684The following is a fan-based story. High School DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, TNK, Madman Entertainment, Manga Entertainment, Funimation, Hiroji Mishima, Miyama-Zero, and Ichei Ishibumi, while Fate/Stay Night is owned by Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyopop, Hanabee, Aniplex of America, MVM Films, Ufotable, and Type-Moon. Please support the official release.
Chapter 1: The Summoning
Rias Gremory was, to put it simply, bewildered.
Twelve days ago, her life had been perfectly normal. Well, as normal as things could get for a young, beautiful and – if she may say so – incredibly sexy female Devil living a double life as a simple high school student could get. Oh yes, and that same young and beautiful Devil also just so happened to be the younger sister of the strongest Devil in history. All in all, an average day.
But then just as school had ended and she and her peerage had gathered in the old school building for "club activities," she'd suddenly felt a burning pain in her left hand, and a minute later a mark bearing great resemblance to the Gremory crest, divided into three sections, appeared on it.
Confused and just a little bit frightened by this sudden phenomenon, she and her Queen, Akeno, had immediately set about determining the reason for this mark appearing on her body the way it had, as well as what it might mean. They had quickly been able to find out that each section of the mark contained magic, and a rather astounding amount of it, but it was dormant and no matter what Rias tried she was unable to awaken it.
Eventually, after three days without any progress, she had reluctantly set aside her monumental pride, and sent a message to her mother, Venelana, to give to her father, explaining the situation and asking for his help. She figured that since the mysterious mark was shaped like the Gremory family crest, it would make sense that the lord of House Gremory might know something about it.
As they waited for her parents' reply, Rias and the rest of her peerage had been more than a little surprised when instead of sending a message, her overprotective father teleported right into the ORC's club room not even ten minutes later along with her overprotective brother, and they both immediately began bombarding Rias with questions as to who or what had "violated her body."
Although in hindsight, Rias realized that she really should have seen that coming.
After her father and older brother finally calmed down, thanks in no small part to Grayfia and Venelana pulling none-to-softly on their respective husband's cheek, her father had, after several minutes of examining the mark personally, determined that the magic within had something to do with the sort of contract made with a familiar. When Rias asked what type, all he was able to tell her was that it must be an extremely powerful kind of familiar. After all, why else would so much magic be needed just to secure the contract?
And so with this information in mind, it had been with no small amount of anticipation that when the next full moon came, Rias had instantly teleported to the Familiar Forest with her peerage in tow
I can't wait to see what kind of familiar I'll get! Rias thought gleefully. Just wait until I show it to Sona. Oh, I am going to lord this over her every chance I get. Ha! Nothing she has will be able to compare to what I'll have by the end of tonight!
When they encountered the Familiar Master Zatouji and requested his help though, Rias was in for yet another surprise.
For starters, when Rias showed him the mark, the man had actually fainted on the spot. And when Akeno had brought him out of it via some improvised defibrillation with her lightning powers, he had immediately started rambling about the mark and screaming about how it was "only a story."
When he finally started talking sense, Zatouji had taken the young group of devils to his home and gone digging though a mountain of ancient-looking books and scrolls until he emerged with two simple sheets of paper that he handed to Rias; one was a picture of a magic circle, but of a design that she had never seen before; the other one had some sort of incantation written on it.
The Familiar Master then informed Rias that from what little he could remember, unlike most familiars that were simply drawn to their intended masters after exploring the forest, Rias would actually have to summon this one, and to do that she would need to draw the circle exactly as depicted on the first sheet of paper in liquid platinum with a six foot diameter, and then recite the incantation written on the second sheet. He also told Rias that in order to ensure that the familiar she summoned would be as powerful as possible, she should perform the ritual in a location where the magical energy was naturally strong, and at the time of day when her own magic was also at its strongest.
Rias thanked the Familiar Master for the information, but before she left she asked him what kind of familiar she would summon. The answer he gave was… not what she had expected.
"I'm afraid I simply don't know, Lady Rias. The practice of contracting familiars is almost as old as magic itself, but until now, the stories about familiars that involve marks like the one you now bear have always been just that. The fact of the matter is I have absolutely no idea what kind of familiar you will summon, as no one in history ever has."
