"I hope nobody comes walking through here… That'd be real awkward…"
Kousei muttered to himself, casually sitting on the back of the Fallen Angel he'd just beaten to a pulp.
She was face-down in the grass, her wings crooked at awkward angles, completely unconscious. After she realized he could pretty much walk through her light spear, she promptly attempted to fly off.
Keyword: Attempted.
Without her spear, she was… terrible at hand-to-hand combat. At some point it just became sad, honestly.
So after knocking her out, he was now waiting for Aika to return with that other guy, Hyoudou.
He squinted into the deepening twilight, turning his head as he looked for them.
His En, the technique to expand his aura into a pseudo-radar, was a skill he hadn't trained much. Even with his talent, its effective range was pitiful, extending only a few feet.
Gyo didn't show anything either.
"Aika?" he called, his voice echoing. "Where did y'all go?"
No answer.
Frowning, he patted his pockets for his phone, but came up empty. "Weird. I could've sworn I had it on me…"
With a sigh, he gave up searching. She'd come back. Or do something smarter than that. He trusted her.
To pass the time and quiet his anxiety, he waved a hand. With a soft sound of displaced air, his Sacred Gear materialized in his lap. It flipped open, pages blurring until they settled on the ins and outs of his currently strongest technique.
His Hatsu.
{Arcane Cosplay}
—[Category]: Conjuration
—[Description]: After conjuring and rolling two dice, a single magical item is conjured. Item must be wearable apparel (mask, cloak, circlet, etc.) and its magical concept must be known from the user's past-life media.
—[Listed Item Types (Currently)]: Cloak, Ring, Mask
—[Conditions]:
1.) Only one item at a time.
2.) Items must be listed down with a description in the user's [Erudite Scholar]. Additionally, there can only be one type of each item in the list (Rings, cloaks, masks, etc.). Once an object has been chosen, it cannot be changed.
3.) First Dice (D6): Duration. The result is the active time in minutes. (Roll 4 = 4 minutes of usage).
4.) Second Dice (D6): Power. Scales the items's effect. 4 is the baseline. (Roll 2 = 50% effectiveness).
5.) Cooldown: Equal to usage time. (4-minute usage = 4-minute cooldown).
6.) Special Clause: Explaining the item to the opponent allows a third dice roll, adding its result to either Duration or Power.
Kousei mulled over his own Hatsu, eyes tracing the Duration condition. It was still a bit… clunky.
He'd built the time limit based on the logic of mundane combat. Street fights between normal people usually only last minutes at most. They were more likely to end in even less than a minute. So in a supernatural fight where they're potentially moving at supersonic speeds, a singular minute should be a lifetime, no?
The problem was that he wasn't there yet. They were still relatively at the bottom, so the short timer felt more like a leash than a balanced restriction.
He sighed, shaking his head.
'Just growing pains,' he resolved.
Besides, it wasn't as if the ability was terrible outside of that. The sheer versatility it offered was… kind of staggering, honestly.
Without restriction two, it honestly would be an insanely overpowered Hatsu.
With it… it was still kind of overpowered, but not to an unfair world-shattering degree.
The only reason he was even able to make an ability with this much potential was because of his past life. Fulfilling the implied clause that the items had to be from 'past-life media' was quite literally impossible for anyone else except him.
Thus, it made the ability far easier to create.
A soft pop of air and a shimmer of crimson light tore him from his thoughts.
The so-called overseer of Kuoh materialized a few yards away, her loyal Kiba at her side.
"Inoue-kun! I came as fast as I could, what's the emergen-"
Her words died in her throat. Her blue eyes snapped from his face to the unconscious figure he was casually using as a stool. He watched her and her Peerage member take in the mess of their impromptu fight.
Kousei frowned. 'Now? She teleports now of all times?'
The fight was brief, yes, but there was definitely time for her to have arrived earlier. If she or her group had any kind of town-spanning sensory abilities, they should have been here before or during the struggle, not after the dust settled.
"How'd you know to come here?" he asked, suspicious.
