1,937Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD nor do I own Devil May Cry. Seeing how – as of 04-2020 – I am stuck in my house because of a certain thing in the real world happening, I now have more time to do absolutely nothing productive like the lazy piece of crap that I am. Just as God intended.
A/N: And now we are at Mission 5. What a long way this has come.
This mission will begin with a more DxD flair to it. With that said… enjoy.
Here Cometh the Reunion of Arms.
Mission 5: START
"What up, Ise-boyo?"
Issei blinked at Dante waving at him with his back turned, a fishing rod in one hand and… a blonde girl who could not any older than 11 making growling sounds on his back. She also had a tail that was swishing aggressively about. And there was his one recurring customer with the bad boy look going for him gazing between the three with amusement with his own fishing rod.
The fact that the latter did not look bothered by the child with the foxtail was unusual but did not trip any alarm bells that he otherwise would have had when among companies that were not devils or were unaware of the supernatural at large. Perhaps because he became aware of the supernatural after knowing about devils and hanging out with Issei.
"Uh, hey… you have someone chomping on your neck, by the way."
"Thanks for the heads-up. Ise-boyo, meet… um. Blonde fox girl. Blonde fox girl, meet Ise-boyo."
"My name is Kunou! Daughter of Yasaka, the revered leader of the Kyoto youkais, and I want nothing more now than to avenge my mother's honor!" The little girl screamed in a proclamation, then proceeded to resink her canine teeth into Dante's neck, which the current Sekiryuutei only just noticed. He had a hunch she had been speaking more to Dante more than she was to him.
"Um. Right." Still, the brunette figured out that this was royalty or something of the like he was in front of. "I'm Hyoudou Issei, first and only son of Hyoudou Gorou and Hyoudou Miki. My dream, and aspiration, is to one day form my own harem and become an undisputed Harem King."
Dante snorted at the uncertainty in his voice despite the ambitious claim. Kunou did not make any signs indicating she heard or acknowledged the brunette and continued to bite down harder. Issei felt even more lost, which was exacerbated by the muffled chuckle of his recurring client.
"Dante, you want to help me catch up?"
"Yeah, here's what you missed," Dante returned his attention back to his float in the lake, recalling what happened this morning.
…
The sound of the door banging aggressively was what woke him up this particular morning. Dante stirred awake against his own will and attempted to return to the realm of Morpheus to no avail. The knocking persisted and finally, he got up. The bathroom was occupied so that meant he was not brushing his teeth today. He went straight to the source of his crankiness. The crankiness remained only for a while though…
Tiredly, he opened the door with closed eyes.
"I have found you, homewrecker! You will pay for disgracing my-"
"Whatever it is you're selling, I'm not buying."
"-and bringing shame upon the Kyoto youk- wait, wha-?!"
He closed the door promptly and erupted out a well-deserved yawn. The door began banging again just as he was stretching the soreness out of his body. Honestly. The door salesmen were becoming more daring this time of year. His height was already kind of intimidating, along with his foreign features, so he did not get many people coming to sell him trinkets he did not need. Then there was his reputation within the Kabuki district, but that was practically nil since he did not bother holding that to high standards in the first place. People were starting to get used to his presence but otherwise did not give him any issue.
Must be because of his magnetic personality.
"Haaaaa-right, let's get this over with…" He stretched his body one last time and opened the banging door. "Yeah yeah, don't beat the door up. I just replaced it."
Dante blinked his eyes free of dust and looked at… two guys with black wings. They were not fallen angels; he could tell since they had bird heads instead of human heads. He was no bird expert, but they looked exhausted and ready for a break, not for a fight. That ruled both of them out as the one banging his door. So who was the one who called him a homewrecker? He raised a brow at the two crow dudes, both of whom slouched down tiredly instead of giving an answer.
"You insolent-! Down here!"
He looked down. His other brow rose. A little blonde girl in a priestess costume was glaring at him with the ferocity of a kitten towards a ball of yarn. And were those fox ears he was seeing on her head? Who on earth did that remind him of? He knew the little girl looked familiar, but where indeed… where else was there a blonde woman with fox ears in a shrine maiden attire that was not the appropriate size for her-
Oh. Oooooh.
Dante closed the door and released a heavy sigh, sincerely hoping this was not going to be another Patty moment. Young girl with an affluent background walking into his life, acting like a little brat along the way, then growing up to be a pain in his ass while also trying to bed him… really, the only thing wrong here was that Patty kept trying to invite him to her parties. He had nothing against teenagers, but they typically did not make the best of company and that made him bored more often than not. Not that that made them harder to tease. In fact, it was so much easier to goad reactions out of them.
Case in point, Rias. And Sona, though she was a bit more challenging than her bestie. And the best part was, he did not have to babysit them 24/7.
Ah right. The banging. He opened it-
"How dare you close the door on me, you… you red demon! You will regret thi-!"
-and closed it. Then opened it again-
"Stop! Stop that this insta-!"
-and closed again. He was having far too much fun bullying a little girl, he realized with an amused chuckle. He opened it one final time-
"Take this! Mother shall be avenged! Fox Fire!"
