Chapter 6: Occult Research Club
The morning at Class 2-E was another simple one. The family of Stand Users entered the class as they came, taking their seats as normal. Even though it was normal, peace was something that every member of that class considered precious. Another moment where they could breathe freely. Another moment they didn't have to worry over Fate guiding them to their doom.
However, the calm of the day would not last for long. Once every student of the old class entered, two of them walked up to the teacher's desk before the bell could be rung.
Two students; a boy and a girl. The boy was tall with malt red hair and a long horse-like face, bearing wide muscles and sanpakugan eyes that paired to form a highly intense image. The girl was one with strawberry blonde hair cut fairly short and a kind-looking face.
"Everyone," Azumi Ahame spoke with Daichi Bushida standing behind her, addressing everyone in the class. "This is not an issue yet, but there is something you need to know."
Immediately, the talk among the sub-groups of the class died down as all attention turned to the two speaking. Whenever someone had something to say as they had, it would always be something of concern to every member, after all.
"This is about the new student, Issei Hyoudou," Azumi continued, unfazed by the gazes of everyone on her. "The two of us met him yesterday and learned something about him that needs to be told to you."
"Let me guess, he's another Stand User?" said one of the boys sitting in the class with his legs up on his desk, his sandy blonde hair strewn over his head and bearing a nasty scar that ran down from the base of his right eye to his mouth.
"Fumihiro, it's more than that," Azumi explained to the boy that bullied Issei the moment he approached the class the first time. "Hyoudou-kun awoke his Stand this Saturday."
"What, he got into trouble?" Fumihiro Sasaki countered. "How else did he wake up his Stand? Who's to say he won't bring a whole new wave of Gravity against us that way?"
"Look, Fumi," Daichi was the one that spoke then. "He said some other random shit got his Stand out. My Stand was the first one he fought. We fought. He won."
That drove the students to another heavy silence. To beat Daichi Bushida was something they'd all aspired for, after all.
"Wait, but he had his Stand for just a day!" a girl screamed and jumped out of her seat from nearby, one with sky blue hair and green doe-like eyes. "How did he beat you, Bushida?!"
"What Hanako said," said the girl sitting next to her, who instead of jumping like her friend, chose to lean ahead in focus. She had clearly dyed bubblegum pink hair with amethyst eyes. She was also not wearing her coat nor her bow with her uniform, instead opting to leave the first button open; just enough to make it fashionably breathable yet not exposing anything.
"Hanako-chan, Aia-san, I know it sounds ridiculous, but yes. Hyoudou-kun defeated Daichi. I saw him doing it. He was running away for a while, and he got one wave of courage and drew out his Stand's ability to defeat him."
"His Stand Ability?" a chubby dark-haired boy spoke with a grin, eagerly adjusting his glasses as he spoke and hastily pulling out a notebook from his bag. "Oh, tell me more, my girl!"
Even though Daichi growled at the boy's manner of speaking, Azumi did not pay it any mind. "He didn't really explain it, but it was something that multiplied his own strength. Some kind of gauntlet formed on his hand and completely annihilated Sleep on the Floor, which is weird because we thought his ability came from how he had a Colony Stand made of a swarm of insects. Does that satisfy you, Noboru-kun?"
Noboru grinned as he noted down the details in the notebook. "I'll have to talk to the new dude himself about this some more… Ah, Sachiko-chan's gonna love this!"
"Sooooo?" another black-haired boy droned, aiming his words at the two presenters. "Do you think we can truuust the stranger?"
"We can, Sakuna," Daichi said. "I vouch for him."
"I vouch for him too," Azumi added immediately. "I don't know if he'll drag us into his Gravity, but leaving him out there all alone would just be a death sentence for him. Also, the two of us owe him."
"And why should we care about leaving him alone?" Fumihiro added, wearing his signature scowl. "The guy's bad news, you know that. He may be a Stand User, but he's not us. He's not family. I say we leave him to his fate and get him to leave Kuoh."
"If you stand against him, you stand against the two of us," Daichi replied. "As 'Zumi said, we, well, I owe him. I ain't letting you throw him out, Fumihiro."
Before they could continue, however, a noise appeared in the class. The front door had opened.
"Um, hello?" a boy with blonde hair and grey eyes walked in, seemingly treading on eggshells upon opening the door. "G-Good morning, I'm Genshirou Saji from the Student Council. I was asked by Shitori-kaichou to d-deliver this note to the homeroom teacher?"
"She's taking her sweeeet time, that's all," Sakuna Hirose shook his head and walked up to the door. "What's this about?"
"Ah, it's about… um… Issei Hyoudou, I think is his name?"
Daichi blinked at the mention of his name, then dove at the outstretched note in Saji's hand and snatched it, ignoring the way he cried out in fear. Daichi quickly opened it up and read its contents.
"This is to inform you that Issei Hyoudou of Class 2-E will be absent for the earlier classes of the day due to matters within the Student Council and a related Club. He will return to his classes after Lunch at most. Signed, Souna Shitori."
Once he finished reading, Daichi sighed in relief. "So, he didn't quit," he muttered.
"Sooorry about that, Saji-san," Sakuna said. "We'll give the note to the teacher, you can leave the muuuurderers' class if you like."
Saji gaped at being called out, then gulped and shook his head before dashing out of the room. Once he left, Sakuna sighed.
"Well, that proves it," he muttered, casting his gaze down in sorrow. "Looks like we won't be accepted here either."
Issei was intercepted the moment he stepped onto campus. He hadn't even had the chance to meet Matsuda and Motohama yet.
"Issei Hyoudou?" a foreign-looking boy with blonde hair and fair blue eyes called him out.
"Uh, yeah, I am."
"Good. My name is Yuuto Kiba, and I'm here on behalf of Rias Gremory."
Issei blinked as soon as he heard those words. He couldn't help but gulp, feeling his palms getting colder and sweatier.
"Are you… like her?"
"… I believe so if you mean what I am assuming, but don't worry. While the prospect sounds scary, I promise you that we mean you no harm."