After arriving back at the clubhouse, it had taken Akeno several hours to acquire the platinum needed to draw the circle, while Rias memorized the aria. Then after classes ended the next day, they cleared out the room in which they always met after school, and set about clearing out the Occult Research Club's clubroom so they could draw the circle depicted on the paper they had been given, with a perfect diameter of six feet.
Despite its rather plain appearance, Kuoh Academy was actually built right on top of a large number of ley lines, making the old schoolhouse the ideal place for the summoning ritual. After that, it was simply a matter of waiting; after all, Rias was a Devil, and Devils were creatures of the night by their very nature. So as midnight finally came around, the young heiress of the House of Gremory raised her left hand, and began the incantation.
"For the element silver and iron, the foundation stone and the Archduke of Pacts, and for my great master, Schweinorg.
Raise a wall against the wind and close the gate of four directions.
Come forth from the Crown and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom."
Nothing happened, but Rias continued, undeterred. They'd followed all of the Familiar Master's instructions perfectly. She knew that this would work.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.
Repeat five times, but when each is filled, destroy it."
The circle began to faintly glow blue. Rias felt the excitement that had been building up in her for days begin to rise, but she managed to ignore it and continue reciting the aria, lest she screw up the ritual. And as she kept speaking, the circle grew brighter and brighter.
"Heed my words.
My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.
If you abide by this feeling, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning.
I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world,
That I shall defeat, all evil in the world."
By this point the amount of raw mana that had gathered in the circle was staggering to behold, and was glowing so brightly that the rest of her peerage had shielded their eyes or looked away, and it also generated a fierce wind. But Rias forced herself to finish as she stared at the center of the circle and shouted the final line.
"Seven heavens clad in the great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of Scales!"
The moment the final syllable left her lips, all the power that had been accumulating mere meters in front of her condensed into a single spot, shining more brightly than the sun and producing a small shockwave that made even Rias flinch instinctively.
As Rias and the rest of her peerage coughed from the cloud of dust that had been kicked up, a voice, clear, strong, and distinctly masculine, sounded in front of her.
"Well well, what have we here? It seems that I've been summoned by a peculiar little Master."
Rias' eyes widened as the words reached her ears, and when she looked back to the summoning circle, she saw a humanoid figure through the dust.
Tall.
That was the first word that came to mind as she laid eyes on the newcomer for the first time. And he was tall. Rias herself stood at a reasonable height of 5'8" but the man in front of her had to be at least 6'1".
As the dust settled, the young devil was able to get a better view of this man, and she found him to have an appearance that was exotic, to say the least.
Tan skin, white hair, eyes the colour of steel, and a figure that seemed to be made up entirely of corded muscle. He wore black form-fitting armour on his chest that seemed to actually show off his abs even though it was covering them, along with a red shroud that Rias could tell had holy properties. And his face… it had to be one of the most handsome faces she'd ever seen in her life.
Yes, calling his appearance anything less than exotic would be an insult. Rias thought with a tiny blush. Wait, he said he'd been summoned, does that mean…
Looking the man in the eye, Rias stepped forward. "So, since you appeared inside the summoning circle, I take it that you are my new familiar?"
The man responded by raising an eyebrow quizzically, and then smirked. "I suppose if you were to put it crudely, then yes, I am a familiar. I assume then that you are my Master?"
"Indeed I am, but just what do you mean by 'crudely'?" Rias demanded with a furrowed brow.
"What you say is true, Master: I am a familiar of sorts, and I am also contracted to you." the man stated as though he were explaining something simple to someone who should already know about it, but didn't. "But based on how you greeted me, it's clear you don't realize just what kind of familiar I am."
"Enlighten me then."
At this, the man nodded respectfully, though Rias was certain she saw him smirk again during the few seconds his face was down. "As you wish, Master. Understand though that this conversation will not be a short one, so I suggest that you sit down. The others as well if they intend to stay and listen."
Taking his advice, the members of the Occult Research Club put the carpets and furniture back where it had been before they drew the summoning circle and took their respective seats, with Rias at her desk, Kiba and Akeno seated on the couch to her left, and Koneko sitting on the couch to her right. Rias' new familiar remained standing in the center of the room across from Rias, his attention primarily focused on the young devil who had summoned him, and began his explanation.
"As I am sure you are already aware, Master, normal familiars are various animals or mythical creatures that are magically bound to serve the one they are contracted to. While these creatures often vary in terms of strength as well as the types of services they can provide – be it spying, carrying messages or assisting in combat – one thing that they all have in common is that they are weaker than the person they are contracted to. This is because no matter how strong a being may be, they cannot bind a familiar to them if it is stronger than they themselves are, and attempting to do so is akin to suicide."
