Chapter 11
Biscuit let out a low whistle as they got close to Riser's mansion, “Damn, that's big.”
Riser chuckled, “Actually, it's quite small by Underworld nobility standards. The Bael Pillar Family lives in a castle the size of a small city.”
Biscuit stumbled slightly, “Seriously?! How big is their family?!”
Riser paused to think about that, “Well, there's the Ancestor, Lord Zerkram Bael, His son, his son's wife, two grandsons, and that's it. So, five. Though only four of them live in the main home. Sairaorg, a good friend of mine you'll meet soon, was banished because he didn't inherit the Bael clan's trait the Power of Destruction.”
“Clan trait?”
“The seventy-two pillar clans were labeled as such due to the original founder of each pillar having a unique ability. For example, my clan, the Phenex, are known for our immortality, hellfire, and wind magic. We are also the only ones capable of producing a powerful healing elixir known as Phoenix Tears, which are capable of healing any wound.”
Biscuit let out another whistle, “Damn. No wonder you're rich.”
“Richest family in the underworld.”
Biscuit chuckled, “I made the right choice.”
Their conversation died down until they got inside of the mansion. Riser went to where he could sense both Ingvild and Xenovia, which led him right into the kitchen. He paused at the sight of Ingvild covered head to toe in flour while Xenovia stood far away from her.
At his entrance, both women turned to look at him. Xenovia looked a sstoic as ever while Ingvild had a bright smile on her face, “Riser! Dinner is almost ready.” She paused when she spotted Biscuit. She tilted her head and asked curiously, “Who's that?”
Xenovia chimed in, “I'm curious as well.”
Riser gestured toward Biscuit, “Ladies, allow me to introduce Biscuit Kreuger, my new Rook. Biscuit, I would like you to meet the other members of my peerage. The one covered in flour is Ingvild Leviathan, my Queen. The other is Xenovia Quarta, my only Pawn.”
Ingvild clapped her hands excitedly, sending up little clouds of flour, while flouncing over toward Biscuit, “Oh! That's wonderful! A new friend! I'm very happy to meet you Biscuit!”
Biscuit gave Ingvild that smile adults give over-excited children, “It's nice to meet you too Ingvild.”
Xenovia, more stoic and less excitable asked the obvious, “I thought we were all training for the coming competition. When did you find time to recruit a new peerage member?”
Riser shrugged, “An opportunity presented itself so I took it. Biscuit was pretty strong for a human thanks to her special skill, one I hope she can teach us after the coming event. If we had more time I'd try to learn it now, but true mastery of her skill would definitely take longer than we have. It'll be better to focus on what we already have at hand. Though, since she's newly reincarnated, I plan to spend some time training her in her new abilities so she at least has a basic understanding and can incorporate it into what she already knows.”
Xenovia looked curious, “What is this special ability?”
Biscuit is the one to answer, “It's called Nen. It uses a person's life energy to create paranormal abilities.”
Xenovia hums in thought while Riser elaborates, “It's basically a specialized version of Touki. Rather than using Touki for a general physical boost, it takes that energy and turns it into a personalized special ability. Though, from what I understand, it's possible to specifically craft an ability you desire.”
Biscuit nodded, “It is. In super basic terms, there are general abilities that everyone can learn and then personal abilities that the user crafts for themselves. It's, obviously, nowhere near as simple as it sounds and there is a lot of nuance that goes into it but it is possible with time and effort.”
Riser nodded, “And that time requirement is why we won't worry about learning Nen for you for the time being.” He looked between Xenovia and Ingvlid, “Your training hasn't changed and will continue as is. I'll take the time to train myself and get Biscuit up to snuff on her new abilities.” He clapped his hands together, “With that being said, let's get to dinner!”
-----Line Break-----
The first week of training with Biscuit went smoothly. Due to her long experience with Nen it didn't take her very long at all to get the hang of using her Demonic Power to cast magic. The fact that Demonic Power was molded through imagination just made it all the easier for her. She just substituted Demonic Power and went through the exercises she taught Gon and Killua back in her world, though slightly modified where needed.
At the same time, Riser taught her Total Concentration Breathing to get her working on it as soon as possible. She took to it like a fish to water. Between her mastery of Nen and her own monstrous endurance, for a human, she had no issues getting the basics down and working toward mastering it.
The second week was spent on strength training alongside Riser. Biscuit was exceptionally strong, for a human with no Sacred Gear, easily sitting in the upper levels of Middle-Class. For a human with no magic, no special heritage, no Sacred Gear, and not a reincarnation of a hero, that was damned impressive. Turning her into a Rook had only made her stronger, but some training was still needed to improve her further. Riser wanted her to at least be High-Class.
Week three was when Riser had a genius idea.
-----Line Break-----
Riser yawned as he walked out to his personal training area where Biscuit was already doing some stretches. He stopped a moment to simply enjoy the sight. Ever since he sculpted her body into its new form Biscuit hadn't used her child form a single time. She clearly loved looking like her ideal femaine form without the loss of an ounce of strength.
Riser had to admit, he did damned good work as he watched her bend over and stretch out the yoga pants she was wearing to train in. DAMNED good work. Biscuit was currently wearing the hell out of the yoga pants and sports bra she had donned to train in. When she had joined the other girls to do some clothing shopping, she had been entranced by the fashions of the Underworld. The Hunter x Hunter world was very different from the DxD world, though some things were the same. The Hunter x Hunter world was a strange mix of old and new, as was the Underworld. It made Biscuit feel at home while giving herself something wholly new to indulge in.
