The Lone Vigilante Issei – High School DxD
Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
I cannot believe that it took me exactly two months for me to release the next chapter!
I apologize for the long delay. Previously, I would only work the draft for one chapter, then write the chapter itself. That makes chapter releases slow. If you have followed my fanfiction profile, you will know that I was busy planning on the ending of this fanfiction. Now, I have roughly written down how it is going to go down. Hopefully, I will be releasing them faster, now that I have a good outline.
Also, I have exams to study for next month, so hopefully they will not hinder me too much.
Anyway, what have I got in store and what is going to Issei and his friends along with the various factions and players in this chapter?
Find out in…
Chapter 59 – Briefings and Talks
14th of November, Saturday, 11:00 am (Japan Time) – In the Realm of the Dead with Hades
[I see… So that is how it is…] Hades said, as he sat on his throne fully healed after his fight.
He was currently talking to someone through a magical circle.
[Yes, that Hulk did a number on me and my entire realm] Hades raged to the other person.
[Yes, I see that you and I feel the same about that green monster attacking us for no reason other than to vent its rage] Hades spoke after calming himself.
[Yes, as much as I hate it. It seems like I do not have a choice. From this point on, you and I will be allies. To that extent, that means the Nordic Mythology and the Underworld are allies in the war against this raging abomination] Hades declared to his correspondent.
[I hope you will relay my words, Loki, God of Mischief] Hades ended his call with these words.
'I may not be able to take part physically,' Hades thought to himself (the reason for not taking part was because he was too busy on rebuilding his realm). 'But at the very least, others can do the job for me.'
14th of November, Saturday, 11:04 am (Japan Time) – In a mysterious White space
In a certain place away from Japan, Shinyama and Sanma were there. Shinyama was finally training Sanma in Hokuto Shinken.
Sanma was currently practicing a technique that Shinyama taught him. He breathed in, steeled himself and then rapidly threw punches at speed that made them almost invisible to the naked eye.
"ATATATATATATATATATA!" Sanma yelled, as he punched the air with about a hundred punches in total.
Then Sanma threw one final punch…
"WATAAAAAA!" Sanma yelled, as his fist shook the air upon thrusting it forward.
Shinyama smiled in approval and walked up to Sanma.
"You've gotten better with the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken (北斗百裂拳 - Hundred Cracking Fist), but it's still not good enough. You need to make sure you are hitting your opponent's pressure points, instead of hitting randomly," Shinyama instructed Sanma.
"But how am I supposed to do that with the air?" Sanma retorted.
"Just imagine your opponent," Shinyama answered Sanma.
"Got it… I guess…" Sanma replied before getting back to practice.
Sanma practiced the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken once more, throwing hundred punches at a time. And so, time flowed endlessly with him only taking breaks to eat and sleep for days. Every day Shinyama would show him a new move, give him some pointers and then leave him alone for a bit.
How long had it been since he first started practicing? Three weeks? Although time flowed like this for Sanma, time flowed slower inside this white space than outside it. According to Shinyama, an hour outside equaled to 10 days inside this white chamber, meaning that if the Amazons arrive tomorrow morning, they still had about half a year in the chamber left to get ready.
As Sanma moved on to practice another technique, he could not help but be mystified by this whole place. Even now, Sanma could not help but wonder how they got here.
If memory served him correctly, Shinyama told Sanma to follow him to the top of the roof of the Tengu dojo where he pulled out a device, pressed a button and then… everything warped and then… they ended up here.
Sanma still could not wrap his head around about what had happened. Then again, it did not really matter. What mattered was that he had more than enough time to learn his master's art Hokuto Shinken and use to fight against the onslaught of Chinese Amazons on their way to hurt those he loved.
Sanma could not help but let out a sad sigh at that. He stopped his martial arts practice to sit down cross-legged in meditation. He truly needed some time to rest and think about his dilemma. That was what Shinyama encouraged him to do while he was in training. In fact, his Hokuto Shinken training was largely meant for that purpose.
Just what was he going to do with Cat Fu once he met her? Sanma knew that he was going to face off against her. Only this time, it was to kill or be killed. Sanma pictured Cat Fu's face in his mind. Her smile, her laugh, her flirtatious behavior… all of them filled Sanma with happiness. But then… he remembered the angered and disappointed look on her face when she found out he was two-timing her at Hotel Entertainment. He remembered how close she came to killing him just for cheating on her with Nakane. But what haunted Sanma was how broken and empty she looked along with the words she said to him before leaving.
Flashback
"I love you… I had sex with you… I wanted to have a date with you… but it's impossible now, isn't it? You don't love me… you always look at other women… I… don't want to look at you… I'm going home…" Cat Fu said despondently.
