Harbinger of Ruin: Ch.10

In the dense forest outside of the Gremory manor, sparks lit up the area around me for the briefest of moments before the darkness took its place once again.

Yet, there was no need for light for Okita and I as the two of us raced through the forest while attacking each other.

Sliding under a slash aimed at my chest, I leapt off the trunk of a tree and back at him with a stab only for the man to parry the attack with a spin right as the two of us landed and stared at each other.

While I was heaving for air as my entire body ached and sweat dripped down my form, Okita looked as fresh as a daisy even with the slight cuts on his outfit as he hummed before sheathing his katana.

“Not bad for a first night.” He said as he finished sheathing his katana and I groaned as my blades cracked and shattered.

“Really?” I asked before shaking my head as the man chuckled and shrugged.

“I rarely get to do that. Besides, I have to say that your blades' durability have increased rather fantastically. Did you figure something out?”

“Eh, you could say that.” I answered as I dismissed the hilts in my hands and the shards lying on the ground, wincing with each stretch that I did as the man looked my form over with a slight hum.

“It appears that you are indeed trying for an all-rounder style. However, the issue is that mastering so many different kinds of swords is not easy nor possible with just ten days.”

“Then what if we just make sure I at least know the basics of each style? Also, it's not just swords.” I answered and at the man's raised eyebrow, I raised my right arm to the side.

A moment later, he rose an eyebrow as a razor-sharp thick sword in the shape of a shield appeared in my grasp with it having three leather-like hilts with holes in them that I could put my arm through.

“You're the one that said I should open my mind to the possibilities. A shield can just be a very flat, very thick and circular sword with three hilts and a spear…” I trailed off as I raised my left hand right as a very long hilt with a rather short blade appeared in it.

“Is just a very short sword with four edges and a very long hilt.”

“You have finally begun to adopt the mindset of anything goes in battle. I'm so proud I could cry.” The man spoke with a happy smile and I rolled my eyes as I dismissed both items, taking a deep breath to let my body rest as I nodded.

“It took me a while, but I did. Now, what can you teach me that I can use for the basics?” I asked and I may have regretted my choice as the man grinned and rubbed his hands together.

“Oh, this is going to be an enlightening experience.”

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“You want to learn how I use the Power of Destruction?” Rias asked as the two of us stood opposite of each other and I nodded as I created a dark grey rapier with the ability to attract demonic energy to it or as I like to call it…Succubus.

“Yeah, I feel like if I do, I can figure out something to use against Riser.”

“…Kiba, you already have nearly a dozen or so methods to use against Riser. Aren't those enough?”

“Would you rather I not have a back-up to my back-up to my back-up in case the first five back-ups didn't work?” I asked and she looked at me before I grinned as she turned to look at the boulders off to the side while a Gremory crest appeared in front of her.

“Well, using the Power of Destruction is fairly simple. At first, I thought I had to learn everything there is to know about the concept 'destruction' in order to use it, but as it turns out, I did not. All I needed to think…was destroy.” She chanted as a blast of potent reddish-black energy shot out of the crest and eviscerated the boulder from view.

However, I sighed while she gave a sheepish giggle as the aftermath of her attack erased not only just my boulder but everything within a three meter radius of it.

“…As you can see, though, the Power of Destruction is a very…fickle thing.”

“Oh, I've noticed. Hah…but you may have taught me something.” I muttered as I reached my right arm out to the side, drawing her attention before her eyes widened as a beautiful golden shield with scarlet red runic patterns in the form of a rose appeared on the face of the shield.

“…Yuuto?”

“Yeah, I found out that if I open my mind and imagine a shield as just a very flat sword with it having three hilts, I can just create a shield. Now, would you mind…” I trailed off as I walked over and propped the shield up on a rock before rushing out of range.

“And fire a blast at it, please?” She looked at me while still being surprised by the revelation before shaking her head as the Gremory crest appeared in front of her.

“I swear we are talking about this at one time.”

“Oh, I don't mind that, but for now, training!” I agreed and she nodded before I watched as the Power of Destruction roared to life in the form of a lightning bolt that sliced through the air and impacted the shield with a powerful explosion.

However, as the dust settled and the smoke cleared, I grinned while Rias looked shocked to see most of the shield lying in the middle of the crater.

Rushing over and into the crater, I examined it as best as I could and found that while the outer edge of the shield was completely erased, the parts of it that were protected by the rose enchantment pattern was only slightly charred.

“And?” Rias asked and I grinned as I leapt out of the crater before landing in front of her to show her the damages.

“We have a winner.”

“It appears we do. What even is this enchantment?” She asked as she tilted the shield around and I smirked as I saw her putting it on while playing around with it.

“I call it Rho Aias after the shield used by the Greek hero Aias the Great, but it is most definitely not as powerful as the one he used if Lady Gremory's history lessons are to believed and the man really did block one of Zeus' bolts with the shield.”

“And the rose?” She asked before pouting and glaring at me as I dismissed it, smiling at her with a shrug before crossing my arms.

