DxD: Dragon's Bloodline.
Chapter 32.
Ryu raced through the streets of Kuoh, accelerating with every step.
He had to hurry, he didn't know what sick and twisted things Wyrm might do to Issei if he wasn't fast enough and of course, he didn't want to even imagine them.
He ran for what felt like forever, the only thing he had on his mind was Issei.
Issei was... a scumbag, a perverted teenager who peeped on girls every chance he had.
Luckily, that habit of his was finally erased from his very being.
But even so, the guy had a lot of good qualities that were simply overshadowed by his bad ones.
In the beginning Ryu didn't think much of him, but slowly... Issei proved that he was a lot more than what he seemed to be.
Issei was a genuine, friendly guy with a heart of gold.
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*FLASHBACK*
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"UGH!" Issei slumped on the ground, panting hard.
He was tired. So tired that he even found breathing to be difficult.
Then a shadow was cast over him.
"That's it for today." Ryu spoke with a smile, he looked at Issei with a hint of pride.
"G...Great... I can barely... breathe..." Issei slumped back and laid on the grass.
Ryu chuckled and took a seat next to him.
The two simply sat there for a while, at least until Issei managed to stabilize his breathing.
"You're doing well," Ryu said, turning his gaze over to him.
"Gee... thanks, I can't tell over the beatings..." He mumbled.
"Beatings... build character. Fighting is the best way to improve," Ryu spoke, "Words from my dad."
"Meathead," Issei spoke, "You and your dad are meatheads."
Ryu took offense to that and slapped him on the back of his head "OUCH!" Issei clutched his head, "Don't worry, you'll be a meathead too." Ryu looked at him with an evil smirk.
"...I figured, halfway into this beating specifically."
Issei took a deep breath, "Hey Ryu," He turned to him with a serious expression.
"What is it?" Ryu also became serious, since he noticed the change in atmosphere.
Issei rubbed his chin with two fingers, thinking deeply about something.
"Will training like this help me become the harem king?"
Ryu's face changed drastically, his face lost all color and he turned into a rough sketch.
"Woah, that isn't even the same art style!" Issei commented.
"...Why're you asking me that?" Ryu let out a sigh and facepalmed.
"Well you know..." Issei looked away rubbing his head, "Because you know, at school... girls are always looking at you and in my class they say some gross stuff... someone even asked me to steal a shirt of yours since they saw we were close... They even offered money for it!"
Ryu hummed, "How much money are we talking?"
"15 000 Yen..." Issei paused, "That's what you focused on?!"
"15K?!" Ryu shouted, "Dude! You should've taken that deal."
"What?" Now it was Issei's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Money is money, most of my shirts don't cost that much, we could've made a profit..." Ryu muttered.
"...Next time, I'll take that deal," Issei shrugged, "You better not go back on your word! We're splitting profits 50/50."
"Deal."
"Anyways, back to the topic, will training help me become the harem king?"
"...You're really going to force me to answer this?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Well..." Ryu began thinking, like actually thinking about the topic.
"Just training won't help you become the harem king, that depends entirely on you, how you treat the girls you'll have a relationship with, how much attention you can give them... amongst other things. Training will help you... keep them... satisfied, since you're building stamina... if you catch my meaning."
Issei's eyes immediately lit up, "Oh! Makes sense."
"But... to become the harem king, there's one thing you should probably do."
"And that is?"
"Stop peeping on girls man and try to curb your... enthusiasm about such topics." Ryu explained.
"But the girls do it too you know! Why do they get to get away with it and I can't?!" Issei whined, "They even peep on Kiba and you sometimes! When we're getting ready for P.E."
"That's a separate problem, but trust me, if you curb those... habits of yours, your chances of being the harem king you speak of will increase exponentially. I mean you can still appreciate and sneak glances and stuff, but do it quietly, so they can't see you."
Issei let out a sigh and laid back on the ground, "Thanks Ryu," Issei muttered, "...I knew deep down, but I needed to hear it... thanks bro."
Ryu chuckled, "No problem, bro."
"But we should probably go back to the mansion now, we stink.
Issei smelled his shirt and winced, "Yeah, you're right."
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*FLASHBACK OVER*
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Ryu finally arrived at his destination, skidding on the ground and coming to a stop.
He took a deep breath and looked upon the abandoned building.
He walked up to it swiftly raised his fist and punched.
*BOOM*
It was as if an explosion went off, because right now in the place of the door.
Was a giant hole.
Ryu simply walked in and instantly, his eyes locked onto the figure of Issei Hyoddou.
He wasn't too injured, but he was still pretty roughed up.
"Oh~ You got here so quickly..." A voice came from above.
Ryu's head snapped towards the direction of that voice immediately.
Up there, standing on the railing was a person.
He had blonde hair tied into a ponytail, icy blue eyes and feminine features, he also wore a red lipstick.
His build was very different compared to Ryu, he was a head shorter and much lighter.
His arms were slender, his waist... thin.
He wore a tight button up shirt and... skinny blue jeans.
"...Wyrm," Ryu frowned and muttered the name.
'Wyrm' smiled softly and wiggled his finger, "No... no... no, I go by Ryuko now," He spoke, "I'd like it if you call me by that name, my darling... Ryu."
