High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Yuki

“So be prepared to be a target during this game.”

Azazel spoke to Issei in a grim tone.

He was right to warn him.

The Sekiryuutei was a legendary existence, and Issei achieving his Balance Breaker was the first major step into becoming a proper legend of his own.

It was obvious that he would be considered a vital piece on our team and be targeted because of it.

Especially if Sona-Kaichou knew of the time Issei needed to enter his Balance breaker.

Knowing her, she was likely already aware of his weakness.

She likely studied past users of the Boosted Gear and found the same information that Azazel-sensei was able to find.

Instead of looking worried or determined, Issei was showing a bitter smile.

“You don’t need to worry about me sensei,” He said.

He ran a hand through his hair and gave a wry smile.

He spoke with a strange amount of confidence.

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Buchou.

She looked just as confused as me at to his strange behavior.

Azazel-sensei looked at Issei with suspicion.

“What’s with the act? Are you trying to look brave in front of the girls?” He asked.

Issei shook his head.

“I’m more mature now sensei. I’m a proper adult. Because I poked them.”

He gave Azaze-sensei a thumbs up as he spoke.

I sighed and shook my head.

Rias’s face turned red immediately.

Akeno covered her mouth to hide her grin.

Koneko put a hand over her face.

“Ah, I get it, I get it.”

Azazel nodded in response as if it made total sense.

Issei turned to Gasper-kun and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Gasper, you need to understand that there are two types of men in this world. Men who have poked breasts and those who haven't. As your senpai and the other male of the Gremory peerage, I will help you one day become like me. Then you too will understand how incredible it is.”

Gasper-kun looked bewildered at Issei’s strange pep talk.

He was so confused he forgot to be nervous from everyone in the room looking at him.

“Umm… Buchou? I think that Ise-senpai might have been hurt worse in that fight than we thought. Maybe Asia-senpai should try and heal his head.”

Gasper-kun took Issei’s hand off of his shoulder and held it gently.

Akeno was struggling to contain her laughter at this point.

Koneko looked ready to leave or hit him.

Asia looked concerned that Issei may have head trauma that she somehow missed.

“You don’t understand, Gasper,” Issei said, shaking his head. “I’ve changed after poking them, and you won't be able to understand until you do the same.”

“Gya-kun, you should get away from him. If you spend too much time around Issei-senpai, his idiocy may infect you.” Koneko said.

Gasper-kun slowly backed away from Issei.

But Issei didn't seem bothered by it, he just kept grinning his smug grin.

Azazel-sensei put the cap back on his marker and clapped his hands to bring us back on topic.

“With that aside, I believe your chances at winning against the Sitri peerage to be over eighty percent,” He said looking at all of us. “I believe that you are likely to win, but that does not make it a sure thing. It's a fight. Things can change and the outcome cannot be predetermined. Just like in chess, the value of a piece can change as the match progresses and the board develops."

The room was silent as we took in his words.

We couldn't become complacent just because we were the favorite to win.

Any one piece could take down a [King].

We were up against Kaichou, we should expect her to have a strategy in mind to win.

“I’ve lived a very long time, and in that time I have seen many battles,” Azazel-sensei said. “So listen when I tell you, if your opponent has a single percent chance to win, they can do so. I’ve seen it happen before. Go forward believing you will win, but don't expect your opponents to not believe the same thing. That is the last piece of advice I will give you as part of this training period.”

Azazel looked over our group after speaking.

He gave us one last nod before moving to sit down. 

Rias stood and moved in front of the group.

“We’ve studied previous Rating Games, gone over strategies, trained ourselves, and planned out combat scenarios. We are as ready as we can be. We will win. I believe in each of you and I know that we will overcome whatever plan Sona can throw at us. I want each of you to head to your rooms and rest before the match tomorrow. We will face the student council and come out victorious!”

Rias ended her small speech with a loud declaration.

“Yes, Bucho!” We replied as a group.

The meeting broke apart and we all left Azazel-sensei’s room.

Yuuto and Xenovia were talking about Sona-Kaichou’s [Knight] as they exited the room.

Issei and Asia were chatting as they left.

Gasper-kun was asking Koneko questions about the student council members as they walked behind Asia and Issei.

Akeno and Rias stayed back to talk to Azazel-sensei.

I moved to join Koneko and Gasper-kun. 

We all settled into a more tense atmosphere than normal.

The anticipation was obvious in each of us.

We would have our first official Rating Game tomorrow.

And like Rias said, we were going to win.

________________________________________

Issei

I had struggled to fall asleep last night.

I was full of nerves after our last team meeting before the match.

I had laid awake staring at the ceiling for a while until I finally fell asleep.

