Chapter 2: Chapter 01: Kuoh (Year One)
"Get ready to go down!"
The bus driver's voice echoed as the boy slowly opened his eyes, let out a yawn, and began to stretch.
Seeing the line of people ahead of him, he scolded himself for not being faster.
Another yawn escaped his mouth as he paused to think about his current situation.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he glanced at his reflection: a young man with blue hair and eyes of the same color was looking back at him.
Kazuya Minegishi.
... It wasn't bad if he was a bit narcissistic, was it? After all, Kazuya's face was pretty good.
*Cough*
Feeling some gazes around him, he couldn't help but let out a fake cough. Yeah, no.
The weird looks they were giving him were a bit much.
Another thing to keep in mind was the place where he was; the world was somewhat... strange? Weird? Yeah, maybe all of the above.
Finally making it off the bus, he couldn't help but wonder one thing.
Why DxD of all things?!
A fucking place where boobs gave powers!
[You can't change worlds unless you complete the main quests].
16th attempt to flee, still to no avail.
'Status' – he thought as he tried to distract himself with something else.
[Kazuya Minegishi]
[Title(s): Hellish Capitalist]
[Race(s): Human(?)]
[Lvl: 01]
[Str: 2.6]
[Ma: 4.0]
[Vi: 3.2]
[Ag: 1.6]
After a week had passed since he arrived in this world, his condition had improved just a little—something pretty good for someone who didn't even know the basics of exercising to begin with. He had followed the advice he found on the internet.
But the results were not very satisfactory, which was actually to be expected.
According to what the system had told him, the best way to grow his strength quickly was to fight, and to be honest, he still didn't feel ready for that.
Besides, apparently, even if training could make him improve, it would always be to a lesser extent than the leveling gained by fighting.
He still had to use his COMP to summon a demon and defeat it. Although that also left him with a question: would he have to defeat the demon, or could he also try to negotiate?
If he could negotiate, that would change things quite a bit.
At least he was grateful that this body's parents had decided to send him to study at Kuoh; here, due to the Maous' overprotection of their little sisters, they only admitted strays of the lowest class, making them manageable. So he might as well steal some kills from them.
His only problem was that the damn trip from Tokyo to Kuoh had been hell on earth.
A shudder ran through his body for a few moments before he paused and tried to push those thoughts out of his mind.
'Who the hell thought taking two chickens, five dogs of varying sizes, eight elementary school kids, and a pig on a three-hour trip was a good idea?'
Yeah, it was best not to think about it.
Part of him couldn't help but feel curious about what his new 'home' would be like.
Ah, apparently a friend of his father's who lived in Kuoh would be away for quite a while—something about a second honeymoon. He hadn't paid that much attention to what they were saying. Not trusting to leave their son alone, they would take the opportunity to keep him there for a while until his parents could arrange a good place for him to stay during his time studying in Kuoh.
""""""""""""""""""""""
Walking toward the address he had written down on the paper in his hand, Kazuya tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible, while inside he felt like he wanted to hit someone.
But no matter how hard he tried, the expression on his face was getting darker.
'What the fuck is wrong with this world, or is it this fucking city!'
His eyebrows quivered as he remembered the numerous cases of sexual harassment he had witnessed while walking around. There was even a crazy woman who tried to talk to him (AND kidnap him) claiming that he looked quite similar to a character from her favorite yaoi manga!
He could still remember that look as if he was a child looking at a new toy or a hungry person with delicious food in front of her.
Yes, he was going to have nightmares for quite a while.
...
It wasn't long before he saw a house that matched the description on the address he had been given, and the boy felt a new headache forming.
Hyoudou Residence
... No, he was not going to give up hope.
He went over to ring the doorbell. How likely was it that there was only one Hyoudou family in all of Kuoh?
"Ah. Excuse me... Wait a minute, you're not the pizza guy!"
And just as quickly as such hopes arose, they died as he saw a boy with spiky brown hair come out.
Issei, the protagonist of High School DxD.
