My SI Stash #61 - Dream Out Loud by Jackie Avocado (DxD)

-An exorcist from the Vatican in DxD... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Synopsis: Isaiah is an exorcist of the Vatican, unknown to all, he's actually a reincarnation from another world with this one as an anime. Now if only he could remember it... or realize just how much he's changed things for better or worse. (Kiba SI)

Rated: M

Words: 11K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13776657/1/Dream-Out-Loud (Jackie Avocado)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)*

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics/originals mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

Through the ever-twisting colors of the Dimensional Gap, a red Western Dragon about 100 meters long did death-defying aerial maneuvers as if they were second nature; loudly shouting in excitement as each stunt was completed.

This was Great Red, the Apocalypse Dragon, the True Red Dragon God Emperor, True Dragon, and the Dragon of Dragons, etc.

He was the most powerful being in the universe of Draconic Deus, DxD. None could match his might except for those outside of this reality. Like some of the denizens of Evie Etoulde, ExE.

Today - or tonight, this place didn't exactly have a sun or moon - was just like any other. Peaceful, quiet - except for Great Red of course - and filled with a non-stop string of sick tricks.

Then the mighty dragon sensed it, something had slipped into the Dimension Gap. Not completely unusual, as some little shits had been trespassing onto his home lately. They didn't bother him so he let them be, no scales off his back.

This time it was just a single individual, a human at that. No power to his name, nothing special about it at all, not even any protection to stave off the effects of the Gap like the weaklings usually needed.

The dragon feared by all of DxD carried on, not giving the insignificant human that would die in seconds another thought.

...Or so it would seem.

An hour later, and it was still there, still floating. Almost like it was mocking him for his expectations for the damnable human to be snuffed out like a flickering candle.

Finally exciting his curiosity and irritation, the Apocalypse Dragon investigated this human that so brazenly let itself into his domain.

High School DxD - Utsukushiku, Akai

"You've got to be shitting me..." He let out a huff as he saw it. "This weakling is barely even holding himself together."

It was a soul, a human soul. Not even a body, just a blue flame-like mass floating in the void. Nothing special about it. But as the reality of the Dimensional Gap itself tried to rip it to pieces, it refused, struggling against the overwhelming and impossible odds. Biting, scratching, clawing for any bit of ground it could get against the unstable plane of existence, and it had been doing so for an hour.

"A little shit, but an impressive little shit, I'll give you that." The red dragon begrudgingly complemented.

The soul didn't respond. Of course it didn't, it didn't have a body to comprehend the world around it; couldn't see or hear, but it could feel the pain of its soul being pulled apart.

Great Red brought up one of its giant claws, obscenely-sharp things that dwarfed even the mightiest of his lesser brethren, and poked the human soul, using his powers to protect the human soul from the destructive effects of this dimension.

"Now, what makes you tick, little human?" Great Red proceeded to look through the soul's memories, and almost immediately he was disappointed. "Great, another one of you little fuckers."

The human soul, a male whose name the dragon didn't care to learn, was from a universe outside of his. Specifically, a world where his universe was a light novel and other forms of media.

Great Red had seen this before; he'd used his powers to peer into parallel realities.

It was usually paranoid idiots obsessing over power, and manipulating those around them as easily as they breathe. Dumbasses that had their lives turned into RPGs -cause the fucking nerds needed numbers to reassure them of how badass they were- made even worse when they got all existential about the whole Gamer's Mind thing. Fucking Jumpers, those CYOA fuckers, and fuck that whole Waifu Catalog thing especially.

None of them were worthy of a damn thing given to them. They had their safety nets, were rarely ever in danger, and given basically everything they wanted like spoiled brats no different from those fucking devils and vampires.

To a dragon… no to the pinnacle of dragons; beings who represented power and status...

It was…

His golden eyes blazed with rage. "...Disgusting."

The greatest of dragons growled at the soul, his hand closing around it ready to put the thing out of its misery. But he stopped when he realized something.

This soul wasn't special.

It had nothing attached to it that most of these Outsiders had. No Gamer, no untouchable Company, nothing.

