And now it was Monday, and Ryu was on his way to school. And on the way he bumped into Asia and Issei.
"Good morning you two." He greeted as he waved his hand.
"G-good morning!." Asia responded nervously, she was a tad bit intimidated by his size and… face.
"Hey, Ryu." Issei greeted him as well.
"Asia, how do you feel? You excited to begin a normal life?." He asked with a smile.
"I-I'm happy, I get to go to school! And everyone has been treating me well so far, I'm really thankful!" She responded happily, her previous nervousness disappearing for a moment.
"I wouldn't be too happy about school, it's mind numbing and boring."
"Don't listen to him Asia, he mostly sleeps at school." Issei whispered to her.
"Yeah, because I'm bored man." He explained, before he raised an eyebrow, "And how do you know that?"
"People talk about it man, we're in Kuoh Academy? I also know that one time you nearly fell out of the chair, and one time you even started snoring."
"I do NOT snore, that's false." Ryu immediately denied the accusation.
"The student populace say that the sound of your snoring was like that of a bear." Issei spoke while a smirk crept up his face.
Asia also let out a cute lil' giggle.
"…Alright fine, I admit it I might have snored." Ryu admitted while letting out a sigh.
"Anyways, I'll speed up now. I gotta do something."
"Oh, see you later then." Issei said.
"Bye!" Asia said.
The boy sped up and swiftly walked down the road,
"Issei, he's your friend right?" Asia inquired.
"I haven't known him for long, but yeah I guess you could say that he's more than just an acquaintance." Issei said.
"Then he's… a devil?"
"No, he's human. Why're you asking?"
"It's just… I've never seen a man so big before! It's amazing!" Asia said, stars in her eyes.
Issei chuckled at that, "Yeah, he does have that effect on people who see him for the first time."
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.
.
Ryu arrived at his class, and of course the attention was immediately on him after stepping through.
Ryu was pretty used to that so he went and sat down on his seat, and put his head onto the table for some naps.
Cause which main character pays attention to class anyway?
Certainly not him.
The class was boring as usual, Ryu slept the entire time, didn't pay attention at all.
Later when the bell rang Ryu woke up and stretched, and looked around the classroom.
Then he looked to his right, to see Akeno already staring back at him.
"When'd you get here?" Ryu questioned
"When you were sleeping, did you have a nice dream? About… me perhaps?" She teased, her voice heard throughout the entire classroom.
Instantly, everyone's heads snapped towards Ryu, even Rias who sat in front of Akeno looked towards him.
Ryu sighed and then smirked , "I actually did."
"Oh? And what was it about?" She questioned leaning on her hand, a smile stretching across her face.
Ryu smirked, got up and stepped towards Akeno, and leaned down and whispered in her ear. "You were my wife."
And then she froze and went beet red, once more, "W-Wha-" she stuttered.
Ryu let out a chuckle, "You're not gonna embarrass me that easily, you're gonna have to try harder." Ryu said before turning his gaze to Rias who was giggling at their interaction.
"Slide me the keys to the Base please, I'll be there." Then he turned his eyes to Akeno, "I'll leave you with her."
"Right, you're gonna hog the couch again aren't you?" Rias questioned.
"Precisely."
She sighed and handed over the keys, "Don't break anything."
Ryu just whistled and walked out of the classroom.
Rias watched him walk out before turning back to Akeno, who finally snapped out of it and was looking down at her desk.
Rias smirked, "I didn't think I'd ever see such an expression on your face… is our cute Akeno getting…" She leaned close, "Emba-" leaned even closser "-rrased? Hm?" She poked her cheek.
Akeno shuddered a tiny bit, but Rias caught that and her smirk widened, "But you guys sure are brave… flirting in class, in front of everyone."
"…I'll get him. Today, I must." Akeno muttered mostly to herself.
Rias sweat dropped, "It can't possibly be this serious…" she muttered then got up, patted Akeno's shoulder, "you can brainstorm that on the way to the club, c'mon let's go." Rias walked out, and started heading towards the cafeteria, before going to the club.
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.
.
"Oh, the door's open." A pretty boy stepped in the room, followed by… a more average looking boy and a cute blonde girl.
They then stared at Ryu sleeping on the couch.
"The sofa's a bit tight on him, might need to buy a new one." Issei said, crossing his arms.
Kiba smiled, "Good one, didn't know you were such a comedian, Issei."
"U-Uhm… I don't get it…" Asia said with a nervous smile.
"The joke is that from my point of out view, it looks as if he's wearing the sofa."
"Oohhh, I see…" Asia said, before glancing back at Ryu.
"Seems like we're all here." Rias said as she walked in with Akeno right behind, her head was down with hair covering her eyes.
Rias glanced at Ryu, "Somebody wake him up, I've something to say."
"Su-" Kiba began to say before he was rudely interrupted.
"I got it." Akeno said walking up to him swiftly, a smirk slowly crawling up her face.
