Issei knocked on the door. There was no reply.

Strange. She had specifically asked to meet him before school, right? Or had he just dreamed that?

It did sound a little too good to be true. Why would this beauty want to see him? Like she had said, he wasn't that special.

Issei knocked again.

Again, there was no reply.

Hesitantly, he turned the doorknob and pushed. The door wasn't locked.

The room was lit with candles and morning light. He started to doubt whether they ever used the actual lights. He didn't even see a switch to turn them on.

Rias-senpai was in the room, but she was not capable of replying as she was fast asleep.

Issei slowly approached her.

Her desk was filled with books in every possible color. Most were large books with easily over a thousand pages, not the kind Issei would read. Most likely they didn't have any interesting drawings of female characters either.

The books were arranged in stacks, some of which seemed quite unstable.

A few books were opened and on one of those, Rias-senpai had put her head down.

She was still dressed in her uniform although she had removed the shoulder cape and blazer.

Now would be a really great time to touch her boobs, actually, Issei thought. She hadn't even woken up when he knocked on the door.

He pushed away the thought.

Rias-senpai was a real beauty. A pair of glasses had been put up like a diadem, but one strand of hair had escaped those confines and hung loose in front of her mouth. Whenever she breathed, the strand would swing back and forth. It was incredibly cute.

He did not want to wake her, but he couldn't let her sleep either. At this rate, she would miss her first class.

He enjoyed the beautiful sight a moment longer.

Maybe he should take a picture? Or was that too creepy?

Yeah, probably too creepy.

Besides, his memory would never forget this image so he did not need one.

"Senpai?" Issei softly put his hand on her shoulder and shook her awake.

"Huh?" She looked up. "Hyoudou-kun?" She seemed surprised, as if they hadn't agreed to meet now.

"Good morning," Issei said.

"Morning already?" She looked around. Her hair was quite disheveled.

Senpai yawned and stretched out.

Issei took the opportunity to check out her marvelous breasts. She caught him staring.

"Sorry," he said, quickly avoiding her eyes.

"Don't bother," she said. "You can look all you want."

She stood up and put her glasses on the desk.

Meanwhile, Issei was still processing what she had just said.

Rias-senpai walked to the couch and started unbuttoning her blouse.

"Senpai?"

"I'm gonna take a shower, if you don't mind."
"Uhm well…" The answer he was looking for was 'no, I don't mind at all'. Quite the contrary in fact.

Her blouse fell on the ground.

Issei swallowed hard. Was she really planning to undress right in front of him?

"Say, senpai? Do you live here?"

"Something like that," she said dismissive. She unzipped her skirt.

He looked at the books. Had she searched all night? Wouldn't her parents be worried?

"Found anything?"

"Nothing." She put her skirt and blouse on the couch.

"Too bad." Issei could not stop staring at her underwear. Her bra was black with half-circles of lace on the top edge. They showed a flower with three leaves. A rose? He wasn't certain about that.

In the middle was a neat little string tied in a double loop. It was purple.

Her panties were matching with the same string and the same lace pattern on top.
"We'll figure it out, Hyoudou-kun, don't worry."

Issei could not reply as her hands were now moving back to unhook her bra.

He didn't have to peek on her, she just stripped in front of him.

"Normally I can't sleep unless I take off all my clothes," Rias-senpai said. "So I must have been really tired."

Her bra slid off her shoulders. Issei could not see her breasts because she had turned and walked to the shower before it slid down.

She must be doing it on purpose.

Rias-senpai threw down her bra near the curtain and slid down her panties.

Her hair covered her complete back and the majority of her butt, so once again, Issei didn't see much.

Senpai pulled back the curtain and got into the shower.

He heard it turn on (no pun intended).

Issei stood there for several seconds. He hadn't seen a lot since she stood with her back to him, but just as she had gone into the shower, he had caught a glimpse of her marvelous breasts.

He walked to the books and picked up a random one.

It was written in some kind of language he could not read as he had already guessed before.

But when he looked more closely, he did recognise the symbols.

It were the same ones that were displayed on the card in his pocket.

"I should probably get to class," Issei said. He wanted to stay and get a better look at her breasts, but the truth was, he was too scared to do so.

Rias-senpai had stopped talking. She didn't seem to care what he did.

Issei walked to the door.

He stopped just in front of it. His eyes wandered away to the curtain.

It would be so easy to peek. She was standing right there, completely naked. All he had to do was…

No, bad idea. He really would get himself killed at this rate. Rias-senpai may have undressed in front of him, but she was probably just testing him. After all, she had turned her back on him at the most important moment.

She was probably just waiting for an opportunity to throw him out. To confirm what she already knew: he was a pervert.

He had gotten her number and she had specifically stated it was only to report strange events. He could not betray her trust now. He should count himself lucky she even trusted him in the first place.

And she had searched all night for an explanation. He had given her a few strange coincidences and for him, she had searched all night. She had already said it, he wasn't special at all. A normal person would have said he was paranoid and stupid for rejecting Yuuma-chan. But Rias-senpai had believed him immediately.

