TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
Well shit. Never seen THAT before.
Mistakes Were Made (Highschool DxD Friend Insert) (Adopted from Geoff_)
- Thread starter TheLurker
- Start date
It's sort of tricky to engage with. We know it's meant affectionately, but the word itself is rooted in some pretty terrible assumptions and calls to mind some really horrific things we have to deal with.
It's probably exceptionally difficult to handle Gaspar with sensitivity in your case - the original DxD can never be accused of being the most sensitive portrayal of... much of anything, and as a Friend Insert you're not really in control of how Lucky and Baka respond. I presume they're not assholes, but it's not really something you'd know unless you're pretty read-in on trans issues.
Though I guess if they're reading this thread they are now.
If you wanted to read them in on it you could assume they read something on the in-universe internet, or have, say, Rias talk to them if they end up saying something insensitive?
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
In all honesty they don't read the SV thread. Like...at all. That's why I edited the opening post for SV to make it clear that spoilers are...less important here.
Yeah, that's fair, I haven't seen them on this forum before.
Side note, I kinda love you guys. We get a lot of people who throw hissy fits on being told it's a slur, so it's outright heartwarming to see a quick link and pale faces and everyone gets it in a couple minutes.
Side note, I kinda love you guys. We get a lot of people who throw hissy fits on being told it's a slur, so it's outright heartwarming to see a quick link and pale faces and everyone gets it in a couple minutes.
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
I mean...I'm Irish/Scottish, so insults never really felt like a big deal to me growing up (Because literally everybody uses them, it's like Australia, you say hello by calling somebody a fuckhead. You want to INSULT somebody, you bring up the fuckmothering English.) but, like, at the end of the day it's not a particularly tedious thing to keep track of. The entire PC situation in America over recent years IS something I tend to roll my eyes at, but shit. I don't exactly go walking down the street pissing off the old granny down the road, just because she's a Brit. As my granddad was fond of quoting, "Treat others the way you want to be treated, doesn't mean wait for them to go first"
EDIT: Besides, I can save the shitposting for Anonkun and 4chan. I like the fact that SB/V/QQ try and keep a more classy atmosphere.
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Yeah to be honest, I used the word, and then a couple years ago someone brought up the issues and I was like "... shit" and removed it from my vocabulary.
Chapter 10: Shopping Trip
TheLurker
Random Omnipotent Lazy-As-Fuck Being
- Location
- The space beyond the stars
===
Chapter 10: Shopping Trip
===
Koneko's fighting style was almost beautiful in its simplicity. Attacks flowed from one into the other with no real stance or pattern, punches, kicks, elbow strikes, all were utilized with a brutal efficiency. Whenever a strike was completed, the short girl would immediately launch into another with whatever limb was free.
Trevor likely would have had an easier time admiring her if she wasn't currently trying to pound him into the dirt like a demented game of whack-a-mole. The only reason she hadn't utterly crushed him was due to his old Tae Kwon Do instincts kicking in, though it was mostly muscle memory on his part. Koneko was clearly the dominant one, but he could at least make attempts at deflecting her.
It helped that, for all Koneko's power, Trevor was literally a foot taller than her, with longer legs. Whenever the diminutive powerhouse landed a hit, it felt like he was getting smacked with a battering ram, but through a liberal application of running the hell away, and deflecting, he was able to keep on his feet.
Any attempts he made at striking back were met with not even an apparent consideration to block. What punches and kicks he threw all landed successfully… but to no effect whatsoever. Koneko wouldn't even react in the slightest, instead simply tanking the blow and proceeding to make Trevor pay for it.
The power of the Rook at play.
"Stop fighting me like an equal." Koneko mumbled, continuing her advance like a miniature terminator, but noticeably slowing on the pace of her attacks, giving Trevor a chance to breathe.
"You haven't been a devil for long. Almost everybody will be stronger than you. Stop fighting, and start cheating." It was possibly the longest sentence he'd heard the short girl say yet.
Trevor backed off a couple steps, breathing raggedly as he considered her words. Cheat, she said? Well, if that was the case…
He wiped the sweat from his brow and began to come up with a plan. Squaring his legs, he stared Koneko down and gestured for her to come at him.
