- Author Notes -
Hey guys! Would you look at that, I am not dead after all!
So why did this chapter take so long to come out I am sure you wonder.
Well to be honest, this chapter was written in the same amount of time as the others were, so why was it published so late?
Well the truth is that I actually wrote two chapters in the time since the last chapter I posted, originally I had intended for the story to follow along the cannon story line for several more chapters, until I questioned myself as to why I would limit myself by doing that.
Not only would it be boring for you guys, having to read the same story as you have probably read hundreds of time by this point, but it also seemed like a chore for me to write them down whilst making sure for them to seem unique enough as to not warrant any claims that I am just a lazy writer taking the easy route.
What does this mean for the story? Well actually, quite a bit, yet not much at all, both at the same time. What I mean by this is that the ending of the story will remain roughly untouched, whilst the events leading up to it has changed.
This means that from this chapter onward, the story will go down its own route, deviating from the normal DxD plot. Originally this would have happened much later in the story, but after some deep thinking I decided that this would be the ideal route to take, and I am sure that you guys will agree with me after seeing the next couple of chapters coming shortly.
Before further ado, let me address some reviews that I have received.
"You have went out of your way to give him all the tools to become genuinely top-tier character in DxD verse without depending on friendship power-up and such. Why you still insist on his strength being so inconsistent? I know the whole 'underdog' them is popular Shonen trope, but it really doesn't work in this context IMO." by DarkPirateKing69
Author Response: I totally understand the points you have brought up in your review. I assume you mostly refer to Issei's fight with Kiba where he came out severely wounded after the battle? As I said in the chapter, most of the wounds came from before the fight, not during it, in which Issei fought bare-handed for most of the fight against Kiba who were wielding a sword. It was not a fight that he took seriously until the very end.
I am not going to have Issei's power fluctuate from strong to weak during a fight or anything of the like, but I am going to build his character properly to ensure that he seems real. Like I say in my very very bland Author Bio on the site, I dislike weak MC's.
Thank you for your review!
"Hopefully something changes soon so it doesn't follow the show's path." by allen Vth
Author Response: I actually have to commend you on your review, it was partly what made me consider the changes that I have now applied to the story as I mentioned above. Thank you for your input!
"You talk about issei's issues with ki control maybe Kuroka can fix it when they meet you could work it in as a physical block. Just a suggestion tho. Great chapter" by S0UL-essen
Author Response: Who knows, wink wink. No but seriously, I planned out the entire story surrounding them as a pair, rather than applying a pairing around a finished story as I have seen many other authors do, which also could work very nicely, but I feel as if this approach gives me the most freedom with promoting them as a key element in the story. Thank you for your review!
"Lol I have one major problem with this, and it centers around a single line ..." by GunScythe
Author Response: First off, I'd just like to address that I do not like using the word "flame", I simply use it for comedic effect in my author notes. Your review is very detailed and provides constructive feedback, I could never call myself a decent writer if I dismissed your review purely because our opinions on the matter differ. What I had in mind when I wrote that line was something along these lines; Take a look at Kuroka in the normal DxD story-line, she had plenty of opportunity to lay with strong men, however she sought for the single strongest male she could find to bear her children instead of throwing herself at any strong man she could find, which would have resulted in more children. Considering how rare Nekomata's are, I believe that it would be reasonable to assume that one would prefer having the strongest possible offspring as that would result in the best survival rate. Which is why Issei and Kuroka would be attracted to each other considering they are both incredibly powerful, which would result in strong offspring. However I do totally see the point you make, and I fully understand that you disagree with what I wrote there, however I did so as to solidify the fact that this is not a harem and never will be. Had that been my intention, using the mentioned line you provided would have been splendid for its purpose. Thank you for the review and I sincerely hope that you could bring yourself to read this far into the story so that you could find my response to your wonderful review.
