Chapter 11: Let The Games Begin
"This is it," I said to myself as I sat on the edge of my bed, looking at my alarm clock.
Tonight is the big night! In about an hour, the rating game will begin. My life, my friends, and my Rias are at stake here. We've been training non-stop for this very moment. It's so nerve-wracking just thinking about it.
"Dad, if you are watching, can you lend me your wings?" I prayed.
"Issei, are you there?" From behind my bedroom door, I heard Asia's voice.
"Come on in, Asia." I invited her into my bedroom.
Asia opens the door, and I see that she is wearing her old nun uniform.
"Wow, I haven't seen you wear that in a long time." I commented.
"I thought my habit would make me feel confident, and Rias said that I can wear it if it makes me feel comfortable." The ex-nun explains.
"I forgot how good you look in that." I complimented.
"Thank you; that means so much to me." She smiles.
"So, what's on your mind?" I asked.
"I like to stay here with you until it's time to go, if you don't mind."
"Not at all." As I spoke, Asia approached and took a seat beside me. She then grabbed my arm and rested her head on my shoulder, with a slightly saddened expression. "What's wrong?"
"I'm really nervous about the game, but I know that everything will be fine as long as you are here."
"Yeah, I'm feeling nervous, too."
"Do you think that we will win?" She inquired shyly, clutching my arm even more.
"Absolutely." I replied with confidence.
"How do you know?"
"We are a family, and as long as we are together, nothing can stop us."
"I hope so."
"I know so, and once we win, everything will go back to the way it was, and no one will mess with us ever again."
"Okay, I believe in you, Issei."
"And I also believe in you, Asia." We held onto each other and enjoyed this nice moment.
There is no backing out now. I have to do this! I can't let Riser win tonight, or all of this will be for nothing.
Beep x3
As my alarm clock sounded, I turned off the beeping and looked at Asia and said, "Here we go."
We were all in the club room, getting ready for the big event. My girlfriend Rias and Akeno were sipping tea, Koneko was putting on her fighting gloves, Asia was in her thoughts, Kiba was inspecting his sword, and I was just sitting there.
"Issei." Rias calls out to me.
"Yes, Rias." I glanced at her and saw that she had eight red pawn pieces in her hand.
"These are your temporary pieces, so you'll serve as all eight of my pawns." Rias inserts the chess pieces into me.
"Why all eight?" I asked.
"Because of your sacred gear, you are too powerful for one, so I'll have to give you all eight."
"I guess that makes sense."
"Am I interrupting?" Sona and Tsubaki come in together.
"No, please come on in." My crimson-haired girlfriend said.
"I'm glad that you can make it." Akeno said.
"What are you guys doing here?" I inquired.
"There is a live broadcast of the competition, and Sona will be watching it." Rias explains.
"I'm not going to miss Rias' first rating game for the world." She said.
"Nice of you to do that." I complimented.
"Of course."
"I promise, to the best of my ability, to make it interesting for you." Rias promised.
A white magic circle appears, meaning that there is only one person I can think of.
"Grayfia," I said as she emerged from the circle.
"The rating game is almost about to start; I hope that you are all ready for this." Grayfia spoke.
"Yes, we are ready whenever you are." Rias said it plainly.
"In a few moments, we will use this circle to transport you and the rest of the team to battle."
"So where is this going to take place?" I asked.
"We created a neutral alternative space specifically for the game." Akeno answered. "Because it's not real, we have a full license to level the entire place to the ground."
"That seems scary, coming from you." I scratched my head.
"I'll be in the broadcast booth, viewing the game." Sona said.
"We'll be cheering you on," Tsubaki said.
"Good luck." Sona added.
"Thank you, Sona." Rias spoke as the council ladies left.
"I also want to inform you that your brother will also be watching the game." Grayfia informed.
"Of course he will." Rias sighs.
"Hey, don't worry, we got this." I comforted my girlfriend and gave her a smile.
"It's time, everyone." Grayfia said this as she spawned in a red magic circle, allowing us to teleport to the game.
"Then let's go!" Rias leads the way.
We all got into the circle and began to teleport. However, I felt like the circle didn't work because it looked like we were still in the clubroom.
"Um, did it work?" I looked to see that we were still in the same room.
Your attention, please. Welcome everyone. My name is Grayfia, and I am a servant at Gremory's house. I will be your referee during today's match. To create the battlefield that you'll be competing on, I took some suggestions from both Lady Rias and Lord Riser. You may recognize this place as the exact replica of Kuoh Academy, an educational institute in the human world.
After hearing Grayfia on the intercom, I looked outside and saw that the battlegrounds were exactly like our school, except the sky was filled with a strange green aura.
"We are going to take school fighting to the next level." I commented.
We have assigned each team a specific area to serve as their home base. Lady Rias' team will be in the old school building's Occult Research Club. In the new school building, Lord Riser's team will be in the principal's office. If the pawns manage to reach the opposing team's home base, they will receive a promotion. Good luck to all.
