Labrys grunted as she blocked another strike from the annoying battle junkie she'd ended up fighting. The grin on his stupid face was annoying her, but he'd managed to just barely keep her at bay with his spears before she could punch it off.
If she had her ax this wouldn't be a problem, but unfortunately carrying it around in public wasn't exactly feasible. Perhaps she should ask Gremory or Sitri if there was any way to hide or miniaturize it so she could have it on her at all times.
As the Fallen aimed another stab at her, Labrys decided to change tactics. She took hold of the spear, the Light energy sizzling against her hand, her sensors reporting minor damage, but nothing to really worry about. Then, before her opponent could react, she used her leverage on it to pull him forward, slamming her other fist into his ugly mug with all her considerable strength in a brutal punch that would have left a champion heavyweight boxer with considerably fewer teeth.
Damn, but that had been satisfying.
Not far away from Labrys' position Rise was backing Naoto up by being an extra set of eyes. The idol hated that she couldn't fight directly, but without Siren's Chord her combat skill was nowhere near good enough to do anything but get skewered by the gothic lolita that kept trying to blitz them. Much like the android, she was seriously thinking about asking for some way to carry her weapon surreptitiously.
Still, that could come later. Right now she had to keep her head in the game. "Left!" She called out to Naoto, having spotted the blur that was the blonde Fallen dashing in for a strike.
Naoto turned and fired in a single smooth motion, the angel dodging the bullet by the skin of her teeth. "What is with you bitches? You're human, you shouldn't be able to keep up with me!"
Naoto fired again, the Fallen blocking the bullet with one of her spears, a snarl marring her young seeming face. "If that was true my friends and I would have been dead long ago." The detective said with a steely look in her eye. "I highly recommend you not underestimate humanity."
"Fuck off!" The childlike angel yelled before beginning to throw a barrage of spears at Naoto, who nimbly dodged them and got into cover before returning fire, turning their fight into an odd sort of shootout.
Yukiko, for her part, was driving her opponent crazy, the wannabe stripper raging that the human girl had 'marred her beautiful face' due to the wound over the bridge of her nose that was bleeding freely. Of course, this helped Yukiko more than it didn't, as the Fallen was constantly being blinded by the blood in her eyes as she attacked madly, the agile magic specialist practically dancing through the many attacks, striking out with her burning fan over and over, injuring the Fallen further and thus angering her more.
"Gah!" The woman yelled angrily, falling back to take a moment to try to clear her eyes. Yukiko, of course, didn't let such a golden opportunity pass. "Fire Break!" She called, casting the spell with a wave of her still burning fan, watching as it took effect.
The Fallen glared up at her through reddened eyes. "What was that supposed to do?"
Yukiko smirked. "This." With another wave of her fan she intoned "Agidyne", Konohana Sakuya appearing briefly behind her, drawing her opponent's attention briefly before it was naturally caught by the pillar of almost white hot flame that erupted from beneath her feet. She shrieked in pain, the fire causing much more damage than she would normally expect and burning away all her clothing, leaving her to collapse, second degree burns covering her now bare body, no doubt kept from being much worse due to being inhumanly durable. She was still obviously out of the fight, however, and Yukiko ignored her to turn and see how Chie's fight was going.
The answer was: pretty good.
Chie's opponent ws obviously skilled, but just as obviously was used to quickly overwhelming opponents she considered weaker. She expected Chie to be weak due to being a normal seeming human, so she'd been caught off guard when her opponent matched her blow for blow with a smirk on her face, dodging spears of light and retaliating with blistering attacks possessing incredible strength, especially for a seemingly normal teenage girl.
And then there was Issei, who was playing support by attacking the Fallen whenever she tried to get some breathing room from Chie, not doing any real damage but definitely harrying her despite the obvious fear and trauma he was still experiencing.
