A New Motivation: Chapter 11 (Patreon)

As she stood outside of Nero's bedroom early one morning, awaiting the girl's call for assistance, Akeno couldn't help but wonder exactly when this had become one of the most anticipated parts of her day.

It was strange, wasn't it? That simply spending time with the blonde would bring her such pleasure? What had started out as a simple act of assistance had quickly turned into something that Akeno looked forward to, and not just because she was constantly gifted with the sight of Nero's barely clothed body.

“Alright, Akeno! I’m ready!”

Though that was certainly a plus.

Akeno entered the bedroom and was met with the familiar sight of Nero's pale back facing towards her as the girl stared at the wall. She took a moment to savor the sight of her friend's delicate skin, before moving forward to begin her task.

Akeno grabbed the ends of Nero's bra from her fingers with practiced ease, “So how has your meditation been going? Has accessing your magic become any easier?”

Nero nodded, “It’s good, better than good really. Your advice really helped and I’ve been able to access my magical energy pretty much at will now.”

Akeno smiled at the news, clipping the bra with a quiet snap. Even though her task was done however, she didn't move away. She wanted to see how far she could take this.

“Wonderful. Now we can move onto practicing actually manipulating your magic.” She said, "Soon enough, we’ll be moving onto actual spells and I’ll finally have someone other than Rias to practice magic with!”

“Rias uses magic?” Nero sounded a bit surprised, “I thought she mostly just stuck to her Power of Destruction.”

Akeno shrugged, moving her hands up to rest on Nero’s bare shoulders. The girl tensed at first but relaxed quickly, making her grin slightly, “She used to, but since you showed up she’s started to show much more interest in the more meditative aspects of magic. We actually had a rather long session just the other day while you and Koneko were sparring. She seems to be getting the hang of things somewhat.”

Nero was silent for a moment, “...You think she’s just trying to get a better handle on her Power of Destruction? More control or something like that?”

“Probably.” Akeno shrugged, “Rias takes after her brother in that regard. Sirzechs-sama is one of the most prodigious users of his family’s gift to ever be born and though she doesn’t often show it, Rias looks up to him more than anyone else. That’s why she hasn’t bothered to learn anything else.”

Nero nodded slowly, “And what about Kiba and Koneko?”

“They just aren’t interested. Koneko prefers fighting with her fists and Kiba’s the same way with his swords." Deciding to take things a bit further, Akeno leaned forward, wrapping Nero in a hug and intentionally pressing her breasts against the back of the girl’s head, “That’s why I’m extremely glad that you’ve decided to take up learning magic. Even if it is just in the pursuit of returning your arm back to normal.”

Even from her place behind the girl, Akeno could see Nero's cheeks turn red but she still didn't try to move away. Nero coughed lightly, “Yeah well, I enjoy spending time with you Akeno. I’m not gonna say no to more of that.”

Akeno’s eyes widened, slightly touched by the other girl’s words, “...I’m glad to hear that. I enjoy spending time with you as well.” There was a beat of silence, before a sly smile spread across her face, “I especially enjoy the wonderful shade of red that's so often spread across your face when we're together.”

Akeno giggled as Nero’s face did just as she had just said, growing a bright red from her teasing. The girl looked away from her, looking faintly embarrassed, “Hush, I can't help it.”

“And I'm glad that you can't.” Akeno hummed.

Their conversation petered off for a long moment, leaving them just standing there in silence. Nero's body was warm against hers, even through her uniform, and Akeno could feel a sense of comfort settle up on her shoulder as she stood there embracing the girl.

Unfortunately, like all good things, their little moment had to come to an end.

“Hey Akeno?” Nero's soft voice broke through the silence.

“Yes?”

“Not that I don't enjoy this, but we do need to go to school and I'm still half-dressed. Mind letting go of me?” 

Akeno pouted, “Aww, but I was just getting comfortable!” Despite her words, she did as the other girl asked, unraveling her arms from around Nero's body.

Nero giggled lightly, the sight made even better by the red coloring to her cheeks, “Unfortunately, just like in my old world, the school board doesn't really care about its students' comfort or lack thereof. I don't think any amount of devilish influence is gonna change that.”

Akeno laughed as well, “Yes well, there are limits to even our vast powers. The evil of human bureaucracy is unmatched as always.”