“House Gremory has the red rose and while Aias used a flower with seven petal on his shield, I decided to go with the red rose.”

“Aww~ That's cute~” She squealed as she wrapped her arms around me and while I was slightly taller than me, I did not deny myself the opportunity to be pulled face first into a pair of warm boobs.

“Hey, that's not fair~! Why does he get a break and we don't?!” I heard Raynare shout and Rias' giggling did wonderful things to her chest that was around my face before she answered.

“Because he's actually trying some things. Why? Did you want one too?”

“And get your saggy tits in my face? Hell no!”

'And there goes my fun time.' I thought with a sigh as I removed my arms that I had wrapped around Rias' waist and let her go as she went to argue with her Pawn for either the 27th or 28th time.

It's been ten days since we've been here and I've already forgotten how many times they've argued.

At first, it was about Raynare not taking training seriously. Then it was about Rias being too lax on any of us or not training as seriously at the rest of us.

Finally, there were the times about stupid stuff like hair products, make-up, etc.

“So, I see you've come up with a new weapon?” I blinked as I heard Mittelt's voice and turned to see the blonde standing besides me with her hands behind her back while Koneko was stretching besides her.

“Yeah, thought I'd try something new.” I answered as I looked back at where Kalawarna was doing her best to keep her former boss and her current one from trying to pull each other's hair while Akeno was too busy enjoying the show to help.

“Cool, you think you can help me with training? I'd ask this one, but she's been having too much fun beating me up.” I looked at her as she said that and looked over at Koneko to see her having a satisfied look in her eyes.

“Sure, do you wish to start now?” I asked and chuckled at her excitement before taking a few steps back.

“So, you want to go hand to hand or do you want me to use a sword?”

“Which one would give me the least pain?” She asked and I smirked as I went into a stance, my left side facing towards her and my left hand held up while my right hand held behind my back.

“Ready when you a-!” Before I could even finish my words, I was already shifting to the left as the girl flew past me with a foot aimed at my chest, spinning around to look at her right as she landed and rushed back.

Unlike Koneko, I was far more on guard against her as light gathered around her hands and feet, my reflexes on full blast as I ducked under a kick and leaned back to dodge the follow-up uppercut.

Mittelt used that opportunity to try and land a spin kick to my chest, but as she was spinning, I was already spinning low and away from her kick before she yelped as I kicked the back of her knee and forced her to fall backwards.

However, I didn't pursue and leapt back as she rolled over and glared at me, looking frustrated as I stood still while smiling at her.

“Come on, try again.” I answered and was not left disappointed for long as the girl rushed forward, throwing a quick one-two jab with her left hand that I moved around before sliding forward and ducking under her right hook.

A wheeze escaped her lips as I landed a powerful uppercut to her chest right as a hiss left mine when she stomped on my foot, forcing me to hop back and away from the following elbow she tried to hit my back with.

However, the damage was done and she grinned while I frowned slightly as I looked down at my foot to see the slight burn on my shoes and pants.

“I see it didn't take you long to figure that out.” I spoke with a smirk as I shook my leg to get rid of most of the pain and she smiled and nodded as she raised her hands back into a boxing stance.

However, as she did so, I raised an eyebrow while she looked surprised to see Koneko standing besides her in the exact stance, the white-haired girl shrugging when the two of us looked at her before she responded.

“You were taking it easy and Prez won't like us taking it easy.” She answered and I nodded at that before smirking as they both crouched lowly and lunged forward.

Immediately, I did a corkscrew through the air as Koneko attempted a sliding kick, landing right into a split as Mittelt appeared behind me and tried to hit with a powerful elbow swing.

She looked surprised to see me falling into a split, but I ignored the slight sting from doing one so abruptly as I rolled backwards, immediately doing a flare to kick her other hand away that she tried to use to grab me.

A moment later, I pushed off the ground and flipped over Koneko's leg sweep before Mittelt wheezed as I delivered a powerful kick to her chest the moment she tried to intervene.

Using her as a springboard while kicking her away, I tackled Koneko to the ground before rolling off of her as she tried to land a punch, already on my feet by the time she did a kip-up and spun around to face me.

Both of us didn't waste any time as we attacked the other, my hand reaching out and grabbing the wrist throwing a jab at my face before sliding under the hook thrown from her other hand.

Leaping to my feet behind her, I did a backflip and kicked away Mittelt's punch back into her own chin while Koneko let out a surprised grunt as I pulled her arm along with me and forced her to fall to her knees by placing a knee on her neck.

“Oof~ Sorry about that.” I apologized to Mittelt as I saw the girl stumbling around while having a slight burn on her chin from where she had hit herself with her own attack.

“Also, draw?” I asked Koneko and she nodded before I let out a relieved sigh as she pulled her fist away from my family jewels, cupping them slightly and shaking my head at the happy look in her eyes.

“You…are a menace to all men of society.”

“Only the perverted ones.” She answered in response and I shook my head before blinking as I felt a pair of boobs pressing up against my back from behind while a pair of legs wrapped around my waist.