And indulge she did. She'd spent millions on clothes and accessories, so much she actually managed to fill the massive walk in closet in her personal room in the mansion. A walk in closet in Riser's home wasn't comparable to one in a normal home. His walk in closets might as well be small warehouses. She bought everything from the casual work out clothes she had on to high-end ball gowns worn on only the most stuffy of occasions.
And then she did it again so she had matching outfits for her child form.
She even took the time to develop a spell that would let her swap between matching outfits when she changed forms. It was similar to what Akeno did to change into her Miko outfit in combat, only without lightning and with a poof of smoke to conceal her very brief moment of nudity. Biscuit might have been changed into a devil but she still retained her human modesty, for now.
Riser continued to 'observe', read ogle, Biscuit until she finished her stretches. She faced him and gave him an unimpressed look, “Enjoying yourself?”
Riser shrugged, “Just admiring my handiwork.”
Biscuit chuckled while rolling her eyes. She had no issue with him ogling her at all. How could she when he'd spent literal hours working on her designing said body? Hell, he'd spent literal hours just sculpting her pussy to her desires. She, quite literally, had nothing he hadn't seen in enough detail to memorize.
“So what are we working on today?”
Riser walked a bit closer to her as he answered, “I had a thought this morning. You've done remarkably well and definitely grown stronger in the last two weeks.”
“But?”
“But you haven't quite made it to High-Class yet. I have something I can give you that will not only increase your strength, but will give you an ungodly ability with ice magic. The last person to have the ability I want to give you was so good with it she could, literally, freeze time.”
Biscuit blinked at that, “Seriously?”
Riser nodded, “Seriously. It's called the Demon's Extract. Like you, it's from another world. It's capable of freezing anything, conjuring and manipulating ice even without a water source, and renders the user immune to harm from any temperature. The only real limit I know of for it is the limit of the user's imagination. Weapons, armor, soldiers, all can be conjured and controlled with the Demon's Extract.”
Biscuit hummed as she considered it, especially after hearing about conjuring soldiers. Her main ability with her Nen was a Nen Beast she named Cookie so she was very familiar with summons and the idea of offensive summons did appeal to her. Still, she had to ask, “If it's so powerful, why don't you want to use it?”
In response, Riser summoned his flame wings, letting them stretch wide so the detail of each feather made of pure fire could be seen, “Fire is more my thing. I don't have the time, or patience, to learn how to use Ice Magic. It would be much better to just give it to someone who could put it to much better use than I ever could, or would. Aside from that...” He shrugged, “I've got another half dozen abilities I'm already training like my Visored and Devil Trigger abilities.”
Not to mention all the daily training he did to continuously improve his power. Between the kata for his fire and wind mastery, his daily practice with his Devil Trigger to improve it, regular weight lifting, and practicing with his stolen ability to Boost via Skill Eater, he had a ton of things to practice on a daily basis without adding mastering Demon's Extract on top of it all.
Seriously, with all the training he did it was a miracle he had a life of any kind at all. Let alone time to date Ingvild and Xenovia.
Biscuit came to her decision, “I'd like to give it a try.”
With a thought, Riser passed Demon's Extract over to Biscuit via Power Lending. Biscuit gasped as she felt the new ability click into place. As a Nen master she was very in tune with her body. It was effortless for her to notice even a single change, which is what made it so easy for her to feel and manipulate her new Demonic Power. Now another new power slotted into place inside of her and she could feel it without even having to try.
Biscuit raised her hand and immediately conjured up a perfect sphere of crystal clear ice that calmly floated above the palm of her hand, “This is so easy to use. I can barely feel even the tiniest drain on my Aura.”
Riser hummed in thought, “So it does use life energy, or stamina, to function. I had wondered but I'm nowhere near as skilled as you in sensing the disparate energies inside of my body.”
Biscuit shrugged, “That'll change once we have time to properly teach you to use Nen.”
While she had been able to compress a year of Nen training into a month for Gon and Killua, that was all they had focused on for said full month. Riser had too many different things he needed to do to dedicate that sort of time commitment to just learning Nen. She could respect that, but she would make damned sure her new master would learn the ins and outs of Nen in the near future. She would respect him more once he could.
Plus, she was really curious about what he would specialize in and how it would present itself.
That was all for later though. There were just about two more weeks left until the event and she had something new to learn, not that she felt it would take her too long to get a fair handle on her new ability. Between it and training to get stronger, something she'd never imagined she would do, she had more than enough to keep herself busy.
Riser left Biscuit to her own training and went to do his. Due to the level of weights he was now lifting, he was forced to use them outside. Unlike his home in the human world, he didn't have any properly reinforced rooms in his mansion. He could have one built, of course, and might in the future, but for now outside worked just fine.
He lay himself on the ground and scooted under the bar for the weights he was going to bench press. He couldn't find any benches that could survive the weight he was currently lifting so he had to make do without. Frankly, he had no idea how much weight he was lifting these days.
The weights he had weighed very little until they were magically charged. The more magic pumped into them, the heavier they got. It worked out for him as training not just for his muscles, but for his general control over his power under stress as well. If his power fluctuated, so would the weight he was lifting. He had to keep his power output level and at a point where the weights strained his muscles. Too little and the weight was too light, too much and he couldn't lift it at all. It was a delicate balance that let him multitask.