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Nero sighed, before giving Akeno a grin as she grabbed her uniform from a nearby dresser, “At least the company is a vast improvement.”

~~~ Nero ~~~

Like usual, the school day flew by at a rapid pace and soon enough, it was the last class of the day. Also like usual, I wished that my own scholastic experience had been even slightly similar to the one that I was experiencing here. I probably could have chalked it up to the fact that I technically already knew this stuff, but school here was so much easier than it had ever been back in my  old world.

The equations that were written down on the worksheet in front of me were standard for level, but for me they might as well have been busy work. That meant that it was the perfect opportunity to let my mind wander as my hands wrote down the answers.

I had grown at an incredible rate since I had arrived in this world, even I could see that. As I settled and became more comfortable with my body and my powers, not only had my combat skills improved, but so had my abilities with my magic. I hadn’t been lying when I told Akeno that my meditation had been going well. 

The entire process of accessing my magic felt natural to me, as if I was flexing an old limb that I hadn't used in some time, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was even more of Okita's instinct bleeding through. Whatever the reason, my grasp of my magic had improved an extreme amount in an extremely short time.

And now, according to Akeno at least, I was ready for the next part of our training. Hopefully this one would be just as easy as the last.

On the more physical side of things, I was also making great strides when it came to using both Red Queen and the Yamato, though the process of using the latter was a bit more slow-going. I had held back on modifying them with Degenerate, knowing that it would be best to get a feel for the weapons themselves before I tried anything crazy, and it seemed to be working out well so far.

Thanks to my practice, both of the weapons felt more at home in my hands than ever before. Even Red Queen's immense weight had become something that I was accustomed to and I was now able to swing it around as if it weighed even less than the katana.

Really, the only weapon that I hadn't quite gotten the hang of, mostly just because of lack of chance to practice with it, was Blue Rose. Since it was a gun specifically made to kill demons, it was naturally far too dangerous to use on my friends even if they were much more skilled than I was, so that meant I had to stick to normal target practice.

And while my aim was pretty good, there was only so much that shooting cans and bottles could actually help me in the long run unless I wanted to get creative. I needed to practice using Blue Rose in an actual fight. And unfortunately, since the revolver would probably blow a hole straight through even Koneko’s Rook durability, I was out of luck in that department.

‘Maybe I'll get lucky and a stray devil will pop up sometime soon.’ I thought wryly jotting down another answer, ‘It’d be a perfect test of my combat abilities too. Sparring only gets you so far.’

Unfortunately for me, Stray Devils weren't nearly as common as one might think. Sure, there were a few here or there, but they were normally dealt with quickly by whoever unlucky Devil's territory they had stumbled upon.

Or the Church dealt with them. The Church hated strays even more than we did which made sense considering they were probably everything that they had been taught Devils actually were.

So yeah, finding strays to just use as training dummies wasn't exactly an efficient way of going about things.

‘Maybe there's a spell for it…” I thought idly, ‘Like, something that summons animals I could fight or something. Though now that I think about it, that doesn't really sound like a thing that would be possible with the DxD magic system.’

I’d have to ask Akeno. She more than likely had at least an idea of if that was possible or not.

‘Probably could have asked her this morning but… yeah.’ I felt my face heat up a bit at the remembrance of what had happened earlier in the day, ‘Definitely gonna have to find her when we aren't doing our little routine. It's way too distracting.’

That being said, Akeno had been a bit more touchy-feely this morning than usual. Normally she'd just grope me, throw in a teasing remark or four, and be on her way. This morning though, things had been different. Less lewd and decidedly more… intimate, if that was even the right word for it. The change was a bit odd but certainly not unwelcome, and I definitely wouldn't mind a repeat performance.

The sound of the bell signaled the end of class and also the end to my musings. I packed up and stood from my desk, giving a farewell to the teacher as Iade my way into the bustling hallway

The moment I stepped out the door however, I blinked in slight surprise as I was met with a very familiar smiling face, “Oh, Kiba, hey. What’s up?”

Heads turned at my words, people apparently just now noticing the blonde Knight within their midst. Immediately, chatter sprung up as people began whispering among themselves, wondering what the teen was doing here, before their eyes locked onto me and said whispers doubled.

