"Ah, Saturday." Issei stretched out. "Best day of the week."
"Did you sleep well?" Asia asked. She was lying on his chest, still naked from last night. Although nothing serious had happened.
"Yeah."
"Good."
"Did something happen yesterday?" Issei asked. "I feel like I was ranting at some point."
"Nothing special. You mentioned something about your training with Akeno-san."
Actually he had mumbled about it in his sleep, but she was not about to tell him that.
"Oh that."
"Didn't go well?" She still didn't seem keen on getting up.
"I was doing fine," Issei said. "I summoned my aura and then uhm… well, there were some other auras coming. I had no control over them."
"That was to be expected. You did take powers from others."
"Yeah, maybe I should have seen that coming. I don't have the power to control the magic I stole from others."
"You could channel them through your Evil Piece," she suggested. "Like you did with Freed's light powers and your Twice Critical."
"Yeah, I guess that would work. The Evil Piece is a part of me, so if I Promote, I should gain more power. Then I should have more control over my blood powers."
"But it's not much use," Asia added. "You can only Promote within enemy territory. So not useful for training."
"I know."
"So how did Akeno-senpai react?" she asked.
"She didn't want to teach me anymore."
"Oh."
"I uhm, got quite mad."
"That's no good, Ise-san. She meant well. Akeno-senpai was probably just scared you would hurt yourself."
"Yeah, I can see that now."
"You need to make up with her."
"Sure, sure. I'll make something up."
"Okay." She finally started moving. "I'll go get dressed then."
She stood up and took the covers with her. For a moment he caught a glimpse of her boobs but then she covered them up with the blanket.
"Hey, that's my blanket."
"I'm kinda naked," Asia said.
"I know," he grinned.
"Unbelievable," she mumbled.
"You should probably move your clothes here. You know, for convenience."
"Good idea."
Issei looked as she left his room, still wrapped in his blanket. Such a cute girl.
The diary on his nightstand caught his eye.
With a frown, he took it and opened it. He went to the page that had been marked with a dog ear. The one where Raynare described the day she met Valper.
'Met old Valpie today. He really looks ridiculous. That stupid mustache and those glasses, honestly. He reminds me of Pennywise. And why is he still wearing his priest outfit? He was banished years ago. Terrible fashion choice. Even Mittelt has a better taste in clothes. That little gothic crow. I hope Valpie stays in his basement forever, with the rest of the trolls. He-'
"Whatcha reading?" Asia asked.
Issei looked up. "Raynare's diary."
Asia had changed into her casual clothes. A brown pullover and a knee-length black skirt. She was a church girl after all.
"Didn't Rias-oneesama already go through that?" Asia asked.
"Yeah, but she might have missed something." He idly turned a page.
"I'll just uhm, put my clothes in your closet."
"Hold on, I'll help."
He put the diary down and got out of bed.
"Can I ask you something?" he said as he moved his clothes around to clear up space for hers.
"Sure."
"Why do you still have that thing?" He nodded to the nun uniform in her hands.
"What do you mean?"
"You were expelled from the church. For trying to help someone. Yet you still keep your nun uniform. Why?"
"I guess I'm still attached to it. It's sentiment mostly. I still pray to the Lord as well. I would wear my cross too, but, well, if you touched it you would take…" She noticed his expression. "Ise-san?"
Issei was staring at a fixed point without blinking.
Suddenly, he looked back at her. "What do you do if it needs to be washed?" He asked, quite urgently.
"Well, I wash it by hand of course. I wouldn't want it to get damaged. What's wrong?"
Issei walked back to his bed and picked up the diary.
'Why is he still wearing his priest outfit?'
Could it be? Could they find him like that?
"I think I've got something," Issei said. He picked up his phone and called Rias-senpai.
She picked up on the third ring.
[Ise?] He heard a yawn. [I'm quite busy here. Why are you calling me so early?]
"I know where Valper is."
[What?] She woke up instantly. [How?]
"Raynare's diary says he still wears his priest uniform."
[So?]