Koneko advanced, her feet pounding the softly packed dirt beneath them and throwing up small clouds of dust into the air. She cocked back a fist for an overly telegraphed blow as she locked her eyes on Trevor.
She rapidly closed the distance between them, and Trevor acted. As she was stepping forwards, shifting her weight from one foot to another, Trevor flicked two of his fingers to the side, and Koneko stumbled, her rhythm completely thrown off as Trevor's telekinesis yanked her shoelaces wide.
Trevor forced himself not to cheer aloud at his success, knowing full well she'd recover quickly if he didn't act. He lunged at the girl, looped his arms around her shoulders, and then put all of his strength into forcing her to the ground in a lock at an awkward angle.
Trevor and Koneko hit the ground hard, his weight forcing her already off-balance step into a fall. Trevor could feel Koneko straining against his pin, her supernatural strength much less useful when she was completely robbed of leverage. For a brief moment, he thought that he might have actually managed to pull of a win.
And then Koneko twisted, her spine bending in an arch that should have been completely impossible for a normal human, and slipped her tiny body completely free of the grab.
The next thing Trevor new, he was sailing through the air in a parabolic arc, the breath completely gone from his lungs from where the small devil had gut-punched him.
He flopped unceremoniously to the ground, laying flat on his back and staring wide-eyed at the sky. His chest was heaving like crazy, and it took him a good solid few moments to contemplate just what the hell had happened.
Ah, right, Trevor thought distantly. Koneko kicked my ass again.
A delicate white hand entered his vision, and Koneko grabbed him by the arm, hauling him up onto his feet.
"Good job." He heard her say in her usual deadpan, but when he looked, there was the faintest trace of a smile on her normally expressionless face.
"Thanks," Trevor managed to wheeze, a weak smile on his own face. "You said cheat… so that's what I did. You should... totally teach me that spine-bending thing some time. Ideally… without breaking my back…"
An unreadable emotion flashed through Koneko's eyes briefly, before she turned away, walking over to the boombox and pressing the pause button, cutting off the dulcet tones of Final Countdown partway through.
"'m just flexible. That's it." she mumbled, lifting the boombox over her head and heading towards the occult club building.
"Snack break now."
"Well, I am double-jointed," Trevor offered with a shrug as he joined her. "Though not in my spine," he amended. It was then his stomach loudly grumbled, and he winced while resting a hand against it. "But yeah, food would be gucci."
---
Trevor was currently sitting in one of the most comfortable chairs he had ever encountered, the plush soothing on his aching body as he munched his way through a box of pocky, an old history textbook sitting on his lap. Across from him, Joe was face-planted on a couch, looking barely alive as he suffered the pain of the insomniac.
"... Huh," Trevor grunted, bushy eyebrows shooting up. "Joe, I think I'm misreading this. The book is saying that all of the Abrahamic faiths are unified under one church. Judaism, Christianity, Islam… What the hell, they're all united."
"Bullshit," Joe immediately called back, not removing his face from the couch.
"I'm inclined to agree," Trevor nodded. "But that's what this book is saying. Apparently they just, I dunno, decided not to kill each other when they all met up? Pretty fucking weird, but… I guess that's how this world ended up?"
"Next you're gonna tell me that Paganism is still a serious thing outside of religious hipsters," Joe groaned in a muffled voice from the couch.
Trevor cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, well, the next chapter just so happens to be titled, 'Paganism's Influence in the Modern World', so…"
"...Jesus Christ- GAH, FUCK-!" Joe growled, "...this world is fucking weird."
Trevor failed to respond, causing Joe to tilt his head to look at his companion. The American's eyes were glued onto the history textbook, staring at the page he had just turned over.
"Uh. I think I see now why the different Abrahamic religions didn't kill each other," Trevor stated. "There was literal divine intervention. There is a recorded event where the Jews and Muslims were about to wage war, but a bonafide angel descended from Heaven and told them to cut it out. So, uh, yeah."
After a few moments of silence, Joe clicked his tongue and sighed. "Well," he began, "I'm not sure why that's so surprising considering we're both demons what get smote when we say the Son or the Father's names now."