...Nothing but balls and willpower.

"Hmph, you do have something worth respecting after all."

The soul's mind had been quite informative, while the little shit had never read the lights novels, he'd seen the first three seasons of the anime and wiki dived the site on a semi-constant basis and regularly got into discussions and debates about world-building and the like.

The Great Red of the novels died like a bitch to some fucker from ExE called Regalzeva. This time though, he knew the fucker was coming, and he had more than enough time to train like crazy to kick his shit in.

He brought his attention back to the human soul.

The human wasn't the smartest person in the room, but he was far from the dumbest. Creative, resourceful, able to think outside of the box, and from what he was seeing now, he had a will that could take him far. Not to mention one of the most Chaotic Good little shits he'd ever had the pleasure of meeting.

This could be an opportunity, an investment worth his time.

With a quick swipe of his claws, he made a small gash on his wrist, a tiny amount of blood spilling from his veins. Great Red willed the blood into the human soul. The change was near-instant; blue flames had turned into a blazing red inferno, the soul of a dragon. A dragon sired by Great Red himself.

"Don't think of this as some cheap hand out, brat!" He addressed the soul differently than before, it now shared his blood, as such it was kin. "If you can't make it work for you, then you weren't worth my fucking time- you weren't worth this world's fucking time."

Issei and his Oppai Dragon shtick was funny and all, but shit was going to hit the fan sooner or later, and he needed something a bit more.

He needed an absolute fucking mad lad.

The Dragon of Dragons poked the soul again, removing most of its memories of Highschool DxD, leaving him with vague memories of this world being an anime. If he needed metaknowledge to thrive then he wasn't worth shit.

Great Red's sight saw beyond the Dimensional Gap and onto Earth. Its eyes cycling through many of the major players in the coming times until he locked onto a particular newborn blonde in Italy.

"You want power? Earn it. You want a harem of beautiful women? Earn it. You want to be left in peace? Fucking earn it. You figure out some kind of cheat? Go for it. At least you didn't need someone to hold your fucking hand like a delicate little flower." He shot the soul out of the Dimensional Gap and into the newborn. "You've got everything you need to succeed, so the next time you stand before me I better be fucking impressed."

[-]

Bayonetta OST - The Gates of Hell

Sona Sitri was a young bespectacled woman with a slim figure, black hair styled in a short bob cut and violet eyes. She was the student president of Kuoh Academy, and the heir to the Sitri Clan.

She tapped a button on her phone and voicemail began playing.

[Hello, Miss Sitri, my name is Isaiah, no last name, unfortunately. I am an exorcist of the Vatican, and I am calling to inform you ahead of time that I will be arriving in Kuoh in the coming week on official business from the Vatican.] The voice from her phone was polite, unlike how the Church usually conducted its diplomatic business. But two things were clear; he was male and he spoke Italian.

[You see there-] He was cut off.

[Hey, Isaiah, what are you doing?] There was a slight pause in the new person's voice. [Where did you get a phone from?]

[Dulio, homie, kind of in the middle of something here.]

[And that is?]

[Informing the devils of Kuoh that the party animal that is yours truly is coming in is coming to town.] The tone of Isaiah's voice had changed, a bit chipper, seemed like he had an almost devil-may-care attitude.

[Why didn't you just send them a letter?]

[Because letters can be easily intercepted, and besides, we're not in World War I, we ain't in the trenches, we have technology.]

[Is that why you billed three rice cookers to the Vatican as a business expense?]

[Nah, I felt like pissing people off that day.]

[And the grenade launcher?]

[Listen, I am a proud exorcist-]

[That's debatable.]

[...and I have served the Vatican faithfully for years.]

[Also debatable.]

[As such, I think I am entitled to my Holy Grenade Launcher of Antioch.]

[You named it?]

[Yes, now get out of my room before I dunk on you.]

[You bastard.]

[In front of the kids.]

[You sick bastard. Alright fine then, you've got cooking duty today, got it?]

[Got it.]

The sound of footsteps could be heard and then the closing of a door.