And thank you to all the other reviewers that I did not highlight this time around:
BaronChronos, Laserbr0, NiteExtreme, Gabrielbrooks, OsteoPoro, AnimeA55Kicker, Matt(Guest), Funnybones123, Shi The Sin of Sloth, Guest, B.E.R.Z, merendinoemiliano, Eternity456 and Chorono!
-Author Notes END-
"Hello" - Regular Speech
'I am hungry' - Thoughts
[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear/Ddraig Speech
*CLANGGGG* - Expression, example of steel hitting steel.
Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD be it the anime, manga or light novel. What I do own however is my story and the changes provided within it.
Chapter 5: Time Is Of The Essence
Issei rose to the sound of the alarm going off, muttering some words before turning it off and starting to prepare for the day ahead.
Yawning as he made his way downstairs, tired as usual from the constant nightmares preventing him from getting a good night of sleep.
'..Maybe I should get Koneko-chan to join me again sometime.' Issei thought to himself as he reminisced about their night together, one of the few times that Issei had been able to properly sleep without any nightmares disturbing him.
Regardless of his tiredness, Issei completed the remainder of his morning routine before setting off towards Kuoh Academy, he had classes today after all.
- Scene Change -
Issei noticed that he was slightly late for class as his other classmates were already sitting in their seats as he entered the classroom.
Upon noticing that Issei had returned to class after not showing up the day before, the class started whispering to each other, mainly the girls as they came up with theories as to why their classmate had not been present the day after the "Prince of Kuoh Academy" had taken him with him.
"..I thought you were joking at first, but maybe they really are an item..?" Issei picked up from one of the whispers due to his enhanced hearing, much to his dismay.
"Oh? Hyoudou-san? You decided to show up today?" The teacher queried him, making him internally sigh at having to come up with an explanation as to why he had not shown up to class the day before.
"I did not feel very good yesterday, so I decided to spend the day in bed." Issei replied with a blank expression on his face, hoping the teacher would buy his excuse.
"..In bed this soon?! Yuuto-san must be more aggressive than we thought!" Issei heard some girls whispering not so quietly to each other, making Issei sweat drop.
'..I am starting to think that the girls in this school are more perverted than the boys..' Issei thought to himself.
"Very well then, please go to your seat. Class is about to start." The teacher replied, making Issei shrug before he went and sat down, preparing for yet another arduous battle against his will to sleep during the lecture.
- Scene Change -
Class had ended and Issei was making his way towards the Occult Research Club's club building to officially sign up as a member, and to ask for their assistance with handling the ritual that were going to occur later in the evening.
Upon entering the Occult Research Club's club building, Issei made his way towards the main office where he assumed the club members would have gathered at, remembering the way from his previous visits.
*Knock Knock*
"Come in." Issei heard Rias reply from the other side of the door before he opened it and entered the room.
"Welcome back Issei-san, please take a seat." Rias said with a smile as she motioned towards the sofas where the rest of her peerage were sitting.
Issei nodded as he went to sit next to Koneko on the sofa. Flashing her a small smile before he sat down.
"Now that we are all gathered here, let us get you officially signed up as an ORC member." Rias said as she took a small bundle of papers from Akeno before handing them over to Issei who sat across from her.
Issei skimmed through the papers quickly, and as he did not notice anything out of the ordinary within them he concluded that he was ready to sign them.
"Alright, everything seems to be in order, could I have a pen so I can sign these documents?" Issei queried as he did not have a pen on him at that time.
"Here you go Issei." Kiba stated, handing over a pen that he had brought out of his pocket.
"Thanks Kiba" was the reply he got from Issei as he started signing the documents, making Rias surprised at their interaction.
'Since when did they get so close?' Rias thought to herself as she had not been there to notice the events that had gone on inside the club room after Issei had awoken yesterday.
After a moment of silence Issei handed back the documents that he had signed to Rias so she could look over them.
Rias checked the documents quickly to ensure that Issei had not missed signing anything, noticing that everything was in order she simply stowed the documents away before smiling.
"And now that that is done, you are hereby an official member of the Occult Research Club!" Rias exclaimed with a smile.
