Chapter 21 - Wake-up call

After what happened that day, Rias proved her determination and gathered every member of her peerage sans Gasper, who was still sealed. The reveal went just how I anticipated it. At first they were shocked but then, both Kiba and Koneko decided to step up and train in order to protect their president and her happiness.

I had devised training for each member of the peerage. For Rias, it was about control and her usage of the Power of Destruction, a very powerful trait that straight up disintegrated matter at an atomic level, sure, someone powerful enough could resist it but at the same level of power and skill the holder of the PoD would almost always win. Alas, such scenarios rarely exist since a less powerful being can straight up defeat a stronger opponent through either tricks or skills. Anyway, I had Rias trying to shape her power because using it only to form balls of destruction was such a damn waste.

For Akeno, we started with control of her magic, something she was already decent at but improving it could only help. The next step would be basic conditioning of her body, she was a queen yet she only took advantage of the Bishop side of her piece, again, a damn waste. There was also that thing about her Holy Lightning but that was a whole other can of worms.

Wastefulness, that word was becoming more and more prevalent when dealing with the devils.

For Kiba, again, waste, he only took advantage of the speed and swordsmanship, forgoing everything else and using his Sacred Gear in such a wasteful way that it made my head ache. The things he could do, such a waste.

Surprisingly, Koneko was the most decent out of everyone present, she only lacked in the speed department and youkai related arts, the latter, again, a whole other can of worms. Koneko was decent at utilising her strength as a rook but she needed what everyone else did, more training.

(Timeskip 1 month)

I...was...pissed. The month flashed by with nothing interesting happening and life was moving forward at a fast pace. My defenses were up and running, making my house a fortress. No visits from any Satan happened just yet though I had a feeling that someone was trying to observe me before making a move.

Rias and I continued hanging around, deepening our relationship and I also got a bit closer with Akeno, who was still guarded a bit due to her persona and personal issues.

Valerie had finally met Gasper after so long and that was a tearful reunion if I had ever seen one. (A/N I thought of showing it but I decided on nah, just imagine a tearful reunion filled with 'Gaspeeer' and 'Valerieeeeee')

Gasper was still not allowed out from his room and he didn't really want to get out so Val would sometimes hang out with him there, especially while I was alone with Rias.

You could say that it has been a good month, right? So why was I pissed?

Simple, it seems that even reincarnated devils take on the traits of purebloods. What traits do you ask? Laziness and complacency.

It seems that some minor increases in power gave birth to arrogance at their measly progress and that resulted in them slowing down their training. Everyone did so, even Rias after my urging.

It was time for a wake-up call.

I told Valerie to meet with me and explained to her what I was about to do.

"Hiro, I understand but isn't this a bit too extreme?"

"Val, you've been with me and you have experienced what some idiots in this world are capable of but they haven't. This is their only excuse and is why I'm merely pissed and not angered outright"

*sigh* "I understand but I sometimes worry about you…"

"Why?"

"You seem to have this relentless drive for knowledge and power. Never stopping"

"Ah, you don't need to worry about me, Val. Let me tell you a story, it's about an ordinary boy who woke up with nothing, not even his name. He was taken in by someone who ended up loving and caring for him. More importantly, that person gave this boy every opportunity to learn and that's what he did. You see, this boy had a dream, an almost unrealistic dream, he wanted to know EVERYTHING, from the most minuscule knowledge to the most obscure. So that's what he did, he set out to learn everything and, as they say, knowledge is power" I took a breath "Of course, the boy is me. You see, Val? I train and attain knowledge not because I want to destroy myself but because it is my dream, one of the most important ones"

What I told her was my dream from my previous life, even if I was an ordinary person with above-average intelligence, not some sort of Tony Stark-like genius, I always dreamt of knowing everything and so, I started learning. But lo-and-behold, I realized early that with my finite lifespan, it was simply impossible. It was also pretty much impossible with my current immortality but the dream continued to live on, emboldened.

"Val" I took her hand in my own "I don't want to get stronger just to squash some idiots, though that definitely is a plus, I'm just dreaming"

"I understand, but about them, what if they're angered with us or worse?"

"Then it's on them"

"You seem to have made up your mind"

"Yeah, let's see where this goes"

(Timeskip)

My plan was relatively simple. While I could trash them and make them see the difference training can make, it was not enough. So, on one of my free days, I went through Japan under disguise, scouting for a particular something until I found it out.

A stray devil, not one particularly strong but one that is at around a low low High Class level. I found it in an abandoned warehouse in a town right near Kuoh, about to devour its unconscious prey.

