around and the more sand got over them and the blanket they were on, the blanket also getting messed up due their moments. Eventually as fate would have it, Anthony's face ended up in-between Rias' honkers.
In his defense, at least he wasn't motor-boobying her.
"IS THIS TANNING OIL OR A FUCKING LUBRICANT?!" Anthony yelled out, both in anger and embarrassment. It also didn't help that the rest of the ORC tried to untangle them. First Asia ran over, suffering the same fate as Anthony and Rias. Akeno was next, who summoned water to wash off the oil. While it got rid of the sand, it didn't matter because the water made the situation worse when she attempted to help her fellow classmates up, the sand also sticking back to their bodies as they thrashed around. Koneko looked to the group, then back at her ice cream a few times before making the decision to wolf it down, ignoring the brain freeze.
"Touch me..." the mascot began to warn.
"Yeah, yeah; whatever! Just get us out of this!" Said Anthony, but even the kids firm Rook-enhanced grip stood no chance against the slippery prowess of Rias' tanning oil. Thankfully, Koneko never got 'touched'.
Kiba stopped what he was doing and looked over. All it took was a bit of Sword Birth, summoning not sharp and non-lethal swords, and moving the group apart from each other by manipulating the swords along the ground to separate each individual. Without another word, Anthony walked over to the ocean and washed off ALL the sand and oil, not coming out until he was sand and oil-free... which was also in places he didn't even know he had! Walking back out of the ocean, he sat under his umbrella with folded arms, not moving anymore.
Needless to say, the beach date had come to an end early.
-END FLASHBACK-
"It... didn't work out" said Rias with a small blush, remembering everything that happened that day.
"Well, what else does he like?" Asked Sona.
"Why? So you could ask him out yourself?" Rias joked, though Sona just stared at the redhead sternly. Rias didn't notice it but again, red spots appeared on her friends/rivals cheeks. "He likes Video Games and Reading, but those are more of a single person endeavor" said Rias, both girls unaware that Video Games were also multiplayer.
"What about sports?" Asked Sona.
"He played volleyball with us, and he once mentioned he played soccer when he was younger, though his favorite is dodgeball and..." said Rias, then her eyes widened as she looked at Sona, who smiled. That's it!
-TIME BREAK-
The next day...
"SMETTILA DI TOGLIREMI VESTITI!" Anthony yelled, getting out of Rias' grip. He was called on his phone by Rias to come to the clubhouse after school. He came... but that's when she began trying to take his shirt off. Anthony of course, froze when she started; but then recovered and got her out of his space.
[Can't hold yourself back anymore; can you, Miss Gremory?] Joked Ddraig.
"Well, I have been kinda lonely for the past week" said Rias, also joining the joke... though it wasn't untrue either. She missed spending nights with Anthony, but refrained herself out of respect.
"Ugh... I'm sorry Rias, I'm just..." Anthony began to explain, but Rias cut him off.
"Don't worry about it. Here, put these on" she said, tossing Anthony a plain T-shirt and gym shorts, which landed on his face. It was actually the schools gym uniform.
Seeing as Rias had seen him before, he had no trouble changing right in front of her, as the clothes she tossed him didn't require him to remove his underwear. While he changed, she opened a magic circle which was used for teleportation to a dimensional space. "Remind me why we're going into a dimensional space again?" Asked Anthony, pulling the shirt over his head and straightening it out, not fully understanding what was going on. He thought dimensional spaces were ONLY for Rating Games or official matches in the Underworld, so why was there a portal to one in the middle of the clubhouse? And furthermore, why was Rias wearing the same outfit when she and him trained back in Season 1?
"It's a surprise" said Rias.
"I'm really... not in the mood for anymore..." said Anthony, thinking of the last surprise he got during the previous chapter. Rias just grabbed his hand and pulled him into the circle with herself.
"It'll be fun, you'll see!" She said optimistically, as the light from the circle blinded both of them. Suddenly, the 2 friends were in the gym... and outside was aurora, indicating this wasn't the same gym from school, but a copy of it. Kiba and Koneko were tossing a ball back and forth, and...
