Chapter 24: on hell of A summer
"What is...happening right now..." Issei spoke in utter disbelief at the chaos in front of him. As the young Devil looked around he could see all his friend's lifeless bodies along with his hometown of Kuoh burning to the ground.
"Asia…Kiba… Rias…" he muttered as he looked at the bodies. As Issei then looked back at the town he was petrified by the beast that seemed to be doing the destroying of everything in its path. The young Devil could not make out the beast completely but there were two very distinct features he could see by looking at it which was the golden fur and large tail that was blowing away houses with a simple movement.
"Issei…save me..." Issei froze in recognition of the sweet voice he had heard as he slowly turned to see someone he thought was long gone from his mind… "Yuma..." Issei watched as she slowly changed into the more evil looking form of her true self Raynare.
"This is… all HIS fault..." Raynare spat out blood as she collapsed and fell into unconsciousness. The large monster was now preparing a new attack coming from its mouth and as the light blinded Issei's eyes his last thoughts were… Where is Gohan…?
"Issei…Issei wake up!"
Issei suddenly shot up from his sleeping position in a state of panic covered in sweat as he gasped for air and looked at his surroundings.
"Asia… thank goodness" he breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes lay upon his girlfriend who had been shouting at him to wake up.
"Issei, are you okay? You were having a horrible nightmare it seemed and I couldn't wake you from it at all" the small blonde haired girl said with concern in her voice, "What happened!?"
Issei finally managing to regain composure thought for a moment about the nightmare he had just had and wondered if it would be best to tell Asia right now. He hated having to lie to her but until he could gain a better understanding of what this all meant it would be best to keep it to himself for now.
"It was just a nightmare about the recent battle, sorry to have worried you Asia" He tried to act his normal self in hopes that the girl would buy his story.
Asia just looked at her boyfriend for a moment as she hummed to herself, "Are you sure Issei?"
"Yes..." Just as Issei was about to reply his alarm clock rang causing both teens to realize the time.
"OH CRAP! We're going to be late!" Issei shouted as he jumped out of bed making a quick dash to his bathroom to get ready for school. Asia giggled at his antics as she decided to strip Issei's soaked bed for him quickly and get his uniform out ready for him.
Once Issei was finally ready he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen area to see that everyone else was up and eating breakfast. Asia and Xenovia were busy cooking while Koneko was helping out where she could meanwhile, Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Gohan, and Gasper were sat at the table eating and trying not to be put off from Gohan's usual huge breakfast that seemed to be disappearing by the second.
"Morning everyone!"
"Good morning Issei, are you feeling better now and ready for the last day of school before summer break?" Rias politely asks her pawn as she smiles at him.
"Yeah! All my injuries have healed now thanks to Asia and I'm just glad that today's our last day, which reminds me… what are we going to be doing for Summer break president?" Issei asks.
"I will inform everyone after school today in the club room so make sure you're not late" Rias replies loud enough so that everyone can hear.
"Has there been any news from my parents by the way?"
"Yes, they are still currently touring Europe and will be coming back around the end of Summer break" Rias noticing the slight worry in her young Pawns voice when asking about his Family.
"Issei..." Issei turns to look at Gohan, "Asia said you had a nightmare last night, everything okay?"
"Yeah… it was nothing… just from our last battle is all, I'm fine honest" Issei laughs while scratching the back of his head hoping that Gohan and everyone else would believe him.
"If you say so..." Gohan knew there was something more to this and that Issei wasn't telling the complete truth. He had seen many peoples faces when they lied or just tried to brush off a similar question and judging the way Issei replied something was plaguing the boy, hmm wonder what's up with him… Soon enough everyone had finished their breakfasts and were ready to leave for school.
BREAK….
As the group began to walk to school idly chatting amongst themselves, Issei had dropped behind them as he continued to think about his dream… What could that dream have meant if anything? Just what was that huge monster and why was it attacking us? Why was I thinking of Raynare of all people and why now? This doesn't make any sense... Issei upon thinking of Yuma/Raynare began feeling sad at how that whole scenario had turned out especially considering the fact that he had feelings for her at the time.
Asia had turned around at this point and noticed the rather sad look on her boyfriends face she dropped back and began walking next to him, "Issei, everything okay?"
Issei brought out of his thoughts looked at the beautiful blonde girl beside him, I have Asia now and I will never let anyone hurt her ever again!
As Issei and Asia began walking again to catch up with the rest of the group he couldn't help but smile at his friends and laugh at Rias and Gohan.
"Gohan… you will behave in class today or do I need to get out my friends here..." a dark red aura began to surround the President as she brought out her secret weapon, the frying pan ready to bash her boyfriend on the head.
"Yes! I promise just please put that thing away!" Gohan cried as the others just laughed at the pairs charade.
It amazes me that someone so powerful can be so scared of a frying pan, it's a good thing Kokabiel didn't pull one out in that fight… Issei chuckled to himself which in turn seem to reassure Asia who was walking beside him.