"Oh this will be good…" Rias whispered to herself, swiftly fetching her phone to record it for future… purposes.
Akeno sat on his stomach and started to slowly caress his cheek.
"Oh!" Issei let out a surprised sound.
"Oh my…" Asia gasped covering her mouth, a blush slowly crawling up her cheeks.
Kiba just stood there smiling, speechless looking at Akeno's… bold advances.
"Rias, is Akeno into… Ryu?" Koneko whispered making sure only she could hear it.
Rias turned towards her, "Indeed, I'm almost certain."
"Da~rling~" she spoke whilst humming, "It's time to wake up~"
Ryu's eyes trembled just a bit, before he slowly opened them, only to meet Akeno's purple eyes.
Her face was a bit too close though.
"Good Afternoon Hubby~ let your… wifey give you a little kiss." Akeno whispered sweetly, with a smile before leaning down to his face.
And then… nothing, Akeno just blew hot air on his ear, sending shivers down his spine.
"So, how was that?" Akeno said with a triumphant smile, looking down at Ryu's bewildered face.
Ryu's eyes had widened consider, and his face was now beet red.
Akeno's smile widened even more, she brought a finger to her lip and said "Hmm~ I do like this look on you."
Ryu finally got his bearings,. "I-I definitely wasn't expecting that, didn't know you were so bold."
"Right? How bold indeed Akeno… getting on top of your 'Hubby' in front of us… truly, how bold." Rias threw her two cents in, and closed her phone.
"I wouldn't have seen that cute expression if I didn't go this far."
Ryu chuckled, "Alright, Alright you win…" and then he felt it.
His Snake was turning Solid.
"… Akeno, it's about time you get off of me." Ryu said, suddenly very serious.
"I don't thi- Oh… Oh." She was about to refuse before, she felt something as well.
She blushed and almost leapt off of him.
Ryu quickly sat up and cleared his throat, "So, what's the plan for today?
Kiba's lower lip was trembling, trying to hold in his laughter.
Issei damn near choked on his spit when he understood what happened.
Asia just stood there glancing at everyone, her innocent mind couldn't comprehend what was happening here.
"…Get a fucking room." Came from Koneko, face scrunched up in disgust.
Rias was giggling quietly, "That backfired huh, Akeno?"
"…L-Let's just start…" She said with a stutter.
Rias shrugged, "Alright, Alright…" She took her seat, and crossed her arms.
"in about a week, it's the full moon." Rias said, pausing dramatically.
"…Are we going Werewolf hunting?" Ryu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No. We're going to the familiar forest to get you guys some familiars!" Rias declared with a smile.
"That's a shame." Ryu muttered to himself
"Uhm… what exactly are familiars?" Issei questioned
"Can I tag along? I don't really need one but I'm curious about that place." Ryu asked.
"Of course." Rias agreed
"Rias… what exactly are familiars?" Issei questioned.
"Oh? Right, so for example…" a magic circle appeared beside her on the floor, and out came a… pretty fucked up looking bat.
"This little one here, is what you'd call a familiar! Every High-class Devil and their peerage members have them, they all have their specialties, some are good at scouting, some are good at fighting… and some are just cute."
"Personally, I use mine to hand out the flyers," she signaled her familiar and it turned into a girl with small bat wings, she was wearing a red dress, and had black hair.
"O-Oh! So she's the one who handed that flyer to me…" Issei exclaimed, he then looked around.
"S-So what kind of familiars do you guys have?"
Issei questioned looking at everyone.
"I don't." Ryu answered, "I don't think I'll be needing one."
"This is mine." Koneko spoke and summoned her own, a cute looking cat with pure white fur.
"Aww!" It's adorable, Asia fawned over it and went to Koneko to pet the lil' kitty.
Issei tried, but his hand was swatted away.
"It's kind of like Koneko…" Issei mumbled, analyzing the cat. "Neither of them like me…"
Ryu looked at it, and then did the "pspsps" thing you do when you call out to a cat. Unfortunately he got ignored.
"Aw…" He was devastated.
Koneko's mouth twitched upwards for a split second.
Meanwhile Kiba summoned his own familiar, a pretty cool looking Hawk like bird.
"Very cool!" Issei said, not really caring about Kiba's familiar.
Akeno's familiar was something like a little imp, it was… kind of cute, but not really.
And then there was a knock on the door, before it opened.
A very familiar girl, along with some other people stepped in.
Issei was pretty surprised when he saw her.
"Who might that be?" Asia asked him in a low voice.
"Shitori Sona, student council president, and beside her is the Vice-President Shinra Tsubaki."
"What brings you here?" Rias stepped forwards and asked.
"Both of us have increased the number of our servants, so I thought we could exchange greetings again."
"Servants? that would mean..." Issei started,
"The lady's real name is Sitri Sona, the next head of the House of Sitri, an upper-class devil family equal to the Gremory Family." Akeno explained to him.
"There are other devils at school?" Issei asked.