Rias blinked, confusion evident. "You… you texted me. Something about an emergency like the last one you were in. I assumed…" Her voice trailed off as she gave him a once over, likely realizing how uninjured he was.
'Texted…? Ah.'
The dots connected instantly. It was Aika. She must've swiped his phone at some point while they were walking. Bringing Hyoudou to a safe location, likely his apartment, she did the smart thing and called in backup just in case.
Granted, he didn't need backup, but it was the smart thing to do. Rias was apparently much stronger than both of them combined.
Outwardly, he gave a nod. "I see. Well, I've got a present for ya."
Then he stood up, dusting off his pants. With a contemptuous look at the prone Fallen Angel, he took a step back. And without warning, he hooked a foot under the unconscious angel's side and gave a kick, punting her body over to the two Devils.
Rias stared down at the Fallen Angel, then up at him, then back down. It was almost palpable with how much sheer confusion she was radiating.
Kiba was far more composed, but still just as lost.
"I… you… how?"
Kousei's expression shifted from neutral to deeply unimpressed. That was her first question?
He'd just handed her the defeated form of someone who had been seconds from murdering a student right under her nose. By someone who shouldn't even be here.
She'd failed to protect the people in her territory.
Again.
And instead of acknowledging the breach, or even asking more questions about the attack, her first priority was… to satisfy her curiosity about how he won?
A flicker of cold disdain settled in his heart for Rias at that moment.
"That Fallen was about to kill an innocent person," he pointed out, voice flat. "A fellow student, even. I stopped it before anything could happen. Aika even took the guy away while I handled this," He gestured dismissively to that shitty crow. "So they should be safe now."
"But," he continued, tone becoming colder, "that's not what you asked, is it? Well, if you want an answer to your question…"
He paused, meeting her eyes, his gaze lacking any warmth.
"I lied," he said bluntly, offering zero explanation.
He turned to leave, annoyed by this whole interaction.
"Inoue-kun. Wait."
The confusion in her tone was gone, replaced by the firm melodic authority of a proud heiress.
"I didn't know there was someone else here. Your text just said it was an emergency. Is that student really okay? Even a glancing blow could be fatal for humans. Where are they?" She asked, taking a step closer. "And more importantly, how did any of you survive an encounter with a Fallen? We need to talk about this more. You can't just leave."
Those questions were… better, but she still wrapped it up with the same 'how' question again.
He took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself down. The fact that she was at least trying to figure things out now made him feel better. Perhaps her sensory abilities were simply terrible compared to protecting a whole town.
Perhaps she was simply a teenager with a bit too much power in over her head.
He let that breath out, then turned to speak.
His eyes widened.
Floating above Rias' palm was a sphere of swirling, crackling crimson energy. That power wasn't just casually sitting, however, but aimed directly at the Fallen Angel's head.
A killing blow.
That anger he was suppressing exploded out of him.
"What are you doing?!"
She paused, her expression one of mild confusion. "I'm… dealing with the Fallen." Then, seeing the shock on his face, her features softened into something else. "Ah, I see. As a human, I know it can be difficult to witness this part, but it's necessary to–"
"Are you fucking stupid?!" he roared, the words ripping from his throat.
The demonic energy flickered and died in her grasp. Rias flinched slightly, frowning with seemingly genuine hurt.
Kousei took a furious step forward, but Kiba stepped in front, body-blocking him from getting any closer. He just scowled at the blonde, before refocusing on Rias without any more steps.
"Not only did you fail to stop two separate attacks in less than ten days, but now your brilliant solution to this problem is to vaporize the only lead you have? Without a single question?!"
Rias frowned deeper. "I'm sorry about the incidents, truly, but you need to calm down. I assure you, this isn't the only lead, and–"
"I don't care!" he yelled, cutting her off. "Whether this is the only lead or not doesn't matter. You were the one who explained the three-way cold war to me! And yet the second you see an enemy combatant, someone who was killing openly on your turf, your first instinct is to turn them into dust? Is there nothing between your ears?!"
