~ I am Weak, Pathetic ~
Aika's eyes fluttered open to see the high ceiling with the Seir's insignia, an "H" bisected at the side by a horizontal "S". The light red-orange rays of Hell's sun flowed through the giant windows. Aika turned her head to see Issei's sleeping face.
"Friends with benefits huh," Aika thought of the events that changed her life these past few days. Turning into a devil, having her cherry popped, becoming Issei's servant of sorts, getting a team of maids to bath her and scrub her body, being a VIP in Issei's new home, exploring his home, and eating a five-star restaurant's quality of food.
"Good morning, Ise," Aika said when Issei awoke
"Good morning," he said. "It's weird for me to wake up to a beautiful girl," he scratched his cheek with an awkward grin.
"Fufufufu, you flatter me, Milord," Aika giggled.
"Stop that," Issei pouted.
"Well, you are my master now after all. Master~" Aika purred as she laid her hands on Issei's chest. Issei grinned and started groping her slender body. Their lips met. Not a very lustful kiss but just an affectionate peck. Issei pulled her even closer, close enough to rub his morning wood onto her stomach. Aika rubbed his rod with her hand.
Someone knocked on the door. Issei and Aika separated from each other. Aika pulled the blanket over her naked form while Issei stumbled for his shorts. "Come in!" Issei opened the door to see Falstein with a briefcase in one hand.
"Young Master, you have a visitor," Falstein bowed before he spoke. "The Lady Rias Gremory is waiting for you."
"Ah, I see," Issei said. Aika's eyes widened.
"She said that she's here to bring you to school. She also brings you these," Falstein opened the briefcase, revealing to Issei its contents: school uniforms. "Shall I pull a bath for you and the Lady Aika?" he closed the briefcase.
"No thanks. Could you tell her to please wait for three minutes?"
"As you wish. Anything else?"
"No. Ah, wait! Could you tell the chef to cook a light breakfast for three?" Issei took the briefcase.
Falstein bowed before Issei closed the door. Issei rushed to the bed and opened the briefcase in front of Aika, revealing a male and a female uniform complete with socks and shoes. "Let's get dressed," he said and Aika nodded.
"By the way."
"Hm?"
"Sagarel doesn't own Highschool DxD."
"wtf"
"ikr"
Rias Gremory sipped on her coffee while waiting for Issei and Aika to get dressed. She was seated in one of the smaller waiting rooms of the Seir, a floating gazebo that overlooked a large garden.
"How are we supposed to fly up there?!" she heard Issei shout.
"You have wings, Young Master," the butler said.
"And I don't know how to use them," Issei said.
"Shall I fly you up?"
Rias heard Issei's grimace. "Alright," Issei said. "Woah!" the butler came up to the gazebo, with Aika in one hand and Issei in the other. "Good morning, Rias-sempai! We're sorry to keep you waiting!" Issei shouted as he was set down.
"Good morning Ise-kun. No need for apologies, you weren't late at all," Rias said, dismissing her phone into a magic circle and giving her empty mug to one of the maids who immediately departed. "It's still early in the morning, we have enough time to roam around the school grounds."
"Have you had breakfast already?" Issei asked.
"I did. I'm just having my second mug of coffee. Thank you. I just came here to drop those and pick you up after you have had your breakfast," she said. "No need for the rush, we still have an hour and a half before school starts," Rias repeated.
"I-I see," Issei checked his phone to see that they still had a lot of time. Now he felt stupid for not taking a bath.
"Hell's time and Earth's time aren't in sync, so when it feels like midday here, it's sometimes midnight there. That's not always the case though, because Hell has 40 hour days while Earth has 24 hour days. So the time is always shifting. It's still kinda confusing to me too, in all honesty."
Falstein re-arrived with a tray of plates with breads in one hand and set it on the table. "But since you offered me breakfast, I think I'll have a little," Rias winked and accepted her plate of bread. She gave some of hers to Aika and Issei who thanked her. Falstein left and came back with a tray of warm drinks when they were done with the bread.
The bread was filled with cheese and ham. It was delicious, newly taken out of the oven with a scent of freshness with it. The beverage they drank was hot choco, sweet and bitter.
"Shall we go?" Rias asked after they ate. When both Issei and Aika nodded she summoned a map. She spread it across the table, just cleared and cleaned by the servants. "Where do you live?"
Issei looked over the map of Kuoh. At the center of it was the city hall, restaurants and large businesses surrounded it. Southwards was the Kuoh's All Girl College and even further lay cheaper apartments area, Issei looked lower than that and saw the poorer area of Kuoh.
"This map is pretty outdated, it doesn't contain the new mall," Aika said and Issei nodded. "And Kuoh High is still called Kuoh's All Girl College."
"Yeah, I bought this five years ago. Many things have changed since then," Rias pointed to a few blank properties on the map where new buildings were now built.
"I live somewhere here," Issei pointed to where his apartment should be, which was a large green land with only a few houses. A road was already built and a construction site was evident, but the lot was mostly green.
"Near the church?" Rias raised her eyebrow. She put her hand up, "I'm not judging or anything, it's just weird that you'd live there."
Issei chuckled. "I think I get the irony."