Normally an amateur like Issei would get in the way of a much more skilled fighter like Chie, however the Persona wielder was accustomed to fighting alongside her team, and had some experience doing so with less skilled, new members before they got up to the level of the rest of them. She just brought back those memories and experiences, and made sure to learn Issei's tactics and patterns (what there were of them, at least) so she could best support him.
The woman that formerly called herself Amano Yuuma snarled as she pulled back, glaring at her opponents, Chie calmly standing in a ready stance, seemingly not having been even slightly winded during the furious exchange of blows, and Issei standing beside her, breathing heavily and still shaking slightly, but with much more resolute eyes and steady footing, his red gauntlet outstretched in preparation for another attack.
"You…" She snarled. "How are a simple human and a pathetic devil with a weak Sacred Gear like a Twice Critical doing this?"
Chie snorted. "Oh please, like you're all that strong. I know humans that could have kicked your ass up and down this street when they were eleven. The only things you've got going for you are being a Fallen and those floatation devices you call breasts."
The woman sneered. "Jealous?"
Chie scoffed. "Hardly. I prefer my women nice and slim, thank you very much." She glanced briefly at Issei. "Hyoudou, how are you holding up?" She asked, obviously not just meaning physically.
Said boy grit his teeth. "It's hard. Really hard, Satonaka-san." He saw their opponent sneer and his gaze firmed as he clenched a fist. "But I'd never be able to forgive myself if I didn't fight." He glanced behind them, at where the nun he'd been with was hiding behind a bench, hands clasped together as she gazed at him. "I'd never live with myself if something happened to Asia because I wasn't willing to face Yuuma head on!" He declared, widening his stance as his gauntlet shouted a satisfied sounding [BOOST!].
Chie smiled fiercely. "Now that's the spirit, Hyoudou-kun!" She shifted, preparing herself to charge. "Let's take this bitch down."
Said bitch snarled. "As if you could with your current level of strength."
Chie chuckled, darkly amused. "Is that what you think? Sorry to burst your bubble, but the only reason you and your goons have lasted this long is because you're not worth us going all out."
After all, only Yukiko had even briefly summoned her Persona so far, and that was simply because she was a magic specialist. For a physical specialist like Chie?
Before the Fallen could respond Chie was in her face, a fist coming towards her face with shocking speed. She managed to move fly out of the way with a vaguely avian squawk of shock, only to find a fist hitting her anyway, this time being Hyoudou's gauntlet meeting her nose with unbelievable force, sending her literally flying a dozen feet to crash into a park bench, a loud crunch of cracking bone ringing out from the initial impact.
Chie grinned, pleased by how that had gone. "You know, Hyoudou-kun, you might have some potential for combat…"
"How dare you…" Their opponent snarled feebly, glaring at them murderously, blood dribbling down from her nose, covering her lower face. "I am Raynare of the Grigori! I am older than you can fathom! You should be groveling before your superior, you pathetic creatures!" The look in her eyes was slightly unhinged, and her ranting had drawn the attention of everyone involved in the battle, making them turn to look at her as she tried and failed to get to her feet, that single hit enough to leave her nearly helpless. In spite of that she seemed to be losing whatever composure she might have had. "There is no way you can match me, not with a weak Sacred Gear like the Twice Critical!"
"I am afraid you are mistaken about my darling Ise's Sacred Gear." Someone new said, drawing the attention of those gathered to Rias Gremory, the rest of her peerage, and the men of the Investigation Team. Yu immediately made his way to back up Labrys, handing her her ax, which she took with a grin, while Kanji made his way to Naoto and Rise, Perun Plate in one hand and Siren's Chord in the other, which Rise took gratefully. Yosuke joined Yukiko in backing up Chie, while Teddie remained with the defeated Fallen, keeping an eye on her while trying not to stare at her nude form.
Gremory's peerage, on the other hand, stayed close to their King, all of them glaring at Raynare and ready to fight while said King had her arms crossed under her impressive breasts, eyeing the leader of this cadre of Fallen like one would an irritating insect: annoying and generally a waste of effort to deal with, yet still needing crushing.