"Yo" I said to the stray as it was about to go for the kill.

"Who goes there?" It said in a garbled voice.

"Damn, you're ugly" it was not like the titty stray from the anime, this one resembled a chimera with a humanish head and a body which seemed to have traits of different beasts.

"HOW DARE YO-"

It screamed but a shadow suddenly covered it's mouth while others snuck around and immobilized it. I had not come here to trade jabs with an extra.

'It's time to work'

So I did, I put the stray under a spell and began working, I first read it's memory and was surprised that Kuoh was its next target, then I began implanting suggestions and illusions in its crazed mind, preparing it for what's to come.

An hour later and the monster was complete and I took it with me, but not before freeing the unconscious guy and sending him somewhere in town, let others take care of him.

The pieces were in place and everything was set, it was time to begin.

-----

(Rias pov)

The past month was amazing, I was beginning to like Hiro more and more, he was something else. He could, at times, be both incredibly charming and funny and at others he could be straight down scary, especially when he made a breakthrough of some sort.

Needless to say, he was much better than that piece of shit Riser, he didn't push me or anything and everything continued down nicely.

His training plan, though, was a bit too much but it worked. We were slowly getting stronger and stronger and by the time the engagement would come, Riser would be left in the dust.

Now, here I was with my peerage, together on an extermination mission and we had just finished a low class stray when suddenly….

*GROWL*

A loud growl rang through the night, alerting us that something else was nearby.

"Everyone! Take up positions!"

I commanded my peerage to be on the up-and-up against the unknown threat.

As everyone was assembling, something pounced on Kiba and, were it not for Koneko noticing this either her senses and hitting the thing mid-pounce, Kiba would be a goner.

*crash*

The thing crashed into a nearby tree and it was the first time that we got to take a good look at it. It was massive, standing at 3 meter high while still being on 4 legs, it's length was about 6 meters long. It had a human face so maybe I could see what it was.

"Halt! Who are you to trespass in Gremory territory?" I yelled at the beast. It's only response was a low growl as it got into an attacking stance.

"Rias! I sensed some energy from it just now, it feels like a stray!" yelled Akeno.

"So you are a stray… then prepare to-"

*ROAR*

I wanted to say but I couldn't continue as the now identified stray roared, stunning all of us for a bit.

It pounced once again on Kiba, who barely managed to raise his sword and defend against the claws, but he was thrown back into a tree and let out a sound of pain.

"Guh!"

Koneko went in to strike it again but, this time, it didn't work as she was swatted aside by one of the beast's massive limbs.

"Yah!" Akeno tried to shower the thing with lighting but it dodged to the side and let out another roar that sent her spiraling in the air.

"It's proficient in sound-based attacks, take care!" I shouted to everyone as I charged a ball filled with the PoD.

I launched my power at the beast who dodged, once again. 'Damn it, it's more agile than I expected'

Kiba got up and summoned a demonic sword and tried charging the beast again, only to be put down once more. Koneko tried defending him but was only met with a close-ranged sonic blast that threw her away. Akeno took to the skies and tried to hit the beast, she succeeded but the stray shrugged it off with only some singed hair being the evidence of the attack.

While everything was going on, I was concentrating on my power, only for the beast to jump on me, disrupting my process.

'Is this the end?' Was my only thought at the moment 'If only…' but the beast didn't get me for Kiba launched himself at it and threw the beast off course.

With my death averted, I thought about what we could do, how to defeat this stray. I was panicking and came up blank.

"Prez! What do we do?!" Yelled Kiba as he got up.

I...I didn't know, the beast overwhelmed us in every aspect.

The beast looked at Koneko and jumped on her, it was about to hit, when suddenly.

*crash*

*yelp*

"Down boy" the most wonderful voice I had ever heard said in a mocking tone.

I looked at the source and there I saw him, Hiro. He was...sitting… on the stray after having straight-up punted it away from Koneko. The beast was being restrained by some kind of shadowy chains. What surprised me was Valerie's presence, she was sitting on a tree branch near the stray and looking at us.

Hiro looked straight at us, making sure to stare straight into our eyes. I could tell that he was displeased, but why?

"Haaa, guys, I'm honestly disappointed"

'Huh, why would he be disappointed...unless…'

"Yes, Rias, I see the look on your face and yes, I knew he was coming and wanted to see how you and your team would fare against it"

"If you knew, why…" said Akeno.

"Why didn't I stop it?" *nod* "Firstly, it's because this is your territory but, most importantly, I've noticed that you all have been slacking"

"Slacking?! We've been constantly training!" Intervened Kiba while I was still thinking on the whole situation.