Now she was openly glaring back at him. "I was eliminating a threat to my territory. I don't need to explain myself to you."
"After I already subdued them!" Kousei snarled. "You're supposed to be a leader, right? Why wouldn't you interrogate them first?! Or, I don't know, hand her over to someone who's actually involved in your people's political space and knows how to do an investigation since you clearly–"
He stopped himself, chest heaving. He closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and took a long, shuddering breath.
When he opened his eyes, all the fire within them was gone. "You know what? Do whatever you want. Re-ignite a million fuckin' wars for all I care."
He turned his back on her and her speechless blonde.
"Hold on-" The blonde broke his silence but was stopped by Rias.
"Let him go. He clearly needs time to cool off," he heard Rias say, cutting Kiba off. Then she addressed her words directly to Kousei. "Just to let you know, we will be having that talk later."
Kousei bit back a reply, shaking his head.
As he looked up at the sky, he let out a venomous mutter.
"Fuckin' useless devils..."
Then he jumped.
'[Arcane Cosplay: Cloak]'
The air shimmered behind him. A long, deep red cloak with a golden trim materialized from his aura and settled onto his shoulders.
Doctor Strange's Cloak of Levitation.
Without a backward glance, the edges of the cloak flared. Kousei rose into the darkening sky, shooting off with immense speed into the clouds.
-=[DxD]=-
The apartment door flew open with more force than necessary.
Issei jumped, nearly spilling his water. Standing in the doorway, dripping a small puddle on the floor, was Kousei Inoue. His clothes were soaked through, plastered to his muscular form. And his hair was a mess, water beading on his skin and running down a face set in a deeply annoyed frown. A red cloak on his shoulders slowly turned into motes of light.
Before today, Issei had thought of him as one of the delinquents of Kuoh, but now…
Issei held back a snicker as he thought Inoue-kun looked like a very disgruntled wet cat.
Kousei grunted, stepping inside and letting the door swing shut. He didn't even seem to register them at first, his glare fixed on some internal grievance.
Aika unfolded herself from the uncomfortable chairs they were sitting on and walked over to him. She reached up, cupping his face into her hand.
"What happened to you? Did she have a spell to make it rain, or something?"
"Forgot clouds were made of water," Kousei admitted, his voice low as his skin darkened slightly. He leaned into her touch, tension easing a fraction. "I used the cloak to fly and-"
"You flew through one. Or several," she said indulgently as she guided him through the hallway. "Come on, let's get you dried off before you catch a cold and whine about it for a week."
Issei watched them go, a strange, hollow pang echoing in his chest. The intimacy between them was so natural it was like watching two parts of a single machine click into place.
It made his stomach churn with jealousy.
Not in a creepy way, of course. He knew they were dating already. He sort of had to know as he perved on girls often, and needed to know which girl was dating someone too scary for him to provoke. Aika was one such girl, as he didn't want to be pummeled by the guy who looked like he could bench-press a car.
He was jealous mostly because… he wanted something like that too.
And when he finally thought he was going to get it, she… she…
Issei gripped the glass in his hand tighter, trying to will the thought of Yuuma-chan's face away from his mind.
He shoved the feeling down, taking a sip of water. The cool liquid did nothing to soothe the knot in his stomach.
A few minutes later, they returned. Kousei had changed his clothes, a fresh towel draped over his shoulders, hair still damp but no longer dripping. He walked to the wall of their empty living room, leaning against the wall with a heavy sigh.
Aika followed, settling back in her chair.
Kousei finally turned his gaze fully on Issei.
Suddenly, the room felt incredibly small despite there being basically nothing in it.
"So…" Kousei said slowly. "You had questions."
-=[DxD]=-
A/N: Woops, forgot to post this. Oh well, I'll do it right now.
Ah, and this wasn't Rias bashing or whatever (I quite like Rias). Kousei is merely frustrated with her lack of competence in what he believes is her only real job. The friction between them is just a result of incomplete context and a collision of perspectives.