"What do you mean?" Raynare asked, or more accurately snarled, her tone not helped by her still broken nose.
"That is not a simple Twice Critical but the Boosted Gear, one of the thirteen Longinus Class Gears that could potentially grant their wielder the ability to kill a god." She watched the Fallen pale as her eyes widened, though that might simply be the blood loss. Gremory began walking slowly yet steadily towards Raybare as her peerage spread out in case of further attack. "Really, I suppose we can count it as a blessing in disguise that you were so foolish as to attack him before determining what his Gear actually was. I would hate to think of what could have happened to him if you decided you wanted to keep him instead…"
As Raynare tried to speak, to get over this shock, Issei's King glanced over at him, smiling gently. "I'm glad to see you've managed to confront your trauma a bit, Ise-kun, though I'm not foolish enough to believe this is the end of it." She turned her attention back to Raynare, her eyes hardening. "Shall I dispose of this… thing?" She asked him surprisingly gently.
Issei stared at the now trembling Fallen, who seemed to have finally realized how screwed she was, her momentary madness subsiding, and Chie and the others were respectfully silent as they waited for his decision. Though none of them were sanguine on simply killing her off, they recognized this wasn't their decision. This wasn't their world, they didn't know the politics, and they were essentially nobodies without any clout to use if they wanted to challenge it.
Raynare, for her part, finally registering how much danger she was in, turned to Issei and chose the most pathetic option for trying to get out of the situation: she started to beg her victim to save her. "Ise-kun, please, save me! I didn't mean to hurt you, really! I was forced to do it! I love you, honestly!"
Yu's jaw clenched at the pathetic groveling, and Labrys snarled angrily at the sheer gall. They both remembered how they'd met Issei, how she'd callously killed him, even laughing about it before she got blindsided by a combat android. They were suddenly much less firmly on the 'don't execute' side.
Issei's hair was shadowing his eyes as he listened to the pleading of the person he still thought of as his first girlfriend. He turned around to see Asia gazing at him sympathetically, hands clasped as if in prayer, and he made his decision. "Do it, Buchou." With that he began to walk towards the nun, only pausing briefly when he heard Raynare's dying shriek and the sound of the Power of Destruction ravenously consuming her. When he reached Asia she threw her arms around him, holding him as he shook.
The day after the fight with the Fallen found the Investigation Team relaxing in their new pool, all of the teens besides Labrys happily splashing about. Much like the rest of the place the devils had given them, the pool was much bigger and nicer than was really necessary, even having an attached hot tub, but none of them were going to complain about it. In fact Yu and Naoto were both relaxing (cuddling) in said hot tub and watching their friends play around as they discussed the previous day's events and debated what their next step should be.
When they saw Raynare die the two Fallen still in the fight had tried to get away, recognizing a losing fight when they saw one, but they didn't make it ten feet before they were incapacitated. Thankfully for every member of the Investigation Team's peace of mind, Gremory wasn't cold enough to casually execute fallen combatants unless it was warranted. Especially when they could be used by her superiors as potential bargaining chips with the Fallen leadership.
Gremory assured them that the Team would get a bonus to their paycheck for being dragged into and aiding in the fight with the fallen and the protection of both Hyoudou and the nun, Asia Argento, who it turned out had a very valuable Sacred Gear, as shown when she healed all of them of any minor wounds they'd happened to receive during the brief fight. Gremory had made sure they were aware that no harm would come to the nun while she was under the Gremory family's protection, but considering how fiercely Hyoudou fought to protect her, they didn't worry about it too much, especially now that his potential to grow immensely powerful had been revealed. The devils wouldn't want to alienate him if they absolutely didn't need to.