Now, it was the morning of the day of our Rating Game. 

We were all gathered on top of the huge magic circle beneath the Gremory castle.

We were about to be transported into the arena for our game.

For our match against Sona-kaichou and the student council.

The magic circle itself was enormous.

Buchou had said it was built only for transportation to official game areas.

Just standing in it made me realize how much effort had gone into preparing for our Rating Game.

All of us were gathered there.

We were all wearing our Kuoh Academy summer uniforms, except for Asia and Xenovia.

Buchou had let them wear outfits that they were more comfortable fighting in.

Asia was wearing her nun’s habit and Xenovia was wearing her skin tight battle clothes from when she was still a part of the Church.

It had been a while since I had seen her in them, and if I wasn’t so focused on our upcoming match, I would have been staring at her.

I still was, the battle clothes she wore clung to her body like a second skin, so it was impossible not to look at her.  

But I wasn’t as focused on her as I would have been normally. 

The Sitri peerage was also present.

They were also wearing the Kuoh academy uniform.

It really made it feel like a match between the Occult Research Club and the Student Council, rather than the Gremory and Sitri peerage.

I also realized that it may be confusing who is on which side for anyone watching.

I pushed away that random thought and looked around our peerage.

Everyone looked fired up for the match and determined to win. 

Outside the circle, Buchou’s father and mother were there, along with Millicas and Azazel-sensei.

Azazel-sensei had said that Sirzechs-sama and Grayfia-san had already gone ahead to the VIP spectator area, apparently.

That was probably for the best, considering that Sirzechs-sama’s presence would have put more people on edge.

Especially Yuki-san.

But despite him not being here, we had been told that not only the leaders of the three great powers would be watching us, but important guests from other factions too would be watching too.

That still made everyone a bit more tense.

It felt like the attention on our match kept growing.

We would just have to ignore it and fight as best as we could.

“Rias,” Buchou’s father said, “You have lost once before. Win for sure this time.”

Buchou’s mother smiled, but there was a seriousness under the warmth.

“Fight a battle that won’t make you ashamed as the next head of the family. All of you as well, show us a match that will bring honor to the Gremory house, understood?”

Millicas leaned forward eagerly.

“Do your best, Rias-nee-sama!”

“I’ve already taught you everything you needed to know,” Azazel-sensei said with a smirk. “All that’s left is to do your best and fight properly.”

Buchou nodded once.

“Yes.”

Then the magic circle began to shine.

At once, the atmosphere tightened.

This was it.

No more talk or planning.

It was finally time to face off against the Sitri peerage. 

The game had started.

The light swallowed us.

And the place we arrived in after the teleport made me blink.

We were in the middle of a large room with plenty of tables. 

“…Eh?”

At first I thought we’d arrived in some huge restaurant.

Then I looked around properly.

There were fast food restaurants at the edges of the room.

I walked forward to the railing at the edge of the room.

There were escalators, a familiar glass ceiling atrium, and department stores.

I realized that I knew this place.

It was the shopping center near Kuoh Academy.

The mall that I already knew from normal life, except now it had become a Rating Game battlefield.

That was weird.

“I hadn’t expected them to pick a battlefield that both sides would be familiar with,” Buchou muttered. “This will make things easier to plan for both sides.”

We all looked around, and before anyone could say anything more, Grayfia-san’s voice came through the monitor set into the wall.

[Welcome everyone. I, the [Queen] of the Lucifer peerage, Grayfia Lucifuge, will be carrying the role of arbiter in the Rating Game between Rias Gremory and her peerage and Sona Sitri and her peerage.]

I noticed that Grayfia-san introduced herself as part of Sirzechs-sama’s peerage, rather than as a servant of the Gremory family, like she did in the Rating Game against Riser.

I wondered if it was due to this match being an official one, or the scale of its attention.

[In the name of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer, I will watch over the battle between these two families. It is an honor to be able to preside over this match. The battlefield for this match is the mall near the school, Kuoh Academy, that both Rias Gremory-sama and Sona Sitri-sama attend. The copy of the mall has been prepared within an alternate space to be used as a game field.]

I looked around the mall.

The building was oblong shaped.

It was a long building with two floors, so we wouldn’t have to worry about the height or width of the field.

The mall also had a multi story parking garage attached to it, which would probably become an important location if it was included as part of the matches arena.

[Both groups have been transported to their respective bases. Rias Gremory-sama’s base is on the second floor of the east side of the mall. Sona Sitri-sama’s base is on the first floor of the west side of the mall. In order for [Pawns] to promote, they must reach their opponent’s bases.]

It made sense for each base to be on the opposite ends of the mall.