He loved it, but he also made it harder on himself to push his limits. At the same time he fed energy into the weights and lifted them, he also fed energy into his Hollow Mask. It was still only at the Menos Grande stage and he wanted to push it into the Adjuchas stage. Frankly, the only upside to the Adjuchas stage would be how much stronger it made him. He wouldn't gain any new abilities and would, in fact, lose one.
Once the mask evolved, he would lose access to Negacion, the ability to protect people by moving them into an alternative space. It was honestly a very powerful defensive ability he could use to protect members of his peerage, though not himself. Losing it kind of sucked, but was acceptable in the long run. Other than that, his Kumon ability, which was basically an alternative teleportation ability, would evolve into the Garganta ability, which was basically the same, only better. The bright side of those abilities though was the fact that there were no wards or protective measures designed to stop them from working. It was something he planned to keep hidden as a trump card in case he ever needed to escape from somewhere and teleportation wouldn't work.
The big change wouldn't come until he hit the Vasto Lorde stage, and if the amount of energy required to hit Adjuchas was anything to go by, it would take him quite a long time to build up enough for the evolution as well as an equally difficult fight. He didn't even want to begin to contemplate the requirements for evolving it to Arrancar class. That was a long ass ways away.
So, that gave him three things he could do at the same time to make himself stronger.
At this point, he believed that, if he went all out, he could be Sairaorg in a one on one, even if Sai used Regulus. Between Boost and Divide from his Skill Eater, he could win with little issue. That was his plan for the coming tournament. Sairaorg knew his tricks, hell he helped train them, but using them all at once in a serious fight was a different matter entirely. It would be a hard battle, but it would also be a complete blast.
-----Line Break-----
Riser lay on the ground panting deeply while Biscuit stood over him with a wide smirk on her face. Both of them looked a little worse for wear, Biscuit's usual workout clothing being little more than scraps that did nothing to cover her modesty, not that she cared. Meanwhile, Riser was panting like a dog and covered in sweat even if his clothing and body looked pristine thanks to his Phenex Regeneration.
They'd just finished a spar and all Riser could think was, 'I've created a monster!'
With everything Biscuit had going for her from her original strength and abilities, to the amplification from the Rook piece, to the Demon's Extract, her intelligence, and her sheer skill, she'd whooped his ass in a straight fight.
She was, most definitely, as strong as Sairaorg was in his base state. What made it even worse than fighting Sai was the fact that Biscuit was WAY better than Sai at martial arts. Don't get him wrong, Sai was good, damned good, but Biscuit was a master. Literally. She was a Master in the Shingen-ryu style of Kung Fu. She was taught directly by Netero, the founder and Grand Master of the art. By the standards of her old world, Biscuit was strong as hell. Netero was a goddamn monster even when he was one hundred and ten years old.
So, it was little surprise that she managed to kick his ass in a limited spar. The only thing they'd both used was Total Concentration Breathing and martial skill. It had been very informative and let Riser understand where Biscuit stood after the last month of training.
Biscuit grabbed Riser's shirt and easily lifted him off the ground. With a light chuckle she commented, “This is ridiculous. I thought the growth of little Gon and Killua was impressive when I was training them. But this?” She casually punched the air to her right setting off a shock wave , “I'm even stronger than old man Netero was in his prime! Hell, I bet I could kill that bastard Meruem and only lose a single limb.”
Riser had no way of knowing, but expected Biscuit wasn't far off. In Hunter x Hunter Meruem had been a true monster. But, compared to the monsters of his world? That ant was an ant.
Riser let out a sigh of fondness and straightened himself up, “You will be one hell of a surprise in our first rating game against the others. I can't wait to see the look on their faces.” His lips slowly curled into a smile, “Especially Rias's. Last time I was honestly surprised by the strength of her peerage. This time...” He chuckled, “She'll be the one shocked when we crush her entire group with just the four of us. I bet she still thinks I'm the only true threat.”
Biscuit had been completely filled in on everything she needed to know in the last month. Up to, and including, some of Riser's less than stellar moments. There was no point in hiding the truth from her when it was public knowledge. Especially since biscuit wasn't stupid in any way, shape, or form.
Biscuit chuckled at his comment, “I'm looking forward to meeting this girl. If nothing else, it should be entertaining.” She then proceeded to rip off what little remained of her clothing, “Now, let's get to the second half of our training, Master.”
The sensual tone she said the word 'Master' with sent a shiver down his spine. She wasted no time in going after what she wanted by grabbing his clothing and literally ripping them off of his body. The first time she'd done so she'd ruined a shirt worth more than the majority of office workers in Japan made in a month. He'd learned his lesson and wore less expensive clothing when training with her. The shirt she just ruined was only worth about as much as a week of work for a salary man.
He hadn't expected it, but Biscuit had become something of a nymphomaniac. After the first time she practically raped him, he'd found out why. Despite how she looked before, and now, Biscuit was over sixty years old. She refused to give an exact age when asked. Which, even when combined with his past life, still made her older than Riser himself was. Let alone teenagers like Ingvild and Xenovia.
However, despite her age, she'd never really experienced much carnal pleasure. When one thought about it, they could understand why. Before meeting him Biscuit spent almost all of her time in her transformed state that looked like a pre-teen. Any man attracted to her when she looked like that... Yeah, she tended to put them in the hospital after taking away what made them a 'man'.