"Easy for you to say," Issei groaned out, hoping to get to his class. Even dealing with 2-E would be better than meeting the Devils at that moment. "You know what they say, don't you? Don't make deals with the Devil. That should be pretty literal here, though."
Kiba sniggered upon hearing that phrase. "Please, that is just Christian propaganda. Maybe once upon a time that held some merit, but we've long since moved on from those methods. In fact, we oftentimes see that phrase as blatantly offensive nowadays; it disregards our efforts to become better. We certainly do mean well this time, I swear on the Maou."
"… Maou (Devil King)? Yeah, that's a giveaway if anything is."
"In any case, Hyoudou-san, Rias Gremory is summoning you to the Occult Research Club."
"Summon? What's with that manner of speech? Also, I have classes today morning, can't it wait?"
"No need to worry about that, we've already sought permission to pull you out for the early day. Rest assured that we ensure that our meetings do not affect you adversely in any way."
Issei felt his mouth going dry. If they took that measure, that meant that he couldn't simply run away from them anymore. Looking ahead, he forced in a heavy breath, hoping it would steel his nerves.
Before going to the Club that Kiba was mentioning, Issei knew that he had to get his head straight. He had to keep in mind what to talk about before them. First, he had to make out what they were and what they wanted from him, of course. Second, he had to check if they knew about Stand Users already. Third, if they didn't, he had to know if it would be safe for 2-E to be revealed to them. From what Issei noticed up till then, they had no idea what was different about the class. That could even be considered a fourth point; checking if they knew about 2-E's secrets.
"Alright, I'll come with you, but can you answer some questions for me on the way?"
Kiba hesitated for a moment, then replied. "You can get your answers when you meet Buchou (Captain), but I can offer you some information if you need it."
"Great!" Issei said, making sure to follow behind Kiba's footsteps as he headed to where the Club should be. "Can I know why you guys want me to join you? Gremory-san mentioned that she wanted me to… turn into one of you, but why me? I'm guessing with her roots, she'd want someone with more… I dunno, potential than a high school student?"
Kiba softly smiled upon hearing that. "Oh, no need to worry about that. You do have potential, Hyoudou-san. We've detected a power within you that led us to you in the first place. That's why we're interested in you."
"I… see. Can I ask how many people you noticed this potential within Kuoh Academy alone?"
"Well, I don't know all the details, but I have heard that there was one more among the new students. I was in Buchou's Peerage before joining Kuoh Academy, so there's no need to consider me."
"Just one? Okay…"
"Ah! We're here!"
"That was quick…" Issei muttered as he looked up, only to be immediately underwhelmed.
They were standing before a building completely independent of the main school building, one that looked more like an Old School Building than anything. While the building did have structure, the outer walls had clear signs of wear, tear and moss infecting its surface. Aside from that, however, it seemed sturdy enough to host a club and even have multiple stories, 3 in number. All in all, Issei felt as if that building would be the definition of a haunted house.
"Definitely putting the 'Occult' in Occult Research Club, huh?"
"Hehe, I never really saw it like that," Kiba replied, laughing at Issei's reply. "Don't worry, it looks better on the inside."
Deciding to take Kiba's word for it, Issei followed behind him as he opened the door.
As soon as he entered the building, it was as if he was taken to a completely different world. The interior of the building was pristine and held walls with an offset designer wall and several paintings and even the occasional gargoyle. The semblance of the room was highly Victorian.
"Don't be put off by the nature of the building, Buchou designed it to remind her of her home."
"Oh, so she was homesick when she first came here?"
"On the contrary. Don't tell her I said this, but I felt Buchou acted like a five-year-old at a candy store the moment she stepped into Japan."
"Heh, that would have been a sight to see, huh?"
"It certainly was."
"Ara, is this the new boy? What a cutie, ufufufu…"
Issei bristled at the exceedingly mature voice that sounded like it came straight out of a hentai. Looking ahead, he noticed that the girl/woman who said it certainly did seem to have popped out of a hentai.
The raven-haired girl before him was emitting a very on-the-nose MILF aura, despite being a high school student just like him. Looking closer at her, he saw her deep purple eyes and her 'eyes'.
No, that girl had some of the largest breasts that he'd ever seen. He was genuinely considering taking a photo of her to get Motohama's Three Size Scouter result; he knew that the mere numbers would be enough to give him a nosebleed. Not even a single one of the girls he'd met after joining Kuoh compared to her. Not Yuuma, (definitely) not Ahame, and not even Gremory!
"Ufufufufu… my eyes are up here, you know, Hyoudou-kun."
Popping his mouth open like a fish, Issei snapped his eyes back up to level. "S-Sorry, I-I shouldn't have done that."
"Ara, no need to worry. I always enjoy forward boys. They're the most fun to break, ufufufu…"
Issei involuntarily shivered the moment he heard that.
Thankfully, another voice interrupted the two. "Pervert." Actually, no, Issei wasn't thankful for it.
Looking to the source again, he found a really short white-haired girl with yellow eyes. The girl hardly even came to his chest, she was so short. That being said, the combination of her size and her eternally muted expression gave her a sense of cuteness that not many women can hit.
"Okay, what is this, a Dere convention?" Issei couldn't help but remark, making Kiba and the black-haired girl chortle, while making the short girl scowl.
"Hyoudou-san, I believe introductions are in order," Kiba said, gesturing at the other two.
The short girl began. "Koneko Toujou, first year," she said, pulling out what seemed to be a bag of cookies from her pocket.
"Ara, and I'm Akeno Himejima, and I'm in my third year," Akeno introduced herself. "It will be a pleasure to get to know you, Hyoudou-kun, ufufufu…"
"Um, can I ask you something, Himejima-san?"
"Ara? You're popping the question so soon?"
"N-No, not that. It's just… why do you keep speaking like that?"
"Ara, don't you like it? I heard horny little boys such as you love it when you hear such things, ufufufu…"
"Y-Yeah, I can't deny that, but don't you think it's… I dunno, overkill? Too much?"
