Patterns

Disclaimer: I own neither High School DxD nor Demon Slayer. This story is purely fan fiction. Please support the official release.

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●3rd Person POV●

Muichiro grabbed the boy's collar and leaped away in the nick of time.

A pillar of light descended on their previous position, making dust fly and filling the air with the scent of scorched earth.

"That was quite close. I almost didn't dodge that one.", he says with no indication of apprehension in his voice.

His companion however, wasn't stone faced like him.

"Holy shit! What the hell was that?!"

His forehead flooded with cold sweat. The boy's face no longer carried traces of his glare moments before. Only fear could be seen.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't gotten your name yet."

"Wh-what?"

"Your name."

"I-It's Issei. Issei Hyoudou."

Is this the right time for introductions? The young boy who he now knew as Issei didn't bother voicing out his inquiry.

His eyes were glued to their assailant who remained in the sky, surprised that the insects continued their chirping in her presence.

"I see, I see. Can I call you Issei?"

"Okay, okay! Just get-!"

Before he could finish, another pillar of light fell on top of them, but not before Muichiro dodged again while carrying Issei with him. He ran in circles along the park's edge in an attempt to delay the enemy's attack.

He couldn't just run off to safety with him since that would run the risk of carrying their battle to the more crowded streets, endangering civilians. Even more, he didn't know whether or not that beam can be made to follow them while moving.

"I'm gonna need you to hide somewhere for me, okay Issei?"

"Okay! ...Wait! What about you?", affirmation escaped his mouth before he knew it, followed by worry about the boy who clearly looked younger than himself.

Neither paid attention to the way they held onto each other intimately.

In a princess carry.

"No need to worry about me. As you can see, I am quite strong.", without waiting for Issei to retort, he threw him into the bushes as a shower of black feathers fell down on himself.

Seeing this, he grips the hilt of his katana firmly within both palms before raising it above his head.

"Mist Breathing, Third Form: Scattering Mist Splash."

He brings his blade down in a circular motion, creating a strong gust that sends the projectiles off their courses, leaving him unharmed.

He had no time to breathe though, countless more smaller beams of light continued to rain down to impale him.

He dodged the ones coming for him and deflected the ones headed for the bush he threw Issei into.

The older boy's eyes widened upon witnessing him slash actual light in twain. Only for a moment though. Determined to not be a burden in his fight, he made his way outside the park, doing his best to hide.

It was only when he couldn't feel Issei's presence behind him that Muichiro zipped across the battlefield. Light arrows followed in his wake, narrowly missing his feet as he sprinted.

"Hooohh~ So you possess some neat tricks, I see. I admit it, you are stronger than I gave you credit for." A look of contempt marred the fallen's features. "My name is Raynare. Remember it in oblivion, fool."

To her, this was some of the highest praise she had ever given to a mere human.

He stopped her from killing her target. He also engaged her in physical combat and won, and not a single scratch marred his figure even after she launched an onslaught of ranged attacks.

It vexed her to no end that she had yet to draw a single droplet of blood from the insect's, no, her enemy's body.

She deemed this boy, who managed to remain alive this long after insulting her, to be worthy of hearing her glorious name.

On the contrary though.

"Okay."

His non-commital reply to her declaration caused a notable number of veins to appear on her head. It took immense self control on her part to not dash at him and attempt to strangle him.

"I see that you intend to continue taking me lightly. For that I put your head on a pike!♡"

With a look of pure rage, she amped up the bombardment. Her arms strained as she poured more fuel into powering her spells.

Explosions and flashes of light littered the battlefield, scattering dust and rubble. Visibility was made poor.

Or it should have been.

With no change to his breathing, he weaved through every attack that came his way. He leaped, sidestepped and flipped within the cacophony of destruction all around him.

It would make anyone wonder how he could see all of it coming and react on time.

'Quite impressive.', he thought. 'But still a bit weaker than i expected. She claimed that the lady, Kalawarner, was her subordinate so i was expecting more... She is as strong as the Tengu's leader back then...'

"Hoohh? So I am weak, you say?"

"I said that out loud?"

"Die!"

Their battle raged on.

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●Issei's POV●

Am I in a movie right now?

I am currently standing behind a wall by the park where a battle straight out of the big screens is going down.

Holy shit, I could feel the wind whipping around from here.

No matter how many light projectiles that bitch is sending his way, she can't seem to hurt him.

