Chapter Nine: Rendezvous

Gasper

"...medical insurers rioting, hospital staff converting to a dozen different faiths, a sinkhole forming in the warehouse district and, as if that wasn't enough, it's been a week and I still have Fallen Angels traipsing all over my school grounds trying to deal with a self-contained, supernatural ecosystem that would probably be declared a protected site in an instant if any of our botanists happened to catch wind of it."

Sona let her stack of papers fall backwards onto her desk with a thump and leaned forward on them, meeting my scarlet gaze with her own violet behind the flash of her lenses. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Vladi?"

"Ahhhhh. Goooood times."

…

I tried to be professional. Really, I did. But evoking that eye-twitch from Sona was such a treat; asking me to resist would be like asking Koneko to give up sweets.

Never gonna happen.

I'd been called up to Sona's base of operations in the Student Council room the better part of an hour previously to touch base about the state of things now that everyone was more or less recovered. It hadn't changed much, if at all, since the last time I came in; same undecorated wooden walls and floor, same regulation desks arranged in a circle with Sona's desk at the centre, same filing cabinets lining the walls...and the chairs were just as uncomfortable as ever.

With such a dearth of things to occupy my attention, it was really no surprise that I was forced to entertain myself.

Dressed as always in the Kuoh Academy uniform, with her black hair kept short enough to never pass the back of her neck, Sona's glare ratched up to a whole new level as her hands clasped tight in front of her.

I allowed the small smirk to fade from my face as I shifted in my chair. "In all seriousness, the way we hit Valper's base was a bit excessive, but Rias agreed with Asia-san's plan; it was the best way to make sure that scumbag didn't get away." I adjusted my sunglasses with a sigh. "As for the trees? I honestly didn't know what to expect when she told me she could use Senjutsu, but that? That was beyond the pale."

I tilted my ever-present shades down to look Sona directly in the eye, leaning forwards and placing my own hands on the table. "And for all its power, it was quite nearly not enough." I let out a shudder. "You may not have been directly on the battlefield, but you were close enough that you should've been able to feel something of his power. We fought and killed a Cadre, Sona. We're lucky the city survived."

Sona met my gaze for a few moments, then took off her glasses and rubbed at her eyes. "I know, Gasper. I know. It's just…" She looked out the window, out over what appeared to be the perfectly intact Kuoh Academy grounds. None of the students who walked on them could tell, but what we occupied was no more than a stop-gap measure; a pocket dimension, formed and then anchored to the space over the real Kuoh Academy's forested remains while the Grigori tried to reclaim them.

"...Does it feel real to you?" she asked, finally. "How close we came to dying—to ceasing to exist, along with this city and all its people…"

My hand drifted unconsciously to my neck. "At times," I said quietly, "I begin to forget. But then I wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air, because I feel his hand around my neck, squeezing and—" I cut myself off, turned away, and took a deep, shaky breath. "I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling, Sona. And I think it'll be a while yet before I can sleep the night through. But in the end, we survived. And that means something, I think."

"Maybe it does," Sona agreed. "But the simple fact is...I don't think I've accepted it yet." She turned back to looking at me. "From outside the barrier...I could only feel so much of what was going on. I could feel the impacts, I could feel the power...but I couldn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything. I was just...waiting." She fiddled with her papers, making sure they were properly squared in front of her. "The first thing I would have known about that fight being lost would have been dying. I never saw Kokabiel, not even after he was dead."

"I'd say you should count yourself lucky, but…" I cracked a knuckle. "I know that waiting, not knowing anything about what's going on, not knowing if your friends are alive or dead...that's every bit as hard as fighting a Cadre. It's a less physical kind of pain, to be sure, but it's awful nonetheless."

"...I suppose," Sona said, noncommittally. She shook herself, pushing her glasses up her nose and gaining a brisk edge to her voice. "Now, back to the purpose of this meeting."

I arched an eyebrow. "If this is about the hospitals, I'm not apologizing. And Asia-san isn't going to either."

