Training Montage

A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here officially means new chapter over on the P atreon now, where my patrons are currently voting on the future direction of this story!

-x-X-x-

In an instant, Azazel makes up his mind with the same impulsive attitude that had led to his Fall in the first place. As he fixes his coat a bit, pushing off of the wall that his dear sister shoved him up against, the Governor General of the Grigori lets a small smile grace his face.

"Very well then. For such an important assignment, there can only be one option. I'll be sending my protégé to liaise with you going forward."

Gabriel's eyebrows raise at that. Even in Heaven, or rather, especially in Heaven, they heard things.

"Your protégé. You mean…?"

Smirking a bit more openly now, Azazel nods his head.

"That's right. I'll send over my dear Valentine. Though, I wouldn't call her that if I were you. She prefers Vali."

For a brief moment, Gabriel's lips thin out and she looks as though she might reject the idea. Azazel almost hopes she does, as it will allow him to potentially wring out a concession or two from her. But no, his fallen sister considers it, mulls it over for a time, and then smiles. Azazel doesn't like that smile. It's the type of smile he would have on his face, more often than not.

"Such a gracious gift, brother. How perfect, thank you."

Stiffening at the utter presumption in Gabriel's voice, Azazel is forced to once again acknowledge that this Gabriel is not the Gabriel of the Heavens. This is a Fallen Seraph, and from the way her smile is growing more and more evil by the second, she has… plans for his pick. Suddenly, Azazel wants to take it back… but alas, he can't. He's already made his decision and trying to change his mind now… well… it would put him in exactly the place he'd hoped to put Gabriel if she rejected the idea.

"We shall look forward to her arrival, Azazel. Now… begone, brother."

Despite the finality of her words, she doesn't attempt to force him to leave, at least. She does him that much courtesy, allowing him to walk out on his own power. She DOES follow him to the door, however, and as Azazel walks on through, she calls out to him one more time before closing it shut behind him.

"Oh, and Azazel? We'll be sending you a bill for the window!"

Letting out a sigh, the Grigori Leader considers what this all means for the future for just a moment… before continuing on his way.

-x-X-x-

Issei groans, as he wakes up to the heavenly sensation of a pair of breasts wrapped around his morning wood, a pair of lips wrapped around his cockhead, and a tongue swirling and slurping away at his glans. Opening his eyes to look down and see Gabriel working over his shaft, he smiles… before remembering everything that had taken place the day before.

"… That all actually happened, didn't it?"

Her perfect breasts rubbing up and down his dick, Gabriel hums and gives a smiling nod, flaring her pitch black sets of wings in reminder.

"Every last bit of it, yes, beloved."

For a long moment, Issei just considers that, going over the events of the day in his head. He really was ridiculously reckless, wasn't he? And yet, it'd all worked out in the end even still. And… the memories he'd made with Gabriel, both before and after the intrusion of three of the more powerful entities in this world and others, were very, very arousing. So arousing, in fact, that combined with Gabriel's impeccably lecherous technique, Issei doesn't last long before he's cumming all over the Fallen Seraph's tits and face.

Pulling back, the gorgeous fallen angel moans as she rubs his cum into her breasts, licking it from her lips and scooping it up to suck off of her fingers. For a moment, Issei just watches her do so… then, she turns an altogether intense gaze down upon him.

"It's time to get up, my beloved. Your training begins now."

Jolting at that, Issei rises from the bed as Gabriel pulls back and stands up.

"Oh? Training?"

He vaguely remembered agreeing to something like that yesterday. Before everything got a little blurry, as he found himself meeting his sexual match for the first time in his entire life. Not just his match… Gabriel was his superior in bed, once she'd Fallen and was no longer bound by all of those inane, poorly made edicts.

"Indeed. My brother Azazel has seen fit to assign your opposite, the Vanishing Dragon, as his liaison with our… hm, growing family. And so, you must train. Now come, let us take this outside, so as to not destroy the bedroom."

Hurrying to get some lightweight, breezy clothing perfect for training on, Issei cocks his head to the side as Gabriel's words wash over him.

"Wait… that silver-haired woman? I met her before when she picked up Kokabiel. She's coming here as a… liaison?"

"That's right. And I will be perfectly honest with you, my beloved. As she is now, and as you are now… she is stronger than you. Not by much, but I would expect her to defeat you, nine times out of ten."

That heavy statement sends a jolt through Issei. Sheesh, just how much had he slacked off, if that was Gabriel's estimation? Arriving out in the yard, they face off with one another, Fallen Seraph and Red Dragon Emperor. Smirking, Gabriel's eyes twinkle with mischievous delight and purpose.

