Inside of the student council office, Murayama took her phone out, deciding to give it one more shot.
Katase's sobs had died down for the moment, giving her the personal space to reach into her bag and try calling Issei again.
The screen lit up, and she clicked on the call icon, immediately seeing his number as the last one dialed….as well as the previous 8 calls.
She felt the unease rise up again as she pressed the call button, expecting it to go directly to voicemail.
Once she heard it ringing, meaning that it was actually connecting, a surge of emotion came through her. It must have shown on her face, based on the curious gazes from Momo and Reya.
Sadness, worry, hope, anger. The emotions pulsed through her too quickly to properly tell which one was being felt at any particular time.
As she heard the tell tale click of someone answering the phone, the more prominent feeling was anger.
How dare he keep them worried about him for hours on end!
hello?
She heard Issei say weakly from the other end, and she just about exploded in rage.
Murayama stood up from her seat, arm flinging out in rage as she yelled at the boy who had the nerve to make her worry so much.
"Ise! Where the hell have you been? We've been trying to get a hold of you for hours!"
As soon as Murayama stood up, Katase cast her tear stricken gaze to her brunette friend. And her eyes nearly bulged out of her head once she heard her romantic interests name.
I was out with Matsuda and Motohama, and forgot to turn my phone on. Did something happen?
And now the situation made a little bit more sense to Murayama. Anytime that Ise had hung out with his two perv-buddies, it was like they were off in their own little world of debauchery.
A lot of people criticize the new generation for their dependence on cell phones, but those three would basically ignore the things when they were together. Well, that, and Ise could be quite an air head when his mind is focused on something.
" *Sigh* Well that explains the phone at least. The vice president said something about your 'link' being cut off. We got worried when we couldn't find or get in contact with you."
Murayama pinched the bridge of her nose, while the others simply stared at her. The devils in the room could hear what Ise was saying thanks to their enhanced senses. Since Katase couldn't, she was the only one left not knowing the entirety of what was being said. She got the message that Ise was fine, stiffly stood up, wiped the tear stains from her face and marched out the door.
Hmm, so that's what feels different…. I appreciate you all being worried for me, but could you please not freak out my mom like that. She hasn't let go of me since I walked in the door.
That was an image that made Murayama chuckle. She'd seen what a worried Mrs. Hyoudou was like once before.
After the chairwoman incident, her and Katase had been more aggressive in their daily training. When Issei walked in sporting a few nasty bruises, his mother had dropped dishes she was carrying and sprinted over to him, and tried to smother him to death.
At the time, Issei had been shocked still. Apparently that was the first time in years she had offered him anything other than admonishments for his ungentlemanly behavior, or short and neutral conversation.
Her and Katase watched from the doorway with a strange curiosity as Issei started to show tears on the corners of his eyes. When he slowly reached his arms around his mother and tightened, the two started to see the larger picture of who Issei Hyoudou was.
"Right, sorry about that. We just thought maybe she knew where you were. And just a heads up, we're coming over, Yui already stormed out….So I hope your ready."
Murayama looked up to see Momo and Reya both looking towards Sona, a silent conversation seemingly being held.
When Sona met the gaze of her bishops, she knew what they wanted, to go see Issei. She wanted to see him as well, and find out what was causing her to lose the connection through the evil pieces. When she gave a slight nod, the two bishops gave a bright smile and packed up their school work.
Shit! Mom, I need to hide this! Katase can't see it! Alright Kaori, i'll see you in a bit.
Murayama rose an eyebrow at what she heard before the line went dead.
'What does he need to hide? and from Yui specifically…Did he remember her birthday?'
Placing her phone back into her bag, Murayama turned towards Sona, who was placing the paper work in a file to be dealt with later.
"Issei went out with his two friends from middle school, sounds like he just got home."
Sona nodded towards the brunette, a small smile on her face at hearing that her new servant was safe and sound. That smile reversed as she pondered on just why she couldn't feel his presence anymore, she hadn't felt normal since the link was cut.
"Thank you. We'll be heading over there as well, I need to find out why I can't feel his pieces anymore."
Smiles took over the face of the bishops and the kendo user as they all made their way towards the Hyoudou household.