A palm with a blue fireball smacked itself against his stomach. The little fox girl looked up, beheld his smiling, not-hurting face, and became horrified. It was nearly comical.
"F-Fox Fire! Fox Fire! Fox Fire! Fox Fire!"
She began to slap his stomach repeatedly with the same little fireballs that did absolutely nothing to him. Well, not absolutely nothing, since it hurt in the same way an ant bite would sting. This continued for a good minute or so before she gave up with the fire and settled with hitting him with her little kid fists. This would have been adorable if not for the fact that somewhere in the middle of the pounding, she began to bawl her eyes out as well. Soon enough, the girl collapsed down on her knees and cried, her pitiful assault forgotten.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry, M-Mother… I-I couldn't a-avenge y-y-y-you…!"
Dante stared listlessly at the mess that was somehow his fault. The crow dudes were of no help either, trying to look away from the fox girl as if she did not register to their senses. Damn birdbrains trying to skip away from their jobs.
And then to compound on this misery, his maid languidly came into the picture with wet hair wrapped up in a towel, a tired limp, and only another towel to cover herself. She took one look at the crying child, immediately came to a conclusion, and turned to the other occupant of the house in accusation.
"Oh, for the love of- really, Dante? Making other girls cry first thing in the morning? Was I not good enough last night?!" Raynare complained. The crows squawked at the innuendo.
The fox girl began to cry harder and shriller. "WAAAhaHAHAUGH! The homewrecker is cheating on Mother with a strumpet! Waaaaaah!"
"Excuse you?!" The fallen angel's mouth dropped at being called a strumpet. Dante was more surprised a little girl knew such an advanced word. Getting no answer except more screaming, she turned to the only person who was absolutely responsible for all of this. "Dante?!"
Said person stroked his hair back. This was too early.
"What a way to start the day."
…
Looking back at it now, Dante still could not make full sense of what happened.
"…Earlier today, I woke up after a very pleasant night to hear someone banging on the door I had replaced because of demons wrecking my place. I tell you now, doors are not cheap and more often than not, I'm broke. Since I did not want my door any more wrecked than before, I woke up very reluctantly to meet this little tyke. She tried to set me on fire and then cried when I didn't get set on fire. Conveniently enough, I got a call from our mutual acquaintance here and took off with the girl, and that leads us to now."
Issei heard the story and understood each word. It still did not explain why the girl, Kunou, was trying to kill his friend. Distantly, he felt a little disturbed that he did not feel much from the thought of Dante getting immolated. Just a little.
"Okay, but that doesn't-"
"Last year, I had intimate relations with her mother," the hunter casually revealed. The reminder caused the blonde fox girl to snarl cutely and sink her teeth further in, to no avail. His recurring customer, on the other hand, lost his composure and began laughing heartily as if recalling a particularly funny memory. "It was a very drunken affair and suffice to say, under certain conditions, I'm technically persona non grata in Kyoto."
Issei blinked at what was supposed to be a personal event and went into a silent retreat.
"…Does she-?"
"Yes, she has huge tracts of land," Dante knew the question before the brunette even finished.
The reference flew over the teen's head but nevertheless he understood easily. A lecherous expression pasted itself on his face along with an equally as perverted laugh as he visualized an undoubtedly older-looking Kunou making an assortment of sexy poses. Said girl, for what her age indicated, did not appreciate not understanding what the two males were talking about and managed to pout while still munching on the red hunter.
"Goodness, Mr. Devil. You sure like boobs, don't you?" The bad-boy looking customer wiggled his eyebrows at him.
"That's right! Don't let anyone think otherwise!" Issei puffed up shamelessly, affirming his beliefs once more. Once more, he proved to be erudite when mammaries became the topic of conversation. "There are no other unifying agents that can bring about world peace better than boobs, for they are the forebearers of the milk of kindness! Viva la titties! May their reign last a millennium! Hail!"
"Hail," Dante saluted with his free hand, playing along with Issei's bout of fanaticism.
"Hail," his regular client saluted as well, if not because he was amused by the display, then because he agreed with Issei's declaration to some degree.
"By the way, Redgrave-san," the Pawn broke away from the playful act to look at the hunter in question, "Buchou has been waiting for you, along with Kaichou. They're waiting for an explanation that you promised you'd give them. I dunno what they're talking about, but they've been waiting for you to come to them yourself."
Dante hummed as though he was trying his best to pretend he had not heard Issei. Alas, the boy was somehow aware of this and was still waiting for his reply. "I did promise that… but then again, I never promised I'd tell them right away. Buuuut then again, holding it off will make it a real pain in the ass when they decide to resort to drastic means."
"What are they talking about?" Issei could not help but be curious as well. He looked up to Redgrave a lot and even considered him a friend despite the distance the latter tried to keep between himself and the others, but he could tell Redgrave really cared for them.
"You'll know soon enough. I'd rather talk about it once than twice. It's almost time for school anyways." Dante shooed the boy away. "Go on now, I got business with this guy."