"I'm not heartless enough to argue over the good that Asia-san accomplished during her brief stint in Kuoh," Sona denied. "However, the sudden release of so many patients has had a...well, 'deleterious' is putting it lightly, but Kuoh's local governance is reeling. Specialists from the Underworld have contained the spread of information and are taking care of the memories of those involved, but the simple fact is that there were a significant number of people in those hospitals who we know next to nothing about, and the possibility exists that someone will slip through the cracks."

Sona grimaced. "This...incident…has shown that, despite our positions as the Overseers for Kuoh, Rias and I have no plans in place for a situation of this magnitude, and quite possibly lack both the manpower and the sheer ability to deal with another one under our own power."

I pulled off my shades and scrubbed my face with the palm of my hand. "It's times like this I wish we could just dispense with the masquerade." I sighed wearily. "If only people weren't so prone to mob mentality and fearmongering…"

I shook my head. "But that's nothing but wishful thinking. I understand where you're coming from, really I do. If it helps, I'm more than willing to take a more active role in information gathering." I flexed my fingers. "Even though I burned through all that power, I feel...more, than I was before. I think I can put that to use, with a bit of practice."

"Well, you're not a part of my Peerage, so it's not my place to ask," she replied. "Still, I'll talk with Rias. I've already started to consider various measures that could be taken to prevent something like this from happening again, or at least to prevent it being quite such a surprise; your abilities in particular should be invaluable to establishing a more comprehensive understanding of what occurs in our territory."

I nodded, then opened my mouth to speak before snapping it shut. My cellphone had gone off, the lyrics of a newly-added ringtone blaring through the room.

"~Made in heaven, Made in heaven, It's for all—"

I had my phone out and had answered the call before the third bar could even play, mouthing 'Asia' to Sona by way of explanation.

"Fish market, Shark speaking, how can I help you?"

"You can get some new material for a start. That one was just weird."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, the moment I said it I thought better of it. Bah! I'm more sleep deprived than usual; sue me." I cleared my throat, then continued, "Anyways, how've you been? Kiba told me he ran into you and Xenovia on his sabbatical in Europe, but other than that I haven't heard any news about you at all."

"Yeah, that makes sense. We've kinda been off the grid the last few days."

"Ninja nuns?" I asked with a slight smile on my face.

"Not yet," Donne replied, placing a great deal of emphasis on the second word. Someone snorted in the background. "But we decided to take the scenic route coming back from the Vatican. The Adriatic Sea's pretty nice this time of year; wish I could say the same about Kazakhstan." Donne coughed. "I think I've still got some of it stuck in my clothes somewhere."

"Sounds like you've had quite the adventure. Perhaps even an adventure of the bizarre variety. Wake up any Ancient Mongolian Gods of Fitness?"

"Sadly not," Donne sighed. "Three Djinn, some Óriások, a dozen Stray Devils, an Afrit, some kind of Salt Elemental when we were crossing the Black Sea, a small mountain and a whole mess of spirits I didn't recognise while we were in China, but the closest we came to a proper Bizarre encounter was the ghost that chased us out of Mongolia." There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Huh. Xenovia thinks it might have been Genghis Khan; waddya know."

Resisting the urge to make a Star Trek reference, I gave a chuckle. "Well, that is quite the series of events. A Salt Elemental, you say. I hadn't realized that Tumblr had gotten so powerful."

Laughter came pouring down the line, lasting a good few seconds before it trailed off. "Never underestimate Tumblr, my friend. Never." Donne coughed. "Anyway, we got a bit sidetracked – I was calling to say that Xenovia and I will probably be back in Kuoh in...three, four hours?" There was a muffled conversation. "Xenovia's got the map and she says four hours, but I think we can make it in three."

A grin split my face. "I look forward to it! I'm just sitting here with Sona Sitri, discussing all the extra work your Panacea impression has caused her."

Sona glared at me overtop her glasses; clearly, she wasn't too pleased at the way I'd phrased that.

"...Oh," Donne replied succinctly. "Umm...Xenovia, if we do another lap of the Sea of Japan do you think we could maybe tack another day onto that ETA?"