-LineBreak-
Finally getting his mother to release him from the death hug, he sprinted around the house, trying to find a spot where he could successfully hide the bag that held Katase's gift.
He was a little worried that she wouldn't like it, but jewelry was pretty much out of the question, she wasn't much of a girly girl. So when he caught the smell of perfume that was almost an exact match to what he associated with his pink haired friend, he felt this small bottle would suffice.
His anxiety was rising as the minutes passed, Katase and Murayama had free reign when they came over, so the spots that he could hide the present were almost non-existent. It needed to stay hidden for another few weeks.
"Mom, where can I put this so they don't find it?" Issei called out down the hallway to his mother.
Mrs. Hyoudou stepped into the hall, her index finger tapping her bottom lip in contemplation. A figurative lightbulb went off above her head. Her head turned towards him as she pointed behind Issei.
"In my bedroom closet, theres a wooden chest on the floor with some family heirlooms, it should be safe in there."
Issei thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head and walking towards his mother.
"Could you put it in there then? I don't need to see something that might scar me for life."
He raised his hand to give the bag to his mother, who at the moment, had a disapproving look on her.
One of Mrs. Hyoudou's hands took the bag, while the other poked her son on the forehead.
"And just what does my deviant son think he'll find in there?"
With the almost non-existent distance between mother and son, Issei caught the scent of sugar and strawberry. Probably from whatever she had been baking when he came home.
"I'd rather never find out just how far the apple falls from the tree." He said with a shake of his head, and walked towards the stairs to prepare for the incoming guests.
Coming to sit in the living room, Issei's mind was going over his day, and the differences he could now feel.
Something didn't seem right.
After waking up from being turned into a devil/dragon, his sense of smell had seemed to be in overdrive. He had been bombarded with smells constantly for the last few days.
But not today.
He had gone through the day with Matsuda and Motohoma just like any other outing he had previously. That may have been a blessing though, going to such a crowded area might have been too much to handle at the moment.
But that begged the question…Why isn't he picking up scents from a distance anymore. He had only really noticed it, when he could smell the sugar and fruit on his mother when she stepped close to him.
While lost in thought, Issei didn't see his mother walk back towards the door, nor the multiple voices coming from the entryway.
The quiet sound of a crowd of footsteps reached his ears, but didn't bring him back to the world.
'Is my body still adjusting? Is the sense not being registered by my brain completely yet?'
His eyes having a thousand yard stare, one hand scratched at the back of his head. The new arrivals came into the room un-noticed.
Then there was the fact of his two mental residents. They hadn't so much as uttered a word to him all day, which hadn't happened since he became aware of them. Something was definitely wrong here.
'But that wouldn't explain why I can't feel the link to Kaichou anymore…what's going on?'
The couch he was on shifted from new weight, his mind was slowly peeling itself out of his own internal pondering, when a stinging sensation struck his left ear.
Issei quickly shifted his head towards the direction of his pain, while grabbing his earlobe with one hand. And was met with the pink eyes of a clearly emotional Yui Katase.
The same phrase that ran through his mind when he saw all of the missed calls on his cell phone returned.
uh oh
Eyes that were still slightly bloodshot from crying, cheeks tinted pink in either unreleased fury or she had smacked her cheeks a few times to collect herself. Katase had an air about her at the moment as her eyes locked onto his, it all but screamed that he needed to make amends for making her worry about him all day.
Issei swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, when his eye caught movement at the doorway.
He had expected to see Murayama and Katase after coming back from his little excursion. Possibly even Sona after the link being cut off had been mentioned. But no, here standing in his living room were 8 of some of the best looking girls he'd ever come across.
Katase sitting next to him on the couch, Murayama standing just behind her. Sona was sitting down in the love seat across from him, and the rest of her peerage, Tsubaki Yura Momo Reya and Tomoe, all standing behind her.
The brief thought of taking a picture of all of them gathered in his home, to use to rub in Matsuda and Motohoma's faces crossed his mind. The longer he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.
Shifting his eyes over each of his guests, Issei gave what he hoped to be a disarming smile. His left raising in a slight wave, the light in the room caught the bracelet and made it shine for a brief moment.
"Evening ladies."
Issei could see Katase and Murayama both scowl at him, not amused in the least.