"MY LEGS ARE ON FUOCO!" Cried out the voice of Asia. She was currently being pushed down lightly by Akeno, it was an exercise to stretch out leg muscles.
"Just a little more, you can do it... think of how impressed Anthony will be" said Akeno, also throwing in some incentive for Asia to continue.
"Your not getting off on that, are you?!" Asked Anthony, taking a step forward, knowing how Akeno gets her kicks. "Heheh, only if its you... come on, girlfriend; you got this!" Said Akeno, looking up and answering Anthony's question, then looked back down at Asia. Anthony didn't notice since Rias was behind him, but her optimistic face turned sour upon Akeno's answer.
"OK!... I'LL... TRY...!" Asia cried out some more, the thoughts of impressing her now-present childhood friend more than enough of a reason. Akeno pushed the young blond a little further, causing her to moan out, using muscles she hadn't used before.
[Ya know, my former master had dreams like this...] said Ddraig.
'Yeah? What about them?' Asked Anthony.
[They were allot more steamy...] said Ddraig, sounding like he was getting into 'the mood' again. A visual of Asia and Akeno naked in bed together appeared in Anthony's mind from Ddraig. Sighing, "KONEKO! Can you come here for a minute?" Anthony called Koneko over.
As soon as she caught Kiba's ball, she tossed it back and walked over to the Italian. "What?" She asked.
"Can you twist my arm for me?" Anthony said, holding out his left arm in front of her face.
"Excuse me?/[Huh?]" Asked both the mascot and inner dragon. They both sounded confused at the odd request with Koneko raising an eyebrow, and the latter also sounding nervous.
"Just... make it quick" Anthony said, starting to squeak while looking away, but gave Koneko the 'ok' before he changed his mind... for obvious reasons.
[W-W-WAIT A SECOND! I-I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO FANTASIZE ABOUT THEM, I...!] Ddraig desperately tried to apologize, but his mistake was saying the word fantasize before Koneko. She grabbed Anthony's/Ddraig's arm quickly with both hands, and a shot of the gymnasium is shown before...
SCRUNCH!
"EEEEEEEEYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!/[GAAAAAAAAAAAAA-HA-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]"
"Alright, Gremory. Ready to rock and..." Sona had just teleported her and her entire Peerage into the dimensional space, and shock was present on each members' face... what had they just waltzed in on? And were human arms supposed to twist around that far?
"*long whine*... just dacci un minuto" squeaked Anthony through the pain, his eyes closed shut.
-TIME BREAK-
WHISTLE!
Someone blew a whistle, signaling the game to begin. The game would last 10 minutes, and the team with the most outs (AKA: points), would be declares the winner. Each team was standing on opposite sides of the court, and a line of balls were neatly aligned in the middle. As soon as they heard that whistle, each side ran to get their hands on a ball first. One of Sona's Rooks, a girl with blue hair; had managed to get one and threw it, aiming at Koneko. She ducked from it and since the ball didn't actually hit her, she was still in the game and prevented the Sitris' from scoring... though the force behind the throw ripped her shirt in half.
Huh... didn't that happen once before?
Sona's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra; the girl who had glasses like Sona, also got ahold of a ball. Unlike the Rook however, she enhanced the shot with magic, her target was Rias. The redhead went to catch it, but the magic infused with it made it halt in midair... then sent it sideways to Anthony instead!
"MERDA!" He yelped. Having no choice, he held out his hands. Miraculously, he caught it, which caused the Gremorys' to get their first point... though his shirt was shredded a bit as a result. Rias looked at him in worry, in case he was injured or getting mad again, but saw a small smirk form on his face. There he was... there was the Anthony she knew, appearing to finally resurface.
"Wow, catching Tsubaki's spike head-on is impressive... for a human, anyway" said Sona, saying 'human' as a friendly taunt. This was all part of her's and Rias' plan to get Anthony back to his old self, so she was poking at his competitive side.
"You think my catching is good?... Wait till ya see my pitching!" Said Anthony, tossing the ball back with as much force as he could without magically enhancing it; though he used the arm him and Ddraig shared, meaning it was more powerful than a normal throw. Sona's eyes widened and was forced to duck... Saji behind her wasn't so lucky, and got hit in the face.