[Alright, Miss Sitri, I'll cut to the chase and be as transparent as possible. Recently, the nun known as Asia Argento, the current wielder of the Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing, for the offense of using it to heal a devil.] He let out a long sigh. [She was tricked into doing it, but the higher-ups aren't hearing it since they care more about protecting the status quo than actually practicing what they preach. I know, it's dumb and I hate it. Which leads us to now-]

Sona sighed as the voicemail cut off and moved onto the next one.

[Sorry about that, reached the time limit. Alright, Michael made a deal with Azazel in exchange for Asia's safety, and for some reason, the location for this exchange changed and we can't get in contact with Azazel… meaning he probably broke his phone again, or shenanigans abound. Personally, I think it's both. What we should both be worried about is that the new location of the exchange is in Kuoh, a place where the sisters of two Satans live. Now I'm not saying that the devils are dumb enough to try something, but I am saying that the Vatican and Grigori totally are.]

[If there are any Fallen or Vatican forces already in Kuoh then be very suspicious and keep on your guard. I suggest alerting the Satans as soon as possible, because if the worse case scenario that's pieced itself in my mind is anywhere in the ballpark, Kokabiel, a ten-winged fallen angel that you don't fuck with unless you're Satan level, is probably responsible for this.]

[Now, where do I fit into all of this? I've been assigned as Asia's bodyguard by Michael, and from what he's told me, he's made contact with your sister, Serafall, about the current state of events, and by extension, Cthulhu willing, the other Satans as well. With that said, I apologize for the inconvenience and unwanted stress. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.]

And with that, the voicemail stopped, and Sona looked at the woman next to her. She was a beautiful girl seemingly in her late teens with black hair, tied into twin tails and blue eyes. She had a child-like body, albeit with rather large breasts, and wore a pink frilly magical girl costume.

This was Serafall Leviathan, one of the four Satans, a ruler of the Underworld. A woman so powerful she could freeze a country a dozen times over.

"Hmmm, I see." She nodded. "So you didn't call Levi-tan to confess your undying love," Crocodile tears streamed down her face. "As always, So-tan is so cold!"

She was also a bit of a loon.

Sona rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Sister, please take this seriously. Do you know this… Isaiah?"

The Satan nodded, grinning brightly. "We met about a year back in Kyoto, he got arrested by the local Youkai population for trespassing since Michael forgot to send the memo that he was being sent there to take care of a few errands. Fun guy, he agreed to be on my show if he ever gets excommunicated."

Sona raised an eyebrow. "Anything Rias and I should know about him?"

"Well, he's a low-tier exorcist and has one of the few recorded instances of someone possessing two Sacred Gears at the same time; Sword Birth and Blade Blacksmith."

Sona's eyes widened. "Then that means he can make both holy and demonic blades at will! How is he a low-tier exorcist?"

"Levi-tan thinks the higher ups in the Vatican feels threatened by the fact he gets most of his orders directly from Heaven itself, so they keep his rank low to make his influence more… controllable."

Sona sighed. "So they're actively sabotaging what is basically one of their greatest assets."

Serafall shrugged. "Old men in silly hats scared of losing power, you know how the story goes."

"And have you gotten this message from Michael?"

She nodded. "Of course So-tan, I received a verified letter from Heaven just yesterday. His story checks out. This magical girl's already informed the other Satans!" Serafall's head shot up as she remembered something important. "Oh! One more thing So-tan."

"Hmm?"

"Isaiah… he's a troubled boy. Really nice and has no problem with devils or any other species unless they're genuinely causing problems, but very troubled." Serafall said worriedly, her face more serious. "He gets this thousand-yard-stare every now and then, it's a look I've only seen in war veterans and those who've gone through extremely traumatic experiences."

Sona's eyes narrowed. "And considering the laundry list of skeletons in the Vatican's closet..."

The mood turned somber. "Yeah, I could tell from the moment I saw him. He's barely holding himself together. Levi-tan knows she can trust So-tan, but please don't be too aggressive with him, alright? He's… he's been good to us."

Sona blinked. "How so?"

Serafall grinned brightly. "He's the one that exposed the Naberius Clan's scheme to make artificial Super Devils to overthrow the current government, and cleared Kuroka-chan's name."