Rias nodded in agreement, and gestured for him to continue.
"However Master, every rule has its exceptions, and with the right tools and preparations this can be done. In fact you've already done it."
Wide eyes were tonight's theme for the Occult Research Club as the idea that their Buchou had actually contracted a familiar that was stronger than she was crossed their minds. But before anyone had a chance to say something, the strange man announced "Congratulations are in order, Master. You have successfully summoned a Servant."
"Servant? What do you mean by that?" Akeno asked, speaking for the first time since the summoning ritual had begun.
"Well, if I had to put it into a single sentence, you could say that 'Servant' is the title given to human familiars, which just so happen to be the most powerful type of familiars. In more detailed terms though, I am a Heroic Spirit; a hero from another time who has become so famous and accomplished deeds so legendary, that after my death I ascended to a level of existence that borders on that of the divine. Rather than my soul going into the cycle of reincarnation, it instead ascended to the Throne of Heroes.
"The summoning ritual you just performed was one intended to call forth a Heroic Spirit's soul with the intent of making it your familiar. However one of the problems with this is that calling the soul of even a normal human back from the clutches of death, let alone that of a Heroic Spirit, is True Magic. To compensate for the sheer impossibility of this, instead of trying to summon the entire Heroic Spirit, the ritual gathers as much of the Heroic Spirit's power as it can, which is then placed in a container modeled after the very body that the Heroic Spirit had during the prime of their life, and that container is known as a Servant."
Rias couldn't believe what she was hearing. I… I summoned a hero from another age, and I contracted him as my familiar? …YES! Suck it Sona! Nothing she has can top this! NOTHING!
It took every ounce of self control Rias had to not jump on top of her desk and start cheering, and even then she was unable to stop a smile from pulling at her cheeks or prevent her eyes from glinting greedily.
If her new familiar No, Servant saw her reaction, he didn't comment on it, and continued his explanation.
"Now, since the container can only hold a fraction of the Heroic Spirit's power, it makes sense that the Master would want to guarantee that certain elements of their power made it in that they would want in their Servant, would it not? This is where the Servant classes come into play, of which there are a total of seven; Archer, the Servant of the Bow; Saber, the Servant of the Sword; Lancer, the Servant of the Spear; Rider, the Servant of the Mount; Caster, the Servant of the Spell; Assassin, the Servant of Murder; and Berserker, the Servant of Madness. I have been summoned as a Servant of the Archer class, which typically specializes in long-range combat and independent operations."
"I see," Rias murmured half to herself. She wondered what kind of specializations the other classes might have, and made a mental note to ask him about them some other time. For now though her Servant already had more than enough to explain to make sure his Master understood the situation she was in, and besides, there was another question she wanted to ask. "So tell me, which Heroic Spirit are you? I like to know my servants, Heroic and otherwise."
The Servant grimaced briefly as if remembering something unpleasant before he replied. "I apologise, Master, but despite the respect I have for your station I'm afraid I must decline giving you my name, as I have forsaken it. I won't give you the details, but my legend is not a pleasant one; the deeds I performed during my life were heroic in nature and saved countless lives, but it ended in a manner that I detest more than I can describe with words. And to add insult to injury, it was an end brought about by my own foolishness, so I have no one to blame but myself. It is for those reasons that I request that so long as I am your Servant, you refer to me simply as Archer, the name of my class."
The members of the Occult Research Club gave the Heroic Spirit a collective look of sympathy at the description of his own story. It had been as brief as it was vague, but still detailed enough to give them a bit of an idea of what his life must have been like.
"Very well Archer," Rias said. "I will respect your decision, as will the rest of my peerage."
The newly christened Archer bowed his head in thanks. "Very good Master. Now, moving on to a different matter… Normally I wouldn't ask this, but since you were unaware that you were summoning a Servant, I have to do so: do you realize the significance of what you bear on your left hand?"
Looking at her left hand, the Gremory heiress realized that the strange mark that had appeared on her left hand and set this whole thing in motion, rather than being used up in the ritual to summon Archer, was actually still there. But while before it had been a dull colour, like that of dried blood, it was now a vibrant crimson, much like her hair. "You're talking about this mark?" Rias asked, holding up her hand for Archer to see.