Flashback end
Cat Fu's words were deeply etched into his mind. After that she did not regard him or talk to him since then. At best, she would only throw a brief glare at him for a second before leaving. And now she was going to march on the Tengu residence with all the Amazons to wage a full-scale war? Just… why did it have to come to this?
Sanma knew what the answer was. It was the Chinese Amazon code of honor, of course. It was because of that that this whole thing was happening, starting from the fact that Cat Fu tried to chase him back to Japan all the way down to this engagement he found himself due to defeating Cat Fu in a fight.
Everything boiled down to that code of honor just like all his troubles with the arranged marriage with Nakane.
Sanma sighed again as he looked down with sadness in his eyes.
Nakane… another girl who he had been engaged with and whose trust in him had been shattered due to his two-timing with Cat Fu.
Flashback
"SHUT UP! You men are all the same! Only thinking with your pants and ditching any girl however you want for whatever girl you want! I hate you jerk! Go die!" Nakane finished her rant by punching Sanma in the face.
The impact knocked him down to the floor, leaving a bruised cheek.
"And I thought you were cool just now. I should have known it was all too good to be true," Nakane said to him with a look of disappointment before turning away. Nakane walked away, leaving through the crowd of former hostages and out the door.
Flashback end
Sanma winced at the memory as he felt his heart becoming more painful.
Sanma and Nakane had argued so many times with each other, yet why did that one hurt him so much? Nakane and Sanma never wanted this engagement. It was something their fathers forced upon them. And so, both of them ended up in this quarrelsome situation where they always bicker and Sanma somehow always gets walloped.
Yet, at the same time… the times they shared together were not always bad. They shared trials, fun and excitement together. At times, it felt like they were friends.
But ever since that day, she avoided talking to him. It was even worse than with Cat Fu because Nakane and Sanma both lived under the same roof together. Whenever they met, Nakane would quickly walk past Sanma and go to her room. Worst of all, she would remain in her room for the entire day from time to time and not come out. At times, Sanma swore he could hear crying coming from Nakane's room.
Sanma would feel so lost because of his dilemma with girls that he had no idea what to do. In fact, he was basically paralyzed when it came down to it. All he did up until now was to hope that somehow this would resolve itself on its own.
But now, he knew that the status quo could not last forever. It changed ever since Komachi found out about his gender-changing secret, causing her illusions about being with Sanma to be irreparably broken. And now, with the Amazons marching towards him and the Tengu dojo, it was inevitable that the status quo had to break.
And now, Sanma had to decide. Who would be the girl of his dreams? Nakane? Cat Fu? Or perhaps Ukyu Kuongi?
If Sanma chose Cat Fu, perhaps he could use his announce to get married with Cat Fu to avoid bloodshed. He could save the Tengus and all his friends like Ryuga, Matsuda, Motohama and Issei by convincing the Amazons to make peace with each other. It may take some convincing, but it remained within the realm of possibility. After all, Sanma did not want anyone to kill or be killed if possible. But at the same time, he would have to go to China and live according to their commands and precepts. Although Sanma liked Cat Fu very much, he felt that living among the Amazons would be burdensome and restraining on the long run, making life very burdensome. Worse, Sanma would be violating his code of honor as a martial artist of the School of Randomness for by not marrying Nakane, he would be dishonoring his family and the honor of the School of Randomness by failing to unite the Tengus and the Raotomes. He might be practicing Hokuto Shinken now (and he liked it better than the School of Randomness) but he did not want to abandon the School of Randomness either for he still felt attached to it.
If Sanma chose Nakane, then his martial artist's honor will be saved and that of the School of Randomness, too. The lineage would continue and Sanma could live in the dojo happily ever after. But the downsides to it were that he would have to fight and kill the Amazons if he insisted on marrying Nakane. Negotiating would be impossible for the Amazons also had their own honor to keep. Sanma hated killing and while Hokuto Shinken was a killing fist, he went out of his way to learn it to protect everyone. While he could imagine killing someone if he had to, the idea of killing Cat Fu was not what he wanted. No, he did not want to kill her ever! On the other side, if he did not stop the Amazons, then they would kill the others and destroy the dojo and the School of Randomness! That was not something he could allow either! The Chinese Amazons aside, there was the issue with Nakane herself. Nakane was a hot-headed powder keg that was waiting to explode on him once misunderstandings or arguments arise. Could he really live like that living with an abusive wife?
And what is Sanma chose Ukyu? Out of all the girls, Ukyu was the one with the least strings attached. If they got married, they could live a long happy life. Honor, codes, tribal customs, commands and precepts… none of those mattered. He could live a free life with Ukyu and do whatever he liked. Ukyu herself was a nice girl. She and he may have had their fights and arguments, but they did not as bad as the fights he had with Nakane. Moreover, out of all the girls he had been with, it was Ukyu whom he could get along with the best. The two have even known each other for far longer than Sanma did with any of the other girls. Sanma could practically imagine with a blissful smile all the things that would happen in a married life with Ukyu… But the downsides were the problems of having to fight and kill the Amazons – including Cat Fu – and dishonoring and wrecking the School of Randomness and his martial artist's honor.