Then there was her natural state, the state she hated because of how musclebound she was, how masculine she was. So, naturally, she only let her transformation drop when there was literally no other choice but death, either of her or someone she cared about. Which meant she hadn't had sex since her early twenties. She'd been in a dry spell for over forty years.
With her new body, one she wholeheartedly approved of, there was nothing holding her back from grabbing the nearest guy she found even mildly attractive and rocking his world. Add on the 'sin' that all devils craved in one form or another and the result was expected. Since there were no other guys living in the mansion, that left Riser as the 'sacrifice' to Biscuit's revived sex drive.
He had zero complaints.
Sex with Biscuit had been a damned near daily thing since about a week after her arrival. He'd even gotten a quest reward for it that still made him smile.
He could think about that later, right now there was something much more important to focus on, such as the gorgeous naked blonde.
-----Line Break-----
Riser examined himself in the mirror. Tonight was officially the night that the Young Devil Gathering began and he had to dress appropriately. It was, after all, a spectacle where the youth of the nation were expected to strut their stuff. Despite the 'fun' the event is supposed to be for the participants, it's really all politics with everyone showing off how strong their family and peerage are.
Naturally, Riser intended to show that his was the strongest, even with only four total members.
From what he could remember, only Sairaorg should be able to put up much of a fight against him as he was now. Issei had been able to match Sairaorg in canon, but that Issei and the current one were to very different people. The current Issei had spent some time training with Tannin, but otherwise hadn't had any of his growth moments from the series.
Hell, by the time he'd fought Sairaorg, Issei had been able to call on the Boosted Gear's Scale Mail at will. That wasn't the case here and likely wouldn't be for a long time. Even if he did unlock it though, it wouldn't mater. It would take him a hundred boosts to match Riser and Riser had no intention of giving him that much time to grow stronger.
He put thoughts of the idiot out of his mind and moved back into the present and checking his clothing over for any imperfections. For the even he'd chosen to wear an ocean blue tuxedo that set off his eyes. It was finished off with a white shirt and cummerbund, a black bow tie, and black patent leather shoes all wrapped around his much more muscular form.
In the months since he awoke the memories of his other life his constant working out had shown itself spectacularly. Anyone who hadn't seen him in months, which was quite a few people, would hardly be able to recognize him. His body was a work of art that would make Greek scultors beg for him to be their model. His hair was no longer in that ridiculous style and instead combed back and glittering like actual gold it was so healthy. His eyes, in particular, sparkled with barely suppressed joy as he contemplated just how much better his life had become.
There were some downsides to his current life, such as the loss of his peerage and being stuck in the human world with Rias, but over all he was happier than he'd ever been. He now, truly, had the chance to make something of himself, to no longer just be the Third Son of a pillar house. He would rise and stand with his brothers to become something more than just Rias's Husband as he'd thought himself destined to be in the past.
He turned away from his mirror and exited his room. Upon stepping into the gathering room, he paused. His three peerage members were waiting for him and all of them looked exquisite. Xenovia was wearing a tight green dress that matched her hair and showed some cleavage without being slutty or inappropriate. Invild wore a dark pink dress with ruffles around the neck and trim that accentuated her breasts without showing much cleavage. Both women looked remarkably sexy in their own way.
Biscuit though, he paused at the sight of her for another reason. Primarily, because she was in her child form. She was wearing a burgundy colored princess style dress similar to what she used to wear before. Though it was of far better quality and made her look like a true princess might. He knew exactly what she was doing and it made him smirk at the thought of all the chaos she would cause.
With his gaze firmly locked on Biscuit he asked a small favor, “Just don't get me into too much trouble.”
Biscuit gave him a wicked grin, “No promises!”
Together the group made their way over to the teleportation circle and teleported out of the mansion. When the traditional flames of his teleportation faded they walked through a hallway and arrived within the massive dining hall filled with the younger generation of devils as well as other important members of pillar families.
Honestly, he saw many of the same faces he'd seen at his reception with Rias back before he'd stomped all over Issei in their duel. Speaking over the pervert, he spotted Issei over to the side along with Rias and the rest of her peerage. He frowned minutely at the sight. Not just from seeing Issei, but from what Rias had allowed not just him but the majority of her peerage to wear to the event.
He plastered on a serene smile, that he really wasn't feeling, and slowly made his way toward his fiance. When she spotted him and the three girls with him, she scowled. Though she at least had the presence of mind to hide the scowl behind a smile quickly. Once he was in polite speaking distance he addressed the issue, “Good evening, miss Gremory.” It wouldn't do to not be polite, “You look lovely this evening.”
He wasn't lying about that either. He might think her personality was trash but that didn't change how attractive her body was. Especially in the dark red backless dress she'd chosen to wear that evening. Though he enjoyed the view of the bra-like stop of the dress, he also found it slightly inappropriate. He wouldn't say anything though. Rather, he addressed the far larger faux pas, “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the majority of your peerage.”
Rias narrowed her eyes while said peerage glared at him. He didn't care and continued, though he was slightly surprised Issei managed to remain silent, “I know how obsessed you are with your little human school, but do you honestly believe it to be appropriate for your peerage to arrive in such casual clothing for such a prestigious event?”
He gestured between herself and Akeno, who was wearing a black kimono, “You and your Queen dressed appropriately, why not the rest of your peerage? They represent you and do not present a good image.” His gaze focused on Issei, “Especially him.”