The Servant nodded in confirmation. "Yes. That mark is proof of the pact that you and I share, Master. And more importantly, they signify your status as the Master of said pact. I already mentioned that that in the end, Servants are basically extremely powerful familiars, ones that are almost always many times stronger than their Master. Therefore it shouldn't come as that big of a surprise that it is not unheard of for a Servant to kill their Master if they ever grow displeased with them."
At these words, Koneko tensed up as she glared at Archer and fiercely declared "If you ever try to hurt Buchou, I'll kill you."
"Ara ara," Akeno said in a manner that Rias was all too familiar with. "Look at you, Koneko-chan, so eager to defend your beloved Buchou. How adorable." Despite the teasing manner in which she spoke though, Rias could feel Akeno gathering her power, and Kiba's hand was drifting toward his sword.
Raising her hand, the President of the Occult Research Club intervened before things had a chance to escalate. "There's no need for hostilities, everyone. Archer is merely informing us all of the details regarding my pact with him. Now Archer, from the way you were phrasing your words, I'm guessing that this mark on my left hand is some sort of trump card to ensure my authority?"
Archer nodded approvingly. "Very astute of you, Master. Those marks are called Command Seals, and they are tools to help guarantee the authority of the Master over their Servant. By invoking the Command Seals, a Master is able to compel their Servant's obedience a grand total of three times. By using the Command Seals, you could order me to do just about anything, and I would carry out that order immediately whether I wanted to or not. In fact if you felt like it, you could order me to commit suicide right here and now, and there would be nothing I could do once the command was given."
The Master gasped at the very thought of giving her Servant such a cruel and horrific order, and looked at the Command Seals on her hand with newfound fear; fear of what a less merciful Master might use them for. It was true that in Devil society, a King held a considerable amount of authority over the members of their peerage, but these Command Seals… they went far beyond that.
"Archer, I swear on my honour as a Gremory and as your Master, I will never use a Command Seal on you!"
To her surprise, Archer just chuckled. "While I appreciate the thought, there's no need for such extremes, Master. And I wouldn't go disregarding the power of the Command Seals if I were you, as they do have their uses. For example, I am incapable of any kind of teleportation. But if you used a Command Seal ordering me to go to a specific location immediately, the laws of time and space themselves would bend to send me to said location, no matter how far away I was. In fact I could probably even teleport a small group along with me if you ordered it. Also, if you used one ordering me to carry out a certain task, such as "destroy the enemy in front of you" and I agreed with and supported your intentions, every aspect of my power would be greatly increased as I fulfilled that order."
"Well that's certainly interesting, and it also seems also pretty handy for when you're in a pinch." Kiba noted. "But that can't be all there is to it, there has to be some sort of catch."
"Indeed there is." Archer confirmed. "While the Command Seals are the crystallization of magic powerful enough to compel even a Heroic Spirit, they only contain so much power. If my Master were to use one ordering me to completely obey her every command, the Command Seal's power would be spread out accordingly, drastically decreasing its effectiveness. At most I would probably feel a sort of compulsion to obey her, like a little voice in my head nagging me to agree with her and do what she says. It would be annoying, but ultimately I could ignore it." Turning back to his Master, Archer went on to advise her that if Rias ever did feel the need to use her Seals, she should keep in mind to avoid giving orders that were vague or broad.
"As for the most important 'catch' as you put it," he said, turning back to Kiba, "that is something that I believe I already mentioned: my Master has three Command Seals, no more, no less. And if she uses up all three, our contract disappears with them."
"In that case, I'll do my very best to make sure I don't ever have to use them." Even though Rias said these words with a smile, she had a serious look in her eyes. A look that told Archer that she was starting to truly understand what it meant to be a Master, and also that unless the situation was dire, she wouldn't even consider using those Seals, as she now realized how precious they were.
"Glad to hear it. Now Master," the Servant said, changing topics, "unless you have any more questions, I would like to ask a few of my own."
"I can't think of one at the moment. Does anyone else have any?" The other devils in the room answered no. "In that case, go right ahead, Archer."
"Right. Well to start, would I be correct in assuming that none of you are human?" Archer asked, looking at all of them as though he was assessing them.
"You are correct, Archer. We are all Devils."
