"Ise-san, is there something wrong? You've been zoning out on and off for the last twenty minutes." Asia asks, pulling me away from my mental conversation with Ddraig.
"No, it's nothing." I respond automatically.
"You know, saying nothing like that just makes people more curious."
"I suppose; but believe me, this isn't something you want to know about."
"Just tell her the truth, if you do she might decide to come over to our side." Ddriag says.
"You know, for somebody who shares my brain, you really can be an idiot sometimes. As of right now, all I can do is make allegations about what the fallen are planning. What I need is concrete proof, so I need to wait until she's attacked, and then I can come in and save her. I'm in a tricky spot, because if I don't time her retrieval correctly, I'm going to be cast as a villain." I reply.
"Anyway, Asia" I say aloud, "It's almost three, do you think that we should start heading towards the church?"
Jumping to her feet, she begins to panic. "I had no idea that it was already so late; I'm sorry to bother you, Ise-san, but I need to leave."
Standing up, I toss three one-thousand yen (a total of about $25) notes on the table, "Don't worry about it. Just follow me; we'll be there in about ten minutes." I say, gesturing for her to follow me as I walk out the door.
Walking down the street, silence reigns once more. Although it's early in the afternoon, the shadows begin to lengthen, giving the entire town a rather unsettling feeling. The typical sound that's expected of an urban center has been muffled dramatically, reduced from a dull roar to a quiet hum in the background. Making our way east, we begin to leave the urban center of Kuoh, and enter a quiet residential area. Houses arranged in even rows line the streets, children play in front yards; relishing in their time away from school.
Arriving in front of the hill the church is on, I get an all too familiar prickly feeling in my spine, the presence of holy entities. Looking down at my watch, fabricate an excuse to leave her.
"Sorry Asia, I've got some things to take care of that I completely forgot about; so you go on ahead. If you'll look, the church is straight ahead, it's hard to miss." I say with a chuckle. Turning around and walking away, I hear Asia call out to me.
"Thank you for helping me find my way, Ise-san" She says.
Turning back to face her, I call back. "It's my pleasure, Asia. I'll see you around."
Waving, I walk back towards the center of town.
"I think you're forgetting about something, partner." Ddraig tells me, sounding unbelievably smug.
"And what might that be?" I ask, growing increasingly irritated at the dragon.
"You destroyed your house this morning during the fight with the exorcist. As of now, you don't have anywhere to stay for the night."
"Well," I snap back "isn't that fantastic"
"I don't appreciate sarcasm."
"Sorry, but after over twenty years, you really should learn to live with it. Anyway, I could probably call in some favors with Azazel to get it rebuilt. Besides, if I'm going to start building my peerage, I'll need a bigger house anyway."
"But what are you going to do until construction is finished?" Ddraig asks.
"Hmm. Good question. I guess I'll just ask Rias if I can stay at the school."
Turning north, I start walking. Somehow, I end up at a square in the middle of Kuoh's commercial district. Walking through, I'm approached by a girl passing out fliers.
"Please check us out!" She says, handing me a leaflet.
Looking down, I almost burst out laughing. Right in the middle of the leaflet is a summoning circle with the Gremory crest. Really, Rias? This is how you go about getting contracts?
Stuffing the handout in my pocket and walking away, I begin to snicker.
"And what has you so happy?" Asks a very familiar voice from behind me.
"Glad I ran into you, Rias, I've got a favor I need to ask you." I say, turning around and reaching into my pocket.
"You didn't answer my question, Issei."
Pulling out the leaflet, I hold it up where she can get a clear view.
"I was just surprised by how forwards you were. It's not every day that contracts are offered through handouts."
She blushes furiously as she snatches the paper out of my hand.
"It still works." She mumbles so low I can barely hear her.
"I don't doubt that." I quip back, deciding to have a little bit of fun before the business talks start. "After all, who wouldn't believe what they read on a random strip of paper?"
"Now you're just being mean!"
"It's my job. So… about that favor?"
"What do you need?" She asks.
"Remember when that exorcist attacked my house this morning?"
"How could I forget?"
"Fair point. Anyway, I went a little overboard and kind of…" I pause in embarassment
"Kind of what?" She asks, growing both curious and agitated.
"I destroyed my house." I say quickly.
She just stares at me for about thirty seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
"It's not funny!" I yell.
"Yes, it is." Ddraig says aloud.
"You stay out of this!" I shout, getting more flustered by the second.
"Just forget it, Issei. What do you need?" Rias asks, attempting to put the conversation back on track.
"I was wondering if I could stay in the clubroom until my new place gets built."
"No." She replies, not even taking time to think on it.
"Well, then I guess I'll need to find a hotel then." I don't even make an attempt to hide the anger in my voice.
"Let me finish. I won't let you stay in the clubroom because you're staying with me." She says, obviously growing irritated.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I ask, getting extremely nervous about nights to come.
"Relax, I won't pull anything." She says.
"Good."
"Without your consent." She mumbles.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Anyway, I don't like to be indebted to anybody, so how can I pay you back?"
"Koneko went to respond to a summoning about half an hour ago, but something about it doesn't sit well with me. If you really want to pay me back; could you drop in to make sure that everything's okay?"
"Won't be a problem."
Standing outside of the clients house, I can tell immediately that something's wrong. My first hint is that there was a barrier constructed around the house; and I can't imagine Koneko having the power needed to perform such magic. My second, and most important, hint is the unmistakable energy signature of holy weaponry.
Bursting into the house, I see Koneko unconscious on the ground in front of my least favorite exorcist; Freed Selzen.
"You're still alive?" I snarl, stepping in front of Koneko and preparing to fight.
"It'll take a lot more than what some shitty devil like you can do to kill me!" He cackles, drawing his sword and aiming his pistol.
"Boost!" The gauntlet that is the boosted gear forms on my arm.
"Listen, Freed, I'm not here for a fight. Don't get me wrong, I'll gladly kick your sorry ass from here to the moon; but I'm really not in the mood right now. So, how about this; you give me the girl, I let you live, and we both walk away completely unscathed."
"Sorry! I have a policy of not making deals with shitty devils." He begins to cackle as he adjusts his aim, the barrel of his gun pointing directly at Koneko's forehead.
"Man, Ddraig, what is it with these exorcists? You try to be civil; you try to be a nice guy; but no. They just have to step in and ruin the party." I say.
Leaping forwards, I slam my fist into the exorcists face, feeling the satisfying crunch of shattering bones. Blood spurts out of his nose and mouth, dying the both of us scarlet.
"You know, I've been told that red is a really brings out my eyes." I grunt as I drive an elbow under his ribs.
"Senpai?" I hear a voice from behind me say. Turning around, I see that Koneko has gotten back on her feet, and is glaring daggers at Freed.
Jumping back to her side, I start to talk while the exorcist recovers.
"Koneko-chan, I'll take care of this guy. You just keep an eye out for any fallen angels, okay?"
She steps in front of my and takes a combative stance.
"No, Senpai. This is my fight."
AN: I'm sorry for taking a while; apparently I'm not as fully recovered as I thought I was. Anyway, it's probably going to be about a week until the next chapter's up, I've got some family stuff to take care of. Anyway, any feedback you've got is enormously appreciated, and I'll be happy to consider any ideas that you bring to the table.
So with that, I bit you all adieu.