"Right then. See you at school." Issei left the two to themselves, his message delivered. Dante had a premonition… no, it was more like he was forgetting something that involved the brunette that he probably did some days ago. Swiftly, he dismissed it since it was probably not important.
"Right. With Ise-boyo out of the way, let's get down to business. Or do you wanna fish instead?"
"Kokabiel." Azazel looked grimly at him. It was like his earlier demeanor was never there. "I only saw the footage and reports, but there is more to it than simply Demons, yes?"
Dante released a long whistle. It looked like Raynare was leaving the talking to him.
"Today is just a day for explanations, huh?"
With that out of the way, he walked to his next errand of the day.
He had thought to place the issue with the little girl – Kunou, she had called herself in her tantrum – in the back burner for the moment to do what he was pretty good at: run away. He would never call it "running away" though; it was more "tactically retreating to decide the next course of action". He was going to tackle it later, just not now.
No such luck.
The girl was on his back, still trying to chew into his neck. On the bright side, any arguments saying he was avoiding the issue were invalid. It would only cost him a neck, but hey, if it meant no more obnoxious crying, then what was a neck, right?!
Plus, he had other stuff to do first. The "other stuff" involved coming clean, and no doubt they had questions they wanted answered. And so, he was greeted by the entire Occult Research Club as he walked onto campus on a weekday. A strange ordeal, given his track record. The Student Council was probably waiting at wherever the meeting place was.
Rias had an expression of draconian feminine fury contained behind an extremely polite smile, Akeno was containing a giggle that threatened to split her face in two, and Koneko was blushing slightly and frowning at him in high disapproval.
As for the guys… Issei appeared entirely shell-shocked and didn't even react to Asia shaking him with worry, while Kiba was the epitome of extreme mortification, covering his face with both hands while taking peeks at Issei from time to time. This particular action sent shivers down the brunette. And next to them, there was a… box… that was, trembling? What the fu- actually, never mind. He did not want to know.
"S'up, Rias?"
Rias did not hear his greeting and immediately questioned him,
"Are you the reason why Yuuto approached Ise this morning and professed his love to him for the entire school to hear?"
…
…
…
…
Holy shit. The guy actually went through with it. What an absolute madman.
Dante gave her a very hard gaze and after a long moment of silence (and slight pain due to neck pains), "I'm not apologizing."
"Well, you should! Do you have any idea how shell-shocked Ise is right now? Look at him!" Issei twitched at being the center of attention. The fact that there was a blonde child attempting to murder him with her canines escaped her notice, probably. "He can't look Yuuto in the eye without saying 'Please be gentle' for the last hours now! How could you, Dante!?"
"Rias," he frowned with a solemn expression. "It is my divine duty as an American to take advantage of any situation in any way when the opportunity is presented. To do anything less is a sin in of itself."
"Are all Americans like this?" The question caught him slightly by surprise, thus the reason he remained silent for about four seconds. She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Damn Americans. You Americans ruin everything!"
"Now you're generalizing. That's just being unfair."
"B-Buchou…" Issei spoke up hoarsely. It appeared he was putting great effort into talking. "I'm fine."
"Ise…"
"My entire life has been ruined and now every person on campus believe that I am a deviant who will devour both boys and girls. But really, I'm fine," Issei concluded as he coughed blood.
"Ise-kun! Please hang on!" Asia's hands instantly glowed green, holding the boy up when he collapsed exaggeratedly. "I-I don't mind if you like boys as well! I will support and be with you no matter what!" Dante had to physically stop himself from laughing. Ah, sweet summer child, unknowing of the pains of wint- reality.
Issei gurgled incoherently at whatever deity would listen to him.
"I'll be honest. When I gave the suggestion, I really didn't think you'd actually go through with it," Dante redirected his attention towards Kiba. "I mean, I DID think it, but not to the point that there were witnesses. Good work, blondy. I may not be your father but you have my blessings."
The blond Knight sunk further into embarrassment, unable to retort. Issei continued to gurgle.
"So you WERE responsible!" Rias's presence became heavy. "I-I mean, even I haven't gone that far with Ise, but to place such thoughts into Yuuto's head…!"
"Well, it's not that hard- wait, what was that about you going that far-?"
"You heard nothing!" Immediately, the swirl of power vanished as the redhead princess flushed. "Anyways, business beckons! Sona is waiting for us."
"Ufufu," Akeno giggled as her King turned around to march briskly away. The entire group followed after Rias. In hushed tones, she spoke to the demon hunter, "Buchou has no filter when she is agitated. Her secrets are no longer secrets and her feelings are plain for everyone to see."
"She's doing that a lot more frequently, isn't she?" Dante replied casually, following after the group.
"Why yes," Rias's Queen smiled. "Even though she denies it, Rias rarely shows her true self around others, and it seems she has been happier recently from all the shenanigans you just so happen to pull off. I daresay she's having fun. I have to thank you, Dante, for bringing such enjoyment back to her life."
"Thanks for the update, Akeno. I knew I could rely on you."