This time it was Archer's turn to be surprised. "Devils?" he muttered with raised eyebrows, though the shock quickly went away as the Servant adapted to his situation. "Well that's a new one. I've never had a Devil for a Master before, or any sort of non-human for that matter. Although that would explain the massive amount of prana I can feel coming from you."
His Master smirked. "But of course, I am a Gremory after all."
Archer blinked. "Wait, Gremory? As in the Duke of Hell who commands twenty six legions of demons, and has absolute knowledge of all treasures, past, present, and future? The same Gremory who is also known for acquiring the love of many women, be they young or old, but he mostly goes after maidens?"
"The very same. Unfortunately though the original Lord Gremory that you speak of died thousands of years ago in the Great War along with the vast majority of his servants." Rias explained. "However I am descended from him."
Akeno giggled. "Ara ara. You sure know your history, Archer-kun."
"The Throne of Heroes is directly connected to part of the Akashic Records, and every Heroic Spirit has a least a basic understanding of all the legends recorded within them." Archer replied, briefly breaking eye contact with his Master to speak to Akeno. "Now if I may ask, what are you all doing here in the human world? I was under the impression that your kind had, for the most part, left the realm of mortals after the Age of the Gods ended, along with all the other creatures of legend."
Rias blinked. "Ended? Left? What are you talking about Archer? I'll admit, many of the old powers that once ruled the human world have withdrawn for the most part, but we devils and all the other magical races still come here rather frequently. As for why we do, it may be to catch up on everyday human life so we can blend in, do business with humans who request our services, or even just take a vacation."
The confusion that Archer was feeling was now greater than ever, along with a sense of increasing shock. "But that can't be… the Age of the Gods was brought to an end by Gilgamesh more than four thousand years ago, and even though many new ones were born afterward, they all died by the time the Roman Empire collapsed. This has been confirmed by all three branches of the Mages Association and the Holy Church for centuries!" Wait… Unless… "Master," the Heroic Spirit cautiously asked, "are you familiar with the entities Gaia and Alaya?"
Rias tilted her head to the side, curious as to why her Servant would suddenly ask that. "Gaia? You mean from the Greek legends? Well I've heard about her of course, but I can't say I've ever met her. As for the second one, Alaya, I've never so much as heard that name in my life."
As Archer's eyes widened even further, Rias confusion was replaced with worry. "Archer? What's wrong?"
"It… it seems I was mistaken about a few things, Master." the Servant began. "Not only am I from another time, but if my suspicions are correct, I am also from another world."
The ORC was stunned as these words left the Servant's lips, but in just a few seconds Akeno managed to cover up her surprise with amusement. "Ara ara, this is certainly a surprise. Archer-kun is really an alien!" Everyone else in the room either sighed or rolled their eyes at this.
"To clarify," Archer muttered with his left eyebrow giving a single twitch, "at the moment it seems that this plane of existence which you all live in is a world parallel to my own, but one in which the Age of the Gods never came to an end, or at the very least that end has not yet come, and creatures such as devils like yourselves still walk the earth.
"And that's just one of the differences." the Servant of the Bow pointed out, mentally groaning as he felt the number of questions he had suddenly multiply.
After a very long discussion, the Servant now had at least a basic understanding of this strange new world he'd been thrown into.
One of the most important facts was that human society and history in this world was somehow perfectly identical to that of his world. As far as anyone could tell, the only differences were of the mythic variety, namely that gods, dragons, Angels, Devils, and many other Phantasmal Species were still alive and present in the world. Fortunately Archer also found that this world also had all the same legends, so at least his knowledge of all the different legends about these creatures could still prove to be useful to him.
The Heroic Spirit was also pleasantly surprised to discover that the Devils of this world had – while not necessarily good – much less malevolent intentions toward humans than the legends about them described, at least according to his Master and her peerage.
His Master had confessed that, much to her shame, before the Great War Devils were indeed the monsters that stole the souls of humans just as the Bible proclaimed. After the war though, the Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels had all suffered casualties that were beyond staggering, in fact they'd all been on the brink of extinction. So in order to keep themselves alive, these three races had been forced to call a ceasefire of sorts, and turn to humans and start recruiting those they found to be both willing and worthy into their own ranks as a way to replenish their numbers. And in order to improve their "publicity" the rulers of Hell changed their policy regarding treatment of mortals to a much more mutually beneficial one.