Looking around Issei noticed that the rest of the ORC had equal smiles on their faces, this made Issei give his own slight smile in return.
"Thank you for having me." Issei replied.
And with that, the club room filled with chatter as the ORC members discussed about various topics. Issei was enjoying the atmosphere, although he still had Azazel's request nagging in the back of his head.
"Issei?" Noticing that Issei had gone quiet, Kiba queried him, wondering as to why his friend looked so absence minded.
"Eh?" Issei replied as he noticed the look the rest of the club were giving him.
"Sorry I was just thinking about some things." Issei replied, making the rest of the Occult Research Club wonder what he was thinking about.
"..Well the truth is that I did not only come here today to sign the documents." Issei replied making Rias raise an eyebrow.
"Hm? And what would your other reason be?" Rias asked, curious about what other reasons he could have for coming here.
"Well.. The truth is that I actually came here to ask for your assistance with something, well, all of you actually." Issei replied cryptically, surprising the rest of the Occult Research Club.
"Ara? You need our help?" Akeno questioned him, wondering what her junior was up to.
"Yes, you see.." Issei started, as he carefully picked his next words.
"There happens to be a ritual going down in the abandoned church near Kuoh Academy later tonight at midnight. I was asked to bring you along as backup in case things go awry." Issei said, shocking the members of the Occult Research Club.
"A-A ritual? By whom? For what purpose?" Rias stuttered out as she started shooting off questions his way.
"Yes, a ritual. Apparently a couple of stray fallen angels are attempting to extract a rare sacred gear from its wielder." Issei said, making Rias go wide-eyed. She was not aware of the exact process, but she knew very well that it would not be a pleasant process.
Furthermore, what were fallen angels doing in her territory?
The ORC just sat and tried to comprehend what Issei just had brought forward.
"And who told you about this?" Rias questioned Issei, making him sigh.
"My sensei." Issei stated, wanting to avoid having to reveal just who he was referring to.
"..Your sensei? Who is this person?" Akeno asked Issei, curious about the identity of the aforementioned person.
"Unfortunately I am not able to say that.." Issei said as he slowly shook his head.
"I see.." Akeno replied.
"And how did this person get a hold of this information?" Rias asked, slightly doubting Issei's intentions.
"..I am afraid that I am not able to reveal that either." Issei stated awkwardly, he could clearly see how what he was saying was doubtful at best.
"..." The room remained silent, nobody quite sure as to what to reply to this.
"If Ise-senpai asks for our help, that must mean that it is something important, right?" Koneko said looking over at her senpai with a wondering look.
Seeing Issei nodding at her made her come to a conclusion.
"..Alright, I will help Ise-senpai." Koneko said, making Issei perk up, he had started to doubt whether or not he would be able to get their assistance in this matter or not.
"Koneko-chan?" Rias stated, surprised at how affectionate she seemed towards their newest club member.
"How could I call myself your friend if I did not help you out when you came asking for help?" Kiba said with a smile, Issei was taken aback at first, before returning the smile.
"Ara, If my junior comes to me for help then it is my duty to show him my guidance, fufufu." Akeno stated with a slightly devious smile, making Issei sweat drop.
'No doubt she will use this to blackmail me in the future.' Issei said to himself, amused at her response.
Rias just looked at how accepting her peerage was, making her feel a slight tinge of shame, how could she deny his request when he came asking her like this?
"W-Well I do suppose that you would need my help in this matter, after all this is my territory they are trespassing on." Rias stuttered out, attempting to seem prideful and benevolent.
At her statement the rest of the ORC started laughing at her tone, it did not suit their kind Buchou after all.
"Mou!" Rias exclaimed in annoyance at their laughter.
"Well then Issei, you said that this ritual would occur at midnight, correct?" Rias stated, wanting confirmation.
At this Issei just nodded.
"Let us meet up at 11:30 near the church then, does that work for everyone?" Rias said, asking everyone for their input.
Seeing them nod Rias just turned to Issei again and smiled.
