Disclaimer: I do not own "High School DxD."

Chapter 41

{Chronostrasza}

[Yserastrasza]

((Xarithos))

{Spoken Draconic}

Thought/Internal Speech

PoV: Shoichiro

Wow... what a night.

We somehow managed to hold Kokabiel off long enough and keep him from absolutely destroying the entire town.

Akeno-senpai had said that when she contacted Lord Lucifer, his forces would arrive in "about an hour."

I checked the time when Avil and Albion took off with Freed. 58 minutes and 37 seconds had passed.

That's less than an hour, so I'll take it.

The comfort I take in our victory is fleeting, because it keeps being interrupted by outbursts of bloody coughing.

I'm sitting in the bath with the shower on full blast, so it goes right down the drain, but seeing it is still pretty jarring.

Chromie and Lysandra were right, pushing myself so hard is probably gonna be the end of me one day. But... the only way I'll get stronger is to surpass my current limits. And as Asia said, I do have them to lean on, as well as Kala-chan, Haruhi-nee, Kaa-san, and the rest of my friends and family.

I certainly won't be strong enough to beat her as I am now.

The Highlander Dragon, the Gold Dragon Emperor, the Aspect of the Arcane, Avil Saeko.

I have to admit, I didn't take her seriously when I first met her. Probably 'cuz she's five-foot-nothing on a good day.

But seeing her in action against Kokabiel changed the game entirely. A Sacred Gear obviously isn't something that can be measured in inches or pounds.

Chromie says Albion was originally named the Vanishing Dragon, and as a Gold Dragon he was one of the most powerful of the Aspects to begin with. This current incarnation became so proficient at traveling through space and time to hunt down the other Aspects in keeping with the Covenant, she became known as the Highlander Dragon, after an ancient legend who was famed for the phrase "there can be only one."

And for whatever reason, she's set her sights in this universe on me.

But, now that we're having a conversation...

Chromie... you said something at the beginning of the night that's been kind of bothering me.

{What?}

You said that I could've killed Kokabiel anytime I wanted, but that I didn't take him seriously.

{...no, I said you could have defeated Kokabiel anytime you wanted.}

...oh. But still, it got me to thinking about fighting versus killing. And, you're right - there is a difference between the two. When you fight someone, you're trying to defeat them, versus when -

{Well, death is kind of the ultimate defeat, when you think about it.}

No, it's not.

{How so?}

I've been dead before, and I've been defeated before.

{What are you talking about? You've never been dead bef- oh... carry on.}

When I was defeated, when Freed Sellzen beat me within an inch of my life and I thought he'd killed Asia after I escaped, you remember what I did next, right?

{You spent two years with your mothers and siblings getting stronger and learning more about your powers.}

Exactly. Defeat makes one look for what lessons are to be found - and victory as well if one is wise enough, I suppose. But in death, there are no lessons to be learned. No way to get stronger. It's just... over.

{...yeah, I guess you're right.}

You said 'death is the ultimate defeat,' which would make killing the ultimate victory. But I've killed before. And let me tell you, the last thing on my mind when I was doing it, was victory.

{...}

I've killed before, but it... I don't know... it always felt like, I wasn't myself. Like I was going to another place. The fallen angels when I first got my Savage Dragon Bow. Raynare and Dohnaseek. Even Rias and her Peerage at the church, when I knew beforehand that I was going to bring them back. I wasn't thinking about defeating them; I wanted them dead, to not exist anymore. But before that, I wanted them to suffer. I wanted them to know pain and misery...

...but thinking back to that, that's not something I ever want to do again.

{So, what are you saying? That you never want to kill anyone again?}

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I never WANT to kill anyone again. If it came down to my survival if I didn't, that would be a different story. But those incidents I just mentioned... they weren't about survival. They were about bloodlust and vengeance.

{Hmm... that does make sense. If you want my honest opinion, you were only after revenge against Raynare for killing you. Which I can totally understand, don't get me wrong! It's just that... everyone else kind of got swept up in the whirlwind. I know you, and I know how you feel about Rias. If she'd tried to approach you the following day instead of confronting you on the spot, you would have found resolution to be a lot less... gruesome.}

Yeah, you're right...

{I still can't believe that you actually stuck your hand into her chest cavity, and crushed her still-beating heart in your bare hand! That was a level of -}

Yes, Chromie, I remember what happened... I was there, remember?

{Well, yeah, but... wait a minute... are you actually having regrets about that?}

Chromie, I have regrets about that every fucking day. Every time I see her, I'm reminded of how much I love her... but then I tell myself that there's no way I can possibly love her if I was willing to treat her like that.

{Oh... is that why you haven't confessed your feelings to her?}

...maybe...

{Well, there is no changing the past... but it's not too late to do right in the present.}

...yeah, you're right. Tomorrow I'm going to apologize to her.

{That sounds like a good start.}

Yeah... and then after that, who knows.

{Just don't, you know...}

...no Chromie, I don't know. Why don't you try speaking in complete sentences?

{...just don't try jumping in bed with her as soon as you apologize!}

Chronostrasza?

{...yes?}

Have I mentioned lately what a complete and total asshole you are?

{Love you too, partner.}

Chromie, tell me about your last host.

{My last host? What brought that about?}

Just curious.

{...to be honest, I couldn't even tell you much about her. What she looked like, what she liked to do, any of her great loves... hell, I couldn't even tell you what particular species of humanoid she was. What I can tell you is, she was the most insufferable cunt I've ever met. Kept trying to use my powers to jump around time, creating paradoxes all over the place and never caring enough to clean them up.}

I see... what happened to her?

{She died, as do all of you squishy little creatures. One day, she decided to punch above her weight class and take on an enemy she was clearly outclassed by, even with my power. As much as I'd like to tell you she died a quick and painless death, I don't even have that assurance to give you. All I remember was her bleeding out, and me getting ready to perform the same magic on her that I did to bring you back after your encounter with Raynare. But... I just...}

...you just let her die?

I immediately regret my choice of words, but Chromie pauses for a brief moment before continuing.

{...yeah, I guess you could say that. I didn't even think about her life in that moment, just... I saw a way out, a way to untether myself from her, and I took it.}

I see... how long after that did it take you to find me?

{Impossible to say. When the Aspects separate from our hosts, we return to the Dimensional Gap where time takes on a bit of a different concept than you're used to. I might have been there for one second or one billion, trillion eons - I'll never know.}

Gotcha... and how did you find me? What's so special about me that brought us together?

{Absolutely nothing. Complete random chance.}

I can't help but laugh at that, although my laughter brings with it another fit of bloody coughing.

{When life transitions into or out of the vast pantheon of universes that make up all of existence, it passes ever so briefly through the Gap. If you can focus your mind while inside it, you can see the tiny portals created by each birth and death. It looks almost like...}

Like a starry night sky?

{...yeah, like a starry night sky. When I possessed you, it was simply a matter of hitching a ride through one of those portals as your essence passed through it. Though it was more like, your essence grabbed me and pulled me with you.}

So we really were destined to be together, huh?

{That's a very tired and clichéd way of putting it, but it's not entirely inaccurate. You want to talk about 'destined to be together,' wait until that door opens.}

What are you talking about, 'when that door opens?'

No response, which is troubling. I'm home alone to the best of my knowledge...

...that is, until Asia enters my bathroom.

At least now I see why Chromie went quiet, although I'm not too sure I feel entirely comfortable with Asia seeing me like this.

She's wearing a plain white robe and carrying two glasses of wine, and she offers me one without a word. It takes a good deal of effort to do so because of the pain I'm in, but I drink the entire thing. She then drinks hers and removes her robe.

My reaction is, well... one that I really should stop being ashamed of, now that I think about it. We're going to be married eventually; she can deal with seeing my insta-boners when she gets naked... don't judge me!

She very gingerly climbs into the tub with me and sits in my lap, pulling my arms around her back and putting her hands on my chest. Her Twilight Healing goes to work and I can feel the effects almost immediately, so it doesn't take too long before I have the strength to walk back to my bedroom.

I try to carry Asia, but she refuses. Oh well.

3rd Person PoV

Sakuya sat at her desk in her research lab, anxiously tapping her fingers.

Any minute now...

Lysandra stuck her head in. "Have you seen Shoichiro? Kalawarner and I have been waiting for him since we got back."

"I sent him and Asia back to Earth."

"What?! Why the fuck would you do that?"

"To conduct a little experiment."

"On my consorts, without telling me? I have been horny for that man all day, and now you're telling me -"

"I am telling you you will survive one night without penis, Lys." Sakuya was truly in no mood for her sister's trivial blathering.

Lysandra cut her eyes at Sakuya as she turned to leave, but stopped as she saw the main screen come to life.

"Finally, it's about time," Sakuya said as she sat up in her chair.

"About time for what?" Lysandra asked.

"Rias once told me something very interesting about the two of them," Sakuya replied.

"Any Sacred Gear responds to the emotional state of its user," she recalled Rias telling her one day. "The stronger those emotions are, the more powerful the Sacred Gear becomes."

"Okay... so what's this 'experiment' you're doing?" Lysandra inquired.

"Simple, I want to measure just how much more powerful their Sacred Gears become."

"And how do you plan on doing that when they're all the way on Earth?"

"Through nanotechnology. Each of them just drank a glass of wine filled with nanobots that can measure their vital signs, as well as their Sacred Gears' power outputs. Another theory that I have about those two specifically, and why I waited for a night like this to perform this experiment, is that his Clockwork Blaze can amplify her Twilight Healing subconsciously, without active commands or prompts from him."

"And how would you be able to tell that?"

"Easy, his vital signs. Oxygen saturation, vasodilation, and blood pressure have all moved closer to nominal resting values over the last few minutes due to her healing him. Now...!"

Sakuya's eyes gleamed, while Lysandra just stood there confused. "Now, what, Sakuya?"

"...now they're approaching expected values during... physical arousal."

"Physic- you mean they're fucking?!"

"Hmm... no, not yet. But they are definitely getting into each other. And it seems my theory was correct. I'm also detecting a cyclic flow of power between their two Sacred Gears. It's... fascinating."

Lysandra had finally had enough, and she stormed off back to her bedroom, leaving Sakuya enthralled with her science.

"You know, if someone asked me, 'Shoichiro, what's the strangest thing that's happened since you started high school?'" he mused at school the following afternoon, "I'd probably go with the day I learned I was a half-human, half-dragon."

He turned away from the window he had been looking through, and faced the members of the Occult Research Club. "But now, I think that moment is trumped seeing two former exorcists from the Holy Church not only transfer to my school, but have also been transformed into devils."

His childhood friend Irina, and her partner Xenovia, stood near the couches dressed in Kuo Academy uniforms. Xenovia was a little more stoic, while Irina was clearly disturbed.

Rias smiled brightly. "Yes, they're the newly-made Knight and Bishop of the House of Gremory. Welcome home, Xenovia and Irina."

"That's a rather unexpected development, to say the very least," Kiba mused.

"But, a welcome one nonetheless," Alexstrasza stated from her perch atop Kiba's lap. "I'm happy to have you both on the team."

"After I found out that God had actually died, I was desperate so I begged her to take me in," Xenovia said.

"You made the choice, and that is what matters. I look forward to working with you, honorable blademaiden," Alexszastros rumbled.

"It'll be nice to have the Durandal user added to our ranks," Rias noted. "With that, you and Kiba will be the swordsmen covering our right and left flanks."

"And we both transferred to this school as second-year students earlier today."

"Another logical move," Sakuya said. "But forgive me for asking, but are you sure this is what you wanted?"

"Without God, my life has no meaning. I honestly don't know if becoming my old enemy is the best course of action. But for the little sister of one of the Great Devil Kings, Rias has been shockingly kind. I hope I made the right choice... I feel like I have, but I'm filled with so much doubt."

"Hmm... what about you, Irina?" Shoichiro asked. "What's it like signing up for the other team?"

Irina shifted uncomfortably, her downcast gaze never rising. "...the truth is, according to the Church I'm a dangerous person who found out the truth of something I shouldn't have. As a result, I've been labeled as a heretic."

"...so in other words, they kicked you out, and that's why you became a devil," he groaned.

"For a Holy Sword user who should be respected to be cast out like trash... it's changed the way I look at everything. I still can't get their treatment of me out of my head."

Irina fought back tears, before she felt a massive arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, don't worry about it anymore," Shoichiro said. "You have Rias, Akeno, Xenovia, and the others to support you now. And don't forget how far back you and me go."

In that moment, a memory flashed through Irina's mind ever so briefly. Two children playing on a riverbank...

"Shoichiro... thank you..."

Just then four of Shoichiro's Pawns, Saori, Sachiko, Kurumi and Ryuuko, entered the office. "Good morning, everyone," Ryuuko said with a polite bow. "Senpai, I have just received word that the cores of the destroyed Excaliburs have been transported and are safely back in the hands of the Church."

"I see... thank you for that information."

"All that's left is for the alchemists to forge them into new swords," Xenovia said.

"Rias, are you sure it was a good idea to give them back to the Church?" Lysandra asked. "Won't they be turned back into anti-Devil weapons that could be used against us?"

Rias, Ryuuko and Shoichiro all tripped over each other to speak, but eventually Shoichiro was able to get out that it wasn't their call to make. "That was a decision made by people who outrank anyone in this room, so we really had no choice. I do understand your point and am not a personal fan of the move, but..."

"This was definitely a case of 'do what we say, when we say it,'" Rias finished. "Besides, we haven't been under direct attack from the Church themselves, so I think we'll be okay."

"I can confidently say that the Church has no interest in breaking the current stalemate. With Kokabiel out of the way and no longer leading an insurrection, things should calm down soon," Ryuuko said.

Everyone left to head home, but Shoichiro asked if he could walk home with Ryuuko.

"What? Don't you live on the other side of town from us?" she replied at this request that was seemingly out of nowhere.

"Yeah, but... I need to talk to you about some things."

"Umm... okay, I guess?"

The other girls walked almost a half block behind the two, to 'give them their privacy.' Once he was convinced they were alone, Shoichiro finally began speaking.

"Is it true? What Kokabiel said about... you know..."

"That's what you wanted to ask me about?"

"I've been trying to make sense of it since last night. I figured you would know for sure one way or the other, coming directly from Heaven and all."

Ryuuko groaned. "The truth is, we don't know for sure. There's a hierarchy in place, and the only ones who coordinate directly with the Most High and would be able to confirm deny His disappearance would be the archangels. There are a million and one questions I could ask Michael, but that is one I feel would be most unwise."

"I see... well, what do you think?"

"Huh?"

"What do you think?"

"What do you mean, what do I think?"

"I mean, based on everything you know, all the evidence you have in front of you, can you conclude logically one way or another that God is alive or dead?"

"...to be honest, I don't really know. If Michael were to tell us one way or the other, I would more than likely go by his word and not question it. Living by faith fails to teach the importance of reasoning."

"I see."

The rest of the walk passed by in relative silence, so both teens were relieved to arrive at the convent Ryuuko and the rest of the angels resided at. Shoichiro headed back to his and Haruhi's home, where Arsaiyus was waiting for him. To say she was in a bad mood would have been a serious understatement.

"Kaa-san, what's going on?"

"Glad you're finally home," she said in an aggravated tone. "While you were dealing with that fallen angel, I was dealing with this."

She handed Shoichiro a dragon scale which had all manner of enchanted engravings on it. At first he couldn't understand why she was giving it to him, but then he rotated it the right way and the 'engravings' became clear: it was Draconic alphabet. In short, this was a letter.

"To Arsaiyus of the Black Rose Clan: you are summoned to an audience with the Archon of the Black Rose Clan upon the next new moon. Bring the Aspect of Time with you. Signed, Archon Vythrasza of the Black Rose Clan."

"So you and me have to go see this... Archon, whoever that is?"

"Yes, we do. And please, try to be on your best behavior."

"Okaa-sama, this is me we're talking about," he replied with a wink. "When do we leave?"

"Saturday after class. We're sailing out of Yokosuka again, but we'll be back by the time classes start Monday morning."

"Gotcha... anything in particular I should know about this trip, or about this Archon?"

"Oh... so much, none of which I have the desire to explain right now. In fact, I'm going back to my castle to get wasted." And with that, she vanished through a portal leaving Shoichiro and Haruhi as confused as two demidragons could possibly be.

Later that night, Shoichiro paid a visit to his main (and only, truthfully) client, Azazel. He had always found it strange that the leader of the fallen angels would summon a devil for a social partner, but he'd gotten used to it at this point. Besides, he was grateful to him for providing shelter and safety for his fallen angel lover, which was another situation Shoichiro was determined to resolve in the very near future.

As it happened, it was Kalawarner that Azazel actually wanted to talk about.

"One of my associates is running a business, and he seems to be falling short on revenue."

"Associate, or subordinate?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Eh, I suppose not. What really matters is what you need Kala-chan's help for."

"Oh, right... well, she has certain assets that might make help my associate increase his profits."

"I'm already not liking where this is going, but I'll at least hear you out."

Azazel explained the particulars of the job he wanted Kalawarner to do, and Shoichiro demanded only two concessions from him.

"One, it has to be her choice. If she says no, no deal, no questions asked."

"You have my word."

"And two... I'm sending someone else along with her."

"That's it? All right, you have a deal."

At the end of the night, Shoichiro was in bed with Lysandra and Kalawarner after a passionate lovemaking session when he brought up Azazel's proposal.

"He wants me to go to work for one of his associates? Doing what, exactly?"

"*cough*stripping*cough.*"

"What did you say?"

Shoichiro let out a long sigh. "He wants you to be a stripper."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him two things. First and foremost, it's gotta be your decision. I won't tell you what you should do one way or the other."

"And what was the other?"

"I'm not letting you go there alone, so if he wants to hire you... he's gotta hire someone else."

"You mean like a bodyguard? I guess so... but it's obviously gotta be someone I trust to keep me safe."

"I would hope you trust her... you trust her to eat your pussy."

Both Lysandra and Kalawarner looked at Shoichiro with puzzled looks as the realization of what he was saying hit them both.

"You want both of us to go be strippers?" Lysandra asked.

"It's not so much 'I want to,' more like if this is going to happen, then I'd sleep a lot better knowing Kala-chan is well protected."

"And how are you going to sleep at night, without us in your bed? How are you going to sleep knowing we're on that stage dancing naked, bumping and grinding, getting stared at by strange men..."

"I don't know, but judging by your tone you're enjoying that idea a little too much," Shoichiro chuckled.

"I... I don't know," Kalawarner said grudgingly. "The idea of anyone except you seeing me naked is... it makes me really uncomfortable for some reason."

"Okay."

"'Okay?' What does that mean, 'okay?'"

"I mean 'okay' as in don't do it. I did say it was your decision, remember?"

"I know, but if it's a favor for Azazel-sama, then I don't really know if I should say no."

"I understand that as well. Tell you what, since I apparently have to go on a trip this weekend, why not take the time to talk to him about it yourself? Hear from him, then make your decision?"

"I... guess that makes sense. Plus, I'd be making money... everyone else you know is either in school or working, so it would be good to earn my own keep as well."

"That's one good way to look at it."

"Now, what's this about going on a trip?"

Shoichiro began to explain, but Lysandra interrupted him. "Mother was summoned by the big boss of our clan. She specifically requested Shoichiro go with her, but it'll be the whole family. Mother's four are definitely going, and she's not gonna want to endure that cunt without Mama by her side, and if she goes, then me and Zephyr are going as well."

Something about that struck Shoichiro. He remembered that Arsaiyus had been entirely unenthusiastic about the trip, to say the very least. Lysandra also seemed to have a less than flattering opinion about this Archon.

Which begged the question: just who was this Archon to his family?

Author's Note: I feel like I'm officially at the point of this story where I've introduced most (if not all) of the canon characters that will have a major presence in this story. As such, there will be a few canon events that take place at some point in the timeline, but for the most part it's going to be a lot of off-world stuff happening outside the Kuo Academy universe. Since it's mostly original content that doesn't rely as much on the HSDxD source material, expect chapters to be published a lot more often, depending on my freedom to sit down and actually write them. There may be some minor rewrites of past chapters as well, so if you read over something that doesn't seem familiar, that's why.

Chapter 42 is going to be a lot of expository dialogue that establishes Dragon culture in this particular universe, but after that there may be a few "filler" chapters that cover the same period of time from several different PoVs (I'm planning on giving Kalawarner her own chapter, as well as the angels that serve as Shoichiro's Pawns. Rias may get a chapter, but I'm honestly undecided if what I want to cover with her fits in the timeline of the story just yet).

To all the supporters of this project, I can't thank you all enough.

To all the haters, I say: if you don't like my story, write your own. /shrug