"Devils," Trevor corrected. "Knowing this world, there's probably an actual distinction between the two here. But yeah, I'm starting to get less and less surprised with how much crazier this world is than our's. And cooler, to be honest."
"I'm sure it'll be cool as fuck when we're getting mauled by a Nemean lion, yeah," Joe grumbled.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
The door to the room opened, revealing a wave of crimson hair as Rias poked her head inside.
"Ah, there you two are." She stepped further in, holding up what looked like a list. "Listen, we're running out of several things, and I need somebody to run a shopping trip. What with the last couple of days however… there's no way I'm sending anybody out alone, so you two need to go with Kiba to a couple of stores. Don't forget that distress beacon I gave you if something happens, alright?"
"I'm looking forward to being attacked on our way there and back again," Joe groused.
"I'd say that the fallen won't dare do something in broad daylight, but they've been acting erratically for the last few days, so I'm not risking it." Rias grumbled, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Well, if Kiba is with us, then I'd say we're at least a little less likely to get ganked," Trevor said. "What do you need us to grab for you?"
"It's on the list. Mainly just food to restock the kitchen, Koneko's been going through the fridge like a rabid animal again. Also some shampoo and conditioner for the showers in here, batteries for Akeno, that sort of thing." Rias shrugged and handed the list off to Trevor.
The bearded guy looked it over and nodded. "Gucci, guess we'll head out then. Is Kiba around?"
"He's waiting in the sitting room for you. When I left Akeno was trying to drag him into a conversation about the virtues of leather, so you should probably get a move on."
"'The Virtues of Leather' sounds like a band name," Trevor said with a snort.
---
"I will never understand the purpose of decorative pillows." Kiba grumbled from beneath a growing pile of precariously stacked shopping bags as he stared balefully at the list in his other hand, a twitch beginning to form over his eye.
"You and me both," Trevor sighed, glancing up at the mountain of groceries Kiba was carrying and then at the measly single bag he was carrying. "Uh, need any more help, dude? Joe and I can carry more."
"No I can't," Joe interjected from behind his own pile of rather heavy bags.
"The offer is appreciated, Trevor, but I view these shopping trips of the President's as an opportunity for weight training. It helps to make things bearable." He replied, his voice as dry as the Sahara desert.
"I can see that," Jet agreed, struggling to see over the top of his poorly-arranged and heavy haul.
Trevor looked down at his itty-bitty bag, feeling impotent surrounded by two dudes carrying at least ten bags each, if not more. Then a light bulb popped in his head.
"Y'know, since you said this is like training, I might as well get my own training in," Trevor replied as he let go of the bag and willed it to hang in the air before him with an outstretched hand. It was actually a bit difficult, keeping it at an even distance from him as he moved while keeping it afloat.
"Keep your fist circled around the handle," Kiba warned, "People can accept a lot of things, but floating groceries is a bit too far, and the President will get annoyed if we need to call her out here to hypnotize several dozen people." He seemed to consider something in his head for a few moments before continuing, "Also that bag has the eggs in it."
"... That's fair," Trevor sighed, physically grabbing the bag before attempting what Kiba had told him. It proved to require even more concentration on his part, without using an obvious gesture to make it feel easier, but he was able to manage with some strain.
Joe was so busy with his attention divided between making sure the groceries in his arms didn't collapse, and following the conversation, that he didn't notice the person in front of him until he had walked straight into them.
He fell in a rustling cavalcade of noise and very masculine yelps as the groceries overbalanced him, Kiba's right arm lashing out like a snake to grab hold of several bags containing more breakable substances.
"Dammit! Ow..." a feminine voice sounded from the floor across from Joe as the room settled into focus again.
Sprawled on the floor, surrounded by bags of ice and frozen food was a girl who looked just a year or two older than the Devils, long blue hair ran down the side of her face and covered one eye, modest clothing covered a surprisingly small chest compared to the many other women that Joe and Trevor had met in this world so far.