"Thank you all for your help, I need to get going. I will see you all later tonight." Issei said as thanked his fellow club members with a small bow before leaving the Occult Research Club's club building, making his way home.
- Scene Change -
Issei was making his way home as he noticed a lone nun walking down the street, looking quite troubled.
"Hey, are you alright?" Issei asked the nun, watching as she slowly tilted her head to the side.
'Does she not understand Japanese?' Issei thought to himself, wondering which language the nun could possibly understand.
"Hey, do you speak English?" Issei asked without a hint of Japanese in his voice, he had been brought around by Azazel a lot during his mentor ship, so being unable to understand English would have lead to complications.
"I-.. Eh Yes!" The nun replied with a smile, being slightly shocked at finally meeting someone able to understand her.
"You looked quite troubled, are you okay?" Issei asked, curiosity present in his voice.
"I-I am fine, I recently arrived in this town to meet some of my sisters, however nobody I have asked were able to understand me enough to give me any directions.." The nun said with a crestfallen look.
Before Issei could speak up, he heard the nuns stomach grumble, making her face go beet red.
At this, Issei just chuckled.
"Here, let me treat you to something to eat, I will help you find your sisters afterwards." Issei said with a smile, the girl in front of him looked so innocent that he could not help but smile at her antics.
"O-Oh no, I could not do such a thing.." The nun stuttered out, before Issei grabbed her arm with a smile and brought her along with him to the nearby burger place.
- Scene Change -
"Issei-san, I believe they forgot our cutlery when we ordered the food." The nun stated innocently, having gotten to know the name of the teen in front of her.
Issei just shook his head at this.
"No silly, you eat them like this." Issei said as he took a big bite out of his hamburger, much to the nuns surprise.
"Wow! I had no idea you could eat food like this!" The nun exclaimed as she also took a bite of the hamburger, savoring its taste.
And so, they spent the hour eating and chatting about various things.
"Thank you for the treat Issei-san" The nun exclaimed with a smile present on her face.
"Do not mention it, now I believe you said you needed to find guidance?" Issei said, remembering their earlier conversation.
"Ah, yes.. Well I am not quite sure what to do, I do not remember the address that I was supposed to meet them at." The nun stated making Issei frown, how were they supposed to find the address if she herself were not aware of it?
Then Issei got another idea on how to solve the problem.
"If we went to a phone-booth, would you be able to call them and ask for instructions?" Issei wondered, this would be the simplest solution to their problem after all.
"..Yes! That could work!" The nun exclaimed, having entirely forgotten about that possibility.
And so, the pair went to a nearby phone-booth that Issei paid for, allowing the nun to call and ask for directions, after a couple of minutes talking the nun stepped out of the booth, thanking Issei for letter her use it.
"I was told to take the bus and ride with it for the next five bus stops, they would be waiting for me there." The nun said with a smile.
"Well then, that is that.. Wait? Is that not your bus?" Issei queried, looking over at the incoming bus.
"Oh! Yes! That must be it." The nun started saying, surprised at how quickly it had arrived.
"I am Asia Argento, thank you so much for your help Issei-san, I hope we can meet again soon!" The nun exclaimed having turned around to face Issei yet again.
"I am sure we will, now get going or you will miss the bus!" Issei said to her, seeing her nod and run to the bus made him shake his head.
'What a silly girl.' Issei thought amusingly to himself as he watched the bus take off with the nun, now known as Asia within it.
'Well I better make my way back and prepare for tonight.' Issei thought to himself as he started moving in the opposite direction that the nun had gone.
- Scene Change -
Several hours had passed since Issei's encounter with Asia, and midnight had started to approach.
Issei was making his way to the meeting spot that had been agreed on earlier in the meeting that had occurred between him and his fellow club members.
Upon reaching the designated area, Issei noticed that his fellow club members had already arrived, waiting for him to arrive.
"Hey Issei!" Kiba exclaimed with a wave towards him.