"Reveal yourself, intruder!" The boy struck a strange pose as he pointed his finger at him, his eyes burning with an anger that made Kazuya think he might try to kill him. "You interrupted me in the middle of my game just when I was getting to the best part. I was going to conquer a beautiful elven warrior with huge tits! And if that wasn't enough, you tricked me into believing you were the pizza guy. What a disgrace!"
"... I'm Minegishi Kazuya," he introduced himself while wondering if there was a possibility of staying somewhere else. "I think your parents should have told you about me coming today."
"Minegishi? As in Uncle Yuuta?" Issei frowned for a while as if trying to remember something before beckoning him inside. "And here I was hoping to have the house to myself? Do I look so untrustworthy?" He muttered as he frowned.
"Yes."
"You weren't supposed to listen or answer that, you idiot!"
...
"Let me get this straight. You're transferring from your high school in Tokyo to Kuoh Academy, and since they don't have your accommodation ready yet, my parents allowed you to stay here until yours finish preparing a place for you? If we're going to live together from now on, there's a question I'll have to ask you, one that could determine whether you can coexist under the same roof," Issei said, looking at him seriously with a calculating gleam in his eyes.
Kazuya looked at him with a serious expression, wondering what the question would be.
"How do you prefer your breasts: flat, medium, or large?"
He should have known by now not to get his expectations up with this guy.
Kazuya looked at him in disbelief, doubting if Issei was being serious or joking, but then remembering part of the anime...
Yeah, he was most likely serious.
"That's..." Kazuya paused, thinking that perhaps the best strategy would be to play along no matter how ridiculous it seemed to him. "Medium... No, big. Definitely big."
Kazuya's soul burned as he uttered those words reluctantly. He was a man of ass and thighs; how could his mouth spout such heresy!
Issei smiled broadly, visibly relaxing, ignoring how the blue-haired boy fell into a spiral of self-hatred for the most ridiculous reasons possible.
"Well, well. You seem to be a man of good taste!" he declared with a laugh. "Now that we've cleared that up, come on, I'll show you around."
Kazuya nodded, wondering if he could really get used to this new environment.
""""""""""""""""""""
Later that night, after a glorious dinner of pizza and cheeseburgers, Kazuya retired to the guest room. He closed the door and plopped down on the bed with a mixture of exhaustion and contentment.
As it turned out, Issei wasn't as annoying as the source material showed... except when he got excited talking about DnD and breasts, but it's not like it happened every five minutes.
Pulling the COMP out of his pocket, he looked at it for a few minutes.
'Hmm?'
He was surprised to see a new option there.
[Creation/Purchase/Sale of Items.]
[Available items: 01/???]
[Item: COMP - Devil Survivor version]
[Description: Taking into consideration the situation of the system host, this option has been added as free to make it easier for you to get allies. Enjoy.]
[Note: The host is recommended to summon his first demon right away. He is informed that he was sent a year before the start of the DxD plot, so he should make the most of the time to get stronger if he doesn't want to end up dying in a pathetic way.
You don't want to be a Kazuma 2.0, do you?
Good luck surviving ;D]
His eyebrows twitched as he read the last line of the message. A sigh escaped his mouth as he got out of bed, leaving his COMP on the bed next to another COMP he had created just to test the new feature.
"Kazuya!"
He almost jumped up to the ceiling when Issei, without a hint of tact, entered the room.
"Do you want to play a little before going to sleep?"
The blue-haired boy hesitated for a moment. On one hand, he was already sleepy, and the day after tomorrow would be his first day of school, and he still hadn't finished preparing everything he needed. On the other hand, he wanted to do something else instead of summoning his first demon right now.
After all, if the demon was one he couldn't reason with, it would end in a fight, and let's just say he wasn't particularly comfortable with it being inside a confined space like the guest room.
Maybe tomorrow he could find a safer (and preferably low-traffic) place to do it.
"Okay, but if I beat you at Street Fighter, you're buying lunch tomorrow!"
"Deal."
And so they both left, ignoring both COMPs that were left on the bed.
...
The next morning, Kazuya woke up early. He couldn't afford to waste time, he had to find a suitable place for his first summoning.
After some thought, remembering what little he knew about Kuoh from the anime (which he didn't even finish watching), he decided that the old abandoned church on the outskirts of town would be the perfect place.