"So if it gets dirty he has to take it to the dry cleaning."
[Why would he do that? Can't he just wash it? Like other clothes?]
"Of course not. He's very attached to it. Think about it. Would the church let him keep his bishop uniform after banishing him?"
[I guess not. Maybe he stole it?] She suggested.
"So he only has one outfit. And if it gets damaged, he can never wear it again. Getting church clothes isn't easy. You can't just walk into a grocery store and buy them. Especially if we're talking about the uniform of a bishop."
[That does make some sense. So you think he takes it to the dry cleaning?]
"It's a possibility."
[True. But I don't think he takes it himself.]
"All we have to do is check which dry cleaning he takes it too. Then we wait until someone brings it and follow them."
[And what if they teleport away?]
"Try and get a picture. Magic circles contain coordinates. At least, that's what Akeno-san taught me."
[Yeah, about that-]
"It was an accident. I didn't mean to rip her blouse off."
[You're forbidden to use magic for now. It's too dangerous.]
"I have to learn," Issei argued.
[Promise me.]
"Fine fine, I promise." She did have a point there. Who knows what would happen if he tried it again. But they all seemed very keen on not letting him practice. A bit too keen. Was there more going on here?
[And don't touch anyone's blood either.]
"What? Why?"
[You need to learn how to control the aura inside of you. Making it bigger is a bad idea.]
"Right." Somehow, it felt like they were keeping him out of the loop.
[Good. I'll check all the dry cleanings in the area. It sounds like a promising lead.]
"Okay."
[Oh, and while we're talking, the agents from the church will arrive tonight. They want to talk to us, so I suggest we meet at your house.]
"My house? Why?"
[I don't know, they insisted. See you tonight, Ise-kun.]
"Hey-" She hung up before he could say anything.
"Say, Ise-san," Asia said. "What was that thing you mentioned?"
"What thing?"
"Oh, you know, 'ripping her blouse off'."
"Uhm, I had a little magical accident."
"Accident?"
"Nothing happened, I swear."
She pouted. "You could at least tell me if you're having accidents with other girls."
"Nothing happened," Issei insisted. "I tried casting magic and my aura exploded and ripped her blouse off."
Asia narrowed her eyes. "Why would that happen?"
"I guess it was… uhum, projecting my imagination."
"If you so desperately want to see naked girls, I can…" her hands moved to the hem of her pullover.
"No, no, it's okay."
"I understand," Asia said. She cast her eyes down. "I'm not as big as Akeno-senpai. It's natural you wouldn't be interested in-"
"Asia. You're a beautiful girl, you shouldn't worry about your body."
"But-"
"You said you'd be anything I wanted you to be. So what if I wanted you to be more confident about your body? What if I wanted you to stop comparing yourself to others? You're beautiful in your own way, Asia."
Her eyes widened for a second. "Ise-san. Will you uhm…" she avoided his eyes. "Will you take me shopping today?"
"Huh?"
"I want to change my style," she said. "You're right. I was banished from the church. All these clothes come from there. But I have a new life now and my church past has no place in there. I'm with you now, and I don't want to look like this anymore. This is not attractive at all. I'll never feel comfortable about my body in these formless things. I want to wear what real teenage girls wear. I want to wear what you like."
Issei blinked a few times, unsure of how to reply.
"Sorry," she blushed. "Was that too overwhelming?"
"No, no. I understand. I'll take you shopping today then."
"Today?"
"Of course. Unless you had other plans today?"
"Uhm, not really. But… I… well, you know."
"Did you know there was a bounty on Freed?" he understood what she was getting at. Obviously, Asia had no money to buy clothes. Where on Earth would she have gotten it from?
"There was?" She seemed surprised by that information.
"Seems like he killed some devils before. It's not that big, but still. Buchou told me to 'use it well'."
"She gave it all to you?"
Issei shrugged. "She said I was the one who took him down after all. Given what Freed did to you, I guess it's only right to spend it on something that makes you happy."
"You shouldn't spend it on something like that," Asia said. "There are more important things."
