AN: Well, figured I'd keep this one going, cuz I honestly find Myself enjoying writing this, no matter how "Dumb" it might be, maybe something's wrong with Me, ah well, here goes.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything I use in this fic beyond Shuukei & any other OCs I might introduce(it's highly unlikely though). Highschool DxD belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi & Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.
Chapter II: A Little Mind to Mind.
As Shuukei opened His eyes, He found Himself in some kind of castle, ornate, white pillars, stained glass windows portraying something beyond His understanding, a checkerboard pattern on the floor, and eyes...eyes gazing from every shadow, blinking, watching, twitching, is this another dream? is this His mind? what is going on?. "how very astute of You, this is Our mind". Shuukei heard a voice, almost as dead as His own, as He begins to hear footsteps.
"I was waiting for a chance to speak with You in truth, I knew You'd never make sense of the dreams, the noises...but I certainly didn't think it'd take a fallen angel to get You to come here, but enough prevaricating, if I know You as well as I think you do, there shouldn't be any beating around the bush, come. sit down with Me" Shuukei saw the man & His eyes widened, They looked almost alike, both were tall, both had black eyes & hair & almost the same body-build, the differences between them are somewhat minute truly, namely the mask He wears, as the two walk, Shuukei carries himself with a degree of worry, while the man walked lackadaisically, almost sauntering or shuffling with each step, as the two sat down by a table that manifested from...well, somewhere, Shuukei asked the important question:
"Who are You? I've dreamt, I've heard every noise You made Me hear, I thought I was going insane, really, I believed that was it". the man chuckled, Shuukei noticing how empty His laugh is in comparison to His own, before the man shrugged, almost in a "what can You do" style of way, before sighing.
"Shuukei, this is going to be hard to explain somewhat, but...well, to put things simply, I'm you, to put things in a more explainable manner: after My death during the war, which I'll explain to You shortly, I was judged by hell itself, something I found to be utterly terrifying, sentenced to reincarnate with no memories, I am aware this is not the best explanation but hell was vague with It's punishment, My name..well, it's Äs Nödt, unlike what You japanese do, Äs is My first name, and Nödt is My last name, either way, bound are We, bound together for as far as we live, terrified for each other, and terrified of the world" Äs Nödt Spoke, Shuukei realizing He also speaks in such diatribes when He gets going, His former life was that of a warrior? no, there HAS to be more.
"What about this war You spoke of? there hasn't been a war in a while, and what did that fallen-Raynare...what did She mean by "Quincy"?" Shuukei asked, a tone of curiosity, as well as confusion dotting His voice, tones Äs Nödt would've almost never used on His own, which confused the former Sternritter "F", but, with a small smile under His mask, He began explaining.
"Long, long ago, in ages past, humans fell prey to creatures known as "hollows", which were, in turn, human souls, converted into a monstrous form either by negative thoughts when they passed, or other hollows, but I digress, those hollows preyed upon Their fellow human souls, and said humans couldn't even see what preyed on Them like cattle, eventually however, a few humans could, They saw the monsters that hunted Them, They became spiritually aware, capable of seeing the "reishi", or "spirit particles", the things that form every soul really, and perceiving that which others cannot, in time, like any prey animal, They began figuring out how to turn things on their pursuers, but their methods hampered the cycle of reincarnation, funnily enough that cycle led to Our unusual reincarnation, but that aside, the methods us Quincy made resulted in the complete obliteration of the hollow, along with the souls it consumed, completely severing them from the cycle, I suppose I could say they "killed the souls" of hollows they destroyed, in any way, eventually, one quincy arose, a terrifying man called Yhwach, He formed a kingdom of quincy, called the "Lichtreich", though His goals ran much, much deeper, for You see, Yhwach could engrave a letter upon one's soul, granting Them a power as He saw fit, Mine...well, potentially Ours, is the letter "F", "The Fear", the ability to fire thorns of spiritual energy that, when hitting a target, causes an irrational fear of Us to grow & fester, though I've noticed you seem to have an aura that frightens those who wish You harm, perhaps "The Fear" grew? turned? no matter." Äs Nödt spoke, lowering His mask to take a sip of water from...somewhere, Shuu was intrigued, this seems farfetched but no dream of His was as detailed before