Labrys perked up from where she was watching an anime on a tablet when she heard a knock on the front door. Since everybody else was too busy and wet to get it she paused her show and headed over, opening it to find Sitri Sona accompanied by a beautiful caucasian woman that seemed to be in her late twenties, with long blonde hair, a curvy body and a simple but clearly expensive dress. Her blue eyes seemed to be constantly evaluating everything, including Labrys, raising an eyebrow at the sight of her. "Yes?" The android asked.
"Hello Labrys-san, I came to speak with Narukami-san and Kujikawa-san, if possible." Sitri said respectfully as she waited to be invited in.
"Ah, they're in the back with everyone else, enjoying the pool." Labrys said, still a bit confused.
Before Sitri could speak her companion did so, tone curt and businesslike. "Excellent, this will allow me to assess this Kujikawa girl better."
Labrys gave Sitri a look, the girl shrugging slightly, so Labrys invited them both inside and led them out back, where the sounds of teens laughing and splashing about could be clearly heard. "Yu-kun, Rise-chan, we have visitors that want to talk to you!" She called.
The teens quieted down when they heard that, turning to see who could be visiting them. Seeing Sitri with an unknown woman prompted them all to begin leaving the water.
Rise, being closest to the stairs leading out of the pool, approached first as the others hung back, watching. The unknown's eyes were assessing as they studied the copper haired girl as she got out of the water in a somewhat skimpy pink bikini, much of her slim, attractive body visible to her gaze. Her long hair trailed down her back, straightened out for the moment due to the water. She grabbed a towel and began drying herself as she approached slightly warily, especially considering the way this woman was looking at her. It wasn't creepy in the sexual way, but the way her every move was being evaluated reminded her of some people she'd met in the idol industry, those who were always trying to figure out how much you were worth.
Yu approached as well, a towel over his shoulders, his swimming trunks dripping slightly. "How can we help you?" He asked, taking the lead in the conversation.
Sitri motioned to her companion. "This is Lucretia Amdusias. I got in contact with her as I believed she might be able to give you another source of income."
"Indeed." The newly introduced Amdusias said as she glanced briefly at Yu, evaluating him as well, before turning her attention back towards Rise. "I have been informed of some of your circumstances, though I was obviously kept out of anything truly 'need to know'. I was, however, informed that you are an idol of some repute back in your home."
"Amdusias-san has many connections throughout the music industry, particularly in Japan and America, though she has contacts in Europe and other parts of Asia as well." Sitri explained. "Rias and I thought this might be a good opportunity for you to find similar work here while the Beelzebub tries to find you a way home."
Rise's eyebrows went up before she glanced at Yu. "I hadn't considered doing that. It would net us some decent income…"
"It's up to you, Rise-chan." Yu said with a gentle smile.
Rise considered it for a moment while looking at him before turning back to the older devil. "Alright, no harm in at least trying."
"Good." Amdusias said in a businesslike tone as she pulled a phone out of her pocket and started typing something. "I can already see that your looks are up to what I would expect of an idol. I will need to see how well you sing and dance, and how good you are in front of a camera. Any acting talent would also be good to determine."
"Well, between all of us I'm sure we could get some samples of her music and performances for you to determine if she meets your standards." Yu said, making the blonde look back up at him. "I know I have all her albums downloaded to my phone, and I think I also have a couple of music videos saved there as well."
"I have a few of her live concerts saved to my phone as well." Yukiko said, holding a hand up. "I'd be happy to give you copies to study if it helps Rise-chan." The others spoke up as well, indicating they too had various miscellaneous bits of Rise's work, making said girl smile happily, pleased by the evidence that her friends enjoyed the fruits of her labor.
Amdusias nodded, smiling slightly. "Excellent. Please give that all to me now and I will review it with some of my associates. Assuming we like what we see we will be in contact to discuss things further."