"Issei, I've been meaning to tell you… seeing as you did so well in that last fight with Vali I am going to up your training over the Summer break so be ready" Gohan smiled to his friend as he already knew of Rias's plan for the Summer but didn't want to let anything slip to Issei or the others.
"Alright! Then I can finally pummel that ass Vali!" Issei replied as he fist pumped the air.
"Man, this day is dragging as are these boring lessons..." Issei said out loud to no one in particular. Issei looked around the classroom and saw that Asia and Xenovia were talking to some other girls about what they would be doing for Summer break. I wonder what the prez has in store for us…
Issei was broken from his thoughts as a male's voice boomed through his sensitive hearing causing him to slightly wince, that male being Matsuda, "HOW CAN YOU ALSO HAVE THE SPECTACLE POWER!" one half of the perverted duo shouted.
Issei then noticed that both Matsuda and Motohama were talking to a slender and busty girl, long brown hair tied in two braids with blue ribbons and deep hazel colored eyes girl. The girl was indeed wearing some pink, circle-rimmed glasses that seemed to suit her really well. This girls name was Aika Kiryuu, the queen of pervertedness who always tries to pick a fight with the perverted duo.
"You really think you are the only one with a special power to be able to measure a girl's sizes, HA don't make me laugh!" Kiryuu laughed loudly as she sat on her desk. "I have the power to calculate any males 'manhood' size just by looking at them!" again Kiryuu laughed manically out loud, unfortunately for the perverted duo Kiryuu had used her power on the pair and embarrassed the pair by revealing the size of their own 'manhoods' to the rest of class causing the boys to become red-faced and crying.
"They never learn..." Issei sighed. Unfortunately for Issei, the queen of pervertedness had set her eyes on him as she was curious about her best friend Asia's boyfriend.
"Well well, Asia..." Kiryuu began to say as both Asia and Xenovia turned to look at the brown-haired girl, "Your boyfriend seems to be packing a lot of heat between those legs of his" Kiryuu announced causing both Asia and Issei to blush with the latter now cursing the girl's glasses.
"Dammit Kiryuu, go annoy those two some more!" Issei shouted. Kiryuu just laughed as she walked away.
"Don't worry Issei, nobody can beat the King of the school in size..." Kiryuu revealed causing Issei to look at the girl in shock, "What do you mean?" the boy asks.
"Son Gohan, the King of the school… he's so...HOT!" Kiryuu suddenly began panting heavily as she began drooling and making some of her classmates along with Issei rather uncomfortable.
"When he first came to this school I used my powers to see what he was packing and instantly fell for his HUGE DI..." Before Kiryuu could finish her sentence the door to the classroom opened to reveal a familiar spiky haired boy walk through causing everyone to look in his direction. As Kiryuu looked and saw who it was, she immediately had a nosebleed that fired everywhere causing the girl to collapse to the floor.
"Hey Issei, Asia, Xenovia I was looking for you..." Gohan declared, however, he then noticed the random girl on the floor seemingly twitching while laid in a puddle of her own blood, "erm guys… shouldn't she be taken to the nurse's office?" the young Saiyan half breed questioned.
"NO!" the shout coming from nearly everyone inside the classroom causing Gohan to jump in surprise.
"Gohan, why are you here anyway?" Xenovia asks as she and Asia walk over to him as Issei follows suit.
"Oh right yeah! Rias wants all of us at the clubroom now for a meeting so I came to get you three" He smiled in reply.
"Well let's not keep the President waiting shall we..." Xenovia spoke as she ushered Gohan out the room quickly before the perverted Kiryuu regained her senses, nobody else will have Gohan but the President, Akeno and me!…
Issei and Asia waved back to their friends in the classroom as they went to catch up with Xenovia and a confused Gohan. Luckily not a minute or so later Kiryuu had managed to regain her composure from Gohan's sudden appearance and was angry at the fact that Gohan along with the others had gone already before she could have some fun, Oh I will taste that monster in his pants!…
Gohan had a sudden and horrible shiver up his spine, That was the worst one I've ever had!….
BREAK…..
Everyone but Rias and Akeno was now in the Occult Research Clubroom now making chit-chat amongst each other. Asia and Xenovia were talking about how nice it was to be able to pray again after Michael had made it so the two Devils could without being hurt from it. Kiba was sat on one of the sofa's drinking some tea while Gohan and Koneko were across from him with the latter sat in her usual place which was on her 'brothers' lap as she ate some sweets. Gasper was sat in his box by the window playing on his game Issei had given him.
Issei was looking out the window next to Gasper, the nightmare once again entering his mind as he looked out at the school grounds and the town of in the distance, however, flashes of it burning and destroyed kept entering his mind, "What does it mean..." he muttered under his breathe.
"Issei, is everything okay? You seem kinda out of it today..." The small Vampire asked as he looked to his 'big brother'.