"You call the first three days of training, the only ones that you took seriously while you went along with a downrated version since, training?!" said Hiro, sounding more pissed off than I've ever seen him.

"Who are you to say such things?" was my Knight's comeback.

"Haha..hahaha, who am I indeed?" saying this, Hiro looked at me.

"Everyone" I began "let's just listen to what Hiro has to say and we'll go from there"

"But prez!" Kiba tried to intervene but I stopped him with my glare.

"Thank you, Rias" Hiro said, still atop the struggling stray "Now, where to begin? Yes, I saw this stray and directed it here, towards you"

"Wha! Hiro! Why?"

"Let me finish, it was in a nearby town, about to devour a human but I stopped it and sent it here, foregoing any additional casualties and for it to serve as a test to you all" he paused, letting his words sink in.

"And what I observed during your encounter has left me disappointed. Sure, you trained but when faced with a dangerous foe you reverted back to the basics, only utilizing the old ways and nothing new that you learned, and you also focused very little on teamwork. Kiba, you only focused on your speed and swords, Koneko, you showed the most improvement but you were basically one, trying to manage and protect everyone so you couldn't show off really anything"

"Wai-" Akeno tried to intervene but was stopped by Hiro "Akeno, you still reverted only to lightning magic, couldn't you have used something to impede the stray's movement, making it easier on the rest to engage?" At this, Akeno deflated a bit while Kiba was fuming and Koneko was just silently listening, smiling a little at the praise. I was just waiting for him to come to me.

"And Rias, in the moment of struggle you reverted back to your usual ways with the PoD. Where were the small, concentrated blasts that we talked about? Why didn't you rally the team back together? Also, what was with the talking during battle? Unless it's to give orders, you shouldn't speak to your opponent. The privilege of taunting belongs to those with overwhelming strength" At his words I got saddened and looked down because…

'He's right… I should have done more' as I was getting sadder and sadder, a pair of comforting arms pulled me into a hug. Hiro had come down from the stray and came to hug me.

*pat pat* "There, there. I was about to get to the most important part. Everyone, when you meet an enemy that you can't defeat, call for backup or RUN. Rias, you know that the bracelet I gave you is not just for show" he said and I looked at the bracelet on my arm, a small black-colored but beautifully engraved with red lines gift that Hiro gave me three weeks ago. He also explained that through it I could call him whenever I wanted, it was some anchor thingy but it was way too complicated for me to understand at the time.

*sigh* "I know, Hiro, and I'm sorry" I said and hugged him back.

"Haa, I'm also sorry for putting you through this but you must understand. This guy" he said, pointing at the stray "is just some idiot that barely qualifies to enter into High Devil class. Rias, I know that they spoon-feed you that you are born into High Class power, but that's a load of bull. Tell me, how many wings do you have?"(A/N I know that in the novels, devils don't really gain extra wings upon ascending in power excepting those from some lineages,, only angels and the fallen do, but in my fic I'll be using them for devils as well)

I looked at him, confused, and unfurled my wings. Two pairs of devil wings sprouted from my back, though I could feel another pair wanting to come out.

"You see, the pair of wings is a symbol of your power, you and Akeno have 2 pairs with the 3rd about to develop while Kiba and Koneko have a solid 2 pairs" he said the last bit while looking at the rest of the team.

"You have, right now, the power of an upper Middle Class at your disposal" he said, shocking me because, since I've been born, everyone has been telling me that I'm a High Class.

"Why would people say this?" I had to ask.

"My guess? Because the old want to coddle the youth and since this is a period of relative peace, they don't put as much thought into it as they did during the wars"

"Haaa, I guess it makes sense…"

"But wait!" Kiba intervened, he seemed to really have a bone to pick "How powerful are you to say all of this!?"

"Hmm, how powerful am I? Val, come down here and show your wings"

"Sure" saying this, Valerie jumped down and stood near us and unfurled her wings.

"Wow" I said as I looked at the fully formed 3 pairs of bat-like wings with the fourth pair being smaller, but still there.

"What!?"x2 exclaimed Akeno and Kiba.

"Valerie here is in low to middle Ultimate Class but she still has a looong way to go"

"What about you?" insisted Kiba, asking what's been on everyone's mind.

"Well, for me, I'm somewhat different, I don't gain extra wings, watch" Saying so, he unfurled what couldn't really be called wings for what sprouted from his back was something like...molten darkness… that kept flowing, unendingly. They bore a small similarity to another type of wings, most commonly belonging to the Phenex with their fiery appendages.

