Hello ladies and gentlemen, it is I, the author of this story, addressing you in a written format! (obviously).
It's been a while since I last wrote for this story directly, I've been working on setting up the plot for the immediate future instead, so... Delays. Despite that, I am still here, thankfully whole and healthy in these hard times for the entire world, with the intent to bring as much entertainment as possible (and necessary) in a world that sorely needs it.
On the note, I made a post on my Pat reon (public post, everyone can see it) about my future plans as far as writing is concerned, and you can go check them out at " Pat reon -dot- com -slash- Francogamerxz ".
I'd like to thank Tyric Gaia for his continued monetary support, and extend the invitation to anyone who is able and willing to do the same, to do so at my Pat reon (already linked at the previous paragraph). As always, do remember that donating is purely optional, no one is forced to do so for whatever reason.
If you are unable to make your support known in a monetary fashion but still wish to help in the story's continued growth, you can also do so by favoriting, following and reviewing this story, and spreading the word to others who you believe may enjoy it.
Now, onwards to the story!
"Regular character Speech"
"Differently inflectioned character speech" (Whispering, hissing)
"Powerful Speech" (Backed by Killing intent, Presence, sheer raw power, etc)
'Regular character thoughts'
'Mind reading/Telepathic conversation'
[Ddraig Speaking out loud]
[Ddraig speaking telepathically to Issei]
'Ddraig/Powerful being thinking'
Issei's head moved slowly, allowing him to take in the decorations of the entrance lobby of Katagi Services Incorporated's headquarters.
'Pretty much what you'd expect the reception of a regular office building. Other than the almost inconspicuous Yakuza, of course.'
Issei's ammendment was made after he spotted a few black suited and shades-wearing men, spread out around the lobby, easily blending into the rest of the people there for anyone not used to discerning fighters from civillians, and placed in a way that allowed at least a couple of men to cover each of the room's entrances/exits at all times.
Shrugging off this fact, Issei leisurely made his way towards the reception counter, his work clothes allowing him to blend into the type of people already previously milling around. A quick tap of the bell had the receptionist - her nametag reading 'Yui' - favoring Issei with the heavily practiced professional smile that every properly commited retail, public relations and diplomatic worker had all but seared into their soul, her voice light and invinting as she spoke.
"Good evening sir, what can I help you with tonight?"
Issei favored the woman with a smile of his own, leaning slightly forward onto the counter so that he could lower the volume of his voice as he spoke.
"I'm here to meet Katagi-san."
"I'm sorry," Yui spoke apologetically, her tone reflecting the shift of the smile on her face, "But any meeting with Katagi-sama must be scheduled ahead of time. If you want to meet with Katagi-sama, you'll have to call his secretary and see if she can fit you into his schedule."
"I'm sure that if you called up and-"
"I'm sorry, sir," Yui spoke in a more forceful tone of voice, her smile particularly forced, "But you'll have to schedule ahead of time if you intend to meet with Katagi-sama."
Sighing lightly, Issei tried again.
"Look, I am one hundred percent sure Katagi-san wants to meet up with me. If you just called up and-"
"I'm sorry, sir-"
"Tell his secretary that Hyoudou Issei-"
Issei was interrupted when a heavy hand clamped onto his shoulder. Yui's face changed from put-upon to relieved as a gravelly voice boomed beside Issei.
"What seems to be the problem here?"
"Thank god you're here, Donzo-san... This young man insists that he must meet up with Katagi-sama, despite the fact that he has no appointment with him scheduled."
Smiling in an attempt at curbing his rising frustration, Issei spoke up.
"As I said before, if you called up to Katagi-san's office and told him that Hyoudou Issei is-"
Donzo's grip on Issei's shoulder tightened, his tone dangerous as he spoke.
"Listen here, punk! We are not in the business of catering to every two-bit highschool delinquent with an inflated Ego thinking that he's Kami's gift to humanity, ergo even important businessmen would 'love the privilege to meet up with them'. Take this chance to leave peacefully before I make you leave."
Issei closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, his tone light as he spoke.
"Look, the two of you are only trying to do your jobs. I understand that, and I respect that. However..."
Issei's posture changed at that moment, his previously straight posture bending into a slight slouch, his head tilted slightly towards Donzo so that he could see the man out of the corner of his - dangerously - half-lidded eyes, his tone lightening into something much too casual to be natural as he spoke.
"If you don't take your hand off my shoulder right now, I'll break it."
Anyone watching Donzo could swear that they saw his glowering glare even through his shades, but his facial scars became visibly taut as he clenched his jaw. Yui actually flinched away from him when vains started visibly throbbing on his neck and forehead.