"Yeah, there are." Kiba answered
"Oh? Rias you haven't told him about us yet?" A blonde boy stepped forward.
"Saji, we don't interfere with each other's affairs, so it's pretty natural that he doesn't know us."
"Oh! I remember you now, you're from class-2C." Issei pointed at him
"Saji Genshirou, a pawn." Sona introduced him.
"Hyoddou Issei my Pawn, and my Bishop Asia Argento." Rias introduced them.
"I find my pride terribly wounded to be counted the same as someone like you, a member of a trio of perverts." Saji spoke with a condescending tone.
And just then... and idea was born in Ryu's considerably small brain.
So he got up from the sofa, and silently creeped up behind Issei and put both his hands on his shoulders.
"Now... Issei I myself, would not let that slide." Ryu said with a smirk while staring at Saji
"Huh?!" Issei was surprised.
"Kick his ass." Ryu said.
"None of that." Akeno said pulling Ryu away from Issei.
"Aww..." Another disappointment.
"You sure have a lot of trust in a dweeb like him, if you think he's gonna beat me."
"He can for sure, there's not a doubt in my mind." Ryu said confidently.
"I'd love to see him try!" Saji was getting pretty agitated now, Sona pulled him by his ear, "Ouch that hurts!"
"Saji, Issei took eight pawn pieces, while you only took 4."
"And be more polite, try to get along." She scolded him, before turning his gaze to Ryu, "And you, stop trying to start a fight between them."
"F-Fine..." Saji relented, and walked up to Asia for a handshake which she accepted.
Ryu just let out a sigh and shrugged, before lying down on the sofa again, since everyone was standing for some reaosn.
"It's a pleasure!" She said with a smile.
"The pleasure is mine! I'm all too happy to greet a cute girl like you!"
Issei suddenly jumped forwards, separating their hands and gripping Saji's very tightly,
"Saji, it's a pleasure for me as well! If you put moves on Asia I'll kill you for sure..."
"What?! You've already started monopolizing her?! Just what I'd expect from a fiend like you!"
"Sorry about this." Sona apologized with a wry smile.
"Me as well." Rias did the same.
"Heard you're still stuck on the flyer duty! Guess what?! I'm already authorized to get a familiar!" Saji bragged.
"Rias just got done telling me that I'd be getting one as well!"
Sona glanced at Rias, "Is that right? We were planning on going next week..."
Rias looked at her with a smirk, "He takes only one peerage per full moon. I suggest a contest, winner gains the right to make their request to Him." She said.
"A rating game?" Sona's eyes narrowed.
"OH?!" Ryu jumped up from the sofa.
"We wouldn't get the permission for that." Rias said,
"Oh..."
"Moreover... you ought to be more careful now, Rias." Sona said with a smirk.
"THAT has nothing to do with this." Rias got very serious upon hearing that.
Akeno glanced towards her, a bit worried.
"Anyways... let's settle this high-school style, a sports contest. How about that?" Rias suggested.
"You're on." And Sona agreed.
"I'll be sitting this out." Ryu said, attracting everyone's attention, "It would be pretty unfair if I joined."
"Alright."
Ryu glanced at Akeno, with a smirk before closing the distance, "Well then... Wifey, won't you teleport your Hubby home?" Ryu expected her to blush again, but it didn't work.
"That won't work on me again~" She said, conjuring a magic circle below him, and teleporting him home.
Sona raised an eyebrow at Akeno, "You two are in a relationship? Since when?" She inquired.
"We're not." Akeno said.
"Yet." Rias corrected her with a smile. Akeno didn't look at her, nor did she deny it.
"What's his deal?" Saji asked.
"He's a friend of ours, he's human but he's very strong." Kiba explained.
"I see... Why didn't you invite him, Sona?" he asked her.
"I did. He refused."
Fast forward, 2 days later.
Now, The Student Council and the Occult Research Club, had a duel in Tennis, and stuff.
It got pretty out of hand, magic and stuffs and ended in a tie, so they decided to settle it in a dodgeball match.
The Occult Research Club was stretching in the gym, getting ready for their showdown, with the student council.
Lang Ryu decided to watch since he had nothing to do, like absolutely nothing.
Hang on, actually he had to homewo-
"Ogami Ryu has nothing to do, he's completely free." Ogami Ryu said to no one in particular.
There we have it folks, turns out he's free.
"So, how are you guys feeling? Think you can beat Sona's team?" Ryu asked his friends
"We're gonna win." Koneko said.
"Hell yeah! We're gonna bust them up!" Issei shouted.
"Of course, we're gonna win." Kiba nodded with a confident smile.
"Ryu, why ask such a silly question? We're obviously gonna beat Sona and her peerage." Rias giggled and spoke, full of excitement and confidence.
"Ufufu~ Don't worry, our victory is inevitable~" Akeno said.
"I'll be cheering you guys on." Ryu said with a smile.