"Okay, give me 30 seconds then we're going," Rias snapped her fingers and a magic circle appeared behind her. She turned and manipulated the circle. "All right. The coast is clear. Shall we go?"
"Let's go."
Rias nodded and stepped onto the circle. Issei, Aika, Falstein, and the three maids followed.
"Brace yourselves," Rias said and they disappeared in a flash of red light. Issei blinked and found himself on the familiar street going to his apartment. "Thank you, Rana'ab," Rias said. Issei turned to see her speaking to her hand, he wrote it off as one of those magical things. Rias met his eyes, "Lead the way, Ise-kun," she gestured with her arm.
"R-Right," Issei said. "This way," he led them to the three-story apartment that somehow looked small now. Issei stared at it and rubbed his eyes. Yep, looked small now, he wasn't dreaming. It shrank overnight. Issei pulled out his key to the front door before pausing, "Are you guys going to go in like that?" he gestured to Falstein and the trio of maids who looked so out of place with their clothes.
"Yes, Milord. We could change if it bothers you," Falstein said and the maids nodded.
"It's fine I guess," Issei shrugged.
"I'll just say that they are with me," Rias said. "We showed you to your new house that you inherited and were just coming home from sleeping there. Is that good?"
Issei nodded and opened the door to see an empty lounge. He briskly walked up the stairs to the third floor, Rias and co hot on his trails. He pulled out another key to unlock his apartment door. He swung it open, hoping that it wasn't a mess.
"Lo and behold, underwear everywhere," Aika whispered into his ear as she pushed him inside.
"Excuse me, coming in," Rias said as she took off her shoes and entered the flat. Falstein and the maids waited before they too entered. "Wow, it's rather clean. I expected doujins to be everywhere," Rias looked around. She sniffed the air, "It's quite clean actually."
"Gremory-senpai, they're over here," Aika nudged the large shelf that took up a large part of the wall. "See here," Aika pointed to the top of the shelf, "Here are the schoolbooks, reference goes here, manga, doujins, then R rated at the very bottom," she pulled out a book with the label 177013. Aika fiddled with the cover, removing the fake notebook-like cover and revealing a schoolgirl in a lewd pose, she lent it to Rias who received it with care.
"Hey! What? Aika!" Issei came from his bedroom and was about to swipe the book away but Rias dodged and started reading the book.
"Ara ara, Ise-kun, what did you do in your room?" Rias teased, as she shut the hentai.
"I just checked if the PCs were still there and if they were shut off," Issei huffed.
"You have PCs?"
"They were a gift from a rich friend of mine," Issei shrugged.
"That's nice," Rias said and handed the hentai to Issei who placed it back where it belongs. "Now that we've seen your apartment, shall we head to school?"
"Just let me get my bag," Issei said. "We'll also have to stop by Aika's to get hers."
"No problem."
"Thank you for remembering me," Aika said. "Now if you'll excuse me, this place is getting pretty cramped."
"I'm going with her. We'll be outside, Ise-kun," Rias followed Aika.
"We shall stay here, Milord, and place protection spells around the house," Falstein said.
"Is that really necessary?"
"Yes, Milord, for your own safety."
"Okay, I leave the house to you then," Issei pulled out an extra set of keys from behind the bookshelf and gave it to Falstein. Falstein bow/nodded. "Bye, I'll be back by 5," Issei waved as he closed the door behind him, seeing his new servants bow gave him a weird feeling.
He checked his phone for the time and saw that they still had a good 30 minutes before school started, quite early in Issei time, might as well go to school. He walked down the stairs and outside to see Rias and Aika giggling.
"There he is," Aika said and turned away from Rias. "Ise, go on ahead to school, me and Rias-senpai are going to have some quality girl time."
"A-ah, alright," there went Issei's dream to go to school with two girls. "See ya," he said as he walked the familiar street to school while Aika guided Rias to her and her brother's apartment.
Down the hill, over the bridge, by the roadside fish store, entering the busier part of the city, and over the overpass. Issei spied some cigarette ash on one part of the bridge, the office woman's most likely. People chatting, motors revving, businessmen complaining, students hollering their good mornings, taxi drivers on opposite lanes fist-bumping, the late overworked man yelling over the traffic, a dog whimpering, the birds chirping overhead… all the city sounds were like home to Issei's ears as the walkways became more clogged with people going to work and school.
Issei reached the gates of Kuoh High, formerly Kuoh All Girl College, and hoped that Souna wasn't doing the uniform checking today.
"Good morning, Hyoudou," a female voice called out. "In full uniform today, I see. You're early today."
"Morning Shinra-senpai," he saluted back, "Yeah, I've been forced to wear this," he gestured to the white undershirt and the formal black shoes.
"How has being a devil treated you so far?" Shinra asked.
"Pretty good. Are we supposed to be talking about this in public?"
"It's fine. Most people will think we're either crazy or role-playing," Tsubaki said as she stopped a guy with earrings and confiscated them, but not without a little trouble. She bagged the earrings in a box by the gate, they'll be returned by the end of the day. "I'll be honest. You being a high class devil irks me."
"What are those? High class, low class?"