"No, no," I denied. "It's not as bad as all that. I'm sure she just wants to set something so that, when you do this sort of thing again, it doesn't cause mass conversions and rioting insurance companies."

"...That does sound remarkably sensible," Donne agreed. "Alright then. We'll probably want an hour or so to wash all this salt off and get changed when we get back, but we'll drop in after that." There was a rattling sigh. "It's a good thing I wear my hair short; it's bad enough washing it out after a run at just this length…"

A happy, probably goofy grin still on my face, I replied, "I'll be sure to let Rias and Sona know; I'm sure we can set up a meeting for later today, or tomorrow if you prefer. No need to press yourself on our account."

"Bah!" Donne declared, "I haven't pressed myself at all the past few days; I could do with something like a workout." Her voice moved away a bit, quieting and leaving the sound of rushing wind. "Oi, Xenovia! Bet I can reach Kyoto before you do!"

Something incomprehensible was said in reply, but Donne's voice quickly returned to its prior volume. "Right, that's done it. See you in a couple of hours – and if you hear anything about sonic booms in the Sea of Japan, we never had this conversation."

I snorted. "Roger that. If the Queen of Shadow Kyoto comes after your ass, I don't know a thing."

"Heh. Thanks, J...Gasper. I'll see you in a few."

"Sprint safely, my friend."

The call ended with a click.

Asia

I took my phone away from my ear, tucking it back into one of my coat's inside pockets. It was more difficult than usual, with the way my coat whipped back and forth in the wind of my run, but a faint glimmer of Touki helped keep my clothing somewhat stable while also keeping the salt spray out of my face. Though, unfortunately, not my hair.

"You didn't mention Romania."

I glanced sideways at Xenovia, who—lacking Touki of her own, though I thought she would reach that level before too long—had cobbled together her own salt deterrent in the form of goggles and a face-mask she'd grabbed on our way through China. She was wearing a purple windbreaker and dark green waterproof trousers, much like the ones I was wearing beneath my coat; they might not have been the best looking apparel ever, but they they were hardy and they did their job well."Well, he doesn't need to know about that yet, does he?"

Xenovia raised an eyebrow at me, looking pointedly at the rather large bag I was carrying on my back.

I turned back to face forwards, feeling my cheeks burn. "I know, I know...but I don't really want to mention this over the phone." 'And I'm also really not looking forward to having this conversation.'

We ran in silence for a few moments (well, as silent as hundred-plus-mile-per-hour movement could ever be, with wind and footfalls and flapping cloth), before Xenovia bumped shoulders with me very carefully. At this running speed, the last thing we needed was to miss a step and trip over a wave. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, you know."

"I'm not embarrassed!" I declared immediately, turning back to her.

"Good," Xenovia replied. "Because you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You don't hold all the blame, and there was no fault in your actions."

I felt a smile twitch at the corners of my lips, a small weight lifting from my chest as I opened my mouth to reply.

Then Xenovia's expression shifted, and what I could see of her face suggested she was smirking. "Plus, I always like seeing you in action. You're hot when you're angry."

I tripped over a wave.

-x-x-x-

"Asia, I really am sorry!"

"No. No, you really are not."

I shifted my grip a bit to keep ahold of Xenovia as she tried to twist out of my grip, stalking back towards the shoreline. We'd been at least twenty miles inland before I caught up to her after my abrupt but intimate acquaintance with the Sea of Japan's depths, only ingrained reflex letting me throw my bag to the sky and reach the surface quickly enough to catch it again, but I was nothing if not bullheaded when I set my mind to something.

"You were barely even wet!" she argued, attempting to muscle her way out of my grasp once more as I stepped out onto the sand. I had her bent backwards across my shoulders, my arms raised and hooked forward to keep her legs and arms extended and stop her doing much more than flopping around; a bit awkward, with the bag I was wearing, but I let out the straps a little and dealt with it.

