Chapter 30: Interlude - Rias Gremory
"What?!", Rias screamed in surprise when she saw the timer to be able to use the chat. She also saw the message that said that time would be modified in Harry and Naruto's worlds. However, she only saw the time of a week, how long would her two new friends have to wait?.
"Is something wrong Rias?", Akeno's voice came from the door. Rias looked forward from her seat behind the desk and sighed a little when she saw her friend and queen enter the occult club room.
"No... calm down... don't worry," Rias replied, shaking her head a little.
"It's okay. But you can tell me if you need anything, even if it's just to talk," Akeno said kindly, especially since she knew that her best friend's hated marriage was approaching and she was feeling stressed; or so Akeno thought. But, right now, Rias could care less about the engagement and marriage. She had the power to defeat Riser and all his peerage by herself. So if there were no ways out of the engagement, she'll just make a way out herself, with all her power.
"Thank you, Akeno," Rias smiled slightly, thankful for having such good friends... no, such good family.
At that moment, Koneko and Kiba also entered, smiling and greeting Rias and Akeno. Well, at least Kiba smiled, Koneko just kept a neutral expression.
"Ah... right, Kiba," Rias called out to her knight, remembering something important.
"Yes?"
"Could you bring Hyoudou Issei when school is over?... I want to talk to him."
"Hyoudou Issei?", Kiba tilted his head slightly before understanding better: "Do you want to recruit him, Buchou?"
"Yes...", Rias nodded with a bit of seriousness. "There's no point in waiting any longer. If he really has a Sacred Gear, then we can wake him up and have him join us. If he doesn't accept, well, at least we'll have an ally who could help us in the future."
"Won't you use hypnosis to erase his memories if he doesn't accept?" Akeno asked curiously.
"Pervert... Hyoudou-senpai. It's better to erase his memories," Koneko commented before sitting down on one of the sofas.
"No," Rias shook her head. "There's no point in doing that. If he really has a Sacred Gear linked to some dragon, then it would only be a matter of time before he wakes up and he could regain his memories. That would only turn him against us. It's best to be more cautious about this, there's no need to make enemies where there aren't any."
"Well... then I'll do that, Buchou," Kiba nodded with a bit of seriousness.
"Thank you..." Rias smiled.
. . .
"So I can really have a Harem if I become a devil?!"
Rias looked at Hyoudou Isse with a small drop of sweat running down her cheek. She had talked about the pros and cons of being a devil. She explained many things about the society that ruled them and several other things that she would have to do if she became part of their peerage. Of course, all this after they had made Hyoudou Isse's Sacred Gear awaken. Rias was surprised that it was a Twice Critical, but after thinking about it a little more, she came to the conclusion that it was just a small awakening, there was still time for the true form of Issei's Sacred Gear to show itself, especially seeing that it would take eight pawns to reincarnate him into a devil.
The problem is that she never thought that Hyoudou Issei was so perverted. From everything that was explained, it seems that the only thing that stuck with her was that men could have more than one woman. Rias rubbed her forehead before sighing and nodding.
"Alright! Then I'm in, Buchou!" Issei exclaimed excitedly as he raised his fist.
"Ara~ Ara~," Akeno lightly commented as she placed one of her hands on his cheek.
"Disgusting… Pervert…" Koneko said coldly, causing Issei to slouch forward as he muttered depressedly. And as for Kiba, he only forced a smile. The poor guy could already hear all sorts of rumors as he came to the clubroom accompanied by Issei.
In the end, Rias could only end up sighing at the new addition to her family.
"If I leave it like this, without being able to be even a little responsible, then this won't end well at all," Rias thought, a small headache looming.
. . .
Two days later.
"Rias-Buchou....", Koneko called out as she appeared by opening the window.
"What's wrong, Koneko?", Rias asked, slightly analyzing her rewards that she hadn't paid much attention to.
"Hyoudou-senpai accepted the invitation of a fallen angel"
"What?", Rias' eyes immediately turned cold as she raised her head and looked at Koneko.
"I don't think he knows what a fall is. But since he infiltrated without us knowing, then he must be up to no good."
Rias now frowned, thinking about how a fallen angel had entered her territory without her knowing. Because while her group along with Sona Sitri's group couldn't keep the entire city under surveillance twenty-four hours a day, they would know if a fallen angel entered the city.
"Where are they now?"