"Listen here you punk," Donzo hissed between gritted teeth, "You have 15 seconds to get the fuck out of here before I kick your ass. And if I ever see you return here for whatever reason, I will make sure you have a long stay at a hospital bed. NOW SCRAM!"
His last words were punctuated with a shove that forced Issei back half a step.
The brunet slouched even further, his still casual tone sending an unnerved shiver down Yui's spine.
"Now you've gone and done it. You upset me... And it's gonna cost ya."
Another vein joined the already throbbing one on Donzo's forehead, his open hand reaching for the collar of Issei's shirt...
"Hmph."
Only for the brunet to snort contemptuously as his arm blurred for an instant. Yui could only watch incredulously as the previously imposing Donzo fell onto his knees, his left hand holding onto his right forearm in an attempt at supporting his now limp hand.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The loud scream of pain froze all activity on the lobby, causing everybody to turn towards it's source. Seeing one of their own floored and screaming, the rest of the buff, suit-clad yakuza started converging onto the scene, nasty glares being tossed at the unnervingly relaxed, slouching teenager.
Said teenager allowed his eyes to wander, taking in the scene of a higher amount of men converging onto the scene than he had previously spotted, though the sight of some of them walking into the building, and others climbing down the stairs or leaving the elevators explained the increased number.
Rather than react with fear or trepidation, or to simply get down onto his knees and beg as anyone else in his position would, Issei's reaction was a small, involuntary upturn of the lips, his tone cheery as he spoke.
"You guys came at the right time! I am currently slightly upset and could use a good punching bag or two!"
His eyes narrowed into slits, a dangerous gleam in them even as his voice mantained it's upbeat, cheery tone.
"Don't break too fast now!"
Having said that, he dashed straight into the crowd of surprised gangsters.
While Issei worked his way towards the meeting he wanted to have, another meeting was already on proceeding.
Sona and Rias sat across one another, each of them nursing a steaming teacup as they looked over the chessboard between the two of them, each of them thinking of the future moves they could take to win the match.
The two peerages could do little but watch the match while doing their best to ignore the abnormal amount of tension in the room.
Sona took a sip from her cup, enjoying the warmth within her chest before reaching for a bishop. She then started speaking as she moved it.
"I'm sure you already know why I am here."
The redhead watched as Sona captured a pawn using her bishop. Pursing her lips, she analyzed the board before deciding that it was safe for her to capture the bishop with her knight. She made her move while responding.
"Hyoudou Issei."
The other peerage members ignored the slightly sheepish, blushing gaze Momo gave Yuuto except for the young man himself, who responded only with his usual smile. Then, everybody else turned their focus back to the game - except for Koneko, who focused on her sweets - and watched the mixed verbal and mental engagement between the two.
"Indeed," Sona agreed with a nod, "It should be obvious by now that I am interested in the potential held by Hyoudou Issei. Between his stellar grades, his physique and his fighting abilities, he is likely one of the top prospects within our age range for reincarnation via Devil Piece."
Rias' frown stretched further as she saw Sona move a pawn into an empty space, prompting her to move a bishop of her own into a safer position as she spoke.
"I can understand your interest in him... But we have a standing agreement, Sona."
The Sitri heiress was the one to frown this time, looking at the board critically as she spoke.
"Our agreement is the only reason why I'm here right now, talking to you, rather than simply going down to his home and recruiting him face to face. And..." Sona proceeded to move her knight, "I'm not really sure you can understand my interest in Issei given your attitude towards as much as a reference or allusion to him. Check."
Rias furrowed her brows while gazing intently at Sona's pieces and their placement, though this focus did not impede her from speaking.
"I understand why you are interested in recruiting him, Sona, it's just... Let me try to make things clearer from my end.
"I am someone who has been chained down, beholden to an agreement that I had no say in, in an engagement towards one of the most contemptible people that I've ever had the displeasure of knowing.
"Unlike you, who were given the ability to fight for her own freedom relying purely on her skills, I am forced to do the exact opposite. And while I do believe in the strength of my dear peerage, I also understand the fact that my peerage is currently likely unable to contend with the power of the Bomb Queen and the Phenex Heir, two high class devils, without accounting for the rest of his peerage, which ranks mostly middle-class devils.
"In the middle of all of this, my recruitment efforts give me, as the best shot at freeing myself from this engagement, someone who reminds me of all the worst parts of Raiser.
"It... is not a very simple choice to make."
Having said this, Rias moved her king to safety from Sona's knight.
The Student Council President shook her head at that, "You are making things much more complicated than they need to be, Rias." She allowed her hand to hover above the board, "Rather than simply looking at Issei superficially and ticking off boxes due to his similarities to Raiser, why don't you try to get to know him better? Focus more on the differences between Issei and Raiser, rather than the similarities. It would likely allow you to understand that the two are not one and the same." Having said that, Sona surprised Rias by moving her other Bishop into a dangerous position, wherein it could easily be captured by Rias' rook.