Xenovia was a hell of a lot stronger than any 'unaware' human, including the current world-record holders and professional athletes—she should be, I'd done a lot of her actual bodily training myself. The thing was though, she was a swordswoman, first and foremost—she relied on her weapon in combat, and thus spent more time training her skills than just her body.

I, on the other hand, relied on my body in combat—and through the powers of Twilight Healing, I could push myself to heights that other people just couldn't reach in my kind of timeframe.

Xenovia was superhumanly strong. But I was bullshit strong.

"It's the principle of the matter," I declared, stopping just at the edge of the surf. "I thought you were all about principle, miss I-will-act-in-the-manner-befitting-an-agent-of-the-Vatican?"

I rolled my shoulders and adjusted my grip, resulting in Xenovia finding herself dangling from just below her knees, upside-down in front of me. I would have gone for the ankles, but unfortunately that would have left her with her head buried in the sand.

Goddamn genes. I could be strong enough to tear steel with my bare hands but I could barely even break five feet.

Xenovia folded her arms and looked at me imperiously as best she could in her position. "Principle precludes such precocious prepubescent practices."

I blinked. "Wait, did you come up with that just now or—"

Xenovia took my moment of distraction try and take my feet out from under me by reaching forward, grabbing my ankles and yanking them towards her. Unfortunately for her, we live in a universe where 'strength' can substitute for mass in the good ol' inertia equation, and thus all she really did was jostle me a bit.

"Right then!" I announced, dislodging her grip by the simple expedient of lifting her higher. "If you're gonna get handsy…"

I swung Xenovia out to the side, then set myself, twisted my upper body, and untwisted all at once with an added spin of my lower body to put the full force of my movements behind her. "Then sling your hook!"

Half a minute later, when Xenovia dragged her sopping-wet way out of the surf and glared up at me, her first words were "A fishing pun?"

"I held myself back the entire time we were crossing the Sea of Japan," I pointed out, offering her a hand up. "There's no need to be salty."

I didn't resist when she pulled me down into the sand and water with her—I just gently tossed my bag onto the shore before I landed, and joined in with her laughter.

-x-x-x-x-x-

I wasn't really expecting anything out of the ordinary when Xenovia and I went to leave the church and get the lay of the land after getting ourselves cleaned up. So, needless to say, the sight of Johan sitting cross-legged opposite Mariko, a deck of cards between them, wasn't what we were expecting to find in the open area between the front of the church and the treeline.

"You have any sevens?" Johan asked, his coat trailing somewhat on the ground as he sat in the same Gilgamesh-rip-off outfit he'd been wearing the first time I saw him in this life.

"Go Fish," his pint-sized opponent replied solemnly, her plain pink t-shirt coupled with her brown shorts and boots making me wonder if Johan had been showing her some western TV.

With a good-natured grumble, Johan reached for the top card, then turned his head towards us. "Well, it took you long enough! Mariko-chan is a regular Queen of Games over here; any longer and what little remained of my pride would be gone!"

Mariko looked up from her cards, turning towards Xenovia and I, and a few moments later a high-impact ballistic child slammed into my midsection. It said a lot about what I'd been up to for the last few years that I had to consciously relax my abs to make sure she didn't hurt herself when she ran into them.

Mariko wrapped her arms around me with a cry of "Asia-nee! You're back!", leaving me to do the same in return and smile.

"Yes, we're back Mariko-chan. How have you been?"

Her brow furrowed. "It's been crazy. A bunch of sick people got better all at once," she looked at me for a moment, "and then there's that huge hole that appeared! The grown-ups are really upset."

"Is that so?" I asked, struggling to keep a level voice and a straight face as, beside me, Xenovia smirked.

It was a bad habit of hers. I think she learned it from me.

"Well, I hope that at least your good-for-nothing brother's been paying you all the attention you deserve?" I asked.

"Oi. I'd like to think that I'm good for at least a laugh or two," Johan shot back, dusting himself off as he got to his feet.

"Then maybe I should just call you chuckles?" I wondered aloud.

"Eh, I'll take it. It's better than 'leech', 'freak', or 'abomination', that's for sure."