"There are three devil classes: high class, middle class, and low class. High class are basically nobles," Tsubaki said. "They're the top of the top. Ria-sama, Kaichou, and you are born with 'noble blood.' Therefore you are entitled to a peerage and riches. A devil in the low class is a slave. Other masters like Gremory-senpai prefer to use 'servant' but slave is the more correct term. We have no freedom of our own, so to speak. The middle class, on the
other hand, has a bit more freedom than the low class. They could start a family, buy some land, build a house but ultimately, they need to follow their master's orders or they will be labeled as a stray."
"I see," Issei nodded. "What are strays?"
"They are devils who disobeyed their master's orders or left them," Tsubaki shrugged. "I've seen and fought some before. It… ..isn't pretty."
"So, they're criminals?"
"Not all of them. Some are just abused by their masters and run away. It's a sad reality," Tsubaki said, looking downcast for a moment. "Anyways, how's life? I heard you toured your house."
"It's shocking," Issei sighed. "Doesn't it feel like things have been moving too fast?"
"Not really. I mean, the author didn't update in… Ten months! The piece of shit," if this wasn't the school grounds, Issei was sure that Tsubaki would've spat on the ground. "Although this update came really fast. He should have at least released one chapter every other month," she growled. "Sorry, you were saying?"
Issei sweatdropped. "It feels like life flipped me upside down. I was a nobody just days ago. But now, I'm richer than all of Japan combined."
"If it's about deserving. You don't deserve anything," Tsubaki's disgust for Issei flashed. "Unfortunately, this is about inheriting, there's nothing you or I can do about this. That's how the world works."
"I didn't expect you to be this wise old man."
Tsubaki sent him a sharp, unamused glare.
"Thanks for the talk," Issei said.
"Anytime."
"Oh, and by the way," Issei stopped walking away, "What's your sin?"
"You're not supposed to ask that or answer that question. Hasn't Ria-sama taught you that?"
"Ah, alright," Issei trailed off. "See you around, I guess," he walked to his classroom and left his bag there while greeting the class representative. Issei walked around the school grounds since there he still had 15 minutes until classes started. Matsuda arrives around five minutes before class starts while Motohama was already in school, probably drawing under some tree, so that left Issei to loiter around.
Issei leaned over the rails that overlooked the oval. The track team have already done their morning exercise and most of them have already gone to change while some hang around the edges of the oval. A couple was discreetly doing some PDA beside a school building while a couple of teachers were chatting over some morning coffee and passed them without noticing. The principal seemed to be scolding a school janitor by the way she took the mop and did the floor herself.
Issei mused to himself. He has been looking upon all of this as a human before, but how will his being a devil affect his worldview in the future? This peace, this sense of tranquility, will he still have it? He scoffed and leaned his face on his hand. He was still feeling this peace, wasn't he? The world still turns, not caring for the way his life was quickly changing; not giving him the time to adjust.
"That's life I guess," Issei said as the bell rang and students rushed to their classrooms, him included. He spotted Yuuto waiting by his classroom, the girls fangirling over him from the sidelines. The knight with blonde hair ignored them of course since he was probably a herbivore.
"Good morning, Hyoudou-kun. Will you come to me later, at seven in the evening? We need to talk."
"Kyaaah!"
"Eww!"
"Quick! Someone inform the artist club of the development!"
Issei stared at the beautiful bastard while ignoring the quiet screams of the fan girls. "Do you have to phrase it that way?"
"Like what? We drank from the same teacup the other day," Yuuto said with a smile on his face. "Don't tell me that meant nothing to you."
"Kyaaaah!"
"Shut up. Get out. Shoo! Shoo! Tell Sempai I'll be there," Issei shooed Yuuto away and entered his class to see the girls of his class gossiping, Aika among them.
Issei just sighed and went to his seat. Sooner rather than later, the teacher entered.
"Stand! Bow! Sit!" the class representative said with the class following suit.
"Good morning class! Exams are in two weeks, the intramurals come after that, then summer vacation. Study hard boys and girls, so you could have your vacation and not go through the summer class. Now for the roll call…"
And so, Issei's regular school day passed without much hassle, like nichijou.
Issei found a blond man collapsed in front of his apartment door when he came back from school. Issei checked around for anybody looking but found no one. "Water… please…" the man croaked. Issei sighed and opened his apartment.
"Welcome home Master Issei," three maids greeted him. They were the same maids that Falstein left to clean the house, they were also the maids that watched Issei and Aika go at it last night. "Falstein has appointed us to be your personal maid servants. Do to us as you wish," the one acting as spokesperson said, trying her best to be professional, although her gaze would flicker away and her cheeks redden when she looked directly at Issei.
Issei could not believe his eyes. His own personal maids! Issei gripped himself before he got lost in his world of playing with them. Bondage, roleplay, threesome— "Wha- er… What are your names?" Issei said, nearly biting his tongue to keep himself from daydreaming.
"We have no names."
"Why?"
"Only humans could give names. You are the first human we've met, Master Issei."
"Is that so," Issei said. He thought for a moment. "Could I give you names?"
"It would be an honor Master."
"Call me Issei."
"That cannot do, Master."
"Issei-sama then. Master is just too English for me," Issei grimaced. "Now say it."