And it was because of all these upsides and downsides that Sanma was struggling. Which one should he pick? He had to choose one of those or none of those.
So, which one?
As Sanma was thinking these things, he was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching him. He opened his eyes and widened his eyes in surprise when he saw…
"Ukyu!?" Sanma eclaimed in shock.
"Hi, San-chan!" Ukyu greeted Sanma with a bright smile, which made Sanma blush.
Ukyu was wearing a blue sweater with a blue skirt, black leggings and sneakers and was standing two meters away from him.
"What are you doing here? How did you even get here?" Sanma asked two questions at once, as he stood up.
"I wanted to see how you were doing. As for the other question, Shinyama brought me here," Ukyu looked at Shinyama standing behind her and gave him a nod. "He told me that you were having problems and brought me here to help."
Shinyama nodded in return and walked a good distance further to give them privacy.
Sanma looked away as he blushed due to the awkwardness of the situation.
"Well…" Sanma began, not sure where to start.
"It's… about the other girls and me… isn't it?" Ukyu guessed, as she looked away with a reddened face, too.
"I… did a lotta thinking about that. And to be honest… it's still hard… I just dunno who to choose… even with Komachi out of the picture…" Sanma confessed.
"I see…" Ukyu remarked, as she slowly walked up to Sanma until she stood a foot away from him.
"Ukyu?" Sanma addressed her, as he was uncertain as to what she was doing.
"San-chan, do you remember what I told you the other day?" Ukyu asked of Sanma.
"About what?" Sanma asked her confused.
"It's about choosing the right girl. I said you were free to choose whoever you want. But when you do, think about who makes you to be the happiest. That's the girl you want to be with the most," Ukyu reminded Sanma.
"Yeah, but even so, there are other things I need to worry about. The honor of the School of the Art of Randomness, the lives of everyone at the dojo, the lives of the Amazons and Cat Fu…" Sanma listed the things that he had to worry about.
"But in the end, it all comes down to who you want to be with, doesn't it?" Ukyu pointed out.
"Yeah, but…" Sanma tried to argue but Ukyu interrupted him.
"San-chan, you're a good person. But even if you want to protect all these things, you cannot protect them all. In the end, you must abandon at least one of these things and protect at least one of the others," Ukyu patiently told Sanma.
"But… just abandoning the honor or the lives of others… it just feels so hard…" Sanma confessed to Ukyu with desperation in his voice.
"You have to choose Sanma. You don't have to choose now, but please come to a decision soon," Ukyu said, as she turned away from Sanma and was about to walk away. "Just remember. When you choose and if you have to abandon something, think about what makes you the happiest on the long run. Choose who would make you the happiest on the long run."
"Ukyu… I…" Sanma wanted to say something to her.
"I'll see you later, Sanma. I'll give you time to think…" Ukyu said, as she walked away, leaving Sanma to his thoughts.
As Sanma stood there watching Ukyu walk away dumbfounded, her words echoed through his mind.
"What makes me the happiest…" Sanma murmured to himself.
14th of November, Saturday, 11:12 am (Japan Time) – In the Assembly of the 72 Pillars of the Devils, Underworld
The assembly had many Lords, Dukes, Princes and other Devil nobility seated in their seats. They discussed amongst themselves why Maou Lucifer had called them for an urgent session. As they were discussing amongst each other, Sirzechs Lucifer entered the hall, garnering everyone's attention. He was accompanied by Serafall Leviathan, Falbium Asmodeus and Ajuka Beelzebub, who took their seats in the assembly with Sirzechs.
With the motion of a hand, Sirzechs silenced the Devils assembled and spoke.
"I am truly grateful that all of you have assembled so numerously. I have called you here for an emergency meeting as a grave threat has appeared not only to the Underworld but also to the entire Universe," Sirzechs announced solemnly.
This caused shock and chatter amongst the Devil Nobility.
"Is this for real!?"
"What could this threat possibly be!?"
"Have the Grigori and Heaven have banded themselves together to destroy us?"
"No, wait, he said the whole universe is threatened, so could it be something worse?"
"SILENCE!" Sirzechs ordered the Devils to keep their peace before continuing. "I can see that all of you are concerned as I am and are probably wondering as to what this grave threat may be."
With that said, Falbium used his mathematic-based magic to create a magic screen which showed them the threat in question. It showed the Hulk in a still image, roaring to the skies in fury.
"This, my fellow Lords and Ladies, is the Hulk. It…" Sirzechs spoke but was interrupted because of the laughter and mockery within the assembly.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
"What is that!? It looks so ridiculous with its green skin!"