"That wasn't a question, Asia. It's my money I can do whatever I want with it."
She smiled softly. "Then I have no choice but to come along with you."
"Indeed," Issei confirmed. "Let's have breakfast and then we'll leave."
"Right, I'll make you breakfast."
"You don't have to."
She looked him dead in the eye. "I wasn't asking."
He smiled back.
She's starting to grow more confident, Issei thought as they went downstairs.
He quite liked it actually. Of course, it was quite cute when she was embarrassed about little things, but it sometimes made her doubt herself. And a strong confident girl was way more attractive.
They had breakfast and then Issei took out his bike from the garage.
"I really need to learn how to teleport," he said.
"I don't mind sitting behind you," Asia assured him. "Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination, Ise."
"That's more of a philosophical thing. Not travelling advice."
Asia smiled innocently.
He got on his bike and she sat down behind him. Her arms immediately wrapped around his waist. He felt her soft breasts pressing against his back.
Maybe journey wasn't so bad after all. Especially if it was with a girl like that.
Issei pushed down hard on his pedals. Starting was the hardest part. But his training seemed to have payed off, because it went very smoothly.
"Is there even a shopping center here?" Asia asked.
"There's a department store near the school," Issei said. "It's not that big though. If you really want a lot of choice, we'll have to go to-"
"It's okay," she said. "The department store is fine."
"Alright." He took a turn.
The department store was only fifteen minutes away.
It was a large two-storey building that contained a wide range of shops. Anything from a pet store to a second-hand bookshop. There were only a few clothing stores, but they were pretty big.
Issei put his bike away.
"Here we are," he said.
"It's beautiful," Asia said.
The top of the department store was a large glass dome which made it quite pretty.
"Let's get inside," Issei said.
They walked to the front door.
Asia's hand brushed against his.
Issei got the hint and took her hand.
The automatic doors slid open for them.
There were quite a lot of people in here. It was a Saturday after all.
Asia shrugged closer towards him. She probably didn't like the large mass of people.
"The nearest clothing shop is-"
Wait a minute. Was that…? Yeah, that was her. That uniform was hard to miss.
Issei released Asia's hand and walked to the girl.
Asia hurried after him, quite surprised.
"Ruruko-chan? Why are you here?"
His junior wheeled around. "Oh, Ise-senpai. What a surprise." Ruruko-chan was very flustered. More than usual. She was dressed in her school uniform, strangely.
"What's wrong?" Issei asked.
"Nothing, I was just out uhm… shopping."
"Ruruko-chan?" A voice asked. "Are you-" Saji spotted them. "Oh. I see."
"Your entire peerage is here?" Issei asked.
"Of course not," Ruruko-chan said. She quickly grabbed Saji's arm. "I'm on a date with… Gen-chan."
"Y-Yes we are," Saji confirmed after a short pause.
"So that's why you're in uniform," Issei said dryly. "On a Saturday?" Saji was in his uniform as well.
"We just feel really comfortable in our uniform," Ruruko-chan said.
"Be careful," Issei said. "People will think you're… up to something."
Only Ruruko-chan seemed to understand his reference.
"Come on, Ruruko-chan," Saji said. "We have to go. These two are on a date as well."
"See you around, Senpai," Ruruko-chan quickly said before Saji half-dragged her away.
"Looks like the Sitri peerage has some plans," Issei said as he watched them go away.
"I wonder what they are up to," Asia said.
"Something very secret no doubt."
Her fingers touched his hand again.
"Oh, sorry." He held her hand again. "I shouldn't have left you alone."
"It's okay."
"So, the nearest clothing shop is over there." Issei pointed with his free hand.
"Let's go there then."
He guided Asia through the crowd.
"Are you jealous Nimura-san is on a date with someone else?" Asia asked suddenly.
"She's not on a date. They are working on something."
"But would it bother you? If it was a real date?"
"She's free to date whoever she wants," he said, dismissively.
"So it does bother you then?"
Issei stopped abruptly.
"Just because she-" he dropped his voice. "Showed her breasts to me once. That doesn't mean we're dating or anything."