Akeno devilishly smirked. "There's never too much of a good thing, Hyoudou-kun. It's just eternal pleasure, after all. Don't you want that? I can certainly give it to you, ufufufu…"
Issei quickly felt his cheeks warming, especially with how Akeno folded her arms and raised a finger to her lip, squishing the mammaries underneath. He couldn't help but gulp as he cautiously watched them mould to the contours of her arms.
"Akeno-senpai, we should continue on our way."
"Ara, of course, Yuuto. Please go ahead."
Nodding to them, Kiba parted the two and walked ahead, allowing Issei to walk behind him. Looking back, he noticed Koneko and Akeno following them as well.
After climbing two flights of stairs, with Issei remembering the route in case he needed to return, Kiba stood before a pair of ornate doors.
"Are you ready, Hyoudou-san?"
"… Well, let's just go for it."
Nodding, Kiba pressed his palms upon the pair of doors and pushed them open, revealing the secrets that lay beyond them.
"Buchou, he's here."
The moment Issei stepped in through the opened door, the sound that greeted his ears was the continuous splattering of water from a shower. Looking ahead, Issei could only gape at what he saw.
Past the still open bathroom door was a silhouette taking a shower behind a closed curtain. However, that did nothing to conceal the shadow on the curtain, displaying how those trickles of water dripped down her perfectly perky breasts and impossibly plump rear.
"Oh, is he?" the familiar voice sounded from behind the curtain. "I'll be out immediately."
To Issei's further awe, the girl opened the curtain, yet again exposing her naked body to him, although the still dripping body only doubled how sensual the sight was.
Rias Gremory nearly sauntered out of the shower and picked up a towel, which she used to dry off her hair before anything. Issei marvelled at how her tits jiggled with every stroke of her hands atop her head.
"You should probably wipe your mouth."
Startled by her sultry voice, Issei just noticed that he was drooling over the sight. Still unable to take his eyes off her, Issei uselessly wiped his mouth dry, only for it to regain another spot of drool.
"Now, Issei Hyoudou, I believe you remember our last meeting and what I asked of you, yes?"
Since Rias said that the moment she wore the towel over her body, Issei was finally able to look back up at her again. Wiping off his drool yet again, he nodded.
"Yeah, they did. But… But I want to ask, even though I asked Kiba-san this. Why me?"
"I believe that you have so much potential than you seem to, Issei-kun," she said. "Can I call you that? Issei-kun? Your first name sounds so much nicer."
"Y-Y-Yeah…" Issei said, slowly gulping at how Rias's voice spoke his name.
"Very well, Issei-kun. Aside from being a Devil, certain humans are granted a blessing by the Bible God himself. The presence of those gifts is what tempts us, Devils, to look to humans for prospective peerage members."
Issei blinked in shock. Was Rias talking about Stan –
"Sacred Gears. They grant their Users unnatural abilities, ranging in power from the potential of the gear itself. I've taken an interest in you, Issei Hyoudou. I believe that you hold a remarkably powerful Sacred Gear, especially after how you'd defeated a Fallen Angel in your very first encounter with one. Of course, it was your first time, wasn't it?"
Suddenly finding the ball in his court, Issei couldn't help but fumble through his words. "Y-Y-Yes, it w-was."
"Oh? Ahaha, that makes you really special, Issei-kun," Rias said as Issei puckered his lips in embarrassment from his previous showing. "I've decided to make an investment in you, Issei-kun. Yuuto, would you care to show Issei your Sacred Gear?"
"Of course, Buchou." Issei was shocked out of his dick-imposed stupor upon hearing Kiba's voice. Looking to the side, he found that the other three members of the club were all seated there already, leaving the podium entirely to their master. Akeno was watching the group with an amused grin, while Koneko was nibbling on her cookies. Out of them, Kiba walked up to Issei and then held out a hand in the open air.
"Sword Birth."
Immediately, a horde of swords emerged from the ground around him, enough to make Issei jolt in shock. Issei watched in awe as Kiba picked up one of those swords and held it up against Issei.
"Sword Birth allows me to create any sword of my imagination as long as it does not contain a holy element. It's a Sacred Gear that perfectly serves my piece as a Knight."
"Piece? Knight? What do you mean by that?"
"That moves into peerage systems, Issei-kun," Rias said. "Every peerage is made up of a single side of a chess board's pieces. The King, myself. The Queen, Akeno. Two Bishops. Two Knights, one of which is Yuuto. Two Rooks, one of which is Koneko. Finally, 8 pawns."
"So, chess, huh?" Issei spoke out loud. "That's interesting. Does every piece have a different function?"
"You are rather insightful, Issei-kun. I like that. Yes, the pieces have different functions, but I will get into that soon. As of now, I want to see if you can manifest your Sacred Gear. Don't be afraid if you can't, it would be impressive if you could right now."
"My 'Sacred Gear'?" Issei said, the phrase sounding strange on his tongue. However, he looked down at his left arm.
'Could that be it?'
Deciding to test the less probable option first, Issei muttered "Beetles," making sure they couldn't really hear him.
As a small, yet obvious swarm of Beetles emerged from Issei's body and spun around him, he watched for the other's reaction. Unsurprisingly, they didn't react in the slightest.
'As I thought, Stands are not what they're looking for.'
Finally understanding what they should be asking for, Issei once again remembered how he wanted to protect Asia from a charging Bushida. He placed himself once ore in that forest, tied up within Ophelia's vines. He remembered exactly how he'd felt back then.
'I will protect you, no matter what.'
Issei immediately heard gasps the moment he felt that energy coalescing around his arm. Opening his eyes, he found every person in the room staring in awe and shock at the 'Sacred Gear' on his arm. Even Koneko dropped one of her cookies in shock.
"Oh… Oh, Maou…" Rias nearly moaned out, gently gripping onto her head in shock. "I'm so, so lucky…"
"Wait, what's going on?" Issei asked. "What is this thing?"
"That, Issei-kun, is one of the 13 Longinus. A Sacred Gear that is classified as a God-Killer. That one… is the host of the Welsh Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch. That is the Boosted Gear.