At this Issei just replied with his own wave, noticing the looks everyone was giving him made Issei question their intention.
'Why does it look like they are waiting for me to.. Oh right, I am the one that requested their assistance, naturally that would make me the leader for the mission.' Issei thought to himself as he came to the realization that he would be the one to command this mission.
"Thank you all for arriving at such short notice, there is no time to waste, let us get going." Issei said in an authoritative tone, seeing the other club members nodding at this, he started to make his way towards the church, the rest of the club following in a tow.
…
Having arrived at the church, Issei decided to deliver the rest of the plan that he had in mind to his fellow club members.
"Rias, Akeno. I want you two to patrol outside the church, ensuring that nobody gets into the church while we are busy cleaning out the fallen angels inside the church." Issei stated, which slightly shocked his fellow club members.
"I can understand wanting someone to keep watch outside the church, but why us two? Considering our magical power would we not be ideal in helping you clean out the church?" Rias questioned Issei, wondering why he told them not to come with him.
"It is certainly true that you have very strong magical powers Rias-senpai, which is why I do not want you two to come with us into the church." Issei said, much to the confusion of the other ORC members listening in on the conversation.
"We are going to be fighting close quarters inside a building, not only are your magical powers destructive, but they are suited for mid to long range combat. You would not only be at a disadvantage, but you would also risk bringing the church down onto us if you accidentally applied too much power into one of your spells." Issei continued clarifying his intentions to Rias and her peerage.
"That makes sense, but why did you decide not to bring me along Issei-san?" Akeno asked, this time using the proper honorific, this was not the time to tease around, she decided.
"Well, mainly because I do not want Rias-senpai to guard on her own, I do not doubt her abilities, but I would rather be safe than sorry." Issei stated, making Akeno nod along to his statement, it seemed logical after all.
"And for the second part, you have good chemistry with Rias-senpai, I trust that you will be able to keep her safe, you are her queen after all." Issei said, to which Akeno only smiled.
"Kiba and Koneko-chan, you are both suited for close-quarters combat, you will follow me into the church." Issei said, making them nod in reply.
"Alright, time is running dry. Let us get this started." Issei stated making a motion for Kiba and Koneko-chan to follow him into the church.
Upon entering the church, they could see a lone shadow standing against one of the inner church walls.
"..Keep your eyes and ears open, they might have an ambush awaiting us." Issei whispered to the knight and rook who had followed him into the church.
Seeing their nods he decided to proceed further into the church, Kiba and Koneko in tow.
Issei noticed the shadow starting to move, moving towards the altar where the moonlight shined down, revealing the figure that had previously been cloaked in the shadows.
Issei's eyes narrowed at the sight.
'That attire… An exorcist?" Issei thought to himself, noticing the outfit the man wore.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" The exorcist called out to them with a crooked voice and smile.
"It seems like a couple of shitty devils have walked right into my web." The exorcist continued, talking to himself, slightly creeping Issei and his companions out.
"You know, I am super strong, to be slain by me will be such an honor for shitty devils like yourselves. The name is Freed, remember it as I send you to purgatory!" The exorcist now known as Freed exclaimed as he drew a gun and a sword from his outfit.
Koneko was the first to act, grabbing the nearby church bench, before she sent it flying towards the stray exorcist.
"Tch, Is this the best you shitty devils can do? Hahaha!" Freed exclaimed as he split the bench into two halves with his shining sword, making Issei narrow his eyes.
'A sword empowered by the light? If Kiba or Koneko-chan get struck by this they will suffer severe damage.' Issei noted to himself.
Whilst Koneko continued chucking benches at the exorcist, who had now turned to dodging them instead of slicing them, Issei noticed Kiba clenching his fist shut, hard.
"Issei, please let me handle this guy." Kiba said, with poison lacing his words as he drew his blade, making Issei raise one of his eyebrows.
"Are you sure? You do know that his sword is made out of li-" Issei started, before he noticed the look Kiba had in his eyes, he had never seen Kiba wear such a serious expression before.