Suddenly, though I knew that it was just in my mind, my coat felt a significant bit lighter. "Yeah. I suppose it is." I smiled, though it probably looked a touch wan. "Hey, Gasper. How are you doing?"

The blond smiled, rubbing the back of his neck absently. "A bit sore, but otherwise fine. That girl Kiba brought back with him from his trip...I guess having someone from his past to protect has given him quite a bit of motivation."

I couldn't keep down the smile that pulled up the corners of my lips. "So, he managed to get her out of there already then...I'm glad to hear it."

Gasper gave a smile. "Yeah. Of course, Giardiniere-san isn't content to sit around either; since her power is similar in some ways to Forbidden Balor View, I've been working with her as well." Gasper shrugged. "It's slow going so far, but what she lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in determination. Between the two of them, I can't help but get a fire burning in my heart to improve my own magic—not that I really needed any extra motivation."

"True." I nodded. "You have always been quite the dumpster fire."

Gasper let out a cackle. "Ah, but trash is the best kindling, for it is unwanted and plentiful!" After his cackling subsided, Gasper looked back at me with a twinkle in his eye. "But seriously. It's good to have you back, sibling of my heart."

My expression twisted, though it was mostly in suppressed laughter. "Well someone's taken a turn for the chuuni. How much anime did you watch while we were gone?"

Gasper's face became dead serious, a far-away look in his eye. "Not enough, my friend. It's never enough."

I raised an eyebrow, and opened my mouth. Then I paused, closed it, covered Mariko's ears, and opened it again. "Boku no—"

My hair and coat streamed out behind me to their maximum extension as the air in front of me was violently shunted out of the way of a looming shape, its edges fuzzy with un-light save for the crimson lanterns set in its head.

The lips were curled back and upward, showing every sharpened tooth and not so much curving into a smile as plunging, like a knife wound carved into the flesh. Both eyes were open to the point of bulging, but rather than becoming prominent they were sinking backwards into the face, becoming shadowed pits whose pupils glowed with the very fires of hell. The arms hung limp by the sides, the palms upturned and the fingers curled inward like claws.

"The next words out of your mouth had better be 'Hero Academia'," the hellish vision of primordial fury in front of me declared in a voice like a python who'd been eating cigarettes for the last five years, "or so help me I will take all of your Pratchett books and hide them in unreasonable places."

Xenovia had stiffened behind me, and Mariko was blinking up at me as my hands gently kept her facing toward me as I quirked an eyebrow. "Well of course. After all, a Hero always has good taste. They never watch certain other shows—only villains do that."

Like the flipping of a light switch, Johan's face switched back to a calm smile, his body once more re-affirming its solidity as he resumed his usual height. "Well that's fine then," he declared. "But I think we've digressed a bit from the topic at hand. How have you two lovebirds been?"

I felt the burning in my cheeks rise at the same time as the customary denial...but right about the time I would normally have said it, before I'd even swallowed it as I tried to put together the least awkward confession I could manage, a pair of arms draped themselves over my shoulders and pulled me just far enough backwards that I ended up leaning most of my weight against a solid—and yet, in some places, quite soft indeed—surface. "We've been just fine, Vladi-san. It's been nice to have my Asia to myself for a few days."

I fought off the urge to wriggle in place as I felt Xenovia's fingers curl gently into the gap between my t-shirt, a black number with the caption WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE and a picture of my face, and the belt of my cargo trousers. She knew very well what she was doing, and I resigned myself to paying her back later as I tried not to be too distracted by the green-covered protrusions on either side of my head, framed by a black leather jacket.

If my face and ears had felt any hotter, I would have wondered when Riser Phenex had arrived and why he was trying to set me on fire.

Johan, on the other hand, let out a noise like an overheating kettle (which I belatedly realized was an actual 'squee'), and grinned widely. "I knew it!" he said jovially, almost clapping his hands in glee.

After a few moments more of that embarrassing display, he calmed down slightly, coughing into a fist as his cheeks reddened. "Ahem. That is, congratulations. I'm sure you'll be very happy together, if I know anything about D-Asia's kindness, and I'm fairly confident that I do."