Rias smiled mischievously glancing at Akeno and Ryu "Aww, look how supportive your Hubby is Akeno! Coming all this way to watch your dodgeball match... I'm envious!"
a slight blush appeared on Akeno's cheeks, She smirked as well. "Of course~ If my Hubby doesn't support me... Who else will?"
"Oh wow, you're teaming up on me now?" Ryu said while raising an eyebrow, a reddish hue appearing on his cheeks as well.
"Then again... you're both spot on," Ryu began to approach Akeno and wrapped his arm around her, "I'd be a pretty bad Hubby... If I didn't cheer my Wifey on... Right?" He smirked upon seeing Akeno's flustered face, he then let go of her.
Rias and Asia looked on with stars in their eyes, seeing such a development.
"You two should get a room." Koneko said, finished with her stretching, "Schools pretty empty, plenty of classrooms."
"Oh right! I almost forgot." Issei rushed towards his bag and took out some things.
"What're those?" Ryu asked looking over his shoulder.
"H-Headbands... I made them." Issei explained, a nervous smile climbing up his face, "When I saw how hard you guys were trying yesterday... I thought that maybe I'd do something to... cheer you guys on as well." Issei said.
He then gave a headband to everyone, including Ogami Ryu. The headbands were white and had 'Occult Research Club' sewed onto it.
Ryu whistled seeing it, "Nice job Issei, It looks really good, didn't know you could sew."
Issei laughed, "I learned it from my mom when I was a kid."
"These are fantastic Issei, good job." Rias praised him with a smile,
"They're good." Koneko said with a small smile.
"Simply amazing Issei." Kiba praised him as well.
"Oh my, how unexpected! Thank you Issei, you did well." Akeno also said.
Ryu looked down at the headband with a smile, for some reason... this made him really happy.
"Guys, after this I'm inviting all of you to dinner at my place, I'll be the one cooking." Ryu said.
"You can cook?! Wow!" Issei was impressed.
"Cooking is part of training as well, so yes, I can." Ryu confirmed, "No one is vegan I hope?" He asked.
"Thank you Ryu! We'll gladly take you up on that." Rias said.
"Indeed~ I'm curious about my Hubby's cooking skills~" Akeno said.
"Talk about pressure..." Ryu muttered to himself, "Right, prepare to be blown away by my divine cooking."
"You seem quite confident, that's a good sign." Kiba said with a smile.
And just then... Rias's fated rival, the strict, pretty, shortsighted(Literally), and bossy lady, Sona Sitri arrived along with her peerage.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, but We're here, are you ready to loose?" Sona said with confidence oozing from her.
.
.
.
It was a long and exciting match, both teams were met with difficulty, however, Rias and her peerage prevailed, though... sacrifices had to be made.
Issei's nuts.
After they all dressed and showered, they teleported to Ryu's house straight away.
"Welcome to my humble abode friends." Ryu said to his friends with a smile.
"Nice place man!" Issei said.
"Indeed, and it's clean too... I didn't expect that." Kiba said, pretty surprised.
"Dude." Ryu looked at him with a straight face.
"Apologies." Kiba looked away.
"Mind if we explore?" Rias questioned.
"No, Not at all, do as you wish." Ryu said going to the kitchen and getting ready to showcase his culinary arts.
"Do you need my help in the kitchen? Hubby?" Akeno asked with the smile she always wore when teasing him, or trying to embarrass him.
"Not really, but you're welcome to help Wifey." Ryu responded with that same smirk.
And then he begun rolling out dishes like nothing, Steak, fish, chicken, salads.
He prepared everything, took a bit more than an hour though, but he managed to do it.
"Wow!" Asia exclaimed.
"'Wow!' Indeed, Asia." Rias was right there with her.
Koneko was already drooling.
"Well? What're you waiting for? Time to eat." Ryu said coming out of the kitchen and into the living room.
They dug in, and safe to say everyone was impressed.
"I didn't expect you to be this good, Hubby!" Akeno said.
"I said it before, this is a part of training, so naturally I know my way around the kitchen." Ryu said with pride.
"I can't help but notice, in all these dishes meat is the primary ingredient." Kiba said.
"Yeah of course, you don't get this physique by eating leaves and grass."
"Fair enough."
"U-Uhm, Ryu can you teach me how to c-cook?" Asia asked, shyly.
"No, probably not, I won't be a good teacher when it comes to cooking, though... I can give you a book about it. I learned cooking from it so I think it should be of help." Ryu offered.
"That's plenty! Thank you!"
"Ryu." Issei suddenly spoke, his tone very serious.
"What?"
"When I build my harem... I want you in it." Issei spoke, looking at him right in the eye.
"HUH?" Ryu was bewildered now.
"Oh~?" Akeno Looked at them both with a strange glint in her eyes.
"B-But Issei That's-" Asia started but was interrupted.
"Gross." Koneko said harshly.
"No, absolutely not. I'm not into men." Ryu said, crossing his arms.
"Worth a shot." Issei said, though a tear managed to escape.