"Yeah sorry was thinking about something don't worry Gasper"
The door to the clubroom suddenly opened revealing Rias and Akeno who walked in, "Hello everyone, I'm glad to see you are all here as we have some things to discuss" Rias announced to her peerage as she walked over to the sofa and sat beside Gohan and Koneko. Akeno walked over to the kitchen area and made some tea for Rias and herself and then sat on the other side of Gohan and Koneko.
"Is this about what we will be doing for Summer President?" Issei asks.
"Yes Issei. I have already informed Gohan while Kiba and Koneko already know as we did it last year" Rias crossed her legs as she sipped on her tea.
"We will be going to the underworld for the whole of Summer Break..." she announced.
"Wow, to think that someone who had been sending souls to Hell would now also be visiting Hell is kinda nostalgic… I'm excited to see just what it's like" Xenovia said as she smiled.
"Oh yeah, you never came with us before!" Gohan remembered, "Last time we went was via Grayfia's magic and when we fought against the roasted chicken..." Everyone began laughing at that nickname Gohan had brought up again for Riser.
"Ahhh…. That will never get old Gohan" Issei laughed as the others nodded in agreement while Xenovia and Gasper were filled in by Asia.
"Anyway, Rias what will we be doing in the underworld exactly?" Issei asks.
"There is going to be a conference about the recent revelations regarding the Chaos Brigade and also everyone here will be receiving some special training while we are there" Rias reveals causing Issei to grin as did Gohan after seeing his reaction. Gohan then noticed the sudden arrival of a certain Fallen Angel in the room as he looked towards Rias's desk and chair, he noticed that nobody else had seen the arrival and was somewhat disappointed by that fact as he felt Issei or even Rias should have felt the new presence in the room, If that was an enemy and I wasn't here nobody would have survived a sudden attack...hmm they all need some serious training…
"I too will also be coming with you to the underworld..." a new voice made itself known to everyone but Gohan.
"Azazel! How did you get in here and how long have you been sat there!?" A surprised Rias shouts as she and everyone look towards the Fallen Angel Leader.
"Please, you may be a Gremory and the King of this group, however, Gohan was the only one of you that noticed me entering the room which says a lot about this group's current power..." Azazel in his usual cocky tone replied.
"Azazel is right..." Everyone then looked to Gohan as he moved Koneko from his lap and stood by the desk Azazel was sat at, "The fact that even you didn't notice Rias is troubling, each of you needs a lot of training but not only just in your Sacred Gears but also your senses and your fighting abilities..." the group looked at him somewhat taken aback by Gohan's seriousness. "If Azazel had been an enemy like Kokabiel or even Riser, you all would have been killed before you knew what hit you..."
Rias along with the rest of the group looked dejected from what Gohan had said to them because they knew he was right, especially Rias and Issei.
"Hey, don't look so down… this is what I will be helping teach you all while we are in the underworld. I will be helping with your training as will a few others I believe..." Gohan looked at Azazel who replied with a nod, "Yes we will have a few extra helpers so be ready for anything all of you!" Azazel smiled to the group which just seemed to peak their curiosity as to who will be helping them.
"Anyway, we will be going to the underworld via the Gremory Train which will be picking us up from the Kuoh terminal in the morning around 10:00 so all of you make sure you are ready and packed" Rias announced to her peerage.
"Yes President!" They all said in unison.
With that everyone began to leave and make their way back home, however, "Rias, Akeno can you stay here for a little while longer please" Both girls were confused by Gohan's request but both just nodded in understanding.
"Issei we will catch up with you guys at home..."
"Okay see you later..." With that Issei along with Kiba, Gasper, Koneko, Xenovia, and Asia left the room and began to make their way home.
"Gohan why did you want us to stay behind?" Akeno questioned her boyfriend.
"Azazel did you notice while you were here?" The Saiyan half breed asked the older man.
"You mean Issei don't you?"
"Yes, I noticed it this morning when this nightmare Asia spoke about was brought up this morning. He has been having this distant look in his eyes every now"
"What do you think is wrong with him?" Rias asks as she had not noticed anything seeing as she hadn't seen much of Issei today.
"I'm not sure, it could be nothing but I think for now we need to all just keep an eye on him just in case. Call it a gut feeling if you like" Gohan chuckled while pulling his usual grin.
"Okay" Rias and Akeno say in unison.
"Well, I have to go meet your brother now so I will see you all in the morning on the train" Azazel then disappeared via a magic circle.
"I guess we should head home now too..." Gohan says as he looks at the two girls, both Rias and Akeno were still in thought about Issei and also about what had happened earlier which revealed how weak they truly were.
"Gohan you will be spending some one on one training time with both of us won't you and not just spend all your time training Issei, right?" Akeno grabbed his arm and pushed it between her breasts causing him to blush at the sudden feeling.