"Ugh, sorry about that, wasn't looking where I…" the girl trailed off, as she stared at the three of them, and her eyes began to glow with a faint blue light. "Oh dammit. I literally ran into a devil."
"...Because of fucking course," Joe groused as he immediately leapt back to his feet and backed off. One day he'd like to go without running into some crazy supernatural being that might try to literally bite his head off. "Kiba?" He asked quite warily.
"Good afternoon Ms. Kori-on, fancy running into you here." the pretty boy said, his charming smile plastered back across his face as he stepped forwards to help the girl up to her feet.
"Heh, hey there bishie-prince, where's your fanclub gotten off to this time that you're stuck running errands for that king of yours?" she responded, gracefully pulling herself upright and gathering the bags of ice in her short-sleeved arms.
Joe didn't speak up, being rather on edge for obvious reasons, her initial response had really put him on guard. Trevor mostly regarded her with some curiosity, giving up on his telekinesis practice for the time being.
"I managed to escape them once again, I'm afraid. And yourself? Are you here on business for your priestess, or is this just a personal trip?" Kiba smoothly replied, the towering stack of groceries perched in his arms.
"Nah this is just a me day, ran out of ice cream and needed to restock. I gotta run, so...do me a favor and maybe not mention this to that president of yours? Wouldn't want her thinking I assaulted her juniors or something. That would be...uncomfortable." A tinge of awkwardness entered the girl's tone as she shifted from one foot to another, eyes flickering off to one side.
"I'm sure Rias will be perfectly reasonable about this little accident. Good day now ma'am."
"Yeah...bye." The blue-haired girl swiftly walked away from the smiling Knight, practically fleeing the scene as she hastened to become lost in the crowd.
"Huh, I'm not almost dead," the taller of the dynamic duo started, "that's new."
"Hmn. As far as first meetings with the local Yokai population go, you could have done much worse than her. She knows not to try and pull anything with the President, or Ms. Sitri. Not that her priestess would allow her too, in any case." The blonde nodded, staring at the place where the girl had vanished into the crowd.
"So she's a Yokai, huh…" Trevor mused, rubbing his bearded chin with a free hand. "And she had ice… Is she a yuki-onna, or something like that?"
Kiba chuckled faintly as he looked at Trevor, "Remarkably little to base a guess like that on, but yes. She is in fact a Yuki-Onna, one in service to the local Priestess of Amaterasu, who is the official head of the Yokai faction in this city."
"Oh, damn, got it in one go," Trevor breathed in surprise.
"Proud of you, mate." Joe helpfully interjected as he moved to start picking his crap back up.
"Glad to hear it, man," Trevor shot back. "And Amaterasu, neat. I'm guessing we're on peaceful terms with their faction, then?"
"There's the occasional old or rebellious yokai that will try to pick a fight, or prey on the local human population, but for the most part you're correct, Trevor. Yokai in general are not as powerful as Devils, and their Priestess knows that she is essentially the only one of their faction who would stand a chance against the President in a straight fight. That fact, in addition to the commands of the lady Amaterasu, has lead to a general peace treaty between Yokai and Devils as a whole. It's simply not worth fighting each other, for either side." Kiba answered as he stepped forwards, resuming the walk through the store.
"That's certainly something I can get behind," Trevor replied, following after Kiba. "Nice to see a faction around here that doesn't want us dead."
"It's a very good thing indeed. Without the Priestess's permission, Rias would never have been able to establish herself in this city. She may be the only Yokai powerful enough to fight in the area, but that's largely because she subdued all the other, more violent spirits, by force. A nine-tailed Kitsune is not an enemy to be underestimated. She could conceivably wipe out the entire city if she truly wanted to." Kiba responded, his face taking on a more grim set.
"Duly noted," Joe replied, finding the threat of death having kind of lost much of its edge recently.
"Glad she's on our side, at least," Trevor grumbled. "Though I'm gonna guess she can't help us with our Fallen problem due to red tape, right?"
"You are entirely free to try and convince an ancient fox spirit to go out and join in on a fight that has nothing to do with her, in exchange for no real benefit to her faction, if you truly want to." Kiba responded dryly. "So long as the Fallen do not attack the yokai, or pose a significant threat to the worshipers in the city, the Priestess will not act."