"Not even in my wildest dreams had I imagined that you would wield such a rare Sacred Gear. There is only one of its kind that emerges every generation, unlike the many others that get duplicates. Other Sacred Gears have even tried and failed to imitate the effects of the Boosted Gear. Issei-kun, you truly are a lucky person."
Issei's mouth went dry upon hearing Rias singing the praises of that thing on his arm. Looking down at it once more, he recollected how he'd overcome Bushida using it.
"Yeah, you're right, it's a really strong ability," Issei recognized, holding up his clawed hand to his face to get a closer look at it without Beetles having combined with it. "What… What can it actually do?"
"The Boosted Gear is capable of doubling the user's power every 10 seconds," Akeno explained, yet again in her serious voice. "Within half a minute of using it, you will be 8 times stronger than your base form. Another half minute, you'll be 64 times as strong. 2 minutes, 4096 times."
Issei's jaw hung low the moment he heard that description. Looking back down in awe at the Sacred Gear on his arm, he couldn't help but wonder just how overpowered an ability like that was.
"Of course, there is a demerit other than the cooldown," Akeno continued. "You can only use as much power as your body can handle. It requires considerable training to be used effectively."
"Yes… and becoming a Devil only raises your chances!" Rias nearly screamed at him, while actually salivating upon keeping her gaze on the Gear. "Now, Issei-kun, join my Peerage! With your Boosted Gear, you will certainly use up all my Pawn Pieces, but I am still willing to have you with us! You will certainly rise to your complete potential with us! So please, join us!"
Issei couldn't help but falter at how Rias changed upon seeing his Sacred Gear. Before that, she was certainly influencing him to join her in discrete, tricky ways. He wasn't blind enough to not understand why she was so easily being an exhibitionist before him. She was trying to convince him of the 'benefits' of joining her peerage. That being said, the tactic certainly did work. Issei was fully willing and ready to join as long as he kept on seeing those wondrous breasts of hers.
However, her showing right then and there reduced her to a simply desperate woman. Someone who saw Issei purely for that potential that he could wield, and nothing else.
He hated to admit it, but she was acting like Raynare. The only thing was that instead of trying to kill him, she was trying to recruit him. Other than that, they had the same mindset.
"I…"
"Buchou!" Akeno quickly interrupted his faltering speech, much to his relief. "Don't you think we should think about this?! After all, there is the final weakness of that Gear…"
"That doesn't matter, Akeno," Rias said, wiping away her drool just as Issei had done earlier. "This is my best option. I need him."
"Gremory-san…" Issei finally spoke up. "Will I really be in servitude to you for the rest of my life if I do this? Can I ever go back?"
Rias sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Becoming a Devil is a one-way deal. You cannot uncook cooked food, yes?"
"I thought that magic would take care of that, but alright," Issei remarked. "Are there any side effects?"
"None other than the inherent weaknesses of Devils," Kiba explained. "You'll face an aversion to anything Holy or related to God in any way. Naturally, this includes Churches and even prayer. You'll also be weak to the holy light spears that are used by Fallen Angels; from what I've heard, you know of them already. Mornings can also be rather annoying since we are creatures of the night."
"But then there are the benefits!" Rias intercepted, not keeping the obsession out of her tone. "Being a Devil will grant you even greater physical strength, speed, everything! We can even train you in how to use magic, and you can even summon your own pair of wings!"
As if to demonstrate, Rias summoned her own black wings from her back. "See? You can do this too! You can learn to fly with them as well!"
"I… I see…" Issei muttered. "Thanks, but I need some time to think of it, so – "
"What, no!" Rias interceded yet again. "Come on, please make your decision now!"
"C-Can't you just wait until the school day is done? I still have classes, and – "
"I can always get Sona to form an excuse for you, so stop worrying about that! Just become my Pawn, and I'll take care of everything you need!"
Listening to how excited she was becoming, Issei felt worse and worse. A decision such as that one was a huge one, one that demanded incredible levels of thought. He was basically being asked to sacrifice his humanity, and this girl was pushing him for it. For what, some gauntlet on his arm?
"Gremory-san…" Issei said. "I think I've made my decision then."
"You did?! Please, let me know!"
"I think… I should have gone with my instinct. I should have never considered making a Deal with a Devil."
Rias was immediately taken aback by Issei's statement.
"Look, Issei-kun, that's – "
"Offensive? I know, Kiba-san told me earlier. But it explains what I think the best, Gremory-san. I refuse your offer."
"… What?"
"You heard me right, Gremory-san. Right now, you were so excited all because of this Sacred Gear that I have. What guarantee do I have that I will be treated as more than just a tool? Will I be something greater than the User of the Boosted Gear to you?"
"I… I'll do anything!" Rias yelled out, after which she did something that Issei couldn't forgive.
She immediately threw off her towel, revealing her naked body to him once again. Her bare tits bore free before him, as she hefted them up with her palms to further emphasise them. "I'll let you do anything you want with me! Just… please, join my peerage! I'll do anything you want!"
"…"
He wasn't even trying to avoid it. He just couldn't look. Even though there was a naked pair of breasts in his vision, he was looking at Rias in her real, cerulean eyes for once.
"Gremory-san, are you really resorting to whoring yourself for my power?"
"… I… What?"
Rias immediately looked down at her naked body, letting go of her boobs, then back at Issei. Immediately turning red-faced, she put out a hand and formed a magic circle around her, forming the Kuoh Academy uniform on her body just as she'd done in his house. Once she was fully clothed, she looked at her own peerage members.
The sight nearly broke her.
Koneko was no longer eating, she was simply staring at Rias as if she was looking at a trainwreck. Kiba had turned away from her in respect to her earlier 'attire', although she didn't have to imagine what his expression was. Akeno, however, was actually tearing up. It had been far too long since Rias had seen Akeno cry. The last time she'd done it was when she was a child, as far as she could remember. To think that she was the reason why Akeno had to cry again… was unforgivable. She couldn't forgive herself for what she did.
