NOVEL SIMPLE Higher Power and Familiars
In the empty streets of Kuoh, Sukehiro Natsuki and Hyoudou Issei could be seen running laps dressed in tracksuits as their Master followed behind them on a bicycle and in a tracksuit of her own.
It had been a few days since their fight with the Fallen Angels and after their respective battles, Rias thought it best to have her two Pawns start training. It was all but likely they would face stronger enemies in future, so she needed her peerage to be at its best.
"Has anyone ever told you that you run like a schoolgirl Ise?" Rias said from behind the pair.
"Yes, people have been telling me that my whole life!" Issei could barely get the words out as he struggled to breathe. He wasn't used to doing any sort of exercise outside of gym class. Meanwhile Natsuki looked as if she could keep running indefinitely, which spurred Issei to run faster and thus making him more tired.
"Pick up the pace Ise, you don't see Natsuki complaining, do you?"
"Come on! Don't compare me to Natsuki, she's like a damn machine!" He said as he looked at the girl a few feet ahead. I don't even think she's broken a sweat!
After their 20km (about 12.43 mi) run the three were in the park doing pushups, although Issei had it harder as Rias was sitting on his back.
"Listen in the world of devils intelligence doesn't matter as much as physical strength, so you two need to get strong in both mind but especially body."
Natsuki was listening closely to the information given, it made sense to her, since they were newborn devils, they would be easier to pick off if they didn't have the strength to defend themselves. This was a good workout to do, as in the daytime they were weaker, even when they had the nighttime advantage like at the church the fallen angels were still stronger than the two.
Issei, however, wasn't focused on this, but on Rias sitting on his back. Buchou is sitting on my back. The feeling of her soft asscheeks feels amazing, but I have no time to enjoy it since my arms are crying in pain. No, the feeling of her ass is the best!
"Auuh!"
Issei cried out in pain as Rias slapped his butt. "You are having dirty thoughts. I can tell by the lecherous movement of your hips." Rias stared at the boy with an unimpressed look.
"…T-That's…68… when I t-think about you riding me…69…I feel like a wild stallion! …70!"
"Talking while doing push-ups. You seem to have grown, Ise. Should I add another hundred to both of your sets?"
"Issei, you fucking bastard!" Natsuki had already finished her set and now thanks to the pervert she had to do another. Issei nervously laughed. "Hehe sorry about that Natsuki."
Thirty minutes later and both pawns had finished their sets. Natsuki was stretching while Issei lay on the ground, tired and in pain.
Rias looked around, "I wonder what's keeping her…"
Issei looked at their Master, "Keeping who? What are you talking about?"
"Issei-san, Natsuki-san, Buchou-san!"
The three devils turned their heads and saw the newest member of the peerage running towards them. The girl was wearing a tracksuit too and carrying a basket in her hands.
"I'm sorry I'm late! I will not let-" Before the girl could finish, she tripped over her own foot and went tumbling to the ground.
"Ise-san, here's your tea."
"Y-Yeah, thanks."
"Do you want some too Natsuki-san?"
The girl in question just shook her head, "Thanks Asia but I'm good." The devils were taking a break from their training. Issei took a sip of his tea and looked at the blonde.
"Asia, why are you here?" When asked, the blonde beauty's cheek becomes red. "I heard that Ise-san, Natsuki-san and Buchou-san are doing training here every morning…so I also wanted to be of help as well, though I was only able to prepare tea today."
Issei drank his tea while crying out in joy. "Uuu, Asia! I'm deeply moved by your kindness Asia! Aaah, I never expected that there would be a day when a girl would say that to me!" Asia… You are such a wonderful girl! I'm deeply moved!
Natsuki noticed that Rias was unusually quiet; she looked at the older girl and saw that she seemed lost in her thoughts. "Rias-Buchou, are you alright?" Rias snapped her head back up to look at the Pawn. "Yes, I am. Now that we're all here it is time that we go over to Ise's house."
Issei tilted his head in confusion, "My house?"
The Next Day
"U-um, h-hello everyone. It's a pleasure to meet you." The blonde girl nervously said as she stood in front of the class. She bowed her head, "My name is Asia Argento and I'll be transferring into your class today. I-I hope you all can watch over me while I'm here."
The moment the new transfer student finished her introduction, everyone in class jumped out of their seats and roared like animals. It wasn't every day they got a super adorable little blonde foreigner transferred into their class. As everyone flocked around her, Asia was panicking and did not know what to do. She was not used to having everyone pay attention to her.
One bald student raised his head as the light reflected off his scalp. His eyes narrowed in a serious manner, "A flag has risen on our pathetic little class. Among all this coal, a shining diamond has finally appeared."
His friend, a young man with glasses, adjusted his spectacles as they started to shine. He shared the serious tone, "B78-W55-H81 cm (about 2.66 ft.). Long flowing blonde hair. Small but sturdy frame. Nervous but overall kind demeanor. Yes..."
The two perverts jumped out of their seats and posed in unison as they screamed, "The beautiful transfer student event has finally arrived!"
Issei watched with a fond smile as Asia fumbled with her words and tried to answer all their questions as fast as she could. She may have looked embarrassed and flushed but she must have been so happy that she could talk to so many new people and make friends.
"He's got that look on his face again." Matsuda whispered to his friend as they stared at Issei. "Yep. He's already getting perverted thoughts about what he wants to do with her." Motohama said as he adjusted his glasses. They then both gave him a thumbs-up, "That's our Issei." Issei was brought out of his thoughts as he saw his friends surround him, "W-what, no! I was-"
"Ugh. They're already roaring to go. Freaks." One female student said as she looked at the Pervert Trio with scorn in her eyes.