" " "Yes, Issei-sama." " "
"Good. Now, let's see…" he thought of names. A hand gripped Issei's leg, shocking Issei. "GAH!"
"Waterrrrrrr…" the man groaned before dropping limp on the floor.
"Oh right, sorry Riser. Uhm," Issei turned to the maids. "Water please?"
"Ahhhhhh, that hit the spot," Riser sighed in pleasure after he set the cold glass down. He wiped a few drops of water from his chin with his sleeves then adjusted his fiery blonde hair. He laughed then patted Issei on the back with a hearty laugh. "Thanks for saving my life again Issei. Hahahahahahaha!"
"No problem," Issei said with a half-hearted thumbs up.
"Now, who are these cuties?" Riser eyed Issei's three maids like a professional maid critic.
"Uhhh, these are my maids?" Issei said, coming off as more of a question than an answer.
"Mmmmm, how did you get them?" Riser then had a shocked look on his face. "Don't tell me you got them from the black market!"
"I did not!" Issei crossed his arms. "A relative of mine died. And I'm the last remaining heir so I just inherited their fortune," Issei said.
"Chill. Just teasing," Riser held his hands up. "What are their names?"
"They don't have any."
Riser grimaced. "Give them names then."
"That's what I was about to do," Issei said. "Any suggestions? I want something European. You're American right?"
"I'm terrible with names," Riser shrugged. "Want me to ask Yubelluna?"
"Eh, sure."
Riser switched his phone on. Issei sweatdropped as he waited for the phone to switch on while Riser whistled a merry tune. Riser coughed then dialed his phone. "Yo, Bell. I got—" he said before the first ring.
"LORD RISER WHERE ARE YOU? WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU FOR TWO DAYS!" Yubelluna's voice rang out of the phone.
"Shush shush shush Bell. I'm okay, I'm at Issei's," Riser said while pointing a thumb at Issei. "We need help with names, European names to be exact. Got any suggestions?"
"The hell should I know? I'm going to get you already. Your sister is already done with her playdate."
"Alright, goodbye Sugarpie—" Riser stared at his phone. "She hung up," Riser said. "Welp, looks like you're on your own kid," Riser paused. "Wait, I got some names. Kemtucky, Nakdonald's, and Hollibee," Riser pointed to the three maids who just stared at him.
Issei ignored Riser and stood up to look at his dictionary. He walked to the girls and stood in front of them. He set down his dictionary. "Kurenai," Issei patted the first maid on the head as if knighting her. "Haku," he patted the girl with hair as white as snow and eyes a bright sky blue. "And Hitsui," he patted the final maid, her eyes a deep shade of green.
"That's some dramatic knighting," Riser said without a hint of sarcasm.
"I try my best."
"Cheeky brat," Riser checked his watch. "I feel Bell is close to here. I'm gonna run while I have the time. See you next month, Issei," Riser said as he left the apartment. Five minutes later, a purple-haired girl checked Issei's apartment while Issei sighed in exasperation.
"Yubelluna-san, I'm going to go out with some friends. You don't have to lock the door, the maids will take care of this place," Issei put on his shoes then left while Yubelluna rummaged through his place.
Issei entered the Occult Research Club's room. Yellow light from the candles danced on the walls and the white moonlight shone on Rias, who sat behind her large desk. A giant circle with inscriptions written in another language lay on the floor.
"Greetings summoner."
"Shut up Kiba," Issei said.
"Aren't we friends?"
"Just because we're fellow devils now doesn't mean I'll treat you differently. You're still a shitty bishounen who likes trolling people."
"Translation note: bishounen means pretty boy," Kiba pouted.
"That doesn't even look good on you dammit! What are you? A small girl!?"
"I could be," Kiba posed like a magical girl.
Issei threw Yuuto a "you're weird" look before turning to Rias. "Good evening, Rias-sempai," he waved.
"Good evening. Have you had dinner yet?"
"Just a sandwich. How about you?"
"I haven't eaten yet."
"By the way, Shinra-senpai said that I shouldn't tell anyone about my sin," Issei sat on the couch.
"Yes, you shouldn't. If someone knows your sin, then it would be easier for them to counter you in a fight and vice versa. Take for example, a devil with the sin of gluttony. They have sharp teeth right? So you would stay away from their mouth," Rias said. "The incubi and succubi have tails that secrete pleasure hormones that only affect the opposite gender. You would then want to stay away from the tail so you won't get tased. And so on and so forth," she said.
"I see…" Issei closed his eyes.
"Don't worry, we'll study these things as time moves forward," Rias smiled.
"He also said something about devil classes," Issei said.
"Ah, yes, the hierarchy system," Rias grimaced.
"How does that work, exactly?"
"I'd rather not talk about it now. It would take too long and the author would rather just jump to contracts," Rias said with a "whatever" kind of face.
"What are those?"
