"DxD Trigger"

Chapter 2: "Pull the Pin"

Disclaimer: High School DxD and Devil May Cry don't belong to me or to JOUNOUCHI-sama. DxD belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo, and Funimation, while Devil May Cry belongs to Hideki Kamiya and Capcom. Neither JOUNOUCHI-sama nor I make any money or receive any other material compensation for the writing and publishing of this story, only the satisfaction of knowing it's been read and reviewed.

Author's note: Apologies for taking three years to come out with the second chapter of this story. A lot of the reviews were less than encouraging, but I'll admit I screwed up by making Yuma/Raynare seem too strong for her canon caliber. In truth, I was intending to frame it as Raynare getting lucky because Dante got too cocky instead of outright finishing her off the second he had a chance to, but obviously I didn't get that across as well as I should have. In any event, if you're not all pissed off with me for how the first chapter went and the long delay between that and this, I invite you to read and see how it stacks up in comparison to the first.

Inside an ornately decorated Kuoh Academy clubroom, a summoning circle flashed to life, bringing Rias Gremory and the wounded Dante into the room. Once they were inside, the summoning circle dissipated, and Rias turned to Dante with an impressed smile. "It seems I underestimated your condition, son of Sparda," she remarked. "Anyone else would be dead by now from a wound like yours."

"Don't talk about that guy, I'm my own man," Dante answered. "Really, what I'm worried about is how I'm gonna explain the blood when I get back to the Hyodos."

"Ah, you're living with Issei's family, I see," Rias remarked.

"Yeah, now let's get some straight answers," Dante retorted. "What the fuck is with that fucked-up angel? Why did she kill Issei? Who or what the fuck are you, and what do you want from me?"

"So inquisitive," Rias observed with a smile. "That was a fallen angel, one of the rivals of my kind, the devils. I cannot tell you why she killed Issei Hyodo yet, for even I don't know why she would be striking at humans and violate the treaty between our peoples. And yes, Dante, I am a devil."

"So then why aren't you killing me right now?" Dante asked. "Why aren't I killing you right now?"

"Because I am not the same as the devils that took your mother and brother, even your father, from you," Rias replied. "Those devils are renegades that we have long since cast out for endangering the balance of our existence by attacking humans."

"Fine, then, so what do you want with me?" Dante asked.

"To be my ally," Rias answered.

"And why would I do that?" Dante inquired, one skeptical eyebrow raised.

"To find Issei's killer, to find whoever else was involved, whoever gave her the order to kill Issei, and then do what you do best," Rias replied grimly. "His death happened in my territory, and I take it very personally when uninvolved innocents get murdered in my territory."

"Awfully sympathetic for a devil," Dante remarked.

"Like I told you before, we're not all the same as the ones who killed your family," Rias responded. "And devils or fallen angels killing innocent humans threatens the balance for all of us, the treaty that was established between our three factions so many millennia ago."

"Three?" Dante asked.

"Angels," Rias clarified. "Angels are the third faction."

"You mean angels from heaven?" Dante questioned. "Those actually exist?"

"Yes, they do," Rias replied.

"Never seen one," Dante grumbled.

"They're not as active on Earth as we devils or even the fallen angels," Rias admitted.

"No, of course not," Dante remarked sardonically. "Then they'd have to do something about all the shit that keeps happening."

"You still need to heal," Rias said. "Even if you're not actually dying, a wound like that isn't going to go away so quickly." She then removed the small cape-like mantle from her shoulders, followed by unbuttoning her black corset-like waistcoat, and then the white blouse she'd been wearing underneath.

"Not that I mind the sudden strip show, but what's going on?" Dante asked.

"Take off your clothes, Dante," Rias instructed, having just undone her last button, revealing a lacy purple bra that struggled to contain her large breasts and an expanse of smooth pale skin underneath. She shrugged her blouse off, leaving her upper body almost naked if not for the aforementioned purple bra. Dante took a moment to not just admire her breasts, but the smooth pale flesh of her flat stomach as well, before inquiring again.

"Why? We gonna do it?"