"Since when have you two been close?" Kiba asked, his curiosity overtaking his embarrassment. Koneko remained silent, her attention focused on the only youkai in the vicinity and ignoring everything else. Kunou had taken one look at her, blinked, and remembered she was trying to murder someone and returned to that.
Dante jutted a thumb at himself. "Business called and I picked up. I am now Counselor Dante, keeping all meetings confidential or your money back. Well, I say money."
"A lot has happened in the past week, Yuuto-kun. I trust that Dante will keep it a secret until I'm ready to share it," Akeno demurely replied with a wink and left it at that.
"…" Yuuto looked between the two.
"It's a personal thing, nothing sensual. Get your mind out of the gutter. That's bad for business."
"I-I wasn't thinking that!"
"…We really need to stop having these kinds of talk." Sona finally spoke up.
Many nods were given after the bombshells Dante dropped on all of them. Whatever expectations they had when he walked into the room with a little blonde girl chewing on his neck were blown away by the story he gave them. It was really too much to take in. More than once, they tried to call bullshit on his story. More than once, he kept talking. In fact, he suspected the only reason they believe him was because he was not the type of person to have well-thought-out lies.
"You and me both. I don't exactly like telling convoluted stories either. It messes with my vibe."
"So let me get this straight," Issei quipped in, having recovered unnaturally quick some time into his story. "You are a half-devil. Except, the devils in your world are not the devils of our world and more like these demons of our world."
"I'm less surprised that you remembered all that and more surprised that you're completely calm, Ise-boyo. Color me… surprised." Dante would tip his hat, but alas; he had no hat to do so. Also, he did not have another word for 'surprise'. Minus stylish points down to 'D'.
"Yeah yeah," the brunette brushed away the compliment. "Also, you have these things called Devil Arms that are like Sacred Gears, except these things are the remnants of devils from your world that have been subjugated. Like that big ice dog with three heads that nearly killed us."
'…I'm going to have a serious talk with Kibbles on the importance of picking on children when I see him again.' Dante mentally noted, recognizing the description. That actually explained why the heck it got so cold during that time.
"Cerberus. Guardian of the Ice Hell, it called itself," Rias shivered, the memory still fresh and the fatigue suffered from the fight making its way back to her and her peerage. "The inference there is an Ice Hell that contains beings like," she shivered at the thought, "like it, is alarming. Not to mention, it stood on equal grounds with Leviathan."
Sona followed up, "Let's not forget that for some reason or another, the actual descendant of Leviathan arrived to help and even they could not overpower the Demon." Sona frowned, recalling the official report that had been given to the higher-ups and the unofficial documents that had been censored to no end. "And just to make it worse, Cerberus fled before anything could happen. There was no warning, no progress, no indications that they had the upper hand. It just left as if it had found something else that caught its interest."
"He was probably looking for me," Dante shrugged. He rolled his shoulders at their alarmed reaction, "Either that or he's having the time of his life without a leash on. That tends to happen when you've been imprisoned for centuries."
"How do you know that?"
"Remember that tower I told you about?" He waited for some of them to nod in acknowledgment. "It was once a guardian of that place. Only, there had been no visitors until I came around and by then, it had not been exercising and was just laying around as an ice statue. We met and fought."
"You fought that monstrosity?"
"Fought Fido and won." He felt the entire room stiffen before it could happen and continued, "And before you feel impressed about me… Demon Hunter." He gestured at himself. As if under a spell, they became relaxed.
"My my, you are quite a character, Dante-kun," Akeno smiled suggestively, "Always acting the clown to the point that others think you are a mellow person, only to surprise them when you show them your dark, wicked side. I wonder, just how much more can you surprise us like that?"
"It's in my character. Be prepared for that when they come," he winked. The Queen giggled at the flippant gesture.
"Somehow, I always forget that you're a legitimate threat," Sona shook her head, almost disappointed in herself. "I don't think of someone who can stand up against a Cadre and prevail. I just think of Dante, the aggravating individual who just seems to be in the right place at the wrong time."
"D'aww, stop that. You're making me feel embarrassed," Dante waved his hand in mock embarrassment.
"You said you won," Asia noticed a detail that almost flew over everyone's head. "But you never said you slew it."
"It's because I don't kill every demon I ever meet. Do I look like that kind of guy?"
"Yes."
It stung a bit that all of them said it in unison, even if they were sort of correct. He only slew the horrible ones.
"And it's back for more?"
'No.' Dante answered in his head. Outwardly, he deflected by moving on, "From what I remember, it was a rather… honorable thing, I'd say? It knows how a pecking order works and will defer to anyone that bests it in combat. I'd bet if you guys had met it back then, you would have been able to defeat it."
There was a still silence as the young devils processed what he just said. To say that they were pleased that Dante made that claim was not inaccurate, but there was much to doubt about it.
"You have that much confidence in us? We couldn't even make it falter," Rias frowned at her hands.
The memories were having a profound effect on her and her peerage. That Demon had been a wake-up call that could not even compare to their confrontation with Riser. If the Rating Game had been a warning, Cerberus was akin to a nuclear bomb going off a good proximity away. Shock and awe were simply not enough to describe their feelings.