"Don't worry though. We're going to fix that. We're going to make sure that no matter what Vali has up her sleeves… you come out on top, as you always should."

Issei puffs up with pride at that, a grin slowly spreading across his face. It was nice, having a power like Gabriel in his corner. He-

"Now, begin."

In an instant, Gabriel is in his face, and it's all Issei can do to bring his arms up and block as she slams into him with great force. Eyes wide… the Red Dragon Emperor soon finds himself fighting for his life against an impossible force of nature.

-x-X-x-

"Va-kun! It's so good to see you again! I'm happy that we're going to be working together!"

Valentine Lucifer, though she much preferred to be called Vali, valiantly resists the urge to rub the bridge of her nose. Meanwhile, the owner of that voice, one Lavinia Reni claps her hands together in front of her, beaming quite happily. It's been a while since the two of them last saw each other. Lavinia was like a big sister to Vali… but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. The older girl had a tendency to… hm, make light of Vali's strength.

Needless to say, the reaction from everyone else is… somewhat overstated.

"Oho! Va-kun, is it? Can I call you that?"

Those words come from Kuroka, a Nekoshou, which in and of itself was a rare variant of the almost instinct Nekomata. As an SS-class Stray Devil, she was one of the most wanted criminals in all the Underworld. She was also as playful as her cat-like features would seem to imply, and loved to be vulgar, using her body as a weapon as much as her actual Senjutsu powers.

More than anything, Vali knew that Kuroka was looking for a strong man to breed her good and proper, one that she could in turn have strong babies with. Vali wasn't an idiot… she knew that was half the reason Kuroka was willing to come along on this mission, even to such a dangerous place as Kuoh Town.

It might not have been a high power area originally, but even before it became known as the home of the hidden Red Dragon Emperor, as well as the first Great Seraph to Fall in centuries if not millennia, it was dangerous to one such as Kuroka for… personal reasons. Now though, Issei Hyoudou's existence had caught Kuroka's interest. For multiple reasons, at that.

"Oooh! Me too! Va-kun is a good nickname!"

And then there was Jeanne. Jeanne, who carries the spirit of the Maiden of Orleans, Joan of Arc, had motivations that were both easier and more difficult to parse than Kuroka's. On the one hand, the blonde, blue-eyed girl was probably sent by Cao Cao of the Hero Faction to keep an eye on things. Issei Hyoudou was still something of an unknown factor, and when Vali had begun shopping around for a team for this assignment, there had been quite a few to jump in, so to speak.

Except, Jeanne was also entirely unpredictable, and could be quite reckless and impulsive. Hers was a cheerful and childlike personality on the outside, but the sort who would do anything she needed to claim victory if the chips were down, and underhanded tactics were called for. You always had to be careful around her.

"Ah… but that doesn't seem appropriate! Vali-sama should remain Vali-sama… yes?"

And finally, rounding out their little group as its fifth member, if Le Fay Pendragon. The descendant of Morgan Le Fay as well as the legendary King Arthur, she was also the younger sister of the modern day Arthur Pendragon. Despite her cautious words, her tone is exuberant and enthusiastic, her face as happy as the others. However, unlike the others, Le Fay is polite to a fault, and prefers to address everyone she meets with the honorific 'sama'.

Out of everyone in their little party, knowing what Vali knows about Issei Hyoudou and his lecherous ways… she's the most unsure about Le Fay's presence in their group. Honestly, the silver-haired woman is still surprised that Arthur even let his little sister come along. She has her suspicions about why Cao Cao wanted both Jeanne and Le Fay in this new team Vali was putting together… but she'd let them rest, for now.

Looking over the four other women, Vali Lucifer tilts her head to the side.

"You can call me whatever you want, so long as you listen to my orders. We'll be going into enemy territory. It might not seem like it, but there's a reason that I've assembled this team, even for a simple liaison assignment. That's why we're not going directly to Kuoh Town. Instead, we'll be spending the next week getting familiar with one another."

That gets yet another round of… reactions from the assembled group. As she looks upon the newly constituted Team Vali, Vali Lucifer just shakes her head minutely. She would put up with the politics, and the maneuvering, and the jockeying for power and position. So long as it got her some more good fights, and ever closer to her ultimate goal… she would put up with it.

-x-X-x-

Issei groans, face down in the dirt. He's been put through the wringer, and yet…

"Get up, my beloved. Unless you think the White Dragon Empress will take it any easier on you."