"I'm glad you asked. Let's say a guy wants some pizza and he calls you to deliver him some pizza. You would then go to Pizza Hot or one of those pizza places and buy him a pizza. When you arrive at his door, he will then have to pay you the cost of the pizza, your other expenses, and your time. It's the same with devil contracts," Rias said. "A summoner calls you to do something for them. After you're done, they will have to compensate you for your time and resources spent on fulfilling their wish. Once you have collected your pay, the contract has been fulfilled and you receive an extra magic boost because you have accomplished or have allowed them to do the sin they wanted to commit," Rias said. "Did you know that devils feed on sin? A gluttonous devil becomes more powerful the more food they eat, a greedy devil: more riches, a prideful devil: flattery, and so on," Rias covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, did you get that? Or was I too fast?"
"I think I can process it," Issei said. "So, like, an incubus like me gets more powerful the more sexual acts I commit?"
"Something like that. Contracts are more complicated than that," Rias smiled. "You could also get more powerful by just talking to them, some people summon devils just to talk to someone."
"That's pretty… ..mundane."
"Yeah," Rias nodded. "Unfortunately, not all devils like being called just for a cup of tea. Some even kill their summoner just because they were summoned incorrectly or the requirements for the request weren't met."
"Have you ever killed anyone before?"
"Yes, I have. I lost my temper at times and destroyed their whole house with them in it," Rias said without losing a beat.
"I see…"
"Has your view of me dropped?"
Issei kept his silence for a bit before giving her an answer. "Nope. You're still a cool Sempai."
"That's good to hear," Rias smiled.
"Where's Himejima-senpai and the little girl?"
"They were called to fulfill some contracts."
"Ah, I see," Issei cleared his throat. "Rias-sempai, you called me here because?"
"I am going to start tutoring you about the international language of the magical part of the world, Babelian."
Issei chuckled nervously. "Ehehehehe… umm, why?"
"It's needed to communicate with other devils. It's also the first step in learning magic," Rias held up her hand. A crimson magic circle formed on it. "You see those writings on the side? That's Babelian."
"So… ..I need to learn a whole nother language just to cast some magic?"
"Yes. Don't worry. Babelian is rather easy to learn once you've memorized the 78 letters of its alphabet and got the basics, you'll be speaking Babelian like it's your national language," Rias pulled out a scroll and walked to Issei. She spread out the scroll on the low table.
Issei scanned the figures on the scroll. "Isn't this the Seir sign?" he pointed to the figure of an "H."
"Yes. And this is the Gremory's sign," Rias pointed to a boat-like figure.
"Ah! Are like the devil pillars like ummm… The names of the devil pillars are the letters of Babelian?"
"Correct. That's a perfect score for Hyoudou-san."
Issei grinned at the praise. "Aren't there 72 devil pillars?"
"Yes there are. There was supposed to be 78 but Babel collapsed and the Great War started before the devils to be the remaining six pillars were picked."
"What's the Great War?"
"We'll talk about that some other time. For now, we focus on the Babelian language," Rias said and Issei nodded. "This is the figure, the pronunciation of it is above, and the name of the figure is under it. I want you to rewrite all of them onto this paper," Rias handed Issei a paper. "Good luck!"
"A-alright," Issei wanted to cry because he had to study some more. He started copying the figures one by one.
The magic circle flared a bright crimson, breaking Issei from his writing trance.
"Ah, this is for me. Would you like to come and see how contracts are made? It's just a quick few minutes," Rias walked to the middle of the glowing magic circle.
"If it's alright," Issei inwardly sighed in relief.
"Sure. Get here," Rias motioned Issei to stand beside her. He got off the couch and stood a little behind her. "Observe only okay? I'll do the talking. Here we go!" Issei and Rias sank into the magic circle. Colors danced all around their vision as they fell down while at the same time flew up.
Once out of the circle, Issei's eyes widened as a stench assaulted his nose when they came out of the other magic circle. His devil instincts told him to protect himself. Shivers ran down his spine and his legs froze in place. Issei's hair stood straight up and his blood ran cold. His mouth locked in a half-closed position and the world spun the wrong way too fast.
A bloody body was crucified in front of the magic circle. Its intestines spilled out of its stomach and looked like snakes crawling out. An eyeball hung loosely from its socket, holding on to a vein or artery. Tears flowed from the other undamaged eye. What remained of the shirt were a bunch of rags, making Issei realize that the body belonged to a girl by the breasts. Her lips were swollen and bruised. She missed a few teeth and blood dripped from her mouth. She was missing half a leg and a few fingers and toes. Her hair was a mess and was torn in places.
"Issei! Snap out of it!" Rias shouted as gunshots were heard. Issei's legs unfroze and he fell on his bottom. Rias stood protectively in front of him, in her demonic form, and a few bullets clanged to the floor. "Come out, stray," red energy spawned on her hand.
"Yo~ Yo~ , I wasn't expecting two devils to show up. Lucky me~ I guess~ ," a man popped out from behind the Japanese paper sliding doors. He was a young man with snow-white hair, a pale face, and red eyes. "My name is— OH SHIT!"
Rias blasted him with a red beam of energy that carved the whole front yard of the house before disappearing. "Why would I need to know the name of a dead man?"
"Hahahahahahahahaha!" the man laughed madly, "So that it would be the last name you'll remember, devil," he skipped away before he could get mauled to death by another red ball.
"Issei, there's probably still time for the girl. Get her away from here then revive her. I'll cover you," Rias said before she chased after the stray.
