Scattered Cherry Blossoms Universe, Dimensional Gap, Team DxD Base.
Three full minutes passed as the Void Empress watched Aislynn celebrate the promise she received from Tatsuo. And seeing Aislynn, a dragon she practically raised from a welp, so happy made her smile widen. However, things had gone on long enough.
"It seems like someone is in a good mood." The Void Empress said from behind Aislynn.
*Snap!* {Pic}
Upon hearing the Void Empress' voice, Aislynn's movements halted completely. Unfortunately, thanks to the awkward position she stopped in, one of her heels snapped. As a result...
*Thud!*
... the Red Dragon God Emperor tumbled to the ground and rolled a couple rounds before coming to a stop on her back at the Void Empress' feet.
The double impact of being seen during her celebration and her fall left Aislynn completely embarrassed, her blush stretching all the way from the tips of her ears to the top of her chest as she looked up at the Void Empress with mortification.
Meanwhile, the Void Empress, still sporting an amused smile, looked down at Aislynn with affection in her eyes.
"That was a nasty fall." The Void Empress said softly. "Are you okay?"
"Uh huh." Aislynn replied dumbly, her embarrassment making it hard for her to form words.
Aislynn's reaction made the Void Empress shake her head. Then, she flicked her hand. And with that motion, Aislynn's broken heel flew towards them before fitting itself back onto the shoe and reconnecting as if it had never broken in the first place.
After that, the Void Empress gently raised her hand. And when she did, Aislynn was softly lifted off the ground. Then, as the Void Empress turned her hand, Aislynn was reoriented so that she was floating upright before the Void Empress softly lowered her hand, setting Aislynn back on the ground.
"Thank you." Aislynn said quietly as she lowered her head, her embarrassed blush still on her face.
Not wanting to drag out the conversation she wanted to have any longer, the Void Empress did not tease Aislynn about the way she was acting. Instead, she moved on to the main point of her visit.
"You were able to get Tatsuo to invite you into the [Dimensional Chat]." The Void Empress said in a matter of fact tone.
"Yes." Aislynn replied with her head still lowered. "But I don't' understand why it was so important that I joined this group. The strongest members of their group, James and the old man, Zelretch, are nowhere near as powerful as I am. Honestly, it feels like babysitting"
The Void Empress could not help but giggle when she heard that. But she did not correct Aislynn. Because were she to accompany the members of the [Dimensional Chat] on unrestricted [Missions], it would indeed be like babysitting, as they would not get the chance to grow with Aislynn around.
Yet, if Aislynn were to accompany them on most [Missions] with restrictions, Aislynn herself would become a liability. And the reason for that was simple. Aislynn never had to grow into her strength.
No, that would be inaccurate.
In most versions of the High School DxD Universe, Great Red never went through a growth phase. From the moment he appeared in the [Dimensional Gap], she was the strongest being in the Draconic Deus.
But this version of Great Red, or rather Aislynn, grew from a dragon welp. However, she was so immensely powerful that she never had to struggle to survive among other mortals. So, putting her in a situation where she had no power would actually leave her unable to cope.
Of course, knowing how proud a dragon could be, being one herself, the Void Empress did not mention the other side of the coin to Aislynn. Instead, she nodded her head and moved on.
"I know." The Void Empress replied. "But I did not want you to join this [Dimensional Chat] to help them. Instead, someone with divinity was needed for Tatsuo to grow in a certain world."
Aislynn, unfamiliar with the workings of other worlds, as she was raised to be the guardian of this world for as long as she could remember, only tilted her head in response. However, the Void Empress did not elaborate, as she would gain the knowledge she required once she arrived in the new world.
Granted, she would have to accept a loan from someone for that to happen.
"Either way, you won't be required to go on many [Missions]." The Void Empress continued. "And those you will be required to participate in will more than likely require you to take a support role."
"Ah! That makes more sense." Aislynn replied with a nod of understanding. "At least until they grow to my level, that is."