Gabriel is right. And so, Issei pushes himself out of the dirt. He does so by imagining that silver-haired haughty bitch's hips in his hands as he plows her from behind while she cries out and begs for more. He-

"You're thinking lewd things again, beloved. And while I find that absolutely delicious… please, focus on the matter at hand. Besides, the Vanishing Dragon is not the only one you need to worry about. Other forces move in the shadows, even now…"

Issei opens his mouth to ask what Gabriel means, but the Fallen Great Seraph is upon him again, and he doesn't have the oxygen to spare to ask his questions as he once again finds himself fighting her with all of his flagging might.

-x-X-x-

Not very far from Kuoh Town, especially compared to some of the others who have turned their eyes in that direction of late, is Kyoto. And within Kyoto lies the Urakyoto, an alternate dimension created by the West Youkai Faction, also known as the Kyoto Youkai Faction.

Seated seiza in an otherwise empty throne room after a long day of fielding the same tired requests and rejecting the same tired demands, the leader of the West Youkai Faction lets out a soft sigh, flicking open a fan to fan herself with as her nine golden tails splay out behind her, her golden fox ears flicking back and forth across her head. Even her nose wrinkles like a fox's would, wiggling cutely.

Yasaka, a Nine-Tailed Fox, frowns as she considers her current predicament. Honestly, it's an irritation more than anything else… but an irritation all the same. The power dynamic was rapidly shifting, with the Fall of the Great Seraph Gabriel. Everyone was freaking out. That freak out started with the Three Factions, of course, but like a cascading ripple effect, it spread out from those three and eventually affected everyone by the time it was done.

She couldn't ignore it, as much as she wanted to. And all of the sudden, she was being pressured from all sides to DO something about it. Or rather, to do something about the Kyoto Youkai Faction's security. Hah! Yasaka scoffs. Security… she knew what they really wanted. They wanted her power. They wanted her to marry one of them, in the interest of closing ranks.

The courtship attempts and offers of marriage had been an ever-present aspect of Yasaka's life, even before Kunou was born. But never before had it gotten so insistent. Indeed, even her allies were starting to squirm and break in the face of this new change.

What was she going to do? Hmph, it wasn't like she wanted to marry any of them. But they would continue to insist, unless she found a more powerful mate elsewhere…

Flicking her fan closed, Yasaka's gaze turns in the direction of Kuoh Town, staring at where it would be if there weren't walls, a dimensional barrier, and lots and lots of land in her way. Maybe… maybe the solution was actually in the problem itself? Maybe she was looking at this all wrong. Maybe… heh, maybe she had the answer staring her right in the eye this entire time…

-x-X-x-

"And not just that… but you'll have returning challengers as well. You've had encounters with those stronger than you before now, don't try to deny it. But they didn't take you seriously, and you and I both know it. Now though? Now they will have to. And I think sooner, rather than later, you'll have to deal with them once and for all…"

-x-X-x-

Deep in the Underworld, in an office covered in shadow, sits a Devil behind a desk. This devil is not usually one inclined to sit behind desks. No, she's much more likely to put herself out there. She's a woman of action… and besides all that, she loathes paperwork. Unfortunately for the Satan in charge of Foreign Affairs, the recent events force her to do a lot, and she means a LOT of paperwork.

Serafall Leviathan, wearing a rumpled pink and white magical girl outfit and looking like she hasn't slept in days, growls as she leans forward over her desk, coming a bit into the candlelight.

"Issei… Hyoudou…"

Not only had he made all this paperwork for her to do… but he'd made Gabriel the Great Seraph FALL! It was ridiculous! It was completely and utterly insane! And unfortunately for Serafall Leviathan and her newfound relationship with her sister, it wasn't something she could just blow off. Sona wouldn't just be disappointed if Serafall skipped out on her paperwork, she'd be upset… and she'd punish Serafall for it too. Not in the good way either.

In the end, Serafall's only choice was to try and get through the stacks and stacks of paperwork generated for the office of Foreign Affairs by Gabriel's Fall at the hands of the current Red Dragon Emperor.

Still, one thing was for absolute shit-sure…

"I'll get you for this, Issei Hyoudou. I'll get you…"

-x-X-x-

"But do not fret, my beloved. For though our adversaries are numerous, and their power is vast, I will prepare you for each and every one of them. In the end, they don't know it… but they're all like me at the end of the day. Looking for a man like you. They simply have to be shown the Light."

…

"Now, do get up please. And try to bleed a little bit less this time, if you would."

-x-X-x-

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