The Tactician's Troubles
Hello, this chapter of the story takes place during and after V23: Junior's Preparation. If you have not caught up to that point, beware, for Here Be Spoilers! You have been warned! If you would like to read the novels, but don't know where to find them, just search for the appropriate baka-tsuki project. Enjoy!
After losing the match vs Dulio, in the waiting room
"Despite this loss, I can't dwell on it too much. I just have to learn from it and keep pushing ahead. After all, my peerage is counting on me."
"I don't think Ravel is taking this very well. Despite being my manager and tactician, she is still just a young girl, and I swear I can feel her sense of despair at losing, but she is doing an excellent job at keeping it hidden from the other team members. She must not want to make a scene in front of them. I should probably bring her elsewhere."
"Hey Ravel?"
"Yes…Ise-sama?"
"Come with me, please. The rest of my peerage, stay here. We have… um… some urgent business to attend to. We'll be back in a few minutes. Everyone else can go."
Still disappointed from the loss of the match, no one had much to say in response, simply requesting that he come back when he's done. Stepping through the doorway, he and Ravel continued alone.
"…Where are we going…Ise-sama?"
"Just a little further away from here Ravel, it won't be long."
"Okay," she replied in a rather dejected tone as the continued along the hallway.
After making another turn or two, Issei suddenly came to a stop.
"Ise-sama?"
"Its okay, Ravel. We are far enough away from everyone now. You don't have to keep your emotions bottled up any more."
Understanding his intentions, she immediately burst into tears and rushed into his arms. He continued to hold onto her as she wept freely, lamenting her failure to outwit the Trump Card of Heaven.
After holding onto her for a few minutes, he noticed the faint feeling of a few familiar people watching him. "Bad time for that." He thought to himself. " At least they aren't strangers." At that moment, through her sobbing, she began to speak to him.
"Ise-sama…I…even though I was there…"
Patting her head softly, her responded to her lamentations.
"I have you to thank for the match even being this close. Without you there to help me, this would have gone much worse. There are still plenty of opportunities, so don't worry. I, no, WE will become stronger…together," he said, looking at her with a gentle smile.
Burying her head in his chest, she let out a simple "...Yes." before resuming her sobbing. At this point Issei felt the eyes leave him and sensed the familiar presences beginning to fade. "Hopefully they realized how insensitive it was to eavesdrop on a girl having a bad day," Issei thought to himself.
After a few minutes, her sobbing began to subside, and he cautiously released her, keeping his hands on her shoulders and looking carefully at her to determine if he should grab her again, in case she felt the need to cry some more.
"Are you feeling any better after all that?
"sniffle…not really," she replied glumly.
"Will holding you some more help?" he asked, in an attempt to be more sympathetic.
"I…don't think it will…" she responded in an even more dejected tone of voice. Issei went silent as he planned a new course of action.
"There must be something I can do to make her feel better. Think, what do women like? Hmm. How about a date? I've done that before, and it only turned out bad the first time, but that hardly counts. But where do I start…?" After thinking through a few options, he decided on a set of destinations for the date.
"Alright Ravel, I have an idea!" he proclaimed excitedly.
"Yes Ise-sama?" she responded, still miserable, but curious.
"Tonight, you are going to go on a date with me." He explained while holding her hands.
"Ise-sama!? I don't think-"
"Don't try to make excuses not to go. You are going with me and that's final."
"…Yes Ise-sama." She replied after a moment's pause, in slightly better spirits.
"Phew, glad that worked. I wasn't sure if being forceful would make her angry or more depressed, but it looks like she responds well to it. I'll remember that for…uh…other activities later. Now, to get everything necessary set up. I'll just have…wait! I'm doing this for Ravel, I can't have her set it up! Crap, I should have thought this through more! Whatever, I'm sure I can manage to plan everything out myself, it isn't that complicated. I'll just do something a little simpler, and she'll like it. I hope."
Snapping back to reality, Issei turns to Ravel.
"Why don't you go ahead and go home, maybe get ready? Wear something comfortable and casual. I'll go tell everyone else we have some business to take care of alone. Hopefully they won't follow us like they did that time I went out with Akeno…"
After taking a deep breath, Ravel composes herself and nods her head.
"As you wish, Ise-sama. I'll go home and prepare myself right away."
As she turned to leave, Issei stopped her.
"Ise-sama?"
"Remember, this wasn't your fault, okay?" He reminded her carefully.
"…Yes Ise-sama…" again in a dejected tone, as she vanished in her flames.
"Maybe mentioning that again wasn't the best idea. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. Now to try and get the rest of the girls to leave us alone for the afternoon. Time for the real challenge."