"If I had it my way, I'd rip that asshole's hair off and make him eat it." I exaggerated.
"Only if you want your ass handed to you," Akeno said.
"I was only a little melodramatic."
"Riser might move his pawns into our territory." Kiba assumes.
"We need to keep enough of us to fend them off." As I was finishing my sentence, Koneko approached me and handed me a small, light red ball.
"These will help us communicate with each other in battle." Rias explained.
"All righty then." I inserted the little orb in my ear.
All right, everybody. Let the games begin!
"Here we go," I said to myself.
"The enemy base is just across, so cutting through can be quick, but it's not an option." Rias indicated.
"They'll see us coming." Koneko added.
However, we cannot remain passive in this situation.
"He might station some knights and rooks at the athletic club house." Kiba pointed it out.
"Good eye." Rias complimented.
"Also, it won't leave us with many options." Akeno identifies another problem.
"I propose that we secure the gym first, since it is adjacent to their base and not far from us." I recommend it.
"Yes, it can also serve as a diversion to the other side." Kiba added.
"It's also in the center of the map, so whoever gets it first will definitely serve as a leg up." Akeno inputted.
"It's a good call considering that it is our only best option." Rias regarded.
"We should probably secure our perimeter." I suggested.
"Good idea! Kiba, Koneko, go put up some traps around our area." Rias ordered.
"Right, good luck to everyone." Kiba and Koneko left to follow orders, leaving me, Asia, Akeno, and Rias at the base.
"Akeno, once we set the traps, your illusion magic will come in handy, so be prepared." Rias commanded.
"I'll be waiting." Akeno bowed and left the base.
"Asia, you are our healing support, so you need to stay close to base." Rias advised.
"All right," Asia acknowledges.
"Issei, once Kiba and Koneko finish up setting traps, you and Koneko will head to the gym."
"Roger that." I gave a salute and made my way to the door. "Wish me luck."
As I was about to leave through the door, Rias came behind me, put her mouth to my ear, and whispered, "I want you to know that when we win, I have some sexy lingerie for you to take off."
"Oh goody." I chuckled as her words tingled down my spine.
"Go get them, tiger." She lovingly bit my earlobe, patted me on the bottom, and gave me a kiss on the cheek for good luck.
Okay, now I have to win this for sure!
I exited the old school building and headed for the gym to meet up with Koneko.
"Dad, if you are watching, please lend me your wings." I prayed.
I made it to the gym, where Koneko was waiting for my arrival.
"Just in time," Koneko said.
"Ready to grill some birds." I readied.
"You know it."
We entered the gym through one of the back side doors and found ourselves on stage. The place is dark, which means that no one is here yet.
"We may be early." I whispered
"We'll just have to wait until they get here," Koneko suggested.
"Should we set up some traps?"
"They'll most likely expect it, since they probably know that we will be here."
"Who do you think he will send?"
"Probably just a few pawns and a rook?"
"Wouldn't it be wise to keep your rooks a little closer to home and send a knight?"
"I wouldn't call Riser wise, but he's not dumb when it comes to winning."
After waiting a good few minutes, we heard the gym entry door open, following a few footsteps.
"It smells like Gremory filth." As the building lights turned on, I heard a voice from a member of the opposing team as the lights in the building turned on.
"Come out wherever you are." Another voice joins in.
Koneko and I made ourselves known to the team that Riser sent.
"Well, if it isn't the pussycat and the slobbering dog." The voice belongs to a girl with shoulder-length black hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair has two Chinese-style buns on both sides of her head, while the front features bangs that form a slight V-shape across her forehead. Her outfit consists of a navy blue qipao with gold accents, a white sash around her stomach, and black, low-heeled shoes. "The name is Xuelan, by the way."
"I'll show you a pussycat." Koneko came back and cracked her knuckles.
"Slobbering dog?" I felt offended.
"A pawn and a rook? This will be easy." Said another young girl with blue hair and light brown eyes. She has styled her hair into six short ponytails, with four of them in place. The front of her hair features split bangs going across her forehead, with side bangs framing her face. She dresses in a white haori with a red obi, layered beneath a red happi coat. She has bandages on her forearms and shins, as well as black guards over her hands. For footwear, she wears a pair of zōri. "You can call me Mira."
"How do you want to handle this?" I asked a fellow Rook friend for suggestions.
"We are going to chop you up!" Said the two very young twins with turquoise hair, which they keep tied to one side of their heads with a yellow ribbon, and blue eyes. Both of their outfits are gym uniforms, consisting of white t-shirts with blue accents, black leggings, and blue sneakers over knee-high socks, similar to the Kuoh Academy girls' gym uniforms, but without the logo. They also wear an orange wristband on their left wrist. They both have blue-colored chainsaws. "You can call us Ile and Nel."
"That rook chick looks strong, so I'll handle her." Koneko suggested.