Issei nodded and ran to the crucified girl on the wall. His stomach churned as he stared at her. He gritted his teeth then started removing the nails that embedded her to the wall. Issei just used his fingers to remove the nails, and thankfully, they weren't that deep in the wall. He wanted to stuff her innards back into her but his resolve melted away before he could touch them.
"Dammit!" Issei cursed as removed his blazer and covered her with it, before running towards the door. He pulled the girl into his arms, not minding the blood drenching his clothes.
"Dodge! Issei!" on instinct, he jumped right, just as a grenade dropped and blew up where he was about to walk to. Another grenade blew up the ceiling near the door, causing debris to block his way out.
"Hahahahahaha! There's no escaping me!" the deranged man sang as his sword against Rias' claws.
"The window!" Issei gasped to himself as he ran again. More explosions rang out from behind him, he dared look back to see the priest flying towards him with a wicked grin on his face. Rias sent a red ball of destruction that caved through the priest's shoulder but left the arm attached.
Issei turned away from the carnage behind him. He heard gunshots and he lost his balance as pain flared from his left leg.
Issei tripped and the purple-haired girl flew out of his princess carry. The sound of metal cutting through wind reached his ears and he turned to see the priest and his sword coming at him.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion; the unconscious girl's body catapulting through the air, the light bouncing off the sword's sleek and bloodstained frame, the sword's edge creeping towards Issei's falling form, Freed's evil predatory grin spreading onto his face, and Rias leaping to meet the sword. Issei watched as the sword exited Rias' back through her stomach. He watched as blood splattered onto his face and as the sword was brought to a halt. He watched as Rias pulled the arms of the priest away from his body, blood spraying the ruined, wooden floor. He watched as the legs followed the arms and the priest howled in pain and horror. Issei watched the priest crawl away from Rias with his tongue… as Rias took the priest by the neck and, with a red ball of destruction in one hand, swiped the head clean off the body.
Issei could only watch as the demon in front of him faded into a beautiful senpai he admired, collapse onto the cold, bloody floor of the broken house. "Thank Maou you're safe," Rias whispered as Issei scrambled to her.
Issei gulped as his hands shook. "What to do? What to do? What to do?" his hands didn't dare touch the sword that was embedded in Rias' stomach even though his brain told him to pull it out. His teary eyes tried to assess the situation but failed to do anything useful. Issei wanted to say, "It's gonna be alright," and other comforting words but his voice cracked whenever he wanted to speak. All he could do was croak and shiver in front of Rias.
"It's fine Issei. I've received worse wounds. Just… call Akeno. I know you have her number," Rias said. "And can you remove the sword? The silver is more deadly than bleeding out."
Issei nodded and placed both his hands on the sword's hilt. The silver hilt felt like a hot frying pan. Issei kept in the tears and gritted his teeth. The sword slid out of Rias' stomach easily enough. The sword clanged on the ground and Issei nursed his burnt hands.
"Thanks. I think I'll sleep for a moment," Rias said. "Call Akeno. And revive the girl. I know you have a Knight piece on you. Do it quickly before her soul gets too far."
Issei nodded and his trembling hands searched his pockets for his phone.
『Would you like to delete the contact?』 『Yes I No』
"Nonononono!"
『Deleting contact...』
"Gah! Dammit!" he tore at his hair when he accidentally deleted Akeno's number.
『The contact has been successfully deleted!』
"Whyyyyyyyy?" Issei bemoaned. He checked Rias for her phone — she still wore the Kuoh school uniform which consisted of a blazer, inner shirt, and a short skirt with a concealed pocket. He checked the blazer's pockets to find candy wrappers and a few receipts. He checked her skirt for the hidden pocket, careful not to move her too much, just to find a broken phone.
Issei wanted to scream and throw a fit. But it was his weakness that left him in this situation. If only he was faster, stronger, smarter, wiser, he would have been able to help Rias. If only he weren't so useless.
Issei blinked back the tears of helplessness and dialed his phone once again.
"Moshimoshi— Matsuda here, yo, Issei, we're at your place where you at?" Matsuda said merrily through the phone's speaker
"Matsuda. Quick. Get Himitsu-san's car and pick me up at… just get Himitsu-san's car. Tell her it's an emergency!" Issei pulled himself together and walked around, trying to find out where he was. "Don't hang up!" he added.
"Alright! On the way. Where will we pick you up?" Matsuda said, all merriness in his voice gone.
Issei checked the location in his phone and sent it to Matsuda and received a "Got it" in response.
Issei prepared for Matsuda's arrival. He exited the house to find himself in a garden complete with a fish pond and sakura trees. A clear stone path led from the door to a small gate. Issei carried the girl where he set her on the grass beside the gate, carefully making sure that nobody saw him. He went back to get Rias. Issei wrinkled his nose in revulsion when he saw the headless body of the priest before carrying Rias to the girl.
Issei crumpled onto his butt when after he had moved both women. Blood and sweat-drenched his uniform while drying tears and droplets of blood covered his face. His muscles felt tense and his stomach was twisting. But Issei gritted his teeth hoping to keep the adrenaline pumping until all this was over. His stomach disagreed though, and he nearly barfed. Issei tasted acid and swallowed it, not allowing his puke to come out. The acid burned his throat and tasted disgusting.