Needless to say, he was out in more ways than one.
At the same time, a ball flew past Anthony and barreled towards Rias, from the same Rook that attempted to get Koneko out. To no one's surprise, Rias caught it and got the Rook out instead, though her clothes also tore up a bit from the impact. "Oh shit..." Anthony started getting a little nervous upon seeing the look in Rias' eyes... it reminded him of what happened last time, when she and Sona had their 'friendly contest' to get Familiars.
"Remember Sona, we're Gremorys'; that's just how we ROLL!" Said Rias, tossing the ball. Her target was the other King. She didn't power it up with magic... at least, not at first. As the ball flew, Rias' eyes glowed red, infusing her Destruction Magic with the ball, turning it into a deadly meteor of crimson fire!
Sona wasn't stupid enough to try and catch that, so she leaned to the side. The ball flew past her and while it missed, the right sleeve of her shirt was completely burned up. One of her Knights that were behind her however... her clothes disappeared entirely. That caused an eruption of almost EVERYONE using magic to enhance their throws. Some balls went all over the gym; others disintegrated; and even some flew out of windows, shattering them, and the balls themselves zoomed into the dimensional space never to return.
"I had no idea dodgeball was so dangerous!" Cried Asia.
"HA! If you can dodge magic, you can dodge a ball!" Said Anthony.
"Huh?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, my coach used to throw wrenches and shit at us back in middle school, it was fun!" Said Anthony. Asia had no idea if Anthony was making a joke or if he was serious, she was just focusing on trying to stay alive! A ball was heading for her, making the nun cry out, but all it took to stop it was Anthony's left hand.
His smirk got even wider, so much so that the Sitris' saw it. "Well... if your all using magic..." said Anthony.
FLASH! [BOOST!]
The Boosted Gear was summoned, making the Sitris' concerned. "MIGHT AS WELL!" Said Anthony, tossing the ball so hard, that the opposing team saw no choice but to evade. It went THROUGH the back wall, making a perfect circle through it. They all looked back at it with unease, their faces showing from inside the gym. A ball then bounced over to Anthony. He picked it up, and the gears in his head started turning.
"HEY, KONEKO!" He called, as the petite freshman avoided another ball. She looked in his direction, wondering why he called her.
[BOOST!]
"Pull back..." Anthony started, throwing ball to her. She was confused but as it flew toward her, she smiled.
"Beat the meat" she said, striking the ball with her fist. It rocketed to the Sitris' side of the field, taking 3 girls with it and they flew backwards while pressed against each other.
Anthony gave Koneko a thumbs-up. She didn't expect it, but returned it with a smile and a thumbs-up of her own. One of Sona's Bishops, Reya Kusaka, tried hitting Anthony while he was distracted by this. "Heads up, hot stuff!" Said Akeno, leaping over Anthony with spread legs and catching the sneak attack before it hit him. Anthony and Ddraig saw her bra because of this, but they weren't gonna say anything.
After Akeno landed, she went to throw the ball back as she charged it with lightning magic; [Miss Himejima!] Called Ddraig but before Akeno could turn around, she felt an arm on her shoulder, surprising her. [TRANSFER!] Akeno then felt warm energy fill inside her from an external force. She turned her neck to see Ddraig's arm on her shoulder and of course, Anthony right behind her.
"Clear..." Was all he said. Smiling at him, she turned back around and... "SHOCK!" She threw the ball. Sparks flew around it, and it started to turn green due to the extra power offered by Ddraig. Saij, who had just recovered from earlier, lit up like a Christmas tree.
[Patient's stable] said Ddraig.
"YEAH!" Said Akeno, Ddraig and Anthony in unison; as all 3 shared a High-Five (since Anthony used Ddraig's arm to initiate it). Rias couldn't help but smile at Anthony's mannerisms now. He was back... the Italian Dragon was back!