"Wyrm... Ryuko, doesn't matter... Why are you here? And why now?" Ryu questioned.
Wyrm now identified by the name of Ryuko, hummed and brought his finger to his chin, "Well... of course, it's to see you!"
Ryuko came down the stairs.
"I've wanted to see you again for a long time, now that I finally have... I can't help wanting more."
A chill ran down Ryu's spine, he stayed silent and continued listening to Ryuko.
Ryuko brought his hand up and touched his chest, feeling the heartbeat.
He looked down and smiled, "My heart is racing..." he muttered.
Ryuko looked up at Ryu once more, "This is just a greeting, Ryu."
"A greeting?" Ryu muttered, "Why did you hurt my friend here? If you wanted to meet me, then you should've come directly to me."
Ryuko chuckled, "Well... let's just say, hurting that guy over there was necessary for you to take me seriously. Now, let's begin the test!"
Ryu's eyebrow twitched, this guy was really getting on his nerves.
"What're you going on about now?"
"Just... try to keep up."
After those words, Ryuko rushed towards him.
Ryu immediately threw a punch, but... Ryuko disappeared from his field of view.
Ryu's eyes widened, he couldn't track his movement at all.
Then he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist.
"You feel... nice," Ryuko commented, then using his smaller body, he lifted Ryu up and slammed him in to the ground.
Air escaped from Ryu's lungs, the power of this slam was... immense, even the body he held now was unable to hold on.
Then he felt weight pressing down on his waist, he looked up and saw Ryuko sitting on top of him with a smile.
"What's this Ryu? You couldn't keep up with that? That's a shame..." Ryuko shook his head.
"Get off me," Ryu growled and punched at Ryuko from below.
Ryuko quickly deflected that punch, inwardly he noted the strength behind it.
Ryuko looked at his arm which went numb, seemingly lost in thought.
Ryu took that opportunity and landed a blow on his face.
Ryuko's body flew away and he slammed into the wall, denting it.
"Ah~ Not so rough~" He moaned, then he jumped down onto his feet, with a noticeable blush on his face.
"Bastard..." Ryu muttered, looking down at his hand.
The blow went in, it was a good one.
It should've knocked him out, but somehow... he was still walking without any problems.
Ryuko tensed his legs, and disappeared from his sight again.
*FLASH*
Ryuko was moving around Ryu at speeds almost invisible to the eye.
Ryu's eyes darted around, trying to spot him, but to no avail.
Ryuko's speed was simply... too much for him.
*SMOOCH*
A pair of lips, he felt it on his cheek.
He gritted his teeth and threw a punch to the side, only for it to hit nothing.
"Can't keep up?" Ryuko's voice came from behind once more.
Ryu performed a technique known as a spinning back elbow, he rotated his body to gain momentum and generated a massive amount of force, all of which were concentrated in a single point.
*BOOM*
A shockwave went off, Ryu's attack connected.
Then he noticed it.
Ryuko's arm stopped his attack midway.
Before Ryu could generate more momentum, Ryuko intercepted the attack which obviously diminished the force of it and that allowed him to block.
And... Ryu was still recovering from his fight against his dad and he could only use one hand, since the other was still pretty busted up.
Asia was supposed to heal him, however they didn't have the time for it.
"Whew... that was a close one, if that landed... I'm not sure if I'd still be alive."
Ryuko spoke those words, and then his hands and feet became a blur.
Ryu's body was bombarded with attacks, to the face, the torso and the joints.
Ryu flew back, and slammed into the wall, broke through it and fell on the open field.
He let out a grunt and slowly got up, feeling the ache in his body.
"You're great Ryu."
Ryuko stepped out of the building, into the open field.
"Just... what is it you're after? My ass?" Ryu questioned, wiping the blood that dripped from his nose.
Ryuko laughed, "I'd certainly love that! But... you'll figure it out later... this test has come to an end, we'll fight it out at a later date."
"...You're gonna regret this."
"We will see about that, my dear Ryu."
Then, Ryuko constructed a teleportation circle under his feet.
"Oh... just for motivation..." He muttered, a cruel smile on his face.
"The organization I'm currently a part of... we're the ones who forced Kokabiel to do our bidding... we're the reason you had to take his life."
Ryu's eyes immediately went bloodshot.
"What?" He asked, his tone dangerously low.
The atmosphere around him changed completely.
Ryu dashed forward, and in the blink of an eye he was right in front of Ryuko.
His fist raised and ready to launch a devastating strike that would no doubt kill Ryuko in a single blow.
He swung.
But Ryuko managed to escape him in the nick of time.
"Grrr..." Ryu growled, his hand clenching until he drew blood from his palms.
"RAHHHHH!" Then he let out a shout and in anger, he smashed his fist into the ground.
*BOOOOM* The ground shook from his strength and a large crater was formed in the place he punched.
"I swear..." He muttered, "I'll rip you into shreds, Wyrm."
"I'll do what I should have done all those years ago... and then... I'll rip apart that organization as well."
"I won't spare... a single, living, breathing thing..." He muttered.
Author's note: No, this isn't Yaoi, or anything of the sort. If you've read Kengan Ashura you'd recognize who the inspiration is for Ryuko.