All sound in the room stopped as Sona processed those words. Her eyes widening as she began to comprehend them.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"

[-]

Persona 5 OST- Beneath the Mask

Asia Argento was a pretty, young blonde with green eyes. She wore a dark teal nun outfit with light blue accents, a white veil over her head with light blue accents, with a silver cross necklace around her neck, and brown boots with black straps in an X-shaped pattern.

She marveled at all of the bustling people in the airport. She'd only been outside of the Vatican to an extremely limited degree.

"A lot to take in, huh?" The voice of her bodyguard and friend came from her left. "Especially after your very first plane ride."

Asia stared at everything with joy and awe. "And you get to do this every time the Lord sends you on a mission?"

"Well, not every time. But usually, I do. Sometimes I go by train, others by boat. There's a lot of ways to travel around the world."

Asia looked up at her friend. Her very first friend. The one who refused to leave her side when she was excommunicated. The person she fell in love with.

She had to crane her head up to meet his ice-blue eyes (a mole under his left eye) due to how tall he was, being six foot four. Not the average height for an eighteen-year-old, but it was a result of the experiments and training he underwent during his time in the Sigurd Institution. He wore the typical black clergy outfit with exorcist robes, a silver cross around his neck.

His handsome face met her smile with one of his own. "But let's make sure we get somewhere we can get settled down before we start having to call a travel agent, alright?"

Asia nodded enthusiastically.

"Now," He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "It's about lunch-time, let's get something to eat. Ah, good timing there's a burger place just up ahead."

In a few minutes time, they were comfortably seated with food and drinks.

It wasn't the first time Asia had eaten burgers and fries before; Isaiah had made many different kinds of foods while at the Vatican, mostly due to Dulio and the kids bugging him… herself too.

She met him when they were thirteen, the angel Gabriel guiding him through the Vatican, his body bloodied, bruised and cut up. She rushed over to his side the moment she saw his injuries and healed him, despite how the clergymen and nuns shouted at her. It was one of the few times she'd seen someone smile at her ability to heal instead of looking at her in fear.

It wasn't soon after that he befriended the two exorcists in training, Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou, and included her into his little notorious group of crazy. Not even Vasco Strada himself was safe from their antics.

Devil May Cry 3 OST - Total Result

She knew all about Isaiah's time in both the Holy Sword Project and the Sigurd Institution, the moment she asked him to tell her, not a single lie. He was honest, almost to a fault; if someone wanted to know something and he knew it, he'd tell them…

"Everyone prayed to God. All except me, I just tried to keep everyone's spirits up, but I think they knew I felt the most hopelessness out of all of us."

"What are devils like, Isaiah?" She asked, other than the one she'd healed, she'd never seen a devil before, or knew what they were like.

He bit into his burger before answering. "The same as any other people really. Some are good, some are bad, they're just a bit more… intense with their emotions and desires than we are." He smirked a bit. "I'd advise not reciting any verses from the Bible or mentioning the Lord around them, it causes them intense migraines."

She nodded. "Um, I'll keep that in mind."

"They subjected us to many horrible things. We were forced to fight each other and sometimes supernatural creatures. Those of us who had awakened our Sacred Gears practiced extensively with them under watchful gazes, but they were never allowed to get… too powerful. Drugs concocted by the madman in charge were injected into us on a regular basis. Hell, at one point we were forced to drink nothing but holy water for a week."

Asia saw him look off to the side, through the bustling people moving through the airport at something only he could see. The look in his eyes dimmed, his lips parted ever so slightly.

It tore her heart to pieces whenever she saw that look.

The Church had told her that Twilight Healing was a miracle granted to her by God. Something that could heal nearly any wound, but her, it wasn't enough. It was selfish of her, yes, but for the person she loved she would cast that power aside…

"I don't know why they chose to save me out of everyone else. So many of them had brighter futures, grander dreams, just so much more than what I could ever achieve… They told me to run, screaming at me to do so as the researchers put bullets in the heads of those that survived the gas. And I… snapped, seeing only swords and blood, and hearing nothing but screams."