Sona had enough at this point, it was time to fight back and avenge her fallen comrades! "Ruruko!" Said Sona, calling to one of her Pawns to toss her the ball. The Pawn in question was actually about to throw it, but since this was a magic-ball battle now, her King had allot more power than she did. With a ball now in hand, it was Sona's turn to deal some damage to the Gremorys'!
"HERE COMES THE PAIN!" Yelled Sona, as she flared her own power with the symbol of Sitri magic behind her.
Her target was Anthony. She was thinking strategically... if she can take him out, then they wouldn't have to worry about him Boosting the rest of the Gremorys' anymore. Anthony just held out his hands, intent on catching the magically-charged ball of death barreling straight for him.
"Bring it, Sylvia Marpole! I'll take whatever you dish out!" Said Anthony, his hands in a defensive stance to protect his torso, where the ball appeared to go. Where it ended up going...
PONG!
Anthony's confident face drained to anguish, and fell to the ground while holding a certain area. Everyone just stared, not expecting this to happen and of course, feeling sorry for the poor bastard. Sona felt the worst. She didn't mean 'here comes the pain' literally... nor was she aiming for that!
[Our... baked beans...] said Ddraig, also sounding like he was in pain.
"... um... does that count as a point, or a miss?" Asked a white-haired girl, Momo Hanakai, who was keeping score the whole time with a pair of flags. Like everyone else, she felt bad for the kid. Rias and Sona looked at each other for a quick second, and looked at Momo to answer her. Before they could say that it DID NOT count as a point...
"No... she got'em..." croaked Anthony, clutching the area in question, while shaking his head back and forth once.
Asia kneeled down to where Anthony was on the floor, her rings of Twilight Healing out. "I can use my Twilight Healing, but you need to tell me where it hurts" offered Asia. That caused Anthony to sit up quickly, though he still looked to be in agonizing pain.
"Oh, no; no thanks, Asia. Stiamo bene" he said, still holding the affected area, looking mortally embarrassed.
"But your in pain, maybe I should... take a quick look" said Asia, innocently and worried about Anthony. She started to crawl over to where he was holding himself, and leaned down to remove his hands. She also had a faint blush on her cheeks, remembering what Kiryuu said about... his sword.
Anthony then found the strength to stand, but still held his pained area. "S-S-S-SERIOUSLY, ASIA! I-I-I-IT'S OK! I'M PERFECTLY FINE!" Insisted Anthony, though it was obvious even to Asia he was lying.
[Uh, yeah... d-don't worry about it... W-We dragons heal fast, anyway] said Ddraig, sounding as uneasy as Anthony did.
"E-E-Exactly!" Said Anthony, letting go of his 'beans'. "There, see? No injuries here! We'll just walk it off, heheheheh..." He continued, power-walking back and forth... clearly still in pain, and fighting the urge to grab them again. At least he was TRYING to make it seem legit.
GRAB!
Koneko: Sit down.
Against his will, Koneko grabbed Anthony's/Ddraig's arm and forced him to sit down by holding him. "Ok, Asia. Do your thing" said Koneko. Not needing any further provocation, Asia held her hand over Anthony's pants over the affected area. She had to get close to it though, but she pushed those thoughts aside to focus on making Anthony feel better.
After a few minutes of doing it, "How does that feel?" Asked Asia, her hand hovering mere inches over Anthony's riches.
Awkward... that was the word. Anthony wanted to say that, but Ddraig beat him to the punch and answered for him. [Warm and tingly, to be perfectly honest] said the Red Dragon. He still sounded in pain, though not as much as before.
"So its working?" Asked Asia, relived her treatment was working. Plus since Ddraig felt better, that meant so did Anthony, right? She wasn't sure if that's how it worked since she didn't share a body with another being, but it made sense to her.
[Yeah... something like that] said Ddraig, answering before Anthony again.
"Are you both seriously getting a chub right now?" Asked Koneko, thinking that's what Ddraig was implying.
"It's a medical condition" said Anthony, not in the mood to deal with Koneko right now for a multitude of reasons.
"You can sit this one out, Anthony. We'll..." Rias began, but Anthony cut her off.
"NO!... I'll be fine in a minute. I missed one game already, I'm not gonna miss another" said Anthony, which made Rias happy. He truly was coming back...