Trevor blanched. "I, uh, think I'll pass on that. I don't have quite enough faith in my debating skills to pull that off."
Kiba chuckled slightly at Trevor's reaction. "It was only a joke, but the fact remains that this is something of an internal matter at the moment. The President can't afford to involve many others, or she risks this situation escalating too far. The peace between the Angels, Fallen, and Devils, is extremely tenuous right now, and it's only the small nature of this conflict that's kept it from developing into part of a much bigger fight."
"Yeah, I hear you." Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose, rolling his shoulders a bit to free up some tension he hadn't felt build up. "When are we going to deal with it, anyway?"
"The President was planning an at-" Kiba cut himself off, his body tensing like a coiled spring as a droning noise filled the ears of the three devils, a red light suddenly appearing from the pocket of Trevor's shirt. The Pawn could feel something with his new magical senses, like a dull hammering on the outside of his skull.
"That's the distress beacon." Kiba whispered, his voice filled with a quiet horror.
---
===
No reaction Theatre this time folks!
Chapter 10: Shopping Trip
===
Koneko's fighting style was almost beautiful in its simplicity. Attacks flowed from one into the other with no real stance or pattern, punches, kicks, elbow strikes, all were utilized with a brutal efficiency. Whenever a strike was completed, the short girl would immediately launch into another with whatever limb was free.
Trevor likely would have had an easier time admiring her if she wasn't currently trying to pound him into the dirt like a demented game of whack-a-mole. The only reason she hadn't utterly crushed him was due to his old Tae Kwon Do instincts kicking in, though it was mostly muscle memory on his part. Koneko was clearly the dominant one, but he could at least make attempts at deflecting her.
It helped that, for all Koneko's power, Trevor was literally a foot taller than her, with longer legs. Whenever the diminutive powerhouse landed a hit, it felt like he was getting smacked with a battering ram, but through a liberal application of running the hell away, and deflecting, he was able to keep on his feet.
Any attempts he made at striking back were met with not even an apparent consideration to block. What punches and kicks he threw all landed successfully… but to no effect whatsoever. Koneko wouldn't even react in the slightest, instead simply tanking the blow and proceeding to make Trevor pay for it.
The power of the Rook at play.
"Stop fighting me like an equal." Koneko mumbled, continuing her advance like a miniature terminator, but noticeably slowing on the pace of her attacks, giving Trevor a chance to breathe.
"You haven't been a devil for long. Almost everybody will be stronger than you. Stop fighting, and start cheating." It was possibly the longest sentence he'd heard the short girl say yet.
Trevor backed off a couple steps, breathing raggedly as he considered her words. Cheat, she said? Well, if that was the case…
He wiped the sweat from his brow and began to come up with a plan. Squaring his legs, he stared Koneko down and gestured for her to come at him.
Koneko advanced, her feet pounding the softly packed dirt beneath them and throwing up small clouds of dust into the air. She cocked back a fist for an overly telegraphed blow as she locked her eyes on Trevor.
She rapidly closed the distance between them, and Trevor acted. As she was stepping forwards, shifting her weight from one foot to another, Trevor flicked two of his fingers to the side, and Koneko stumbled, her rhythm completely thrown off as Trevor's telekinesis yanked her shoelaces wide.
Trevor forced himself not to cheer aloud at his success, knowing full well she'd recover quickly if he didn't act. He lunged at the girl, looped his arms around her shoulders, and then put all of his strength into forcing her to the ground in a lock at an awkward angle.
Trevor and Koneko hit the ground hard, his weight forcing her already off-balance step into a fall. Trevor could feel Koneko straining against his pin, her supernatural strength much less useful when she was completely robbed of leverage. For a brief moment, he thought that he might have actually managed to pull of a win.
And then Koneko twisted, her spine bending in an arch that should have been completely impossible for a normal human, and slipped her tiny body completely free of the grab.
The next thing Trevor new, he was sailing through the air in a parabolic arc, the breath completely gone from his lungs from where the small devil had gut-punched him.