Immediately, Rias took up the Japanese dogeza position, kneeling down on her haunches and bowing her head to the floor, aimed at her own peerage members. Upon looking at the sudden shift in demeanour, Issei couldn't help but be shocked.
"I… I am so sorry, all of you," Rias murmured, finding tears forming in her eyes. "I shouldn't have made such a poor display of myself. I'm so sorry for what I've done.
"Is – Hyoudou-san, I owe you an apology as well. I shouldn't have done any of that. I just… I got too excited. I overstepped myself, and I humbly apologize for it."
Silence befell the room as Rias remained in her dogeza. Issei pursed his lips; he was certainly out of place in that room. At that moment, Rias owed more of an apology to her peerage than him, he could certainly see that.
As Issei crept away from his position, hoping to leave the rest of the group alone, Akeno was the one to stop him.
"Hyoudou-kun, please stay. You need to hear this as well."
So, he stayed.
"Buchou, you were right," she carried on, tears starting to fall from her eyes. "You certainly did take it too far. But we know why you did it. We know exactly why you were going so far. Yes, Hyoudou-kun has a very valuable power, one that will definitely give us an edge in the Rating Game. But… But please understand that we care more for you than simply being your tools for the Game. We know that you love us, just as much as we love you, Buchou. So, please, raise your head. You are our King. You are our Buchou. You have no business bringing your head so low."
Rias slowly rose back up to a kneel, revealing the flowing tears from her eyes as well. "Akeno… thank you so much…"
As if on cue, all three of them walked up to Rias and embraced her crying form. The Union of a Family of Consequence. Issei couldn't help but smile at that viewing.
In fact, the viewing put complete disregard to his earlier claims. Issei was worried that he wouldn't be valued as a person in her Peerage, but if she was willing to prostrate herself before her existing members, it was a clear sign that she sought their respect as much as they sought hers. That understanding put to rest his earlier worry, leaving him behind with a single decision.
"Gremory-san."
"Y-Yes, Hyoudou-san?"
"Please, just Issei-kun is fine, like before. I apologize for insulting you, and I think I can reconsider my decision now."
"H-Huh? So fast?"
"Mhm. No other person would do what you just did here right now, so I've made my decision. You leave me no choice, after all. You saved my life the other day, and as such, I owe you my life. I will join your Peerage, Rias Gremory."
"… Wait, really?! You'll join?!"
"Y-Yeah, I'll do it. But I want to ask if you'll ever interfere in my normal life first. Will I have to leave anyone behind?"
"No, of course not! You can still spend time with your family, of course. In fact, we'll help your family prosper if they ever find any trouble."
"I see. Well, if there's really no other risk, then I'll do it. I'll become a Devil."
'That being said, I'm still scared of one thing,' Issei thought. 'Will the reincarnation influence my Stand in any way? They are implying that Sacred Gears can be kept after my reincarnation, but what about Stands?'
"Um, Gremory-san," Issei said, hoping to test something else. "Do you know what a Stand is?"
"Stand? Ah, you're right, I should stand up soon."
"Ah, okay…" 'That confirms it, then. She has no idea what a Stand is. Hopefully, it remains with me after the ritual, I can't really go back to 2-E without it.'
After hearing Issei's words, Rias picked herself up from the floor, sending another appreciative look at her Peerage.
"Thank you so much, all of you," she said. "In that case, Issei-kun, let us begin your reincarnation into a Devil."
Nodding, Issei stepped up closer to the group as the other three departed. Akeno went to Rias's desk and picked up a box that was sitting there, then handed it to Rias. Rias opened the box and picked out what looked like white chess pieces.
"Issei Hyoudou, please kneel before me and take off your shirt."
Nodding, Issei bent down to one knee before Rias. His nerves were certainly picking up by that point; the decision he was making was certainly not a small one. He knew that becoming a Devil would influence the rest of his life.
That being said, he saw how desperate she once was. While it was wrong that she was that way, Issei could understand that there was some reason for her sudden demands. He couldn't begin to imagine what it was, but he knew that she wanted him to join for a reason. And as he put it, she had saved his life already.
Nodding to himself, Issei took off his blazer, tie and shirt. Finally taking off his red t-shirt underneath, he revealed his bare upper body to the group before him, briefly noticing that the other four members were surrounding him.
"Ara," Akeno commented, gently resting a manicured set of fingers over her mouth. "It seems the girls remarks about you are truly warranted, Hyoudou-kun."
"Remarks?" Issei echoed back.
"She means that you're a lot more muscular than we expected," Kiba explained. "That is a good thing, however."
Issei nodded as he looked down at himself and observed his 4-pack abs. He'd only gotten those from following Aniki's training, after all, and he was ever grateful for it. As such, Issei couldn't keep the smirk off his face.
"Hehe, you're right," he commented.
"Hyoudou-senpai, what is this on your back?"
Registering Koneko's voice from behind him, Issei looked back to find her path of vision.
"On your shoulder," Koneko explained further. "Is that a Star? Some kind of tattoo?"
"Oh, that," Issei said with a soft frown, clutching over his left shoulder, briefly picturing the mark lying there. The Star-Shaped Birthmark that rested there. "I was born with it, apparently. A Birthmark, that's all."
"A Star-Shaped Birthmark?" Rias commented, deciding to walk behind him to check it out for herself, as did everyone else. "That certainly is odd."
"Yeah, it is. Look, can we stop talking about that damn thing?"
Rias flinched at Issei's sudden shift in tone. "S-Sorry, Issei-kun, I didn't realise it was sensitive."
Sighing, Rias went back to face Issei once more.
"In that case, are you ready to begin?"
Taking in another deep breath, Issei deftly nodded.
"In that case, let us begin."
Rias threw the chess pieces in her hand, which started to spin around Issei's form. Looking at them, Issei counted that 8 pawn pieces were spinning around him, slowly glowing redder and redder.
"I, Rias Gremory of the Gremory Clan, pronounce thee, Issei Hyoudou, to become a Reincarnated Pawn with a value of 8. I invite you to join my family."
Once she declared that, the pieces began to close in on his body. As soon as the pieces made contact with him –
BANG!