"Take care of him, Asia. Until he's ready: lets get out there, and kick some Sitri-Butt! For Anthony and Ddraig!" Proclaimed Rias, turning to her remaining team once she was done talking to their Twilight Healer
"Yeah! And their Man-Bits!" Said Akeno, making a fist.
"For their Twig and Berries!" Said Kiba.
"For their shared Junk Mail" said Koneko.
Anthony just sweatdropped, wearing an awkward smile. [Uh... thanks?] Said Ddraig, unsure whether to take the ORC's words of encouragement seriously or not.
-TIME BREAK-
8 minutes had passed... to be exact, 7 minutes and 45 seconds; meaning the game would end in another 2 minutes, give or take. Both sides were currently tied with scores of 78 points each. The whistle blew once again, signaling another round. Throughout the game however, Kiba appeared to be distracted. He got hit many times even before Anthony went to Twilight Timeout, and even his speed seemed sluggish... well, not exactly sluggish per se. Kiba was still as fast as he always was, but it appeared whatever was on his mind effected his timing and momentum; and Rias couldn't figure out why. Maybe he was worried about Anthony since he was the second boy in ORC after... he... was sealed up, and had someone to bond with who was the same gender?... Perhaps.
Sona, the master strategist she was, saw Kibas' behavior and while it was out-of-character for him; she used it to her advantage. Having her team focus on him, she was able to raise her score exponentially. She even used her magic to home-in on the Gremory Knight like a heat-seeking missile... also taking care of WHERE she aims this time. The score was now 81 to 88... the Gremorys' were losing! Rias had grabbed a ball, but that's when the whistle blew again.
"TIME'S UP! THAT'S GAME!" Called out Momo. The Sitris' were cheering for their victory when...
"Technically, we still have one minute left" said the voice of Anthony, now fully recovered.
"Um... no, that was 10 minutes" said Momo, kindly.
"Did you take into account my... injury" said Anthony. Momo looked back to a chart she was keeping; which kept track of the scores, when someone called for a timeout (which no one did anyway), halftime break... wait. The timeouts... was that the loophole he was gonna...? "Neither side called an official timeout for that full minute. Therefore, that SHOULD have been game time" said Anthony, doing exactly what she predicted.
"You just can't admit when you get a loss, can you?" Asked Saji with a deadpanned expression.
"Your sister was quite impressed with the loss I gave her earlier" smirked Anthony. This joke once again made Kiba and Koneko try to hold back a smile, and made Akeno snort... even a few of the Sitris' minus Sona. Saji's head turned red, his fists clutching as he held them up like fists, and steam came out of his nose. He didn't charge over to try and beat up the stronger Pawn, as he knew better than to act on his own. Last time he did that, he was punished with a thousand spankings from Sona herself!
Rias held her mouth closed at Anthony's remark, forcing back the laugh that threatened to echo throughout the gym if she didn't. If she had any doubts about him not being his full self again... its DEFINITELY gone now.
Sona, who liked things fair and was head of Student Council for this reason, could see reason in Anthony's statement. Speaking of Council, she actually had some business to take care of, and only made enough time for this game. It was visible in her face, she was conflicted... though it might have also been guilt upon slamming Anthony's toolbox with a magic-leavened ball. Anthony saw this, and got an idea. He walked out on the Gremorys' side.
"We play the full minute, just me and your team" Anthony said, picking up one of the balls and spinning it on his finger. "Hit me once, game over. How's that sound?" He continued.
Sona smiled. "8 Devils... against one human?" She asked.
"Yeah, it's totally fair" said Anthony with confidence, implying it was SONA who needed the reinforcements and not him.
"You do realize this isn't a board game you can win by a single play?" Sona asked, the camera in her eye as she was referencing the last time Anthony pulled this stunt.
"Do you?" Anthony returned, camera in his eye as well. After a short staring contest, Sona closed her eyes with a smirk on her face. "Sitris'... take the field" said Sona, as her team returned to their positions. With the terms agreed to, Rias and the rest of the ORC was forced to exit and leave Anthony alone. Sure he beat Sona before, but that was one-on-one... THIS was eight-on-one! The ORC didn't doubt Anthony, they just hoped he knew what he was doing. At least with this, they could confirm without a doubt he was back in full swing.
