11 Chapter 8: Training Devils & Major Events

A/N:

" " : Dialogue,

' ' : Thought,

"Italicized text" : Telepathy,

[ ] : Spells, Techniques and Sacred Gear Casts,

"Bold text": Ddraig & Albion.

Sorry for the late chapter. Had some family situations to attend to the past 2 days.

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Haruki POV

It's been 3 days since the whole debacle with Dohnaseek and his minions. In that time, we've been able to get Asia into Kuoh Academy as a second year student in our class. I've also been able to point out the many errors in the way Rias trained Akeno, so I've revamped her entire training regimen to maximize her potential as both a Queen and a fallen angel.

As it turns out, her having been in contact with her father and being told the truth of what happened a lot earlier made her have next to no qualms with using her fallen angel powers that she inherited from Baraqiel. So I know that she at least has some experience using light in the form of blasts, but now I'll need to help her integrate that light into her thunder to recreate Holy Lightning, giving her a strong weapon against other devils.

Another thing that's happened is that Koneko has become suspiciously attached to me. Anytime that there aren't classes, she's around, and not by Rias' order. Just today, I caught her stalking me 5 times, twice on the rooftop, once at the cafeteria and twice on the second year floor. As for how I know she's stalking me, I'm the Nature Dragon Slayer, sensing things like someone's surveillance on me is easy, especially when they're only a few meters away from me.

I eventually confronted her about it and she mentioned the miniscule amounts of energy that I periodically release into the air remind her of her sister, Kuroka. It seems that even with her rejecting her Nekoshou heritage, it will still show itself. That's something to work on when they start coming for training.

After school, I return home and begin preparing the training room for this night's session, especially since I'll be training multiple people simultaneously. Right before school closed, Kiba came to me with the message that Rias had agreed to take part in the training sessions with the rest of her peerage. I knew that this didn't include Gasper Vladi who had been sealed away in a room because he couldn't control his own Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View.

Eventually, time flies by and it reaches 6pm, and a second later, Issei is teleported into the room, wearing his tracksuit and the weights I had given him. He wore a more resolute expression on his face. I guess the pain tolerance training from the last two days has started having its effect on him.

Before I could start talking to him, my mom told me that Akeno and the others had come by. "I see. Wait here for me, Ise." I tell him as I teleport to the living room.

"Hey, Aki-chan. So, Rias finally listened to you." I say, giving Akeno a small kiss on the lips. "Well, she had no choice after she noticed me getting more powerful." She replies with a chuckle.

"Hey, you called us here. If I want to, I'll just leave." Rias says while grumbling. "Hey, princess." I refer to her, with my voice becoming cold. "Just because Sirzechs is your brother and you're heir to Gremory doesn't mean everyone is going to serve your whims. Especially when you're being a brat." She stands up, about to begin protesting my attitude toward her, but I shut it down fast by forcing her to the ground and binding her, using her shadow.

"Let me make this very clear to you, Rias. I don't need you here. I only invited you as a courtesy to Akeno, since you'd been by her side for as long as you have." I say, propping her head so she could look at me. Akeno sighs and apologizes for Rias' behavior while Kiba and Koneko remain seated, especially with the threat of two high rank beings that could take them out easily.

"Son, I've got a question for you. Did you know that she was a yokai?" My dad asks, pointing at Koneko. "Yeah. And I also knew that she's one of the two remaining Nekoshou." Koneko flinches at my words. "I've been in contact with Grigori, kitty. One of the people I met there had traces of the scent of a Nekoshou that was extremely similar to yours on them." Koneko snaps her head to look at me.

"Who was it? Who had the scent on them?" She asks shakily. I look at her eyes for a few seconds. "Don't bother yourself about it. The person's too powerful for you and the others to fight in the first place." Rias, from her spot on the ground seemed to take offense. "So what if they are. That doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to know about this."

I could fault Rias for her pride, but when it came to her feelings for her peerage, the only fault I could bring up was not helping them get over their individual trauma, which already says a lot about how good of a devil she is. "Alright, then. Since you want to know so badly, it's this generation's White Dragon Emperor, and he's at the ultimate rank."

Hearing this put a damper on the mood, until my dad spoke again. "But didn't you tell us that it's only family members that can smell almost exactly the same. Maybe Vali's been in contact with whoever her family member is." My mom says and I see Koneko clench her fists and understand that she's at least received some motivation.

Koneko gets off the couch and walks to me. "Please, train me" She says with her head bowed. "I was going to do that anyway, so don't worry. I'll just tell you now, don't go doing something stupid." I say, warning them not to try fighting Vali or Kuroka when they eventually come here. "Now follow me, Issei's already waiting." I say and teleport them to the training room.