"Time is a great experience boost," Dante nodded sagely. "I would even say that it makes a whole lot of difference between then and now."
Then she noticed a discrepancy. Yuuto did as well and spoke first,
"Wait, Dante. How old are you-"
"That is not important!"
Issei yelled out, surprising the entire room. His sudden outburst brought everyone's attention to himself.
"None of that is important! In fact, there was one thing that must be said. It must be known now!"
There was an intensity in the Sekiryuutei's face that was uncharacteristic of his usual demeanor, as though he had reached a revelation that had been by his side all along.
"Dante-san. I heard your rise to the top of that tower and then back up again. I heard your journey to that island you sank to the bottom of the ocean. I listened to your story about that Fortuna place where that pope tried to become a god. I even remember the story that got you here in the first place."
Then, there was certainty in his eyes.
"Dante-san. You were…"
The Devil Hunter felt the room fill with unease. This was the most serious he had seen the brunette, and typically Issei had always been the goofball who drooled over the thought of boobs and all the illicit things he could do to said mammaries…
Wait. Hold up. Back up right there.
He was giving the kid FAR too much credit. He liked the kid, sure, but Issei was not exactly a Messiah reborn onto the mortal plane of existence to claim all the booties in the world. Just a great, constant source of entertainment that he could always rely on. And a very naughty boy. Immediately, Dante lowered his expectations-
"…a Harem King this whole time!"
-aaaaand there it was. THAT was the general expectation.
The unease in the room melted away in an instant. A snicker escaped him. Then from everyone else. Then it gradually transformed into hearty laughter ranging from disbelief to amusement.
Issei rushed to explain himself, "Don't you dare lie to me about this, Dante-san! Four!" He spread his fingers out for emphasis. "Four women! Five, if you count the one you shot in the stomach! I kept count! All of them on standby and involving themselves in your life! I know I'm not the brightest guy in the world, but even I know they all have the hots for you!"
Dante proceeded to laugh even harder.
"This is serious talk, man! You're already living the life I dreamed of!" Amidst the raucous laugh, Issei hesitated. "C-Can I build a monument of you and worship it at my bedside?"
"No." The younger Son of Sparda immediately stopped laughing. "Don't do that. I swear, if I find out I'm being worshipped in one way or another, I'll be… somewhat inconvenienced."
"Oh."
Why did he have to sound so disappointed? Why did Dante even care?
Rias sighed affectionately, "Oh, Ise, you silly child, how could you even reach that conclusion?"
"Easy, Rias-buchou. There are five of them. In order, there's Lady, Nevan, Trish, Patty, and Lucia-"
"For the record, please don't put Patty in my "harem"," Dante heard a little squick somewhere in his head at the thought. "Actually, never call them my "harem". They'll probably castrate you figuratively and then kill me by association. Except for Nevan, probably. She'll just "eat" you instead."
"-and Dante has known them before he ever met any of us. Therefore, harem!" Issei had continued speaking, ignoring everything Dante had said while he was scholarly explaining himself.
Pointedly, everyone ignored him, save for Asia who seemed a bit too invested in Dante's love life. Or listening to her paramour. Either or. Perhaps it was best that they did.
"So, any more curveballs you want to throw at us?" Rias bravely ventured forth.
"Please. I have curveballs for days."
"Curveballs for days?" Akeno tilted her head.
"Curveballs for days," he confirmed. "If me being from another world is a curveball, wait 'til you hear how I know Vergil so well."
The blank stares around him should not have made him feel delighted.
"Who's Vergil?"
"I see I'm not the only guy keeping secrets around here," Dante chuckled, satisfied with himself. On a sidenote, he had neglected to mention his brother's role in Temen-ni-gru, seeing as how that was Vergil's side of the story to tell, and not his. "You know him as the Templar. Or the Blue Cunt. Or-"
"Gilver Bluehide," Kiba spoke up.
Dante felt himself smiling a bit and nodded. "Not the most creative name he's made up, I can tell you that. Just switch the syllables and you get his real name. That, and his last name is like an inversion of the one I gave myself: Redgrave."
The Knight looked confused before he realized that Dante was referring to English syllable. "Gil-ver. Ver-gil."
Sona perked up at the name. "Vergil? As in Virgil, the guide of Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy?"
"I dunno about that, but sure. Why not." Dante peeked at Kiba with an eye. "But I have to say, Kiba. The fact that you know Vergil kinda surprises me."
Yuuto fidgeted a bit as he became the center of attention. "That… it's a long story. I met him before I became a devil, when we were still little. We were sparring partners until that day." Kiba's expression became sullen. He got his revenge but the pain of loss remained. Issei immediately reached out and firmly patted the Knight's shoulder. The gesture was not missed by Yuuto as he thanked the Pawn. "I thought I was the only survivor that day, but it looks like Gilver lived after all. Not to mention, he became the Templar… then again, he had always been a prodigy of the sword. A lot of us actually thought he was a direct descendant of a Hero. And if he lived, then…"
Yuuto fell deep into meditation, as if exploring a possibility he had not thought of before.