Rias then grabbed the other arm and did the same, "We're your girlfriends remember so we should get some special training..." Rias muttered into his sensitive ears.
"Yes...don't worry…." Gohan knew where this was going as he just gave in to the girls knowing that once they were in this type of mood then nothing could stop them from getting what they wanted.
"It's kinda funny, I spent so much time sending people to Hell and now here I am on the way there now as a Devil..." Xenovia laughed as she conversed with Kiba who laughed as well.
Everyone had been woken up bright and early the next morning as per Rias's orders due when the train would be picking them all up.
As Xenovia and Kiba were sat at the bar area talking, Gasper was sat in his usual cardboard box while playing on the game Issei had given him. The Red Dragon Emperor was sat next to Asia on one of the large couches and across from them was Rias, Akeno and Gohan.
Koneko was sat near Gasper which surprised the Vampire as he would have thought Koneko would be sat either next to or on Gohan but as he looked at the cat-like girl he could see she had a far-off look in her eyes.
"Koneko, everything okay?" He timidly asked.
"..." No reply came from Koneko as she just continued looking out the window.
"Koneko? Hey Koneko!" Gasper repeated in hopes of snapping her out of her thoughts.
Koneko turned her head back towards Gasper after hearing her voice being shouted, "Sorry Gasper, what did you want?"
"Are you okay...Koneko? It's just you seem distracted by something?"
"I'm fine Gaspy… no need to worry" Koneko then gave a weak smile and returned to her thoughts as she continued looking out the window. Two people had been listening and watching the conversation between Gasper and Koneko and they had both seen that something was definitely troubling the small girl, those two being Rias and Gohan.
"We will soon be arriving at the Sitri Terminal..."
"Wait Sitri Terminal…" a confused Issei mutters until…
The carriage doors open to reveal Sona, Saji, and Tsubaki as they walk into the Gremory Carriage. "Ah, hello Sona" Rias warmly greets her longtime friend.
"Hey Saji! How come you guys are on this train?" Issei asks confused by their appearance.
"Yo dude… well" Before Saji could continue he received a quick whack on the back of the head courtesy of Sona and much to the amusement of Issei and Gohan.
"Saji, what have I told you about being respectful..."
"Sorry..." Saji mutters as he rubs his head and glares at the chuckling pair of Issei and Gohan.
"We just wanted to come and say thank you for allowing us to ride on the Gremory Train and for dropping us off," the young heiress said to her childhood friend.
"You're more than welcome Sona, you know that and don't worry about your pawn's behaviour… I believe my own pawn and special piece need to be reminded of certain customs themselves" Rias then gave the boys a very frightening smile which caused Gohan and Issei to instantly freeze up in fear.
"I hope that your training goes well with Azazel, however, we will also be training hard too just in case we have to be apart of any rating games ourselves" Sona winked.
"Issei, don't go getting all weak on me or I will be the one to be known as the most powerful pawn!" Saji declared to his rival as he pumped his fist.
"Bring it on Saji, I will be a lot stronger than you by the time summer is over with!" Issei smirked.
As the three began to leave, Tsubaki had a quick glance at Kiba and gave him a quick smile and wave. Kiba being the gentleman he portrayed to be, did the the same back, unfortunately for him though Issei and Gohan had seen the interaction and were now pointing and giggling as the knight blushed somewhat.
CLANG….CLANG…
Rias had knocked the boys out with her frying pan as they were both now seeing little angels, devils and fallen angels round their heads.
"I warned you both..." Rias said as everyone laughed at them.
An hour or so had passed since the Gremory train had stopped at the Sitri terminal, Issei and Gohan had finally managed to regain their senses after Rias's secret weapon. Issei was now sat with Gasper playing games with him as Asia sat next to him, Rias had gone to speak to Azazel so Akeno was sat cuddling up to Gohan while Xenovia sat near them as did Koneko who continued to look out the window and not seem her usual self.
Soon enough Rias returned, to the carriage that her peerage was in and sat back down next to Gohan. As she sat down she quickly whispered into his ear, "Be ready for a sudden change in scenery..." Gohan turned and looked at Rias in confusion, but as he saw the serious look on her face he knew it must be something important.
"Hey guys look!" Issei shouted causing everyone to look out the window where he was.
"We will soon be arriving at the Gremory terminal, please make sure you take all luggage and belongings!"
"Wait so this entire area is controlled by the Gremory family!" Xenovia looked on in disbelief at what she was looking at. There must have been millions of buildings that they could see which just seemed to stretch on for miles and miles.
"Yes, this whole area is the territory of the Gremory family. It has grown in size due to my brother being Lucifer but even before then, my father told me that our territory was one of the biggest in all of the underworld." Rias explained to the group. "I also have something I must tell you all before we arrive..." Rias announced causing the group to all look at her, "We will be joined by an Asgard representative once we arrive."
"Wait… Asgard as in the Gods of Norse mythology!?" A very surprised Issei said.