As we reach the training room, we all see Issei running around, under the pressure of about 3.8 times the gravity of Earth, the same level of gravity he'd been stuck on since Sunday. "Oh, so you're back with them. Hello Rias-senpai, Akeno-senpai, Koneko-chan, Kiba." I could feel his still present jealousy of Isaiah through his voice.

Clapping my hands, I cast a spell to help me with training multiple people at once. [Doppel] A magic copy of myself comes off me while I feel a link to my mind and soon gain a second point of view. I repeat this 3 times, making it so there is one of me to specifically train each of them.

"Okay, you're #1, you're #2, #3 and #4. I'll handle Issei's training for tonight. You guys decide who you'll work with." I tell them as I drag Issei away for his pain tolerance training.

Clone #1 POV

"Well, I'll go with Akeno. #2, you'll go with Koneko. #3, you go with Rias and #4, you'll go with Kiba." "Okay/Sure/Alright." They respond as they move away with their designated trainee.

"So, apart from helping me learn how to use my dad's Holy Lightning, what else do I have to be trained in?" Akeno asks me in a sultry tone. Clearing my mind of any sexual impulses, I tell her that I'll be training her to take full advantage of the abilities of a Queen piece.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asks, genuinely curious, dropping the seductive tone of voice. "From what I've heard from the shitty pervert crow, the Queen piece is meant to grant the boons of the Rook, Knight and Bishop pieces simultaneously. This means that on top of the 'improvement' that turning to a devil is meant to give you, you also get an increase in physical strength and defense, speed and demonic power. So the training we're going to do is going to increase all of those."

As I finish explaining, I form a bucket from wood and fill it with water. "But before we start the specialized training, I need to see how good your demonic power control is. For this exercise, you put your arm in the water, then cover it in a thin layer of energy and pull it out, while making sure that you not only keep the water from heating up but also make sure that no water comes out with the arm, absolutely none." I tell her while demonstrating. (Shout-out to SixthSense1029 for the idea.)

"Depending on the amount that remains, I'll judge your proficiency in controlling your energy." She nods in understanding and begins her training.

Clone #2 POV

Dealing with Koneko was going to be a lot harder than the others, because her trauma is one that I am expected to and do know. It is also the same thing holding her back from realizing the true extent of her potential and power.

"Before we get down to training, why don't you tell me why you don't use Senjutsu or Yojutsu." My words cause her already dark mood to become even darker, so much so that I can actually see it. "Listen to me. If you keep avoiding whatever it is that's a trauma for you, when it becomes unavoidable, you won't be able to do anything against it." I tell her, ignoring her still plummeting mood.

"My sister went mad." She mutters under her breath. "What do you mean 'went mad'?" I ask her as I hear the absurdity that was her statement. "I don't use senjutsu or yojutsu because it made my sister go mad." She repeats, this time more vehemently.

Hearing the absurdity being repeated, I burst into laughter. "I can't believe you'd actually think that or believe such a boldfaced lie." "Eh?" She stutters out in confusion. "Let me ask you something, kitty. At the time that your sister supposedly went mad, had she used senjutsu at any time before that?"

She remains quiet for a short while. "Well?" She eventually nods, and now I'm certain that whoever told her that Kuroka had gone mad was bullshitting. "Here's a fun fact for you while you keep wondering why I'm asking you these questions. There's only one time that a senjutsu user can actually go mad as a result of senjutsu use, and that is at their very first time of tapping into nature. After that, any less than savory actions they make, they'll make while conscious and fully aware of said actions or they'd be having their minds controlled by someone else. In other words, your sister didn't go mad, she did whatever she did of her own will or someone else made her do it."

The revelation hits her like a bombshell, and she starts shaking in disbelief. Having the details of a trauma given to you and finding out that they're different from what you felt you've always known can do that to you.

She balls up her fists and bites her lip hard enough to draw blood, then she looks at me, her eyes containing a flame of determination that wasn't there a few minutes ago. "Fine. Train me in whatever way will make me get powerful fast." Shrugging my shoulders, I agree to her request and immediately begin her proper awakening to senjutsu.

Clone #3 POV

Standing in front of me is the bratty princess, Rias Gremory, with her arms folded. "For you, I'll need to see how well you can control your demonic power, before I can start training you." Nodding, she generates a small ball of energy in her hands, and not even a minute later the ball starts to waver and she dissipates the energy begore its structure can collapse.

"Well?" I shake my head at how poorly her energy was used. "Inefficient and wasteful. We'll have to train your energy control first before we move on to the comprehensive physical training that all of you are going to be put through." I say as I create a bucket from metal and fill it with water. I tell her the procedures for the exercise and begin monitoring her progress. 'It's going to be a long night, I guess.'

Clone #4 POV

Working with Kiba/Isaiah was a lot easier when compared to Rias and Koneko since he was more receptive to the idea of training, and as far as he was concerned, I didn't know of his traumatic experiences from the Holy Sword Project that Valper conducted.