"They can't try to control themselves for a single day, can they?"
"You need to stay away from those guys, Argento-san." One of the girls said to the new blonde as a warning. She looked back at them like they were vile, "You don't want to catch any- Argento-san?"
But the whole class saw that Asia had disappeared from their little wall of protection from the lustful group as she happily walked over to them. She didn't notice Motohama and Matsuda's complete look of disbelief before she stopped and smiled, "I tried my hardest and I was able to speak in front of everyone. Do you think I did well?"
Issei smiled reassuringly and nodded his head, "Yeah. You were fantastic Asia. Right Natsuki?"
Natsuki turned in her chair looking up from a book she was reading. "Issei's right, you did a good job Asia." She even gave the blonde a small, almost unnoticeable smile.
Asia beamed a great big smile and jumped in happiness, "Oh, thank you Ise-san, Natsuki-san!"
"EHHHHHHHHHHH?!" The class yelled in disbelief.
"No way the pervert and the black princess know her?!"
"She's talking to Hyoudou and Sukehiro!"
"Why the hell is Argento-san associating with that perv?!"
"But how does she know the red-eyed Oni? You think she has made her into her next target?"
Motohama and Matsuda slammed their hands on the desk as they glared at Issei, "Issei! What the hell?! How does a smokin' hot blonde transfer student know your name?! You hidin' somethin' from us you bastard! And you too Natsuki, how the hell to do you her!?"
"Don't even try to lie because we'll know!"
Issei leaned back as he was cautious of their uneasy stares before he answered, "Well...Asia's our friend."
"WHAAAAAATTTTTT?!" The entire class yelled in even greater disbelief.
"She can't be your friend!"
"Girls aren't friends with us! Especially you, the most depraved and horniest of the bunch!" Motohama and Matsuda could never believe a pure girl like Asia would want to be around Issei.
Even though the class was quick to call out Issei on this, they kept their thoughts on how Asia could be friends with a delinquent like Natsuki in their heads, not wanting to draw out her anger.
Issei glared and yelled at his friends, "Hey, I can have friends too, you bastards!"
"T-that's right!" Asia walked forward and stood by Issei's desk while placing a hand to her chest, "Issei-san and Natsuki-san are my dearest and closest friends! Honest!"
Issei and even Natsuki to an extent, felt touched by her honest feelings about their friendship as everyone stared at them in utter shock. One girl stuttered, "B-but that's impossible, isn't it?"
"Why would you think that?" Asia was confused by how surprised the rest of her classmates looked.
"B-because he's a pervert."
"That doesn't mean that Issei-san isn't a good person!" Asia said with a red face as she defended her new friend, "He's kind, a-and he's always watching out for me, he's wants me to make as many friends as possible, a-and-and..."
"And he was nice enough to let me live in his house!"
Everyone in class was gob smacked by that declaration before they mechanically turned their heads to look at the brown-haired pervert.
Natsuki sighed before standing up and slamming her hands on the desk. The entire grew quiet as they stared at the girl.
"Not that it is any of your business, but Asia is living with Issei because she's a part of a foreign exchange program. Issei's parents were kind enough to let her stay with them to further pursue her studies, nothing audacious is going on." Natsuki then retook her seat and went back to reading.
The class was still for a moment before going back to normal, or as normal as it gets in their school.
The girls of the class were warning Asia to stay on constant vigilance as to not be at the mercy of the pervert while Issei was calming that he would not do any of what they said he would.
Natsuki just rolled her eyes at what was going on around her. Honestly why can't this place just be normal for once?
"Familiars?" Natsuki asked curiously a few days later as she sat down on the clubroom couch.
"Familiars are a little like pets, only more useful due to their supernatural aspects." Koneko waltzed into the room and plopping herself down next to her.
Natsuki tuned back into the conversation as Rias revealed her own Familiar, a rather… strange looking bat creature. What is that? She wondered curiously, noting with some mild surprise as it transformed. "That's the girl who gave me my flyer." She murmured to herself, catching everyone's attention.
Issei blinked in realization. "Hey me too!" He remembered the hot chick in the bat cosplay with a grin before his face froze. "Wait, so that girl was a bat?" His face became pale for a moment as he resisted the urge to vomit. Well, there go those fantasies. Issei thought as he gulped, feeling sick and then hanging his head.
If Issei had known that cute girl had been a bat there was no way in hell, he would have let it feature in his dreams.
Natsuki, meanwhile, realized something that kind of annoyed her. "You mean you could've had us get Familiars before we had to hand out flyers?" Her eye twitched in irritation, realizing that all that walking and the rude looks she had gotten had been for nothing.
"Yes, but it was important for you and Issei to understand the basics before moving on." Rias reminded her annoyed Pawn, placating her for now.
The Black Princess just sighed, still a little peeved but accepted the explanation. Akeno went next and revealed her Familiar, a strange emerald imp creature.
Issei reacted with wonder, before turning to turning to Koneko. "And what's yours?" He asked the petite Devil. "This is Shiro" Koneko said, holding a small white cat in hands. Natsuki stared at the cat for a bit. A white cat, it suits her.
"Mine's pretty badass." Kiba said, before Issei waved him off. Natsuki wasn't surprised in the slightest.
"If you want Issei to be interested in your Familiar, you'd need to grow a pair up top Kiba." Natsuki said dryly with a smirk, gesturing to her own chest.
This drew snorts of amusement from Rias, Akeno, and Kiba, especially as Issei was halfway through a nod of agreement before he processed what Natsuki had said. "Screw you." Issei deadpanned at Natsuki, even though the red-eyed girl was entirely correct.