"That sounds like Vergil, alright," Dante nodded, leaving the Knight to himself.
"What is your relation with Bluehide?"
"I have the feeling that if I tell you guys without his knowing, he'll get all pissy and grumpy about it. And when I say "pissy and grumpy", I mean stab-happy. I may enjoy pissing him off as a pastime, but in this instance, it really is not my place to reveal, so that will be a story for another day."
He stood up, popping some joints along the way, "Of course, you can try to get a story out of him. If I know him well – and I know I do – he'll just give you the silent treatment before sending you away. He's somewhere in Kuoh if our last interaction means anything."
"The Templar is in Kuoh?" Sona seemed surprised before it faded away, "That… actually, that does make sense. With everything that has happened, the Three Factions have declared a gathering between themselves to settle the cold war that has been happening for the past centuries. What's to say that each faction has a representative or two to go scout out the location?"
"A Peace Gathering is coming soon," Dante answered for the ones out of the blue. Rias and Sona were unsurprised while their peerage had varying reactions. "Azazel gave me a heads-up. And since you all were at the center of it, well, may wanna prepare yourselves."
He stood up and prepared to leave, "I have business on my own end, too. If you need me, you know where I live."
That left the young devils to the knowledge they gained from this meeting. There were a lot of things Dante had not gone over with them, such as the inferences made by his relation with the Templar. Demon Hunter and Templar aside, since Dante had made clear that he was from another reality, what did that mean for Gilver, now named Vergil? And with Kokabiel now revealed to be this Modeus, also from the reality Dante was from, what did all this mean?
What more was there that Dante did not talk about, or did not think to talk about?
Koneko looked around her, confused, a bit unfocused, and uncharacteristically distracted. She had been the least talkative of the lot, looking at and observing an element that no one apparently cared to pay attention to and felt a bit distressed that no one brought it up.
"…So, no one is going to talk about the kitsune who had been hanging onto Dante-senpai's neck?"
The youngest of Rias's peerage waited for a reply and received none.
"…I guess not."
Dante watched the little blonde foxgirl make herself comfortable on the couch, who was looking around the unknown territory she had found herself in. While doing so, he waited for the phone to pick up. Raynare had taken one look at the little girl when the two of them got back, decided 'nope!', and went off to do "Raynare things", as she said. What "Raynare things" was, he did not know. He had an inkling of what it was, though, and it did not include babysitting.
That left him in charge of the volatile blonde furball.
Apparently, the crowheads earlier today were not part of her retinue. They were actually a part of old man Nura's Hyakki Yakou, or Night Parade as he liked to call it, and were under orders by the old man himself to make sure she was safe and sound while out of Kyoto. Dante could safely say that letting the little princess throw a fit and not do anything about it was within the compass of their order. It did not stop him from feeling annoyed by it.
How was he supposed to take care of a child? He only had Patty as an example and that was not exactly something to follow in regards to child care.
So he did the next best thing. He threw her on the couch and distracted her with the wonders of TV. Goodness knew how much this would screw with her brain, but he needed the temporary reprieve for his neck. The brat knew how to latch on. Must be a fox thing.
The next course of action was to call the only person who knew stuff about youkai.
"And so, that is why you called me here," Nurarihyon stated, ever with his majestic hair that defied gravity. "To pick up Yasaka's brat."
The elder youkai drank from the cup of sake he brought with him.
"What made you even fathom that I was responsible for her? Granted, she's a cute little brat but still."
"Honestly, I thought she was your daughter."
Nurarihyon looked horrifically indignant at the admittance.
"Just so you know, I'm happily married, but not to Yasaka. We are, at the very best, comrades and drinking buddies, but not something as sacred and intimate as lovers."
"…Huh." Dante felt mildly surprised. Now he really did not know how to feel on the matter, aside from awkward. He had been under the impression the old youkai was a loose person. "I did not know that."
"Then all the better that you know now!" Nurarihyon declared forcefully. "Yōhime is my eternal waifu, who just so happens to be my wife as well! For as long as I live and breathe, I will abstain from all that is deleterious, degenerate, and debauched!"
"…What the hell happened to 'Conqueror of the Bed'?"
"That's FORMER 'Conqueror of the Bed' to you, brat!"
"Alright alright. Sheesh," Dante scratched his head and turned to Kunou. "So who's the dad then?"
"That, I can answer," the young-looking old youkai settled down and drank the sake he brought with him. "You may not know, but kitsune youkais are a rarity among our kind. If they have more than four tails, they have the capability of reproducing asexually by shedding a tail to give new life."
"…So what you're telling me is, Yasaka is her dad."
"If you want to say it like that, then yes," Nurarihyon snorted behind his cup. "For the record, I am not responsible for what happens to you if I let slip you said that when I'm drunk."
"Noted." Dante grunted. He turned his attention to Kunou, who was focused on his PlayStation. The kid seemed to be curious as to how it worked now that her attention was away from the TV. "Alright, so now I know a bunch of things that I did not know about seconds ago. Now what?"