"I'll take care of the others." I said as I spawned in my Howling Gauntlet.
(HOWL)
"Time to roast some chicken!" Koneko said as we fist bumped.
"Let's do it!" Me and Koneko jumped from the stage and clashed with the Phenexes.
I charged past the twins, rammed my shoulder into Mira, and sent her to the floor.
"You'll pay for that!" Ile exclaimed and revved up her chainsaw, as did her twin sister Nel.
"Chainsaws, really?" I pondered as the two waved their chainsaws at me as I was evading their chainsaw blades.
"What's wrong? Don't you like chainsaws?" Nel laughed evilly as she swung her saw around at me.
"I'm much more of an axe guy." During the battle, I joked around.
"Are you really making jokes right now?" Koneko indicated.
"Sorry, I tend to make jokes in the worst situations." I apologize, as I was trying not to get sliced.
"Stop moving, you twerp!" Ile yells with irritation.
"And let you slice me? No way!" I added fuel to the fire.
Mire comes in front of me and tries to strike me with her wooden staff.
"Oh no, you don't!" I grabbed her staff with my Howling Gauntlet, snapped it in half with my knee, and shoved her out of the way. "You don't need this."
Mira was on the ground, looking defeated, as she held her broken staff in her hands.
"Here we come!" I looked back and saw Ile and Nel coming after me.
"You know it would make such a great horror reference if you wore skin masks." I remarked.
"Die, you sissy!" Nel exclaim.
"If you can't find one, then make one." I repeated one of Kiba's lessons from the training day.
(SENSORY!)
"Let's see here." I activated my wolf sensory mode to look for any vulnerable, defective point.
I found a weak point on Nel, and I can sense that her chainsaw is rusting around the base of the blade, which means that the blade is weak and I can easily break it with a strike.
"All right!" I gripped my gauntlet hand and waited for Nel to get close to a certain striking distance.
"Time to die!" She laughs.
"FANG STRIKE!" I shouted and struck at the rusted blade.
Nel yelps, and her chainsaw blade snaps, leaving her unarmed and screaming, "MY CHAINSAW!"
"I usually don't hit little girls, but FANG STRIKE!" With my Howling Gauntlet, I struck Nel, sending her flying to the wall. "Two down, one to go."
I turned my head and quickly eluded Ile, who came out of nowhere and tried to attack me.
"How dare you?!" She hissed at me.
(SENSORY!)
I scanned for any exploits on Ile and found a couple. Ile hand is a little shaky, which means that it's probably numb from violently swinging her chainsaw at me. I can also tell that her chainsaw bolts are loose, and with one hit, I can break them off the blade.
"Easily done," I said.
I grabbed one of the broken parts of Mira's staff and struck Ile's chainsaw, and with one hit, the chain came off. Then I went back and struck her weakened hand, causing her to drop the chainsaw. She fell to her knees, held on to her hand, and cried, "That hurt."
"Didn't your mommy tell you not to play with power tools?" I joked.
I grabbed the rope from the gym's rope climbing stage and tied Mira, Ile, and Nel together. They were squirming and kicking in hopes of breaking free.
"Do you dare tie us up like this, you dog?!" Mira screamed.
"Lord Riser will be furious with us." Nel cried.
"How can we ever face him now?!" Ile cried too.
"Have some respect for yourselves." I addressed them and lowered myself to their level. "To him, you are only replaceable."
"That's not true!" Mira barked.
"That guy doesn't care about you, only himself." I explained.
"I..." Mira tried to counter, but lost her words.
"You should be proud of how well you performed today; therefore, that dill-weed should not convince you otherwise." The girls blushed in silence.
"Suck it." As Koneko finished beating up Xuelan, she said, "Suck it."
"You all finished up?" I turned to Koneko.
"Absolutely, let's get out of here." Koneko said.
As we exited the gym, a sudden bolt of lightning struck the building, leaving no trace.
"BOOM!" I looked up and saw Akeno, who cast the lightning.
"Woah," I said in amazement.
Three of Riser's pawns and one rook have retired.
"Okay, it looks like we are at a good start." I said.
"Now, we have to catch up with Kiba." Koneko said this in reference to our next task.
"He's probably trying to not get his hair all messy." I commented.
"Let's go." Koneko started to walk as I wasn't paying attention.
"Hey, wait up!" I shouted and caught up to Koneko, who had left without me.
Then a sudden explosion appears right in front of me and sends me flying back several feet.
"Koneko." As I was getting up on my feet, I said it weakly. My head was spinning, and my vision was blurring. I placed my hand on my forehead, as it was aching. My ears were ringing while I was stumbling forward. I looked around to see any signs of Koneko, but the dust and debris from the explosion filled the air and made it hard to see.
"Koneko, where are you?!" I shouted and was blindly walking around the dusty air, searching for my friend, until I saw her lying on the ground with her clothes mostly burned away. She wasn't moving, so I sprinted at her in fear of the worst and screamed, "KONEKO!"