"Familiars are an important part of being a Devil." Rias retook control of the conversation and redirected it to get them back on track. "When you need them, they're always there to back you up." She was still amused by her Pawns interactions with each other. It was like watching a hyperactive dog run around a grumpy and annoyed cat.
"Well, that's just great." Asia said sadly. "Now only if we knew where to get them." Her soft sigh of disappointment pulled at Rias' heartstrings, and as she decided to get to the main point of this meeting, a knock sounded at the club's door. "Yeah?" Akeno called out; Rias still confused as she looked at the door. She had not been expecting anyone this late in the day.
Natsuki turned her head and blinked as she noticed the Student Council walk in.
"Sorry to interrupt." There at the head of the group stood Shitori Sona, Kuoh Academy's student council president.
"Why are you here Sona?" Rias asked her friend.
"I wanted to congratulate you on increasing the number of your servants by three over the past month." Sona answered, causing Issei to realize what that statement implied. "That's rather impressive after all."
"Hang on." Issei stuttered out. "How does she know about that?"
"Her real name's Sona Sitri." Akeno explained to Issei, taking on the role of teacher for Rias' newest Devils. "She's not just Student Council President, she's also the heir to the House of Sitri, a High-Ranking Devil family in the Underworld."
"Wait you mean there are other Devils beside us at school?"
Natsuki herself wasn't surprised, since they had been turned, she could sense the demonic energy within herself, the peerage, and the student council. She didn't see the point in calling them out on it since they hadn't done so either.
"Honesty Rias-Buchou I am hurt that you did not tell your little boyfriend about us. But I suppose if you do not trust him with inside info, he must not be worth much huh." A boy with dirty blonde hair and a smug smirk said from behind Sona as he stared at Issei.
"It's considered bad forum to get involved in the affairs of other households Saji, so it makes sense why Rias held this back" Sona stated.
"This is my Pawn Genshirou Saji" Sona stated as she showed him off.
Rias stepped forward and did the same "And these are my Pawns, Hyoudou Issei and Sukehiro Natsuki. And my Bishop Asia Argento."
"Woah so you're a Pawn too? Guess that means we are the same." Issei tried to be nice to his fellow Pawn, but Saji was not having it.
A smug grin formed on Saji's face, "Can it D-bag. You and your gaggle of sluts don't deserve to be in the same room as a group of distinguished devils such as ourselves."
Issei's face twisted in anger and Asia was shocked by the words that Saji spoke. Natsuki and the others didn't react.
"Not even gay prince charming over there can protect you from me. I took up four Pawn pieces."
Sona adjusted her glasses before correcting her Pawn. "Both Hyoudou-kun took up all eight pieces and Sukehiro-chan used a Mutated Pawn piece, as well. It is always better to check your facts before you make a complete fool of yourself."
Saji was floored by the proclamation, "Your freaking kidding, me this butt monkey and the she-man each took up eight Pawn and one Mutation piece?!"
Pffft
Everyone looked towards Natsuki when the girl scoffed.
"Why is the weakest person in the room taking such shit? Honestly, guys like you are the worst, pathetic pieces of trash whose heads are so far up their own asses they delude themselves into thinking they're all that." Natsuki didn't even bother to look at the boy, keeping her eyes closed with her head resting on the back of the couch while she talked. A guy like this isn't worth the effort.
Natsuki wasn't lying, she could not sense much energy from the blonde boy, she guessed he was only recently reincarnated. In fact, she would say that the boy who had arrived with Sona was the weakest devil in the room right now magically speaking, aside from Issei, even if he was physically stronger than a few of Sona's Peerage, but Natsuki couldn't get a good enough read as only the blonde Pawn, Sona, and Sona's Queen were distinctive enough.
It was easier to tell within their own group, Rias was easily the strongest followed closely by Akeno.
Koneko and Kiba had about the same level of magical power, though Koneko was far stronger physically.
While Asia was the physically weakest, she had almost as much magical power as Akeno. Natsuki would place her herself after the Knight and Rook and Issei at the bottom, although though his Sacred Gear made up for the lack of magical power.
Of course, even with their lower base powers, their scared gears allowed them to get stronger albeit temporarily and only to a certain extent as if they were newborns. Of course, such numbers were simply hypothetical since it was difficult if not impossible to quantify magical power.
"Their arrogance is also why they're the first ones to get killed in a battle."
Saji's face looked as if he just sucked on a lemon as the members of both peerages were silently laughing at the girl's remark, everyone except Rias, Sona, and Issei. Rias rolled her eyes with an exasperated but amused expression, Sona maintained her composure, and Issei had almost dropped to the floor, not even bothering to hide his own chuckles and gaffs.
Sona's Pawn then turned to face her, "She's lying right Kaichou? There is no way I'm the weakest, right?" But his master's silence spoke volumes, Saji's head then fell in despair.
Sona ignored this as she said, "Sorry about him, he is still young, so I hope you forgive his youthful nativity. Newbies don't always appreciate the finer points of civility. Do they?"
Saji looked up as saw Sona staring at him, "Uh…right." The Pawn walked up to the ORC and shook Asia's hand. "…My pleasure." Asia smiled at the boy, "No the pleasure's all mine."
Saji was shocked by the goddess in front of him. "Are you sure you're not an angel, 'cause I'm sure you just fell down from heaven-" Saji was interrupted when Issei pulled their hands apart and squeezed his own with astonishing strength.
"Saji I just want you to know if you even think of making the moves on Asia, I'll slice your nuts off and feed them to you through a tube!" The two male Pawns had a showdown of sorts as they squeezed the others hand to try and get the other to submit.
