Dio watched over Nobu as she slept comfortable in their bed after a lovely meal. He hadn't gone to sleep yet, instead planning to hack into SE.RA.PH and check who his next round opponent would be in advance.
What he found was as he expected; Dan Blackmoore, with his Archer Servant- Robin Hood, the Faceless King.
He also checked Rin's opponent and found them nobody of consequence with a subpar Servant- Rin would easily be able to handle it, and so he didn't concern himself with Rin's issues any further.
He stretched as he leaned back in his chair, cracking his neck and closing his eyes as he pondered on the events.
The first week of the Grail War had passed, and it had been both easy and difficult in its own ways. Truth be told, most of the week had been Dio slowly to coming to terms with his System and the powers he'd hoped to have obtained years before.
He looked at his hand and clenched it. This much power... He knew it wasn't enough. Maybe it would have been enough before, but with the chatroom now at his disposal? Even all the power he had right now wasn't enough for the dangers he would face in numerous other worlds.
Seekvaira and Xenovia's world was dangerous enough with the future ExE Invasion and Trihexa, but Julie's wasn't exactly safe either- with Bakugan one day invading the real world, let alone Naga who was essentially an Evil Deity by the time he'd fully absorbed the Silent Core.
On top of that, Shadowheart had that whole issue with Mind Flayers eventually coming for her... The only one who had a 'safe' world in the chatroom was Yumeko.
Speaking of the chatroom...
[Dio: I lived, bitch.]
He smirked as he sent a picture of the sleeping Nobu- making sure she was covered up- and himself with a peace sign to the chatroom.
[Seekvaira: ... Really? Even in a post-apocalyptic world, they have that?]
[Dio: You cannot stop the Meme, Seek-chan.]
[Xenovia: I don't get it.]
[Shadowheart: Nor do I. And frankly? I don't want to. But I suppose it's a good thing you survived Dio. Any issues?]
[Dio: Not at all. In fact, here, I'll upload the fight from my memory so you can watch.]
[Dio has uploaded a Memory Fragment - 'First Arena Battle.']
[Julie: Wait, we can upload memories!?]
[Dio: Yup. Enjoy.]
He didn't just wait for the others to watch his memory; he also watched his own memory in order to see things he could have done better during that battle... Minus just killing Shinji- he wanted Nobu to be able to have some fun. Only if things looked truly bad would he have finally acted and killed Shinji.
The only thing he determined he could have done was to be a bit more active in giving Nobu orders when he saw a few openings, and also de-buffing Drake instead of just buffing Nobu. He would need to remember that next time.
[Ding!]
His attention was drawn away as the Chatroom suddenly pinged him, causing him to focus.
He froze.
Urgent Quest - Idol in Peril
Objective 1: Prevent Ai Hoshino's Death.
Objective 2: Kill the Mastermind who wants Ai Hoshino Dead.
Participants: One.
Objective 1 Time Limit: 1 Minute.
Objective 2 Time Limit: 1 Week.
Please Note - Time will freeze in the Participant's world while doing the mission. Should they die during the mission, time will resume in their world without them.
Dio didn't think. He didn't hesitate even for a second the instant he saw the time limit ticking down.
He smashed the 'Accept' Button and vanished in a flash of light.
.
.
.
Ai smiled warmly as she looked down at the two children clinging to her as she had one arm wrapped around both of them- Aqua and Ruby.
The Idol wouldn't lie- she had quite a few regrets in her life... However, no matter how much she tried, she could never regret giving birth to both Ruby and Aqua. For Ai, who's entire existence was structured on lying not only to people but also to herself, the two children in her arms were a blessing.
Or at least, that was what she told herself. Even still, Ai knew that her current life was unsustainable... Idol work was her passion and greatest skill- but it wasn't a very lucrative job... In order to support the two children, she knew that she was either going to have to retire and find another job that paid better or start to do extra jobs on the side as well.
There was always the option of leaving them behind... But the idea of doing so twisted something in Ai's stomach. She rejected the notion of abandoning her children... Because she wanted to provide them with a loving home; the kind her mother never gave her. She wanted to, in some way, prove herself better than that woman. At least... That was what she told herself.
She kept that smile plastered on her face as she doted on her two children, before the doorbell rang. "Hm? Who could it be at this hour?" She murmured, slowly getting up. "Mommy's gonna get the door," she smiled at them kindly, patting their heads as she made her way over to the door.
Of course, both children watched her go before they focused on the TV- though Aqua's eyes kept looking over at his mother, feeling a strange feeling of dread pooling in his stomach.
Slowly, Ai opened the door. "Hello-?" She began to say, only to see a cold flash of steel aiming for her stomach.
In that moment, Ai saw her life flash before her eyes.
She remembered the day she was taken away from her home and put into an orphanage. The day she was told- gently- that her mother had gone away and didn't want her anymore. The day she met Saitou, who helped enlighten her to lying. How lying became her whole identity, becoming beloved by everyone.