The Investigation Team immediately scrambled to get their phones and transfer all the content to a USB stick while Amdusias continued typing on her phone, taking a couple of pictures of Rise while she was at it, the soon-to-be-again idol making sure to pose for her in order to improve her chances, though she didn't notice the woman taking some more candid photos when she wasn't paying attention.
Within fifteen minutes of the devils' arrival Amdusias had been handed the USB stick, the woman taking it with a curt nod. "Very good. I'll be in touch." Without another word she turned and left, Sitri following her out after giving the other teens a nod.
The teens glanced at each other before Chie suddenly hugged Rise. "This is awesome, Rise-chan! You're going to start another career here!"
Rise laughed as the older girl lifted her off her feet. "Thanks, Chie-chan. I just hope things will go well."
"They will." Yosuke said simply. "Risette is too amazing for them not to." He said with a grin, prompting a beaming smile from the girl.
"Let's celebrate!" Teddie yelled, pumping his fist. "Let's go out to eat!"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Kanji said with a smile of his own. "Haven't really sat down and enjoyed a meal together in ages."
As the others all made noises of agreement Yu clapped his hands with a small laugh and a smile on his face. "Alright gang, go put on something nice then. I think I saw a nice sushi place near the high school."
Once again they all scrambled to get ready, their leader following along with a smile on his face.
Things seemed to be going well so far, bar a few hiccups. Hopefully that trend would continue.
Whew, got this done in time.
I hope this chapter satisfied those of you waiting for it. I have stated before on my other fics that I'm not really that great when it comes to fight scenes. I'm much more comfortable with dialogue and character interactions, so I do apologize if the fight against Raynare and her crew was substandard.
As for Rise becoming an idol in the DxD world as well, I'd always had that planned. I thought it would be a logical step for her to take if the opportunity presented itself, and it would give the team a good reason to roam all over Japan and get into adventures of their own outside of the Gremory peerage's.
To remind everyone, only the first chapters are going to focus on canon events. Once the Kuoh Accords are signed the Investigation Team are going to have their own, completely original adventures, only getting involved with Issei's shenanigans sporadically. I want to stretch my wings in the interesting DxD verse, especially since we're generally focused on a rather narrow, if consequential, section of it.
Now then, in other news, such as why this chapter is, as usual, late, if you read my other stuff you might know that I lost my job at the end of November. Because of this I'll be moving to the US in a matter of days as of the time of this being uploaded. Because of that I've been extremely busy, and will be very busy when I get there, so my writing is being impacted, which is a reason this chapter might not be up to snuff. Still, I'm determined to keep to my promises and deadlines, and so this is out by the end of the month.
Now I just have to also update Finiding Healing before the 31st . .
In any case, not much else to say, so I'll get to my usual final announcements.
I am always deeply grateful to those of you willing to toss a dollar or two my way just because you like my silly scribblings. I'm hoping I can continue counting on your generosity to ease the transition now that, as stated before, I'm jobless for the time being, and likely will be for another month or so.
Of course, let us not forget that you do get something out of it. For each dollar that you donate to my Pat A Ron, you get a vote in my monthly update poll stating what you want to see updated next month. And if what you vote for doesn't win immediately, no worries! Non-winning votes roll over to the next poll, so a fic that only gets a vote a month will eventually win (though it might take a bit, to be brutally honest). That's the reason this got updated this month, honestly: someone persistently plugging away at it.
That said, if a fic hasn't won in a long time, I will take it off the poll and update it anyway. For example, that is why I've been working on No Good Deed lately in between other, higher priority projects, since it's been so long since that won, so those of you who can't donate and want to see that updated, I hope to have the next chapter done soon.
So yes, donate to my Pat A Ron, you get a say in what I update. Everybody wins! So that's Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis. The current poll ends on February 8th, so go make sure your votes are counted.
I think that's all I have to say. Thank you everybody once again for reading, I truly appreciate it, especially when you review. I hope you all had Happy Holidays and New Year, and that all of those of you that celebrate it have a great Chinese New Year as well. Till next time!