"Of course, that didn't exactly go over very well with some of the more, shall we say, traditional Devils, and we went through a nasty civil war that eventually resulted in the old faction being driven out along with all four Satans, and my older brother Sirzechs taking the mantle of Lucifer."
"Hmm, this is quite a lot to take in." Archer murmured as he mulled numerous facts over in his head. "Not only do I find myself in a completely new world, I even find myself contracted to a Devil, only to discover that apparently they have cast aside many of their more evil habits.
"In the end though, all that really matters is that I am a Servant that has been summoned, and you are my Master. Additionally, provided that everything that you have told me so far about this world is true, at present time I see no reason why I would dislike being your Servant."
"I am glad to hear it." Rias replied, pleased that her new Servant had no issues with her being a Devil, even though he was a hero.
"Now then Master, there is one final bit of business we must take care of. I must ask you to stand for this part." Archer said as he approached the Gremory heiress. She quickly complied with his request though, and a minute later the two were standing a meter apart from one another, which was followed by Archer placing his fist over his heart as he solemnly bowed his head.
"By your summons, I have come. From this moment forth, your fate is my fate. My victory is your victory. Your desire is my purpose. This is the vow offered by the Servant Archer, who pledges to always remain by your side, my Master."
Rias was momentarily stunned by the formality that her Servant was suddenly showing before her own self-discipline reasserted itself as she gracefully gave her response. "I accept your pledge and your vow, Archer. By my name as Rias of the House of Gremory, I swear on my honour that I will strive to be a Master worthy of such a fine Servant." As she finished speaking, Rias realized that during the entire time she'd spoken with him, she had never actually told Archer her given name until just now.
"And with that, the pact is sealed." Archer declared as he straightened his back. "Now unless there is anything else, I think it is time we all retired for the night. I take it you all have school after all, and it would be remiss of you to miss your classes simply because you were busy conversing with a Heroic Spirit all night." he said in his familiar confident and amused tone.
Koneko narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How do you know we have school?"
"Because you're all wearing school uniforms?" Archer guessed rhetorically with a raised eyebrow.
"No, Koneko-chan's right. Even if your legend took place relatively recently in your world's history, I doubt your society had public schools with regular uniforms, Archer." Kiba pointed out.
"A fair point." Archer admitted. "However, even if this is a different plane of existence, we've been able to establish that the current human civilization of this world is identical to that of my own. As for how I know about this era's culture and customs, and the fact that you all have school, this is not the first time I have been summoned to the modern world."
"Ara ara, well isn't that interesting?"
"Enough," Rias said authoritatively but not unkindly. "Archer is right: We all have our classes tomorrow, and it will reflect poorly on us if we neglect our responsibilities as students of Kuoh Academy because we were all too tired from staying up late." Not to mention that Sona would never let Rias hear the end of it if she was tardy. "Go home and get a good night's sleep. We'll meet back here tomorrow after class. Archer, you can come with me to my house."
With their President calling it a night, the members of the Occult Research Club said their goodbyes, and Rias Gremory activated a teleportation circle to her home beneath her feet, and activated it once Archer stepped in.
The Master and Servant duo emerged from the second teleportation circle that had appeared in the former's bedroom, which contained a large, western-style bed with four posts. Rias approached her bed, but stopped and looked back at her Servant.
"Archer, could I ask a favour of you?"
"You don't need to bother with such niceties when addressing me, Master." the Servant stated. "What do you require?"
"Well you see, the thing is…" Rias attempted to articulate, but she couldn't prevent an embarrassed flush from appearing on her cheeks at what she was about to ask. Dammit, it wasn't like her to get flustered like this, but Rias just couldn't help herself. Why did her Servant have to be so damn handsome? "I tend to get a little grabby when I sleep, and so I was wondering… if you wouldn't mind…" she forced herself to blurt out the rest. "If you wouldn't mind sleeping in my bed with me tonight!"
And so the Servant of the Bow received yet another surprise this night. "You… want to use me as a body pillow, Master?"
The blush on his Master's cheeks grew, and she imperiously turned her head away with her nose in the air. "As I said, I like to hold something while I'm asleep, and you… Call it women's intuition, but I just get the feeling that you're good at cuddling. It's been a rather long night and I simply want to be able enjoy a pleasant night's rest, and it'll be better with you holding me. That's really all there is to it."
Archer blinked three times as he stared at her before giving an amused snort, which earned him a fierce glare.