"My wings, as you see, are a bit different from the rest. I don't get extra pairs"

I didn't know what else to say and the rest were quiet as well, until Akeno spoke up.

"Well, be that as it may, you say that we handled the stray poorly, what would you have done?"

"Quite so, Valerie, if you please, limit your power to upper middle class and show them how it's done"

"Wait why won't you be the one fighting?" said Akeno.

"Nah, Val, will you?" with this, Hiro released the stray.

"Hai hai"

What followed next was nothing but a blood bath. Valerie had limited herself to the strength of Koneko and to Kiba's speed, even lower than what Hiro said. She danced around the stray while wielding two daggers made of shadow. She struck the weak points in the monster, taking care to never be standing in the same spot. She was brutal and graceful at the same time while painfully eviscerating her opponent.

The stray didn't even last 10 minutes while the rest of us watched, gobsmacked. She avoided the beast's aoe attacks by striking it in the mouth while it looked to be roaring. It was brutal.

"Aand, done" Valerie said as she drove her twin daggers into the stray's eye sockets, ending it's life.

"That's how it's done, with no magic used besides the creation of the daggers, any questions?" Hiro looked at us while maintaining a smirk.

"Fight me" was all that Kiba said making even Hiro's eyebrows rise a bit in surprise.

"Kiba, wait!"

"No prez, I want to test myself, if I can't defeat someone like him then I won't be able to destroy…."

'Ah, it's about the Excaliburs, poor Kiba is still haunted by those' I thought to myself.

"Nono, Rias, let him come" said Hiro.

Kiba didn't waste a second and, summoning a sword charged at Hiro who sidestepped and kicked Kiba in the stomach, sending him away.

"Lesson one, never blindly charge an opponent whose strength is unknown"

Kiba got up and spat on the ground. He approached Hiro, this time with more care while the hybrid simply stood there, watching and smiling.

"Take this!" yelled Kiba as he went to attack Hiro once again, this time, before the attack connected, he let go of the sword with one arm and summoned another in his now free hand.

"Good" said Hiro as he received the attack by sidestepping one sword and blocking the other with a sword of his own, one made of shadow.

Kiba was surprised by this change right until he got punted away by a kick, again.

"Lesson two, the enemy will do unexpected things in a battle. You all thought that, due to my research, I was a pure mage, well, I'm not. Never let yourselves be surprised by the enemy in battle"

Kiba got up once again, but he had a smile on his face. He went to Hiro once again and they engaged in a battle of swords. Even though Hiro could hold himself in sword fighting, it was clear that he didn't have Kiba's experience and was slowly losing ground.

Kiba's smile was growing bigger and bigger, until… he saw an opportunity and took it.

*slash*

*thud*

"HIRO!"x2 Akeno I yelled as I saw Hiro's arm being cut off from elbow down and a massive sword slash adorning his chest.

"No, no, no. You should have dodged that!" yelled Kiba, shaken. Even though he was against Hiro this whole time, he never hated him, only himself for his weakness.

*guh*

Kiba's self-reproach was cut short as the cut-off arm punched him in the gut and then held him by his shirt.

"Hahaha" we heard a laugh, it was from Hiro. And then we saw it.

His arm that had just fallen off was connected to his body by a tendril of blood while his chest wound flowed and healed instantly.

"Lesson three, if you see an obvious opening in the enemy, it's more than likely to be a trap" he said while smirking as his hand let go of Kiba and reattached to his body, just like that.

"Hiro! Don't you do that, ever again!" I yelled at him, relieved, when his arm got cut off and he was injured, I felt my heart stopping

"Don't worry, dear, I'm a-ok" and he made the ok sign with his healed arm.

"Gah! You're impossible!" I threw my hands up, this guy was crazy and was I the one to talk when I liked him?

-----

(Hiro pov)

I looked at the faces of everyone from Rias' peerage. They were either shocked, stupefied, angry I Rias' case and….flushed red? Yep, that last one was Akeno.

"Now, I hope everyone realized the importance of proper battle so I'll redo your training a bit, add something else. Don't worry, you won't be just training, I realize that you need to live your lives. Just take the training seriously while you do it"

Thus, the day was over with nods all around.

-----

A/N

Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter, the longest one to date.

The ORC got a slap on the face with a thing called reality. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I canon, the peerage almost always got some bullshit power of friendship power up while fighting someone or of trained seriously while under threat, right?

I wanted to give the devils a threat that would be them realize how fragile they are, a kick in the nuts so to say. I hope I did alright

I want to speed things up a bit while I'll try my best to maintain the same style of the fic.

See you next time,

Author out