Rias and Sona looked at the other in exasperation as their Pawns argued with each other. Well, isn't this embarrassing?
Sona was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Issei say that he was getting a familiar too. "Well, this seems to be a bit of a problem since he only takes visitors once a month."
Rias smirked. "Well in that case why don't we have a friendly little contest to sort this out."
"Surely you don't mean a rating game."
"Oh no, we'd never get permission for something like that."
Sona returned her smirk "You are right besides now the time to draw attention to yourself, is it?"
"Don't go there." Rias's tone shifted from playful and teasing to cold and angry in an instant. Natsuki heard Akeno silently gasp and wondered what caused such a change in attitude from the two. I wonder what that was about. Natsuki hummed in thought.
"I know." Rias announced eagerly. "We should settle this the old-fashioned high school way, with sports!"
Natsuki was filled with confusion, why would sports be the way to solve this? And would this be some sort of intense Devil sport that caused injuries and possibly death like how Rias explained rating games were like?
Natsuki shuddered at the thought of something like that.
The next day, Natsuki laid on her back and stared at the sky on one of the hills of Kuoh Academy, ignoring the clamor as hundreds of people gathered around the tennis court to watch the match between Rias, Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki. That, or to try and see their panties as their tennis uniforms had truly short skirts.
"I swear, it's like they're enjoying teasing damn near the entire male population of the Academy." She murmured to herself, before closing her eyes with a sigh. She didn't react when she felt Koneko's presence when the white-haired girl sat down next to her.
Maybe it was because they were devils, but Natsuki had not expected that a tennis match would be the deciding factor over which group would go to this "world of familiars".
"Honesty a tennis match that doesn't even involve the ones getting familiars doesn't even make sense."
Koneko hummed, deciding that Natsuki's argument made sense and moved slightly closer. The younger girl was cold because of the breeze coming in and the taller teen was very warm, even by devil standards.
Since she became a devil, Natsuki had been gradually getting closer with the rest of the peerage. While she was not the most talkative, the girl had tried to be less antisocial than she usually was because she would be around the others for the foreseeable future.
Natsuki blinked as she felt a flare of magical power. Kiba and Koneko reacted as well, standing up and turning to face the tennis court. The Pawn just sighed, rolling her eyes before pressing her hand against her face.
"I thought the rule was no magic, even if we didn't expect a mob to show up." Kiba spoke, trying to recall the rules they had set up.
"That rule doesn't seem to be stopping them." Koneko reported as the Knight, Pawn, and Rook sensed another flare of magical power. "Rias is about to lay the smackdown." She commented, recognizing her friend's magical signature.
"Time to kiss the rulebook goodbye huh." Kiba commented, wondering if they should make their way over to prepare to wipe the humans' minds.
Eventually the three of them had an unobstructed view of the match and saw Saji, Sona's newest Pawn, waving a red flag with Sona's face on it from the top of the fence. "Wow" Natsuki murmured. "He's almost exactly like Issei."
"Most of the guys here are, they're just more respectful or hide it better." Koneko replied dryly. The only ones who openly embraced their perversions are the perverted trio. "Say what you will about him and his friends, and I have, but at least they're honest about their base instincts." Natsuki and Kiba snickered lightly, not entirely sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult. Nonetheless, they still found it amusing.
"Honestly with the dozens of rules they've broken while attending this school, Rias is probably the only reason they haven't been expelled by now." While Natsuki did like the trio, they had been caught peeping, and stealing girls' clothes far too often to not have faced profound consequences by now.
She blinked as she watched the tennis ball explode and the two teams' nets practically disintegrated. "Holy shit."
A little while later, they were all in the clubhouse as Koneko held up what was left of the net. "Too bad it was a draw." She deadpanned, though Natsuki could sense the annoyance in her tone. "Since nobody won, they're suggesting we all compete in a team match."
"We've decided on dodgeball." Rias declared as she and Akeno entered the room and Natsuki resisted the urge to roll her eyes and say how dumb this was aloud. "We'll meet over the weekend, tomorrow night in the gym. Let's win this!" She pumped her fist enthusiastically, encouraging the other five members of her Peerage to do the same, Natsuki did so half-heartedly.
This dodgeball game is going to be just as much of a mess as that tennis match was.
"Not bad there, Issei," Natsuki complimented the boy's work after everyone else. "Who'd have thought you actually knew how to sew?" Issei had decided to make everyone team headbands, he spent the night making them.
The Occult Research Club's praises caused Issei to blush bashfully. "Ah, it was nothing," he tried to play it down while scratching the back of his head. "I just wanted to do something for everyone since I'm still pretty much useless."
"You're not useless, Ise," Rias spoke up. "No one here thinks you are. You are my one of my two Pawns, Ise, and that makes you a part of our family."
"And family doesn't ever think one of their own is useless," Natsuki finished. "Isn't that right, everyone?"
"Ara, Ara, I adore my darling kouhai," Akeno giggled.
"We're family, Issei-Kun, each and every one of us," Kiba smiled.
"…Hai," Koneko eventually agreed after receiving a nudge from Natsuki.
"You guys..." Issei sniffled.
Each member of the Gremory Group was dressed in the appropriate Kuoh gym uniforms aside from the King, who was garbed in her dark-red sweats. "Let's stick these on and kick some Sitri ass!" Rias declared as she put the headband on, prompting the rest, to follow suit as Sona and her Peerage arrived in the gym.
"Ready to rock and roll?" Sona's voice rang out as the teams began to get into position, with two of Sona's Peerage taking up the position of referee. They had set up another "no magic" rule, but both sides were too competitive and would use it to try and get an edge over the other team. Natsuki doubted the rule would last thirty seconds.