...She'd give anything to heal his mind.

To anyone else, it'd look like he'd just been staring off into space, but those close to him knew far better.

He saw the corpses of friends long passed staring at him, reaching out for him. He saw fire, felt its blistering heat; blood splattered across the walls. He heard screams, gunshots. Some voices told him to run, some ordered others to kill him.

Isaiah had told Asia about Hell once. How it was nothing like the Church had said it was like. But he told her about his own version, what he believed Hell to truly be.

Hell wasn't a place, it was an idea. A state of mind.

It's a thing that haunts you. It attacks you at your most vulnerable and never lets go. It's something that follows you no matter where you go, be it the Underworld or Heaven itself. It reminds you of your greatest sins and will never let you forget them. It makes you wonder if life is worth living anymore. It is a sinister, horrible thing worse than any demon or devil the "real" Hell can conjure, and there is no defense against it. It's a parasite of one's own making.

...And he carried this Hell with him wherever he went.

"Even after so many years... I'm still in that gas chamber… watching my friends get gunned down right in front of me..."

Asia grabbed his hand, her fingers intertwining with his. He didn't react, didn't even notice, just kept on staring.

She had been excommunicated. The Church and the Vatican as a whole had turned their backs on her, and now God himself had shunned her as well.

But even so… she would guide Isaiah as best she could.

[-]

Persona 3 OST - Blues in Velvet Room

The nekoshou known as Kuroka Toujou yawned as she put her PSP down. Another boring day as the nurse of Kouh Academy, another drawn-out grinding session in today's RPG time waster.

She was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs, and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. As usual, she wore her black and red kimono loosely as she lazed about with nothing to do.

Couldn't even take a nap since some idiot would get themselves hurt just to be sent to the nurse's office so they could ogle her, usually the idiots that comprised the Perverted Trio. That Sitri girl gave her hell last time she slept on the job.

She did smell something odd from that Hyoudou boy though. He smelt a bit like a dragon; probably a Sacred Gear.

Sacred Gears made from dragons were incredibly rare, and considering that Saji kid had one from the evil dragon Vritra, it was a straight-up miracle to find two of them in the same area.

It was rather nostalgic, the scent of a dragon that is. It reminded her of that bleeding heart of an exorcist that saved her from death's door after her escape from the Underworld years ago. Turns out he was distantly related to a dragon.

The events that transpired afterwards shook Hell itself, got the Satans involved, and the rabbit hole that was the Naberius Clan was far deeper than even she knew. Seriously, her sister's hair clip, given to her by their mother, contained all the artificial Super Devil research their father completed... go figure.

After the experiments of her former King were revealed, as well as the plans of the entire Naberius clan as a whole, they were stripped of all their titles, power, and resources, for treason. Most of them being thrown into the deepest darkest hole Devil law could allow. Her name was cleared soon after, the four Satans themselves personally welcomed her back to the Underworld with open arms, and she was allowed to join the Peerage of Rias Gremory to reunite with her sister once again.

The door to the nurse's office slid open. "Onee-chan, the exorcist from the Church showed up. Rias-buchou sent me to pick you up."

Speaking of her sister.

Shirone Toujou had grown up quite a bit over the years thanks to Kuroka resuming her training in Senjutsu and other youkai disciplines. She had long, white, almost silvery hair that reached down her thighs. She had the same hazel-gold eyes as her sister as well as a similar voluptuous figure thanks to years of training. Though thanks to their species' inherent ability to shapeshift she was able to take on a more childlike form; which she mostly used to mess with people.

"Nya!?" Kuroka groaned lazily, slumping in her chair. "Wasn't that supposed to be Friday?"

"Now, come on, and don't make me drag you kicking and screaming like last time. I don't want Sitri-san yelling at us for making a scene."

"Won't she get mad anyway if I leave the office?"

"No, she requested you there as well just in case things go poorly."

Kuroka stood up. "Alright, alright, if they need me that badly I'll come. Now, get over here, I haven't seen you all day and I need to recharge nya!"

