Chapter 57: The Liaison’s Arrival

Ah, damn it. This was a test, wasn’t it? Thinking about it for a little while longer, Issei shakes his head as he realizes his impulse in his instance is unfortunately incorrect. Technically, this test had no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. More that, it was who he wanted to present himself as… and the role he wanted to take within this new faction he and Gabriel were creating by the day. Their ‘faction’ was so far relatively untested and still brand spanking new. Sure, they’d had a, heh, successful round of negotiations with Lady Yasaka and the Youkai Faction of Kyoto, but that was small fry. This liaison with the Grigori would be their first true interaction with one of the three major factions… since they’d all shown up right after Gabriel’s Fall and Michael had tried to kill him, anyways. The White Dragon Empress wasn’t just his eternal rival as the Red Dragon Emperor. She was also going to be here as the Fallen Angel Faction’s representative. Perhaps a little odd, given she herself wasn’t a Fallen Angel, but from what Gabriel had told him, she was Azazel’s protégé, and the Governor General of the Grigori had absolutely no issues playing favorites… especially with his influence over the faction greater than ever after the imprisonment of Kokabiel. This was all to say, if Issei didn’t show up to greet the Fallen’s liaison alongside Gabriel, it probably wouldn’t come across as a power move. Maybe it would be seen as disrespectful, but more likely, having Gabriel meet with them instead would put him in a subordinate position beneath the Fallen Seraph. It would be tacitly admitting that Gabriel was the true leader of whatever this new faction of theirs even was. It would be putting himself beneath her on the totem pole. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, on the face of it. Did Issei even WANT to be in charge of his own faction? It sounded like a headache and a half. Except… no. He did. Maybe he didn’t necessarily want to, but he needed to. He needed to be in charge, because to cede control to Gabriel, even for all her power… it would go against his draconic instincts. And it would hurt his pride as a man. He was already a little rankled by the sheer gap in power between the two of them, to be quite honest. He’d thrown himself into a full week of training with the Fallen Seraph, and while he felt like he’d definitely closed the gap… she was still more powerful than him. That much was obvious. At least… at least he could see the peak of the mountain now. One day, he would crest it. One day, he would eclipse even Gabriel in power. But personal power was only one facet of things. He also needed to show he was strong in other arenas as well. Such as politics. And that was where this test came in. Sure, he COULD leave Gabriel in charge of meeting with their new guests while he fucked off to play with Ravel. But in doing so, he was effectively leaving Gabriel in charge for the foreseeable future. As much as he trusted her, as much as he’d come to love her in such a short amount of time… that just wouldn’t do. At the end of the day, Gabriel was right. Issei needed to follow his heart, and his heart, the heart of a dragon, was telling him to conquer. To dominate. To lead. “… I’ll stay. We’ll meet them together, present a united front.” Gabriel’s smile widens slightly, and she inclines her head at Issei. “Very well, beloved. Would you like me to go over what I know so far of the White Dragon Empress’ little team then?” Blinking, Issei raises an eyebrow. “… Sure? Are they not just some Fallen flunkies or something?” Letting out a tittering giggle, Gabriel shakes her head back and forth. “I’m afraid not. In fact, they’re quite the opposite. Valentine Lucifer has chosen to surround herself with quite the… eclectic bunch. You’ll have fun with them though, my beloved. I am quite confident that they will be no match for your… force of will.” His second eyebrow raises to join the first, prompting Gabriel to laugh before she begins to explain. He listens closely, of course, focusing on what his lover has for him. And as she talks, he has to admit that she’s right… this ‘Team Vali’ are an eclectic bunch indeed… -x-X-x- “Welcome, all of you. As I’m sure you know, I am Gabriel, formerly of Heaven, now known as the Fallen Seraph. This is my beloved, Issei Hyoudou… the Red Dragon Emperor.” Issei smiles thinly, even as he sweeps his gaze over the assembled group of women. Valentine Lucifer stands at the forefront of the group, as to be expected. The White Dragon Empress is currently dressed in some rather fetching attire. She’s wearing a light green, almost see-through top with a high, open collar to it. Under that she has on a black bra that’s very visible, but