"Where was I? ah yes, the Sacred Letters, Yhwach's most elite army was in fact of 27 men & women He called the "Sternritter", or "Star Knights", people upon whom He granted the sacred letters, now I Know You Shuu, you're probably wondering: "What Was Yhwach's Letter?" to which I say "how astute of You", Yhwach had His own letter: A, "The Almighty", pray We never have to meet Him, I hope not anyway, but that aside...My death was to the sister of a man who I personally tortured, made Him lose some weight, you see, in any case, during the first invasion of the soul society, think the afterlife but eternally stuck in Japan's edo period, I battled one of their captains, leaders of their military basically, though He tried to act brave, He eventually fell to My schrift, and I brutalized Him with His own power, afterwards, when the second invasion began, I sought out His sister, to see if That nerve is hereditary, and I...I underestimated Her, especially when Her brother came back, somehow revitalized...and I paid the ultimate price for my arrogance." Äs Nödt spoke, feeling bitter about His own failures during the war, during His life, hoping He could perhaps achieve some form of redemption, before an idea entered His head. "Shuu, You are a Quincy, do not overestimate your power if You somehow still hold "The Fear", but...perhaps every now and then, You can come back here, and I can teach you the basics? of being a Quincy i mean, if You do have "The Fear" I can teach you how to use that as well, but the dead essentials are something You need to know so You don't become like Me, now wake up, Your not-girlfriend is watching you" Äs Nödt trailed off, chuckling somewhat weirdly as light blinded Shuu's vision & he woke, in his flat, Violet eyes staring into his own black ones, a sultry smile on their owner, before Shuu jumped, hitting His own headboard. holding His head as he spews out a volley of curses, before He noticed something odd: He's not alone, His wounds healed almost perfectly, only very minute scars remain on his stomach & knee, and HE'S NOT ALONE.
"A-A-Akeno, what are Y-you doing here?! How'd you even get the keys to my apartment? WHY ARE YOU HERE?! did we...oh no, I'm not ready for fatherhood!" Shuu asked In rapid order, still holding his head, leerily staring at the woman as She puts on her clothes. "Ara ara Shuu, usually You're much more courteous, but don't worry, We didn't do a thing, I merely kept you safe & sound as your wounds healed, and as for Your apartment key? You had it in your pocket, I just had to figure out which one, what's it with boys & having more pockets than necessary?" She almost pouted as she spoke, staring at Shuu's back as he dressed, noting the long scar along His left shoulder to His right hip, making sure to ask about it later, before the two of them go out to the academy.
"Say, I know this might be odd to ask, but yesterday, I saw You with wings, You looked like an angel to be honest" Shuu asked her out of the blue, His ever-reigning curiosity leading him to seriously put His foot in His mouth, the only thing He's glad about is that nobody heard His admittedly asinine question as Akeno stopped, before turning to Shuu with an expression He never saw on her before. "Ufufufu, I didn't know You thought i was an angel Shuu, but in truth, I'm not as perfect as Your fantasies surely imply" She giggled, the unusual expression all-but forgotten, Shuu's face turns red & His eyes widen, before He sputters indignantly, that was NOT His intent, most certainly not dagnabbit, He's NOT A Perv, It's not like She was the object of His "Fantasies", whatever THOSE might be for a week or so in a row. sue Him, He's a hopeless romantic with the best of them, alright?
The day continued to stretch, all the while Shuukei noticed He seemed to get tired, more tired as He spent time under the sun, while He's no gymbro, He spent alot of time Sunning himself, enjoying the warmth of the sun & waxing poetic about it, but now He can't stand in the sun for too long, He just wants to go back hope & sleep it off, probably hoping it's a temporary thing, but before He can lament His misfortunes further, class continued, Shuu isn't a poor study, but right now he's got more than a fair bit on His mind, what with Äs Nödt's explanation about the past of the quincy, His demise at Raynare's hands & the fact He could've sworn He saw Akeno with wings, He might just be overthinking it but He noticed Koneko didn't speak with Him at all, maybe She's busy or something, yeah, that explains it. definitely. now focus Shuu, whatever's going on over there, it ain't Your business, solve whatever issues You have with the sun, get home & rest. maybe talk to Hyoudou, perhaps He knows something?