There were about three balls available, Natsuki thought it was a stupid idea considering it would be all too easy to stick the balls in the middle of the gym and charge to get them, whoever got them first would be able to strike first, and the less dodgeballs meant the game could go on for longer than necessary. In the end, she decided it was the safest option since no one was supposed to get hurt by the competition even if it wasn't the best option overall. It would defeat the whole purpose of this game.
Issei and Saji were both glaring at each other heatedly. Both Kings and Queens stared directly towards their enemy counterparts with outwardly calm expressions, but their bodies were coiled and prepared to spring directly into the action the very instant the battle started. Kiba still had his usual smile on his face while he and Sona's lone Knight, Tomoe Meguri, met eyes. The two Rooks present – both Koneko and the blue-haired Tsubasa Yura with her bishounen face – stared directly into each other's eyes with nary an emotion passing over either of their faces. Asia smiled kindly towards the glaring other Bishop across the way – Reya Kusaka. Natsuki meanwhile, out of pity for the timid lone Pawn left across from her, just stared at the ball placed just in front of her.
An eerie silence coated the gymnasium. Even though it was an enclosed space, a small breeze fluttered across each team. A basketball somehow rolled across the mid-line in place of a tumbleweed. Both referees locked eyes and nodded.
Both referees glanced back towards the teams once more. They both locked eyes one last time and simultaneously dropped their flags while both cried out, "Begin!"
Natsuki immediately grabbed the ball and tossed it to Issei. "Go wild," she told the boy with a feral smirk.
Issei sprouted a smirk of his own and immediately threw the ball directly towards Saji's face, but the other Pawn managed to avoid it by batting it aside with his own ball.
With the first shot fired, war ensued. Natsuki quickly ducked under a shot from Sona's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, and then followed that up by back-flipping over the follow-up volley sent from the Kaichou herself. The red-eyed girl landed on one knee and then rolled to her right and caught the ball Saji had just launched at Issei's back.
"Tsk, tsk," she berated both the stunned Pawns. "Can't even hit me when I'm not even trying."
"Not bad," Tsubaki complimented her skill. She then spun away from a potshot Akeno had sent her way.
"Faster than I anticipated," Sona calculated with a thousand thoughts dancing behind her eyes.
Natsuki shrugged her shoulders, she had always been fast because of long arms and legs, now that she was a devil her physical attributes like speed, agility, and flexibility had increased. Although she was nowhere near as fast as Kiba, she was still faster than many of the other Devils on the court.
Natsuki felt a breeze blow by her head, and she found Koneko standing just behind her and to her right. "Natsuki-senpai fast," she commented.
"Why thank you for the compliment – Duck!" She shouted and pulled Koneko down with her while two balls then passed over their heads. Those were going even faster than before, she noticed. I guess I was right about the no magic rule not lasting that long.
Koneko leaned back and a magic-empowered ball tore her shirt from the base to just above her chest, revealing her bright green polka-dot bra. "Out!" Momo shouted to make her the first casualty.
Natsuki ignored Issei's comment about the rook's undergarments and just looked at the one who had hit her fellow club member, marking her down as her target. "Go get a drink, I have a sweatshirt in my bag that you can cover up with." Natsuki offered as she picked up the ball that had hit Koneko. "I'll take her out, no problem." She then coated the ball in golden energy and ran around, dodging glass after a window shattered as she built up some speed before throwing the ball, using the momentum that had built up to nail the girl in the back as hard as she could.
The back of her shirt was consumed and Natsuki dissipated the energy, stopping the blast from destroying it entirely. It was currently held together by some threads. She winced apologetically at the glare sent her way. "Sorry about your shirt." she said, redirecting her attention away from her. "I didn't mean to do that, I just wanted to take you out." She said and hoped her fellow devil believed her.
The dark-haired devil did not want to have to deal with her having a vendetta against her for what was an accident.
Rias ended up catching a strong throw from another one of Sona's Peerage, bringing Koneko back into the game as she was currently the only one out, though Issei had some close calls as he was distracted by the uniforms of many of the girls as many of them ended up getting shredded or outright destroyed like the poor girl Rias had just targeted.
Natsuki chuckled as the first thing Koneko did after coming back into the game, once she got the ball, was nail Saji in the balls with pinpoint accuracy. She held her fist out for Koneko and she bumped it with a small, satisfied grin. "Good shot." She said, ignoring the sympathy pains she had towards Saji. The squeaking from the blonde Pawn was amusing to the devil.
Sona launched a powerful throw that Natsuki managed to only just slide under, and she admired the amount of power flowing from the dark flames of energy licking around the ball as it hunted down its target. Poor Issei didn't stand a chance, though he put up a valiant effort in trying to outrun it, it took about ten seconds for the ball to make full contact with him.
Though when it did Natsuki winced, as did Kiba and Saji, who was still crumpled as Issei collapsed. The brunette Pawn's face reflected nothing less than sheer agony as he hit the floor with barely a twitch. While Saji had been hit in the balls with a Rook's enhanced strength, that had nothing on a fully magic enhanced ball thrown by his King. Especially after it built up momentum due to Issei's dodging.
The pain indeed. The two conscious males and Natsuki thought as they felt extreme sympathy for the semi-conscious boy, remembering Sona's comment before her attack.
A break had allowed them to try and make sure Issei would still be able to have children before they started up the match again. Asia's naïve offer to heal Issei if he "showed her where it hurt" was downright adorable, and Issei's reaction, despite the sheer amount of pain he was in, was hilarious in a twisted way as he tried to wave the girl off. Rias' Peerage began to congregate around the pair as they observed the little interaction as Asia tried to convince the boy to let her heal his injury.