For once he wasn't targeting Issei just because it was Issei. No, this time it was legitimately because Issei was the worse dressed of the lot. At least the majority of Rias's peerage had their shirts buttoned and their little black ties on. Issei was walking around with his shirt completely open and showing off his red tee-shirt underneath. In short, it was purely casual wear among the high nobility of the underworld.
It was a disgrace and, judging by the blush Rias had, she knew it. Even if she knew she was in the wrong, she wasn't about to agree with Riser on anything, “My peerage are individuals, they may wear what they choose to.”
Riser stared blandly at Rias, then shrugged, “If that's your choice. After all, I'm used to being embarrassed by you.” That earned him a glare, “But I highly doubt your parents are used to it.”
He knew the Gremory's were rather... free spirited, to put it politely, so he didn't think they even cared how Rias dressed her peerage. However, everyone else in the venue would care and they would judge. A quick glance around showed the truth of his thoughts as he caught quite a few of the guests outright sneering when they took in the sight of Rias's peerage.
A peerage represented their King. Rias's peerage said 'our King doesn't care about the social niceties and lets us dress like slobs'.
Before anything else could be said, another minor pain in his ass arrived.
“Good evening, Rias, Phenex-san.”
Riser turned to face Sona and found himself frowning. Rias greeted her friend first, “Good evening, Sona.”
Riser gave a polite bow of his head, “Good evening Sitri-san.”
Even as he spoke his gaze shifted to Saji just behind her. Unlike Rias, Sona didn't bring her entire peerage. It was merely herself, Tsubaki, and Saji. Sona and Tsubaki had chosen to dress appropriately. Saji, on the other hand, was also in his Kuoh uniform, minus the jacket. Taking the opportunity presented to her, Rias turned her head toward Riser while gesturing to Saji, “See? There's nothing inappropriate about how my peerage is dressed. Even Sona allowed Saji to come in his school uniform.”
Riser slowly nodded his head, “Yes, I see that, and I can't begin to describe just how disappointed I am in you for allowing such a thing, Sona. I thought you, of all people, would conform to societal expectations while hoping to drum up support for your dream.” He glanced around at the many nobles from pillar families around the venue, “Especially when surrounded by so many peers that could make, or break, your dream.”
Sona looked at Saji, then at Rias and Riser's peerage, and flushed with shame. Riser and his peerage were dressed well, but not gaudy, just like herself and Tsubaki, while Saji looked like a guy off the streets. She honestly hadn't even considered it before they arrived and now that it had been pointed out, she was embarrassed. Clearly Rias was rubbing off on her just a little too much.
“You are, of course, correct Phenex-san.” she turned to Saji, whom she brought as he was one of her two strongest peerage members, “Saji, return to the house.”
Saji glared at Riser but at least had the presence of mind not to argue with Sona in public. He did as he'd been commanded leaving Sona with just Tsubaki. Sona gave Riser a small nod, “Thank you for the reminder.”
Rias scowled while Riser smiled and nodded toward Sona once more, “You have my respect for realizing your mistake and correcting it promptly. It was lovely to see you this evening Sitri-san, and I look forward to our next encounter. However, I see a friend I simply must greet.”
Sona gave him a nod and watched as he, and his peerage, left the area and made their way past her and out to one of the hallways. She recognized it as the path leading to where all the younger devils were meant to gather. She sighed and turned to Rias when a voice from her nightmares called out, “So-tan!”
-----Line Break-----
Riser calmly walked up to the door he'd been briefed on earlier in the day and let himself inside. There were many familiar faces but he smiled the most when he spotted one in particular, “Sairaorg, thank god! This place was just starting to feel way too stuffy!”
Sai grinned broadly, but before he could say anything an annoying voice issued from a blue haired man off to the side, “Since when are you friends with the Bael retard, Riser?”
Riser paused and glanced at the speaker. He stared for a moment and silently wondered why the hell he had his hair done up in such a terrible manner. Seriously, the vast majority of his blue hair was cut short and spiked up, but at his temples were two extremely long strands that were tied off and hung almost to his waist.
It reminded Riser of the past haircut he'd had that made his hair look sort of like a bird. It was cringe inducing and he wanted to cut it off just to save the man the embarrassment of such a stupid haircut. He held his tongue on that and instead responded with, “Ah, Zephyrdor, it's not really any of your business who I hang out with.”
Zephyrdor snorted and walked toward Riser in a classic delinquent fashion, hands in his pocket and posture slouched while his head was turned to be 'intimidating', “Ah? Since when are you so high and mighty, third son.”
Riser, far from bothered by the 'insult', chuckled, “Ah, there's that 'wit' of yours that I haven't missed.”
Both men ignored the building tension in the room. Riser noted Sairaorg moving closer but subtly waved him off. In a straight fight with no tricks the only person in the entire room, outside of his peerage, that could kick his ass was Sairaorg. Zephyrdor didn't come even close and posed no threat o him or anyone he cared about.
Zephyrdor moved closer and tried to put off a threatening aura but failed utterly to cow Riser, though there was a scared sounding squeak from behind him. Like a shark scenting blood, Zephyrdor's gaze snapped to the source of the sound. His gaze locked onto the small form of Biscuit as she hid behind Xenovia's leg.
Seeing the child surprised Zephyrdor for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed, “I know you were screwed over and lost your peerage, but recruiting an actual child to replace them?! Just how desperate are you?!”
He glared at Biscuit, causing her to squeak again and hide further behind Xenovia, “You should leave pipsqueak, this is no place for little girls.” His gaze moved from Biscuit to Xenovia , “Though you can leave the bit...”