"Yes Issei, although the representative will not be a God but a servant to Odin" Rias explains.
Maybe it's a good thing it's me here and not Dad, knowing him he would want to fight a God just to see how strong he is against one… maybe I should test myself against one… Gohan ponders as Kiba and Rias explain Norse mythology, Olympus and MT. Meru in Asia and how they have connections to Heaven and Hell.
"I take it that the reason we have a representative from Asgard coming is due to the conference about the Chaos Brigade..." Kiba summed up.
"Yes, due to the activity the Chaos Brigade has been showing as of late and the growing number of powerful beings that they have been recruiting, Heaven, Hell, and even Asgard decided that this conference is needed to make countermeasures against them" Rias explained to the group, "Asgard, in particular, Odin also wants to meet you Gohan so be prepared for that..."
"I guess that doesn't surprise me..." Maybe I will get to test myself earlier than I thought… Gohan's Saiyan blood began boiling at the prospect of a powerful foe.
As everyone else was looking out the window and talking amongst themselves about the impressive sight and about Asgard, Rias pulled Gohan away from them all and as he looked at her to see why... Rias simply rose her finger to her mouth telling him to be quiet. Gohan simply nodded knowing that this must have something to do with what she had said earlier on… What are you up to Rias…
To the surprise of everyone, the train suddenly stopped very abruptly causing everyone but Rias and Gohan to fall over as they were all still engrossed in the Gremory territory. As the group began to get their bearings after falling over due to the sudden stop, a bright light engulfed the room causing them all to be blinded.
"What the hell happened..." A groggy Issei asked out loud, as he stood up and finally saw where he was, Issei was confused by what he saw.
"Issei, there you are!" Kiba jumped over a few rocks to get to his friend.
"Kiba! What's going on? Where are we?" Issei frantically asked.
"Issei, calm down! Just follow me, I will take you to the others"
Kiba then leads Issei to an open area where he saw the rest of his friends, minus two. "Asia! Are you okay?!" Issei asked as he quickly ran over to her.
"Issei, I'm fine I promise." Asia hugged him and reassured Issei.
"Where are the prez and Gohan?" Issei looked around not seeing the pair anywhere.
"We aren't sure Issei, we couldn't find them anywhere and I don't even sense them either" Akeno explained, "We were all teleported by someone out of the Train after that white light engulfed the carriage, it appears we are in the Gremory territory somewhere but at this time I have no idea where..."
"THUD...THUD...THUD..."
"Anyone else feel that just now?" Xenovia asks the group as she tries to regain her balance.
"How could we not… that felt like an earthquake!"
"THUD...THUD...THUD..."
"It's getting closer, quick everyone get ready it could be an enemy for all we know!" Akeno ordered the group. Kiba and Xenovia both brought forth their swords quickly, Issei's gauntlet soon appeared on his arm as Asia hid behind him. Akeno transformed into her battle clothing Miko attire. Gasper stood with Issei determined to help his friends no matter what this time. Koneko who had been silent the entire time waited to see what was coming while feeling somewhat nervous.
"You've got to be kidding me… it's a DRAGON!" Issei called out, shaken by the behemoth that had appeared.
As the humongous Dragon got closer, he looked at the Devils below him and huffed at the sight of them, let's see if they can give me a workout at least…
Much to the surprise of Issei, Akeno, Kiba and Xenovia, Koneko charged straight in without hesitation, "Koneko! Wait don't!" Akeno bellowed out. However, Koneko ignored her and carried on heading straight for the Dragon in front of her. Koneko cocked her fist back ready to punch the beast as hard as she could but was soon sent in a different direction entirely as the beast just slapped her away with ease using his tail.
"KONEKO!" Issei screamed as he and Asia flew straight over to where she had hit some rocks hard.
"Asia you heal Koneko, Issei cover her as she does so, Kiba, Xenovia… distract it while I charge some of my power ready for an attack… Gasper when I give you the signal I want you to use your powers to freeze time around the Dragon for as long as you can so I can get a direct hit on him!" Akeno ordered the group.
Asia quickly got to work on healing the small girl as Issei looked on in worry, "Dammit Gohan… Where are you!?" Issei hissed.
"Issei go help the others, I will be fine..." Asia reassured her boyfriend.
"BOOST...BOOST...BOOST" Issei's body began to glow red as he concentrated his power as much as he could.
"WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER…" Issei becomes engulfed in his armor and shoots of towards the giant Dragon.
"Gasper do it now!" Akeno shouts. Gasper tries to use his powers on the Dragon but unfortunately it seems to have no effect.
"It's not working" Gasper cries out but it falls on deaf ears as Akeno fires her charged up lightening attack only to watch in horror as the Dragon seems to take next to no damage from her attack whatsoever.