“Really? Were you not watching the others fight?” I asked Akeno as I caught her thighs and secured her in the piggyback ride, to which she shrugged while pointing at the house where I saw Rias and the others entering it.

“I was, but now they want to take a shower before our strategy meeting tonight.”

“Oh, guess we were too busy. Come on, girls. Time to wash off the filth.” I said to Koneko and Mittelt and the two nodded as they began walking, leaving me to follow after them with a humming Akeno on my back.

“You wanna know something?”

“Depends. Am I going to like what I hear?” I asked and sighed as she giggled.

“Don't worry, you are. The girls were thinking of having a communal bath tonight.”

“…As in a mixed bath?” I asked and had to calm myself down as she smiled and nodded while wrapping her arms a bit tighter around my neck.

'Almost there, boys. Keep calm and we might win something tonight.'

“Yep. Since you're all alone in the men's bathhouse and since it's the last night, we all decided that a night of team-bonding would do everyone wonders.”

“Well, it is quite lonely, but only if everyone else agrees to it. I don't wish to force any of them to do so.”

“Rias, you hear that?” She asked and I rose an eyebrow as the Gremory crest appeared above the back of her hand.

“Yep. Everyone?”

“I don't mind./ As long as he doesn't try anything./ I-It would do us wonders./ Eh, it's cool./ Cool, but no ecchi stuff.”

“Well, you've got your answer. See you later in the bath~” Rias answered before the crest shattered and I blinked at that before slowly looking back at Akeno as she giggled.

“You two are sly and crafty minxes.”

“And don't you forget it. Now, carry me to the kitchen so that I can start dinner.”

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“You know, we half-expected you to not go through with it.” I opened my eyes slightly from where I was relaxing against the side of the indoor hot spring and looked back at the door only to feel my breathing hitch slightly as the girls walked in.

While Asia, Koneko and Mittelt had already moved over to the wooden bucket chairs to wash off their grime, I was stunned by the four beautiful women that decided to just drop their towels to the ground while climbing into the bath besides me.

“Uh, I don't know much about baths, but aren't you guys supposed to use those ones before you climb into the pool?” I asked, a bit fazed as Rias giggled while sitting closer and resting the back of her head against my arm.

“Yes, but since we've already used cleansing spells to clean ourselves, this is just simply to relax.

“Ah, makes sense.” I muttered with a nod before deciding to go back to my relaxing, not sure what to say after that as I didn't want to try flirting and make the atmosphere awkward.

What? I might know how to do some flirting, but getting a girl is something I still had trouble with in my past life.

“So, when were you going to tell us you had that in your pants?”

“I know, right? Guess Mr. Casanova here has been hiding some dangerous weapons from us.” Raynare said in response to Akeno's words with a sly smirk and I was just glad the other girl wasn't glaring at the first even as she couldn't help the slight glare in her gaze that she quickly wiped off

“Can we not talk about that? Also, you should know about it considering you've slept in the same bed as it.”

“Oh, were you two…?” Kalawarna asked with an amused smirk before looking a bit disappointed as both Akeno and I shook our heads.

“A pity. You two would fit well together.”

“Eh, we've got too much to worry about right now.” I answered and Akeno nodded in agreement before I turned to Rias as she spoke up.

“Do you…do you think we'll win?”

“If you have seem the mad things this guy had come up with, you'd look far more happier than you are now.” Mittelt chimed in as she climbed into the water, Koneko and a shy Asia climbing in after her.

The nun looked a bit hesitant, but she gave a thankful smile as I closed my eyes and let her sink in before opening them once she felt comfortable and Rias tapped my shoulder.

“I know Yuuto has been doing his best. It's just…what if that isn't enough?”

“Then I reveal my trump card.” I answered with a shrug, drawing all of their attention as Rias frowned.

“Trump card?”

“Yep, been working on a little something, but let's hope that we don't need to use it.”

“Is it what we came up with?” Kalawarna asked, confusing them all even more and she smiled as I grinned and nodded.

“Yep, I managed to finish it. Oh, that's right. Mittelt, Raynare, when the match start, I'm going to give you two along with Kalawarna and Akeno here a sword that I need you all to channel your light in.”

“And why is that?” Rias asked and I chuckled as I shrugged.

“Because they'd win us the match no matter what.”

“Sure, and how confident are you about that?” She asked and I grinned as a plan came to mind.

“How about this? If you win, I'll do whatever you want for an entire day, no questions asked.”

“And if you win?”

“You go out on one date with me.” My answers surprised them all, but I kept my eyes focused on the surprised Rias before she smiled and nodded.

“If you guys can win me tomorrow's match, I'd marry you.”

'…Well, that just gave me more incentive to win this damned match. Oh, looks like we're eating fried chicken tomorrow.'

A/N: Apologies for the mistake, but here you guys go~!!

A quick chapter of bonding with each other and some training, but next chapter equals battles all around.

Remember, it's going to be a 3rd Person Perspective battle to capture everything that will happen so look forward to that.

Also, I know there would be more things with the Okita training, but I want to keep what he trained private until the match.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!