"That won't be too long if everything continues at this pace." The Void Empress replied with a smile. "But for now, just look over him for me, will you? Your authority over dreams will be rather helpful on this [Mission]."
"And you're not gonna tell me what this [Mission] is all about?" Aislynn asked while tilting her head cutely.
"Don't put on that cute act with me." The Void Empress replied while rolling her eyes. "If you want to know, ask your new companions. Some of them know enough about this world to fill in the blanks."
"*Sigh* Fine…" Aislynn pouted. "I don't' have the best social skills, though."
"Well, if you didn't spend all your time hiding in this [Dimensional Gap]." The Void Empress replied with another eye roll. "And don't' give me that excuse about being too powerful for the various dimensions. Ophis doesn't make them crumble with her presence. So, you should be completely capable of the same thing."
Aislynn's only response was to avoid making eye contact.
"Consider my words." The Void Empress said, a hint of amusement in her tone. "For now, I will take my leave. We will meet again."
Then, without giving Aislynn a chance to respond, the Void Empress vanished from where she stood, returning to her throne in the Higher Dimension. Meanwhile, Aislynn stood there for a while, thinking about what the Void Empress said before returning to the compound and lying down in the bed she commandeered from James.
Scattered Cherry Blossoms Universe, Human World, Japan, Kuoh.
Going back a few minutes, Tatsuo, having used [Return], arrived in James' mansion in Kuoh. And once again, he found himself standing behind the couch where most of the mansion's occupants sat to play video games. And just like when he first arrived in this universe, the game being played was Dead or Alive. Also, James was one of the players.
However, that did not surprise Tatsuo much. But when he saw who James was playing against, he was thoroughly surprised. As a result, he found himself watching the two play with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Hahahahaha!" James laughed uproariously as he laid down a supreme beat down. "Just because you chose yourself, did you really think you could beat me, the People's Champion? Take your candy ass back to train for another ten thousand years! Hahahahahaha!"
"Damn you, Sataniel!" Ayane, the recipient of the supreme beat down, shouted angrily as she gripped her controller tightly. "Don't be so cocky! This is the first time I've played this game! On top of that, my moves are not so rigid. I mean, seriously? No one would ever fight like that for real!" {Pic}
"But those moves were almost a perfect one-for-one recreation, Ayane." Kasumi said in an innocent tone while trying her hardest not to laugh at her half-sister's irritation.
Immediately, Ayane turned her glare from James to Kasumi.
"Whose side are you on?" Ayane growled.
In response, Kasumi only tilted her head innocently.
"What are you talking about, Ayane?" Kasumi asked in that same innocent tone. "I was just stating a fact."
Everyone in the living room could hear Ayane grinding her teeth. Yet, no one said anything. Because they knew, if they stepped in to help her, James, a troll of the highest order, would just point his metaphorical blade in their direction.
"This is definitely not what I expected to see when I got back." Tatsuo said absent-mindedly after taking in the scene.
"Ah! You're back." Tio said with a smile. "Welcome back, Master."
"Don't call me that." Tatsuo instinctively replied with a disgusted expression. A moment later, he realized what he said and how he said it as his head snapped in Tio's direction. "Oh no..."
And just as he expected, Tatsuo saw Tio with her cheeks flushed while breathing heavily as she started to fondle herself. Then, a figure who had been hanging upside down from the ceiling fell next to Tio and shot her a thumbs up with an impressed smile on her face before looking at James with yearning.
"Damn it..." Tatsuo and James muttered in unison. {Pic}
"You know what, screw it." Tatsuo said as he walked around the couch, snatched the controller from Ayane, and squeezed into the seat between Ayane and Kasumi. "James, let's go! You and me! Right now!"
Immediately accepting the lifeline, James picked up his own controller and went to the character select screen. As a result, both Tatsuo and James ended up ignoring Tio and Ayame, respectively, causing the two masochists to fall into masochism-induced stupors.
Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
After several hours of gaming and ignoring Tio and Ayame, Tatsuo decided it was time to return home. He still had preparations to make for tomorrow's housewarming party, after all. So, after saying their goodbyes, Tatsuo, Kasumi, Tio, and Ayane returned to the training room on the lowest basement floor in a flash of light.
"Ugh! I'm tired." Tatsuo muttered to himself once the light faded. "First, I have to deal with Aislynn... Though, that wasn't that bad. Then, I come back to see Ayane getting completely smashed in DOA by James..."
"I was not getting smashed!" Ayane barked in an irritated tone.
"... And after all that, I have to deal with Tio losing her damn mind." Tatsuo continued while completely ignoring Ayane's protest.
"To make things even worse, there were two of them." Kasumi added in a somewhat tired tone.
"Yeah..." Tatsuo replied while nodding weakly. "I'm just glad that chick, Darkness, from Alfonzo's world wasn't there. This could have been a disaster."
"Agreed." Kasumi said.
"Stop ignoring me!" Ayane shouted angrily. "And Tatsuo, you better hook up that console James let you borrow. I'm gonna practice like a madman. Then, the next time I see that arrogant jerk, I'm gonna beat him like he stole something."
"Highly unlikely." Tatsuo replied absent-mindedly. "But do you, boo boo. Do you."
"I'll beat you, too!" Ayane snarled, not liking Tatsuo's response. "You two were about even in skill. So, if I can beat you, I'll definitely be able to beat that jerk."
"Ugh! It feels like life is out to get me." Tatsuo grumbled dramatically.
By now, Tio, who had been in a state of excitement for the last few hours, was finally coming back to herself. And when she realized she lost control and embarrassed Tatsuo in front of his friends, her eyes lit up. However, she tried to hide the rising excitement as she stepped forward, turned around, and bowed deeply.
"Tatsuo-Sama, allow me to apologize for my behavior." Tio said while looking down at the floor as she bowed ninety-degrees. "Please punish me for showing such an unsightly side of myself."
At first, when Tatsuo heard Tio's apology, he wanted to roll his eyes and walk away without saying anything. However, just before he did so, he remembered something James said to him in reference to dealing with masochists.
Thinking that things could not get any worse, Tatsuo decided to give James' suggestion a try.
"It's alright." Tatsuo said in a kind, gentle tone. "In the first place, it was my fault you had an episode."
Hearing that, the three ladies all stiffened. Then, while Kasumi and Ayane turned to look at Tatsuo with disbelieving expressions, Tio's eyes widened as she continued to stare at the floor. Meanwhile, Tatsuo took a step forward and started patting Tio's head.
"We'll both have to be more careful in the future." Tatsuo said while gently stroking Tio's head. "For now, let's just try to be better, okay?"
So shocked that she was not punished for embarrassing Tatsuo, Tio was unable to respond. Tatsuo, on the other hand, after not receiving an answer for a little while, removed his hand, shrugged his shoulders, and made his way out of the training room with Kasumi and Ayane following shortly afterwards with confused expressions on their faces.
A little while later, Tio finally regained her senses. She then straightened up and looked around. And when she saw that she was alone in the training room, confusion showed up on her face as she started rubbing the spot where Tatsuo had been stroking her head.
"What... just happened?" Tio asked in a confused tone. "That wasn't how things were supposed to happen. Tatsuo-Sama didn't hit me or yell at me, or even look at me with disgust."
A moment later, Tio's face was colored pink as she blushed.
"But... This isn't so bad either." Tio muttered to herself as a shy smile spread across her face. "Tatsuo-Sama's gentle side is nice, too." {Pic}
Finally, after another short while, Tio, with a smile on her face, hurried out of the training room to help the others with the preparations for the housewarming party.
"Tatsuo-Sama! Wait for me~!" Tio shouted as she ran toward the stairs.