"Oi, Karagami-san, tell Me You remember Yuuma!" Issei asks, frantically shaking Shuukei's shoulders during recess, before the usually quite & somewhat demure boy grits His teeth & grabs Issei's wrist. "I remember...I also remember getting speared like a stuck pig, right after You, don't shout, just know that I remember, even if we didn't exactly talk until now, something weird IS going on, and right now we gotta stick together, two stuck pigs eh?" Shuu asks, a small smile on His face "Stay in touch Hyoudou" Shuu tells Him before walking away, to the photography club, from what Matsuda tells Issei, Shuu is fairly independent amongst the club members, although He can give surprisingly tasteful advice for those who need it, He more often than not retraces His steps & finds the same picture beautiful multiple times over apparently, though with How friendly He is, Issei supposes he can let go of his "Bishie" prejudice, for now at least, until things make sense.
After the day is done, Shuukei is on His evening stroll, figuring one stroke of bad luck can't ruin a hobby, walking along a road He sees Issei, who clearly sees Him too. "What're You doing here Karagami-san? I thought You'd avoid going around at night after what happened" Issei spoke, sounding somewhat concerned for their luck, He couldn't even get it up when watching the good stuff with His friends, and now He's walking right next to the guy who was impaled not far away from Him?.
"One lightning strike of misfortune can't ruin a good day Hyoudou, at least that's as far as I see it" He chuckles, before the two can continue each on their way, They both noticed where they ended up, at the park where they were both killed. "Oi, Hyoudou...You alright?" Shuukei asked, as much as He'd like to harp about Issei's perversions being a menace to society, they don't detract from His positive traits, and right now? It'd be utterly tasteless considering the locale. "Guess this is it...This is where I Took Yuuma when we dated, it was real...There's no way it was a dream, Right, Karagami-san?" Issei asks in return, the dawning realization that it was no dream, that He died...and the guy next to Him went down with Him.
"I Remembered every detail from it, something that You don't just get from a dream...I even remember You walking onto the scene, I saw Your face y'know" Issei mutters, before Shuukei grabs His shoulder, getting His attention. "Oi, whose that guy?" Shuukei asks, getting Issei to turn to where he's looking, where a guy in a fedora, clearly exuding some kind of aura, begins walking towards them.
"It's real unfortunate, running into you two that is, of all the people" He states, Shuukei's heart begins to pound harder, He's no warrior, at least, not as far as He knows, a bit brave? sure, but this...this is serious, before He knows it, Issei...jumps back?. "Oi, Hyoudou, Since when could you do that?!" He asks, feeling more than a little nervous, but in comparison to Him, Issei is shaking like a leaf. "I Meant to back up a little, not jump!".
"Looking for A Way out? Y'won't find it here" He states, before throwing a spear of light at Issei...just like that crazy chick, Shuukei makes A Split-second decision & pushes Issei out of the way, the spear digging into His side, unlike last time, where it "Just" hurt, now it burned, it BURNED. Shuukei fell to His knees, grasping the wound tight, but found that merely touching it made it hurt all the more, but He won't scream, damnit He won't give that flying windbag the satisfaction of getting a scream out of Him.
"Karagami-San!" Issei screamed, reaching Shuukei, trying to help Him stand up. "Where's your master? Your friends? You two aren't using any kind of magic, any way of escape...You two must be strays then?" strays? what the fuck he's on about?!. "Strays?! dunno what you're-Grrrk...dunno what You're smoking buddy but we ain't it, those wings of yours remind me of a bad dream-" Shuukei fades out, spacing out during his speech, as He reappears in the castle of his mind, Äs Nödt grabbing Him as he falls down.
"Goddamnit, what IS this pain?! what do I do?!" Shuukei begins to hyperventilate, Äs slaps His face, regaining His attention. "Your body is not made to take their kind of light...it's a poison to You, where previously it stung, now it burns...it seems I must impart on You a lesson sooner than we planned, do You still have your father's cross?" Äs asks, aware of the star amulet Shuukei's father left with him, now that He notices, it's...familiar, but He can't figure out from where, like He saw that design before.