Rias unbuttoned and unzipped her skirt, letting the black cloth shimmy down her long, creamy legs to the floor, revealing a pair of lacy purple panties that matched the bra she wore before she stepped out of it. "I'm going to help you heal," she explained. "It works better with direct skin-to-skin contact."

"Oh, that skinship thing," Dante realized. "Ok, then. We gonna do it here?"

"No," Rias replied. Another summoning circle formed beneath them, and the next thing Dante knew, he was in the Hyodo house's guest room where he'd be sleeping for the duration of his stay. With that done, she reached behind her back and undid the clasp of her bra, shrugging it off her shoulders just like she'd done with her blouse and freeing her breasts for his eyes to gaze upon in all their voluptuous glory. "If this is going to work, I can't be the only one naked."

"Yeah, you're right, you're totally right," Dante remarked, throwing off his red coat, along with the jacket and dress shirt of his Kuoh Academy uniform. He undid the straps keeping his black muscle shirt on, and then threw said shirt aside as well. "At least I have more than one uniform. Can't go showing up to school with a massive bloodstain."

"My familiars will take care of that for you," Rias assured him, as she tucked her thumbs into the waist of her panties, while Dante still had the pants of his uniform on. Their shoes and socks were off, though, so that detail had been taken care of.

"Just don't faint when I drop my pants, all right?" Dante teased.

"As long as you don't faint when I'm finished," Rias rejoined in a similar tone. "This isn't a sight many men get to see."

"Then I'm a lucky guy, aren't I?" Dante commented with a teasing smirk. "We might as well do it on the count of three."

"Three," Rias replied, lowering her panties and then letting them drop to the floor while Dante unbuckled, unbuttoned, and unzipped his uniform pants, revealing that he hadn't been wearing anything underneath. She gave him a teasing, though appreciative, smirk of her own. "I can see why you'd think I'd faint at seeing you. Now, let's get your healing started, shall we?"

Hours later, sunlight streamed into Dante's room through the window, letting him know that morning had arrived. He was feeling quite good, especially with the soft pillows his head had been resting on. He sighed contentedly, realizing that this was the best he'd ever slept in years, though his powers of observation made it clear that he wasn't alone. For one, there was the added weight on his back, not to mention the long, smooth, creamy arms and legs wrapped around his torso from behind, and the long red hair flowing into his peripheral vision.

Just as he was starting to pull away to get out of bed, he heard Rias moan softly and felt her tug him back into her embrace. "There's a good hug pillow," she groaned sleepily.

A hug pillow? Dante repeated internally, followed by, She sure is stronger than she looks. Then he snorted to himself. Of course she is. She's a devil. But she's a nice devil, apparently. See how long that lasts.

Yes, Dante did not trust devils. Even if they were beautiful busty redheads who slept naked with him and healed his wounds that way; indeed, he saw no trace of the injury the black-winged bitch who'd killed Issei had dealt him the night before. In that at least, Rias Gremory had been telling the truth, but before he could ruminate on that further, he heard the door open and saw the Hyodos barge in.

"Dante, we wanted to see how you were doing after your first day of school and – holy shit, you have a girl in your bed already!" Mr. Hyodo exclaimed.

"She's quite the stunner!" Mrs. Hyodo exclaimed. "And foreign! My word, you are a charmer, aren't you, Dante?!"

"Ok, I'm up . . . you don't have to be so loud . . ." Dante groaned. Surprisingly enough, Rias had already gotten off him, out of the bed, and in front of him to face the Hyodos. Fast, too . . .

"Mr. and Mrs. Hyodo, it's nice to meet you," Rias greeted, paying no mind to the fact that she was still naked, her hair long enough to cover a lot of her bountiful assets. "Please allow me to offer my sincere condolences over what happened to your son. He was quite the presence at Kuoh Academy, and I fear it won't be the same without him."

"It already isn't, but thank you . . ." Mrs. Hyodo returned sincerely. "Did you know that Dante and Issei were friends when they were young?"

"Yes, Dante did mention that to me as why he was here," Rias replied. "And how that factored into his plans."

"Hmm, plans?" Mr. Hyodo inquired. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"What are you talking about, Mr. Hyodo?" Dante asked.