"Rias, please pay attention to your pawn." Ryu said turning his eyes to her.
"Huh Bhat?" She wasn't paying attention to anything, just stuffing her face.
Ryu wiped some sweat off of his forehead, "Nothing, never mind."
"'Kay." She continued.
"So, when exactly is this trip going to happen?" Ryu asked.
"4 days." Kiba responded.
"Should I get bug spray, tents and all that?"
"Camping in the familiar forest is not a good idea." Akeno said.
"I'll take your word for it."
"Unless you want to be eaten by dangerous beasts... I hear they like good, lean meat..." Koneko spoke darkly.
"Not if I eat them first."
Anyways, the group dined peacefully, made small talk over the dinner Ryu prepared with Akeno's help.
"Thanks a lot Ryu, everything was delicious. You'd make a great house-husband!" Rias thanked him with a smile.
"Thank you, glad you enjoyed it." Ryu ignored that last bit.
"For real, it was the best thing after my mom's cooking." Issei complimented.
"Again, thanks a lot guys, you're welcome to come by any time, make sure to give me a heads up first."
"We'll gladly take you up on that offer." Kiba said while bowing slightly.
"Anyways, let's go guys, it's getting late." Rias said, conjuring a magic circle.
"I'll stay, to help him with the dishes." Akeno said.
"You don't have to, I can do it by myself." Ryu said to her.
"Don't worry, it's the Wifey's duty to help her Hubby~" She teased.
Ryu chuckled, "Alright Wifey, do as you wish."
"See you guys later, good night!" Rias said with a sly smirk, teleporting herself and the others away.
Ryu and Akeno then went ahead and began tidying everything up, storing leftovers in the fridge, taking the plates to the sink, wiping the table,
all that stuff.
They then finally got to the dishes, Ryu washed, Akeno wiped them dry and stored then.
In their heads, a single collective thought went through, 'It's as if... we're actually husband and wife.' Neither said anything outloud, nor did they show anything on their face.
It took them a while, but they finally finished.
"Thanks a lot for the help Wifey." Ryu thanked her with a smile.
"No need for thanks." Akeno shook her head. "I'll be heading home now, see you tomorrow."
"Good night Akeno."
Akeno conjured up her teleportation circle beneath her feet, and looked at Ryu with a sly smirk, "Good night, dream about your Wifey~"
"You too, dream about your perfect and handsome Hubby." Ryu responded with that same sly smirk.
Akeno chuckled and disappeared under a red light.
Ryu looked at the spot she stood for a bit longer, "What a woman..." He muttered before going into the shower, and heading to bed.
"Now, then we can't just loaf around here, we have to go get your familiars." Rias said.
Akeno got up and slowly prepared a teleportation circle, it gradually extended in size so it could teleport the whole group.
They disappeared from the room and appeared in the middle of a dense forest, which looked really creepy, and the added bonus that was the red sky made it that much creepier.
"So this is the familiar forest?" Ryu asked to no one in particular.
"Yes, the familiar master should be here soon." Akeno answered him.
"I was expecting it to be a bit more... green." Issei commented.
"I'm with you on that one," Ryu agreed, Then continued, "I won't deny that it has it's own charm though, fits the Underworld vibe."
"The gloomy and haunted vibe?" Kiba asked.
"The gloomy and haunted vibe." Ryu nodded.
"It's not that bad." Rias commented.
"...If I didn't know you, I'd think you were bringing me here to harvest my organs, or something along those lines." Ryu said with a straight face
"That's dark..." Issei shivered just imagining it.
"Hmmm..." Asia hummed to herself, "I-I wonder if there are any ghosts..." She muttered. Koneko's ear twitched slightly.
"Asia don't even joke about that..." Issei said nervously, his voice shaking a teeny weeny bit.
Koneko silently moved and stood behind Issei, got on her tip-toes and...
"Boo." She wasn't particularly loud, but it had the desired effect.
"KYAAAA!" A very girly scream came out of Issei's mouth while he jumped into Koneko's arms
"HAHAHAHA!" Ryu and everyone else erupted into laughter, Ryu was the loudest though.
Koneko just smirked looking at Issei who was in her arms.
"I-I-IT'S NOT FUNNY! I DAMN NEAR HAD A HEART ATTACK OVER HERE!" Issei shouted at everyone, his face as red as a tomato.
"Good one Koneko." Kiba complimented her giving a high-five.
"I didn't expect you to let out such a girly scream Issei!" Asia said in between giggles.
"...Laugh it up, I'll have my revenge." He muttered, while crossing his arms, not even looking anyone in the eye.
"Issei, don't worry it's normal to be scared of ghosts, a lot more powerful people than us are afraid of them too!" Rias went up to him and patted his head.
"Really?" Issei asked, surprised.
"Hah, no." Ryu said with a smirk.
"Jerk." Issei retorted.
"Why'd you have to ruin it?" Rias asked him as well.
"False hope is not good." Ryu shrugged.