also very concealing, almost akin to a sports bra than anything sexy or tantalizing. Meanwhile, down below she’s wearing a knee-length skirt and black stockings that go up and disappear underneath it, finishing off the ensemble with laced up boots that go past her ankles. Combined with her short white hair and striking yellow eyes, she cuts an imposing figure, Issei supposes. After Valentine Lucifer is Lavinia Reni. A human magician from the Grauzauberer Organization, Gabriel had informed him that Lavinia was something of an early mentor to Valentine, someone who she’d trained under and worked with, back before she’d become the big shot protégé of Governor General Azazel himself. With long flowing blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, she gave off some serious big sister energy, even without saying a word. Meanwhile, her magician’s robes left little to the imagination, hugging her curves a fair bit as she stands there with a small smile on her lips. Following the two of them is a situation just waiting to boil over. Kuroka the Nekoshou. Gabriel had done her research, but even if she hadn’t Issei likes to think he would have noted the similarities. Kuroka was related to Koneko, the Nekomata in Rias Gremory’s peerage. She had to be. Of course, Gabriel’s sources had revealed even more than that. Never underestimate someone of Gabriel’s strength. Kuroka was Koneko’s older sister, and they were very much estranged. How either would react to the presence of the other, Issei couldn’t say for sure. However, something told him he would eventually find out, because Kuroka was already sniffing at the air, likely smelling her little sister on his body. It had been a bit since he and Koneko had gotten together, but not that long… The Nekoshou is dressed the most indecently of the lot, wearing a black kimono that barely covers her breasts or indeed even her crotch. In fact, Issei is pretty confident when he says Kuroka isn’t wearing underwear at the moment. Neither panties nor a bra. In stark contrast is Le Fay Pendragon, a cutesy blonde who’s dressed a little bit more conservatively. The wide brimmed blue hat and sorceress’ cloak cover up a dress with a black bow and yellow stars all across it. She seems much more down to earth, but knowing what he knows about her brother, Issei has to wonder just how sheltered Le Fay truly is. The young woman has likely never been away from her brother for this long before… Finally, last but not least is Jeanne. She’s the only one of the bunch that’s actually armored, though to be fair, the casters of the group might also be wearing their battle attire, Issei couldn’t say for sure. Still, Jeanne was said to carry the spirit of Joan of Arc, the Maiden of Orleans. She was a strong and capable fighter, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, the muscle of the group Issei figured. She was also brash enough to speak up before anyone else, Valentine included, could respond to Gabriel’s introductions. “Is that supposed to impress us or something? We’ve got the White Dragon Empress right here, after all! Va-kun could wipe the floor with you any day of the week, I hope you know!” Issei can’t help but raise both eyebrows at that… incredibly arrogant statement. He’s half-wondering if it was a plan of theirs or something, an attempt to provoke him into starting a fight. But no, the audible smack as Vali Lucifer slaps her hand across her face makes it clear to him that Jeanne is going off completely of her own volition. This is just how she is as a person. Meanwhile, Jeanne’s outburst prompts Kuroka to think she can pipe up as well. The Nekoshou steps forward, sniffing at the air still and narrowing her eyes as she looks at Issei intensely. “That scent…” Issei lifts an eyebrow at the dark-haired cat girl, watching her ears twitch and her tails flick. He’s not sure why she’s acting surprised. Surely they did their own research right? There’s no way Kuroka could possibly not know that Koneko was in the area. More than that, she couldn’t possibly have failed to realize that his relationship with Rias Gremory meant he also had a relationship with her sister… right? … Hm, is this about to turn into a fight? Issei isn’t worried if it does, he and Gabriel can wipe the floor with these five quite easily, but the political ramifications would be a little annoying, wouldn’t they? After all, it’s not as though Issei can expect these five to submit and beg to be knocked up after he defeats them like a certain group of Exorcists who had come knocking at his door one by one. Luckily, before anything can escalate, the more level-headed members of Team Vali act. Le Fay steps in and grabs Jeanne by the arm, tugging her back and whispering urgently to her to get the other blonde to back