"Oh, that you might carry on in his honor, fulfill the one aspiration he had in his life," Mr. Hyodo answered amiably.

"Oh," Dante deadpanned, realizing what that lifelong aspiration most likely was.

"You can stay for breakfast if you want," Mrs. Hyodo offered to Rias. "We're very happy to meet friends of Dante's, especially friends like you, but please tell us first, what's your name?"

"Rias Gremory," the redheaded devil replied with a friendly smile.

"Hmm, interesting name," Mrs. Hyodo commented. "Anyway, my husband and I will leave you two alone to get washed and dressed! Just don't take too long!"

"Issei would be so jealous if he were still here right now," Mr. Hyodo said with a wistful chuckle before letting his wife drag him out of Dante's room. "This would be his dream come true, dangled before him like a carrot to a horse!"

"Yeah, he would be," Dante agreed with a wistful tone and smile.

Damn right I'm jealous! You have those big breasts right in front of you for the taking!

Dante twitched a little. That had sounded just like Issei . . . He looked at Rias, silently inquiring if she'd heard anything, and her expression didn't seem to change much. She just smiled as she turned to fully face him. "Do you want the shower first?" she asked.

"You're the guest here, you go first," Dante replied. Besides, I need the time to cool down.

"Cool down"?! How the hell do you think you can cool down with one of Kuoh Academy's Great Ladies naked right in front of you? And knowing she'll be using our shower!?

The voice again, and Dante raised his eyebrow inquisitively toward Rias, who just smiled at him and said, "Thank you. You're quite the gentleman." With that, she went to take her shower, leaving Dante alone with a voice in his head that he was pretty sure was Issei. The black-winged bitch had said Issei had left something to him; maybe that was why he could hear Issei's voice in his head, gushing over big breasts and lambasting him for his luck in getting to see Rias's firsthand.

In almost no time at all, Rias was back from the shower, which had left Dante alone with his thoughts (and what he presumed was Issei's voice) for a rather short period. "It's all yours now," she offered, wrapping her hair in a towel to dry.

She means the shower, Dante thought, preempting the Issei-sounding voice before it could make the lecherous proclamations Issei was apparently best known for in life. Out loud, "Thanks." Then he went to the shower, and turned the water on cold, gritting his teeth against the icy bite of the water while it cascaded over him. Despite that, he couldn't quite shake the image of Rias occupying the same shower just a few minutes ago, just as naked as he was now, as they had been when they were in his bed together. He also couldn't quite shake the memory of Rias's warm and voluptuous body curled around his, embracing him tightly as they'd slept and even after awakening. Gonna be here a while, aren't I?

He did manage to get out of the shower quickly enough, at least once he'd gotten his lust for Rias down to a level that wouldn't be bulging in his pants. Rias had generously offered to help Mrs. Hyodo with breakfast, wanting to learn more about Japanese meals, and Mrs. Hyodo had graciously accepted, leaving Mr. Hyodo and Dante to talk. "Quite the girl you've found," Mr. Hyodo remarked.

"You don't know the half of it," Dante mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Mr. Hyodo inquired.

"Yeah, she's awesome," Dante said more audibly. "It's nothing serious yet, Pops. Just trying to feel her out."

"It looked like you two did a lot of feeling the night before we found you," Mr. Hyodo said.

"Yeah, there was that," Dante admitted nonchalantly. Mr. Hyodo was about to respond when Mrs. Hyodo and Rias came back with the breakfast they'd prepared together. "Smells good."

"Looks good, too," Mr. Hyodo added.

"I'm glad you think so, Mr. Hyodo," Rias answered politely. "Mrs. Hyodo did a lot more than me to make it so."

"You were still a great help, Rias," Mrs. Hyodo replied in a friendly voice.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hyodo," Rias said, as she and Mrs. Hyodo began to set the food down. Once that was done, they took their seats, Mrs. Hyodo next to Mr. Hyodo and Rias next to Dante, sitting on opposite sides of each other.

"So . . . itadakimasu?" Dante prompted curiously.

"Itadakimasu!" the Hyodos, plus Rias, answered.

"Mm, definitely tastes good," Dante groaned after swallowing his first bites of breakfast.