Heading back to the waiting room, he pauses at the door for a moment to steel himself, preparing for the worst, then opens it and steps inside.
"…"
Everyone in the room is still sitting glumly, just as he left them. "I should probably do something to cheer everyone up tomorrow. For something like that, I'll DEFINITELY need Ravel's help. I really need to make sure to do everything I can to make her feel better tonight."
Looking up and focusing on Issei, Asia was the first to notice something off.
"Ise, where is Ravel?" She asked, seeming confused and possibly scared.
"Well, we have some urgent business to attend to this afternoon. I sent her home to prepare herself, and then came back here to let you all know."
"Oh? That sounds interesting. Where are we going?" Xenovia asked, intrigued by the prospect of a distraction from the team's failure.
"Uhh, about that. This…uh…business only involves myself and Ravel, so I'd like for you to stay home for this one."
It was Rossweisse's turn to respond.
"That sounds rather suspicious. Are you sure you aren't planning to do things with her that Rias wouldn't approve of?"
"It does sound rather suspicious…" Irina nodded in agreement with Rossweisse.
"Oof, right for the kill!" "NO, no, nothing like that, just business, I swear!" He held up his hands in a defensive posture.
After several minutes of interrogation, he managed to convince them that he wasn't planning anything they wouldn't approve of.
After they had all returned home, he finished planning and prepared himself, both physically and mentally, for the night out.
"Alright, it's go time. I hope I prepared enough for this! Either way, it's too late to back out now. I think she should enjoy the things I have planned for her. I hope I didn't overthink this. Shit!" He thought to himself while psyching himself up to knock on Ravel's door.
"Ise-sama?" She had opened the door while he was still gathering courage!
"AH! Um, are you ready to go Ravel?"
"…Sure…" she replied, clearly still sad about the loss.
"Crap, she really has taken this hard. I hope this night works, for everyone's sake. I need to restore her self-confidence"
Then, he noticed the simple, yet dazzling red dress she was wearing, and thought to himself, "I sure am glad I remembered her definition of casual usually involves some kind of formal wear…" while glancing at the sleeves of the dress shirt he had hastily thrown on minutes earlier. "Really dodged a bullet there."
"Well then, shall we be off? I hope you enjoy what I have planned for tonight." "Shit, I hope I don't forget anything I hope I don't need to improvise I hope-"
"Certainly, Ise-sama."
"Then let's go!" "Alright, first we go to dinner. I hope she likes Italian, because it was the only place I could get a reservation for on such short notice…"
They disappeared into a magic circle, reappearing in an alley a short distance away from the restaurant. "Thankfully, I have a regular client near here, so I already had a location set up for easy access in case of emergency, and this is definitely an emergency."
"Alright Ravel, I thought we should start with dinner, since we had a long day today. I hope you like Italian cuisine."
"Certainly, Ise-sama. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always enjoyed the cream-based sauces from northern Italy, though I don't mind the southern Italian tomato-based sauces from time to time."
"SHIT! Is she some kind of pasta sauce connoisseur or something? I really fucked up bringing her here! Whatever, it's too late to back out now, I just have to run with it."
"Um, you sound like you know a lot about pasta…"
[Really, that's what you chose to say?]
"Shut up Ddraig, let me embarrass myself in peace."
[Alright partner, as you wish.]
Snapping back to reality, he notices her giggling softly while covering her mouth with her hand. "Wow, she's really cute when she giggles like that." He thought to himself.
"No sil- Ise-sama, just about my favorite alfredo sauce. Raiser always complained about everything any of the maids fixed, so I made sure to learn how to make my favorite sauce myself, and then I could always prepare it whenever he was in a bad mood."
"How…uh…resourceful of you Ravel. Anyway, here we are, let's go inside." "I hope I don't embarrass myself any more than I have already." [Fat chance.] "I said shut up!"
As they sat finishing their dishes, Issei reflected on how the meal had gone. Ravel had certainly seemed to enjoy the food, but the atmosphere was rather tense to say the least. Several times, she seemed to be preparing herself to speak, but instead took a sip of her drink, needing a refill halfway through the meal. She seemed to be distracted, perhaps she wanted to be somewhere else or was waiting for something to happen. "This seems like a good time to finish up and go to the only other destination I managed to plan out on such short notice. This scheduling thing is hard..."
"Ravel, did you enjoy your food?"
"Yes, it was wonderful, thank you for treating me to this meal Ise-sama." She said sincerely, but with a rather forced smile.
"She definitely wants something else, but I'm not sure what. Guess I'll have to figure out as I go along." "Alright, are you ready to travel to the next destination of the night?"
"Certainly, Ise-sama."