Shirone squeaked in surprise as her sister all but teleported right in front of her, shoving her head into her breasts. She ignored her adorable sister's futile struggles and she sighed blissfully. Every day was a gift now that she had her sister back, she had been labeled a Stray for a few months but it felt like years; and if not for Isaiah's help, she shuddered at the thought of what would happen if…

Shirone stopped moving.

"Nya...?" Kuroka looked down at her sister now limp in her arms.

It finally dawned that she may have just asphyxiated her sister into unconsciousness with her breasts.

She smiled sheepishly. "Whoops."

Kuroka adjusted her sister's head so she could breathe properly. The nekoshou ran a hand through her sister's long hair.

She finally got the peaceful life she wanted. Sure, there was some excitement the week before with the Rating Game against that Riser idiot and his Peerage, but between herself and Shirone… the dumb flaming canary was shouting 'Uncle!' in less than thirty minutes.

Now she could focus on making the nekoshou race blooming once again…

Or she would've if she hadn't fallen hopelessly in love with the reckless idiot of an exorcist that fixed her life. Every time she looked at her sister, she remembered what he did for her. Every time she smelt the scent of a dragon, she remembered his smiling face.

"Eh… why? Bold of you to assume I need a reason to help someone."

"That… That's it? You don't want anything in return?"

"I wouldn't be a very good priest if I did, now would I?"

"Ah, so it's about staying true to the Church's values. A priest that patches what he's told to preach, funny."

"I guess you could frame it like that, but it ain't the values of the Vatican I follow."

"Oh?"

"After the things I've experienced, I can't bring myself to believe in God. I've been to Heaven, escorted by the Seraphim themselves, and I can't do it; I refuse to. The Vatican is a breeding ground of corruption where good men and righteous ideals are twisted irreparably. We live in an age where people forget that Devils were once Angels; where people think of each other as lesser than each other… or maybe that's just how it always was. Everyone forgetting that we're all just people. Angel, Fallen, Devil, Youkai, Human, and everything in-between; I couldn't tell you the difference."

"Then if everything's such a lost cause, then why do anything, nya?"

"I'm an absolute failure of a priest. I'm an idiot that knows damn well he can't change a single thing and here I am trying anyway. I'm not smart enough to get into the political shit-storm the world's become. And I'm not strong enough to make people take my words seriously. I may not believe in God, but… I believe in being a decent person."

She remembered the uncontrollable laughter she let out after hearing someone say something so ridiculous. But he never got upset by her mocking laughter.

"See, I knew smiling would make you look a lot prettier than that sulking face you were making earlier."

"You're a real idiot, you know that?"

"The biggest. Now, come on, kitty, we got your name to clear, a little sister to save, and an entire conspiracy that threatens to tear Hell itself apart to unravel. Sounds like one hell of a party to me!"

She got her happy ending… but what about him? Was he still being the nice guy in a world that did him nothing but wrong?

[-]

Blazblue OST - Comedy

"Oh my lordy loo, Kuroka, is that you!?" Came the excited yell of Isaiah, the exorcist that she hopelessly fell in love with after he helped her fix her life. "You haven't changed a bit!"

The black cat stood there in the middle of the room stunned. Her eyes wide and her lips parted slightly.

Everything became white noise as she stared at him. She didn't even notice her fellow Peerage members or the Student Council looking at her worriedly.

"How long has it been?" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes in concentration. "Four… five years?"

He'd… he'd grown up so much.

The cute boy she playfully teased had now become a devilishly handsome young man.

He leaned in, holding his hand above her head, comparing their heights. "See? I told you I'd be taller than you once I hit my growth spurt. And here you wanted me to stay a fun-sized shota, but look how cool I am now that ya boy's all grown up~"

Kuroka did the only sensible thing a woman would do if the object of her affections suddenly came back into her life looking one of her wet dreams given life.

"Oof!"

She glomped him with all her might...

Crash!

"MINE!"

Right out the window.

The nekoshou didn't even notice the wind rushing past them in her bliss… or the inevitable descent of gravity.

"Kuroka!? KUROKA!? GROUND! GROUND! GROUND! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"