For a few moments more, Xenovia didn't move. Then, the pressure she was putting on my shoulders lightened somewhat and she gave a momentary hum. "We will, Vladi-san. Thank you."

"I told you, Asia-nee."

I looked down at the little girl still held loosely in my arms, and I couldn't help the grin that split my face despite my rampant blush. "Yes. Yes, you did, Mariko-chan."

"Sooooo…" Johan trailed off, tapping his fingers on the side of his leg. "Are you settled in, or should we come back later, when the others are out of school? Give you a proper welcome?"

I looked over my shoulder at Xenovia, who passed the buck right back to me without saying a word or moving her hands. We'd spent most of the past forty-five minutes since reaching the church either preparing for a bath, having a bath or getting out of the bath, with some of that time allotted to let me run my cleaning spell over our clothes. We could use a little while to make sure things were in order. "How about you come get us when the others are free? I think any kind of full meeting is probably going to get off-track, so if you could bring Irina so she can walk with us that'd be good."

Johan's brow crinkled. "There's just one problem with that. I can't come into that Church and neither can Irina, anymore; you've got some top-notch wards on there. Hell, Mariko and I were stuck out here playing card games on grass for the last hour."

I raised an eyebrow. "You...do know that Mariko can get past the wards? I keyed her into them when she was staying there during the Kokabiel thing, and it's not like I took her off them afterwards."

Johan stood there for a moment, then let out a sigh. "No. No, I did not know that." He smiled at Mariko, who'd looked down guiltily. "Don't worry, Mariko-chan. It's not like you're used to knowing about this stuff…"

Mariko shuffled a bit. "Um...actually, Gasper-nii, I...kind of wanted to play with you for a while...so…"

Someone less observant than I would've missed the minute way one of Johan's eyebrows twitched for a moment. He walked slowly over to us, then gently laid a hand on Mariko's head and ruffled her hair. "You could've just asked; I always have time for you, Mari."

I had to admit—the two of them together were a heartwarming scene. I wish I hadn't ruined it with my choking when I heard Xenovia's whispered reaction to the scene, which I probably wasn't meant to hear.

"I want one…"

Probably.

Gasper

After Mariko and I finished being a sappy Lifetime movie expy, we departed from the church. I shot a few texts to the various other members of the Peerage before we stopped at Issei's house, where I had the sneaking suspicion I'd find at least Irina. Or, if not her alone, her, Rias and Akeno.

It was no surprise at all to find that I was correct. Sachiko Hyoudou, wearing a plain dress and apron with a simple white head-scarf around her hair, had been the one to answer the door, and as she showed me in, she mentioned that Irina was visiting her son.

I had Mariko stay with Mrs. Hyoudou, who was happy enough to take some time away from her cleaning to entertain my daughter, while I braved the unknown horrors of the burgeoning Breast Dragon Emperor's bedroom. I didn't hate the boy, not in the least. But I had a feeling that there would be things in his room not meant for young eyes.

Or any decent eyes, for that matter. Thankfully, I'd long since ceased being qualified for that descriptor.

All the same, I felt an unusual sense of trepidation as I raised my hand to knock. After rapping sharply on the door, I called, "Oi, Ise-chi. You two decent in there, or should I come back later?"

There was a faint rustling from beyond the portal to eternal damnation, and then a voice called out, "More than you, Gasper-san."

I snorted. "Touché, Irina-san." Taking her snark as acquiescence, I gently opened the door.

Issei's bedroom was more or less as expected. Like with most Japanese teens, it featured little more in the way of furniture than a bed, a desk with a computer on it, and some bookshelves. Of course, most of those bookshelves were covered in erotica; written, drawn or on discs. There was some more normal manga and light novels interspersed with the porn, but it was rather lost what with the borderline-hentai posters on the walls and the very questionable alarm clock beside the bed.