"Alright, time to head to the movies. I sure hope the reviews of this movie were correct." "Then let's be on our way."
Thankfully, they managed to arrive at the movie theater with no surprises, and they each took a seat near the back, where no one would bother them. Shortly after, the movie began, and after a few minutes, Ravel leaned over, resting in the crook of Issei's arm. Almost instinctively, he put his arm around her, and she visibly relaxed into his embrace. As the movie drew on, he found himself lost in his worries.
"I hope this isn't too cheesy or too lame. I hope she likes it. I hope I can make her feel better. I hope-"
"Ise-sama?"
"Huh? Oh, what do you need?" "Maybe she'll finally tell me what it is I can do to help her feel better."
"…I need to go to the lavatory…"
"…""Of course it wouldn't be that simple. She must have had too much to drink during the meal." "Oh, uh, let me escort you there." "Maybe I'll think of something during the walk."
As he walked her back from the bathroom, his mind was racing to figure out what he could do to improve her mood.
"She seems to be reluctant to enter again, like she really doesn't want to watch this movie. Maybe I should ask her if she really wants to stay here and continue watching it. I mean, it isn't that good."
"What do you think of the movie so far? Do you want to continue watching or would you rather leave?"
"…To tell you the truth, I wasn't paying that much attention to the movie. I was more focused on my king instead. You seem to be so worried for my sake…"
[Take the hint, partner.]
"What? Oh, does she want to leave and talk about things together?"
[…You know what, that's actually close enough. Just roll with that.]
"Alright."
"Well then, let's leave and go somewhere else, I have an idea for something we can do."
"Then let's go, Ise-sama."
Having left the movie theater behind long ago, they were now walking through the city.
"Ise-sama, where are we going?"
"Just wait and see, we'll be there soon."
"I sure hope I can relate to her emotionally. I haven't confronted this very much since Asia, Akeno, and Koneko helped restore me so long ago."
[I'm sure you'll do fine, partner. After all, you always do.]
"You really think so Ddraig? I just want to do anything I can to help her"
[Of course. Almost everything you do is for the sake of others, and this desire to help makes you a formidable force.]
"Thanks, Ddraig, you're the best."
[You know it. After all, I do have centuries of experience through other hosts.]
"Good point. Ah, we finally got here. The walk from the theater to the park was much longer than I thought."
"The park?"
"I thought it would be a nice place to rest and talk for a little while. I hope you don't mind. After all, I thought you might want somewhere quiet to talk.
"Certainly, Ise-sama."
He led her to a bench and gestured for her to sit. When she obliged, he sat down next to her and put his arm around her, just as he did before in the theater. Then, she leaned back into his shoulder and sighed sadly.
"What's on your mind?"
"…I appreciate all that you are trying to do for me, but that doesn't change the fact that most of the blame for our team's failure falls on me, your manager and strategist." She said with a dejected tone.
"We've been over this! It wasn't your fault, the game was a battle of stamina, something many members of my peerage lack, me included! If anyone's to blame, it's me, for being such a naive and inexperienced king!"
"…Ise-sama!" She exclaimed, shocked that he would raise his voice like this.
"…Sorry about yelling at you. I got a bit caught up in my emotions."
"You know what? I have an idea. I just hope it doesn't backfire."
"Follow me, I have something I need to show you." He said, standing up and holding out his hand.
"Alright, Ise-sama." Ravel replied, taking his hand and standing up herself.
They continued to walk for another minute or so, until they approached a certain fountain.
[Oh, that's your plan?]
"Yep. I hope this works."
[Me too partner, me too.]
After a short pause, Issei began to speak.
"This is where it happened. This spot, more than a year ago, was where my first date ended…along with my life." Issei said solemnly.
"Your life?" Ravel asked, thoroughly confused.
"Yes, my life. This was where my first date with Amano Yuuma ended, and where she revealed to me that she was a fallen angel by the name of Raynare. And," He said, turning around and gesturing to a spot a few feet from the fountain. "That's where she killed me with a spear of light for possessing a sacred gear."
"Ise!" Ravel screamed.
"Calm down. That happened a long time ago, but sometimes her words still echo in my head" "Will you die for me Issei? Then why don't you die for me!"
"Ise-sama, are you sure you've gotten over this?" Ravel asked, with a hint of concern in her voice.
"Yes, I did get over it about a year ago, thanks to the help of Akeno, Asia, and Koneko. They noticed how strangely I was acting about being in a relationship and did something to correct it. I felt that since Raynare was just toying with me, and never really loved me, that Rias and Akeno and the others had to have been doing the same."
"That's ridiculous!" Ravel exclaimed. "You are a wonderful man, a wonderful king! Any girl would be lucky to have you, not the other way around!"