Eventually, the pain wore him down and Asia's offer to heal him over his pants was sufficient for him to submit to Asia's Twilight Healing. Issei's reaction to the "tingly" sensation as he put it was predictable. The soothing power of Asia's Sacred Gear flowing through his injury made the injured boy moan.
"You better not be getting off on this." Koneko deadpanned. Natsuki snickered, she wouldn't be surprised if the boy were enjoying this healing session more than he should be.
"It's got a mind of its own." Issei admitted self-deprecatingly, groaning slightly. Issei sometimes wished he were not such a pervert as even something like this felt better than it should have considered just how hard he had been hit in his junk. But all he could think about was how wonderful Asia's healing powers felt as they fixed the damage as best it could. The pain was far more muted now and Issei was beginning to regain hope that he would still have his favorite body part attached to him.
"Please take care of him Asia." Rias began determinedly. "We have a game to finish." She nodded at her Bishop's reply, directing her attention to Sona and her team. "Come on guys, let's win this one for Issei!" She clenched her fist, prepared to strike down Sona's Peerage for this slight.
Natsuki raised an eyebrow, "You want us to win this in honor of Issei's dick?" Rias just gave the girl a deadpanned look before Akeno came from behind and elbowed Natsuki in the stomach. Hard.
"Don't be so crass Natsuki-chan. This is serious, no time for joking around." But from the smile she gave her, Natsuki knew she found it just as if not funnier than she did.
As they gathered back on the court, Natsuki was being stared down by Sono and Tsubaki. "We need to take her out," Tsubaki's voice whispered to her King. "If not, then some else will be taken out the next time she throws a ball."
"Wrong, Tsubaki," Sona responded with a critical shake of her head. "We don't as much need to remove Sukehiro-san, but minimize her impact. Send one full-powered ball at her to test her abilities," she instructed. "If she dodges, then every time you have a ball you are to do the same over and over in order to keep her in one corner of the arena. If she cannot dodge it, then we will still take care of her. Whatever you do, don't let her get her hands on another ball."
"Hai, Kaichou," the Vice-President acknowledged her orders with a tense nod. "Restart!" both the referees shouted, and Tsubaki was immediately in motion.
Natsuki watched and felt the magic power gather around the dark-haired young woman and centered around the spherical projectile in her hands. "Grief of Memories!" she then shouted and sent the ball flying towards the dark-haired Pawn.
"Natsuki!" Rias warned her. "Dodge it!"
The red-eyed teen stared at the ball coming towards her and held out her hands directly in front of her, summoning her sacred gear and coating her hands in a black energy.
The flaming blue ball collided with her open palms, a shockwave from the impact of the collision was so great that it blew everyone's hair out of their faces, revealing a collection of comically wide eyes. Natsuki's stunt stunned both teams so greatly that the ball Saji was prepared to throw fell from his hand and bounced off his head.
The red-eyed girl looked up from behind the ball and noticed that the force had pushed her back several feet, "Wow. I did not think that would work. What were you telling me to do Rias?"
The azure-eyed beauty merely shook her head in bemusement at Pawn's increasing abilities and amended with a weary sigh, "Never mind, Natsuki."
"A daring show, for certain," Sona's calculating voice sliced through the still room's air. "However," she added ominously, "there is always more than one way to win a battle."
"Daring show? That shot almost killed me, it felt as if my arms were going to be ripped off?!" Natsuki stared at Sona in disbelief, the leader of the student council didn't even look remorseful, as if what Natsuki did was nothing.
While she was distracted an explosion rang out behind her, and the devil Pawn slowly looked around and saw that most of Sona's Peerage was out cold on the ground, while Sona herself fell on her ass.
Glass rained down from the shattered windows and Natsuki slowly blinked, trying to piece together what the hell had just happened.
"Ah… Oops." Koneko's soft voice rang out in the suddenly silent gymnasium. "Sorry." She apologized, leaving Natsuki still mystified as to what had happened in the few seconds she had been distracted.
"Huh, I guess that's what happens when dodgeballs enhanced with magic collide together." Rias' voice was as mystified as Natsuki's expression, but at least she knew what caused the devastation now.
With that knowledge, she could deduce that Koneko must have accidentally thrown the ball she had enhanced with magical energy, and further boosted by her Rook strength, into another ball similarly enhanced by one of Sona's Peerage. The resulting collision obliterated the other ball and caused a shockwave that knocked out everyone hit by it save for Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Rias, and Sona. Natsuki was furthest from the blast zone as Tsubaki's earlier shot had pushed her back, but Asia and Issei were out cold.
"Well, I guess we won." Natsuki mumbled, still in shock at just how sudden the end to the match had been.
At least she would be able to get a Familiar now.
One teleportation later, and the group had found themselves at their destination. Natsuki looked around and noticed that the forest itself does feel different, like something permeating in the air, but it didn't appear to be dangerous since her instincts weren't acting up. Wonder how many species are living here?
Issei looked back at the girl, "Do you really need that big backpack? What even in it?" Natsuki was carrying a black backpack that looked filled to the brim.
"Just clothes, I did not know that the environment would be like, so I just packed some stuff just in case. Don't want to be unprepared."
"This place is kind of creepy, don't you think?" Issei commented, moving on from the backpack topic.
"Welcome to the Familiar Forest." Rias gestured out. "Now, we only have until the end of the night of the full moon to find familiars for you, which is about 10 hours."
Natsuki looked back at the others confused, "10 hours? Is that enough time to search through this whole forest to find three compatible familiars?"