He should thank her properly, but he didn't know how.

Not peeking on her seemed like a good started.

Issei went outside before he could change his mind.

He let out his breath.

Maybe he should go peek on someone safer.

A plan was forming in his mind.

Was there still enough time left?

Issei looked for his comrades and explained his plan. Motohama was hesitant, but Matsuda convinced him.

The three of them sneaked into the girl's changing room.

Issei wrote 'don't use' on a note and taped it on a locker. He made a second note for the locker next to it.

Just then, they heard noises.

Issei quickly jumped into the locker and closed it. Matsuda and Motohama did the same with the other one.

He looked through the small ventilation cracks.

Apparently, their juniors had PE now. He had not checked the schedule so he didn't know that. But he started to suspect lolicon Matsuda knew exactly who had PE at this point.

The girls changed into their PE-uniform.

Issei spotted a white-haired girl with a cat-pin in her hair. Koneko-chan.

He shouldn't be watching this. Well, he shouldn't peek on girls in general, but these girls were just a little too young for his taste.

Not that he was in a position to leave now.

He looked at Koneko-chan. Her panties were white with pink stripes.

Beside him, he heard heavy breathing.

Control yourself, Matsuda. At this rate they would be exposed.

Just as he was thinking such things, Koneko-chan turned straight at him.

Did she know?

The question was answered by her fist.

Issei was just in time to dodge. A large Koneko-fist shaped dent showed in the locker now.

Seemingly without effort, she pulled out the steel door and threw it on the ground..

What the hell?

The entire class stared at him.

"Uhm. I was trying to repair this locker?"

Yeah, he should probably run now.

"It was their idea," Issei quickly pointed to the locker next to him.

He had to push a young girl aside to get out.

Behind him he heard screams ranging from 'pervert' to 'enemy of all women'.

Good that his speed has increased a bit lately. And that his two comrades were still there.

It would have been worth it if he had at least seen some breasts. Even if it were the little loli-tits of Koneko-chan.

He hid himself in the boy's bathroom. He wasn't certain if they had followed him, but better safe than sorry.

When he was certain things had cooled down, he came out.

He saw Matsuda and Motohama again in class. Both had some bruises in their face and Motohama's glasses had bent out of shape so they stood permanently skewed.

"You left us behind," Matsuda complained.

"What was I supposed to do? That freak punched through plate steel with her fist."

"Not to mention my glasses," Motohama added.

This was actually rather funny because Issei had wanted to peek on 'safer girls'. He really should have peeked on Rias-senpai instead. Then he would have seen some large breasts at least.

Their little locker-adventure was about the only eventful thing that happened the entire school day.

He did not see Rias-senpai or Koneko-chan again. Although he did have the strange feeling that someone was following him and during class he saw Kiba stealing glances at him. Clearly, Rias-senpai was keeping her word and kept an eye on him just in case.

He did not meet 'Amano Yuuma' again on his way home (he deliberately followed a different route today). Issei wasn't sure what to say to her. Maybe there was a perfectly normal explanation for her fake name and he had actually rejected a super cute girl.

When he was almost home, he saw someone coming towards him in the distance. A young girl in a nun outfit.

A strong wind blowed past. Her veil was pulled away. The girl ran after it, but she tripped over her way too long skirt and fell down.

Issei's 'damsel in distress'-mode kicked in. The wind was blowing the veil in his direction, so it was easy to grab it.

He approached the girl. "Are you okay?" He held out his free hand.

She looked very confused which made her even cuter than she already was.

Of course, he would have helped her if she wasn't a beautiful blonde haired girl with innocent green eyes. Maybe his help would have come a little slower though.

The girl had broken her fall with her hands and a sharp stone had made her right hand bleed.

Even though she could not understand his words, she understood the meaning of his hand and took it.

He helped her up.

"Thanks," she said. She spoke in English with an accent he couldn't place.

Issei discreetly wiped his hand clean on his pants. Some blood had gotten on his hand.

Why did it… burn so much?

This was the exact same feeling as last time.

He looked at his hand.

There was nothing to see, but he could feel it.

"Is there a problem?" She asked. Her English wasn't very good.

"Not at all," Issei said, his English was even worse. He handed her the veil back. "Are you Italian by any chance?" He suddenly asked.

"Uhm, yes."

He was starting to get what was going on here.

"You look like you could use some help," Issei said in perfect Italian.

"You speak Italian?" The girl's green eyes widened.

Apparently. He was certain he could not speak Italian before… before touching her hand.

There had to be a connection. He had touched the dead guy and had somehow received his knowledge and skills. Issei had concluded that much. The guy must have been good at physics. And now that he had touched the girl he had copied her knowledge about Italian somehow.

But it couldn't be simple touch. Then he would have taken much more things from many more people.

Was it the blood? It had to be. What else could it be?

"I'm so glad I came across you," the girl said. "I'm a little bit lost."