Riser's fist smashed into Zephyrdor's face with brutal force before he could even finish the derogatory word. Zephyrdor flew through the air and slammed through the doors with a shout of pain that came to an abrupt end when he slammed into the wall across the hallway.
Riser ignored Rias, Sona, and Issei by the shattered door and instead focused on the rest of the room, “I don't care what you say about me, but mock my peerage at your own peril.” Then, to further what Biscuit had started, he faced her and knelt down, “Don't worry Bisky, the big bad man wont hurt you.”
Playing hard into the role she'd made for herself, Biscuit ran out from behind Xenovia and toward Riser. Seeing her game, he opened his arms and welcomed her like a father welcoming his child. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close while she very loudly sniffled against his shoulder. He stood and held her comfortingly while Xenovia and Ingvild did there best to keep their cool at the very weird, to them, scene.
“Much as I hate to agree with that cretin on anything, he does have a point. An active peerage is no place for a child.”
Everyone's gaze fell onto the speaker, a young woman with long flowing blond hair that had a green tinge to it and slit pink eyes with a pair of rectangular glasses. Riser gaze her a polite smile while he continued to hold Biscuit as if she were a scared child, “I appreciate the concern, Seekvaira, but Biscuit will be alright by my side.”
The now named Seekvaira looked a little put off at his words. She opened her mouth to say something else but seemed to think better of it and retained her silence. Someone else, however, didn't have the same restraint that Seekvaira displayed.
“You shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children, let alone have one in your peerage. We all know what you do to your peerage members.”
Every gaze shifted to look at Rias and her not so subtle jab at how Riser supposedly slept with every member of his peerage. Not that Rias ever bothered to learn the truth of anything, she just assumed, like many did. Honestly, if Riser found a good potential member he'd recruit them regardless of sex. It just so happened that all the potential members he'd found thus far were female. He really hoped the trend continued!
Riser glared balefully at Rias, a crackling aura of magic shrouding him and causing everyone in the room to feel a heavy pressure pressing down on them. When he spoke, his voice had a weight to it that Rias struggled not to succumb to, “Don't you ever imply I would do something so disgusting ever again.” His eyes glowed brightly with an inner fire, “Do so and not even your brother will be able to protect you from the punishment I will inflict upon you.”
A large hand clamped down on Riser's shoulder, completely ignoring the heavy atmosphere, “Now now, let's all calm down, okay Riser?” Sairaorg gave his shoulder a squeeze while his gaze fell on Rias, “And cousin, you did go too far. Let's put this behind us, alright?”
Riser took a deep breath and slowly relaxed, “You're right, Sai. I should be used to having such insults hurled at me from Rias.”
Sai didn't say anything, but he did have a conflicted look on his face. On one hand, he fully remembered how Riser used to be not very long ago. The scorn and derision he used to heap on Sairaorg was still in his memories. However, that Riser no longer existed. Ever since their first spar he'd seen the changes coming over his friend. He had no idea how, where, why, or anything else about his friends new and strange abilities, but he did know the most important thing. Riser saved his mother and asked nothing but friendship in return. A man such as that would never do anything to harm a child, of that Sairaorg was sure.
On the other hand, Rias was family, blood. He'd known her for her entire life and most of his. She was his favorite family member. Once upon a time he'd even entertained the thought of beating Riser at a Rating Game to free Rias from the contract she hated so much. Except he hadn't been allowed. She was family and he would always support family. Only... She was wrong about Riser. She couldn't see the truth of the man Riser had become and only saw the man that was trying to 'steal' her freedom from her. All this, despite Riser very firmly being against their marriage, something they'd discussed at length.
He didn't know what to do so he tried his best to stay neutral. He wouldn't agree with Rias, but neither would he support Riser. With exceptions for when one goes to far as Rias did with her not so subtle accusation against Riser.
Rias glared at Riser, backed up by a glare from Issei, as if he mattered. Riser chose to ignore them. Honestly, neither were worth his time anymore. He had far more important things to spend his time on. He turned away from them and walked over to where Xenovia and Ingvild were quietly observing the situation. Normally both women would have leaped to his defense, but he'd asked them to be as circumspect as they could. He didn't want them drawing attention before it was necessary. It would also show he had full control over his peerage, in contrast to others like Rias.
Although, he had to admit, Issei had actually managed to keep his trap shut and not immediately challenge him to a duel or insult him in some manner. Perhaps the idiot could be taught? Would miracles never cease?
He knelt down and set Biscuit on the ground. While no one could see her face, she gave him a wicked smirk. No one would ever consider her to be a threat of any sort. At least, not until she revealed her strength in their first match. They had a plan to dupe their opponents to gain whatever advantage they could. Scared little 'Bisky' would pose no threat to anyone making them ignore her until it was too late.
Naturally, the plan was entirely concocted by Biscuit. She loved messing with people and she couldn't resist the chance to do so as her introduction to the wider devil world. Sadly, Rating Games were televised so soon her ability to transform would be revealed. That just made her all the more certain that this was the plan she wanted to go with.
Riser calmly stood up and slipped out of the room while everyone was focused on Rias as she did her best to convince them all of Riser's evil ways. It was a little funny, but mostly pathetic. It seemed that no matter how many times he told her that he didn't want to marry her, it never registered in her mind. He was just thankful he'd managed to slip her the idea of going for a doctorate. That easily bought him a decade before they had to wed.