He flopped unceremoniously to the ground, laying flat on his back and staring wide-eyed at the sky. His chest was heaving like crazy, and it took him a good solid few moments to contemplate just what the hell had happened.
Ah, right, Trevor thought distantly. Koneko kicked my ass again.
A delicate white hand entered his vision, and Koneko grabbed him by the arm, hauling him up onto his feet.
"Good job." He heard her say in her usual deadpan, but when he looked, there was the faintest trace of a smile on her normally expressionless face.
"Thanks," Trevor managed to wheeze, a weak smile on his own face. "You said cheat… so that's what I did. You should... totally teach me that spine-bending thing some time. Ideally… without breaking my back…"
An unreadable emotion flashed through Koneko's eyes briefly, before she turned away, walking over to the boombox and pressing the pause button, cutting off the dulcet tones of Final Countdown partway through.
"'m just flexible. That's it." she mumbled, lifting the boombox over her head and heading towards the occult club building.
"Snack break now."
"Well, I am double-jointed," Trevor offered with a shrug as he joined her. "Though not in my spine," he amended. It was then his stomach loudly grumbled, and he winced while resting a hand against it. "But yeah, food would be gucci."
---
Trevor was currently sitting in one of the most comfortable chairs he had ever encountered, the plush soothing on his aching body as he munched his way through a box of pocky, an old history textbook sitting on his lap. Across from him, Joe was face-planted on a couch, looking barely alive as he suffered the pain of the insomniac.
"... Huh," Trevor grunted, bushy eyebrows shooting up. "Joe, I think I'm misreading this. The book is saying that all of the Abrahamic faiths are unified under one church. Judaism, Christianity, Islam… What the hell, they're all united."
"Bullshit," Joe immediately called back, not removing his face from the couch.
"I'm inclined to agree," Trevor nodded. "But that's what this book is saying. Apparently they just, I dunno, decided not to kill each other when they all met up? Pretty fucking weird, but… I guess that's how this world ended up?"
"Next you're gonna tell me that Paganism is still a serious thing outside of religious hipsters," Joe groaned in a muffled voice from the couch.
Trevor cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, well, the next chapter just so happens to be titled, 'Paganism's Influence in the Modern World', so…"
"...Jesus Christ- GAH, FUCK-!" Joe growled, "...this world is fucking weird."
Trevor failed to respond, causing Joe to tilt his head to look at his companion. The American's eyes were glued onto the history textbook, staring at the page he had just turned over.
"Uh. I think I see now why the different Abrahamic religions didn't kill each other," Trevor stated. "There was literal divine intervention. There is a recorded event where the Jews and Muslims were about to wage war, but a bonafide angel descended from Heaven and told them to cut it out. So, uh, yeah."
After a few moments of silence, Joe clicked his tongue and sighed. "Well," he began, "I'm not sure why that's so surprising considering we're both demons what get smote when we say the Son or the Father's names now."
"Devils," Trevor corrected. "Knowing this world, there's probably an actual distinction between the two here. But yeah, I'm starting to get less and less surprised with how much crazier this world is than our's. And cooler, to be honest."
"I'm sure it'll be cool as fuck when we're getting mauled by a Nemean lion, yeah," Joe grumbled.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
The door to the room opened, revealing a wave of crimson hair as Rias poked her head inside.
"Ah, there you two are." She stepped further in, holding up what looked like a list. "Listen, we're running out of several things, and I need somebody to run a shopping trip. What with the last couple of days however… there's no way I'm sending anybody out alone, so you two need to go with Kiba to a couple of stores. Don't forget that distress beacon I gave you if something happens, alright?"
"I'm looking forward to being attacked on our way there and back again," Joe groused.
"I'd say that the fallen won't dare do something in broad daylight, but they've been acting erratically for the last few days, so I'm not risking it." Rias grumbled, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Well, if Kiba is with us, then I'd say we're at least a little less likely to get ganked," Trevor said. "What do you need us to grab for you?"
"It's on the list. Mainly just food to restock the kitchen, Koneko's been going through the fridge like a rabid animal again. Also some shampoo and conditioner for the showers in here, batteries for Akeno, that sort of thing." Rias shrugged and handed the list off to Trevor.