Rias sighed, "I guess that's true..." She then looked around, "Anyways where's the Familiar Master? He should be here."
Right then and there, a voice came from the trees.
"I'm the Familiar Master Zatouji!" it was an old man who was trying to look young.
He kind of looked like Ash Ketchum from Pokemon... but much older.
"Familiar Master?" Issei and Asia questioned simultaneously.
Zatouji continued his speech, "Stick with me, and any familiar you want is yours for the getting!"
"He is a professional when it comes to familiars." Akeno explained, as Ryu hummed.
"Somehow… I don't doubt it." He answered.
"So then! What kind of a familiar do you desire? A strong one? A fast one? Perhaps a poisonous one?" He fired off questions, getting to work.
"Yes indeed… do you have any cute familiars? Like a girl?" Issei asked with a lecherous face.
"Issei, that's morally wrong man." Ryu shook his head in disappointment.
"Indeed, indeed! Listen to your friend." Zatouji advised.
"Ummm… I'd like a cute familiar please." Asia spoke softly.
"Oh!! A cute familiar for a cute lady!"
"What would you recommend? Ryu?"
Ryurang thought about it for a second
"I wouldn't know, ask Rias." Ryu turned to Rias.
She put her finger on her chin and hummed, "I don't know either, let's see what we find."
"Alright then! Let's get going." Zatouji jumped down with a smile, and waved them over.
Zatouji said as he turned north, everyone followed behind him.
They travelled for quite some time, though not finding anything of interest, or anything that was willing to make a contract with Issei.
In the Familiar Forest, there are quite a lot of creatures, and almost all of them possess some degree of intelligence, well, enough to choose who they like, and who they want to make a contract with.
So far, Issei and Asia were considered... undesirable.
Soon enough, everyone came to a field of sorts, which were inhabited by Gorillas, quite a lot of gorillas, and they were much bigger and bulkier than the ones you see on earth.
"Behold! The Great Gorilla." Zatouji said.
"That's it?" Ryu questioned, "How is it different from any other gorilla?"
His friends were also curious, "Yes, aside from being bigger do they possess any special qualities?" Kiba asked.
"Of course! They are much bigger and much stronger than the gorillas you find on earth, but that's not all these guys CAN grow much stronger with proper training, and they are all very talented in combat, also they can make a fist and punch unlike regular gorillas because their fingers aren't as long, and as you can see they have no trouble walking upright." Zatouji explained enthusiastically.
"However... It's not really popular among Devils, mostly because devils prefer to rely on their own combat power, instead of something like a Familiar, and... these peaceful looking fellows, are actually quite picky about their contractor." He scratched his cheeky.
"What do you mean by that?" Issei asked.
"Well... to make a contract with it, you must prove that you're stronger than it, and let me tell you... these guys would give trouble to many High-Class devils, that's how powerful they are." He then
"I guess that's another potential Familiar crossed of the nonexistent list..." Issei muttered to himself.
"Mind if I try?" Ryu asked.
"Hmm? You plan on making a contract with it?" Zatouji turned to him.
"Not a contract, but I wanna see how I hold up against it." Ryu answered.
"Are you sure about this?" Akeno put her hand on his shoulder.
"Aww, you're worried about me?" Ryu teased her, "No need to, I'll win and worst case scenario Asia's here and she'll patch me up, Right?" Ryu turned to the yellow-haired girl.
"O-Of course!"
"Then we're good to go." Ryu turned back to Zatouji.
"Oh, by the way, I'm not gonna get jumped by them, am I?" He asked.
"No, don't worry they understand the concept of a one-on-one fight, so they won't interfere, but... if you get outside help from us, then I'm afraid the others will take action too." Zatouji explained.
"Huh, that's interesting."
Ryu turned his gaze towards The Gorillas and finally, stepped onto the field.
Instantly, all the eyes were on him.
He calmly walked forward, taking long and confident strides, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he was being watched very closely by numerous beasts.
He stood in the middle, and then... A very large Gorilla came up to him, he was a head taller than Ryu, walking upright with absolutely no difficulty.
The Gorilla stood in front of him, and slowly raised it's arms, and started beating it's chest.
"U-Uhm... what's it doing?" Asia asked curiously.
"Issuing a challenge." Zatouji crossed his arms and was watching intently.
Ryu raised his arms and did the same thing, it was silent for single moment, but suddenly, all the Gorillas started roaring, jumping and slamming the ground.
"C'MON RYU! KICK THAT PRIMATE'S ASS!" Issei shouted words of encouragement.
"You got this Ryu!" Asia cheered him on as well.
"Go, Go, Go Ryu." Koneko.
"Win Ryu!" Akeno
"Let's go Ryu! we're cheering for you!"
"Go unknown young man!" Zatouji joined in, pumping his fist in the air.
The one in front of Ryu, roared in his face as well, before clenching it's fingers into a fist and swinging it at Ryu's face.
And the power behind that punch... was terrifying to behold, Ryu didn't dodge, because he was curious about it's power, and he wanted to experience it first hand.