But that also meant that Yuki-san and I getting to use our ability to promote probably wouldn’t happen.

On the second floor near our base were a pet shop, an arcade, a book shop, and a drug store.

Beneath us on the first floor was a sporting goods store and a second hand book store.

By the Sitri base, there was a small grocery store, an electrical appliance store, a convenience store, and a clothing store.

[During this match there will be a few special rules. Documents have been sent to each base outlining them. Both teams, be sure to read them. Additionally, a single vial of Phoenix Tears have been provided to each team. Lastly, the time before the match starts is thirty minutes. Both teams can use this time to strategize and prepare. You are not allowed to engage the opposing team at this time. The game will begin immediately after the thirty minutes is up. That time starts now. Begin.]

We immediately gathered together.

Buchou opened a packet containing a map of the mall and the additional rules for the match. 

“With the battlefield modeled after the mall near Kuoh, the match will take place entirely indoors,” Buchou said to us. “The main issue with that is the first special rule. It states ‘Do not destroy, or cause excessive damage to the battlefield’. This means that we will not be able to use our more powerful attacks.”

Buchou narrowed her eyes at the paper after explaining the first additional rule to us.

“That will mainly affect me, Issei, and Fukukubuchou. We won’t be able to use attacks that affect wide areas,” Xenovia said with a frustrated look.

She was right.

I couldn’t use my [Boosted] dragon shot.

Akeno-san wouldn’t be able to call down her lightning strike.

And Xenovia wouldn’t be able to use Durandal.

We already have a disadvantage against Kaichou’s peerage. 

“This really is troublesome. Any strategy of using massive attacks is already blocked,” Akeno-san said, letting out a sigh. “And Gasper-kun’s eyes will be less effective here with all of the corners and hiding spots. Because our groups specialty is a large and showy battle, we are being heavily restricted. Now people like Yuki-chan and Yuuto-chan will be much more valuable in fights, due to their attacks not causing much collateral damage.”

Buchou shook her head.

“While you’re right that Gasper would have issues in this environment, per the rules, he can’t use his Sacred Gear during the match. It was judged that he doesn’t have enough control over it, and it was decided that he can’t use them. They are concerned he may go out of control and ruin the game.”

Buchou pulled out a pair of glasses from the packet and tossed them to Gasper.

He fumbled with them before catching them and clutching them to his chest.

“Those glasses are something Azazel made to seal Sacred Gear,” buchou continued. “It says that he made them specifically for Gasper, so there will not be any negative effects on him. It also says that giving him Ise’s blood to boost his abilities is prohibited.”

Gasper put on the large round glasses and blinked a few times before adjusting them and looking around. 

“The battlefield and the additional rules are all in Sona-Kaichou’s favor. There isn’t a single restriction on her team and the battlefield restriction only really applies to our side,” Yuki-san said with a frown. “I understand making it a fair battlefield, but this feels like the Sitri peerage is receiving extreme favoritism.”

“It’s not something we can change now, Yuki. We will just have to adapt and overcome these additional obstacles.” Buchou replied.

“The purpose of these Rating Games is supposed to be to show what each peerage is capable of and the skill of each [King]. But our match won’t show what we can do and will only make Kaichou look like a better [King] because of it,” Yuki-san paused. “Though that means that we will be underestimated in our next match, which is the only benefit we get out of this.”

Buchou sighed.

“You’re not entirely wrong, but Rating Games aren’t something that are won by power alone. We have to accept the battlefield and the changes that come with it. These games are a place that any Devil, regardless of strength can win if they are cunning enough. That is part of the reason that Rating Games are as popular as they are in the Underworld. Yes the rules are disadvantageous, and even unfair to us, but we will still be able to win. We will accept these restrictions and still fight our way to victory.”

Yuki-san still looked annoyed, but gave a nod to Buchou in response.

“So, will Gasper only be using his Vampire powers and demonic power then?” I asked, returning us to the topic of the special rules. 

Buchou nodded.

“That is correct. Even without his Sacred Gear, Gasper will still be able to be a valuable piece in the field. There will also be times where his eyesight is block or restricted, so he will need to know how to fight in response to that.”

Gasper gave a small hesitant nod. 

“This may be a good opportunity for us,” Akeno-san said. “We will be able to showcase our abilities and team work rather than just brute strength. It will also be a good way to learn to fight if we encounter a similar situation.”

I realized an issue then.

I raised my hand before bringing it up to Buchou. 

“Umm, Buchou. I spent all of my time training to grow stronger and reach my Balance Breaker. But I never practiced how to hold my power when fighting. I don’t know if I’ll be able to…”

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