As if the world wanted to laugh one last time, it started raining. Lightning streaked across the sky and thunder roared seconds after the flash of light. The wind howled and whistled while water gushed out of the heavens, making Issei feel more miserable.
He pulled out the knight piece from his pocket, thankfully undamaged. He lay it on the girl's chest.
"What was the chant? What was the chant?" Issei panicked. "Calm down. Calm down," he took in deep breaths and recited the chant over and over again. "Alright! We can do this!" Issei psyched himself up. He stood before the girl's body and started chanting:
"Audite ad me, animas mortuorum;
Qui erant perditi per vetus deos;
Ante vides Hades, ante te dare piscatoris argentum;
Servus sub mi, Diabolus."
The chess piece glowed for a moment before being absorbed by the body. The innards reentered her body, her eyeball grew back, her stomach sealed itself, her body looked as good as new with none of her previous wounds showing. She coughed blood and water but still kept unconscious.
Issei sighed in relief and crumpled onto his butt. "How long has it been?"
A car stopped outside and a guy with glasses jumped out of the passenger side. "Issei?!" he called.
Issei jumped up and said, "Motohama? You're here too? Nevermind that. Help me here! You too Matsuda."
Issei opened the gate and Motohama entered while Matsuda followed a moment later. Both gasped and froze when they saw the bodies of Rias Gremory and the purple-haired girl.
"What the actual fuck happened?" Matsuda cursed in English when he saw their bloody bodies. "Isn't that Rias Gremory?"
"I'll explain later! Help me get them in the car and drive to Kuoh!" Issei shouted, the rain nearly drowning out his voice.
"They don't need to go to school. They need a doctor!"
"Just do it!"
"You owe us an explanation big time!" Matsuda said as he floored the gas pedal. The car accelerated in the dark of the night and the pouring rain. "Alright, we're here!" Matsuda called out as the car skidded to a stop.
"That was fast!" Issei said.
"You spaced out," Motohama said.
Issei didn't comment. "Wait here, I'm getting some help," Issei said as he ran across the school grounds.
The fog made it hard to see five meters ahead while the rain made it hard to hear. Issei wiped his face with his bloody hand when his sweat went into his eye. "Gah!" he screamed as he slipped on the pavement. Issei hit the pavement hard, giving him a bloody gash on the face and bruising his arms. "Dammit!" he picked himself up and ran again. He barged into the old school building, leaving droplets of blood and water in his wake. He met Yuuto at the staircase, sword in hand.
"Hyoudou-kun?"
"Kiba! Gremory-sempai needs help! She's with Matsuda and Motohama at the front gate!" Yuuto nodded and ran the wrong way. "Hey wait!"
"I'm getting Akeno-senpai," Yuuto said as he disappeared.
"Alright…" Issei said as his vision blacked out and he collapsed onto the cold, welcoming, wooden floor.
Issei woke up to see the brown ceiling of the old school building. He was all dried up but still wore the same clothes. His wounds have been treated and bandages littered his figure. "So, you're finally awake," Motohama said. Issei turned to see Matsuda and Motohama lounging in the room, dryer than him.
"How's Gremory-sempai?" Issei asked.
"Himejima-senpai is still treating her wounds. She had a nasty stab wound that went right through her stomach, two bullet holes in her shoulder, and scratches here and there," Motohama said.
"And the other girl?"
"She's fine, according to Himejima-senpai. No wounds whatsoever. She's beside you," Motohama said. Issei turned to look at his other side to see a dark-haired girl sleeping. He sat up and moved to check her himself.
Just as Issei was about to check the girl, Akeno walked into the room. "Rias is conscious now," she said, "Hyoudou-kun, you may go in. The first room to your right," she turned to Matsuda and Motohama. "Matsuda-kun, Motohama-kun, has Hyoudou-kun explained anything yet?" Both shook their heads. "Issei, would you like me to explain to them the situation?"
Issei nodded to Akeno as he exited the door.
"I am what you call a devil…" Akeno's voice faded as Issei closed the door behind him and entered the empty hallway. He limped towards the other door to the right.
Once Issei reached the door, he stared at it without moving. He raised his hand then lowered it. He repeated it. Issei took a deep breath and grasped the cold door handle and turned it. His breath hitched once he fully opened the door. Issei choked when he saw the girl in the room. A beautiful girl bathed in moonlight and covered in blood stained bandages. She turned from the window to him and smiled.
The tears that Issei was holding back nearly flooded out. He took a shaky step forward. Then another painful one. Emotions whirled within him.
Guilt. Anger. Anger. Guilt. Sadness. Uselessness. Guilt.
"A-are you gonna be okay?" Issei asked, once he reached her bed.
"I'm gonna be fine. I'll just need a bit of time to heal. I've received worse wounds than this," Rias winced.
"I'm relieved," Issei said. Rias' voice comforted him somehow.
"I saw your face as Akeno pulled me in here," Rias chuckled with a hint of mirth. "You looked so pale as you slept."