Compared to the room itself, its occupants were frankly tame; Irina and Issei were sitting on his bed side-by-side, a single open textbook between them resting on one of their thighs apiece. If it weren't for the mild irritation on Irina's face and the slight flush to Issei's, I might've been fooled into thinking Irina was just here to help him study.

But anyone who'd been around Donne for any extended period would surely have some of his craftiness rub off on them, and I could certainly see the spark of keikaku in Irina's eyes. Plus, her choice of dress—a well-fitted pink t-shirt and a white skirt, with a thin yellow jacket lying beside her on the bed—told its own story.

Issei himself looked like he'd been caught more or less completely off guard by her presence, going by his rumpled-looking shirt (bearing a name that I vaguely remembered from some of the more questionable message boards I perused in my spare time) and cotton trousers.

"I hate to break up your study date," I began, relishing the way Issei's face became even pinker at my choice of words, "but I thought you might like to know that Asia and Xenovia-san are back, Irina-san. I figured you and I could walk them back, give you some time to catch up."

For a moment, I thought I could see the way a well-oiled machine clicked and whirred behind Irina's eyes. Then she blinked and smiled. "Thank you, Gasper-san, that's very kind of you." Then she bit her lip, turning to look at Issei a bit questioningly. "Ise, will you be alright if I…?"

"Sure, Irina-chan," he replied, nodding with a smile. "You already helped me out a lot today, so it's no problem."

"Thanks, Ise," Irina beamed, squeezing his shoulder before she stood up, gathering her jacket as she went. "And I told you to just call me Irina, you know? We've been friends for long enough."

Issei turned a slightly darker shade of red, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah…"

Irina giggled, favouring him with another fond smile, then waved a bit at him as she headed out the door. "I'll see you again soon, Ise!"

"Right," he replied, seeming to breathe a bit easier. "See you soon, Irina-chan."

I bit back a chuckle as the door closed behind us. Issei bulli was one of my favorite things...after eating at Café D'if and being a shitlord in general, of course.

After I collected Mariko from where she was being doted upon by Issei's parents, the three of us left the Hyoudou household, my daughter's hand in my own as she happily swung her arm back and forth. Once we were a fair distance from the house, I spoke up conversationally. "So, how is Operation: How to Train Your Dragon going?"

Irina seemed to stumble over nothing for a moment, her twintails whipping back and forth, while Mariko just looked at me with wide eyes. Clearing her throat, Irina gave me a look which came in a couple of notches below a glare. "I thought 'training' Ise was your job, Gasper-san?" she shot back. "Though if you're handing it over, I'll happily accept—I think you must have found your definition of 'training' in Akeno-san's dictionary."

I chuckled. "To your first point, I may have responsibility for training his body, but the training of the heart is something I have no experience in. I think you're a better choice for helping him along on that front."

I waved a hand airly before continuing, "As for your second point, a wise man once told me the following words: 'when it comes to exercise, if you don't feel like you're dying, you aren't yet trying'. I'm just applying that to combat practice."

My expression sobered. "Better he take his lumps now, in a controlled environment, than taking them later against an opponent who doesn't have his well-being in mind."

There were several moments of near silence as we reached the end of the road where the Hyoudou family lived and turned towards the outskirts of the town, rows of houses passing us by on either side. Mariko's quiet humming was the only thing that really stood out in the quiet Spring afternoon, the cheery theme song for one of her favourite shows quite at odds with the atmosphere that followed us. Realizing that I'd probably brought the mood crashing down like DIO with his roadroller, I smirked. "The fact that I'm a sadist is simply icing on the cake."

Irina grimaced slightly, facing forwards once again. "I'm no stranger to the idea of hard training, Gasper-san. I spent six years with Asia, after all." She crossed her arms, drumming her fingers on her biceps. "Still, if I could have the chance to be part of that, I would be happy to take it."

I spread my hands. "By all means, join in. I'm sure that his motivation would rise even further with your eyes on him, and I don't doubt that you've got plenty to teach both him and me, with all your experience." I offered a half shrug. "Hell, it might give you some new ideas yourself; Maō knows I've seen the evidence firsthand that teaching someone else is as good for the teacher's growth as it is the student's."