The balls were once again aligned and the whistle blew... but neither side moved. "... What's the hold up?" Asked Anthony with a grin and hands behind his back.
"I could ask you the same thing... aren't you gonna grab a ball and at least get ONE extra point?" Sona returned, matching Anthony's tone.
"Aren't you?... Unless the Semi-Great Lady, Sona Sitri is afraid?" Anthony taunted. Normally, Sona would take the challenge from anyone that tested her, human or otherwise. It was just her competitive side. However, Anthony was NOT a normal human by any means. He was the Red; or as he called himself; the Italian Dragon. And he was able to outsmart not only her once before, but also Riser and Rias. He was up to something... but what?
After a few more seconds of waiting and the tension building on who'd make the first move, Sona bolted for a ball. Her team followed suit... yet, Anthony didn't move a muscle. He just kept standing there almost like a sea sponge under a lamppost, his grin still present. Not knowing what he was up to, Sona charged and her team their balls toward the humanoid dragon. At the last second, like Rias did earlier, Sona filled them with magic using her eyes, the same magic used on Kiba. If Anthony was planning to dodge all of them, this would make it impossible.
The balls rocketed towards Anthony...!
...
...
...
...
They stopped, floating in midair around him, stopped by Gremory magic circles. The Sitris' were confused, but that's when Anthony brought his arms back around. His Boosted Gear was our again... AND had a magic circle on it, the same one used to stop the balls. "Thanks Miss Marpole, my range still isn't the best" said Anthony, and it was at this point Sona realized she... once again... fell for his trap. She knew he wasn't the best when it came to magic, only able to do things like summon his Familiar or teleport like 3 feet.
In short, he basically fooled her into doing half work for him. But still, what could he do at this point? There was only 40 seconds left on the clock and... hold on. 40 seconds... that meant 2 sets of ten seconds passed, and his Gear had been behind his back... so that means...
[BOOST!]
Anthony's third Boost rang out. "Alright. I think it's time for my own magic move" said Anthony, which now got a few girls on the Sitri side to hug themselves, chest area specifically. They already seen the 'carnage' he could cause, so they wanted to be prepared. They were aware it wasn't technically Anthony of course, but still...
Wait... wouldn't using Ddraig's Dress Break just shred the balls themselves? What sense did that make?
At Anthony's declaration, the ORC looked at him in surprise. What was he gonna pull this time? He couldn't be infusing the balls with Dress Break, right? That would just cause the balls to destroy themselves. It wasn't like charging them up with fire, water, or lighting; Dress Break was a physical type of magic... NOT an elemental one. Rias and the gang didn't know what those two were up too, but it better be good because they only had just about 30 seconds left!
"Ok, Ddraig... LET'EM HAVE IT!" Said Anthony, holding his Gear out with an open palm.
...
...
...
[Do I HAVE to say it?] Asked Ddraig, with a groan.
"Uh yeah, that's kinda how this magic stuff works" said Anthony.
[Couldn't you have named it something cooler?] Asked Ddraig.
"What's wrong with name I gave it?" Asked Anthony.
[Because it sounds like something a 10-year-old would come up with.]
"I've been working on it for weeks! I created it, so I name it!"
[But it sounds ridiculous!]
"Not as ridiculous as your Special Move..."
[For the last time, I DIDN'T MAKE IT! I have better spells than that one!]
"Then why not show me?"
[Their too powerful for your body to currently handle, so their sealed away for your safety.]
"And Dress Breaks not...?"
[ITS NOT MY SPELL!]
"THEN USE MINE!"
[YOU DONT EVEN HAVE MEAT FOR IT, IT MAKES NO SENSE!]
"I GOT BALLS, ITS CLOSE ENOUGH!"
[ITS A STUPID SPELL THAT HAS NO USE IN BATTLE!]
"JUST USE THE SPELL, QUETZAL!"