Shuukei nods, fishing it out from under His shirt, He wears it as a necklace almost at all times. "when You get back out there, focus on the cross, focus on channeling the reishi in the air into your cross, the light in Your wound could be siphoned out like that, if My assumption is correct, You'll have a weapon to defend Yourself & Your friend with...I'll guide you" Äs states, getting Shuukei to nod as He returns to consciousness, having passed out for two seconds in reality.
"Issei, trust Me, I have an idea" Shuukei states, pulling out the 5-pointed cross His father left with Him when He was left at the orphanage, before beginning to channel energy into it, forcing it with all His might, before a shape begins to take form, right as the winged man fires another spear, only for His shock, it to be parried by A weapon, Shuukei experimentally looks at His weapon: a long, ornate military saber, not too dissimilar to something You'd find in a historical documentary, though He's no expert in swordplay, Shuu has a dab hand in fencing, which doesn't seem that appropriate for a saber, but considering the situation...Shuukei assumes a stance, with one hand behind His back, His eyes focused on the man, before He prepares another spear, Shuukei leaps towards him, thrusting His blade, which gets parried, trying for another thrust, the two clash weapons, before Shuukei tries to sweep the man's legs.
Of course, He didn't account for the man having wings(the heat of the moment most likely), and the foe leaped over his sweep before throwing his spear, which Shuukei pierces through with His saber, the blade actually absorbing the light, as a whisper in His mind tells Him the name of the action. "Sklave..." He intones, as the angel keeps firing spears, Shuukei cuts through them with His sword, absorbing them, sometimes using two hands, sometimes stabbing them, sometimes cleaving through them, motions Shuukei never did before, but ones He feels instinctively capable of, before one spear catches His leg...unlike the blue spears He's been absorbing, that one was pink, the searing pain returned.
The fedora wearing man took it as His cue to charge in with another spear, piercing Shuukei's stomach right as Shuukei's blade cut His face, from His right lower jaw up to the left side of His head, had He moved any faster, His face would be cut clean in two. Shuukei dropped His saber, which faded into blue energy. as another winged woman revealed herself, as far as Issei would say, a Loli, with blonde hair, styled into twin-tails & blue eyes, as Shuukei falls to his knees, He glares defiantly at the fedora wearer, still somehow struggling to get up.
"Any last words before we move onto your colleague, stray?" He asked, almost mockingly, though the kid put up a good fight, and nearly got him with that final slash, a stray is a stray. "go...take one of those spears of Yours, polish it up real good, AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR ASS!" Shuukei yelled out, His unusually crass response drawing a dry chuckle out of the fallen, who raised His spear to impale Shuukei's heart, before a blast of dark red energy clashed with the spear, and a bright red magical circle appeared not far from them.
"Keep your hands off of those two" A Female voice spoke, Shuukei was, in truth, woozy from the pain, but even he couldn't forget what He saw that moment: blood...no, blood red hair, flowing down like a waterfall, Eyes as blue as the ocean...if He wasn't in so much pain, He'd say something, but it's taking Him every bit of willpower to remain standing in truth.
"We'll teach you not to meddle where you don't BELONG" the smaller fallen screamed out, before they both threw spears, which were parried by...Koneko?!. "I'm DONE WITH YOU" The male fallen charged towards the two, before a thin, indigo strand made of energy wrangles His leg, much to Issei's dismay, that strand flows back...to Shuukei, similar strands keeping His wounds closed, right as a bolt of lightning strikes down on top of the fallen, electrocuting Him mildly, as Akeno walks up to Koneko & the red-haired woman, a satisfied smile on her face. the female fallen flies to Her ally, before she notices something.
"That hair...You're Gremory?!" She squawks out indignantly, as if that pissant of a stray wasn't enough, but Gremory too? that'll be an issue.
"My name is Rias Gremory, and who are You? other than a fallen angel" She speaks, Her voice the embodiment of nobility, even as She eyes Her wounded knight, their eyes meet, black to blue, the very color of the sky staring into the deepest abyss, Her eyes glint with...pride? Issei wastes no time In pulling Shuukei back, taking care not to aggravate His injuries, even if those wires are keeping them locked down.