Kiba was either ignorant to their whispers or simply didn't care, showing no indication that he heard them at all as he gave me a gentle smile, “Hello, Nero. I'm just here to grab you for our study session.”

Oh, that was right, we were sparring today. I made a noise of realization as I walked up to him, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Is it just us today or are the others joining us?”

“I believe Koneko might show but I'm not sure. Akeno and Rias have things to do though, I'm afraid.”

I clicked my tongue as we began making our way through the halls, “Ah, that's too bad. I was hoping Akeno and I would be able to get some studying in as well. She says I should be able to move onto the next subject now.”

Kiba smirked, “You certainly enjoy her company, don't you? I don't think you spend as much time with anybody as you do with her, not even Koneko.”

I coughed lightly, looking away from him, “I don't know what you're talking about.”

Kiba didn't say anything, but the way his smile twisted at the corners told me all I needed to know. I tried my best to keep my blush under control so I didn't give any of our fellow students even more gossip fuel than they already had.

I swear, these people must have no social lives at all the way they seemed to live vicariously through us. To them, we were just hotter than average students yet they treated us like celebrities or something. It was weird.

As we left the school and the crowds within behind, I hummed quietly to myself as I mused on the strangeness of it all. Kiba noticed it and looked over at me, raising an eyebrow, “Penny for your thoughts?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how odd it is how much attention we get.” At his confused look, I elaborated, “It's like… so we're all super attractive, right? I've never really been the most vain person, but even I'd say this body is a solid eight out of ten. Seven at the very least and even then that's pushing it.”

Kiba nodded at my words, though whether he was agreeing with me or just gesturing for me to continue, I didn't know. I decided to continue anyway, “So yeah, we're pretty hot. Hot enough to get a second or third glance on the street, but here? It's like they've never seen anyone even slightly attractive before. The other day I was walking through the hall and it was a bit more crowded than usual and it felt like I had a dozen eyes on me everywhere I went. It was creepy.”

“You know, I've gotten so used to it by this point that I barely even notice it anymore. But now that you mention it, it is a bit strange.” Kiba said thoughtfully, “Human minds are more curious than most. The average human may deny the existence of the supernatural but most believe in it at least subconsciously. That might play into it at least a bit.”

I made a noise of realization, “That makes sense I guess. Even in my old world, I believed in the supernatural just a bit.” If some part of their subconscious recognized that we weren't normal, it would explain the increased scrutiny. 

Still… “I just wish they'd stop staring at my butt anytime I walk by.” I sighed, “And if they'd stop whispering every time I hang out with you guys, that'd be great too.”

“Well it's like you said, we're rather attractive. It makes sense they'd whisper about us when we're together. It's just how teenagers are.” He said like he wasn't one as well.

“You say that, but I guarantee some of the teachers are right behind them.” I shivered theatrically, “Just imagine what sorts of things they talk about in the teacher's lounge. Eeugh.”

Kiba chuckled, “You'll learn not to think about those sorts of things, trust me. It's better for your health.”

“Well that doesn't help me now! I've already started thinking about it!” I complained as my mind was filled with images of gossiping teachers and the like, “Gross. Now I need something to take my mind off of it. Let's change the subject please.”

Kiba chuckled at my words, “Alright then. Do you have anything particular you want to work on during this spar? I could change my approach depending on what you think you're lacking.”

I made a thinking noise,happy to have something else to put my mind to, “Actually, I think I've gotten the hang of using the Yamato so I think I'll switch to Red Queen this go around. If that's okay with you, I mean.”

Kiba shrugged, “If that's what you want to do. I'll admit, I've been wanting to test myself against that sword for a bit now. The – what did you call it – the Exceed system? It should make it more difficult to fight against than your other sword.”

“Sure you can handle it?” I teased lightly, “That thing is heavy, and the Exceed system only makes it hit even harder. You might be biting off more than you can chew here.”

“I'm sure I'll be fine.” Was all he said.

I elbowed him in the ribs with a grin, “Hey, don't get too cocky now. I've been improving by leaps and bounds, you know? That gap won't be so large for much longer.”

Kiba's smile was as kind as it was condescending, “I suppose keeping a positive attitude is important at our age, but please remember to temper your expectations at least a little. You wouldn't want to be overly disappointed after all.”

“Hey!”