"Maybe now, but that wasn't how I saw things back then. I was much weaker and had too much self-doubt to see any of the things that were obvious to the girls."
"That's terrible! Are you suggesting that I'm doing the same thing?"
"Eh, sort of. Hehe…" he said, scratching his head, embarrassed.
"…" She looked at him with a rather sour expression. She was not amused.
"Well shit, that didn't go as well as I thought it would."
[Yeah, I thought it would go better too. What are you going to do now?]
"Try and work with it. Wish me luck."
"Look, all I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't blame yourself when you aren't the one at fault. I know you might think 'If I had done this at this time' or 'If I had planned this offensive better' but as they say, hindsight is 20/20, and that makes it easy to see what you can improve upon next time. The truth is, I could have distracted them more a little earlier, or moved a little faster, or any number of things, to give her just one extra second to score the goal, and the same could be said for any member of the peerage. I just want you to remember this. Just because you can find fault with yourself, that doesn't mean you are the one at fault. Can you do that for me?"
"I…I think I can, Ise-sama." she responded, looking down at her feet.
"Good. One more question."
"Yes Ise-sama?"
"Why are you so determined to be responsible for this loss?"
"…I…" She paused hesitantly, looking up at him with a somewhat fearful expression.
[Hoo boy, this could be bad.]
"What?"
[In my time with different hosts, I've learned to never ask a woman why she feels a certain way. It almost never ends well.]
"Well it will this time, I'm sure of it."
[Whatever partner. I'll leave you to it. I hope it works.]
"Me too"
"I…I think it comes from how much my brother blamed me for everything…after his loss to you in the rating game. You remember how I told you he stayed in his room for weeks straight, refusing to leave and yelling at anyone who tried to enter?"
"Yeah"
"Well every time I went in to check on him, he would…yell at me for not stopping you the first time around." She said while looking at her feet.
"Wait, didn't he tell you to let me pass? And if I had lost there, I still would have come back for Rias in the same way."
"Yeah, I know. He blamed me for his own mistakes. I guess blaming the wrong person runs in the family, huh." She laughed bitterly. "After that, I came to get you to come and train him, and I'm sure you remember the rest."
"I do, but that still doesn't answer what it has to do with you blaming yourself for this."
"Raiser got angry with me when he failed and kept blaming me. And during the training…I…I began to really fall for you, more than just the crush I had before…I wouldn't be able to take it if you were ever disappointed in me…" she said, quivering, on the verge of tears.
"Oh shit, was that just a confession?"
[It worked. What a surprise.]
"Told you."
"If you didn't want me to be disappointed in you, wouldn't insisting you were at fault be kind of a bad strategy then?" he questioned, pointing out the gap in her reasoning.
"I…I…Ise-sama!" she cried out, bursting into tears.
Rushing over to her, he hugged her tightly.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm not disappointed in you at all. In fact, it would be rather hypocritical if I was, since I did something similar myself. I just want you to be as happy as you can, and I'd do anything it takes to make that happen."
"Sniff. Even marrying me?" she asked, looking up at him with red eyes.
"Of course, I promise I will propose to you in a later game. I'll try to make it a surprise too, though it probably won't be since you are in charge of all of my scheduling…"
Ravel giggled slightly, beaming up at him with a dazzling smile, despite her teary eyes.
"Wow, she's so cute. How did I luck out this much?"
[Dragon's soul, the only reason you have this harem in the first place.]
"Oh, right. Thanks Ddraig."
[You're welcome partner.]
"Thank you…Ise."
"You're very welcome. Now, if you are feeling any better, would you like to go home? After such a long day, I'm beat."
"Certainly, Ise. I look forward to spending the night with you."
"Good, because we both need to get plenty of rest. I need your help planning something to cheer everyone else up from the loss."
She paused and looked at him with a piercing gaze suited for a bird of prey.
"…Don't tell me that's the reason you did all this for me!"
"It wasn't, I swear on my mother's grave!"
"You still live with your mother!"
"It's an expression, okay!"
"Well let's just go back home then. Like you said, we have a busy day tomorrow. You had better propose soon or I will not be happy!" she responded, pouting.
Since they weren't very far from his home, they decided to walk back, and on the way, Issei occasionally glanced to his side. Despite how much she was pouting, if he didn't know any better, he'd swear Ravel looked very satisfied, as if she had planned all of this herself.
"Nah, I know she isn't that devious. Either way, now she feels better about this, and I got a real confession and a confirmation of engagement out of it. Looks like everything will be fine with her by my side. Now it's time to get back to training and studying. Marvelous. Maybe I should do this with the other girls too?..."
And cut.