Being a year before the start of the plot there shouldn't be anyone there yet right?
- The abandoned church? - Issei raised an eyebrow when she asked him if he knew where the place was. - Isn't that the place where weird things are said to happen? Why would you want to go there? -
- Precisely because of that - Kazuya answered, with the excuse he had thought of he was sure he wouldn't question it any further. - Mmm. See, I'm thinking of writing a light novel of horror and suspense, I thought that investigating a scary place could give me some inspiration. -
Issei seemed to hesitate, but in the end he nodded. - Well, just be careful, lately there have been sightings of strange muscular monsters apparently dressed as magical girls wandering around nearby for some reason... -
Kazuya shivered for a moment as he remembered the existence of Mil-tan and his friends, but quickly nodded and said goodbye, taking the COMPs and leaving for the church.
- 'Happy thoughts, happy thoughts' - I chorused in my head as I tried to get the image of a group of incredibly muscular men dressed as magical girls out of my mind.
""""""""""""""""""
And there, in all its glory, was the abandoned church, covered with vines and moss. Kazuya pushed open the door, which creaked in protest, and entered the dark and dusty interior. He lit a lantern and stepped inside, looking for a suitable place for the invocation.
He found a wide space near the altar and placed the COMP on the floor.
"Well, it's now or never," he muttered, activating the device.
The COMP began to emit a blue glow, projecting a magic circle on the floor. The tension in the air was palpable as Kazuya tensed up, ready to fight if necessary. He wasn't an expert or anything, but with the advantage given by the COMP to make a fight possible where the demon couldn't kill him from the start, he could at least give it some fight.
Of course, said preparation went down the drain as he watched a diminutive figure begin to materialize in the center of the circle.
"Huh?" He was surprised to see a tiny girl with translucent wings and a mischievous grin on her face.
"Hi! I'm Pixie, do you want to play?" The little fairy's voice echoed cheerfully in the empty church.
Checking the COMP, Kazuya saw Pixie's status screen:
[Pixie - Lv 2]
HP: 52/52
MP: 42/42
Str: 3.0
Ma: 5.0
Vi: 3.0
Ag: 6.0
Active skills: Dia, Zio, Zan
Passive skills: -
Racial Ability: Spell]
Kazuya let out a sigh of relief.
'At least it's not something huge and scary,' he thought as he let out a relieved sigh. "Hello, Pixie. Yeah, I want to play, but I need your help first..."
Before he could say anything else, a noise distracted him. He turned to see Issei, who was holding a COMP in his hand.
"What's going on here? I... I just came to bring you this," Issei asked, looking at Pixie in amazement as he held up the COMP.
Kazuya felt like he would get a huge headache having to explain to him what was going on. After all, he didn't have something as convenient as magic to erase his memory.
Stupid devils, they had it easy to erase witnesses and evidence.
Trying to keep calm, an idea crossed his mind.
'...Will he lose his memory if I hit him hard enough in the head?'
Issei, however, only felt a shiver run down his back as he gave a curious glance at Pixie, who had sat on Kazuya's shoulder.
The fairy gave him a playful smile as an electric current ran through her small hands.
Swallowing saliva, he diverted his attention elsewhere, feeling the light weight in his hands. His gaze stopped on the console in his hands.
Was this thing the same as what Kazuya had used to summon the fairy?
A strange idea flashed through his mind as the thought of trying it also crossed his head.
"Don't touch it!" Kazuya shouted, but it was too late.
The COMP activated in Issei's hands, and before he could react, another magic circle appeared on the ground. This time, the figure that emerged was not as friendly as Pixie. A fierce-looking demon materialized, roaring with fury.
A Kobold, wild and dangerous-looking, with sharp claws and glowing red eyes.
After pointing at it with her COMP, her HP showed:
[HP: 30/30]
Kazuya braced himself for the worst.
"Shit!" Kazuya cursed, preparing to fight. "Issei, back off!"
Issei didn't move; he was paralyzed with fear. Kazuya had to act fast. "Pixie, use Zio!"