His fellow devils however, had a look of wariness, Momo and Reya especially. Sona and Tsubaki were the most composed.
"If you thought you were getting out of worrying us so easily, you've got another thing coming!" Katase scolded, grabbing his attention.
Murayama crossed her arms under her chest, nodding in agreement.
"Yea, seriously Ise! Is it so hard to turn your phone on? Or you could have just let us know you were going to be out for the day, that way we at least wouldn't have wasted the day."
During Murayama's tirade, Sona had gotten up from her seat and walked towards her pawn.
Kneeling down in front of him, Katase and Murayama went silent and rose an eyebrow at the violet eyed devils action.
Sona's hands hesitantly rose and grabbed Issei's left arm by the hand and forearm, carefully making sure not to touch the bracelet.
Everyone watched as the Sitri Heiress' attention was solely on the black and gold jewelry, as she took in every detail.
"Issei." Her stoic, analytical, almost cold voice made him feel like he was a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Where did you get this?"
Suddenly nervous about answering his king, his voice wavered a little. The way she was looking between him and the bracelet, it was like she had just gained some clue to some mystery.
"U-um…It was a gift. My friend and her dad gave it to me years ago, just before they moved. He said it would keep me hidden from the monsters of the world, and I should never take it off. I found it in my room this morning." The urge to rub at the back of his head was almost too hard to ignore, with the nervous feeling he was getting.
"So, that's how it happened…" Sona whispered, quiet enough that only Issei caught it.
The hand she had on his forearm slowly moved to touch the bracelet, the slight shaking in her hand making it appear as if she were afraid to touch it.
Her index finger came into contact with the cool metal, a small almost imperceptible flinch came from the hand, but she didn't pull away.
She ran her finger over it, testing the reaction. Then the rest of her fingers, ignoring the confused glances from Issei and the rest of the girls.
Sona spun the bracelet around, finding the clasp, and took her other hand that was holding Issei's, and moved both to take the bracelet off.
She paused to take a breath in, unsure of what was about to happen. As she unclipped the bracelet, Issei's mother was walking into the room.
With her index finger and thumb of her right hand holding onto the bracelet as it slid off of his wrist, a slightly stronger surge of a dragons presence flooded the room.
Sona was somewhat prepared, and bit on the inside of her cheek to keep herself in check. The others however, hadn't known what was going on, and thus unprepared for the flood that was released.
Having been at a distance the last time this happened, Katase and Murayama were now up close and personal to the dragon energy Issei was emitting.
Their eyes widened, hearts beat just a bit harder and quicker as a warm sensation permeated their bodies. To their normal human senses, it felt like they just sat in a comfortably hot pool of water. And that pool was swirling, trying to pull them closer to Issei.
For the devils, it was a much more…intimate feeling.
It was as if the pinnacle of ecstasy had been raised several fold. Never had any of them felt anything like it. When Issei had been reincarnated, it was potent. The strength they could feel in his presence was a bit stronger, but the intensity of the effect it had on them was greater then the last time.
The only ones to keep their vocal cords from responding were, unsurprisingly, Sona and Tsubaki. But the pink dusted across their faces said that they felt it as well. Sona looked like her head was trying hard to spin from her link being reconnected, the feeling of a powerful undertow coming over her again.
The most surprising, and worrisome reaction, came from the maternal figure of the one that they came to question.
Mrs. Hyoudou had just walked across the threshold to the living room to bring some snacks for the friends of her beloved son. When it felt like her heart had swelled four times its normal size. A tingling sensation radiated from her heart to the rest of her body, followed by a loss of coordination and exhaustion.
She dropped the tray, falling sideways to the floor, her head smacked against the hardwood floor beneath her.
Seeing his mother collapse to the floor only a few feet from him, Issei ignored everything else in front of him, and shot out of the couch and nearly sent Sona on her back in surprise.
"MOM!"
Issei slid on his knees, reaching his mother, and brought her into a half sitting position, one hand on the back of her head, and the other around her waist the only thing keeping her upright.
With her body void of energy and head feeling heavy, Mrs. Hyoudou looked up with her dazed eyes, catching the worried look her son had. A lazy smile came to her lips as she rubbed the arm of her son that had wrapped around her waist to steady her.