Issei jolted in shock as all 8 pieces were shot away from his body completely. The only sound that followed it was the clattering of the still remaining chess pieces on the floor.
"Did… Did it work?" Issei asked. "That felt a bit underwhelming."
"N-No, no, it didn't…" Rias responded, a slight horror revealing itself on her features. "No, how… how is that possible? Beelzebub-sama created those pieces, how were they… how were they so cleanly rejected?!"
"Wait, rejected? Did the process fail?"
"Yes, it failed! I… I don't understand, it shouldn't fail! Why did that even happen? W-Wait, let me try again."
Issei helped Rias gather the strewn pieces, and then assumed the same position as earlier. Rias recited the same invocation and –
BANG!
"Again?!" Rias yelped. "What is going on? Why can't I reincarnate you?"
"Um, could it be something about strength?" Issei asked, thinking to his Stand. "Maybe I'm too strong for those pieces? I mean, I do have this Boosted Gear, right?"
"No, that can't be it. Even then, Evil Pieces can Mutate to accommodate stronger recipients. I did expect a few mutations, considering how you defeated that Fallen, but not an entire rejection! That shouldn't even be possible, no matter how strong you are! And more importantly, the Evil Pieces are at least allowed to enter the body and can then be rejected, but in your case not even that was allowed?"
"I… wait, can't we do anything, then?" Issei asked. "Am I just unable to join?"
"… I'm sorry. After everything I said earlier, only for it to come to such an outcome…"
"D-Don't worry about it, Gremory-san. Honestly, it was a hasty decision in the first place. I'm glad that I hadn't been turned, at least I learned that I can't be turned into one."
"No, there has to be a reason, Hyoudou-san. I'll ask my big brother to check in with the creator of the Evil Pieces and find out why this happened. I'll do everything I can to get you into my peerage, Issei Hyoudou."
"… Well, that's a sign of assurance, at least."
Rias sighed out loud, gently rubbing her temples. "Akeno, Yuuto, Koneko, could you please let Issei know about the other thing we've learned and answer any further questions he may have? I… I just need some time to myself."
"Buchou, are you alright?" Surprisingly, it was Koneko who'd spoken up. "Do you need any help?"
"N-No, thank you, Koneko. I just need some time to myself. Today has just been… taxing."
After pausing for a moment, Koneko relented to her. "Okay. We'll head out, then."
Sighing, Rias went back to her desk and rested her head atop it. Looking at the other three nodding at him, Issei followed them out of the office.
"Yuuto, Koneko, the two of you can head to your classes. I'll handle this. Hyoudou-kun, please come with me," Akeno said, guiding Issei into an adjacent room.
"Um, will Gremory-san be alright?" Issei asked, not keeping the worry out of his tone.
"Don't worry, she will. She just needs time to recover from this. Honestly, she's just being a little emotional."
"… Well, if you're sure about it."
Entering the second room, Issei found that it was an office much like the other room. However, this time instead of having a homely vibe alongside a shower within the room and the couch, it held a desk surrounded by shelves containing books and folders of different kinds.
"Let's see…" Akeno mumbled as she went to the shelves and thumbed through the available folders, only to pull out a couple and rest them on the table. "Hyoudou-kun, could you please have a seat and inspect these folders?"
Nodding, Issei followed her directions and sat on the available chair, while Akeno took the other.
Issei turned his focus down onto the folders given to him. Opening the first one, he found the image of a bratty-seeming blonde-haired girl with a black bow atop her head named Mittelt. She was reported to be a tactician and a master of traps.
The second one held the image of a mature-looking blue-haired woman named Kalawarner. She was reported to be a foreign relations minister.
The third one was an aged man with black hair under a bowler hat named Dohnaseek. He was a soldier, even before he'd 'Turned', whatever that meant.
The last one was what caught his attention the most. A familiar-looking black haired girl, only more mature than what Issei remembered. Her name was Raynare. She was reported to be Turned from near-birth, and she was a maid in the Governor General's home while additionally possessing a gift for information gathering and assassination. Well, Issei knew that latter aspect from first-hand experience.
"This is…"
"Yes. These are the files we have on the four Fallen Angels in Kuoh at the moment."
"Wait, four?! There are four of them?!"
"Yes, but before that, there's something I have to say," Akeno said. "Hyoudou-kun, on behalf of Buchou, I apologize to you for what happened on Saturday. If we had come sooner, you wouldn't have been so badly injured. That being said, it is rather impressive that you fended her off without actually dying."
Issei grimaced at that. Looking at Raynare's image only made the phantom wounds in his heart burn once more. He couldn't help it; after everything he was willing to do for her, to find that she betrayed him was heartbreaking. He barely managed to hold on by focusing on other, more important things, but the pain that she caused was always going to be there, he was certain of it.
"To that point, I'd like for you to understand why the Fallen Angels were in Devil Territory," Akeno continued.
"Wait, Devil Territory?"
"Yes, the entirety of Kuoh Town is our Territory. We do share control over it with another Peerage, but more on that later.
"The reason why those four were allowed to remain in this town was that they had permission from their Governor General, Azazel, to gain insight on some of the people here and to meet with an informant of theirs. Moreover, Azazel had gotten permission from Lord Lucifer himself, so we couldn't deny them entry. Their attack against you, however, was entirely unauthorized.
"The conditions we had given to them upon entry was that they were not permitted to cause trouble for any race residing in Kuoh, including Humans. They went against that order by attacking you, hence we are now going to do what we can to apprehend them."
Issei hummed as he processed most of that information. "So… you're going to find her?"
"Yes, we will. And to be fair, we're not allowing you to come with us."
"Wait, what?! No, let me come as well!"
"No, Hyoudou-kun. Not only are you too weak to fight against them, but you're far too emotional. You may be able to contest against the former of those two by getting stronger, but not the latter. Even if Rias had reincarnated you, we wouldn't have allowed you to come with us."
Issei stayed quiet after that response; what she said made absolute sense. It was never a good idea to get into a battle if you're too emotional, in fact, Aniki had mentioned that too while training him. That being said, Issei knew that he could use that same training to help them.