down. At the same time, Lavinia steps in and pulls Kuroka back as well, the older magician whispering in a gentler, calmer tone to the Nekoshou. Whatever she says, it works. Valentine is left alone at the front of the group once more, still facepalming. Letting out a chuckle, Issei finally pipes up, his hand on Gabriel’s arm as he steps forward, ‘taking over’ the proceedings. “Well met, Valentine Lucifer. I’m aware of the history that our… resident guests share with one another. I am willing to let bygones be bygones if you are.” On the face of it, his words are entirely sincere. But in truth, Issei knows he’s provoking her. That’s the difference between him and Jeanne though. He has a little thing called subtlety… even if he doesn’t use it, most of the time. Regardless, yes he knows Vali hates the name Valentine. Yes, he knows that she’s a total battle junkie and would never stand to let bygones be bygones between them. He’s counting on that fact. Her yellow eyes sharpen and she gives him a glare as her face turns frosty and her tone becomes altogether… clipped. “It’s Vali. And as for a truce… no. We will fight you and I, eventually. One of us will win. One of us will lose. This is how it must be.” As she speaks, Vali begins to ramp up her power, letting her true strength leak out in the same way Issei could. He watches curiously, as several of her companions go a little pale at the power wafting off of her. He notes which can handle it and which are struggling a tiny bit. That said, as she keeps on going, ALL of them are eventually feeling its effects. If not taking a step back, then they’re, each and every one of them, freezing in place and breathing just a bit more tightly. Him and Gabriel are the only ones left seemingly unaffected. Though, only seemingly. Issei can’t say how Gabriel is doing, but he for one is definitely feeling Vali’s power, at least a little bit. He would be showing it a lot more if it wasn’t for that recent training from Hell he’d done with Gabriel. That week had been pure torture… but it had also been motivated by a need to get stronger. Not just to get stronger, but to get stronger than the woman standing in front of him now specifically. So, smiling nonchalantly, as though he doesn’t even feel her power… Issei lets loose with some of his own. He doesn’t, however, let his aura wash over all five women like Vali is currently doing. Whether she can’t actually direct her Intent like he now can, or she’s simply too annoyed with her allies to possibly bother, Issei doesn’t see any reason to give the rest of Team Vali any more information about himself then he absolutely needs to. Something tells him that their communication, despite being a team, could certainly use some work… and more than that, this was one situation where Vali Lucifer would be ill-inclined to let her subordinates know she had lost. Because that’s exactly what happens. As Issei releases the full strength of his directed Intent at Vali and Vali alone, he watches her eyes widen almost imperceptibly, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks, and her lips thinning out into one simple line as she stands there, feeling the full brunt of his power. He’s not overwhelmingly more powerful than her, let it be said. But he is stronger than her. Quantifiably stronger than her. It feels good to let loose. It feels good to let her know where they both stand. Smiling softly, Issei simply inclines his head in acknowledgment of Vali’s words. “Very well. If that is how it must be… then so be it.” With that, he pulls back his Intent. He’s sure that the rest of Team Vali doesn’t completely miss the byplay, but they’re all a little distracted trying to withstand Vali’s own power, so he’s also pretty sure that they don’t truly notice how he overwhelms their leader in that moment. Gabriel does though, and her hand on his back, rubbing into it, lets him know just how aroused the Fallen Seraph is by his antics. That said… now isn’t the time, unfortunately. “Gabriel will show you all to your rooms. I hope, if nothing else, you all enjoy your stay here in my home. You are my guests after all. If there’s anything any of you need… simply come and ask.” In that moment, there are five sets of eyes on him and to Issei’s surprise, he realizes that ALL of them have something they want from him. What that is, he doesn’t know for each and every one just yet. Only Vali and Kuroka would he say he has a good chance of guessing at their motivations. Still, it’s besides the point. Gabriel leads the five away, and Issei stands there, knowing he made the right choice in being here himself to greet them. Still, now he has another choice to make. Does he go visit Ravel after all? Or does he wait to see which member of Team Vali comes after him first?