"Did he forget his wardrobe or why is he in his underwear!?"
"Lord Lucifer, you can't be serious! This is the threat!?"
The laughter and mockery continued for a while before Sirzechs silenced them all again.
"I can assure you that this being is as real of a threat to every living thing as I have just said," Sirzechs said with a serious face, making it clear he is not joking around.
"I agree with Lord Lucifer, as well," Falbium Asmodeus (who was normally relaxed, but was now awake and somber) said. "I, along with Lord Beelzebub and Lady Leviathan, have seen all the available information there is about the Hulk. And we can say with absolute surety that this Hulk is more dangerous to us and the entire world than any of the Mythological Factions are to us."
This caused more laughter in the assembly, though some were starting to become confused.
"How on earth could this green muscle freak be a threat to the whole World?" a Devil noblewoman wearing a long green dress with black boots asked in disbelief.
"That is a good question. By the way, I like your dress," Serafall Leviathan spoke up while throwing in offhanded compliment with a cutesy smile who made the woman blushed at the compliment. "We should start with the timeline of its appearance…"
What followed was a detailed explanation on how the Hulk appeared out of nowhere, beat up the Youkai, then disappeared, only to reappear in Tokyo and cause a rampage. Serafall also mentioned the recent sighting of the Sekiryuutei and his subsequent fight with the Hulk through the city. By the time she mentioned that the Hulk was fighting head-on with Loki, the Devils were no longer treating the Hulk lightly. Instead, they were getting worried instead. Loki was a very powerful Nordic God and fighting him head-on was no small feat.
"After that, the three of them were struck by a mysterious lightning and vanished into thin air," Serafall explained.
"Was this lightning some kind of magic that made them disappear or are they truly dead?" asked Duke Gremory.
"We do not know," Sirzechs answered his father. "And we do not know who or what caused it either."
"But if the green monster is gone and the Sekiryuutei and Loki are gone as well, then the problem is solved. Is that not so?" Duke Gremory reasoned.
"That would be the case," Serafall continued. "But it seems as if this lightning merely teleported them somewhere else. Loki has been found back in Scandinavia, appearing out of the blue in the mansion of the God Freyr and the Hulk himself has recently been sighted in the Underworld coming out of the Realm of the Dead."
This caused murmuring and chatter. All the Devils knew that the realm of the dead was the domain of Hades and the Grim Reapers with whom they did not have a good relationship with to put it mildly. Could this be a conspiracy from Hades? Was the Hulk a minion of Hades?
"According to reports, the Hulk has apparently caused so much violence in Hades' realm that nearly all the Grim Reapers have been destroyed and Hades himself being… badly injured in the fight, too," Ajuka Beelzebub spoke up this time, revealing this shocking piece of news.
This made the Devils assembled hysterical.
"HADES HAS BEEN BADLY INJURED!?"
"He's one of the strongest beings in existence! How can he be badly injured!?"
"Are you telling me this 'Hulk' singlehandedly destroyed Hades and all the Grim Reapers on its own!?"
"How can we even believe this story? Do you have any proof?"
In response to the last questioner, Ajuka stepped up and used his magic to show everyone the proof.
"This is magical footage of the Hulk fighting Hades in his realm. One of our familiar spies managed to record this footage after noticing abnormalities from a distance. Infiltrating the Underworld was easy since all the Grim Reapers have either been incapacitated or too busy to notice. Anyway, here is footage of the Hulk in action," Ajuka said and let the footage play.
"HULK CRUSH HADES… HULK CRUSH YOU… HULK SMASH!" the Hulk was seen roaring and screaming on screen as he pressed forward as he took on Hades' most powerful curses intended to kill him in seconds.
[You… damn… Why is this… happening to me…?] Hades growled, as poured everything he had to stop the Hulk somehow, but he was getting weaker while the Hulk was still strong.
Eventually, the Hulk got close enough to Hades. The Hulk stretched out his arm and seized him by Hades' outstretched arm. The Hulk grasped his wrist and used his strength to crush Hades' arm.
[Nggg…. Nggaahhhh….] Hades screamed in pain, as he tried to free himself from the Hulk's grip.
With that the curse Hades used on Hulk started to weaken. With the Hulk no longer constrained, he used his other hand and grabbed Hades' throat. He lifted him up and then…
[BOOM!]
…smashed him to the ground.
[GAH!] Hades coughed as he felt the impact shake his skeleton body.
"HULK MAKE SURE YOU STAY DOWN! YOU WILL NEVER GET UP AND HURT HULK!"
The Hulk then raised his foot and then…
This caused all the Devils to wince, causing some to turn their eyes away.
"I think we should stop here," Ajuka said as he paused the footage. "After that, the Hulk left the Realm of Dead and was last seen running around the Underworld.