"Thank you, Dante," Mrs. Hyodo said.

"Of course it does," Mr. Hyodo added. "That is my wife's talent at work!"

"And Rias's," Mrs. Hyodo chimed in. She turned to Rias with a beaming grin. "You would definitely make a good wife for Dante one day if you two stick together."

"Our relationship hasn't progressed to that point yet, but I am hoping it will be fruitful for both of us," Rias offered demurely, Dante raising an eyebrow at the double meaning in her words.

Dante was the first to finish breakfast, wiping his grinning mouth once he was done. "Great breakfast, Mrs. Hyodo."

Mrs. Hyodo smiled at Dante. "I'm glad you think so, but Rias helped, too."

Dante grinned. "Thanks for helping Mrs. Hyodo, Rias. Breakfast was great."

"You're welcome, Dante, and thank you for letting me help, Mrs. Hyodo," Rias responded. "Now, we have to get to school. It wouldn't do for either of us to be late."

Of course, when Dante and Rias came to Kuoh Academy together, it caused quite a stir in the student body. "Holy shit! Only one day here and he's hooked up with Rias Gremory already!"

"What kind of Super High School Casanova is he?!"

"First Kiriyu, then that girl who showed up after classes, and now Rias?! This is no mere man! This is a god!"

"We must find him to teach us his ways!"

Dante sighed. "One of the many things I didn't miss about high school," he mumbled.

Rias sighed, though it sounded more like amusement compared to Dante's aggravation. "Tongues do tend to wag. It's no matter. You'll be meeting the rest of my peerage later today."

"Really? What are they like?" Dante asked.

"Why don't I give them the opportunity to surprise you?" Rias teased.

Dante groaned, but it was more amiable than irritated. "Yeah, whatever, I'm just gonna get to class before I'm cornered by some asshole."

However, it wasn't "some asshole" that cornered Dante, it was Aika Kiriyu, whom to Dante's relief and curiosity looked more amused than angry. "So, when am I gonna get invited for the threesome?" she asked him.

"Threesome?" Dante repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I think I can pencil you in for that one."

"Gotta say, hooking up with one of the Great Ladies of Kuoh on your first day here, I'm impressed," Aika remarked, smirking salaciously at him. "Who knew I bagged such a stud?"

Dante smirked back at her, somewhere between taunting and flirting. "You might get to see for yourself one day. By the way, I'm pretty sure if we don't get moving, that late bell's gonna ring, and it's gonna be a bitch."

"Sensitive ears?" Aika guessed.

"You could say," Dante replied.

A few classes in, he noticed a well-groomed blond boy in the standard Kuoh Academy boys' uniform walking toward his desk. All the whispers around him helped alert Dante to his presence as well. Apparently, this was the "Prince" of Kuoh Academy, Yuto Kiba, desired by nearly all the girls and hated by most of the boys for "stealing all the girls away." Dante figured they might get along slightly, seeing how much heat he'd gotten since he'd made himself known as Kuoh Academy's "Super High School Badass." Yes, that was what the Academy's gossip mill had taken to calling him.

"Antony Redgrave?" Kiba asked softly.

"Dante," Dante corrected nonchalantly. "What do you want?"

"You're going to have a meeting with the Occult Research Club after school today," Kiba answered.

"Occult Research Club? That's some bullshit for an extracurricular if I've ever heard any," Dante jibed.

"It's our president Rias Gremory's request," Kiba explained. "She wants you to meet with us."

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Dante asked, smiling slyly at Kiba.

"I'll escort you after classes are over," Kiba said. "Rias and everyone else will meet us there."

"An escort?" Dante repeated, smirking wickedly. "Guess that's how you earn your keep, with all these girls dripping for a piece of you."

Kiba stared evenly at Dante. "I fail to see your point."

"Guess you're not as sharp as you look," Dante jabbed.

Kiba smirked slightly at Dante. "You'll find, soon enough, how sharp I really am."

Dante smirked back. "Looking forward to it."

Throughout their brief, hushed conversation, they had tuned out the whispers of the students around them, who'd gotten the impression they were flirting. Goddamn fujoshi, Dante thought. Another new word he'd learned, and yeah, they sure were rotten.