More important than that though, he'd noticed something while setting Biscuit down. A certain white haired Rook from Rias's peerage had made her way out of the room in a hurry. It was only after seeing her leave that he recalled a small event. It seemed best that he took care of it. After all, there would be one hell of a sexy neko to play with.
-----Line Break-----
Koneko ran through the woods surrounding the venue, her eyes ablaze as she followed the clearly deliberate trail set out for her. It had been years since she'd last felt it, but she'd never forget the feeling. She didn't know what she would do when she got to wherever she was being led, she just knew she needed to get there.
She ran into a clearing and came to a sudden stop as a voice she hadn't heard in years filled the air, “I just released a little of my Ki and you came running. You're big sister is really moved.”
There, lazily laying on a tree branch was her older sister, a woman that looked almost the exact opposite of herself. Where Koneko had white hair and a rather slim figure, her older sister had hair as black as night and a voluptuous body that could compete with Rias in sheer curvature. The only thing they shared was the color of their eyes, a shining gold.
Koneko stared at Kuroka with a flat expression as she asked, “Nee-sama, why are you here?”
“Don't make such a scary face.” Kuroka's voice had a playful edge to it, “I just heard there was a nice party near here and it piqued my curiosity. Nya!” She winked at Koneko while making a cat-paw with her hand.
Koneko didn't let Kuorka's teasing distract her. She clenched her hands into fists as she asked, “Nee-sama, why are you here?”
Kuroka turned slightly more serious as she replied, “Shirone, I came to pick you up. I ran away so desperately I wasn't able to take you with me.”
“Hey, Kuroka! Are you just going to ignore the rat hiding in the shadows.”
A chuckle came from a tree behind Koneko. She had been so focused on Kuroka she hadn't even noticed when he arrived. She turned and watched as Riser calmly walked out from behind the tree, “I wasn't so much hiding as trying to find a less awkward moment to intrude on the conversation.”
-----Line Break-----
Riser calmly walked to stand near Koneko while every eye nearby was on him. Bikuo, the one to point him out, had a large grin on his face, “So, you're the one Vali is obsessed with.”
Riser snorted at the mention of Vali's name, “That weakling? Still crying about the ass kicking I gave him?”
Sure Riser could be called a cheater, but he would proudly say that if you weren't cheating, you weren't trying hard enough! Besides which, he knew was Vali's ultimate goal in life was and couldn't help thinking the guy was an idiot. He wanted to Kill Rizevim Lucifer, the guy know to have the ability to cancel out Sacred Gears. So, what does he do? He trains almost exclusively with his SACRED GEAR.
Fucking Moron.
Bikuo laughed brightly, “He insists that the next time you two meet, he'll defeat you.”
Riser shrugged, “Then he'd better learn to fight without his Sacred Gear and get many times stronger than he currently is. He's nothing without Albion's help, just another Ultimate Class devil, nothing special.”
“Harsh, but not untrue.”
Riser turned his gaze from Bikuo toward Kuroka, “As for you, kitten, you won't be taking Koneko anywhere. I might loathe my fiance, but I can't have you taking someone she cares about away. Think of how bad I would look if I just stood by and did nothing!”
Koneko's gaze turned arctic at his self proclaimed reason for keeping her away from Kuroka.
Kuroka's voice turned cold, “That's my little sister. I'm not just going to leave her in the hands of a spoiled brat that got her as a gift!”
Koneko cut in, “Nee-sama, why?”
“Ophis and Vali will happily welcome you. After all, you have the same power running through your veins that I do.”
Koneko stared at Kuroka enough that it almost qualified as a glare, “I'm part of Rias Gremoy's peerage.”
Riser calmly stepped forward, “As you can see, she's made her choice. Now. Scat! Go on, shoo!” He waved his hands like he was trying to shoo away a random stray, “Go on, git! Ssst Sssst! Shoo!”
Kuroka's whole demeanor darkened, “Are... are you trying to scare me away like some stray cat?” her voice carried a dangerous edge to it.
Riser shrugged his shoulders, “I mean, if the shoe fits? You are a stray, and you are a cat... So...” He clapped his hands together loudly, “Go on, shoo.”
Bikuo couldn't take it anymore and literally fell over laughing at the sheer level of disrespect that Riser was throwing at Kuroka. He'd never seen anyone talk to her that way. Everyone was always so cautious around her, afraid she'd snap and kill them all. To see someone treating her as little more than a stray animal just broke something inside of him.
An aura of malice shimmered around Kuroka as she glared hatefully at Riser, “Forget the plan. I am going make you suffer.”
Riser snorted, “You and what army?” He looked at Bikuo who was still trying to recover from laughing, “He wont be much help.”
Kuroka didn't answer with words, but with actions. The air rippled around them and darkened as she cast a barrier. Riser cocked and eyebrow and smirked as he layered his own barrier beneath hers. Kuroka glared at him hatefully while he just chuckled, “Well, since the kitten decided to hiss and scratch it will need to be taken to the pound where it can be put down.”
Bikuo finally stood up while wiping a tear from his eye. He took a deep breath and let it out, “You're funny, but I hope you can fight too!”
Bikuo lashed out with his Ryu Jingu Bang causing it to extend. Riser flat out ignored it, letting the staff pass harmlessly through his body to slam into the ground. He calmly raised his hand to his mouth and let out a fake yawn. He finally addressed the slightly confused looking Bikuo, “You'll need to do better than that.”