But... that turned out to be a big mistake.
The punch landed, and it sent Ryu, an enormous man flying back, he dropped to the ground on his back.
The cheers from his friends stopped, they were in shock.
Seeing someone like Ryu go flying... well let's just say that they wouldn't have ever imagined it.
"Shit!" Issei cursed.
"What's the worry? The young man hasn't even used Mana to strengthen himself just yet." Zatouji was confused by that reaction.
Sure, he sensed Ryu's low mana, but he thought that he was hiding it, and the reason for that is because of Ryu's presence.
People who are strong, give of something like an Aura of sorts, and Zatouji being a very experienced devil was able to pick up on that.
"It's because he can't!" Rias said, not interfering just yet, but she was tense, ready to help Ryu in case something went wrong.
"Say what?!" Zatouji was surprised, "That's... really bad though!"
The gorillas wasn't done, it immediately followed up by rushing towards him and leaping and bringing it's arms into the air, intending to completely smash Ryu into smithereens.
Ryu raised both his arms into an X-shape and met the attack head on as he was lying on the ground.
The Gorilla landed, causing an enormous shockwave and cratering the ground, however Ryu's guard was still up, it wasn't able to break through his guard.
But Ryu wasn't completely unscathed either, his bones rattled, it felt as if it were on the verge of breaking.
"Sheesh... you're a real strong one." Ryu muttered,
The gorilla roared and started wailing on Ryu's arms, wanting to break through and pummel the challenger.
Ryu was blocking and blocking, his bones were under a lot of strain. This couldn't go on.
"What do you mean by that? Why's it bad?" Akeno questioned, glancing towards Zatouji, who grimaced.
"The boy has hit his biological limit... that's his peak." He said.
"How can you tell?" Koneko asked.
"Experience, amongst other things."
Ryu took a gamble, released his block and grabbed the Gorilla's arms mid-swing before headbutting it, making it stumble back a step.
That was all Ryu needed, he got out of that situation and rolled up his sleeves, taking a peculiar stance.
"DON'T COUNT RYU OUT OF IT JUST YET! HE'S BACK UP!" Issei shouted excitedly.
Arms raised in Muay Thai-inspired stance, and elbows out.
Ryu took a deep breath, and exhaled, then he charged forward, His opponent roared, and did exactly the same.
The gorilla swung again, Ryu ducked and struck the knee with his Elbow, disrupting the Gorilla's footing right after that, he smashed his elbow with full force into it's face, it connected and The Gorilla fell on it's back.
"Alright! He won." Asia cheered.
"No, not yet." Kiba popped her bubble.
Ryu immediately went in for a finishing blow, grabbing the gorilla's throat and winding up a punch to the face, and then he swung.
Normally, that should've been the end, however... this Gorilla isn't a High-Class devil for nothing.
It managed to grab Ryu's punch and before using the other arm to strike Ryu's face again.
Once more, Ryu was back on the ground, he didn't stay down for long immediately sprung back on his feet, and just then... the world tilted.
Ryu wasn't able to stand up straight, his leg slipped and he fell on his knee.
"Damn it..." He muttered to himself trying to get his bearings back together.
A fist appeared in his vision, he took too long.
Ryu flew back, and his vision was getting worse, but he was able to make out the Gorilla who caught up to his airborne body.
A bone-crushing punch landed on his solar plexus, knocking the air out of him, and he smashed into the ground.
"RYU!" Akeno shouted, before conjuring lightning on her arm, and was just about to strike down the Gorilla.
Zatouji raised a hand, "No need for that, the gorilla won't kill him." He explained.
Akeno bit her lip, she didn't attack just yet, but didn't dispel the lightning either.
Ryu was unable to breath, his lungs were completely devoid of air.
"Am... I... Really going to..." He muttered, in disbelief.
The Gorilla let out a roar, and started beating it's chest, before it stopped and turned around.
It believed that it had won.
"No... I'm not done... just yet." Ryu said, and got up with difficulty.
He tasted iron in his mouth, and spat it out.
Blood, and a tooth.
Canine tooth.
Ryu was panting, he was exhausted, his body was at it's limit.
"BOY! LIE BACK DOWN!" Zatouji yelled from behind him
But Ryu didn't hear it.
The human body just by itself, had very obvious limits, and...
Ryu was without a shred of doubt, the pinnacle of Humanity.
The gorilla turned, seeing his opponent standing up again, it's eyes widened ever so slightly.
It charged towards him, Ryu didn't raise his guard, and his head was down, eyes covered by his hair.
The gorilla winded up a punch, much stronger than the previous ones.
And then...
*BOOOM!!!* A massive shockwave erupted, it's punch landed right in the stomach.
"RYU!!" Came the combined scream from everyone that was watching him fight.
The gorilla's strike was met with... Hardness, unfamiliar, and strange... Hardness.
Ryu hadn't moved an inch, he stood tall, and unshaken.