"I'm alright Ise. Just…a little tingly, and….tired…" Her sentence trailed off as her eyes slowly closed, her head slumping forward towards her chest.
Issei put a hand in front of her mouth, feeling for a breath. Then the hand went to her neck for a pulse. With both seeming to be somewhat normal, Issei gave a breath of relief.
"She passed out." Issei said, not turning towards the girls in his house.
Katase and Murayama were almost as tense as Issei was. Reason being, Mrs. Hyoudou had been like a perfect mother figure to both of them. She was kind, compassionate, empathetic, and more than willing to listen or help with any issues either of them had. She was the embodiment of what both of them lacked.
They each walked over to the mother son duo, Murayama kneeling next to Issei, rubbing his back to soothe his concern. Katase to ease her own worries of the mother figure unconscious in front of her.
"Ise, why don't you bring her up to bed?" Murayama's soft voice called out to him.
He heard the words, subconsciously acknowledged them, but they didn't really sink in. Only the thoughts of making sure that the woman that gave birth to him was ok were in his head.
He turned his body to the side as his arms caught his mother, one arm just under hers, the other scooped her up beneath the knees. Issei easily picked her up and started walking towards the stairs to place his mother into bed.
-LineBreak-
With Issei out of sight, and presumably out of hearing range, it was Murayama that seemed the more upset of the human girls.
"What just happened?" Her voice held a colder tone than she had used in a long time. Usually, it was Katase that was the agressive one. But for someone she considered to be family, all bets were off.
Sona had stood and watched in silence as the three had taken care of the older woman. There were no peace offerings to be had here. Nothing that she could say or do that would take away her actions. The humans, or recent humans in their presence may not have understood what the possible ramifications were of what just happened, but the effects were felt all around. The fact that her pawns mother had responded in such a way however….That was odd, and definitely something to look into after all was said and done.
Sona straightened her posture, locking eyes with Murayama.
"I apologize for what my actions have caused, however unintentional. To potentially bring a normal human with no supernatural knowledge into harms way was not my desire."
Sona slightly bowed her head down, the most curtesy she felt she could stomach as a pure bred, high-class devil speaking to a human.
"I shall say the same to Issei when he returns. My thoughts have not been as clear and focused as they normally are, given todays events. And what I just saw…. While it does not excuse my actions, it made me lose focus."
Sona's response had cooed the kendo girls a sufficient amount. But it had also raised a spark of curiosity throughout the entire group. They all saw the way that Sona had reacted to Issei's bracelet, heard his explanation of how he got it. But only now were they really thinking that the piece of jewelry may be more than it appeared.
"And what exactly is it, that you saw?" Katase murmured quietly, but loud enough for the supernaturally enhanced to easily pick up.
Sona shifted her gaze to the pink haired friend of her curious pawn.
"Once Issei returns, we'll find out more."
Her eyes gazing towards the bracelet in her hand as she spoke.
-LineBreak-
Issei had just laid his mother down into her bed, and covered her up with the blanket. The anxiety he felt had fallen a fair amount, enough to gather rational thought. It was only now that he realized that all his senses were back to where they were the day before.
With the bedroom door closed, there was only a murmur of the voices from downstairs that his enhanced hearing picked up.
His sense of smell had picked up the smell of strawberries, with an undertone of sugar and….something else, that he found relaxing. He was glad that things seemed to be returning to what was to be his normal state.
and that was when his head felt like it would explode.
"Ise! Finally! For a teenage boy living in the blooming age of technology, you sure are hard to reach."
[Partner. How did you shut us out like that?]
The voices of both Ddraig and Elsha caught him off guard. He hadn't heard them all day, so when they finally spoke up, it felt louder than it normally would.
'What the hell happened to you two? I tried talking to you, but you ignored me.'
Issei stated his retorts to them as he tucked his mother in, and brushed her long brown locks out of her eyes.
There was a brief silence between the three, Issei only waiting for a proper response from either Ddraig or Elsha. He didn't have to wait for long fortunately.
"Ise. When we woke up, everything was hazy, only brief images and sounds would come through. It was almost like I was in the process of being awoken for the first time all over again."
While Elsha was calm and deliberate with her words. Ddraig was more direct.