He walked closer to Koneko and casually snatched the little black cat hairpin she was wearing off of her hair, “Or, you can drop the act and tell Koneko the truth before I beat it out of you.”
He casually ignored Bikuo trying to spear him with Ryu Jungu Bang, the magically extended pole just casually passing through his body with no effect.
Both Kuroka and Koneko stared at him for entirely different reasons. Koneko with confusion and Kuroka with actual fear. He smirked at the black cat and casually turned the hair clip around in his hand, “You see. I've lived with Koneko for a few months now and that gave me plenty of time to realize what this was. Then plenty of time to borrow it when she wouldn't notice.”
His gaze locked onto the trembling form of Kuroka, “I know everything. So. Either you tell her now, or I beat you down and you tell her anyway. Either way, Koneko will know the truth before the night is over.”
Koneko's gaze moved from Riser to her sister, “What is he talking about nee-sama?”
There was a long moment of silence as Kuroka tried to decide what to do. Even Bikuo knew to keep things down and let the moment develop. When a full minute passed in silence, Riser opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off by Kuroka, “NO! I'll tell her.”
Riser closed his mouth and made a 'get on with it' motion with his hands. Kuroka crossed her arms under her breasts and huffed, “It's not that easy you know!” All signs of her earlier teasing and anger were gone as she focused on Koneko, “Shirone I... I never lost control of myself.”
“But, you killed everyone, then ran away!”
Kuroka nodded, “I did. I killed them all, to protect you.”
“Lies!”
Kuroka gave Koneko a small wan smile, “No. Everything you know about what happened is the lie.” She took a breath and looked at the ground, looking more vulnerable than she had at any other point, “When we were alone, the Naberious came with an offer. If I joined one of the branch members peerages, they would take care of us, so long as I obeyed. They experimented on me trying to find a method to make a Super Devil. I got stronger, a lot stronger, even stronger than my Master.”
Her golden eyes narrowed, “But then the experiments stopped working. I didn't get any stronger despite how much I suffered through what the did to me. One day, while I was recovering from a procedure, I heard him talking. They called me useless, a waste of resources. They were going to dispose of me and replace me with you.”
Koneko, and Bikuo surprisingly, gasped in surprise at the reveal. Riser glanced at Bikuo and was kind of, but not really, surprised to see the man completely enraptured in the story. Kuroka continued, “They promised me that as long as I went through the experiments you would be let alone. They promised! I couldn't let you go through what I did. I wouldn't let it happen. I was stronger than them so I did what I had to do to protect you from them. I killed them all, stole their research, and hid it in your hairpin.”
Kuroka and Koneko had tears in their eyes as they gazed at each other, “I knew I couldn't stay with you. You would have been in far too much danger by my side as I ran, so I left you.” She scowled, “I didn't expect the devils to be such useless cowards that they would try to execute you out of sheer fear.” she scoffed, “But I should have.” Her eyes hardened as she glared at Riser, “All devils are spineless cowards who pick on the weak and helpless, turning them into slaves for their own sick and twisted ends.”
Riser cocked an eyebrow, “Are we to trade insults now? You know, as well as I, that not all devils are the same. Just like not all Yokai are filthy animals wallowing in their own muck.”
Kuroka scowled fiercely but didn't start an argument. Instead she took a cleansing breath and focused on Koneko, “I never lost my mind, everything I did, I did because I love you more than anyone else in the whole world.”
Bikuo stepped in at that moment, “I really hate to break this up, but we need to go.”
Kuroka glared at Bikuo but he didn't let it bother him, “Haven't you noticed?”
She focused for just a moment then frowned, “Loki... but why?”
“I don't know but we need to go.”
Bikuo summoned his flying cloud and grabbed Kuroka while taking off into the air. A gateway opened that they flew through and vanished. Riser grunted in annoyance at the disappearing act. The whole point of the barrier he'd erected was to keep them inside and disable teleportation. Whatever they used bypassed that somehow. Probably a different method that he didn't know so he couldn't prevent it.
He disabled his barrier and turned to look at Koneko. She looked like a mess after the encounter with her sister. He didn't bother saying anything, there wasn't much he could say. Instead, he scooped her up and made his way toward the venue where everyone else was. She let out a cute little 'eep' when he picked her up but didn't demand he put her down.
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Koneko spoke in a small voice, “Thank you, for making her tell me.”
Riser smiled warmly at her, “Anytime. I might not like Rias all that much, but that doesn't extend to you or your friends. If you ever need anything, anything at all, just let me know and I'll do my best for you, alright?”
Koneko nodded and looked away with a light flush on her cheeks. Riser smiled warmly at the sight of her feeling better. They didn't exchange any further words as they walked in a companionable silence.
-----Line Break-----
AN
9.2k words
Sorry this chapter took longer than the last few. I ended up having to re-write the last half of it a couple of times. I'm still not 100% happy with it but I can't think of any way to make it better. Regardless, it's progress!
I hope you all enjoyed it!
The next chapter I write will be something new. I've had two ideas stuck in my head for weeks now and I need to get at least one of them out. I'll be putting up a vote for the chapter after that, but for now I need to work on the new one.
On the bright side, i'll be stepping into a fandom I havn't written for before. Much like Book of Solomon, this one was inspired by a CYOA. Though this character is actually a little less absolutely broken than Solomon is.
As for the fandom, I hope you guys like Naruto (NOT Boruto, stupid fucking name).
Anyways, I look forward to your comments!