"I don't want to hold you back," Asia said. "You deserve a harem, you really do. I'll try not be jealous, I promise."
"This is ridiculous," Issei said. "How can you be okay with me heaving a harem?"
Asia suddenly wrapped her hands around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.
Issei was paralysed by surprise. They were in the middle of the department store. What was this girl thinking?
Asia released him again. From the corner of his eye, he saw that people were staring at them.
Asia ignored them completely. "I want you to be happy," she said simply. "One girl can never be enough to satisfy you. Certainly not me." She looked down at her breasts for a second.
"You're more than enough for me," Issei assured her.
"You don't have to lie to me, Ise," she said.
"I…"
She gave him a short kiss again. "It's okay."
Asia took his hand and dragged him through the crowd, which now hastily parted for them.
Is this real life?
In what kind of world did his… he might as well say it now. Why did his girlfriend, insist he did stuff with other girls? Shouldn't she be jealous? Shouldn't she want him for her alone?
They entered the clothing store.
"Asia," Issei stopped her. "Why… why are you okay with this? Don't you want to be my girlfriend? Exclusively?"
She smiled. It was a sad smile. "I don't deserve that, Ise."
"But-"
"Besides. Love doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. I love you. But I love God as well and Rias-oneesama, and everyone else. They are all my dear friends. They all risked their lives to save me. My love for you won't get smaller because there are more people I care about."
"... right."
"Isn't it the same for you? You love me, but surely you love your mom as well. And Ruruko-chan. And Rias-oneesama. And Koneko-chan. And I'm thinking you're starting to like Akeno-senpai as well. But does that mean you love me less?"
"Of course not."
"Then what's the problem? Don't you have enough problems as it is without having to invent more of them?"
Issei nodded slowly. Still, there was something strange about her logic. Not that he really wanted to complain. If Asia was okay with him having a harem, that was obviously a dream come true. But…
Was she really okay with it? Or was she just saying that to please him? Because she felt like she owed him her life? Which she did of course, but…
"You should make up with Akeno-senpai," Asia said. "And tell Ruruko-chan how you feel."
"I will. But first things first, Asia. We're on a date now."
"This is a date?"
"Of course it is. You just kissed me in public, I'd say this is a date."
"Well, when you put it like that."
"How else were you gonna put it?"
"Well, uhm…"
She had no answer to that.
"See," Issei said. Her guided her further into the store.
"So, where shall we start?" He asked.
"How about we start with the most important thing?" Asia suggested.
"Sure. And that is?"
"Oh, come on, Ise-san. You know exactly what that is."
With resolute steps she walked to…
Right, of course. Underwear section.
It felt very strange to stand there. Obviously, no man were anywhere near this corner. He did spot a few women though. Most of them older than Asia. And bigger.
"What do you like?" She asked. She looked a bit uncertain between all this lingerie.
"What's your size?" Issei asked. It didn't matter whether he liked something if they didn't have it in her size.
"If you don't know, you're not touching them enough," she whispered boldly.
"I'll have to agree with you on that."
"How about this?" She asked. Asia picked up a white bra with silver thread. The silver formed a complicated web-pattern on top of the white. Little star shapes stood out.
It was quite perfect for her. Most things that he liked were also quite revealing. This one covered just as much as her old one, but the silver thread added a nice design compared to the boring one she had now.
"It's nice," Issei said.
"You don't sound enthusiastic," Asia said.
"Well, it's hard to tell you know? I kinda have to see it on a girl to be certain."
"Right." She looked at the changing rooms. "Come on."
They both walked to the cubicles closed off with long curtains.
She dragged him into one and closed the curtain.
"Uhm, Asia?"
"Hm?"
"Is this okay?"
"I don't think anyone will mind," she said. "Besides," she pulled her pullover over her head. "I could use some help." She threw her grey pullover on the bench.
Next, she pulled off her loose grey shirt in a weird arms-crossing motion he didn't really understand. There was some strange physics going on here.