[Partner. I know your new to this new world you've entered, but what happened today?]
The Welsh Dragons sentence struck a chord of similarity with Issei. Something had changed today that caused all of this. And thinking everything over, there was only one possible cause.
'The bracelet.' He thought, which did nothing to clarify the situation.
Issei rechecked his mothers position, hand once more brushing over her forehead. He had no medical training, but it just felt right to feel and see if she had spiked a fever.
When she collapsed, he experienced an anxiety like never before. He wasn't entirely sure if it was from his new set of instincts, or just the familial love and care he held for her. Whatever it was, all he wanted at that point and time was to make sure that she was safe and healthy.
With nothing else he felt he could do for the time being, he stood and started to walk back down to the girls.
'I think I know what caused it. But i'm not really sure how or why.' Issei relayed to Ddraig and Elsha.
-LineBreak-
Coming back down the stairs, Issei saw that all of his guests were seated.
Murayama and Katase were on the couch, Momo and Reya had somehow fit in with them.
Sona was once again in the love seat, Tsubaki standing behind and slightly to the right.
Tomoe and Yura was sitting cross legged on the floor on either side of the love seat.
The atmosphere felt a little tense, whether the cause from the day in general, or the events just prior was unknown.
Coming down to the landing, Issei felt all eyes latch themselves onto him.
He took a few more steps forward before stopping, and set his gaze to Sona.
"Kaichou. I can feel our link again, can you?"
As the words reached her ears, that pleasant, warm sensation came over her again. Reminding her that yes, she could feel her pawn. Outside of the nervous feeling he had, everything seemed fine.
"Yes Issei, the link has been reestablished."
Sona adjusted the glasses from falling down too far, crossing one leg over the other.
"Before anything else, I wish to apologize Issei. I meant no harm to your mother."
Issei waved it off, knowing that she didn't mean for anything like that to happen.
"No worries Kaichou, it was an accident, and Mom seems to be okay."
"Thank you. Now that the immediate issue has been resolved, I need to ask. Issei, do you have any idea what this bracelet is?"
Sona raised the hand holding onto the black and gold links.
Issei shook his head.
"Other than what I said earlier, no. But now i'm guessing its nothing ordinary, right?"
With the neutral look still on her face, Sona's eyes shifted over to the bracelet she was holding up.
"This bracelet is anything but ordinary, and the circumstances of it being given to you, raises more questions than it gives answers."
Sona placed the bracelet down on the arm rest of the chair, resuming her explanation.
" I told you the story between the three factions and the heavenly dragons. But those two were not the only dragons to have come in contact with devils, angels, or fallen angels."
With the Sitri Heiress going into 'lecture mode' as her peerage called it, they all gave her their undivided attention.
"The tier below the heavenly dragons, is the dragon kings, who hold power that rivals the leaders of each of the biblical factions. One of these Dragon Kings is Fafnir, the Gigantis Dragon."
As issei intently listened, he could here Elsha mumble quietly in his head.
"Ah, yes, that's what feels familiar…"
Ignoring her comment, he kept listening to Sona.
"Fafnir is said to be somewhat of a wanderer, collecting treasure and artifacts that catch his fancy. Legend has it that on one of Fafnir's outings, his presence had angered an old Norse warrior, Siegfried. Siegfried was the wielder of the Demonic sword Gram, and managed to slay Fafnir. For one reason or another, the Norse gods revived him at a later date."
"Yea…Odin revived him in exchange for some gold jewelry to get his wife to forgive him for hitting on the valkyries." Elsha's amused tone caught Issei off guard, and almost snorted trying to hold the laughter in.
"After his revival, Fafnir sought the help of the Norse and Angels to create a piece of jewelry from his collection that could conceal his presence in a human form. They crafted a bracelet that would do just that. It was able to completely hide the dragons presence to appear human."
Sona placed the bracelet in her palm, staring at it as she switched gears.
"Tell me Issei, how often did you wear this after it was given to you?"
The sudden question caught him off guard, his eyes shifted upwards with a hand on his chin as he thought about it, trying to recall the time after his friend had moved away.
"Well….I'm pretty sure I almost never took it off for the first year. After that, i'd put it on every once in a while, then lost track of it in middle school."