Exactly like...
An Iron Fortress.
"I see... so it exists..." Ryu muttered a smile crawling ups his lips.
He then glanced at the Gorilla who was still in shock, seeing that it's strongest attack hadn't worked.
Ryu moved, and swung an elbow strike right to the temple, it landed right on it's mark, and the Gorilla collapsed like a deck of cards.
"Endurance... I've achieved it."
Ryu exhaled, and stood victorious over his opponent, and he felt... rather good.
After that, he walked back to his friends as Zatouji patted his back, even though he didn't know the human boy, he respected strength and the boy had it in spades.
Akeno walked up and hugged him tightly.
"Wifey... that hurts." Ryu muttered, a shaky smile on his lips, though he returned the hug.
"...If you can still tease me... maybe it doesn't hurt enough..." Akeno's muffled voice came out.
Rias and others were surprised by her action, but a knowing smirk crawled up their faces.
"Nice fight Ryu." Koneko complimented and playfully punched his shoulder.
"Y-Yeah! You showed that ape what's up!" Issei played it cool
"Why're you acting cool Issei? You screamed the loudest." Kiba smirked.
"S-SHUT UP!" Issei was embarrassed.
"You're so strong Ryu! I always believed you'd win!" Asia said with a cute and bright smile.
"You were amazing out there, Ryu." Rias complimented him as well.
"Thanks guys, I damn near died but... I didn't, so that's cool." Ryu said, chuckling nervously before he hissed.
Akeno who was still hugging him had squeezed harder.
"Akeno I really don't mind, but I'm filthy right now."
He tried to play it off but, his nervousness showed, as he scratched the back of his head.
"…I don't care, I was worried." She muttered, before finally releasing him.
Ryu sat down on the ground and leaned back on a tree.
"Sorry to trouble you... Asia, but I think I need your help." Ryu spoke, his voice weaker than before
"O-Oh! Of course, I'll help you." Asia ran up to him and put her hands on his stomach, as they were soon covered by a green light.
Asia quickly approached and healed his injuries, but of course it couldn't recover his stamina.
"All done, How do you feel?" Asia asked.
"All good, thank you Asia."
"Boy." Zatouji came up to him with a smile, "So? How's it feel to break through your limits?"
Ryu was surprised at the question, but smiled weakly, "Really good."
"Starting from now... your growth will be unimaginable, you overcame the greatest hurdle."
"Not yet."
"Huh? How do you mean?" Zatouji tilted his head.
"That was the limit of my Endurance, I still have Strength, and Speed to overcome." Ryu chuckled nervously.
"...So that's it is... you're going to overcome your limit like this? How scary... how scary indeed."
"I'm surprised that you noticed." Ryu said.
"Of course, I've seen rating games, and brawls and everything, I can obviously tell when someone has hit a limit, and someone who breaks through their limit. I've never seen one attempt to do it like you do though."
"Each has their own Path..." Ryu said, before turning to the others.
"Hey guys, I'm sorry to ask but, can I get a lift home? I don't think I can keep up with you guys right now, I'm too exhausted."
Rias turned to Akeno with a smirk, Akeno turned to Rias.
"Rias, I can take him back, you don't need me right now, do you?" Akeno questioned.
"Alright, I leave him to you." Rias nodded, with that smirk still plastered on her face.
Akeno turned back to Ryu, "Let's get you home, Ryu." She helped him get up, and conjured up a magic circle.
"Good luck, everyone."
Ryu and Akeno were gone.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ryu's apartment.
They appeared out of thin air, in Ryu's home.
"Thanks a lot, Akeno." Ryu thanked her with a smile. "I'll go... take a shower now."
"D-Do you need my help?" Akeno asked, nervously
Ryu froze, his brain short-circuiting "Excuse me?"
"I-I said, do you need help?" Akeno repeated her question, a blush covering her cheeks.
"N-No, not at all... I'm perfectly capable of taking a bath by myself." Ryu said, looking away and blushing.
"...Alright, go I'll wait here in case you suddenly fall over or... fall asleep." Akeno said sitting down on the sofa.
"O-Okay, thank you."
Ryu stumbled to his room, got his clothes and a towel before stumbling into the bathroom.
It took him some time before he finished, luckily he didn't fall asleep, or fall over.
"I'm done, Akeno." Ryu said to her, but she wasn't on the sofa anymore.
"I'm in the kitchen." Akeno's voice came.
Ryu went in, and saw that she had made some food, Chicken Stir fry.
"I'm sorry for going in your kitchen without permission, I thought you'd be hungry so..." Akeno spoke.
"It's alright, Akeno, thank you for cooking for me." Ryu thanked her and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Not a problem at all." Akeno waved her hand, and sat in front of him.
They ate in silence, Ryu was really exhausted to think of a topic, and Akeno didn't want to tire him out faster either.
And when they were done, Akeno bid farewell, and Ryu jumped in his bed and it was lights out.
He went into deep sleep.