If anything, she seems to get even madder as time passes. Just what is he saying to her? At this point, anything he says to the enemy has the effect of aggravating them into attacking him. Does he possess a passive [Taunt] skill?

Showers of light blades cascade over him, and all he does is bob and weave through them. He doesn't even bother blocking.

How sick is that?! I wanna do that!

[Heh, good luck with that. You'll be sliced to ribbons before you could blink.]

Who said that?!

I whip my head around to look, but I find no one.

Was it my imagination again?

[I'm in your mind... This is all a dream... None of this is real...]

Okay, now I know you're messing with me!!

I could hear you giggling dammit!

[Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist.]

Good, you're actually talking to me now. Can you please explain what the hell is going on?

Who are you, and what are you doing in my mind?

[Rejoice, brat! For you are in the presence of...], he pauses for dramatic effect. [The great Draigg, the Red Dragon Emperor!]

Woah, that sounds cool! A dragon? A real one?!

[Damn right it does! But that's not important right now. Keep your eyes on the fight, brat.]

When I looked back, I could see the fight becoming more destructive. The entire park became a flurry of flying rocks and clouds of dirt. The center had been covered in deep slashes and holes from the bitch's sorry-ass attempts at hurting... who was he again?

Damn, I didn't even get his name.

[Hmph, ungrateful little shite. He saved you and you didn't even have it in you to ask him that?]

Give me a break, man! I just had my heart broken a little while ago! It just didn't cross my mind at the time!

[Tut, tut, tut. Excuses!]

Like I said-

[Shh! Keep watching! Stupid brat, you have ADHD or somethin'?]

If you were here in person, I'd strangle you.

He only scoffed in response.

Moving on.

Can this even be called a fight? The bitch is just throwing stuff at him and he just sidesteps out of the way. Sure, he still goes about it casually, but it remains a fact that he can't win without landing a hit on her.

[That's just how it looks to you, dumb brat. If you actually used yer noggin, you'd know.]

Know what? And stop calling me dumb!

[What's wrong with calling someone dumb, dumb? Especially after I saw that especially idiotic look in your face after she tried to impale you, I'd say it would be an understatement.] I wince a bit at that. [I want you to think for a second. Actually think.]

Okay.

[He isn't just dodging her attacks.]

He isn't?

[Do I have to spell everything out for you?]

Explain it in a way I could understand!

[Haaah, okay. He's finding the pattern.]

Pattern? What do you mean?

[You have a routine, right? A set of activities that you do daily, for an extended period of time?]

Yes.

[And some routines have followed you since you were a toddler, right?]

There are some things I feel I can't go a day without doing, yes.

[Now imagine your routine, but on a longer timespan. Imagine that you repeat a single routine over and over for the span of, say, a millennia?] Something clicks in my head as he pauses. [At that point, it would be nigh impossible to change your behavior. You have been repeating the same thing over and over again to the point that doing something different doesn't even cross your mind.]

I see. I think I get it. But a millennia as timespan specifically?

[Because the bitch that boy is facing right now is what is known as a fallen angel.]

Like from the Bible?

[Yes! Exactly the one. It's surprising how you of all people know about the Bible, given your... proclivities.]

Not gonna comment on that. Carry on with the explanation please!

[She was created by the one you humans refer to as the Abrahamic God not long after Adam himself was molded from clay. And before you ask, yes God was real.] The voice clears his throat and continues. [So it goes without saying that since she's lived that long, she's been fighting the same way for a very, very long time. Long-lived beings like her have rather predictable fighting styles that come along with their own predictable habits.]

I see! So he's running all over the place to get a feel for her attack patterns! Just like in an RPG!

[Yes! Now you get it, fool! Though I don't understand that second part. Maybe I'll find out through your memories.]

From what you've been saying since a while ago, you're implying you can read them...?

[Not just read. I can watch them too.]

And what do you think...?

[Utterly deplorable. Is the gutter in which you keep stuffing your mind filled with nothing but tits? Even the memories of attending your grandparents' funerals have you thinking about your distant cousin's chest first thing in the morning...]

Gyaaaah!!! Stopitstopitstopitstopit!!!!!!!

This is doing more emotional damage than that bitch's betrayal, you know?

[Hoh? I haven't even touched on the memories of what you have in that thing you humans call a "hard drive" you know?]

Repress! Repress it! Focus on the fight, right?!

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A/N: I need the stones man. I need it!