"I walked away when I heard her asking about a date. And it hasn't even been two minutes, so maybe they're still talking outside the academy."
"Well...", Rias immediately stood up before using a teleportation magic circle. When she appeared on the wall at the entrance of the academy, she immediately erected a barrier, preventing others from seeing what they were about to do.
Issei was with a huge smile, about to say goodbye to Yuuma-chan, the girl who asked him out on a date. However, he was surprised when a red liquid splashed on his face.
"Eh?", he muttered, slowly raising his hand and looking at his fingers, now stained with blood.
"GYYAAAAAHH!!"
Hearing the huge scream that showed pain and suffering, Issei jumped three steps back in surprise. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Yuuma turn into a more grown woman and her clothes changed, at the same time as two black wings grew from her back.
"Get away from her right now, Hyoudou-kun!", Rias exclaimed seriously.
"Eh? Ri... Rias-Buchou?", Isse asked without understanding what was happening. "Yu... Yuuma... What happened to Yuuma-chan?"
"Don't be silly, Hyoudou-kun!", Rias frowned, a little upset. "She's a Fallen Angel! I explained to you that we're not on the best of terms with her race! And I don't know how she entered the city so easily, but her real name isn't Yuuma, and it's not like she has feelings for you either. She's just using you, most likely to take away your Sacred Gear!"
Issei felt a chill for a few seconds before looking at Yuuma, who was holding his shoulder, right where there was a fist-sized hole that was bleeding profusely. The fallen angel's face was twisted in pain and hatred, causing her previously attractive face to become twisted.
"Rias... Gremory!" She growled through gritted teeth. "How... how did you know about me?"
Rias narrowed her eyes as she looked down.
"There's no point in telling you anything, fallen. There's a small chance that you'll get out of this alive. So, telling you that information... wouldn't it be the same as telling you how to slip past me more easily?"
"O- Oy... Yuuma-chan... Is it true?", Issei asked shakily as he extended his hand slightly. "What buchou said... is it all true?"
Raynare, the fallen angel looked at Issei and her face changed back to how it was before.
"Issei-kun!! You can't believe her!! Everything she says is a lie, you can't believe a demon like her!!", shouting with a desperate expression, Raynare hoped to get out alive thanks to Issei's help. However, Hyoudou Issei, who had his gaze hidden by his hair, clenched his hands before stepping forward.
"Hyoudou-kun! If you try to save her, I'll have no choice but to attack you! I really don't want to attack a new friend! Please back off!", Rias shouted angrily and worried that Issei would help Raynare.
"I know!", he shouted loudly, now showing his enraged gaze towards Raynare. "I realized it when his face changed and he called you a demon!"
"Damn it!!", Raynare stood up gathering strength and extending her left hand to form a spear of light. But, at that moment, she couldn't react to Issei's fist that had changed from his previous Sacred Gear. Now it was less rough and large, its shape was that of a red claw-shaped gauntlet with a green gem on the back of the hand and yellow details and green inscriptions.
"[Boost!]" a voice echoed from the gauntlet and Issei's power doubled as it made contact with Raynare's face.
"That..." Rias was shocked to see the Sacred Gear's true form. She descended from the wall and slowly approached, noticing Raynare trying to get up as she glared at the two with boundless hatred and blood running down her nose and mouth.
"Buchou... I...", Issei said, but he couldn't finish his words as he clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists. Rias glanced at him lightly before smiling sadly. She now understood Hyoudou Issei a little better.
"Relax... I'm sure you'll find that person who loves you with all their heart. Don't be discouraged, you have a lot of time ahead of you. Just be patient and learn to hold back that lustful side of yours... I'm sure you'll get more attention that way."
Issei looked at Rias before smiling sadly and nodding slowly.
"What will happen to her?"
Rias looked at Raynare before stepping forward and appearing directly behind Raynare, hitting her neck and causing her to lose consciousness.
"I'll give her to Akeno. She'll make her talk and tell her reasons as to why she did all this."
. . .
"Um... Sorry for not being too helpful," Issei commented, tired and sweaty as he dropped on his butt on the ground. Akeno had... played around with Raynare a bit and discovered the enemies of the abandoned church. They all fought back, but Issei was too tired, and had only been able to damage the exorcists, as well as not even being able to get close to the now dead fallen angels.