Irina smiled, and there was an honest light in her eyes quite unlike the cold analysis I'd seen from her so often. "Thank you, Gasper-san. I'll be sure to do my best for Ise."

I chuckled. "I'm sure you will."

At that, Mariko interjected, her voice sounding like she'd received a revelation from on high. "Ohhh! Irina-san like-likes Issei-san!"

"Yyyyyup," I replied, my voice tinged with amusement. Truly, my daughter was a precious, precocious girl, and I adored that.

Irina turned a light shade of red, her eyes darting around the street as if searching the homes and occasional cherry trees for an escape, then gathered herself and straightened to her full height, arms still crossed. "And?"

Mariko smiled radiantly. "You can do it, Irina-san! Just believe in the Asia that believes in you!"

I snorted loudly. "D-did you just quote Gurren Lagann, Mariko?"

Mariko blushed. "S-so what?!" she squeaked, pouting and folding her arms. "Girls can like mecha too!"

I raised a hand in a gesture of surrender. "Of course, of course! I just didn't know you'd seen it yet."

Mariko seemed to calm down at my words, smiling happily and taking my hand once more, so I turned to regard Irina, who was still waiting for my response, though her stern pose was rather ruined by the way her lips were twitching as she suppressed a smile.

"Well, I can hardly match a Kamina quote when it comes to motivational speaking," I admitted, "but as I've said, I do think that you'd be good for him. There's just a certain...something about the idea of you and him that seems right." I coughed into my fist. "And of course, as a filthy shipper, I have a soft spot for the reunion of long-lost childhood friends, however cliché it may seem."

Irina regarded me for another long moment, then uncrossed her arms and sighed as she shook her head. "You and Asia really are scarily alike…" She looked up again, then added in a dry tone, "Though of course, you have a certain something all your own."

I deliberately let one fang poke out of my lip as I smiled smugly. "I choose to take both of those things as compliments."

Irina shook her head one more time, then turned away with a smile as we continued our walk to the church.

-x-x-x-x-x-

A while later, we'd collected Donne and Xenovia from the church and returned to the school. During the trip back, I'd been pretty quiet, giving Irina time to catch up with her friends.

It was...nice to see their bond remained strong, unlike in the original timeline.

Shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I opened the door to the club room. Within, the rest of the Peerage waited in their uniforms, along with Kiba's friend, Tosca Giardiniere. Her educational situation hadn't been completely sorted out yet, so she instead of the Kuh girl's unfiorm she was wearing a sky-blue blouse and jeans as she sat close enough to Kiba that a sheet of paper would have to hold its breath to fit between them.

Rias looked up as the four of us filed into the room. "Welcome back, Argento-san, Quarta-san. I trust your trip was, if not uneventful, at least enjoyable?"

Donne and Xenovia looked at one another, then back to the rest of the room. Donne sighed, slinging the large bag she was carrying off her back. "Oh Gremory-san, do we have a story for you. But, before that...special delivery, Gasper-san."

She tossed the bag to me, and now that I got a proper look at it I could see it was a heavy-duty, waterproof gray duffle with shoulder straps that was almost as tall as Donne. My curiosity piqued, and a vague inkling of what might be inside tickling the back of my mind, I unzipped the bag, a couple of shadow tendrils arcing up from beneath my feet to stabilise it.

What I saw was a pair of booted feet, with the legs they were connected to leading further down the bag.

Inanely, my mind jumped to the most bizarre conclusion possible. 'Bruno Bucciarati?!'

Nonplussed, I glanced between Donne and the feet. "What," I offered in a complete deadpan.

Donne frowned. "Okay, that's not quite what I was expecting…" She walked around the bag so she could see what I was seeing, then immediately cursed, grabbed the bag and turned it the other way up. "Crap, I'm so sorry! Christ, I've been carrying you like that since Mongolia, why didn't you say anything?!"

"...Sleepy…" a muffled voice said from the unopened end of the bag.

A muffled, but very familiar voice.

"...Valerie?!"