"My apologies, Master." Archer quickly said as he recomposed himself. He knew better than to make fun of a woman when she was being sincere and opening herself up to him. Doing so only resulted in pain on both sides – emotionally for the woman, and physically for the man. "And as for your request, I'm happy to offer you whatever comforts you wish tonight."
"Good." the Master replied as she started undressing, only for her Servant to speak up again.
"Master, would you like me to leave the room while you change?"
"There's not really any point." she shrugged. "I can't sleep unless I'm naked, so you're going to see everything anyway. And in case the thought crossed your mind, you don't have to worry about feeling like some sort of pedophile; I'm eighteen. Now could you please remove that holy shroud you're wearing? I'm unable touch anything that has ties to God without it hurting me in some way. And take off that armour too, it isn't suitable for… for sleeping."
"I see…" It seems my Master is quite the little pervert. Oh well, it was far from the first time he'd seen a naked woman or slept in the same bed as one. It was hardly a novel experience for him, even if his current Master was easily one of the most… developed women he'd encountered in his existence.
As Rias stripped off the last of her clothes, she felt a small disturbance of magic come from Archer, and when she looked back at her Servant she saw that the articles of clothing she had just mentioned, as well as Archer's boots, had vanished without a trace, and her Servant was now only clad in his black trousers. Rias' blush instantly returned full force as Archer's upper body was exposed to her. She took in the sight of his strong arms, his impressive abs, his muscular chest…
Any sense of attraction vanished the second her eyes fell on the large scar directly over her Servant's heart. Is that the wound that took Archer's life? And that scar was only the first of many, in fact her Servant's body was littered with them; scars from stab wounds, slashes, claw-marks, bites, burns, puncture wounds, all faded into his tan skin to the point that they were barely visible to Rias even with the night vision that came with being a devil, but there nonetheless.
"Do my scars frighten you, Master?" Rias looked up at Archer, who had a gentle look in his eyes. "Or do you feel pity for me because of the sort of life I must have led in order to acquire them?" When Rias stayed silent, her Servant approached and laid a caring hand on her bare shoulder. "These scars are all ancient history to me, Master. There's no need to concern yourself over such a trivial matter."
Trivial? He calls this trivial? But even as the thought crossed her mind, Rias realized that "trivial" was what the subject of his scars actually was as far Archer was concerned. The scars littering the Heroic Spirit's body told the story of his life, and even though it was a story that Archer himself regretted to the point that he had cast aside his own name in order to distance himself from it, it didn't mean that he hadn't been able to come to terms with it in his own way. Besides, he had said it himself: he was her Servant. Whatever happened during his original life had nothing to do with the here and now, and as his Master she too needed to live up to that standard.
Rias reached up to remove Archer's hand from her shoulder and then took it in her own. "You are right, Archer. I apologize for my inappropriate behaviour just now. Let's go to bed."
Their talk finished for the night, the Servant lifted the bed's covers and slipped underneath them, and shortly after his Master did the same on the other side. The younger of the pair then felt one of the Servant's strong arms reach out to wrap itself around her waist and pull her closer to him, which was followed by his other arm going around her shoulders. As Rias gladly returned the embrace and laid her head on his shoulder, she focused on the feel of Archer's body and the feeling that Archer himself gave off; his strong muscles; his warmth; his gentle, protective touch. She experienced all these things and more, with one final thought occupying her mind before she drifted off to sleep.
I was right. He is a good at cuddling.
Servant: Archer
Identity: Unknown
Alias: Unknown
Master: Rias Gremory
Alignment: True Neutral
Strength: C+
Agility: B
Mana: A-
Endurance: B
Luck: D
Noble Phantasm: ?
Class Skills:
Independent Action: B
Magic Resistance: B
Personal Skills:
Eye of the Mind (True): B
Clairvoyance: C
Magecraft: C
You know, I really have to say, I'm amazed that (to my knowledge at least) no one has written a fic in which a Highschool DxD character makes a pact with a Servant as though they were a familiar yet. Hmm, I wonder if this will become a thing...
Now tell me, did this story pique your interest? Is my writing good? Do you want more? Please Favourite, Follow, and Review to let me know!
Oh yeah, and there's a poll on my profile with the following question:
Which do you think is the most powerful, Great Red, Primate Murder, or TYPE-Mercury?