"Would you mind unhooking me?" She asked as she turned her back on him and tossed her shirt on the bench as well. She looked quite hot with her blonde hair hanging loosely over one shoulder.
"Right."
Issei carefully opened her bra. Luckily, he had spent quite some time researching how to do this. Just in case he would ever need it.
Asia let her bra slid over her shoulder.
She stood with her back to him, however, in front of her was a mirror, so he still got quite an eyeful before she covered herself up with her arms. A shame really, because her breasts were-
"Ise?"
"Huh?"
She nodded to the hook behind him were the new bra hung.
"Oh, right, sorry." He handed it to her.
He got another quick look as she took it off the hanger and put it on.
Issei helped her attach the double hooks at the back.
"You'll have to adjust the straps," she said.
"The what?"
She reached back and touched the shoulder straps.
"Oh." He noticed there were two little movable ladders on them. Exactly the same system you used to adjust the shoulder straps of a backpack. Who knew bras were so cleverly designed?
With her guidance he adjusted both of them individually.
"Is this right?" He asked, unsure. "One of them is higher."
Asia blushed red. "My left breast is smaller," she mumbled.
Oh, right. Now that she mentioned it, he had read once that it was quite common for girl's breasts to be slightly different in size. Especially when they went through puberty. How had he never noticed that?
"That's one way to look at it," Issei said, trying to cheer her up.
"How so?"
"You could also say that the other one is bigger."
She stifled a chuckle. "And that one is your favorite then?"
"I love all breasts equally," Issei declared. Although he did have a preference for the larger ones, that certainly didn't apply to the same girl. Average size was what counted. With a reasonably small variance between them preferably.
"So," she turned around. "What do you think?"
"It suits you," Issei said honestly. Silver and white matched quite nicely with her light hair color. And it kinda kept up the illusion of the church girl. The supposedly innocent church girl who was actually wearing something like this beneath her clothes. It wasn't actually that revealing, but it sort of cast the illusion it was.
"I think I'll take this one," Asia said. "It fits quite nicely."
"Okay."
"You don't want to check if it fits well?" She asked.
"Uhm…"
"I need a second opinion, Ise-san," she said simply.
"Yeah, but how…" Oh, wait.
Hesitantly, he reached out. His fingers cupped her right breast. Now that he studied them so up close, he could see it was indeed slightly bigger than the other one.
The fabric felt very soft and smooth.
He carefully squeezed her chest.
"Yeah, I'd say it fits nicely," Issei said.
Their eyes locked.
Asia put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
They kissed again.
While they kissed, Issei kept fondling her breast. His movements were soft and slow, but she seemed to like it a lot, cause her breathing got faster.
Asia traced the outline of his lips with her tongue.
He touched her tongue with his own.
His heart was beating very fast by now and it suddenly felt very hot in this small room.
Issei moved his hand under the fabric to touch her breast directly.
She gasped for a second, and then kissed him harder.
With his other hand, he reached back to unclasp her bra so he could touch her more easily. She didn't stop him. Quite the contrary in fact. Asia moved her hands away from his neck to pull off the bra completely and toss it on the bench. They continued to make out while Issei fondled her naked breasts. Her nipples had grown hard under his touch.
Asia pulled away suddenly. "Sorry," she whispered. "I kinda got carried away."
"It's okay," Issei said.
"No, it's not. We're in a changing room."
"Oh, right." It was indeed a bit inappropriate to make out in a place like this.
"We can continue this later," she said when she saw his sad look.
"Tonight?" Issei suggested.
"Are you sure your mom won't mind if we sleep together all the time?" She asked.
"I thought they were supposed to train you to be a housewife? Isn't this something a housewife would have to do?"
"So, should I ask for advice on kissing from your mom then?" She put her old bra back on.
"I don't think you need advice," Issei said. He helped her put on her bra.
"Okay."
"Practice however…"
Asia smiled. She stole another kiss before she got dressed again.
"I think we'll have to hurry up a bit on the other things. You mentioned the church representatives would come to your house tonight," Asia said. "And I promised your mom I would help with dinner again. Housewife training and such. We should stop getting distracted."