"Of course I'd be worried for you! You took a sword through your stomach!" Issei gritted his teeth in anger. "If only I wasn't so weak! I could've at least helped you fight the priest. And then you wouldn't have been so injured. I'm sorry, Gremory-sempai. I'm sorry for being weak and useless and a pervert and..." Issei's anger disappeared into sadness and self-loathing. He prostrated himself into a kneeling position, bumping his head against the cold, wooden floor towards Rias. Tears ran down his face, wetting the dry floor.
"Issei, stand up," Rias said softly. Thunder cracked outside after lightning flashed as she said that. Issei stood but looked down. Rias motioned him to come closer to her. He stopped just shy of the bed.
Issei flinched when Rias did the unexpected. She patted his head. He expected a slap or a loud scolding and maybe both but he did not expect Rias Gremory, the Beauty of Kuoh, to ruffle his hair with a giggle. "You are forgiven for the sins that you think you committed," Rias laughed at the irony of what she had said. "Issei, it's no sin to be weak at first; everyone starts as a baby. Now that you know how weak you are, get stronger so that you won't ever have to apologize for being weak again."
Issei nodded. Embers of a fragile determination were lit behind his tear-filled eyes.
Rias smiled. "Also, don't apologize for being a pervert. I think that's one of your endearing traits." She ruffled his hair some more.
Issei laughed, despite the tears in his eyes. "Yes, Gremory-sempai. I won't."
"I thought I told you to call me Rias?" she sent him a stern look with a small pout.
"Yes you did, Rias-sempai," Issei scratched the back of his head with a lopsided grin. "I'll be going now so you could rest. See you around, Rias-sempai."
"Bye Issei-kun," Rias waved with a smile before the door closed. "Haah," she sighed as she stretched. She lay back onto the bed, watching the falling water. The lightning flashed and the thunder rolled outside, rattling the windows. "This strong spring shower is kinda odd, don't you think?" she spoke and the silence greeted her. Rias sighed and lay down. "This hurts so much."
"Would you like me to treat your wounds, nyaa~?"
"No. This much is nothing."
"Whatever nya say," the voice faded into the darkness.
Okay. Before you Naruto-peeps start saying "Kurenai and Haku are from Naruto. Haku is a trap!" I am gonna put my foot down and say. No. Just no. I got several sets of names, "Shiko, Chuun, and Kou" for example, and debated with myself for three hours on what to pick. Heck! It wasn't even supposed to be three maids! I was only supposed to write two maids named Rem and Ram or Haysaca and Hilda and be done with it. I also wanted to give them European names but… well...*shrugs*
I blame Kali and Drawer for this despite both of them doing nothing to influence this change. I did nothing wrong…
(Also Kali, don't worry about Issei being a wimp for now… I'm gonna make him a chad, slowly and painfully.)
In the end, I like their names.
Now I want to plan out an arc for this three maids, whether I actually do it is another thing though. I might just keep them as side characters that constantly appear with Issei.
It's currently three am by the time I'm writing this author's note, so my thoughts are all over the place, just in case you guys are wondering "wtf is he saying." I always write my author notes at three in the morning so the words just spill out without me having to edit them. Trust me, I have no idea what I'm writing either.
Anywho. This chapter only took 3 days to write lol. The last one took friggin months dammit. Expect the next chapter next week or a week after that. Like this, it has been written and finished waaaaaaaay back before chapter three was even halfway written. I just want to space it out a little more since I barely have a chapter after that.
Also, the reason why canon!Issei doesn't have magic is because he hasn't had sex yet lol.
Reviews are always appreciated. Even rants on why this chapter came out so quick and why it does not have any smut. Accept it already. The faster a chapter, the less smut it has. (Just kidding)
This chapter was brought to you by Dzius. And Vorpal will be rereading this, I'll update this chapter after he's done.
Join the Discord: we've got some legendary writers there, much better than I am. Kaliyugafan and DarkDrawer just to name two of them. They are collaborating on a DxD fic named "A Shift in Perspective," it's great and has smut here and there. Or at least… i was told there was smut, I must have missed it somewhere while reading lol
Issei limped over the bridge and saw the onee-san smoking a cigarette while watching over the city's midnight motorists. "Ho there, boy," she waved at him. She looked at him, his torn blazer, his bandaged cheek, and his limp. "Pretty bad weather an hour ago, ain't it?" she said and went back to breathing smoke.
"Yeah," Issei leaned against the wet railings.
"Got into a fight?"
"Sort of," Issei said. "This wound was from tripping though."
"Running on wet surfaces is always a bad idea."
"It was an emergency. My sempai was bleeding and needed a doctor at once," Issei said. "Can I have one?"
"Uhuh," she said and held up to him the box of cigars and lighter. "His life is no longer in danger then?"
"Yeah…" Issei trailed off and lit the cigarette. He started coughing when the smoke entered his nose. He breathed out then breathed back in. "I think I now understand why adults like smoking," he said and took in another breath of smoke.
"Yeah. No shit."
Remember kids, smoking is not good for your health if done on a regular basis; smoke responsibly. Heck. Anything done too much is not good for your health even if it's good: eating, drinking water, sleeping, exercising, cooking, gaming, reading, writing, learning, etc., etc.,
Except maybe breathing. There is no such thing as breathing too much oxygen… ..getting oxygen forcefully pumped into you is a different matter entirely.