"Don't worry, Hyoudou-kun," Rias smiled and reassured him, "Your Boosted Gear needs a user with a well-trained body to work perfectly. All you need is training to improve."
"And by the way...", Rias frowned at the rest of her family. "You guys, it seems, need training too."
"Eh?", Kiba looked at her in surprise.
"Ara~ Ara~... What makes you say that, Rias?"
Rias looked at her with an infuriating look: "Kiba was only able to overwhelm them with his speed. If there had been someone capable of matching his speed, it would be difficult for him to win. Especially since he stopped at almost every opponent to explain the ability of his Sacred Gear! Eh, what's the point of that?! Do you want to get killed, Kiba?!"
"Erm...", the knight didn't know how to respond and backed away a little.
"Akeno... you play around with your enemies too much. The moment you play around with the wrong person, then you'll lose," the aforementioned frowned a little.
"And Koneko...", Rias looked at her, but only sighed. "Actually, you're currently the best of the three. You don't play around and try to finish quickly without holding back too much. The only thing I could say about you is your speed. But, after all, towers aren't the fastest either."
Rias told them what she thought, but she kept a lot of things to herself. And sadly, she couldn't bring herself to mention those things just yet. Akeno could use the lightning she inherited from her father and Koneko the entirety of her Nekoshou powers, but she knew that she had to go slowly with the problems that were bothering her family's minds and hearts. If she did it all quickly and without the slightest consideration, then it might become worse than before.
Except for Koneko, who puffed out her chest a little, the other two had a frown on their faces at what Rias said.
. . .
Four days after Rias' return.
"Ha~... Ha~...", Issei was breathing heavily as he ran. It was the weekend and they had traveled to a Gremory family house. It was already difficult for him to climb up to the house, but as soon as they arrived, Rias ordered him to run around the house a hundred laps. He, of course, completed them, but he was totally exhausted and fell to his knees in the backyard, watching as the others trained: Kiba was swinging a sword in different ways, Akeno was using magic and experimenting a bit. And, as for Koneko, she was in front of Rias.
"Attack with everything you have, Koneko."
"But...", the little nekoshou was a little worried.
"Just do it! You won't be able to hurt me anyway."
"Muh," Koneko felt a little upset hearing that. She jumped forward immediately, advancing at high speed while saying a small 'Ei~'. However, when her fist touched Rias's extended hand, all the strength Koneko put into her fist seemed to disappear, with the only evidence of her strength being the small gust of wind that spread out to the sides.
"Eh?", Koneko opened her eyes wider than normal, surprised by the result. She raised her head towards Rias's face, managing to see her smile before Rias's other hand moved forward, striking the center of Koneko's torso.
"Ah!", Koneko let out a small cry of pain as she stepped back, spitting out some blood from her mouth. She was so shocked that she just stared at Rias in shock, ignoring her blood. Kiba and Akeno who had watched the start of the battle with interest, were just as shocked.
"Koneko-chan...", Rias called out softly as she looked at her without looking away from her eyes.
"Honestly, your way of fighting is too basic. Against opponents like the one we faced two days ago, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. However, against someone more experienced, it's definitely a disadvantage; you only extend your fists to punch or use your feet to kick. You don't have any feint movements, you don't know how to attack from different angles, and to attack anywhere other than someone's abdomen, torso, or face, you have to move several steps to land those strikes."
Rias finished speaking and disappeared from Koneko's sight, appearing in front of her, swinging her fist and hitting Koneko's side, causing her to spit out another bit of blood. However, another attack hit her right iliac area, another moment later she felt another blow hit the area where her liver was, causing her to fall to her knees in pain and seeing the blood coming out of her mouth.
"Koneko-chan... look at me," Rias called out to her once again. And, with difficulty, she raised her head, only to be surprised by the sad and pained expression that Rias had.
"It's really hard for me to hit you like this, Koneko-chan. No, in fact, I don't want to. However, it's necessary for you to become stronger. I don't need your powers for myself, Koneko-chan. However, I want you to be as powerful as possible; not for me, but for yourselves. I want you to be able to defend yourself and those you love."
Rias's face slowly changed to one of determination and seriousness: "If necessary, I will beat you and train you to exhaustion until you learn new things and can become stronger."
"I know! I understand, Rias-buchou!", Koneko thought to herself. "I want to be strong too!"
Koneko understood that it was necessary to have power to defend something, but she felt uncomfortable trying to obtain more power. She didn't want to end up like her sister, she didn't want to go crazy, she didn't want to kill Rias for losing her mind because of her powers.