Frustration and a whole host of mixed emotions flashed on Rias' face for just a moment, before she spoke, "As I said before, it's not so simple! I... When I look at him directly, I can't help but see Raiser! If I tried to spend any time around him, it would likely get worse! Plus, he would likely find it suspicious that I gained a sudden interest in him." She punctuated this by capturing the Bishop with her Rook.
Sona used the opening left behind by the Rook's movement to move a Knight into a more advantageous position, "Then don't look at him directly. If you can't judge him accurately, then rely on your friends. Akeno is a part of his friend group and very close to him, while I am also quite partial towards him. We would not befriend someone as contemptible as Raiser, so why not trust our judgement?"
Rias moved her queen, capturing one of Sona's pawns and putting her in a position which would allow her to put her opponent in check in her next turn, "That is part of the problem! The two of you are already close to him, meaning that one, he may likely wear a different face in front of you than his real character, in order to try to impress you, or two, your level of... Esteem... for him might blind you to flaws of his."
Sona's mouth twitched quite a bit, the corner seemingly unable to decide on whether it wishes to be up or down, before she spoke.
"If you feel that myself and Akeno are 'compromised', then find someone else who you can trust to be impartial in the judgement of Issei, and get their opinion of him. However, do remember..." Sona's lips twitched into a slight smirk as she grabbed the pawn she had been steadily advancing towards Rias' side of the board and moved it forward in a move that left Rias wide-eyed and open mouthed. "If you take too long to act, or second guess yourself too often, you may try to make more moves in a game you've already lost. Check-Mate."
Nodding lightly towards the Gremory heiress and watching as her face furrowed in concentration as she thought her way back through all of the moves they had made during their match, Sona proceeded to give courteous nods to all of Rias' peerage members, an act that was copied by her own peerage, before they all left the Occult Research Club's clubroom.
"Ara ara... Buchou seems to have utterly and pitifully lost! Ufufufufufu~"
Rias sighed out loud at that, placing a placating hand on Akeno's arm as she spoke.
"I already said it before, Akeno. I would entrust my life to you in a heartbeat." She meaningfully allowed her gaze to moved towards Koneko and Yuuto before speaking up again, "To all of you. However... I can't bring myself to trust Hyoudou right now. I know that it's unfair towards yourself, towards Sona, and even towards him, but... That's how it is. The three of you know how it is to feel very strongly about a certain subject, and being unable to just... Let go."
Rias' words caused the slight amount of hurt hidden within Akeno's teasing gaze to all but vanish, all the while her three peerage members took an involuntary trip down memory lane, towards each of their individual baggage.
"That being said..."
Rias' words broke Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko out of their introspection, and got their focus back on her.
"I will try to not simply ignore yours and Sona's impression of Hyoudou-san. I'll just... get a more neutral view of him, to contrast them against." The redhead turned towards her Rook at that, "As the one with the best senses and stealth among us, and the one most likely to be blunt and openly critical of him if you ever find him lacking in some aspect, I'll delegate the task of looking over Hyoudou Issei in his day-to-day life to you, Koneko-chan."
Bridging her fingers together as she mentally worked out logistics, Rias thought aloud, "That would mean that myself, Akeno and Yuuto will have to increase the amount of contracts and wishes granted to account for the temporary absence of Koneko's share, but it should be manageable..."
She opened one of her desk drawers, withdrawing a manilla folder from it. She dropped it onto the desk top, allowing some papers to spread out across it. One of these was a picture of a smirking Issei, clad only in his skin-tight shit with rolled up sleeves, a photograph that had her involuntarily drawing parallels between him and Raiser.
Giving the bustling Akeno a look, her eyes gained a resolute gleam, prompting her to raise the photopgraph up before allowing her Power of Destruction to turn it to little more than dust.
'For Akeno, Sona and myself... I'll give him a fair shot.'
Akeno, who had been discreetly watching Rias' actions from the corner of her eyes while tidying up the room after the Student Council's visit, couldn't help but smile at her best friend.
Koneko and Yuuto, for their parts, seemed to have gained a level of resolution as well.
Koneko had decided to keep the tightest watch over Issei she could, while Yuuto inwardly made a pledge to compensate for Koneko's task with his own wish granting.
Just like that, the Gremory Peerage became active.
"What in Kagutsuchi's sweltering nutsack!?"
Yui, who had been previously fearfully cowering behind her desk, allowed her head to peek out at the sound of a familiar voice, only for her eyes to fill with tears of relief as she dashed around her desk to hide behind her imposing boss.
She then pointed a trembling finger in a certain direction, prompting Susano'o to look there, before his eyebrows rose in surprise.
