You're a real sore loser, aren't you Devil-kun?" the man chuckled, clearly amused by the pawn's zeal "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Vali was much the same way when I picked him up, and Lord only knows Shirou's too stubborn for his own good half the time…" his smile faded somewhat "or rather he would have known, if he'd lived long enough to meet him."
'He looks so sad…' Issei noted, the Gremory Pawn staring at his client in concern, his mind searching for something to say, only to screech to a halt as the older man's words fully registered in his brain 'Wait…what did he say just now?'
"Azazel-sama…" a familiar voice called out, snapping the teen out of his thoughts just in time for the door to open, his eyes bulging at the sight of a certain former exorcist in a French Maid outfit "Pardon the intrusion, but Shirou-sama has asked me to inform you that dinner is ready."
"X-Xenovia-san?!" Issei exclaimed, gaping at Irina's former partner in disbelief, and more than a little approval, for while it was hardly as revealing as her 'battle outfit', even a pervert like him could appreciate the charm of a Maid Uniform.
"Hmm? Ah, good evening, Hyoudo Issei-san." The former Battle Nun greeted politely, inclining her head in greeting with her hands clasped before her before turning her attention to his client "Will he be joining us for dinner, Azazel-sama?"
"Is it that late already?" his client mused, rolling up a sleeve on his kimono only to whistle at the time "I don't see why not, it's certainly late enough and I'm sure Shirou won't mind another mouth to fill." He smirked at the gaping pawn "What do you say, Red Dragon Emperor? Wanna join us for dinner?"
"You-I mean-she…what?!" Issei stammered, his brain, unable to process the sheer amount of information currently being dumped into it, slowly grinding to a halt even as his client rose to his feet with a dark chuckle.
"Oh, that reminds me, I never really introduced myself, did I?" he mused, chuckling at the Pawns look of alarm, which only intensified as twelve jet-black wings burst from his back, each individual feather like a bottomless abyss that seemed to draw in all the light around him "My name is Azazel, Governor General of the Grigori." He smirked cheekily "I know it's a lot to ask, but please make sure to keep an eye on Shirou-kun at school, would you?"
So yeah, not a lot of action this chapter, but hey, a slow start is better than no start.
As some of you might have noticed, I've left references to other series in this as both Easter-Eggs and to flesh some things out.
Reference 1: The Exorcist Castes from Blue Exorcist. I used these to flesh out Xenovia's backstory somewhat, though that doesn't necessarily mean characters from Blue Exorcist won't show up in some capacity later. Maybe. No Promises.
Reference 2:The Fist of God. This is a reference to the Dresden Files Character, Michael Carpenter, who is ironically enough not only the 'former' wielder of a 'True Holy Sword', his universe's equivalent to Excalibur no less, but also a direct descendant of King Charlemagne, who bestowed Durandal on Sir Roland.
Reference 3: Shirou's hair. This is a reference to his counterpart in Prisma-Illya, Miyu's older brother. While he currently lacks the brown patches of skin, he does have a shock of white in his hair now due to the backlash from Archer's Arm.
Reference 4: Urahara's Basement Training Room. I probably don't need to spell this one out, but for those of you who've never read or watched bleach, just imagine the room Kisuke trains Ichigo in, only without the ladder leading up to the ceiling because Magic (snort-snort).
"Unbelievable!" Rias exclaimed, the normally cheerful redhead looking decidedly agitated as she paced behind her desk, biting her thumbnail in irritation "This isn't a joke! Where the hell does he get off acting so cavalier about this?"
Such was the scene Shirou and Xenovia walked in on upon arriving at the Occult Research Club the evening following Azazel's big reveal. After assuring a terrified Issei that yes, he was fine and no, Azazel wasn't about to go Mad Scientist on him, the perverted pawn had quickly made his excuses to escape having dinner with them before setting a new speed record cycling back to his house, where he'd wasted no time informing his King of just who his number one contractor was.
"Maybe we should come back later…" Shirou mused aloud, unable to help shivering in apprehension at the waves of destructive energy Rias was subconsciously emitting in her anger.
"Oh nonsense Emiya-kun!" Akeno insisted, guiding the pair towards the sofa reserved for guests, even going so far as to offer them tea while the rest of the peerage sat around them "Rias is just a little upset at the moment."
"I'm more than just upset! I'm absolutely livid!" Rias proclaimed, rounding on the group with her arm outstretched "It's bad enough that the Governor General of the Grigori managed to infiltrate our territory without either Sona or myself catching on, but not only has he been interfering with my affairs, he's been secretly making advances towards my precious Issei-kun!"
"Now that I think about it, Kokabiel did imply that Azazel was interested in researching Issei-kun's Boosted Gear." Kiba mused from his spot on the wall, only to smile reassuringly at the Pawn, whose expression of disgust at the thought of Azazel's 'advances' turned to one of alarm at the reminder "Ah, don't you worry, Issei-kun," he reassured the teen with a smile so pure for a moment Shirou swore he saw roses sprout around him "As a Knight and your comrade, I'll protect you with my life! Between my Sword of Betrayal and your Boosted Gear, there's nothing we won't be able to overcome!"
————————-
If you want advance chapter you can access my patreon and Due to technical issue Patreon link is not stay yet.
The link 🔗 of patreon is in my book symptoms.
Thankyou