The Dragon then turned its attention towards the one who had sent that powerful lightning at him, Akeno. Akeno froze as the behemoth turned to face her and had a murderous glint in its eyes, Gohan...where are you...please save me…
Thankfully for Akeno, someone else appeared as if out of thin air and smashed the Dragon with a powerful punch straight to the jaw, "Issei..." she mumbled in surprise and relief. "Now it's my turn to kick your ass Dragon!" Issei shouted. Unfortunately for Issei, his surprise attack had little effect as the Dragon hit back sending Issei to the ground creating a massive crater where he landed.
Akeno looked around at the carnage that the Dragon had created. Both Kiba and Xenovia were barely able to stand as they struggled to do so, Asia was trying to heal them to the best of her ability. Gasper looked as if he had used his own powers on himself as he was just frozen with what he had been seeing happen to his friends. Issei's armour had vanished after a single hit, he was barely able to move from the crater. Koneko was still unconsciousness after her careless attack from the beginning. "What do I do now..." Akeno asked herself while feeling so helpless without Gohan or even Rias around to help.
"THAT'S ENOUGH TANINE!" A voice bellowed out surprising everyone. Everyone but Koneko looked up to where the voice was heard from and relief, as well as confusion, washed over them as they all saw Rias, Azazel and Gohan appear. The purple Dragon began to move away from the beaten Devils and sat down with a large thud as it waited for further instructions.
"Is that…really you...Goh..." Akeno didn't get to finish her sentence as she became woozy and started to fall out of the sky, luckily for her a certain spiky haired teen carefully caught her as she was falling. "I'm sorry it went this way Akeno and that I wasn't here for you..." Gohan muttered feeling bad for what he watched.
Gohan still carrying the barely conscious Akeno, Rias and Azazel landed beside Asia and a now-healed Kiba and Xenovia. "Asia will you please heal up Akeno, I will go grab Issei, Koneko and Gasper" Gohan laid Akeno down beside Asia as she quickly began to heal her. Gohan using his super speed quickly grabbed Koneko and a still frozen Gasper and took them to where the others were as he quickly went to his last friend.
"Hey… how are you feeling?"
"I feel...like I was just hit by three trains...all at once, that was only one attack that took me out..." A groggy Issei replied to his friend and mentor.
"Don't worry, all will become clear when we're back with the others" Gohan then pulled Issei up and put Issei's arm around his shoulder and took him to the others.
"Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped..." Azazel sighed.
"I'm confused, what the hell is going on" Xenovia still pissed at how easily she had been defeated.
Gohan and Issei arrived just as Xenovia finished her little outburst. "This was all a test..." Azazel reveals to them.
"A test for what exactly?" Issei asks as he sits down beside Asia.
"Well, I think first off I should introduce you to your opponent who you were all beaten by" Azazel then turns as everyone looks at the Dragon who was just casually sat down while looking at them all. "Everyone, this is Tanine… he is a Devil and is known as the Blaze Meteor Dragon"
Tanine looks at Issei, "I believe you would have known who I was if your partner had told you soon enough Issei Hyoudou..." A very deep and raspy voice said, surprising the injured Devils.
"Ddraig! Why didn't you say anything before I attacked him and got my ass handed to me!"
"I knew that you were in no real danger partner, so I thought I would see how you could handle it yourself" the Welsh Dragon replied.
"Wait, how did you know that I was in no real danger though?" Issei asks confused by his partner's words.
"Tanine was barely using any of his real strength against any of you, I know this because we have fought each other long ago and considering what I felt during your little skirmish, I would say he was only using about 5% of his full power" Issei along with the others that had fought Tanine were completely dumbfounded after hearing that.
"So what exactly was the purpose of this fight?" Kiba speaks up snapping everyone out of their surprise.
"The reason behind this was to find out how each of you would fair against someone or in this case something with much more raw power and see what weaknesses you each have..." Rias explains I feel terrible for having them all through this, especially after seeing how Gasper and Koneko ended up… Rias sighed as she looked at Azazel, "I will let you explain the rest while I deal with Gasper and Koneko once she wakes up" Rias then walks over to the pair.
"There will come a time where each of you may face an enemy that is considerably stronger than you, for example, Kokabiel or even Riser… fortunately for you all, Gohan has been there for you and helped save the day… However, Gohan may not always be there to save the day so, during this entire summer break, you will all be put through your paces with a considerable amount of training." Azazel reveals to them.
"You can't all just hope and pray that Gohan will save you when things get tough, which is why we had this test. We wanted to see how you would deal with the situation and as I'm sure you're all aware after that fight, you ALL have a very long way to go with your powers" Azazel looked at each of them noticing that he seemed to have struck hard into their minds.
Gohan then came forward, "All of you are powerful in your own ways...however you must become stronger if you want to protect everyone you hope to… What Ddraig said is true about Tanine, but if he had been an enemy you all would have been killed in the blink of an eye." Gohan didn't want to sound like Azazel and criticize everyone but the Fallen Angel was right. Gohan thought maybe after all the training they all did together before coming to Hell they would have put up more of a fight, but he was wrong.