"You're the one distracting me," Issei argued.
"I'm not doing anything," she shot back.
"Said the girl who took off her bra in front of a virgin."
"Technically you took it off," Asia pointed out.
She opened the curtain and walked out.
Issei tried to look as if nothing had happened even though they had spent quite some time in there to try on one item. However, the other people in the store didn't really seem to care. He got one strange look from an employee however.
"I suggest we go to a different section," Issei said. He didn't like the way that employee looked at him. Although she was quite a hot woman actually.
"I still need matching underwear," Asia said. "And maybe more than like, one bra."
"Are you sure we have the time for that today?" Issei asked.
"If you stop distracting me, we have," Asia said.
"Yes, Miss."
She chuckled.
In retrospect, they were able to buy quite a lot. Issei was holding four large bags at the end mostly filled with dresses, short skirts, cute shirts or underwear. There was also one particularly sexy nightgown Asia had insisted on buying even though she had been incredibly embarrassed when trying it on. Maybe it was the way he had looked at her when she had put it on that convinced her.
"Are you sure I don't have to help?" Asia asked. She looked at the bags.
"This is a man's job."
"And how is this man gonna put those bags on his bike?" She asked.
"Good question."
He stood in front of his bike.
Hm, difficult.
Normally, he could just strap them on the luggage rack behind the saddle, but that was where Asia was sitting. Obviously, he could not hold four bags in his hand while driving his bike, that wouldn't end well.
"I've got an idea," Asia said. "Put them down."
"Uhm, okay."
She quickly looked around and then waved her hand.
A green circle lit up beneath the bags.
"Asia," Issei warned her. "We shouldn't cast magic in public."
"No one is looking," she assured him.
The circle flashed and the bags were gone.
"There we go," Asia said.
"Let's just hope no one saw this."
He got on his back. Asia sat down behind him again.
"I had a lot of fun today," she said as he pushed down hard to kick the bike into motion.
"Yeah, me too."
They went back home. At home, Asia changed into some of her new clothes. A white hoodie with a pink zipper and a red skirt that was just long enough to still be appropriate. She looked good in it. A lot more free than usual.
His dad said he liked her new style during dinner.
Asia blushed at his comment.
She was still a bit of a modest church girl. But now it was a conscious decision, not something that was forced upon her.
It was like watching a transformation. Asia was now smiling a lot more and she was more certain about herself.
They went to his room after dinner.
Issei put down some pillows on the ground for their meeting. They couldn't really hold it in the living room since his parents were there.
"You've changed," Issei told Asia.
"Is that a good thing?" she asked.
"Yeah, I like it."
"You've changed too," Asia said.
"I know. I've gotten smarter. A lot."
"You're still a lustful beast though."
"Well, sorry about that."
She bit her lip. "Well, I don't really-"
Someone knocked on his door.
Issei went to open it.
"Oh, Rias-senpai, come on in."
He moved aside so she could enter.
The rest of the peerage followed.
Even Yuuto was with them.
"You're back?" Issei asked.
"Koneko-chan convinced me," he said simply. The Knight sat down on a pillow.
"How did she do that?" Issei asked. He sat down opposite of Kiba. Asia sat down next to him.
"You were right," Buchou said, she came to sit on his other side. "We found a dry cleaner who admitted he treated a bishop uniform a few days ago. After some convincing that is."
"So we can trace him like this?" Issei asked.
"We have some familiars watching the place. If they come to bring it again, we'll follow them. They will lead us to Valper. We can only wait until that happens."
Yuuto seemed to agree with that as well, although a bit reluctantly.
"I wonder what they are up to," Akeno-san said. "Must be something big."
"We'll find out soon enough."
His mom arrived with tea and cookies. They all thanked her.
"Let me know if you kids need anything else," his mom said.
"We're fine," Issei said.
She left them again.
"I saw the Sitri peerage at the mall today," Issei said as he sipped his tea. "They seemed to be up to something."