"What are you looking for?"

"Well, the church."

Oh. Yeah, that made sense.

"I'll walk you there," Issei offered.

"Thanks. I'm Asia by the way. Asia Argento."

"I'm Issei. Hyoudou Issei."

She did not reply. She only fidgeted with her skirt.

A very shy girl apparently. She was lucky she had run into him.

"You can call me Ise," he said.

"Oh," she visible relaxed. "Okay, uhm, Ise-san."

The church wasn't far from his home. After only a few minutes they reached it.

"Thanks a lot," Asia said. "I would have never found it without you."

Through the window, Issei spotted someone. Someone very familiar.

Amano Yuuma.

"Ise-san? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, I just realised I have something to do."

"You won't come in?" Asia asked.

"Sorry, I have to go now. I'm late already."

"Sorry for holding you up, Ise-san."

"It's okay. It was well worth it. See you around, Asia-chan."

"Yeah, see you around, Ise-san."

He went back home.

Rias-senpai would be very interested in this.

He took out his phone and dialed her number. He had already learned it by heart.

"I have some news. Lots of it actually."

"I'll come over to your house then."

"Uhm, okay." He did not ask how she knew where he lived.

Strangely, when he arrived home, she was already waiting for him in front of the house.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

"I was in the neighborhood," she explained.

It would have to be the very close neighborhood since the church was only a few minutes away.

"Let's go in then. I should probably warn you. My parents are… well, you know, parents."

"Embarrassing?"

"Something like that." He opened the door and took of his shoes.

"If you think your parents are embarrassing you've never met mine clearly." She followed his example.

"Are Scandinavian parents so different?"

"They aren't exactly Scandinavian," Rias-senpai said dismissively. She clearly didn't want to talk about it.

Issie did not press on. He opened the door to the living room.

"I'm home," he announced.

"Welcome…" his dad's voice trailed off when he saw Rias Gremory.

"This is a friend of mine," Issei said.

"Dear," his dad called not taking his eyes of Rias-senpai. "Issei has a girlfriend."

His mom came out of the kitchen. "Oh my."

"Like I said," Issei mumbled.

"I'm not his girlfriend," Rias-senpai clarified.

"Maybe we'll have grandkids after all," his dad said, clearly not listening.

"Come on," Issei said. They looked like they would go on like this for quite a while.

"You've got lively parents," senpai said as she followed him to the hall.

"That's putting it nicely," Issei replied. He took the stairs up.

"This is my room. Don't mind the posters."

He went inside.

Rias followed him. Obviously, her eyes went to the posters first. They all displayed the same character. A cute girl with autumn-red hair and a reasonably big chest. They were pretty modest but she guessed he had other posters he did not show visitors.

She sat down on his bed. "So, did you find anything?"

"Yes." Issei sat down on his desk chair. "Two things. I helped up a girl who had fallen down. She was bleeding a bit and when the blood touched me I could suddenly speak Italian."

"Was the girl Italian by any chance?"

"Yes. I think that I somehow took up her knowledge by touching her blood."

"Like you did with the knowledge of the dead guy."

"Exactly."

"That is interesting. Transfer of knowledge by blood. Never heard of that, but I'll look into it. What's the other thing?"

"I saw Yuuma-chan at the church."

"The church? What were you doing there?" Her voice sounded a bit accusatory.

"Well, I helped that girl get there. She was a sister."

"You should not go there," senpai warned him. "It's dangerous." If the Fallen Angels spotted him… Transfer of knowledge could be a dangerous skill if used well. He would be deemed a threat.

"I thought Yuuma-chan was just trying to observe me?" Issei said.

"That was before I knew what she was." She really should have realised sooner. Of course Yuuma-chan was a Fallen Angel. What else could she be? Especially now that they had spotted some Fallen Angels in the area.

"What is she then?" Issei asked.

"Uhm. I can't tell you, actually."

"I see."

"Issei, I uhm-"

"Could you leave?"

She blinked several times. "What?"

"I've told you everything I know. I've been completely honest and open with you. But you haven't done the same, have you?"

"I…" she had no answer to that.

"You know exactly who Yuuma-chan is, but you're not telling me. How do I even know I can trust you? For all I know you could be lying to me as well. Maybe your name is fake too."

Rias hesitated a moment. "You're right," she said eventually. "You have no reason to trust me. And I've been hiding a lot of things from you."

"I'm really sorry, but I just don't know who I can trust anymore," Issei explained.

"I understand," she smiled sadly. "I'll take my leave then."

"Senpai," his words stopped her. He had finally realised which emotion was hiding behind that sad smile.

"It's okay, Ise," she said. "I understand."

Before he could stop her she had left his room.

He ran and opened his door, but she was already gone by then.

"Damn," Issei mumbled.

Issei laid back on his bed.

Stupid.

Why was he rejecting all these hot girls?

He should have realised much sooner. From the very first second actually. The emotion within her was so obvious.

Loneliness.