"I'll let you know now, the only things I would be able to give you training on are your comprehensive physical performance, energy control and general combat." I warn Kiba, since I'm not proficient in sword combat. "Don't worry, that would be sufficient." Nodding in acknowledgement, I create a bucket from ice and tell him to do the energy control exercise.

After I get his current level of energy control, I do a quick combat test to see his current ability to use his physical prowess to make a battle advantageous to himself and conclude that he would need to improve drastically to reach a level that could be seen as sufficiently proficient.

Haruki POV

An hour has gone past and I've finished Issei's pain tolerance training for tonight, and he's currently asleep due to the mental fatigue that the pain had caused him. Bringing out the Somnus Necklace, I place it on him and move him to a futon that I took out of the lockers.

I return to my personal training, polishing my proficiency in the martial arts and movement techniques that I had tried recreating, while also using my magic to subtly influence my body to become ever so slightly more draconic. As things are now, the changes have only been applied lightly to my bones, muscles and skin, making me slightly more resistant to damage. And due to my power having the slayer attribute attached to it, items or beings with a dragon or dragon slayer attribute have less of an effect on me.

After a while, Issei wakes up with a jolt and in a cold sweat, muttering about a dragon. "Hey, Issei. Calm down and speak to me. What happened?" I asked him while using senjutsu to help him calm down. "I saw him, Ruki. I saw Ddraig." I smile as I know that this means that the next stage of his Sacred Gear had been unlocked.

"Bring it out." I tell him and he activates the Boosted Gear. [Boost!] "Let's try going for 12 Boosts." I tell him as I pull him up. Guiding him through a few katas for the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, I eventually tell him to try attacking me for real and he does.

For the next minute and a half, he throws multiple attacks at me and I dodge. Eventually his frustration in being unable to even graze me hits its peak, and he lets off a straight punch with all his power packed behind it. Choosing to match him, I punch toward his fist and the collision releases a shockwave of energy and causes a few cracks on his gauntlet.

[Boost! Second Liberation!] A new gauntlet seemingly emerges from the cracked gauntlet and Issei's energy surges, and at the same time I feel Koneko's senjutsu strongly awaken while also feeling the unstable yet prominent touki coming off Issei.

"Congratulations, Issei. You've officially reached the middle rank. And I express my welcome to the Heavenly Dragon of Domination." I greet Ddraig. "Hmm, I see that my reputation has not been forgotten. Who are you, human that is a confidant to my wielder?"

Holding in a small chuckle, I decide that I'll make sure that Ddraig will speak a bit more carefully to me . "I am Natsuhiko Haruki, the Nature Dragon Slayer, champion of Infinity and dragon-son of the Chaos Karma Dragon, Tiamat." Ddraig stays silent for s bit, and eventually he begins to speak.

"Hmm, so you're connected to Tiamat. Does she still hold a grudge?" I smile at the question. "You should know that it is difficult for a dragon like Tia to change or forgive any wrongs done to her, Ddraig. So asking if she still holds a grudge is pretty much pointless, don't you think?" I say with a grin on my face. 'Who would have thought that messing with Albion's rival would be this fun?'

"I see. Issei, take my advice and make sure that you avoid Tiamat like the plague. She's seen it fit to extend the grudge she has against me to all my wielders, so she'll likely kill you if she meets you." He warns Issei, rightfully. Tia has always been calm and peaceful, but her wrath would even make a Satan think twice of engaging her, let alone Issei that's just hit the middle rank.

"O..okay." Issei replies. "That's real nice and all, but we're training here, so unless you're going to help him with that, I'll have to ask that you don't interrupt as much." I tell Ddraig and he keeps quiet.

"Okay, then. Now that you've gotten both magic energy and touki awakened and up to a sufficient amount, I'll begin training you on control. I'd advise you to keep the Boosted Gear active during this training." I tell Issei and similarly to my clones, I create a bucket and fill it with water, this one made of diamond.

I explain the process and aim of the exercise and he gets to it. I also explain the predicament of humans when compared with other supernatural beings and the difficulty they face when they have to get stronger. "You however, won't face the same level of difficulty because of the Boosted Gear. Sacred Gears influence their wielders in different ways, and the ones that have the actual consciousness of a being put forth an even greater influence." I tell him and he sighs, lessening his focus just for a bit.

"Most Sacred Gears like Twice Critical or Asia's Twilight Healing cause subtle physical changes, such as making their wielder stronger or making them have healthier bodies. But Sacred Gears like yours that not only have the consciousness of a being, but are also of the highest class of Sacred Gears, cause greater changes. Ddraig here has loosened the limits on you, making it so that you can grow beyond the conventional boundaries of a human." I say as I lightly smack his head with a tendril made of water.