Kiba, Xenovia, Akeno, Issei and even Asia knew what they were saying was true, especially about Gohan not always being there. What if Gohan goes back to his own dimension given the chance and we have to fight someone stronger than Tanine? What do we do then? This played through each of their minds.
"Gohan...I do hope that you will be sparring with me as well...not like I have many beings that can make me use all one hundred percent of my power...HAHAHA!" Tanine laughed hysterically while gaining some surprised looks from the others.
"Wait, Gohan you have fought this Dragon when he is using all of his power!?"
"Yes… when I first came to this dimension and was staying with Sirzechs, I was often asked to spar with Tanine as they wanted to see just how powerful I was… besides fighting with the big guy kinda reminded me of home" Gohan chuckled at his recollection of the sparring sessions with Tanine.
"How could fighting with a giant purple Dragon remind you of home exactly?" Xenovia curiously asked as everyone else wanted to ask the same question.
"Well, I didn't really fight with as you say giant purple Dragons… although when I was a kid I was left to fend for myself for a while and there were all sorts of huge creatures that were in the wild… mainly Dinosaurs which I tended to constantly get chased by" Gohan then looked at everyone else, "What…?"
"Gohan, you sure are one crazy kid..." Azazel said while laughing.
"Anyway, I am going to go through with each of you who will be training you and what it will you need training on exactly" Azazel gained everyone's attention with that but before he could continue a certain white-haired girl began to stir.
Koneko slowly began to lift herself up, "What...happened to me" Everyone turned to see her now upright and holding her head.
"Koneko!" Asia hugged her tightly, "I was so worried about you!"
"Nice to see you're finally awake Koneko, we've all be worried about you" Rias put her hand on Koneko's head to reassure her that everything was okay now.
"We will explain everything to you later Koneko, right now Azazel and I need to tell you something" Gohan gave the younger girl a soothing smile then motioned Azazel to carry on with what he was going to say.
"As I was saying… Each of you need training in order to be ready for any fights that will more than likely come in the future" Azazel then looked at Issei, "Issei, you have indeed come a long way from being the weakest member of the group, however only you can decide how strong you want to become… you will be training with Tanine for the most part but Gohan will also continue his training with you as well so let me just say this now Issei… be prepared for the training from Hell...literally" Issei shuddered at the Fallen Angel leaders words.
"Kiba and Xenovia, as for you to you will be training with me. Kiba we will be working on your sacred gear and Xenovia you will be training to have better control of your Durandal's power" Both Kiba and Xenovia looked excited until… "Oh and you two will also be training with Gohan at some point to improve your speed seeing as that is one of the vocal points to your attacks"
Gohan looked at the pair and saw the excitement on their faces seem to disappear upon hearing that he would be training them too, "My mentor was tough on me so don't think I will be any softer on any of you guys… just ask Issei" he said with a sinister smile causing both Rias and Akeno to chuckle at their boyfriend's Devilish side.
"Next up, Asia… you too will be training with me when I am working on Kiba's sacred gear. I want to see if we can bring out your own Balance Breaker as it could be beneficial to anyone needing urgent medical aid" Azazel revealed to the blonde.
"I'm ready to do what I must!" Asia proudly said, ready to not fall behind and be useful to her friends.
Azazel then looked to Akeno, no easy way to tell her this so I will wait until he arrives here, until then I will keep it a secret… "Akeno, you will be trained by a guest who will be arriving for the conference that is all I can say currently..."
Why do I feel like I'm not going to be happy about who is training me… Akeno inner thoughts ran as she tried to guess who it would be.
"Gasper, you will be training with Rias for the time being until we can think of a way to help you properly" Gasper simply nodded in understanding.
"Last but not least… Koneko, you will be training with Gohan only which I will let Gohan explain" Koneko then looked too Gohan waiting for his explanation.
"Koneko, the reason why I am the only one who will be training you is due to you being more of a hand to hand combat fighter, I will be teaching you how to fight better and smarter… especially after what happened to you today against Tanine..." Gohan could see the look of regret in the girl's eyes, Koneko is better than what she displayed today… something is playing on her mind.
"Now that everyone has been informed of their training, I believe it's time we made our way to my house… but I think we all need to get cleaned up first, can't exactly take you while you're all battered and bruised" Rias chuckled, "We will be going to a favorite place of mine"
Soon enough the group all back on their feet began following Rias, "Will see you later on Tanine, I may come for that spar" Gohan shouted to the Devil Dragon who in return laughed, "I look forward to it!"
BREAK…..
The group had followed Rias to a hot spring within the Gremory territory, soon enough the girls went one way and the boys went another into their respective changing area and baths.
"Ahhhhh… I needed this..." Akeno relaxes into the baths as she feels the stress on her body slowly go away.
"I think we all needed this after today's fiasco," Xenovia said as she sat near Akeno and Rias who was settling into the bath herself.