She...
"I'm... scared...", Koneko said almost in a whisper, but everyone heard her. Her eyes had tears and they fell close to her blood as she looked at the ground with her fingers closing and taking some dirt as they formed into a fist.
Koneko bit her lips as she cried, but suddenly, her ears and tail came to light and she began to tremble as she looked up a little more, noticing the orange pigmentation on Rias's eyelids and her eyes that looked like those of a toad.
"Didn't I just tell you, Koneko-chan?... If necessary, I will beat you up and train you to exhaustion. If you want to learn Senjutsu, I can teach you properly without losing my mind."
"...!", Koneko was startled not knowing what to say. Despite being scared as she sensed Rias' Sage Mode, she did not back down. Rias's words were still in her head before she nodded carefully.
"Please... help me become stronger... Buchou"
Rias smiled with joy and happiness before nodding.
"Please sit in a meditation position," Koneko just obeyed and listened. "In order for Youkai to use Senjutsu, you need to control the flow of life energy. However, that would create a bit of an imbalance, Koneko-chan. Generally, that triggers a Youkai's most primal thoughts. It can also kill you or turn you into stone."
Rias smiled and pointed a finger at the side of her head: "In order to have a perfect balance, you also need spiritual energy in amounts equivalent to the life energy you possess. Then, by mixing it with the energy of nature, you could achieve Sage Mode, a more perfect control in Senjutsu."
"The reason why some Youkai lose their minds, is because they are also more connected to their animal forms. You just have to control your flow of energies and balance it, Koneko-chan."
"Now... close your eyes and meditate, better connect and balance your spiritual energy located in your skull with your body's life energy that, generally, can also end up condensing little by little below the navel."
Koneko nodded and closed her eyes as she concentrated.
Kiba, Akeno, and Issei just looked on in surprise and the first two frowned as they watched Koneko slowly overcome her fears. They both looked at their hands before clenching their teeth a little.
As for Issei, he also clenched one hand into a fist, but with determination to reach his new friends and be of help.
. . .
Three days after training.
Rias had finished the day of classes and sighed before smiling slightly as she leaned back in the chair behind her desk. With training, each one had become a little stronger. But, out of all the members of her peerage, Koneko was the one who advanced the most. She managed to activate Sage Mode on Sunday near the end of training, but it only lasted a few minutes before she began to lose control a little. However, it was already a huge advance with all the problems she had about her past.
*Ding~ ding~*
"Huh?" Rias was surprised to hear the typical group chat notification and pulled out her phone. When she saw the timer had reached zero, she saw the chat unlock and a photo from Naruto was sent.
Rias's eyes sparkled with joy before showing a bit of sorrow. Naruto was only thirteen when she saw him a week ago. And, in the current photo, he already looked to be fifteen or sixteen. He had grown up and she felt a bit upset and sad about not even being able to talk to him as he grew up.
Harry Potter: "This finally works! The damn wait is over!"
Naruto: "Yes, we can finally talk, Harry nii-chan!"
Rias smiled excitedly before starting to type and send a message.
Rias Gremory: "It seems like years have passed in your worlds! Only a week has passed here! But, as it was said in the notification, then the time in your worlds should return to normal and match that of my world.
Rias Gremory: Did something interesting happen?
Naruto: I finished training with Ero-Sennin! Also, I received some missions that gave me rewards!
Harry Potter: I also received missions... But, I'm sorry, guys. I'm a little busy right now and I need to take care of something.
Rias Gremory: Huh? Do you need help?
Rias waited a moment for Harry to reply, but when she saw the photo he sent, she was a little pale. In the photo, there was a man with his face bloodied and beaten. He had several of his right hand fingers cut off, and although his face was bruised, his expression of fear could be seen.
Harry Potter: The bastard dared to sell drugs to the children inside Naples. I'm not usually an aggressive person, but just seeing a child desperate to get their hands on those disgusting things, I can't help but want to kill the bastard.
Rias immediately typed at high speed.
Rias Gremory: Drugs? Territory?.... Harry, you... don't tell me that...
Harry Potter: Huh?... Oh!... No, I'm not part of some organization. I simply found the guy selling drugs and gave him a punishment.
Rias's jaw dropped and she stared at the chat in shock.
Naruto: What are drugs?
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