"Normally not. Devils can come anytime to look for a familiar, especially specific ones. However, I scheduled an appointment with the familiar expert so he can help us to find them faster. He usually helps on the nights of a full moon as most creatures will show themselves on those days." Rias explained.
"He is also the one who helped us find our familiars." Kiba added.
"Okay, so where is he?" Issei asked.
"Hm, he should be here around-"
"Gotta catch em all!" A voice interrupted Rias and they saw someone on a tree branch. "I am the familiar master, Zatouji. I can catch any familiar you want."
Natsuki blinked, "Holy crap, it's bootleg Satoshi from Pokémon!"
The rest of the peerage had mixed reactions to the girl's statement. Akeno and Kiba snickered, Koneko shook her head in exasperation, Issei gasped as it finally clicked his head why the familiar expert looked so strange, Asia was confused as she didn't understand the reference, and Rias gave the girl a deadpanned stare before slapping the back of her head.
"Don't be rude Natsuki, Zatouji is being generous enough to show us around!"
"Aw come on Rias! He literally just told us that he's 'gotta catch em all' and he's wearing a snapback and fingerless gloves! Next thing you know Team Rocket is going to show up to kidnap his Pikachu!"
Rias glared at the girl as the others continued to laugh. She then turned her head towards the familiar master.
"How are you, Zatouji-san? I greatly appreciate your help." Rias greeted.
"I am fine. Thank you, Gremory-san. So, these are your new servants you told me about?"
"Yes." Rias then turned to us, "Issei, Natsuki, and Asia. This is the familiar master, Zatouji-san. He will be guiding you to catch your familiars, so please treat him with respect." Her gaze stayed on Natsuki a little longer than the others.
"What do we have here? Two dull faced boys and a beautiful blonde." Zatouji's eyes lingered on Asia a bit longer before resuming, "What will it be? A power-type, speed-type or maybe a poison-type?"
Natsuki was going to correct the man about her gender, but one look from her master kept her quiet.
Natsuki followed the rest of the peerage as they made their way through the strange forest of the Familiar world, keeping an eye out for any potential Familiars she would want to claim for herself. She tuned out their guide after his fourth rhyme, finding his need to make everything rhyme annoying. She felt a flare of magic nearby, but saw that the others didn't notice, figuring the group couldn't get into too much trouble without her, she went off alone to check it out.
After pushing past the trees and wandering up a beaten path, Natsuki was in a desert. There was nothing but sand in front of her, the only other thing that stood out was a river that she decided to follow.
This place is much bigger than I thought if the forest breaks off into a damn desert. I wonder if there are other terrains and environments here?
After a sometime pass, Natsuki sees that the river goes inside of a cave. When the girl enters, she sees that the cave is much bigger than it looks from outside. The river she followed becomes a large lake with a large rock platform behind it.
On this large rock, the dark-haired Pawn sees a group of lions. A Pride.
These lions, however, are not normal, they are much bigger, almost the size of stallions with blue eyes, and gold-colored claws and teeth. It's then that the pride breaks apart and reveals another lion.
This lion is a little bigger than the rest with black fur instead of golden brown, blood red claws, and gold-colored eyes. It was then that Natsuki noticed that the lion was not male as it did not have the large mane of fur around its head that male lions do. So, I guess I should be calling her a lioness.
Natsuki walked to the edge of the lake at sat down, never breaking eye contact with the leader of the pride.
The lioness jumped down from the platform and onto the water, instead of sinking down, the lion stood on its surface.
So, can they all walk on water?
The familiar walked gracefully across the lake as it got closer to the teenager, the glow of its eyes getting brighter with each step.
"I know this might be a lot to ask of you, but would you like to make a contract with this lowly devil? I have no desire to control you, not that I could I simply wish to make a partnership between us." Natsuki said once the creature was directly in front of her.
You are a strange one devil; it is as if your soul is made of more than one constitution.
While Natsuki didn't show it she was surprised, not by the lioness talking but about what she said. More than one constitution, what does that mean?
"Does this mean you do not wish to make a contract?"
The lioness stared at the girl for a moment, I would like to see you grow more, maybe then I will get the answers I seek about you. Your strength calls out to me so yes, I will make a Pact with you devil.
Natsuki smiled at the lioness. "Thank you so much, my name is Natsuki. May I know yours?"
We Spirit Lions do not have names that can be translated in your tongue. So, you may call me whatever you wish Natsuki.
Natsuki thought about it for a moment before a name came to mind. "What about Midnight, for your black fur?"
The lioness considers it, That would be most acceptable.
"Alright then follow me please". As the girl turned around, she felt a small weight drop on her shoulder, when she looked to the right, she saw that Midnight hand shrunk herself down on was now curled up in a ball resting on her. Natsuki smiled at the sight before walking out of the cave to join up with the others.
As she made her way out of the desert, she realized that the others had moved farther ahead. Wonder where– The thought was cut off as a scream echoed down the forest. One that sounded suspiciously like they were in pain, but not necessarily against it. Akeno. Natsuki thought dryly, well she knew where they were now at least.
Natsuki sped off into the direction of the screams, as lightning flashed in a clearing and Natsuki activated her sacred gear before she burst through the underbrush ready to kill something.
Natsuki was not prepared for what she was looking at, a green slime beginning to dissolve the clothing of everyone touched by it. Kiba was lucky as the slime seemed to be content with his jacket as an offering, but the girls weren't so lucky as their clothes actively being disintegrated by the strange slime. Lightning was flashing from Akeno and Rias was doing her part with her Power of Destruction to quell the apparent threat.