The Devils could not believe their ears. If before they were worried about the Hulk, now they truly shaken thanks to the video they had seen. Hades was one of the top 10 strongest supernatural beings in existence and this Hulk managed to beat him so easily. And now Ajuka is telling them that the Hulk was running around in the Underworld at this very moment while they were sitting here. If that was true, then…
"GET THE SOLDIERS READY!"
"FIND THE STRONGEST DEVIL PEERAGES NOW!"
"That thing destroyed Hades so easily! If it can do this, then…"
"Where is this Hulk now!? Do you have his current whereabouts!?"
Sirzechs stepped up this time and showed them a map of the Underworld with the Hulk's last seen location.
"We believe the Hulk is heading towards Fallen Angel territory. We do not know why it is going there, but thankfully no major city or settlement will be in its way," Sirzechs said to them.
This caused the assembly of Devils to collectively sigh in relief.
"All this means is that we have managed to gain some time. Judging by its power and ability to fight an entire faction along with its seemingly unlimited vigor and hatred towards everything, we have to prepare for the worst. If by chance the Grigori fails to stop the Hulk, then we could be next," Sirzechs told them ominously.
The Devils in the assembly gulped at this. This did not sound good…
"So, what do you propose we do?" asked one of the Devil Nobles.
"It is good that you asked," Sirzechs stated. "And that is why we have summoned you here – to make the decision on what we are to do. And judging by what we know, we believe there is only one way to deal with this situation."
Sirzechs paused, making everyone to wait with bated breath on what Sirzechs had to say.
What followed next caused significant outrage.
After all, how else would Devils react if they were told that they have to ally themselves with their enemies the Grigori, Heaven, along with the Eastern and Western Youkai, the Grim Reapers and the Nordic Gods?
14th of November, Saturday, 12:10 pm – In the Living Room of the Tengu Residence
"Ouch…" Ryuga groaned in pain as he massaged his still sore arm.
Even though Ryuga's injured arm had recovered significantly from his fight with Sairaorg thanks to ailments from Shinyama, the pain still lingered on with painful throbs.
"Easy, Ryuga," Nakane said as she put a cold pack wrapped in a towel on his arm. "You should not move it around so much. It's a miracle your arm is still attached."
"Yeah, that was one heck of a fight… Ehehe…" Ryuga chuckled nervously.
And why did Ryuga chuckle so nervously? Well, it was because he was sitting with the girl of his dreams. And although he found himself in a situation where he could spend time with Nakane alone together, he did not speak much with her other than about the events that had transpired not too long ago.
Still, it was better than nothing.
As Nakane was about to leave, she suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Say, Ryuga. Can I ask a question," Nakane asked Ryuga.
Ryuga had a puzzled look on his face.
"About what?" Ryuga asked.
"Well, it's about those three Hide brothers. I wanted to ask since you were the closest to them aside from… you know… Sanma," Nakane said with Ryuga catching a bit of sadness coming from her facial expression.
'She's still thinking of Sanma, huh?' Ryuga thought to himself with a short frown appearing on his face, before taking on a more neutral expression. "What is it you want to know?"
"Well, it's… there's something off about them," Nakane said.
"Something off?" Ryuga repeated in confusion at the thought of why Nakane was talking about Matsuda, Motohama and Issei.
"Yeah, like they have all these weird gadgets like a magical helicopter and all these weapons and… have all these mysterious enemies they fight against and…" Nakane listed the things she found strange about them. "…and I think their behavior is strange… and their dad, too. So do you know what their deal is?"
Dad? Did she mean Shinyama Hide? Something inside Ryuga told him that Shinyama was not their father. He seemed far too young for that. But that aside, he answered her question.
"Yeah, they are from normal. I don't understand everything about them. But I do know one thing. Those guys are one hundred percent trustworthy," Ryuga assured Nakane with a smile.
"You think so?" Nakane asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, these guys are the best guys you can find. There are no better friends that are willing to go through all kinds of danger just to help you than them. They're also great guys to hang out with. Things never get boring with them around. Heck, even with Sanma around we would have a great time hanging out. Funny thing is even my time with Sanma got a lot more enjoyable with those three around with us…" Ryuga smiled fondly at the times with the boys, though at the thought of Sanma, his smile faded away quickly. "…though we don't do that anymore since… the Hotel incident…"
Ryuga then became awkwardly quiet at the mention of Sanma and Nakane shifted uncomfortably in response, too.
After a few seconds of silence, Ryuga decided to get the elephant out of the room and dared to ask a question that has been bothering him for a long time now.
"Do you… really like Sanma?" Ryuga asked Nakane.
Nakane promptly blushed as her heart skipped a beat in a panic.
"Wh-wh-why did you bring this on all of a sudden?" Nakane stuttered in embarrassment.