"He also kind of speeds up your growth, so you'll reach higher levels faster with enough discipline and determination. So while he's definitely making things easier for you, you should still put your effort in as much as before, if not even more so." I advise him and he nods, this time staying focused.

The training sessions continue and eventually, 10pm comes about and I bid them all farewell. Akeno however, chooses to stay back for a bit. "Thank you for not holding a grudge against Rias. She can be a bit entitled, but she's got a good heart." She says as we sit on a bench I made from roots.

"I know. I just feel that on her choosing to make your lives as calm as possible, she inadvertently limited you. If nothing else, I feel that she should have helped you all overcome your traumas. I acted like I couldn't feel it, but I felt the subtle whiffs of negativity hiding deep in Kiba, so I know that all of you had some traumatic experience before you joined her peerage." I tell her with a soft voice.

"Don't worry. She's doing this for the first time, so she's still got some kinks to work out. She'll do better as time passes. Speaking of kinks...." She says the last part in a sultry tone that sends a shiver up my spine and causes me to gulp. "What are yours? Are you an S or an M?" She whispers into my ear seductively while her hand moves up my lap.

I may have disciplined myself to get stronger, but it seems I ended up repressing much of my sexual desires, making me susceptible to seduction by anyone I actually have such feelings toward. The proof of that is showing right now, as arousal is threatening to cloud my judgement and decision making process.

"To be honest, I don't know. I never really felt like exploring that, but if it's for you, I can make some time." I say, letting out a short chuckle, before kissing her deeply.

"Okay, then. We'll explore that together." She says with a smile. "Oh yeah, before you go, I've got something that I wanted to give you, but I kind of forgot." I say, pulling out the flower seeds I had taken since Saturday.

Pushing some of my power into the seeds, I make them grow into a bracelet while fully exhibiting their special qualities. The Lively Daisy exudes a healing aura, the Thunderstruck Lily worked to absorb and amplify lightning magic of any kind and the Lover's Rose tapped into the feelings of love in their holder and steadily remove blemishes in them. I made sure their harmful parts didn't grow out at all.

"I was going to give you this at the end of our date on Saturday, but it skipped my mind." I tell her as I put the bracelet on her left wrist. Looking at the bracelet, she smiles lovingly. "Thank you, Haru. I'll cherish it forever. Good night." She says and teleports away. Letting out a sigh, I head into my room to sleep for the night.

Sona Sitri POV

Natsuhiko Haruki. I don't know why I hadn't considered his surname back then. He is the son of one of the most high-profile humans in the world, Natsuhiko Hanabi.

A female mage that is said to be nearly as talented as Merlin himself. One so talented, it has been said that if she was not limited by the constraints of humanity, she could possibly even match Ajuka Beelzebub in creating magic.

As if that weren't enough, his father is one of the very few direct disciples of one of the only sages that still exist, Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. To make things crazier, he himself is also a direct disciple.

Gathering this information took a lot out of me. I had to ask my elder sister for help. She of course, took the chance to make me uncomfortable with her overly affectionate hugs and kisses. It's not that I hate her, it's just that I can't handle such a great degree of affection, especially from her.

I had asked Tsubaki to help me call him to my office. I know that he's more powerful than I am, so I also know that I can't get him into my peerage. So I decided that I'll try to at least create an amicable relationship with him.

She eventually comes in with him following behind her. "So, Sona-seitokaichou, what are you calling me for this time?" I flinch slightly at the aura, or rather the lack of it. For someone as powerful as him to entirely eliminate any trace of his aura only goes to show that he's fully capable of controlling his power however he pleases.

"Tell me, Natsuhiko-kun. Have you ever played chess?" I say after calming myself down. This was the decision I had come to. If he could win me in a game of chess, then he'd be my fiance and an ally of mine, and if he couldn't, then so be it.

"A few times. Never lost though." He says confidently. "I see. Would you mind humoring me by playing one with me?" I ask him and he agrees. I sigh, then focus on the game, with me starting first.

*1 hour later*

"Checkmate." He says, bringing an end to the third and final game between us. The first had been the most challenging for him, but after that game, it seemed like he got more used to my tactics and how they changed at a moment's notice, and the games became easier for him and nigh impossible for me to win.

"It really is. Thank you for humoring me, Haruki-kun." I say, admitting my loss, and sighing in relief that there was no aggression of any kind from him. "Of course." He seemed to brush off the fact that my way of addressing him had changed.

I shake his hand and bid him farewell. "Do you think it'll be worth it?" Tsubaki asks me after closing the door to the office. "Honestly, I have no clue. So the only thing we can do now is wait and hope it works out." I say, thinking of the headache that my sister would cause me when I tell her about this.

Chapter End.

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