"What… the… fuck." She murmured, making her way over to the girls who were destroying the perverted slime with great prejudice. As she stepped over Issei's fallen body, she noticed the wide-eyed look of glee on the pervert's face and a stream of blood flowing from his nostrils. She fired one of her black energy blasts at the slime as the orbs she had shot up began to spin around and rip the creature a part.
"No!" Issei's voice sounded with despair as he watched Natsuki destroy the creature he wanted as his Familiar. "Why?! That was supposed to be my Familiar!" His face was pale with terror as he looked at Natsuki with tears in his eyes. "Why would you destroy such a beautiful thing?!" Why would the girl kill such an amazing creature, why couldn't she see its value?!
"That was a Familiar?" Natsuki murmured, she then took off the blazer of her uniform and handed it to Koneko, who was the closest to her.
The angry Rook pulled the jacket down as far as it could go, but she couldn't get it past mid-thigh as it would begin to slide from her shoulders otherwise. "That slime is a parasite, the pervert wanted it so he could turn girls naked anytime he wanted." Her voice was tainted with disgust as she answered the 2nd Pawn's question.
Natsuki just gave a chuckle, "Well you can't deny that the slime wasn't a good match for someone so perverted."
Her attention was quickly diverted as Issei rushed over and held Asia tightly to protect the last remnants of the slime. Koneko, Rias, and Akeno all walked over slowly as they prepared to eradicate the slime. "Move Issei, the only way to deal with that kind of parasite is to destroy it completely." Rias declared boldly, though it may have had more gravitas were she not almost naked.
Suddenly a small dragon spewed lightning to free the former nun from both from Issei and the slime. Koneko snickered quietly next to her as Issei collapsed, smoking from the rather shocking experience. So, this forest has dragons as well then. Rias' comment regarding the "Sprite Dragon" simply confirmed her earlier observation, all manner of mythical creatures existed in some form in this world. Though, Natsuki had a feeling this one was a noticeably young dragon considering she doubted beasts of that size would have spawned so many heroic tales.
Issei was promptly shocked again as he mourned for the slime before turning his focus to blaming the tiny blue dragon.
"That was dope." Koneko spoke, a smirk gracing her face as she crossed her arms in satisfaction.
Now that the slime was gone Natsuki opened her backpack and gave the other three girls the jackets and shirts she had inside to at least cover up a little more.
While Rias and Asia thanked her, Akeno tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "Ara, Ara Natsuki-chan I think this shirt might be a little too small."
Natsuki turned around and saw that her shirt barely fit over the older girl's substantially larger bust. While Natsuki had never felt insecure about her small chest size (her lower half took all of that up), part of her felt jealous of Akeno's womanly figure.
Natsuki cleared her throat, "Well I have another jacket." She reached for her bag and handed Akeno her old Nitoshō Middle School sweatshirt.
Akeno took the sweatshirt and looked and the girl with a flirtatious smile "Fufu Natsuki-chan, if you wanted to mark me as your property you should have just said so."
Natsuki was confused for a moment before she saw her last name on the back. She gave the girl a deadpanned stare, "Akeno, just wear the damn thing already."
Akeno made a showing of taking off the tight shirt, making sure to move and bounce around more than necessary before pulling the sweatshirt over her head.
"There, a perfect fit, don't you think so Natsuki-chan?" She gave the girl another teasing smile.
Natsuki just stared at her for a moment before walking back to the others, Akeno giggled a little at the Pawn's behavior.
"Now that your Familiar has been chosen, it is time to bring it in!" The voice of the Familiar Master spoke with his irritating rhyme, drawing Natsuki's attention. Zatouji noticed the familiar on Natsuki's shoulder. "A spirit lion, you must be really flyin"
Rias smiled at the girl, "Nice work Natsuki, spirit lions are hard to come by. Not only are they secretive but they hardly chose anyone to form a contract with."
"Very well then, speak this chant in your name and your Familiars shall become tame." The Familiar Master spoke after a moment to ensure the young devils' choices.
"In the name of Sukehiro Natsuki, I request that you accept this Contract to become my Familiar and serve me forevermore." A golden magic circle appeared beneath Midnight, enveloping her before dissipating. Natsuki stretched out her arm to let the lioness climb on her shoulder again. "Thank you for becoming my Familiar Midnight."
I hope we will work well together, Natsuki.
Time was now up, and the group needed to head back. Rias looked a little disappointed though, "We couldn't find familiars for all of you, but two out of three is not bad I suppose."
Issei fell to the floor as he bemoaned the loss of the slime before Rias activated the magic circle taking them back to the clubroom.
Natsuki walked into her apartment, she kept Midnight with her instead of sending her back to the Familiar Forest at least for the night.
As she laid down on her bed with Midnight sleeping at her feet, she couldn't help but think about what the lioness told her.
I have more than one constitution? I asked her what she meant but Midnight couldn't give me a straight answer it was just a feeling she had. Maybe it's my sacred gear, there is supposed to be dragon inside of it right? Speaking of scared gear, it's been over a week, and I still haven't heard the voice again.
I hope this peak I'm supposed to reach comes soon; I want to hear your voice sacred gear.
I want to know you…
Natsuki's thoughts faded as she fell into a dreamless sleep.
As she slept a golden glow shined from her chest. The light died down and all that was left was a large golden necklace with a white jewel in the center. [Ethereal Domination], Natsuki's sacred gear. The jewel glowed a white light as a voice rang out into the quiet room.
"The time for our first meeting has finally arrived Natsuki Sukehiro. Sleep well my golden champion, for tomorrow we shall bring forth a brilliant dawn."