"It's just that I'm know that Sanma keeps chasing other girls even though he is engaged with you. You two fight a lot and normally one would assume that you two hated each other. Yet every time you two make up and then the same happens all over again. He says that he wants to fulfill this engagement to you, yet he also chases other girls. For me it's clear that he does not know what he wants, but… I don't know how you feel on the matter. So… Do you like him?" Ryuga repeated his question to Nakane.
Nakane did not know what to say at first. All this talk about Sanma and their engagement made her feel sad, depressed and angry at the same time. She did care for Sanma, but she also hated how he flirted with other girls. Nakane remembered all the times she walloped him for getting close to other girls and then remembered the last time she got into a fight with him after Sanma had rescued her in Hotel Entertainment. And the cause of the fight was because she found out Sanma was two-timing her that time with Cat Fu. It was because of that fight and the disappointment she felt in Sanma that she avoided Sanma and often stayed in her room for the entire day.
But even so, could Nakane really say that she had no feelings for Sanma?
Nakane took in a deep breath and made her answer.
"I… don't know how to feel. Sometimes, I want to get married to him because of the pledge our fathers made to each other. You know, the one to marry both of us to unite our families under the School of Randomness… Sometimes, I feel like he is cool, but at other times he…" Nakane gritted her teeth in anger but held her anger in until it cooled off for a bit.
Ryuga noticed this and looked down sadly. He could tell this whole love web situation was affecting her badly.
"He… would always do something that destroys whatever aura of coolness he has like insulting me, flirting with those floozies and… disappointing me by throwing my expectations in the dirt…" Nakane said sadly, as she listed the things that she thought was tarnishing Sanma's image in her eyes. "Sometimes, I catch myself thinking that it would be better if we never got engaged at all."
"I see…" Ryuga said and nodded to what she just said.
Once again, awkward silence filled the air. Surprisingly, Nakane did not walk away. She just stood there, enveloped in her feelings of uncertainty. It was as if she was waiting for Ryuga to say something.
Ryuga, seeing his chance, decided to speak up.
"Say, Nakane…" Ryuga began to speak.
"Yeah?" Nakane asked Ryuga.
"If you had the choice to get engaged to someone… Who would you like to get engaged to?" Ryuga asked her.
Nakane was stunned into silence by the question for a few seconds.
"That's… hard to say…" Nakane said, recovering from her surprise. "I don't have anyone in mind other than the fact that whoever I want to be with should be… decisive, polite, take care of me and… actually love me and me alone… though I doubt that I can find a guy like that so soon."
Nakane blushed at revealing her deepest desires to a boy, which she had never done to any boy before – not even Sanma. The only ones she ever told this would be her friends at school and her sisters.
Ryuga would blush because he was finally hearing her deepest thoughts on this matter. Moreover, he was blushing even redder because of what he was say next.
"Well, you're right. A guy should be all those things and more… Though, you might not have to look too far for a guy like that. I mean… umm… he could be closer to you than you think…" Ryuga dared to say these words with a very red face.
Nakane looked at Ryuga in confusion and then would also receive a red-hot face upon realizing what Ryuga just said.
"You… meant that…?" Nakane asked Ryuga, as she stepped closer to Ryuga.
"Y-y-y-yeah…" Ryuga stuttered as he looked at her with a heavy blush on his face.
Both teenagers looked at each other without saying anything. Nakane slowly turned around and took a seat next to Ryuga. Ryuga and Nakane looked away from each other from the awkwardness of being in proximity to each other. And then, they looked at each other's hands and slowly inched them closer to each other until Ryuga's hand slowly overlapped Nakane's.
Although, they did not say a word, they both knew what the other was feeling towards each other. This made them smile and sit in complete peace in each other's comfort.
What they did not know was that Hibiki secretly snapped a picture while peeking into the living room from the hallway. She smirked to herself.
"This picture is definitely worth a fortune," Hibiki said to herself.
14th of November, Saturday, 12:25 pm – Elsewhere in the Tengu Residence
Kasumi was looking out the window in worry, hoping that Issei would be fine. So much had happened today and more was bound to happen tomorrow if Shinyama's words were to be trusted. A full-blown war between the Chinese Amazons and everyone assembled at the Tengu dojo was going to be an ugly sight. Kasumi could not worry a lot because these reasons.
"Umm… Miss Tengu," somebody addressed the eldest Tegu daughter.
Kasumi turned to where the voice came from and saw Matsuda and Motohama standing in the hallway.
"Oh, hello there. Is there something I can help you boys there?" Kasumi asked with a smile.
Matsuda and Motohama could not help but blush at her smile. She was so cute…
"Is it… true that you and Issei are a couple?" Matsuda asked Kasumi.
"Oh… well…" Kasumi was taken aback by the sudden question. "Let's just say… he and I are good friends and, in a few years, something more could come out of it."