Sona nodded meaningfully.
On the couch, Momo's eyes widened as realization struck.
"So that's how that holy spark got there…"
All eyes turned towards the bishop, everyone except Sona looked confused, but the King looked a bit put off that a member of her peerage had suspected a holy aspect and failed to inform her.
"You knew it was there Momo?"
Momo turned apologetic, tapping her index fingers together.
"Sorry Kaichou. I felt it when Ise was reincarnated, and thought the holy energy was what caused him all that pain. When Elsha said that wasn't the case, I thought that maybe I was just imagining things."
Issei stepped forward with a hand raised.
"Kaichou, i'm a little confused. What holy spark?"
Turning from her bishop to her pawn, Sona gave her hypothesis.
"Because the bracelet was partly created by the angel faction, it was imbued with holy energy. I believe that, because of how long you wore it, that holy energy was absorbed into your body. When I tested your magic the other day, I saw it, but had no explanation as to why or how it was there."
Issei scratched the back of his head with a confused look.
"Shouldn't that hurt me, since I'm a devil?"
Sona shook her head.
"if either energies had been forced into you, then they very well may have clashed and hurt you. But your soul welcomed each of them willingly."
A brief silence overtook them, before Tsubaki spoke.
"Kaichou, does this mean he will be able to harness that holy energy?"
"I'm honestly not sure. The energy was solely for the purpose of protection and concealment, and it is an extremely small amount, therefore I believe harnessing it is unlikely. If anything, it may give him a slight tolerance towards holy objects."
Issei stood next to the couch, taking in all the information, but had one burning question remaining.
"Kaichou, why did my mom react like that when you took off the bracelet?"
There was a notable uncomfortable feeling through a few of the devil girls, only Momo squirmed a bit in her seat, while Sona and Tsubaki remained the same.
"That was the result of your dragon energy inside of you being suppressed, and then released all at once." Sona stated, switching which leg was crossed over the other, and entering 'lecture mode' once again.
"Dragons have a unique trait to them that draws others, specifically from the opposite sex. The effect is felt more from those of supernatural origin due to our enhanced senses. Humans are able to feel it if the energy is strong enough, such as the release of when the bracelet was taken off. However, your mothers reaction could have been effected based on other factors."
Sona took a moment to form the right words in her mind, the next part of her conversation could take a turn for the extremely uncomfortable very quickly.
"the feeling one experiences from being exposed to that energy is effected by how they feel towards the source. Think of it like a damn in a river, that lets a small trickle flow through while in place. If the damn were to break, the flood of energy could have any number of responses. The other possibility is if your mother possesses a dragon tamers trait, very little is known about the specifics of it. But it has been noted that those with it, are more in tune with a dragons energy."
Issei mulled over the information given. There was a brief moment where his mind slipped into old habits.
Katase and Murayama watched as Issei's face gained an unmistakably lecherous look, one that they knew all too well.
'wait….So I can be like a supernatural babe magnet?! THATS AWESOME! I'm definitely going to work on using that trick, heh heh.' But Elsha was quick to reign him in.
'Ise dear, women are good on picking up the intentions of men, it wouldn't work the way you're thinking if they suspected you're only trying to seduce them. What she's saying is that lust and love amplify the effects. Especially women affiliated with the supernatural. Trust me on this.'
'Love? Well then that explains it. I mean, she's my mom, of course she loves me.'
Instead of clarifying what it was that Sona had been potentially implying, Ddraig opted to give his own opinion.
[I believe it may be a mixture of both. While not strong enough to be an active dragon tamer, her presence was more agreeable than most humans.]
-LineBreak-
The conversation afterwards had slimmed down. Sona briefly inquiring about Issei's training progress, and then into unimportant small talk.
Issei had actually held a small conversation with Yura and Tomoe, wanting to get to know them a bit, since they hadn't really had the opportunity yet.
He found that he like both of them, Yura was easy to talk to, very calm overall. She had a fondness for physical activity that made him want to ask her to train with him.
Tomoe had been the quietest of the peerage as far as he'd seen, but once he actually got to talk to her, she was by far the most energetic. It was almost like she had a switch to go from a loyal silent knight, into a bouncing happy teenage girl. In Issei's opinion….It made no sense.