"…If you want my advice, I would talk to the brat." Nurarihyon poured himself another cup.
"Okay. Talk about what though?"
"Anything. Just enough so she does not hate you."
"You're not really helping me here."
Nurarihyon gave a long and harsh sigh and began looking more his age. "Look. I know these kinds of things. The longer you take to talk to her, the more she is going to resent you as she grows older. These kinds of things are best done now. I would know."
Damnit, Dante knew that already. He was a lot older than his appearance may suggest. Why was adulting so hard?
He did his best not to sigh as he made his way to the girl. Kunou noticed him and scowled immediately.
A smooth ride so far.
"Look, kid-" He sat next to her, which she responded by scooting away. He ignored that for the time being, "I don't know what to say to you to help you feel better. What Yasaka and I did was…" He paused to find the right words for a kid to understand.
"You can just say you soiled my mother."
"Right, I'm not gonna say that," Dante sighed at the girl's bluntness. "I am going to say that what we did was something between two consenting, albeit drunk, adults and nothing else. Nothing's changed between you and your mom, and there aren't any homewreckers trying to destroy your family. If you hate me for that, then I'll stop."
Kunou did not look pleased with the explanation the least bit.
"…Right. I don't know what more I did wrong."
"If you still do not know what you did wrong, then you deserve nothing more than a slow and painful death."
"I wouldn't go that far."
"…What did Mother ever see in you?"
Ooh, that hurt, and not just a bit. A child's disappointment hurt more than a grown-up's disappointment, that was for sure. Dante looked behind him for help. Nura helped by shrugging. A great help, he was.
"…How is she, anyway?"
"…She said you hadn't visited her in so long." Kunou was peeved at having to remember some things that were painful. "I hate it. I hate how distant Mother looks when she thinks no one is watching. I hate that she never looks confident and bright anymore. I hate how shallow her smiles are. She is the strongest person in the world, and now all she ever does whenever she's not working is stare out at Kyoto with this look like she wants to cry but can't."
"That bad?" Dante muttered. He remembered Yasaka to be a humble woman who did not take crap from Nurarihyon and was prim and proper until she had her first or third drink. "I mean, it was only supposed to be a one-time thing. I didn't-"
"I'm not done," the little kitsune's tail swished aggressively. "It took me a while, but I finally found the reason why she was so sad. It was you. You made her like this. I was ready to avenge her honor, but-"
Red that came from both shame and anger suffused her.
"You-"
She bared her tiny teeth and jutted a finger at him.
"You abandoned Mother, and I will never forgive you!"
Dante stared at the finger. He went through the entirety of Kunou's impassioned speech, processed every inflection and implication that could be made from her choice of words, and he reached a conclusion that was just as unworldly bewildering as his life choices.
And it was all encapsulated into a single word.
"What."
"Yyyyeah, I just remembered…" Nurarihyon trailed behind him, almost upset at himself that he had forgotten about it, "I forgot to tell you when we were still talking…"
"Yasaka fell for me, didn't she?"
"Yeah, that." Old man Nura nodded and winced almost sympathetically, "Yasaka is a lot of things, but I don't think the concept of one-night stands exists in her dictionary. I can understand you not knowing about that since you'd only known her for what, a handful of hours? Let's just say that for all intents and purposes, you're a married man."
…Huh.
That, that was not what he had anticipated.
Then, just to compound everything into place, he remembered something the girl screamed out this morning.
'The homewrecker is cheating on Mother with a strumpet! Waaaaaah!'
Suddenly, everything clicked.
Suddenly, the world made a bit more sense.
Suddenly, he felt a bit more of an asshole than he had thought he already was.
Great… so the girl really had legitimate reason to be pissed off and he wrote her off for it. Now he genuinely felt bad.
"I-" Dante tried to make coherent speech. He rolled a one. "Uhm."
Then, just to show how much more of a clusterfuck this could become before he could jinx it himself, a knock came from his door. Dante looked at the door then to the blonde girl who had returned to ignoring him, her piece spoken. He went to open the door.
Vergil and a blonde woman he never met before stood at the entrance. One was reticent and the other in wonder. Three guesses which was which.
"Wow… he really does look like you, Vergil." The woman smiled and waved at him daintily. "Hello, Dante. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"We need to talk," Vergil stated as the blonde woman behind him continued to wave at him.
Dante made a noise that was entirely uncharacteristic to him. Again, adulting was hard. Talking was hard.
Issei took a deep breath in the night as he returned home on his bike, his deed as a low-class devil done for the day.
Just keep doing the job, and he would eventually be rewarded for the seeds he planted. It was tiring yet rewarding. Little steps, baby steps, and he would reach the top far sooner than he'd think. Just think about Rias-buchou and Asia-chan cheering him on!