"I'm sorry that you all had to go through that, I was against it, to begin with but Azazel, my brother, and even Gohan believed it was necessary..."
"It's okay, I guess in a way Azazel was right with what he said… we do rely on Gohan a lot" Akeno uttered feeling down about how she herself had performed during the fight.
"Then we will have to prove that we can all use our own strength to win fights that come our way and not always rely on Gohan..." Xenovia declared to her King and Queen.
Rias smiled at the enthusiasm of her knight. She looked over at Asia and Koneko who were both chatting although to her it seemed like Asia was doing most of the talking, Koneko on the other hand still looked slightly out of it. Judging from Koneko's behavior ever since before we left for the underworld, something has been eating away at her… the Koneko I know wouldn't charge straight into a fight without first thinking of a plan, especially against someone as powerful as Tanine… Rias's inner thoughts were cut short as she as well as Akeno and Xenovia heard the boys in their bath.
"It would be so easy for Gohan to come up here and join us if he wanted too..." Akeno said with her usual devilish chuckle causing both Rias and Xenovia's imaginations to run.
Meanwhile with the boys…
Issei, Gohan, Kiba, Gasper and even Azazel who decided to join them all got into the massive steamy bath and almost immediately felt their muscles and joints seem to relax within seconds.
"This is great" Issei mumbled as he sunk lower into the bath. "You can say that again kid, nothing better than a hot spring bath to wash away all those annoyances that the body has picked up..." The Fallen Angel leader said in agreement.
As Gohan was beginning to relax himself, he suddenly felt eyes on him. Gohan looked up to see that Azazel, Kiba and Gasper were looking toward his shoulder and chest, "I take it you're curious about these scars..." Issei then looked too after hearing Gohan, "HOLY CRAP GOHAN!"
"You would have thought you would have noticed them while we were getting changed Issei..." Gohan chuckled at his friends reaction.
"Dude, I don't go around staring at guy's bodies… you should know that by now" Issei laughed, "How did you get those scars Gohan?" Kiba curiously asked hoping not too bring up bad memories.
"You don't have to tell us if it causes you discomfort in doing so..." Kiba added.
"No, no it's fine… well, in the fight I had before coming to this dimension against Cell, he fired a large energy wave, similar to my Kamehameha but less powerful at someone called Vegeta… I jumped in front of the attack before it could hit Vegeta as I believed he would not survive the attack at his current power level… fortunately we both survived the attack but my left shoulder was a mess to the point I was having to finish the fight with only one arm" Gohan explained to his friends while thinking back on it, I still can't believe Vegeta apologized to me that day...never thought I would hear those words come out of his mouth…
Azazel had heard about it from Sirzechs and Beelzebub but after seeing the scar Gohan had he now understood just what they meant when they said it was not for the faint of heart.
"Does it affect you at all when fighting now?" Issei asks.
"No, thankfully Sirzechs and Grayfia managed to heal it very well and the only thing I have now is the scar to remind me of what happened..."
Kiba and Gasper smiled at hearing this, "You really are made of some strong stuff Gohan" Kiba said as he smiled at his friend and teammate.
Azazel then gained a devilish like smirk, "No wonder you have all the women after you Gohan, you know what they say chicks dig scars…"
Issei, Kiba, and Gasper all laughed at the statement while Gohan tried to hide a slight blush. Gohan looked up towards the other bath that he could sense had the girls in, he smiled… "I could easily get up there but I'm betting that's what Akeno has already said to them knowing her..."
With that, both the boys and the girls enjoyed a long soak as they continued talking about random topics as well as their upcoming training…
Somewhere far away from Gohan and co…
"So you have finally come back… I was getting bored being here all alone just laying around… Bikou"
"Sorry I took so long… I got a little delayed as Vali wanted to confirm some things with me" Bikou shrugged. The person he was answering to was a very beautiful and voluptuous young woman. She had long black hair with split bangs, hazel-gold colored eyes with cat-like pupils. The woman in question wasn't appearing to be wearing much and left very little to the imagination, even to the oh so sweet talking Bikou, she was wearing a black kimono, a yellow obi with a set of golden beads tied around her body.
"Vali wishes for us both to be with him which is why I am here...Kuroka… I have some interesting news for you as well" Bikou chuckled to himself, hoping to grab the attention of Kuroka.
"Ohhh, and what news might that be?" Kuroka asked as she yawned and sat up properly.
"I had a little run-in with your little sister and her friends not too long ago and it would appear that she along with the rest of Rias Gremory's peerage have headed to her home for the summer..." This immediately grabbed the busty woman's attention.
"I will be getting my little sister back from that wretched girl… one way or another..." Kuroka uttered as she licked her lips, who knows...maybe I will run into this Gohan who Vali and Bikou keep talking about..
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Andrewstewart002
Andrewstewart002 New story---- The strongest dragon Emperor in high school dxd
See a soon see ya ??
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