The bearded guy looked it over and nodded. "Gucci, guess we'll head out then. Is Kiba around?"
"He's waiting in the sitting room for you. When I left Akeno was trying to drag him into a conversation about the virtues of leather, so you should probably get a move on."
"'The Virtues of Leather' sounds like a band name," Trevor said with a snort.
---
"I will never understand the purpose of decorative pillows." Kiba grumbled from beneath a growing pile of precariously stacked shopping bags as he stared balefully at the list in his other hand, a twitch beginning to form over his eye.
"You and me both," Trevor sighed, glancing up at the mountain of groceries Kiba was carrying and then at the measly single bag he was carrying. "Uh, need any more help, dude? Joe and I can carry more."
"No I can't," Joe interjected from behind his own pile of rather heavy bags.
"The offer is appreciated, Trevor, but I view these shopping trips of the President's as an opportunity for weight training. It helps to make things bearable." He replied, his voice as dry as the Sahara desert.
"I can see that," Jet agreed, struggling to see over the top of his poorly-arranged and heavy haul.
Trevor looked down at his itty-bitty bag, feeling impotent surrounded by two dudes carrying at least ten bags each, if not more. Then a light bulb popped in his head.
"Y'know, since you said this is like training, I might as well get my own training in," Trevor replied as he let go of the bag and willed it to hang in the air before him with an outstretched hand. It was actually a bit difficult, keeping it at an even distance from him as he moved while keeping it afloat.
"Keep your fist circled around the handle," Kiba warned, "People can accept a lot of things, but floating groceries is a bit too far, and the President will get annoyed if we need to call her out here to hypnotize several dozen people." He seemed to consider something in his head for a few moments before continuing, "Also that bag has the eggs in it."
"... That's fair," Trevor sighed, physically grabbing the bag before attempting what Kiba had told him. It proved to require even more concentration on his part, without using an obvious gesture to make it feel easier, but he was able to manage with some strain.
Joe was so busy with his attention divided between making sure the groceries in his arms didn't collapse, and following the conversation, that he didn't notice the person in front of him until he had walked straight into them.
He fell in a rustling cavalcade of noise and very masculine yelps as the groceries overbalanced him, Kiba's right arm lashing out like a snake to grab hold of several bags containing more breakable substances.
"Dammit! Ow..." a feminine voice sounded from the floor across from Joe as the room settled into focus again.
Sprawled on the floor, surrounded by bags of ice and frozen food was a girl who looked just a year or two older than the Devils, long blue hair ran down the side of her face and covered one eye, modest clothing covered a surprisingly small chest compared to the many other women that Joe and Trevor had met in this world so far.
"Ugh, sorry about that, wasn't looking where I…" the girl trailed off, as she stared at the three of them, and her eyes began to glow with a faint blue light. "Oh dammit. I literally ran into a devil."
"...Because of fucking course," Joe groused as he immediately leapt back to his feet and backed off. One day he'd like to go without running into some crazy supernatural being that might try to literally bite his head off. "Kiba?" He asked quite warily.
"Good afternoon Ms. Kori-on, fancy running into you here." the pretty boy said, his charming smile plastered back across his face as he stepped forwards to help the girl up to her feet.
"Heh, hey there bishie-prince, where's your fanclub gotten off to this time that you're stuck running errands for that king of yours?" she responded, gracefully pulling herself upright and gathering the bags of ice in her short-sleeved arms.
Joe didn't speak up, being rather on edge for obvious reasons, her initial response had really put him on guard. Trevor mostly regarded her with some curiosity, giving up on his telekinesis practice for the time being.
"I managed to escape them once again, I'm afraid. And yourself? Are you here on business for your priestess, or is this just a personal trip?" Kiba smoothly replied, the towering stack of groceries perched in his arms.
"Nah this is just a me day, ran out of ice cream and needed to restock. I gotta run, so...do me a favor and maybe not mention this to that president of yours? Wouldn't want her thinking I assaulted her juniors or something. That would be...uncomfortable." A tinge of awkwardness entered the girl's tone as she shifted from one foot to another, eyes flickering off to one side.