He had forgotten to ask if his father had been notified that he was home now, so he called him. Based on the panic on the other end of the phone, he guessed that his dad hadn't been told. So he quickly made his way home.
And once the paternal Hyoudou set foot in his home, he had to do a double take at what he saw.
His son, the well known pervert of the town who had been on the mend, was surrounded by girls, all of whom seemed to actually like his company. He couldn't be more proud at that moment.
The sun had long set when the Sitri peerage decided to head home, however reluctant the two Bishops may have been, after hearing that the Kendo Duo would stay over for the night.
-LineBreak-
"Elsha, why did the astral projection training suddenly seem so important?"
Issei sat cross legged in front of Elsha in her garden. She had told him, that other than training his fire, the astral projection would take precedence over everything else. Once he could project an image of himself and Elsha simultaneously for at least 5 minutes, then they would resume his regular training. But she never explained why.
"You don't want to learn it?" She asked with a curious tilt of her head.
Issei gave a defensive wave of his hands.
"I do I do!"
Elsha granted him a smile, and held onto his hands with hers. As she closed her eyes, Issei interrupted the process of starting the projection.
"I'm just curious is all. It sounds like a cool thing to be able to do. But shouldn't I be training to help Kaichou and Rias Gremory?"
Even with being spoken to, Elsha hadn't let go of his hands, or opened her eyes. Instead she initiated the astral projection.
Issei felt a sense of brief vertigo, his vision darkening before seeing the setting of his bedroom come into view.
He could see himself laying in bed, which felt really strange to be looking at himself.
He looked down to his hands, which were fairly transparent, and still being held by Elsha.
Issei looked up to her, to see that she was just as transparent as he was. Elsha was looking towards the door curiously, almost like she was waiting for something.
The feeling of vertigo was slowly starting to build again, the outer rim of his vision slowly darkening.
Just before he couldn't hold onto their projection anymore, he could have sworn he saw his door slowly creak open.
His vision went completely dark for a brief moment, before he was back in Elsha's garden once again.
As he opened his eyes again, he saw the smiling visage of his mentor. Her thumbs gave caressed a brief circle against the back of his own before letting go.
"I'd say that's a good improvement, you went from 5 seconds on your first try, to 12."
Issei frowned at the remark. It didn't sound like a good improvement, when she wanted him to get to five minutes until they moved on. But doing over double the initial time with the dual astral projection was at least something.
"But it's nowhere near what I need to move on to the other training."
Issei's self deprecating statement had brought a rare sight to Elsha's beautiful face. A frown.
Her right hand rose with her fingers straight and seemed to be tensed, as if to hold their position.
Then her hand descended quickly onto the middle of his frontal lobe.
"The fact that you could even do it at all the first time was a miracle."
Elsha scolded his self-loathing statement after delivering a chop to his head.
Her blue and green eyes softened as they locked onto his. Her hands raised themselves to hold onto his cheeks. Her tone was soft and reassuring when he met her gaze.
"You've been thrust into a world of things you had never even thought existed, you've taken this all so well. Stop selling yourself short. I know it's hard for you to tell the difference, but you're almost twice as strong as you were when Sona Sitri reincarnated you. If you keep this pace up, with the training that is planned for you…. That Phenex will kneel before you, and your friends and family will be safe once any potential enemies know it is you that protects them."
Her tone was reassuring, if someone who was one of the strongest red dragons said that he was making good progress, then he'd take it at that. Besides, how was he supposed to really know how much progress someone should be able to make in a week.
Elsha looked up for a brief moment, towards the sky, just like she had the first time they met. There was a quick look that crossed her face that Issei couldn't really name. But just as soon as it came, it quickly left.
She gave her student her full attention once more.
"I wanted you to be proficient with astral projection because of the challenge presented to you, this rating game. The Red Dragons destructive powers are something truly formidable, with training and practice, there will be few that can stand against you. But if you were to add the element of surprise as well…. And that numbers dwindles down even further."
Her serious tone quickly turned a mix of playful and mischievous.
"There's also a selfish one thrown in there too… but that ones a surprise for now."