"Well what do we know? didn't expect the heiress of the great House Gremory to be in this town, and they're Your servants I presume?" the male growls, blood seeping down His face from where Shuukei's sword left it's mark, glaring at the wounded quincy.
"Lay a single hand on them again, and I will show you no mercy" She states, what sounds like a threat is, well, fact, Shuukei falls to His knees & finally passes out at this point, the pain, combined with the exhaustion from using "Ransotengai" without experience finally taking it's toll on him.
"It's unwise to let Your servants run around like that, next time those two are out alone maybe someone more vicious than us will have a go at them" the fallen states, giving the unconscious quincy a glare, that scar on His face will remain for the rest of His life, He'll be sure to return the favor someday, somehow.
"I Appreciate the advice, bear in mind if such a situation happens again, You won't live long enough to regret crossing the house of Gremory my friend" Rias replied politely, but with enough bite to get her point across.
"Point's mutual...the name's Dohnaseek, Pray we never meet again" Dohnaseek growls, wiping the blood from his cut as he flies away & disappears.
"That was close...Shuu took a pounding" Koneko states, Her monotonous tone actually showing a conflux of worry as well, Her friend took one hell of a beating huh?.
"This cross...He's a-" Akeno begins before Rias cuts her off.
"A Quincy...I never thought I'd see one of their kind, much less befriend one" She states, gently placing Shuukei's cross in his pocket.
OMAKE: Quincy Encyclopedia: Spirit weapons, Sklave & Ransotengai
In the ORC Clubroom, Shuukei Karagami walks back & forth past a blackboard with a Quincy Cross drawn on it(thanks to Akeno) before slamming his pointer into the cross, getting everyone's attention. "The quincy cross is the most basic, most essential tool for any quincy, our crosses are our foci, letting us use the energy in the air for a variety of things, the simplest of all is manifesting a weapon, by combining the power of our cross & the energy in the air we can manifest weapons, most commonly bows, known as "heilig bogen", German for "Holy Bow", though some of us take to forming different weapons, I for one, use a saber, apparently my father's father was a swordsman of quality during the war, or at least favored it."
Akeno then raises her hand, a smile on her face. "Shuu-sensei~? what if there's no energy in the air to use? or you don't have enough at a given moment?" Shuukei smiles at Her question. "Excellent question my dear, in situations like what You described, we have two techniques, though one is really an improved version of the other, "Sklave", German for "Slave", lets us enslave the energy around us, absorbing it, and letting us use it against it's original user" Shuukei pushes up His glasses. "like how you absorbed Dohnaseek's spears?" Koneko asks, as Shuukei's fight with Dohnaseek plays on the TV screen next to him. "exactly, though I used it with prompting from My...guest? anyway, there's another variant to it, one that I haven't gotten into, and won't get into, because it requires Me to achieve a state I cannot at this moment, because I lack the necessary items & power" Shuukei finishes, getting a sputter from Issei, along with a distinct muttering that sounds like "lazy".
Rias raises her hand, pouting. "Is it some super-secret quincy power You can't show us due to confidentiality?" She asks, a slight whine in her tone, which Shuukei will admit sounded absolutely adorable to him. "No, rather I literally cannot access that form yet" 'that, and I lack a Leiden Hant to really achieve it'.
Rias still keeps her hand up. "And those strands? the wires You used to keep your injuries closed & entangle Dohnaseek's leg?" She asks, that technique was what truly intrigued Her initially. "That? that's "Ransotengai" or "Heavenly Wild Puppet Suit", a technique that lets Me control parts of my body using strings made of energy, it's a rare technique that apparently My father's bloodline could use easily, but otherwise comes rarely to most quincy, I was able to actually extend the strings beyond my own body probably as a fluke if I'm really honest, but I'm glad it all worked out in the end".
AN: And that's Chapter II, I Know it's Ass most likely but I for one love my work, It took me so long because I actually forgot the sequence of events that led to it, but then I started rewatching DxD Today & it all came back to me, See ya
Chapter III Spoilers:
Shuu makes a nice Seat - ?
I never thought my greatest fear would be my saving grace - ?
You're not so bad y'know? - ?
I'll make you proud - ?
Look me in the eyes, You Are NOT A monster! - ?