"What the hell happened here?"
His question, while directed at Yui, was made as a reference to the fact that a young man was sitting atop a makeshift throne of battered, bruised and unconscious Yakuza. The receptionist spoke up, her voice about as steady as her finger.
"He... He showed up all of a sudden, sir... Asked for meeting... Donzo spoke up, then..."
She petered off helplessly, her brain likely finding no way to explain the fact that the young man had beaten literally over a hundred Yakuza in one go.
The young man perked up, his head rising from it's previous resting position while he spoke in a friendly, upbeat tone.
"Hey there, Katagi!" He ignored the muffled gasps that came from both Yui and the beaten, yet still conscious, men underneath him at the casual form of address, simply coninuing his speech, "I was around the neighbourhood, so I decided to pay you a visit!"
"O...kay..." Susano'o said in mild bewilderment, "But what does that have to do with what happened here?"
"Oh, that!" Issei said while waving his hand as if literally waving off any sense of gravity or tension - a move that caused the men under him to flinch - that the words could have had, "I decided to agree to your request of a business visit, but I was held up at the reception desk. You see, I wasn't allowed up, and when I said that it was important business and to call up for you, I was ignored."
Issei raised a hand before pointing his thumb behind himself, at a figure that was lying down on the ground with a hand that was positioned in a... Most uncomfortable manner.
"That guy tried to stop me using threats and force. Even though I get that it was just his job, the fact that he ignored my attempts at not having to fight made me a bit annoyed, you see, a situation which was compounded upon by the flood of your guys intent on beating the snot out of me.
"So I beat the stuffing out of them first!"
Susano'o found himself half-amused, half-exasperated at the explanation from Issei, who was slowly and lazily dislodging himself from his human throne and stretching.
Shaking his head ruefully at Issei's actions, Susano'o spoke in a casual tone.
"Well, I have to thank you for having gone easy on them, at least."
The hidden god's words shocked everybody else in the room almost as much as Issei's nonchalant response.
"It'd be impolite to start off a joint business project by utterly hospitalizing a great part of my business partner's workers, so I let them off with a fracture or two."
The two were now walking side to side, heading towards the stairs under the incredulous and stupified gazes of everyone else in the reception lobby.
"By the way, Yui-san," 'Hageshi' said, "Hyoudou Issei has full access to my office at all times. He shows up, no matter whether I'm present or not, he goes up. Understood?"
The fact that Susano'o spoke in a light, soothing tone was likely the only reason why Yui's frazzled mind was capable of enough cognizance to respond with a slight, mechanical nod.
As the two started their leisure walk up the stairs, their voices could be faintly heard.
"Err, Hyoudou-san, you've got some, uh... Blood, on your collar."
"Oh don't worry, it's not my blood..."
Only after the two voices trailed off into inaudibility, did sound return to the previously empty lobby.
"What was that?"
"Hold back?"
"Go easy?"
"Business Associate?"
"What," a young, shocked voice cut through all the others, it's incredulity easily noticeable "Was that? What kind of man walks into another man's workplace, fights off hundreds of his employeeds at once, only to go on and engage in friendly banter with the boss?"
"That ain't no man," A scarred man in his mid 30's, who had the fortune of suffering only a broken pinky, spoke in a solemn tone of voice, "That's a man-shaped calamity."
Soon enough, the entire lobby was filled with whispers about a 'man-shaped calamity', which rapidly became 'human calamity'.
Right there and then, one of the biggest legends of the Japanese underworld was born.
"Man, your guys are really spirited. It's not any random person that sees 20 of their coworkers beat down with ease and still jump the person who did it on their own. They were pretty durable for non-supernatural folks as well, capable of taking a good beating."
"My men's training is harsh enough to be considered a regimen for elite special forces in some of the world's nations! In any fight that doesn't involve the supernatural world, I'd easily put my money on them!"
"Cool."
The two walked in silence for a bit, before Susano'o spoke up.
"You know, it's funny that you'd choose this exact date, and this exact time to come pay me a visit."
"Oh?" Issei asked with a raised eyebrow, "Why is that?"
"That's because..." nodding lightly towards his secretary, Susano'o opened the door to his office, revealing two other people sat around said office. Both of them had a deeply repressed Divine aura within them, with the girl smelling of summer, and feeling like sunlight and all things pure. The other one felt like a fainter light, subterfuge and the night. "Both of my siblings were visiting today."
Issei's previous good mood completely vanished, his smile dropping into a deep scowl as he walked into the office, his back slouched in contravenance to his previously straight gait.
The last sight that Hageshi Katagi's secretary had before her boss closed the door to his office was that of a young man whose mere back she couldn't stare at without feeling as if she were in the presence of a great predator.
-Chapter, End!-