Classes later ended that day, and Dante was following Kiba to the meeting room of the Occult Research Club. As it turned out, the meeting room was in a separate on-campus building that Kuoh Academy wasn't using anymore and had thus lent to Rias Gremory for her club. "Nice digs," Dante remarked. "Lap of freaking luxury here."

"I'm glad they meet your approval, Dante," Rias's voice teased, as the red-haired she-devil herself had just come out of the shower, drying herself off with complete lack of care to Dante's or Kiba's presence. "I'll be with you in a moment, I just have to dress first. In the meantime, Akeno can entertain you."

"You sure about that, Rias?" a sultry voice purred dangerously. "My kind of entertainment isn't necessarily what most men like."

Dante turned to see another girl, wearing the Kuoh Academy girls' uniform, and he noticed how the blouse strained against her incredibly large breasts and the skirt fluttered around her voluptuous hips. She had incredibly long black hair as well, tied back in a ponytail by a golden ribbon, and violet eyes that glinted with mischievous allure, while her full lips quirked into a lustful smirk.

"You must be Akeno," Dante deduced.

"Akeno Himejima," the black-haired girl introduced herself. "And you must be Dante, the Devil Hunter. You're quite famous back in the Underworld. Lots of devils dream about you getting your hands on them."

"Those are nightmares, right?" Dante asked.

"Depends on your definition of nightmare, but a girl could die happy if she had you as her last sight," Akeno mused, her eyes twinkling with seduction.

"Dante, son of Sparda, slayer of devils," a youthful, albeit monotone, female voice commented.

"And what do you want, little missy?" Dante taunted, turning to see a small white-haired, golden-eyed girl wearing the Kuoh Academy girls' uniform, but without the mantle over her shoulders and with a clip in her hair shaped like a cat's head.

"To know what's so impressive about you," the girl replied, still monotonous.

"You'll get your chance to find out, Koneko," Rias said, making herself known again since she'd finished getting dressed.

"Can't wait for mine," Akeno agreed, with a teasing smirk in Dante's direction.

"As I've told you before, Dante is going to help us in rooting out Issei Hyodo's killer, the organization behind her, and their motives for having him killed," Rias explained.

"So how about we cut to the chase and get to the good stuff?" Dante asked. "All of you, on me. If you're gonna test me, you might as well come at me together. You'll stand more of a chance that way."

Akeno chuckled. "So cocky. I think I like you already."

"It's my middle name, or so I've been told," Dante quipped back.

"Pride goes before a fall," Kiba warned.

"Ain't pride if you can back it up," Dante rejoined.

"Let's give it a try, then, but not here," Rias advised, summoning a magic circle around them that transported them to a more . . . open area.

"What's this?" Dante asked.

"A field where we can go all-out in training without risking the surrounding environment or human population," Rias replied.

"Shame there isn't a jukebox around here," Dante said. "I could use some music to get into the mood."

"And what kind of music do you like, Dante?" Rias asked.

"Let's just say I like it hard and fast," Dante replied, grinning wickedly.

"A man after my own heart," Akeno purred, a suggestive grin on her face. "If that's what you want, I can give it to you!"

"So give it to me!" Dante taunted.

"Very well," Rias said. "Begin!"

Dante drew Rebellion and pointed it at the four devils. "Party time!"

Akeno struck first, jumping back and launching a massive lightning bolt at Dante, who simply disappeared as it was about to strike him. "Where did he . . . ?" Akeno started, but then the metallic clang of swords clashing could be heard, and she saw Dante intercepted by Kiba with his own sword, a thinner, sleeker blade. The two combatants were practically flying all over the combat arena, both moving far too fast for human eyes to perceive.

"So fast . . ." Rias uttered in amazement. "He's certainly giving Kiba a hard time."

Dante and Kiba continued clashing swords at extreme speeds, neither able to gain purchase over the other until the frenetic pace they were fighting at caused Kiba to slip . . . and Dante took advantage for a vicious thrust of Rebellion, Kiba barely jumping away in time to avoid being stabbed. At that moment, Koneko intervened, jumping on top and then off of Rebellion's blade to punch Dante in the face, sending him flying back.