Kasumi answered in a rather cryptic manner for outright admitting that they were a couple was not something she was willing to admit for the time being.
Matsuda and Motohama looked at each other and non-verbally understood that the other had taken her answer as a yes to the question.
"He saved my life when I was kidnapped by Fallen Angels back then. I grew to love how kind and brave he was, while protecting our family and his friends from danger," Kasumi continued, gaining Matsuda's and Motohama's attention once again. "He would often visit to me to improve his flexibility. As I used to do ballet, I was best suited to helping him. And so that is how we spent time together and became the best of friends."
"Flexibility… ballet…?" Motohama muttered in confusion.
Matsuda, on the other hand, was filled with jealousy. For not only was he jealous that Issei had a beautiful girlfriend, but she was also flexible! Why was she with Issei and not him!?
"But now… I don't know where he is…" Kasumi said, turning to face the two boys with an anxious look on her face. "I don't know whether he is dead or alive… And I'm worried that all these people he is fighting will kill someday. So, tell me, please… Do you think he will come back?"
Matsuda and Motohama stopped feeling jealous at that moment and looked at each other for a moment. They turned their face back to Kasumi when they said their answer.
"You don't have to worry. Issei always comes back. After all…" Matsuda said, as he looked outside the window with a confident smile.
"He is the Red Dragon Emperor – and Ddraig is with him," Motohama finished the sentence with confidence, as both he and Matsuda looked into the blue afternoon sky.
14th of November, Saturday, 12:45 pm – at a gathering with the Youkai somewhere in the Kansai Region
Yasaka, the leader of the Western Youkai Faction, was in a leadership summit meeting with Nurarihyon, the leader of the Eastern Youkai Faction.
While Yasaka never really liked Nurarihyon, who liked freeloading in other people's homes and eating snacks while extorting them, she put aside her dislike for him for a single purpose. And that purpose is to form an alliance.
And why was Yasaka willing to form an alliance between the Western and Eastern Youkais?
Well, that would be answered in the gathering of Youkai Elders and senior military officers from both Youkai Factions. Yasaka and Nurarihyon have agreed to a joint statement with Yasaka making the announcement.
"I, Yasaka of the Western Youkai Faction, and Nurarihyon of the Eastern Youkai Faction have agreed to form an alliance to fight the abominable and destructive green being, known as the Hulk. The Hulk has caused immense destruction to Tokyo and has hurt many of our soldiers, causing terror and mayhem wherever it goes. Given its massive physical strength and discussions with other leaders of the other factions, who have likewise suffered from the Hulk's relentless attacks. We are also in further discussions to extend this alliance to same said factions to deal with this Hulk," Yasaka stated.
This caused significant chatter of shock and worry to permeate the hall until Nurarihyon beckoned everyone to be silent.
"We understand that this statement of ours may cause unease, but given the severity of the situation, we have no choice. Moreover, the alliance that we have amongst the two Factions is not just about the Hulk. We also have to deal with a sudden invasion of a huge column of Chinese Amazons numbering in the hundreds, coming from China by boat. Already, they have entered Japanese soil and have fought against our troops, killing several of our men. May their souls be at peace," Nurarihyon said and bowed his head in respect for the dead and held a moment of silence.
The other Youkai held a moment of silence for them as well, especially those from the military since they had been personally affected by the whole matter. After the moment of silence had ended, Yasaka continued for Nurarihyon.
"We do not know the whereabouts of the Hulk, as it has disappeared since its rampage in Tokyo. Nevertheless, should the Hulk be found, we will be informed and in turn inform you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we announce that we declare war on the Chinese Amazons. Our troops have been deployed to eliminate these intruders as we speak. As per our knowledge, they are giving pursuit on these Chinese Amazon intruders as we speak," Yasaka informed all the Youkai assembled.
14th of November, Saturday, 12:54 pm – with the Chinese Amazons
The Chinese Amazons were walking forward with their beasts and all their warriors. They kept on moving forward with grim determination to fight and kill for their honor. Of course, even they would get tired. They would eat and drink as they walked to keep their spirits up. But what also helped was to sing a certain Communist marching song. While not Communists themselves, it had a certain popularity among the Amazons (note: I am referring to 长征 (Cháng zhēng) which translates as "Long March").
Despite the mood being more upbeat than before, it still did not change that they had fought and broken through the rows of riot police. Although they managed to break through, they still lost 18 of their tribal sisters and a panda in the attack. It was painful for them, but at least the police would no longer be a challenge for them for the time being. Even if more police forces and even the military would step in, it would be too late for them. The Amazons were getting close to the outskirts of Tokyo and were about to reach a very forested area where they hide and keep themselves hidden. The various Japanese security forces would struggle finding them for the Amazons were good at hiding themselves. Only pity that they could not use their methods of hiding while on the march.