Just because there was a Peace Gathering soon did not excuse him from his usual routine. An upstanding Devil, he would become! It did not matter how much he would gush about anime/manga/doujin with Morisawa. It did not matter how many more Magical Girl anime shows he had to watch/research about with Mil-tan for the latter to realize his dream of becoming a Magical Girl, no matter the impossibility. It did not matter how many more weirdos he had to make contracts with.
He would become a High-Class Devil, and perhaps even further beyond!
He felt a sudden chill run down his back. Normally, he would brush it off as a sudden breeze in the middle of the night but the memory was still fresh on his mind.
He realized it was the same chill he felt when he had been standing in front of that Ice Demon.
The bike fell to its side as Issei hopped off and turned around, his hands no longer on its handle.
"Oh my~" A voice filtered through his ears, the sound melting its way through his mind.
He felt his head glaze over as red built its way on his face. A woman was approaching him.
And… that was it.
*Boing*
That was all Issei could comprehend. It was not a word or a sound; it was just a sensation.
*Boing*
That was the impulse that covered the massive, perky, unbelievable boobies as they bounced. Boobies. Pure boobies. Uncovered boobies. Boobies with such pert, shining nipples, glistening in an unnatural sheen of sweat under the moonlight, covered only by her own hair like silk.
'Oppai' resounded helpfully in his head, repeatedly.
They… they were even at a level where they could compete with his Buchou's. No… it felt like betrayal, but even his Buchou's boobies were under these.
Slowly, Issei took in the rest of the scene. Those pair of boobs… they were on a beautiful woman. A woman, who was currently wearing nothing save for a loose black dress intentionally unclothed down to her waist. Her body… the body of this onee-sama, it was unbelievable. Gorgeous long red hair not unlike his Buchou, unbelievable bust and waist, a face that was eerily similar to…
"Aren't you a cutie?" She intoned, loosening his defenses so easily with her melodic voice. "And working so hard at night? Such a responsible little devil you are."
"…Buchou?" Issei managed to enunciate in his muddled confusion, seeing the same lustrous hair of his King on the stranger. "Wait, no… you're not-"
"Mm, that's right, little boy. I'm not your "Buchou". You, however, are just reeking of my Lord's presence… and what's this? I can feel you've met Cerberus already. His ice has always been so piercing in its steadfast desire to freeze. My my my~"
The woman tittered. It was absolutely unnatural just how tantalizing her voice, her entire being was. He felt himself quiver at the sight of her. He could feel himself melting away as she-
Issei suddenly stomped.
Hard.
So hard that he felt his bone rattle from it, the ground cracking and indenting from it. So hard that whatever haze he felt in his head clear away from the pain.
"Oh?"
The Sekiryuutei clenched his fists as he shook himself free from whatever mind trick that was played on him. He felt personally offended by what was happening.
"So you broke it. Now this is getting interesting. I can see why he would give you his attention."
This… that was not right! That was horrifying! Boobs were supposed to be nice and refreshing to look at, not downright deadly and terrifying! No boobies could possibly stand a chance against Rias-buchou! This shall not stand! Issei felt outraged that the very thing he idolized was used against him like this. And how dare she resemble Buchou, for that matter!
Careful, partner. This is not a devil you're dealing with here. This is a-
'Demon,' Issei finished for Ddraig. Immediately, Boosted Gear manifested on his left arm. Cerberus? What's that? That was no Demon. That was just an overpowered ice-manipulating guy who had a three-headed dog as a Stand.
This, however… This was a true, genuine Demon! How dare she defile boobies like this! How dare she desecrate the sacred form that is the woman's body! He was standing before heresy itself!
This was why Dante was a Demon Hunter!
Issei was beginning to see the Light!
It was so that no one would ever experience such horror!
"I have seen the Light that he saw as well! I am now immune to your charm spell, witch! For I am now shielded by my faith in the true OPPAI!"
He willfully ignored Ddraig's sigh of disbelief in his head. Dante's place was nearby. He just had to make it to him. Issei did not have to defeat the Demon, even if he could. Actually, could he even beat her?
He did not know. Whatever the case, he would not take any chance.
The woman smiled, apparently pleased by his display of rebellion. Her entire body danced alluringly as she too prepared herself, lightning sparking about her.
"Care to dance a little with poor lil' me? I've been so lonely… and I don't think I've ever done it with a dragon~"
A/N: And the next Devil Arm to appear is Nevan! Wow, who could have seen this coming? I honestly tried to think of a way for Agni and Rudra to make their appearance, but sadly, it came to a grinding halt when taking into account the Devil Arms' personality. Naturally, Nevan was the most eager of the lot to reunite with her "Lord" (and by Lord, is she gonna be thirsty) so she would be in first place in the race to return to Dante's side.
I'm gonna have a lot of fun writing her. And her future interactions with Ise, for that matter. Don't lie to me. Y'all wanted to see Nevan screw around with Ise.
For the record, Dark Slayer DxD is out as of two months ago. If you are interested in Vergil's side of the story, check it out.
Stay safe out there, folks. Especially more so as of this chapter's release.
EDITED: Spelling and grammar mistakes fixed.
-DarkAkatsuk1
P a treon. com (slash) DarkAkatsuk1