"Never mind. Go for it." Issei said, at this Kiba just nodded before he started sprinting towards Freed, sword drawn in his hand.
"Oh? The other shitty devil has finally decided to step in?" Freed said as he parried a strike from Kiba's blade.
Koneko had stopped throwing benches as to avoid hitting Kiba, as she turned to look at her senpai.
"Are you not going to step in, Ise-senpai?" Koneko queried, wondering why he did not help his friend out.
"Kiba asked me to let him take this battle, I would just damage his pride by stepping in now, have some faith in him Koneko-chan." Issei stated, without moving his eyes away from the fight happening in front of him.
"Oh? The shitty devil seems to be able to wield a blade after all!" Freed stated, as he interlocked blades with the Gremory knight.
"You are not so bad yourself." Kiba replied bluntly, as much as he disliked the man before him, he was still a knight, and thus kept his manners in check to some degree.
Freed pushed Kiba's blade away as he went in for a strike towards Kiba's abdomen, his blade shining brighter than it previously had.
"This is the end you shitty devil!" Freed exclaimed as he brought the blade towards Kiba.
However Kiba parried the blade with his own at the last second. Sensing the magical energy in the air surrounding Kiba's blade, Issei simply smirked to himself.
'Show me what you can do Kiba.' Issei thought to himself as he watched Kiba's blade become consumed by what looked to be pure darkness.
"W-What is this?!" Freed exclaimed in shock, his blade had started to glimmer, slowly but surely being consumed by the blade of the knight.
"Holy Eraser, the sword of darkness that consumes all light." Kiba stated, as he knocked away the stray exorcist.
"Issei!" Kiba exclaimed, wanting his friend to follow up with his attack.
In the blink of an eye Issei had disappeared from where he stood by Koneko, and implanted his fist in Freed's gut, sending him flying through the air into the back wall of the church, shocking Koneko with his speed.
Issei moved towards the downed exorcist to extract the information he needed from him.
Grasping the hand of the exorcist, he forcefully yanked it.
* Snap *
"AAAARGH!" Freed exclaimed, having just had his wrist snapped by the man in front of him, making Koneko wince at the events that occurred in front of her.
"The rest of your little group... Where. Are. They?" Issei said in a threatening tone, making the stray exorcist worried about what he would do should he not reveal the information to him.
"Well then, second wrist it is." Issei started saying as he moved to grasp at the other arm, before being interrupted by Freed.
"S-Stop! They are underground, underneath the altar. Y-You damn devils!" Freed stuttered out in pain, grasping his broken wrist.
"..." Was the only response he received as Issei moved to grasp the exorcist by the neck, before throwing him into the opposite wall, this time knocking him out.
"Koneko-chan, I want you to make sure that he does not escape while me and Kiba proceed underground." Issei stated, unaffected by what he had just done.
Koneko just nodded in response, as Issei moved over to push the altar out of the way, revealing a set of stairs underneath.
"Come." Issei said to Kiba as they proceeded to go underground, further into the church.
The pair moved further through the dark underground path, wandering for a short while before they noticed a light coming from the end of the tunnel.
As they approached the end of the tunnel they noticed that before them laid a rather spacious candlelit room, filled with robed men standing before what looked like a bloody crucifix.
Besides the crucifix stood a robed man with a hat on his head, holding a glowing object in his hands.
Issei's eyes widened at the sight as he looked at what the man was holding.
"..We were too late." Issei said through gritted teeth, the object that the man was holding was nothing else than the Sacred Gear Twilight Healing.
Chapter END
-Ending Author Notes-
And with that, we officially stray away from the cannon story line. I am aware that some characters themselves are not cannon, but the story has still followed cannon events thus far.
Some important cannon events will still happen, but they may not happen in the same way as you would expect, or in the same time periods as they do in the original story.
For those of you wondering as to when Kuroka will show up, if I had to give an estimate I would say roughly 4 chapters, give or take.. So look forwards to that!
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Until next time~