"I'm sure Rias will be perfectly reasonable about this little accident. Good day now ma'am."
"Yeah...bye." The blue-haired girl swiftly walked away from the smiling Knight, practically fleeing the scene as she hastened to become lost in the crowd.
"Huh, I'm not almost dead," the taller of the dynamic duo started, "that's new."
"Hmn. As far as first meetings with the local Yokai population go, you could have done much worse than her. She knows not to try and pull anything with the President, or Ms. Sitri. Not that her priestess would allow her too, in any case." The blonde nodded, staring at the place where the girl had vanished into the crowd.
"So she's a Yokai, huh…" Trevor mused, rubbing his bearded chin with a free hand. "And she had ice… Is she a yuki-onna, or something like that?"
Kiba chuckled faintly as he looked at Trevor, "Remarkably little to base a guess like that on, but yes. She is in fact a Yuki-Onna, one in service to the local Priestess of Amaterasu, who is the official head of the Yokai faction in this city."
"Oh, damn, got it in one go," Trevor breathed in surprise.
"Proud of you, mate." Joe helpfully interjected as he moved to start picking his crap back up.
"Glad to hear it, man," Trevor shot back. "And Amaterasu, neat. I'm guessing we're on peaceful terms with their faction, then?"
"There's the occasional old or rebellious yokai that will try to pick a fight, or prey on the local human population, but for the most part you're correct, Trevor. Yokai in general are not as powerful as Devils, and their Priestess knows that she is essentially the only one of their faction who would stand a chance against the President in a straight fight. That fact, in addition to the commands of the lady Amaterasu, has lead to a general peace treaty between Yokai and Devils as a whole. It's simply not worth fighting each other, for either side." Kiba answered as he stepped forwards, resuming the walk through the store.
"That's certainly something I can get behind," Trevor replied, following after Kiba. "Nice to see a faction around here that doesn't want us dead."
"It's a very good thing indeed. Without the Priestess's permission, Rias would never have been able to establish herself in this city. She may be the only Yokai powerful enough to fight in the area, but that's largely because she subdued all the other, more violent spirits, by force. A nine-tailed Kitsune is not an enemy to be underestimated. She could conceivably wipe out the entire city if she truly wanted to." Kiba responded, his face taking on a more grim set.
"Duly noted," Joe replied, finding the threat of death having kind of lost much of its edge recently.
"Glad she's on our side, at least," Trevor grumbled. "Though I'm gonna guess she can't help us with our Fallen problem due to red tape, right?"
"You are entirely free to try and convince an ancient fox spirit to go out and join in on a fight that has nothing to do with her, in exchange for no real benefit to her faction, if you truly want to." Kiba responded dryly. "So long as the Fallen do not attack the yokai, or pose a significant threat to the worshipers in the city, the Priestess will not act."
Trevor blanched. "I, uh, think I'll pass on that. I don't have quite enough faith in my debating skills to pull that off."
Kiba chuckled slightly at Trevor's reaction. "It was only a joke, but the fact remains that this is something of an internal matter at the moment. The President can't afford to involve many others, or she risks this situation escalating too far. The peace between the Angels, Fallen, and Devils, is extremely tenuous right now, and it's only the small nature of this conflict that's kept it from developing into part of a much bigger fight."
"Yeah, I hear you." Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose, rolling his shoulders a bit to free up some tension he hadn't felt build up. "When are we going to deal with it, anyway?"
"The President was planning an at-" Kiba cut himself off, his body tensing like a coiled spring as a droning noise filled the ears of the three devils, a red light suddenly appearing from the pocket of Trevor's shirt. The Pawn could feel something with his new magical senses, like a dull hammering on the outside of his skull.
"That's the distress beacon." Kiba whispered, his voice filled with a quiet horror.
---
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No reaction Theatre this time folks!
- Location
- Finland
Understatement of the century, folks.
Yeah, kinda hard to use the "We are god's chosen few!" BS, when one of YHWH's errand birds tells you lot to call it quits.
Or something bondage related...
At first I thought it was Kalawarner, but the mention of a small chest broke that assumption.