"You hit hard for someone so tiny," Dante remarked, resetting his nose as Koneko approached him with her fighting gloves on. Then he disappeared again . . . and reappeared right in front of Koneko with a knee strike to her gut that knocked her back. She turned it into a backward flip, landed on her feet somewhat roughly, and then went in for another punch, only for Dante to block it with the flat of Rebellion's blade this time. Even so, the demonic sword vibrated from the force of Koneko's punch. "Damn . . . good thing that wasn't my face this time."

"It'll be more than your face," Koneko hissed, as she sprang back and then darted under Dante's guard for an uppercut, which Dante caught in his hand. With his other hand, which was still holding Rebellion, he blocked Kiba, who had dashed in from behind intending to ambush him with a sword strike. He then whirled into a flurry of strikes with both his sword and his fist that threw Kiba and Koneko to the ground, while Akeno launched another lightning bolt at him, only for Dante to block it with Rebellion. In fact, he didn't just block Akeno's lightning bolt, he batted it back at her, forcing her to barely dodge it. To his surprise, though, she began to chortle out loud, her face flushed with . . . excitement?

"What a man you are . . ." she husked out, her hands gathering more lightning in them. "Yes, you've gotten me so excited, Dante . . . don't even think of stopping now~!"

"Holy shit . . ." Dante uttered to himself. "This party might be a little crazier than I thought." Then he grinned wildly. "Let's rock!"

Akeno threw a massive lightning bolt at Dante, who once again seemingly vanished . . . only to reappear right behind her. She whirled to strike him in close quarters, but he caught her wrist before she could hit him with another lightning bolt. To his surprise, though, she was panting with what he hoped was excitement, though he could smell that it wasn't quite the excitement he was thinking.

"That should be enough," Rias said, as Akeno and Dante landed and Koneko and Kiba got up. "You're quite amazing, Dante."

"I know," Dante replied with a grin.

Koneko scoffed. "Not that tough."

"Then how did I put you on your ass?" Dante retorted, still grinning.

"I suppose we should have expected this, as you are a master devil hunter," Kiba remarked. "I only hope those skills won't be used on us."

"Long as you don't hurt humans, I suppose I'm fine with you guys," Dante said. "Besides, I'm here for a job."

"And you will be compensated well for your services," Rias assured him.

Dante smirked. "Keep talking like that, I'm gonna get a bit confused on what services you're compensating me for." Then his tone hardened. "It's not just a job, by the way. Issei was a friend of mine, and that bitch that killed him is gonna pay."

"Tough talk coming from the guy who couldn't finish her off in the first place," Koneko commented dryly.

"She got lucky, that's all," Dante answered.

"Be that as it may, if the fallen angels are striking against humans now, we need to find out why," Rias said. "And then we need to stop them."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Dante said, placing Rebellion behind his back inside an invisible sheath. He then felt a strange twinge in his left hand, and clenched it reflexively, though he could feel metallic scraping just under his skin as it moved, and for a moment, a red claw replaced his hand. Just what the fuck is happening to me?

Endnotes: There you have it. The second chapter of DxD Trigger, at long last. Hope you all liked it better than the first, although your feedback would still be greatly appreciated, and again, I am sorry for taking three years to finish and publish a second chapter. In truth, I was mostly done with this chapter after a year, I just couldn't wrap my head around doing a fight scene that would do all the characters justice and make up for Dante's performance in the first. Alas, I just had to hunker down and do the best I could, and with any luck, that'll be good enough.

That aside, Dante has unofficially joined Rias and her peerage, so fallen angels and evil devils beware, especially if they're Raynare! Issei will be avenged, but does he already live on, in a way of speaking, and just what was the gift he passed on to Dante? What kind of strange new transformation is he beginning to undergo, and does it have anything to do with why he can hear Issei's voice in his head? And what'll happen when the Maou find out about Rias recruiting Dante? Will that mean trouble for Rias and her peerage in the underworld? If you want the answers to those questions, feel free to drop a review and ask for more! It will come! Until next time, readers and fans, this is Rider Paladin, signing off!