Nevertheless, the Amazons stayed vigilant, having several of their people on the lookout. One of these people was Cat Fu, who was in one of the trees watching out for the security forces.
"Cat Fu, are you there?" Mouse called from below.
Cat Fu put a finger to her lips. "You stay quiet, or you alert enemy!" she warned him.
"I'm sorry but I just want to ask this. We might have to fight and kill Sanma Raotome. Are you capable of doing so?" Mouse asked of her.
Cat Fu widened her eyes in surprise at this. She then decided to turn away from Mouse and ignore him.
Mouse sighed at Cat Fu's response.
"It seems you cannot. Let me tell you this though. If you cannot kill him…" Mouse said, as he clenched his fists. "…then I will do it for you."
Mouse turned around and headed back to the Amazon camp, leaving Cat Fu to her thoughts.
Although Cat Fu remained emotionless on the outside, on the inside she was troubled.
She knew that tomorrow was the day. She either needed to kill Sanma or be annihilated by him. To fulfill her duties of her tribe to avenge her honor for the Sekiryuutei's assault on the Neko Neko Café, she needed to do this. She knew that as the friend of the Issei, Sanma was most likely to stand with him and fight against her.
It was a cruel fate to fight and kill those who you love. But she had no choice.
Looking up to the blue sky, she could not help but enjoy the view. But she knew that the sky could not be blue by tomorrow. Instead, the sky was going to be tainted red like the blood that was going to flow.
14th of November, Saturday, 1:03 pm – at the Grigori, Underworld
"HULK SMASH!"
[BOOM!]
"INTRUDER!"
"WEAPONS READY!"
"ALERT!"
A number of Fallen Angels had arrived at the scene to stop the Hulk.
The Hulk had entered the immediate vicinity of Grigori territory and was promptly surrounded by flying Fallen Angels with spears ready from above. They all threw spells and spears at the Hulk, but the Hulk just dodged all the attacks on and used his strength to punch through the barriers of the Grigori.
[BAM!] [POW!] [BOOM!]
The entire Grigori shook every time the Hulk punched the barrier protecting the Grigori. But despite this, the barrier remained unharmed. In the end, the Hulk ran away from the attacks and headed towards the distance.
"AFTER IT!"
"DO NOT LET IT ESCAPE!"
The Fallen Angels switched from fighting the Hulk to pursuing him.
The Hulk ran a good distance away from the walls of the Grigori, shaking off the Fallen Angels and then stopped at a certain spot.
It then took a position as if it were about to run a sprint, as the Fallen Angels were about to reach the Hulk's position.
(((BOOOOOOMMMM!)))
The Hulk made a huge boom as it dashed forward towards the barrier at high speed.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" The Hulk roared and then jumped at the barrier at full speed.
[CRACK!] [CRACK!] [CRUMBLE!]
The barrier suddenly cracked at where the Hulk had impacted, allowing the Hulk to crash into the barrier and into the complex of the Grigori. The damage to the barrier was so strong, it collapsed completely like a glass window that had just shattered into thousand pieces.
"THE INTRUDER HAS BROKEN THROUGH!"
"SEND REINFORCEMENTS!"
"LET'S MOVE! LET'S MOVE!"
"NO MONSTER INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE GRIGORI SHALL DEFEAT US!"
The Fallen Angels flew off after him into the building.
What none of the Fallen Angels knew was that this was a diversion.
Issei and Ddraig were a good distance away and were watching with satisfaction about what was happening.
"The plan worked, Partner," Issei said to Ddraig with a smirk.
[Indeed, Partner. Indeed] Ddraig replied with a light chuckle.
With that Issei ran towards the Grigori amidst the chaos.
What neither of them knew was that somewhere in the Grigori a certain dragon belonging to a young man with silver hair had sensed them.
[Is that… Ddraig?] the White Dragon Emperor Albion said to himself.
And that was the Chapter 59 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.
Now, about this chapter.
Lots of things are happening again. Sanma is training, Ryuga is recovering from his injuries, Kasumi is worrying, the Factions are preparing to go to war with the Hulk and Issei is at the Grigori.
What plan were Ddraig and Issei talking about at the end of this chapter? Find out next time.
I was planning on having Issei confront the mysterious creature in this chapter, but because of my new writing plans for this story, it will be postponed to the next chapter, as I have added a lot of new content than I had previously planned. And all that content is about more talking. Nevertheless, the dialogue between the Nerima characters here serves as a turning point for some of the various characters, hence all this is important.
As for the various factions discussing about how to deal with the Hulk and forming alliances with each other. Boy, oh boy… this is certainly the start of something big, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, what did you think of this chapter?
Did you like it?
Please read and review, I would like to hear from you.
And as always, I hope to see you around next time.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama
