NMHA Ch. 49 - Opportunity Comes Knocking
A/N - It's about that time again, time to write!
-wait im a tier 2 mod in a server i frequent now what the fu-
That shouldn't directly affect the turnaround time on chapters, but it might be a bit more draining than I initially anticipated - mostly because I applied to be a tier 1 one.
I'm not complaining though. It's a nice place, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to give back to the community.
In any case, here's another Issei-centric chapter, now that we have a little more knowledge about what's brewing in the background.
This one came to me real fast. It's not every day I complete a chapter halfway through the week, but here you go!
"Alright, boy. Whip it out."
"Eh- ehhhh!?"
"L-Luna-san, what are you saying!?"
"What? Whip out that Boosted Gear! C'mon, what were you two thinking I meant!?"
The grin on Luna's face as she stared at the two flustered young adults suggested she knew full well what she had insinuated with her comment. She hadn't meant for four days to pass before she actually helped Issei out with his Sacred Gear, but in Luna's defense she had been busy.
After a deep breath to recover his wits, Issei held his arm out and grit his teeth. After a long moment, the crimson gauntlet appeared around his arm, the emerald embedded in the armor gleaming brilliantly.
"Whew. I knew about the Boosted Gear before, but I gotta say, this is some real cool shit," the brunette commented, almost partially to herself as she peered over the armored arm, grabbing it by the wrist so she could better inspect the gleaming, jagged curves.
Issei was taken aback both by the laser focus that Luna was committing to examining the Boosted Gear and the way Ddraig seemed to hiss at her touch, and was about to say something about it before she pulled back, running a hand through her hair.
"Heh. Alright, I think I've seen enough to get a good idea of what's going on here." The way Luna rubbed her hands together raised alarm bells in the student's head, but that was interrupted by the other voice in it.
"Issei." Ddraig was quiet, and very, terrifyingly steady in his tone. "Whatever you do, do not antagonize Lunarunn Bael."
'What do you mean?'
"Trust me on this one - this is not someone to make an enemy out of."
'Oooookay?' Issei wasn't quite sure what Ddraig was getting at, but it sounded pretty serious. He had no intention of being her enemy anyway - she'd saved him from that Freed bastard, and helped put his arm back. Surely she was trustworthy too, right?
"Nobody becomes powerful without sacrificing something of themselves. Especially as quickly as the Bael has," the dragon warned enigmatically.
"What do you mean, Luna-san?" Asia, the brunet's ever-present friend, asked.
"I've been wondering just what sort of crap you could get up to when you have a power that can double your physical and magical statlines." Luna leaned in again, and poked the gauntlet. "Though that's not the only thing you can do, is it Ddraig?"
There was a beat of pause, before the gauntlet glinted, and from it a drawn-out sigh emanated. "Of course you would know that, Outsider."
Issei waved his arm wildly. "Wait, you can talk outside my head too?!"
"Obviously, whelp. Now quit flailing your arm, you're giving me motion sickness!"
Asia watched with a blank expression on her face.
"...That much different from Twilight Healing...?"
Luna closed one eye as she glanced over to the nun. "Hey now, if you're looking for help on Twilight Healing, don't be afraid to ask. Boosted Gear is simpler in nature, but that doesn't mean I can't lend a hand with a more specialized Sacred Gear."
"Ah." The blonde swallowed before shaking her head. "N-no, that's fine Luna-san. I'm... I'm just shy of unlocking Balance Breaker anyway."
"Really?" The brunette crossed her arms, a grin breaking across her face. "Well I'll be, that's some good progress! Masaomi has been giving you some advice then?"
"S-something like that." Even if she stuttered slightly, the smile Asia gave Luna was genuine. "I just need to figure out the last piece of the puzzle. Use your time on Issei-san, he needs it more."
"If you insist." The Devil turned the brunet's way. "Alright. So, let's go over what we know about Boosted Gear. First off, it's a Longinus, meaning it has the power to perform the impossible."
"Longinus are stated to 'kill gods'," Asia supplied. "Do you mean that?"
"No, I mean utterly bend the rules of the world on their head," Luna clarified. "Though I suppose most Sacred Gears can do that - Twilight Healing induces an erasure of the causality that inflicted damage to an object, after all. The action still exists, but the result is disconnected, meaning that in the eyes of time you took the hit and didn't even blink. To do so, however, you need an implicit understanding of what it is you're trying to disconnect the 'result' from. That's why you have all those medical books - to heal a body, you need to understand what a body is like in an unharmed state."
"Wait. Wait wait wait." Issei held up both hands. "Hang on just a moment. Balance Breaker? Kill gods? Causality erasure? You're giving me a headache here, what do you mean by all that?"
"I don't think I follow either, Luna-san..." Asia winced. "Erase causality? Twilight Healing mends wounds, it doesn't erase the result of what causes them in the first place."
The concurring comments brought the brunette up short, before examining them both with a slightly narrowed gaze.
"Really? Twilight Healing doesn't even leave scars when healing grievous injuries." The brunette ran a hand through the top of her hair. "Though, I will admit, maybe it's just because you're that good at pinpointing specific instances of damage to a person." The blonde in question tilted her head, even as Luna continued, hand slipping from her head to her pocket. "But I wouldn't leave the 'causality' idea out to dry; maybe that's what your Balance Breaker will be. The TL;DR remains the same though; Longinus alone can raise even a human to the tier of gods when fully mastered."
"I... will keep your words in mind." Asia didn't seem wholly convinced, but Luna appeared satisfied with her answer.
"You're getting ahead of yourself Outsider. The whelp and his mate are both still young, so you need to slow down."
Issei and Asia both turned pink at Ddraig's 'whelp and mate' comment, but any protest they had was cut short when Luna stepped forward and flicked the gemstone with a finger.
"Ow!" A beat passed. "Wait, how did that hurt?"
"Oi," Luna interjected, ignoring Ddraig's question. "They ain't kids anymore - they need to shape up fast or they'll get shipped back to their families in body bags." She stepped back, and her sapphire gaze shifted between them both before softening. "Besides, I trust in their ability to pick things up as they go. As long as the framework's there, I have little doubt either of you two will be able to figure everything out on your own."
Issei felt his chest grow warm at the sudden praise, but even so. "I... could still use some explanations, though?"
"Yeah, sure thing." Luna held up a finger. "Balance Breaker is the evolution of a Sacred Gear's power. For a much greater cost to one's own energy reserves, the output of their Sacred Gear is upgraded to a whole new tier of strength, and the Longinus in particular become absolutely broken. Even more so than usual."
The brunette sat down, gesturing for them to do the same - a request that Issei and Asia obliged. "Let's use an example, like the Boosted Gear itself. Right now, it doubles power after a specific interval of time, of which you can only hold a specific number of doublings before you start losing stamina or damage your body. Is that right?"
Issei nodded, more in understanding than confirmation, but Ddraig spoke up. "That is correct."
The Devil hummed, gesturing to the armored arm. "Additionally, Longinus in particular work with concepts, rather than direct effects. The Boosted Gear works not with one's power itself, but the concept of exponential increases. It merely defaults to one's own power as that's what it's most closely linked to."
"So that means I could theoretically increase someone else's abilities?" Issei guessed.
"Very astute of you." Luna smiled. "You'll need to figure out how to do so yourself, but yes, boost transference is well within your ability to obtain and provide. However, lose concentration or release all that added energy in a single burst, and the Gear gets reset."
"Also true," Ddraig confirmed.
"And why is that?" Issei queried.
"Concepts are nebulous at best - if you are unable to maintain the 'shape' of a concept within your mind or physically withstand the pressure of doing so, it will naturally disperse." Luna's smile widened. "I should know. I work with them myself, if on a more rudimentary, general level. If I overdo it, my brain starts taking on physical strain."
The brunet nodded slowly, working his way through the explanation. "So... if the Boosted Gear lets me increase a person's power exponentially... would the Boosted Gear's Balance Breaker be an expansion of that... concept?"
The Devil leveled a finger Issei's way. "Got it in one. Even now, I imagine that you could get away with exponentially 'boosting' other things, if at a far greater cost to your reserves since you're working with something other than the default."
"I... did notice that when I first Boosted, everything around me seemed to be happening only half as fast as it normally does," Issei admitted. "Does that have anything to do with what you're talking about?"
"Doubled ability to process the passage of time," Luna supplied. "And if you could do that to yourself, once you learn Transfer you could do the same for that, or for other things. Such as... I don't know, Distance? Speed. Mass. Density."
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she lifted the back of her hand to her chin, fingers facing downward. "Size."
Size?
Issei's eyes followed the direction of Luna's fingers, down to her bust.
Size?
He could... he could double...
"Oh no."
Though Ddraig's voice was suddenly layered with fear and resignation, Issei paid it no heed.
He could double size? He could do more than just double size?
'But why stop there? If what Luna-sensei's saying is true I could double size, I could double sensitivity, production, skin softness, overall firmness-'
"UUUUUOOOOOOHHHHHHH!" he roared, bolting to his feet as he sounded his determination into the air. "I have been blessed on this glorious day! By the powers that be, I promise to use this gift responsibly, so that all women can have huge, bountiful oppai- ow ow ow, my ear, my ear!"
"Please don't put such depraved ideas in Ise-kun's head, Luna-san," Asia asked sweetly, all the while tugging said brunet's ear.
"Honey, I'm a Devil," Luna snickered. "Isn't that sort of our 'thing'?"
The salacious wink she sent Asia's way turned the poor girl's face red, especially when Asia's eyes shifted back to the red gauntlet in question.
What really got to Luna, however, was the thoughtful gaze on the young woman's face.
So the brunette laughed.
"Alright, alright, enough playing around you two," she clapped her hands together, drawing back Issei's and Asia's attention. "Let me get to the other bits of information that you asked about, Issei. By 'kill gods', I mean that by virtue of just having one of the Longinus gears, you have the potential to stand up to some of the strongest beings in the world, to actually fight them and win. As a human, no less."
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to stay human."
"Of course not," Luna agreed. "But compared to the likes of gods and the supernatural, the baseline of a human is... pretty infinitesimal, to be quite honest, and potential is only - extremely rarely - any higher than being able to face down a Middle-class Devil. We can achieve amazing things, but by and large that only happens when we act as a collective, rather than individually. Sacred Gears allow their users to stand out among humans, as humans, for better or worse."
"She still counts herself among humans? Peculiar."
"Worse?" Issei parroted, putting Ddraig's internal musings out of his mind. "How so?"
"Remember what I said about you getting a lot of attention now, Ise-kun?" Asia asked quietly, the young man's gaze turning to his closest friend. "Not everyone has the ability, friends, or resources to avoid being swept up into some more powerful being's whims."
"I was one of them," Luna admitted, resting her hands on the ground, palms against the grass. "Wound up dancing to the tune of the king of the Underworld. There's a good chance I still would be to this day, if I wasn't as... unique, as I am."
"You? But you... you seem so strong."
Her grip on the grass tightened.
"Only because I was able to break away. But... it was so, so far from a clean break." The Devil woman looked away, the side of her mouth settling into a fine line. "I was only able to escape the worst-case scenario because I had people, friends there to... to save me."
The admission left Issei and Asia in silence, Luna turning back to smile their way. This time, however, it was a sad one.
"Hold those you care about close, Issei. This world's even more ruthless than the one you knew, and those who would seek to control or hurt you won't hesitate to target the people you love."
Issei glanced over at Asia, who met his gaze with a single nod.
His mind went back to his fight with Freed, and the way he had been going to pursue Asia.
'Like hell I'll let that happen! Not then, not now, not ever!'
Ddraig was in agreement. "We are the Crimson Dragon of Domination! If any would seek to take what we claim as ours, they will see full well the reason why the Boosted Gear exists!"
"...Then you'd best do everything in your power to grow, and fast. Only the Sephiroth Graal can reclaim life from death."
There was a tense silence, before the dragon replied. "Even then, it carries great cost. I know."
Another name Issei didn't understand. "The Sephiroth Graal?"
"The Holy Grail," Asia offered to the brunet. "Another Longinus, and the only one that directly manipulates the boundary between life and death."
'Oh.'
("Become strong. Otherwise, how can you ever protect that which you claim as yours?") Isaiah's words echoed in Issei's mind.
Issei stood, silent for a moment, before he regathered his wits and courage, before coming to a decision. "Damn straight I'll protect them. But if things are as dangerous for me and mine as you say it is, now that the Boosted Gear has manifested, then I need all the help I can get. Not just from Isaiah-san, not just from Ddraig, or not just from Sona-kaichou."
He held his gauntleted hand to his chest. "I refuse to back down. Not when it means risking Asia, or Tou-san or Kaa-san, or anyone else! Beat me within an inch of my life every day if you need to, but help me become strong!"
His friend stared at him, a look of sadness mixed with something else in her gaze. "I-Ise-kun..."
"It'd probably help Asia, too," Issei added. "If I get hurt a lot, she'll have plenty of opportunities to learn more about Twilight Healing and achieve Balance Breaker."
Luna stared. "You'd suffer hell for me to oblige in full."
He met her gaze evenly. "So what? That pain will be temporary; compared to what might happen, it's a small price to pay."
After seconds that felt like minutes, Luna stood as well, an amused huff escaping her lips.
"Remind me to introduce you to Ruval at some point," she commented lightly. "I think you two could get along quite well."
Issei tilted his head. "Thanks?"
That got Luna to snort. "It's a compliment. The guy's one of the bravest and most loyal people I've ever met."
"I heard from Tou-san that he's also arrogant, selfish, and painfully single-minded," Asia added.
The brunette grinned. "Again, I think he and Issei would get along quite well."
"Ouch, I'm right here you know..." Issei bemoaned, to which Luna chuckled and Asia giggled lightly.
"But enough of that." Luna pulled out a phone and checked the time on it. "You have about two hours before you need to be back at school to clean up that dojo, yeah?"
"Yeah...?" Issei trailed off as the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up.
"Then let's get started. When I take one more step forward, your sole goal is to survive."
Without further warning, Luna stepped forward.
"Are you... alright, Issei-san?"
"Shut... shut up, handsome bastard," he groaned, leaning heavily on his broom as the brunet shuffled forward, pain written all over his expression as he started on the next section of flooring.
"Why do I feel sore all over? I'm a soul trapped in a piece of metal in another soul! I shouldn't be able to feel sore!"
'Welcome to my world, asshole,' he ground out mentally, gritting his teeth as he struggled to stand upright and actually do his job.
"You didn't get into another fight, did you?" Isaiah asked, concerned.
"I asked for this one." Issei grunted as his leg seized up and he toppled to the ground. "Yeah," he wheezed out. "Yeah, that was a mistake."
Realization crossed Isaiah's face. "Ohhh, you're going through endurance training then?"
"S-something like that," Issei closed his eyes, forcing himself back to his feet even if his everything - and he meant his everything - felt like it was just shy of on fire. Even after Asia healed him, he was in a lot of pain. Just what did that crazy woman do to him? "L-look, let's just... cut the shit. I know the supernatural. I know you're a part of it."
"Ah." Isaiah chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Was it really that obvious?"
"E-er... I had suspicions, but... someone else confirmed it."
"I really must have been obvious then, if you suspected but someone else confirmed." Despite that, Isaiah didn't seem too put-off. "So, which side are you on?"
"Considering I'm staying human? My own."
"Are you sure about that? There's plenty of benefits to becoming part of the supernatural in full. Being able to survive long enough to make a mark being one of them."
"At the cost of being at the beck and call of whoever Reincarnated me or whatever?" Issei snorted - the most he could do without crumpling again - as he leaned on the broom once more. "I'll pass."
"Freedom is that important to you, isn't it?"
"Of course it is." The brunet glanced over at the blond. "My life's my own."
"And if I told you that you could have your cake and eat it too?"
Issei's eyes flicked back to the friendly smile on Isaiah's face, before rising to meet his eyes.
They were earnest enough, but he couldn't help but imagine there was a flicker of something else behind them too.
"I'd say that sounds too good to be true," Issei responded. "Besides, it's not something I'd want to do without Asia."
"Together 'till the end?"
The young man smiled.
"If she hadn't been there when I was younger, I'm sure I'd be even worse than I am now."
"Including her would be an easy enough accommodation to make, if you are both interested." Isaiah gestured to the side. "I'm sure Valerie would love another friend to terrorize- I mean tease."
"Valerie?" Issei stared suspiciously at the blond.
"The one who'd help you become a supernatural being."
"Is she your superior?"
That got a snort from the other student.
"As much as she'd insist otherwise, not even close." Isaiah's hand went to his chin, closing his eyes in a beam. "And no. If anyone is the leader of our little... party, it'd be me."
"So I'd be answering to you, is that it?"
The swordsman's eyes opened, brow drawing together in a furrow. "Like I said, it's the best of both worlds. If this was a trap, it would defeat the point of inviting you when I could just knock you out right away and drag you to Valerie."
Issei narrowed his eyes, prompting Isaiah to wave him down. "None of that now, Issei-san. I'm serious about wanting to lend you a hand. A gift - a lifeline, even - for a young man in over his head, nothing more and nothing less."
"Why?"
"Why indeed?" Isaiah's smile returned. "Well. I knew someone who had the same look in his eye as you do now."
"I'll give you the same answer that I gave Sona-kaichou. Not interested in becoming anybody other than what I can become now, on my own." Issei shuffled over to the wall and leaned on it, a brief whimper escaping his lips as his battered body reacted poorly to the support. "I wouldn't be against meeting your... party, as you put it, though."
"Sounds like you do want your cake while eating it too, I knew it." The smile on the blond's face widened into a grin, prompting a grunt from Issei.
"Kh... blond bastard."
"Ah, Isaiah-san! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there! I was busy wiping up in the girls' locker room!" Asia stepped inside the actual dojo floor and hurried over to the aforementioned swordsman.
"That's perfectly alright. I was just about to leave anyway." He nodded once to her, then to Issei. "Just think about it, alright Issei? I'll see you two tomorrow."
As Isaiah left without another word, Asia looked at Issei with a question brimming in her gaze.
"Another recruitment offer," he groaned, not needing any more than that look to understand what Asia was asking. "He tried to pass it off as a gift, but I'm suspicious anyway."
"U-um... did he ever say what faction he's in, and if he did offer becoming something more, what they'd convert you into?"
Issei shook his head. "Didn't even say what he was, just that he was in charge of his 'party', and that some 'Valerie' girl would be doing some process to make us something other than human.
He lifted a hand to his chin, glancing upward. "...I wonder if she has good oppai- Guh-huf!"
Asia smiled sweetly as she withdrew her elbow from Issei's gut. "I think you made the right choice, Ise-kun. We don't really know them yet. At the very least, he's giving us time to think about it. It might just be something he's offering on a whim."
"Nah." Issei shook his head, catching his breath for a moment before continuing onward. "Handsome bastard... he doesn't come off as a planner to me, but I do think he does have a plan."
"Really? How could you tell?"
The brunet snorted. "You're crazy good at spotting things. Maybe I picked something up myself? Let's just call it a... a gut feeling." Then, he closed one eye in a grimace. "The same one that both demands food now and wants to upchuck lunch after that elbow."
Asia panicked, arms flailing before she knelt down and put her hands, gently this time, to Issei's stomach, the rings of Twilight Healing appearing as she started to mend his stomach. "U-uwaaaah, I-I'm sorry Ise-kun, let me help!"
Of course, this came with a few caveats.
Issei, in that ever-present corner of his mind, realized that this position was rather... compromising, what with his back to the wall.
And that the sight of Asia on her knees in front of him like that was causing his body to heat up in... certain ways.
'Mayday, mayday, abort transfer of resources! Abort transfer!'
"A-ah, Asia..."
"Mm?" Her eyes remained glued on what was before her, not bothering to look up despite the brunet's growing horror as he felt Little Issei begin to stand at attention.
"Issei-san? Asia-san?"
Issei froze, as did the blond, as a certain black-haired Fallen in disguise rounded the corner, and stilled when she saw the scene before them.
Yuuma Amano's eyes flicked from Issei, to Asia, to the space between Asia's face and Issei, before slowly lifting a hand to her mouth.
"Oh my. Did, did I interrupt something?"
"Guh!"
The brunet's thoughts stopped. Asia, on the other hand, drove her hands into his stomach to hide Twilight Healing, which may have had something to do with why Issei's brain had stalled. "N-no, you didn't interrupt anything, Yuuma-san!"
"Really?" Yuuma's eyes shifted between Issei and the blonde at his waist with her hands on the aforementioned brunet's stomach. Then she did it again. "Asia-san... just a word of advice. Try holding on to his hips, rather than using his stomach, for leverage. You'll tire out slower."
'W-wha-? Wh-wh-a-wha-wha?'
One could easily imagine steam pouring upward from the top of Issei's head, even as Asia slowly nodded her head. "...Noted."
The look she sent Raynare, however, screamed bloody murder, and the other girl just bowed - mockingly, in the eyes of the blonde, and turned to leave. "I'll be heading back on my own. Ah... take all the time you need?"
By the time Issei's mind restarted, the disguised Fallen was gone, his stomach felt better, his growing 'problem' had subsided, and Asia was back on her feet, a cute pout on her face and cheeks puffed out.
"Ohhh, I'm gonna... I'm gonna do something not very nice to her when we get back! The nerve of that... that jerk!"
Issei, on the other hand, was rather thankful for Yuuma's timely intervention. Granted, her insinuation had completely fried his brain, but it thankfully kept him from accidentally giving the person he trusted most a rather uncomfortable conundrum to deal with.
At the guffaws echoing in his head, Issei snapped back at Ddraig. 'Excuse me if I don't want to ruin what I have with Asia!'
"Whelp, I don't care how dense you are, you would need to have actual brain damage to not see that girl was just as into what was in front of her as you were! What a clam jammer, that Fallen, hahahahaha!"
He wished.
'Erm.'
Ddraig wished.
"Asia, uh..."
"Hm?" She glanced at him, before smiling weakly. "Ah. S-sorry. Is your stomach feeling better?"
Much so, and he told her as such, causing Asia's smile to widen. "I'm glad to help. I'm finished up, would you like me to help you wrap up here?"
"That... would be great, thank you. If I'm gonna feel like this every day for the foreseeable future... ugh, I'm glad we only have a couple more days of cleaning up after my mess."
The nun smiled faintly. "Yeah... me too. I'd like to be able to spend more time training, you know?"
He did - even if it was gonna be hell, Issei felt the same.
(The next day...)
"Buchou wants to talk to Issei-san."
"Rias-senpai?" Asia guessed, eliciting a nod from Koneko. "Did she say what she wanted?"
Koneko shook her head. "She didn't say anything about it, but I'm not stopping you from joining."
Issei glanced over at the blonde, who nodded back, before doing the same to the Rook. "Then we'll go together."
As they walked across the campus to another, smaller building, a thought occurred to Issei.
"Wait. The ORC has their own building?"
"At Buchou's request," Koneko replied. "She doesn't want to be seen as beneath Sona-kaichou's command, so having a separate building for her own operations ensures that isn't an issue."
"Politics at work?" Asia guessed, with a snort from Koneko.
"Yep."
"Sounds pretty stupid to me," Issei commented. 'To say nothing of the cost or permission needed. Just how well-off is Rias?'
"Yep," the petite white-haired girl agreed. "But that's why she handles the politics. I'm here to kick ass and know things."
"Y'know, I still haven't actually seen you fight."
"Is that a challenge?"
"N-no... definitely not with Arunn-san's regimen."
Koneko lifted her brow. "I'd recommend you don't mention anything about her to Buchou."
Asia tilted her head in confusion, to which the white-haired girl briefly explained. "Buchou's brother and Arunn-nee have really bad blood between each other. Poking that bear is a bad idea."
'Bad blood?'
"We'll figure it out in time."
'I suppose so.'
As they stepped inside, Issei, Asia, and Koneko walked into a large meeting room, two couches sitting across from each other in front of a coffee table, and on the far side from where they entered, the two Queens of Kuoh were already sitting, the redhead sipping tea, a pair of glasses across her face.
Her gaze brightened faintly upon seeing him, before furrowing when it shifted to Asia.
Issei shifted forward, as though to shield his friend from the curious look of the club president.
"You wanted to speak with me, Rias-sama?" he asked, tone carefully neutral.
Rias's gaze flicked back to Issei, before giving him a friendly smile and gesturing to the seat before her. "I did. Please, make yourselves comfortable. Help yourself to some tea, if you would like - Akeno made plenty, and I can attest to its taste."
"Rias-buchou is quite the stern critic when it comes to her drinks," Akeno said, a demure smile on her face as she bowed her head. "So if she approves then I have made an excellent blend."
"Do we have your word that there's nothing in the tea that we wouldn't want?" Asia cut in, voice unusually firm in the face of said offer.
Rias tilted her head, then bowed it in acquiescence, a flicker of irritation crossing her face. "Upon my name as heiress of the Gremory household, you have my guarantee that we have done nothing that would be considered untoward to the drinks or tea set. I'm not so low as to poison guests."
The brunet glanced at Asia, who nodded, satisfied with Rias's answer before they took a seat, across from Rias and Akeno. Koneko remained standing briefly, before joining Rias on her other side. A brief snap of Akeno's fingers summoned two cups from the kitchen, which floated over before coming to rest on the table. With all the grace of a trained tea ceremony mistress, the black-haired beauty swept the teapot into the air, before pouring the steaming liquid into each cup.
Asia and Issei each took one, and though Asia kept the teacup on the place that was given to her, Issei took a brief sip.
"Whoa. This really is good!"
Akeno giggled as she set the teapot down. "I will tell my mother that you approve of her teachings, Issei-kun."
"Please do, it's clear that you learned a lot," he set the teacup down, his impressed expression falling away for a more serious, focused mien. "Though, I do have to wonder just what you called me in here for, Rias-sama."
Rias sighed, tilting her head as she closed her eyes. "For starters, I owe you an apology. Considering the circumstances of your entry to the supernatural world, it was... below me, to try and take advantage of you and pressure you into joining the Occult Research Club."
She reopened her beautiful aquamarines and bowed her head, a small but meaningful gesture of apology. "I would like to... start off anew, if that is alright with you, Issei-san."
Issei sat and tried very hard to avoid forgiving her simply on principle of grace and physical attractiveness. Yes, he was biased. But he wasn't an idiot, either.
Even so. "Say that I do," he stated slowly, glancing over to Asia, who gave him a very slight nod to continue on. "Say that I do let matters lie and start over. What happens then? I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to join either of your clubs. Not when it means joining a Peerage."
Rias smiled, gesturing over to Asia. "I take it you helped him come to that resolution?"
"Where Ise-kun goes, I go, and vice-versa," the blonde replied resolutely. "And we both happen to like staying human."
"Are you sure?" Akeno added in, the expression on her face turning wry. "You know about the supernatural, don't you? About the beasts that go bump in the night? Why, if we wanted to, I'm sure we could prevent you two from walking away alive."
"I'm aware," Issei replied bluntly. "Yet I'm still here. I'm here to talk, but I'm not gonna capitulate, even if you two force the matter."
"Ara ara, are you sure, Ise-kun? There's so much more to life than to waste away after a pittance of years."
"All the more reason to make these years count. Not interested, and that's final."
A cold glint entered the black-haired woman's eye, as the smile faded away. "I don't appreciate when others act like fools, Ise-kun, even if the proceeding punishment is usually quite enjoyable."
"Akeno." Rias cut her off, with a sharp glare the Queen's way, before the black-haired woman bowed her head. It took Akeno a long second to do so, and another long second before she spoke again.
"Excuse me," the second Princess of Kuoh quietly removed herself from the conversation, rising from her seat and leaving with another word.
"Please forgive my Queen." Rias let out a sigh once her partner exited the room. "Akeno... doesn't view humans in the fondest light."
"Did they do something to her in the past?" Asia wondered, tilting her head, but she never got an actual confirmation.
"Any issue she has with them is her story to tell. I will leave it at that." Issei and Asia accepted Rias's deflection, and so the redhead continued. "No, what I was hoping was that now that some time has elapsed, that we could start speaking on a more normal basis, Ise-san. If I may call you that?"
Issei tilted his head from side to side before wordlessly indicating that he didn't have a problem with that, and the remaining Great Princess of Kuoh continued. "I heard from Sona that you agreed to assist her in her wish to create a polyfaction academy. I'm quite surprised, actually - I never took you to be the studious type."
"Just because I don't like to study doesn't mean I can't recognize how important something like that would be." Issei closed his eyes and scratched his cheek. "Sona-kaichou explained things pretty clearly to me, and to be quite honest she needs all the help she can get."
Ria's eyes squinted shut as she lifted a hand to her lips, giggling quietly. "She does dream big, doesn't she? Taking her sister's place as one of the leaders of our society would be so simple by comparison."
Issei nodded slowly. "She did mention she's the sister of one of the strongest people in the Underworld. I'm guessing you're of a similar rank if you two are close?"
"More or less." Rias nodded once. "Sirzechs Lucifer - the King of Oblivion, the face of the Great King Faction, and the Strongest Devil, is my brother."
Issei stopped, and glanced over at Asia, whose face had turned ashen.
"...I'm gonna assume that he's a big deal," he drawled, even if he felt a chill of his own run down his spine.
"Not only is Sirzechs-dono a leader of the Underworld, but he is ranked as one of the ten most powerful individuals in the world," Koneko helpfully supplied, causing Asia to break out in a cold sweat.
"And by that, you mean..." He glanced at Asia, placing a hand on her shoulder, comforting her even if he himself felt clammy. "How strong are we talking here?"
To that, a stammering, faint Asia answered. "R-Rias-sama's brother c-c-could wipe Japan o-o-off the face of the earth."
'Oh.' Issei's blood grew cold.
"Instantly," Koneko helpfully added.
Issei closed his eyes and started counting slowly to ten to try and start breathing normally again.
"He's also a total siscon."
"Okay, enough! I'm need a fucking minute here to process!" he snapped, throwing up his arms. "And Asia isn't doing any better!"
Rias glanced over at the blonde, who was trembling like a leaf. "Relax, please. I know that is intimidating news to hear, but I would rather not let that knowledge color our interactions." A frown came over her face. "Though I'd have thought you would have done your homework after talking to Sona, Ise-san."
"After all the paperwork she piled onto me?" Issei asked, voice tight from a panic that he was barely keeping under control. "You kidding me? I haven't even had time to do my regular homework!"
Someone took his hand, and pulled at it, prompting Issei to nearly lash out at whoever it was, before it came to rest against white hair.
"Give pets," Koneko instructed, plopping herself on the ground between Issei and Asia before doing the same with the blonde's hand. "It'll calm you down."
Seeing no other option, the brunet decided to do as Koneko suggested, and much to his surprise, felt a faint warmth flowing through his hand, settling his nerves and allowing him to focus.
Her hair was incredibly soft too, a part of him recognized, almost like the fur of a cat.
"Feeling better?" Rias asked, after a soft sigh escaped Asia's lips, color returning to her skin.
"A-a bit," the blonde admitted. "T-thank you, Koneko-san."
"Mh." Koneko gave a brief grunt in return, though judging by the way her head tilted into the pets, she was enjoying them too. "You needed it."
"So... that bombshell aside," Issei started, rubbing his forehead with his other hand. "What do you want, Rias-sama?"
"Where do I start?" she giggled faintly again, prompting a scowl from Issei before she actually answered. "But for what I want from you that you may be willing to provide? Well, I did some digging after I heard from Sona that you wanted to remain a human, and I ended up finding an old Devil contract that may fit our respective desires and requirements."
Rias took a moment to undo the top button of her student uniform, reached into her bust (much to Issei's delight) and pulled out what looked to be a bound scroll and set it on the table. Before the brunet could ask just how big Rias's breasts were to be able to hold that without so much as a hint of her hiding something in that valley, the Gremory heiress spoke again. "I'd like to give this to you to look at, Ise-san. There's no time limit on when you need to sign it, or return it if you decide against, but don't keep me waiting too long. I think you wouldn't be... adverse, to the terms within."
A playful smirk crossed her face. "Personally, I think we could both stand to gain much from the arrangement I'm offering. I hope that you come to agree."
Asia frowned at Rias, but she didn't offer any explicit denial outright, so Issei reached out and took the scroll.
"I'll open this when I go back home," Issei decided. "I'll make my choice to sign or not then."
That got a polite, if radiant all the same, smile from the Devil. "That is fine. I hope to hear more about your resolution soon."
"If he decides to sign," Asia pressed, the frown turning into a pout. "What does that mean for me?"
"Nothing, of course." Rias twirled a lock of hair in her finger. "If you want to provide input for Ise-san, then I have no qualms with that, but ultimately this contract is specifically and solely between him and I."
"Because of the Sacred Gear I have?" he guessed, lifting a brow, to which the redhead only smiled, finger stopping with a lock of hair curving around it.
"Because it opens so many opportunities for you," she replied, smile widening faintly. "I have no doubt that you already know that others will come to you, to partake in the power that you will undoubtedly grow into. Such is the fate of Longinus wielders, and the two Dragon Emperors especially. I want to... get my foot in the door, so to speak."
"Pretty businesslike of you," Issei remarked, to which Rias let out a faint huff of amusement, even if she shrugged with something approaching a grimace on her face.
"I thought you would be easily swayed before I spoke with you for the first time." Despite admitting to having had every intention to manipulate him before, when Rias opened an eye it was with an almost excited gleam to it. "Now that I know better, I figured it would be more appropriate to approach you as a peer."
"Is that why Koneko showed up and ate my gummy bears?"
"No," Koneko responded, pulling away from the two now that they had suitably calmed, and Issei's hand felt a little colder as a result. The hints of a smirk had returned to her face. "I just like gummy bears."
"That doesn't exactly answer my question."
"So you're taking advantage of your Peerage's initiative?" Asia pointed out.
Rias tilted her head from side to side briefly.
"We take advantage of each others' successes, so we all progress," she replied. "Isn't that what a Peerage is for?"
Neither Asia nor Issei could argue the point. Rias rose from her seat, gesturing magnanimously to the scroll on the table.
"I have spoken my part here, and lunch is ending soon, so I want to get to my classes in a timely fashion. But first, I should collect my Queen." She bowed her head to brunet and blonde. "It was a pleasure to speak with you, Ise-san, Asia-san, and I hope to interact with you both more going forward. Koneko, if you could show them the way out?"
With that, the Devil King exited, leaving only the white-haired young woman in addition to the other two.
"That wasn't too bad," Koneko commented, rising to her feet. "Let's go."
Issei and Asia complied, and on their way out Asia. "When you let us pet your head... I wasn't sure at first, but after thinking about it I have to ask - did you use Senjutsu to help calm us down?"
'Senjutsu?'
"Life energy manipulation," Ddraig supplied internally, almost distractedly. "You know, chakra, ki, that sort of thing."
Koneko nodded. "Mh. You two were frozen up with fear at Buchou's comments about her brother. You needed warmth."
"Wow. Koneko-chan is kind of a badass, huh?" Issei chuckled, clasping his hands behind his head.
She turned to him, eyes widening briefly. But then, she smiled. An earnest smile, untainted by her dry witticisms or placid gaze. "Thanks."
Issei thought it looked good on her.
The brunet set the scroll on the desk in his room, letting out a long sigh after a longer day of intrigue, brutal training, and then far less brutal cleanup of someone else's training.
At least he was almost done with the agreed-upon punishment he had with the Kendo club. Luna did not pull her punches, even though Issei had more hard work to do after she was done tortu- ahem, training him.
Especially since he was the one who asked for it.
He stretched, letting out a groan as his mind wandered, back to when things were simpler. Now he was being scouted by no less than three different groups, there was another that was keeping an eye on him in the form of Yuuma Amano, and he was getting thoroughly beaten into the ground - by the very woman who saved him from Freed - daily.
A small part of him delighted in being under the tender mercies of such a beauty.
He quashed that part of him and chalked it up to the concussion, which Asia had healed earlier that day, knocking a screw loose.
He'd already agreed to help Sona with her plans, let Isaiah know that he was willing to meet with his 'party' and talk in a neutral place, and then there was the Princess of Kuoh's scroll.
Issei peered out his window suspiciously.
He did not need Yuuma flying in here asking him to join the Fallen, three different groups that were vying for his time and attention was already bad enough!
The wielder of the Boosted Gear groaned and rubbed his head, grimacing as he thought back on his meeting with Rias.
It definitely could have gone worse. In fact, he could almost argue that it was quite pleasant. But there was something about it that didn't quite rub him the right way. He just wasn't sure what it was, though.
"Ugh... maybe I'll understand once I figure out what Rias-sama wants."
He was admittedly nervous though. After they had left and were just about to part ways for the evening, Asia had warned him to watch his step around the redheaded Devil.
Maybe it was her words that made him uneasy about how smoothly things had gone back at the Occult Research Club's clubroom.
"Nothing to do except press onward, whelp," Ddraig said. "Let's see what this Devil girl wants of us."
"Right. Nothing to it," Issei took a deep breath in, breathed out, and broke the seal on the scroll.
It unfurled smoothly, the weathered appearance belying the sturdiness of the paper as it slowly rolled outward in both directions, coming to a stop at the top of Issei's desk and a little ways off the bottom edge of the desk.
He sniffed, and blinked as the scent of... something fruity, he couldn't tell what, started leaking from the scroll.
"Oh? Are you such a horndog that now since you're learning to pick up magical auras, you do so by smell?"
'...Is that what it is? Also, shut up.'
Ddraig just chuckled in the back of Issei's mind as he tried to read through the scroll. Oddly enough, despite the shapes and the iconography being of a completely different language than Japanese, or anything else he'd ever seen, the brunet could understand it flawlessly. Arguably even better than if it was written in Japanese.
"What the- Is this Lishan?" Now Ddraig was taken aback, and rather impressed to boot. "That Gremory girl isn't messing around. This is no mere contract; it's a bona-fide Pact."
Issei looked up from the ancient pact back at the window. "There's a difference? And what's Lishan anyway?"
"A language all humans used before the Tower of Babel fell. That's not the important part though. A Pact is tied into the same system that makes Devils vulnerable to holy light, scripture, and the Holy Bastard's name. Simply put, if you sign it, neither of you will even be able to think about breaching its terms without getting a painful warning, and if you actually violate the Pact... you're basically at the mercy of the whims of the other."
"So she's going for a binding agreement, huh?" Issei rubbed his forehead with a grimace. "I barely even know her as a person, but this seems pretty shady."
"It goes both ways. They already have to follow contracts to the letter, so as a Devil the Gremory girl would be even more affected by a Pact than you. Read it closely - this is a big gamble if you do plan on signing it; make sure you know all the terms, conditions, and fine print so you aren't caught off-guard." Ddraig started muttering, now to himself. "How did the girl, even if she is Lucifer's sister, get her hands on something as rare as this...?"
And all because he was the Red Dragon Emperor. Issei wanted to laugh at the sheer audacity of the world. Just a few days ago he was an absolute nobody.
Then he decided against it, because he knew that would get him nowhere except in trouble with his parents, as late as it was on a school night.
So instead, he just snorted and continued to read.
By the time Issei was finished, he was speechless for several minutes, before he finally voiced a single word.
"...What?"
"Are you sure about this, Buchou?"
"I am."
"You don't even know him."
"No, but you do. Quite intimately, I might add, and you have vouched for him on multiple occasions."
"...Even so. This is... a pretty big move to make."
"It's a calculated decision. Even if he destroys the Pact, I lose nothing of value."
"It's staggering how an artifact from before humanity was split into separate languages is 'nothing of value' to you, Buchou."
"I already finished studying it and copied everything over to my Lishan lexicon. Figuring out how to reproduce the magic was a challenge, but I'd say it was worth the effort. What he has right now is just a copy of the copy, with a few slight changes to better fit what I'm looking for."
"Ah. So that's why Lord Beelzebub paid you a visit a few days ago."
Rias pulled out and held up a small vial, the blacker-than-black liquid within completely covered by layer upon layer of protective runes to obscurity. Koneko had to push down the shiver she got from looking at it.
"I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if Ajuka didn't lend this to me." Rias beamed. "Naturally, I mean to ensure that his contribution is put to good use."
A/N -
You know how Azazel suggested to Issei that if he didn't stop Vali, that Vali would cut the size of Rias's rack in half?
Yeah, well, this is an expansion (pun intended) of that concept. If Vali could theoretically divide that, Issei could just as easily double it.
And considering that Luna knows full well what drives Issei? She knows exactly how to float ideas his way. She should know- she's got similar taste in big oppai.
Meanwhile, more outreaches. This time, Isaiah's doing an approach after Issei got thrashed by Luna. It may seem paradoxical, but in doing so he shows he means no harm - Issei could hardly defend himself if he had to.
And we get our first grapefruit! I know that DxD has a bad habit of interrupting just as things are about to get spicy - in this case though, it came pretty naturally, and let's face it, the only reason Issei and Asia haven't done the dirty yet is because neither of them have stepped up. While the stomach thing was, in fact, an accident, Asia quickly figured out that was as good an opportunity to make her move as any. Especially with Raynare stirring the pot for her own amusement. Issei being in denial is also par for the course, methinks.
Then Rias gets involved. This should make things quite a bit more interesting, especially with the changes to canon. She can't exactly Reincarnate Issei from the brink of death this time around, so she needs to play a different game with him. Hopefully, it should still be quite entertaining to watch.
Also, strange vial with black liquid = ancient magicks? The plot thickens.
Lishan - a derivative of proto-semetic that means 'language'. Thanks beta and beta's language-making-hobbyist friend!
A new reference for Luna is on the way - and I, for one, am curious to compare it to what's taken up the story pic.
Tempura Wizard, out.