She remembered Hikari Kamiku, her ex-boyfriend, and dating him even though she didn't know if she loved him or not- she'd even told him she didn't know. She remembered starting a relationship with Hikaru, how the two eventually fell into bed with one another... How she ended up pregnant.
Ai recalled breaking up with Hikaru as soon as she found out, even though he offered to marry her, but she had refused- never telling him that she was pregnant. She hadn't wanted to burden him... Hadn't wanted to put the pressure of two children on him, choosing instead to shoulder everything by herself.
But, more than anything, Ai remembered Ruby and Aqua... Remembered those two little lives she'd held in her arms, and the twisting warm feeling in her stomach...
As the blade drew closer, Ai finally realised- she loved her children... She, who didn't know the feeling of love, finally knew what it meant to love another person.
There was a flash of light, and for a moment, Ai thought that she was dead. She couldn't feel any pain, her body tingling as she felt the adrenaline starting to course through her veins.
But then, she saw it.
A hand, holding the wrist carrying the knife.
Ai slowly lifted her eyes from the knife, now noticing that there was now a second man standing in the doorway- his hand outstretched and grasping onto her attacker's wrist with incredible force.
He was handsome- there was no other word to describe him. Far more than even Hikaru... Even 'handsome' seemed like too small of a word- beautiful felt more accurate, more fitting for such a man.
His purple hair was messy, falling down over his shoulders- it even reminded Ai of the kind of protagonist you'd see in a manga. His eyes were a deep red, staring straight at her attacker with a fierce protectiveness in his eyes.
The idol felt her heart starting to race as she stared at him, her breath hitching. She didn't know who this stranger was... But, for some reason... She couldn't take her eyes off of him.
[Objective 1: Complete]
Dio exhaled heavily, holding onto Ryosuke Sugano- Ai's attacker- to stop him from jabbing that knife into Ai's guts. The chatroom had truly pushed things to the limit, hadn't it? Had he accepted maybe even a second later then the quest would have been failed, and Ai Hoshino would be dead.
"Hey," Dio looked at Ai. "Would you be a dear and call the police? Thanks."
He moved in a blur, knocking the knife out of Ryosuke's hand and snaking in behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck as he held the obsessed fan in a sleeper choke.
"Kuh...!" He flailed violently in Dio's grip, grasping at the arm around his throat.
"You're... Sugano-kun...?" Ai finally spoke as she got a good look at him, remembering him from her B-Komachi days.
Sugano froze as he looked at her in shock. "You... Remember...?" He choked out.
"Of course... I still keep that trinket you gave me."
"Ah..." The fan continued to choke and cry, going limp in Dio's arms as he finally passed out.
Dio took a deep breath and let him go before he caused permanent brain damage.
The digital human looked up at Ai, who was still staring at him. "Uh, hello? Call the police?"
"Ah? Y- Yes!" Ai rushed back inside, holding onto her two children- who were both now freaking out with the girl crying loudly as she clung to Ai- and dialled 911.
While she did that, he finally tested out the Digital Deluge skill- hacking some handcuffs into existence. He moved Ryosuke's hands behind his back and cuffed them into place. He even hacked in some rope and tied his ankles together to make sure that he wouldn't be running away so easily.
Meanwhile, Ai's eyes watched him like a hawk as she saw him creating items from nothing. Aqua stared in shock, as though he was looking at a God. As for Ruby? She still had her face buried into Ai as she cried, trying to muffle her crying so she didn't interrupt Ai's phone call.
Finally, Ai hung up and immediately texted for Ichigo Saitou- the only person she felt she could trust besides Dio- to come over immediately.
"You good?" Dio asked Ai as he saw her finally putting her phone away.
"Yes..." She took a deep breath, hugging both Aqua and Ruby tightly. "Yes, I'm good..."
"Are the kids okay?" He asked next, focusing on the children.
Aqua shakily nodded. "Yes... Th... Thank you for saving mom..."
Ruby just sobbed harder and held Ai tighter, who ran her fingers through Ruby's hair in order to try and soothe her.
The Buddha nodded, "Good... Good."
He checked his inventory and saw he had a few new items in there- legal ID for this world, showing he was half-Italian and half-Japanese in this world. A wallet, phone, and more- basic necessary items.
He checked the quest interface once he was done... Yep, Objective one- ticked off nice and neatly. Now, he only had to remove Hikaru Kamiki from the chessboard in order to ensure that Ai would face minimal danger in the future... And, if he was right, then she would also be joining the chatroom- all but ensuring she'd be like a Goddess among mortals soon enough.
It was enough for Dio to finally take a deep breath and exhale, using his skill to calm himself down and momentarily enter a state of enlightenment to ease himself.
"Who are you?" Ai finally asked him, feeling the momentary shift of his aura as she looked at him with awe. "No... What are you?"
She wanted- no, needed- to know. Who exactly was this mysterious man wielding powers the likes of which she thought only existed in TV, and why had he appeared to save her?
A wry smile crawled onto his face.
"My name is Dio Vincenzo... And I do wish we were meeting under better circumstances, Ai Hoshino. But even so... It's nice to meet you face to face."