"I can control my emotions in a fight; I'm no amateur," Issei revealed. "I may not know much about Fallen Angels, but Aniki taught me how to fight. He also taught me how to use my emotions in a fight, so you don't need to worry about me losing control."
"Listen, there's no way we can actually confirm that in time. As long as we are here, we're responsible for the lives of every citizen in Kuoh. If you die or even get injured, that's on us. We can't even reincarnate you if you do die. And we are not losing the Red Dragon Emperor over a love feud."
"Red Dragon…"
"The title of the Dragon in your hand, which is now yours to inherit. You are the newest Red Dragon Emperor, Hyoudou-kun. That means far too much for you to die too weak. So, please do not join us. Leave the battle to us."
Issei paused for a while, considering his options. Yes, he wanted to dole out his own justice, his pride demanded that. However, did that really matter as long as they were stopped? Humming, Issei decided that his own pride could take a beating at that moment.
"Fine," Issei said. "But at least let me know what the progress is like."
"Of course. As of now, we're still gathering information on them. We found that they weren't in their reported location of stay, so we're looking for them. We're doing what we can to find them, but progress is slow as of yet."
"That's not good news. Anyways, I'll at least see if I can help with finding them. I promise I won't engage, but at least let me help with the search."
"… Very well. We'll still have to check in with Buchou, but I don't see anything wrong with it. I'll put in a good word. Before you do, however, there are certain things you'll need to know. Lord Lucifer had contacted Azazel about this matter, and he had returned the following message."
Akeno lifted out a cylindrical object and rested it on the surface of the hardwood desk. Touching a pale circle atop it, it lit up and spoke a message.
"This is Azazel, Governor General of the Grigori. This message is my response to the case of the fellows Raynare, Mittelt, Dohnaseek and Kalawarner, all belonging to the Fallen Angel race, who've been claimed to be involved in an Attempt to Murder a Human within Devil Territory. It is recognised that this action would be unauthorized by their entry decree if performed. Unfortunately, such a command was never delivered by the Grigori or myself to those in question. Required documents are provided with the message this audio recording had come with. If sufficient proof of the crime was presented in return, I would be able to declare the four in question as Traitor."
Issei sighed as soon as the audio recording ended and the glow atop the disc ended, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
"So, Raynare wasn't following orders when she tried to kill me?" he asked, thinking of how she mentioned the opposite when she attacked him.
"No, but there's every chance that he's lying," Akeno replied. "Since the Fallen and Devils aren't seeing eye to eye, it will not be surprising to hear that those things are made of lies."
Ignoring the way Akeno spoke of them, Issei asked his next question. "Not seeing eye to eye? Why?"
"Of course, you're uninitiated to the supernatural, you need the full story. As of now, Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels are all in War. We've informally called a ceasefire and called a Cold War instead because we've never had the chance to complete a peace treaty."
"Hm?"
"We've attempted peace treaties before; multiple of them, in fact. All the time, they are invaded and interrupted by terrorists within each faction before they could even be declared open."
"Terrorists? Who? Should I know?"
"You may. Angels, by nature, are not going to become terrorists. But the Church does have possible options. Stray Exorcists that enter in league with Rogue Magicians can pose as enemies. There's not much I can say about them other than to keep wary of them.
"It is a shame to admit that the Devils have their own terrorists, influenced by the Old Satan Faction. Devils had recently, as in a couple millennia ago during the peak of the war, undergone a massive shift in leadership. When previously the positions of Satan were held by lineage, it is currently held by those with the greatest strength among the Devils' ranks. The previous Satans, the ones who'd had the position as their birthright, were not happy with this decision. As such, they are rebelling against every action the New Faction is trying to perform, including the peace treaty.
"From the Fallen Angels, however, I won't be able to say much because I don't know enough. The head terrorist from the Fallen side is named Kokabiel. Just like the Old Satan Faction, Kokabiel is constantly able to influence members within the Grigori to follow his order. Unfortunately, we cannot safely regulate the transfer of information without a public uproar in return, which is why we have to allow most letters through. Information networks among Devils and Fallen are rather strong, after all. We cannot simply track every message sent through the Undernet to find influence from the Old Faction. A lot of those messages are encoded as well, making it all the harder to do so."
"… And the 'Undernet' is…"
"Hell's Internet. Exactly as it sounds."
"… Kinda weird that Hell and the 'Grigori' are both so similar to the Human world…"
"Ufufufu, I thought that the first time too."
Issei loosely chuckled. "Still," Issei carried on. "If Azazel was right, do you think Raynare could be working with Kokabiel?"
"Possibly. Or they might be doing something independently. It's not really our place to ask, we just deal with them regardless."
"… Fair enough. I guess I'd do the same thing if I were in your place."
Looking to the side, at where Rias' room lay, Issei recollected his earlier questions.
If he were to assess whether the Devils should learn about the Stand Users, his response would be a hard, definite no. 2-E was trying to escape their Fate and the harm it would bring to them. The Devils were currently at war. If he were to introduce the two, 2-E would definitely be brought into the war that the Devils were fighting. That was the last thing he wanted.
As for what the Devils wanted with him, he'd already gotten that answer when they failed to reincarnate him.
But did they know about Stand Users in the first place?
"Say, on another note," Issei said. "Am I the only one with a Sacred Gear that you've detected?"
"Ara, what's with the interest?"
"Oh, nothing, just want to scope out the competition, that's all."
"Ufufufu, very well. Among the new students, we'd detected one other Sacred Gear. He's already been inducted into the Sitri Clan, however."
"Sitri?"
"Our partner peerage in Kuoh. They constitute the entire Student Council, and their King is Sona Sitri. You, of course, know her a Souna Shitori."
"Wait, the school president is a Devil?!" Issei remarked. "Haah, no wonder you can get people to bunk classes so easily."
"Ufufufu, it certainly is a benefit."
Issei gulped, deciding it was time to breach the real question. "… Himejima-san, just to confirm, this person is not in my class, is he?"