[Ugggggh...] Ddraig groaned, but still gave into his master's instructions. From the circles holding the Sitris' balls came... red sauce? This sauce covered the balls completely, some bits of it dripping to the floor. [MEAT-EOR BALL SHOWER!] Said Ddraig and with that, the circles holding the Sitris' balls rocketed back to their throwers. And since they still retained the magic infused with them before, they homed in on their targets giving them no way of dodging.
SPLAT! (8x)
Each hit caused sauce to splatter and stain the plain white shirts the Sitris' wore. The sauce was also uncooked, meaning it was extremely cold; which caused the sauce to quickly soak into the shirts and cling to their owners, showing off... stuff. "Now that's an appetizer" Anthony grinned.
As soon as he said that, Momo had announced that the minute was over. The Gremorys' got an additional 8 points added to their score...
Sitri Team: 88
Gremory Team: 89
"G-G, Sona; G-G" said Anthony, saying aloud a texting abbreviation for 'good game'. Asia was the first to run over to Anthony to hug him in congratulations. Akeno was next, though she snuck up from behind and slowly wrapped her arms around him. Rias, Koneko and Kiba just walked up normally; the Knight giving Anthony a pat on the back.
"That was amazing! You are the best Pawn ever!" Said Rias, hugging Anthony from the front... making sure to use her curves to emphasize her gratitude. Asia bit her lip and whined at this, though it appeared Akeno didn't care.
"I do my bust. Er, best" said Anthony, fully aware of what Rias was doing and making fun of it. Rias was so happy on the inside... he was back... Goddammit, he was finally back!
"As much as hate to admit it, I concede defeat... but it was still fun. Of course, if this was a Rating Game instead of us fooling around..." said Sona, accepting her loss, but she was cut of by...
"Bullshit" said Anthony with a smile.
[If I recall correctly, you got a stalemate with Miss Gremory. Now, if her BEST pieces would have been present...] said Ddraig. He cut himself off, but it was clear what he was implying.
"Is that so?" Sona responded.
"If me and Ddraig were there, we'd clean your clocks like my kitchen" said Anthony.
"Well, since you weren't there, I guess we'll never know for sure, will we?" Asked Sona.
"I've done my homework, Miss Yomiko Readman... Rating Games CAN have rematches" said Anthony.
"And you think you can beat me in one?" Asked Sona, a grin forming on her face.
"Appena Fatto" Anthony said, cockily. Sona just smirked back at Anthony, locking eyes with each other.
"... then I suppose we'll have to actually play another Game" she said.
"I suppose we should..." Anthony said, matching Sona's tone.
Sona began to take her leave with the rest of her Peerage, but then turned back around when, "Wait" Anthony called out to the rival King. "... thanks... for the game" he said, softly. Sona and Rias knew what he truly meant by that, it was thanks for the game itself... AND what it did for him.
"Don't thank me yet... can't have Rias' best piece down in the dumps the next time when we beat her" said Sona.
"You really think so? You never know what could happen" Said Rias, hanging off of Anthony's side. "Exactly... best keep your guard up then, Rias" Sona said, now walking away and leaving the dimension through her families magic circle.
Originally, Rias also got a Boost from Ddraig during the game, but I took it out last minute because I think it was too much. She, Ddraig and Anthony had bonded enough for now... gotta give the others a chance too, right? Plus, Ddraig also got a bit of screen time in the game as well, I always wondered if he felt pain whenever Issei did something stupid or when he got hit by an attack. We rarely get to see Ddraig's reactions to certain things as he's "asleep" most of the time, so I figured: why the hell not, let's give it a shot and see if it works out.
Also, I hope you appreciate the number of references in this chapter alone. There's like at least 6 of them; from multiple properties... you better appreciate the work I do for you guys...
Anthony's Italian Dictionary:
1) Smettila di Togliermi Vestiti: means "stop pulling my clothes off"
2) Fuoco: means "fire"
3) Dacci un Minuto: means "give us a minute"
4) Certo: means "sure" or "of course"
5) Stiamo Bene: means "we're fine" or "we're okay"
6) Appena Fatto: means "I just did"