-LineBreak-
The last day of his weekend was spent in his now normal routine. A run in the morning, come back for breakfast with his parents. His father started to bombard Issei with questions about all the girls that had come over the night previous.
seemed to deflate when he heard that it was just the members of the student council from school.
Issei decided that he would take it easy before returning to school, just relaxing around the house.
There was something strange he noticed as he and his parents watched a movie together.
His mother had lost that smell of strawberries and sugar, when she had been baking before. That subtle smell of some sort of fruit he couldn't name was still there, just within the range of being able to be sensed by him.
But the thing he found strange, was the scent from his father.
Or the lack thereof.
Issei had quickly come to relate the scents of the people around him with some aspect of their personality, a unique trait, or an ability.
But his father was like the masses of his school, a scentless bar of soap. Apparently being just as he appeared, a normal average guy.
-LineBreak-
Issei would be eternally grateful that his life seemed to fall into a routine once again. Coming to Kuoh Academy had brought so much change so quickly, that he wondered if he could have kept up in class if it continued.
It took some adjusting, but it was easy enough to get the swing of things.
Wake up. Run. Breakfast. Get to school, get attack hugged by Momo before class. Lunch with Yui and Kaori. Walk with Momo and Reya to the student council, check to see if Sona had anything for him to do. Get the shit beat out of him at kendo. Dinner. Training. Repeat.
The first alteration to this plan came from Sona. She felt that it was due time for Issei to get some on the job training of making a contract.
The normal way for a devil to be summoned was usually through a magic transportation circle. But as Sona had explained after a failed attempt, Issei's body was lacking in demonic power. His strength came from his dragon side.
So normal human transportation was his only way to get to the address.
At least he was out of the room from Tomoe laughing at his misfortune.
The bike ride brought him to a small single story house, the curtains closed and looking old and weathered.
Laying his bike against the inside of the fence, Issei walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.
In the late afternoon sun, Issei could see the curtains to his right shift slightly, the person inside peeking through to look for the visitor.
A few moments later, the sound of multiple locks being undone on the inside latch of the door could be heard, and the door slowly creaked open.
Opened just enough to fit a head through, a young man in his early 20's with dark brown almost black hair that was shaved down peeked through, dark blue eyes regarding Issei with caution.
"Who are you, what do you want?" The timid voice of the man hadn't been was Issei was expecting, but answered politely.
"Sorry i'm a bit late, but I couldn't use the normal flashy way to get here."
The man looked at Issei speculatively before asking.
"You're the devil?"
Issei chuckled and scratched at the back of his head.
"One of many, but yea. And i'm here to grant your request for a suitable price."
After a few moments of silence, the young man unlocked the door and led Issei into what appeared to be a kids room, and introduced himself as Hedwig.
Whatever Issei had been expecting as his first contract job, this definitely wasn't it. All Hedwig wanted was to listen to music and play some games, and the device that Sona gave him to calculate the price had said all he would receive in the end of it was a comic book.
Hedwig went as pale a ghost, and hesitantly went to the desk in his room, grabbed what appeared to be the only comic book in the place and held it out to Issei.
3 hours of repetitive techno music and 17 rounds in Soul caliber later, Issei made his way out with his prize, and the pride of having completed his first contract.
His ride back home was spent listening to Ddraig and Elsha say how weird the way he acted was. It was like Hedwig was mentally 9 yrs old or something. But Issei wasn't going to complain about such an easy job.
END.
We'll stop here. Hello all, and welcome back. something i never expected has happened. This story hit 1,000 follows! never thought that would happen. You guys rock!
To answer a question before its asked, no Issei's mom will not be brought into the supernatural fold as a dragon tamer. I wanted to use something to explain how Issei may have gotten the boosted gear, other than random luck, and this seemed to be a decent to do that.
Plus It gives me some stuff to work with for later. Some family drama stuff. No more hints about it.
This took a bit longer to get out than i'd hoped, cause the part with Issei's mom fainting was re-written like 8 times. It came out too….incest-y the other times, and that wasn't what I was going for.
Next chapter we'll have a time skip or two. I want to get to canon in the next 5 chapters.
So here's a quick outline of chapter names that'll be involved before canon.
Issei and the blaze meteor dragon
Date with the Crimson Princess
Issei's first kill
Bondage, Boobs, and Blowjobs
Marriage contract