The little fairy raised her hands and fired a bolt of electricity that hit the Kobold, reducing its HP by eight points. The demon recoiled a little, but not enough to stop it.
"React, asshole!" Kazuya shouted as he dodged a blow from the demon. "Asses are better than tits!"
Finally, Issei reacted, but not in the way Kazuya expected.
"You—" The boy's eyebrows trembled as he clenched his teeth tightly.
"You traitor!" he shouted as he lunged at the blue-haired boy, completely ignoring the Kobold, stupefying both the boy and the two demons.
A red glow appeared on Issei's left arm.
The red gauntlet appeared on Issei's arm, and the power of the Sacred Gear manifested along with the fury of its wearer.
Kazuya didn't think twice before moving and using the Kobold as a human (demon) shield, causing it to take the brunt of the impact. The blow sent a small shockwave through the building, shaking the fragile walls.
[HP: 16/30]
Not bad; his hit had taken at least six points off, not as strong as Pixie's Zio but quite useful.
The bad thing was that Issei's arm now hung useless.
Issei blinked in surprise as he looked at the gauntlet covering part of his left arm in confusion, as if it still didn't register the pain of having overexerted it (and practically breaking it).
"What... what is this?" Issei barely managed to avoid cursing while screaming from the pain.
"It's your Sacred Gear," Kazuya explained quickly while giving Pixie an order. "Use Dia to heal him!"
Pixie obeyed, sending out a healing wave that restored Issei's own health. No matter how much power he could obtain with his Sacred Gear, there was little Pixie could do if she had to waste MP healing him after every hit he took because his body couldn't withstand her enhanced strength.
"Now, Pixie, use Zan!" The little fairy launched a blast of cutting wind at the Kobold, reducing its HP by another six points. The demon howled in pain as it took the blow.
The Kobold tried to counterattack, but Kazuya was quicker.
"In your face, you ugly bastard!" he shouted as he delivered an uppercut with all his might.
[Critical hit!]
This reduced its HP by seven thanks to the critical hit.
Issei, still not fully understanding what was happening, felt like he was playing some kind of strange game. He slowly moved his gauntlet-covered arm, not believing that just moments ago it had been hanging uselessly by his side.
Was he dreaming? Had he stayed up too late after masturbating all night?
And was Kazuya, with his bleeding fist, talking to the Kobold with an arrogant smile, saying, "Come back when you're on my level, you casual fucker"?
...
After giving it a final blast of Zio, the demon was absorbed by the COMP, leaving behind only the echo of its plaintive roar.
[+30 Exp]
Both boys dropped to the ground, exhausted.
[Issei has joined your group.]
Kazuya sighed wearily as he saw that the group tab now displayed a new addition.
[Group 01:
Leader: Kazuya Minegishi
Demon(s): Pixie - Lv 2]
[Group 02 (New!):
Leader: Hyoudou Issei
Demon(s): Kobold - Lv 1]
"That... was amazing," Issei said, breathing heavily. "What the hell was that all about?"
Kazuya took a moment to catch his breath and think of a good answer before responding.
"The demons you saw are real. This device, the COMP, allows me to summon and control them, as well as enhance myself in a manner similar to a video game character. I know, kind of absurd; I don't fully understand how it works either. We'll have to talk more about this, but for now, we need to rest."
He commented as he got up from the floor and began to stretch his back.
"Besides, right now I want to take a nice bath and maybe have a relaxing nap. I don't think you're against that, are you?"
Issei nodded with a tired expression, still processing what had happened.
As they headed back to the house, Kazuya scratched the back of his head in thought.
'Shit, does this mean that when the plot starts I'll be dragged into it even if I don't want to be?'
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Well, here we are again. I left this note to clarify that there will be a few chapters (I still haven't decided if it will be 3 or 4) of Kuoh Year One before picking up where we left off in the prologue.
If you have any ideas or suggestions for things you'd like to see in this fic, feel free to send them via PM. I will be taking a lot of liberties with the canon material. For example, what Kazuya mentioned about the COMP and how it works is one such liberty.
If you have any questions, you can ask, and in the next chapter, I'll make sure to address them with a note at the end. Anyway, thanks for reading.
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