"Your class? Which one is that?"
"It's… 2-E."
"… Ah, I see. The 'murderers' class'. To answer your question: no, we haven't found any Sacred Gear Users in your class other than you. However, it really is a shame that mass ignorance disregards how brave those men and women were. I hope you're getting along with them?"
"I'm… getting there. It's difficult when they've bonded with each other so well already, but I think I've made some progress yesterday. I happened to befriend some people in the class then."
Obviously, he wouldn't say that 'befriend' in that context actually meant 'beat half to death.'
"Ara? That's good to hear," Akeno replied. "If you need to leave that class at any point, just let us know. We'll put in a word with Sona-san."
"No need to worry about that for now," Issei said. "She put me in that class after hearing my displeasure anyway, it might not be so easy for her to pull me out. Also, I'm trying to understand them as well."
"Ufufufu, you really are an inquisitive little thing, aren't you?"
"What can I say? Aniki beat it into me to question everything, no matter what."
"That… sounds like a rather egregious way to live. Isn't it easier to live life as it comes or to focus on some actual goal instead?"
"Yeah, maybe, but my Aniki always told me otherwise. I guess it's just in too deep for me to change now."
"Your Aniki certainly sounds like an interesting character."
"Heh, he certainly is. That 'kinda sis-con' bastard really is something."
"Ufufufu, it seems that he may have something in common with Rias' older brother on that front. Although, you have a sister as well?"
"Ah, I used to. She passed away, though. Aniki actually was her boyfriend, and he adopted me as his little brother after my parents died."
"I see… I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be, I hardly remember them. I was born after my sister's death, and I've only got one memory of my parents anyway."
"Ara, that's still not very good to hear. You're an orphan, Hyoudou-kun?"
"Yeah, I am. I still live alone as well; Aniki's got work in an American company. I can't really enjoy the pleasures of a home-cooked meal by my parents like you guys, ahaha!"
While Issei laughed at his own joke, he couldn't help but balk at the lack of feedback. Opening his eyes, he found that Akeno was frowning rather deeply.
"A-Ah, I'm sorry," Issei said. "Did I say something wrong?"
"O-Oh, it's nothing," she replied. "… I'm an orphan like you, after all."
"Huh? Really?" Issei replied. "I never would have guessed. You live alone as well?"
"Ah, no, I live with Buchou and Koneko. While Buchou lives with us because she's away from home, Koneko's also an orphan. In the end, our Peerage is exactly like a family."
"Koneko, too?" Issei asked. "Huh, I guess I can see that, though. Is Kiba one as well?"
"Good guess," she replied. "… Hyoudou-kun, can I offer some advice for your inquisitive mind?"
"Huh? Well, sure."
"Don't ask too many questions about our past, please. Not everyone will be as open with things as you were. Not even me."
"… Right, understood. No talking about pasts. Sorry about bringing up the topic."
"Ara, there's no need to worry," Akeno replied, finally replying with her smile returning to her face. "Just remember what I told you, and you will be fine.
"Ara, look at the time! You must get going, Hyoudou-kun. It's almost lunch, after all."
"Huh. How time flies, right?"
"Of course, ufufufu… Now, you should get going. I hope you can find your way back to the main building entrance?"
"Yeah, don't worry. I memorised the path."
"Inquisitive and reliable, a very good pair. You would have made a wise Devil, Hyoudou-kun."
Issei grinned in response. "Well, I guess I'll be a wise Human, then!"
As Issei walked back to his class, he couldn't help but gulp at the understanding of how difficult the task before him would be.
Devils could not identify Stand Users. They did not know about Stand Users. Meaning that the Supernatural World and the Stand Users' World were entirely separate.
He couldn't determine whether others knew about Stand Users or not. He had no clue whether they were involved with the Supernatural. But from the places he could see, they were disconnected.
If that was true, he was the first union between them, being a wielder of both a Stand and a Sacred Gear. And that was why he'd do whatever he could to keep the two worlds apart.
Stand Users have suffered enough, after all.
A/N: Yo. Once again. Been awhile. Don't be so surprised about it, though.
Uni's kicking my ass; I'm two weeks from the end of the semester, and I've made zero progress on my thesis. Sure, I have another whole semester for it, but I've got a progress report due this time and I want something to show for it. But now, I've procrastinated not only my thesis but so much other work that I'm finding myself ridiculously stressed out. Sometimes I wonder why I can't just finish tasks as they come, but then I realise that I'm too stupid to be so proactive. I'm too tempted by other stuff, such as reading stories on and occasionally writing this.
I also want to find some time to write Re: Teyvat, but just like my Ascension and MCBA duality, it's so much more interesting to write this story than Re: Teyvat. I don't want to terminate it early like I did with Ascension, though. I might get to the end of the first arc with this one.
Now, I've come up with half of the possible names for the class 2-E, and most of them have confirmed Stands. Not all of them have a very good backstory yet, though, and I'm not considering giving every single one of them a reasonable one. 2-E shares trauma in their first year trip incident mentioned in the first chapter, and as it can be seen here, the students of the school aren't forgetting how they killed people there, even if they had no choice. On the other hand, the Devils completely understand them, which is why Akeno was sending her sympathy. Devils still don't know about Stand Users, though, only that the people of 2-E went through something traumatic.
Also, I hope I don't get any hate for how I treated Rias here. Yes, I shamed her character, but I was respecting her in a writer's way. Characters can climb to the greatest heights, but can also fall to the steepest depths. A good character has both. Rias was shown to be a desperate person here, even willing to do things she would regret to get what she wanted. Remember that this is technically part of her character introduction; people only have something bad to say about it because its fanfiction. If this were seen as a normal story, you'd understand that the actions she took explained quite a bit about who she is as a character.
Alright, onto the reviews.
THE GREAT AARON: Thanks a ton!
And that's all! If you're enjoying this story, please remember to leave a review. It can be anything simple, like 'Nice Chapter' or anything. Just to let me know that I'm not a Bard with no audience. Seriously, I prefer Reviews over Favorites and Follows. I'll see you next chapter!