"I have a suspicion," Rias-senpai said. "But you don't have to worry about it."
"What is it?" Issei asked.
She shared a look with Akeno-san. "We'll tell you when it's done. I don't want to give you any false hope. It might not work."
Issei narrowed his eyes. "You're working on something. This morning, when I called you said you were busy. At that hour?"
"We worked all night," Rias-senpai said.
We?
He looked at Akeno-san.
Damn. He really had to apologize to her. Was she working all night for him?
"Anyway," Rias-senpai said. "They'll be here soon."
"I wonder what they want," Koneko-chan said.
"I'm guessing they are after Valper as well. The church didn't just banish him, they wanted to bring him to justice. If he continues his project…"
"What project is that," Issei asked.
Buchou looked at Yuuto, who nodded.
"The Holy Sword Project."
"Holy Sword?"
"The main weapons of the church. The lightswords we took from Freed are channelers. They simply direct the light magic inside of your own body."
"That's why they didn't work when I picked them up." Before he had taken Freed's powers that is.
"Exactly," Buchou confirmed. "But Holy Swords are different. They have their own internal aura. The damage they deal is on a whole other level. It's one of the biggest weaknesses for devils."
"I see."
"The only problem is that they are also channelers. They draw a part of their power from their wielder. Unlike a regular lightsword which simply channels whatever you push into it, a Holy Sword demands a certain amount of aura."
"So if you're not strong enough…"
"The sword won't work," Buchou finished. "And Valper was involved in a project to create new wielders."
"Why did they banish him then? It sounds like he did great work for the church."
"He did. But the methods he used were horrifying. At first, he covered everything up. But when he was exposed he tried to dispose of all the research subjects. Yuuto-kun is one of the only survivors."
So all Yuuto's friends had been killed? Holy crap. No wonder he was so keen on revenge.
The bell chimed.
"They are here," Buchou said. "Try not to get into a fight," she looked sharply at Yuuto and Issei.
"Why are you looking at me?" Issei asked.
"Because I know you," she said.
Rias-senpai stood up and went to retrieve their guests.
"Why would I start a fight with them?"
"You never know," Koneko-chan said. "If a girl is in danger or something."
"That's a legitimate reason," Issei argued.
"Sure, sure."
Rias-senpai came back with two guests and strangely, his mom.
The first girl had long chestnut hair put up in twintails, quite like Ruruko-chan, but without clippers. Instead, she used two blue scrunchies. Her eyes were violet and permanently sparkling. For some reason, this girl looked vaguely familiar.
The other girl had short blue hair with one little fringe dyed green. She looked a lot more serious. Her eyes were brown-yellow and didn't sparkle. Instead, they studied everyone in turn, lingering quite long on Asia-chan. She had a large wrapped thing in her hands. It had the shape of a huge sword. Issei could feel the aura coming of it. Was this a Holy Sword?
Both girls were dressed in long green-white robes with the hoods lowered.
These were without a doubt the church agents. Seriously, why had no one mentioned they were two hot girls? It was a bit hard to tell with the robes, but he guessed they were quite hot.
Everyone stood up to greet them.
"Look who's here," his mom said.
"Hey, Ise-kun," the chestnut girl said.
"Uhm." Did he know this girl? He searched in his memory. Surely he would a cute girl like that. She had a decently sized chest (somewhere between Rias-senpai and Asia-chan he guessed), so obviously he should remember her.
"Do you know her?" Asia-chan asked. There was a bit of concern in her voice.
"Well, not really."
"Ye, Ise-kun," the girl pouted. "Forgetting your childhood friend."
"Childhood… friend?"
"The girl next door," his mom said.
Wasn't that a movie about a guy who had a pornstar as his neighbour and fell in love with her?
Wait, focus. Girl next door.
Wait a minute.
"You're a girl!?"
"Well uhm, yes, obviously," chestnut-girl said.
"You don't remember Shidou Irina-san?" His mom asked.
"Well, I just assumed she was a… boy."
"Ise!" His mom seemed genuinely offended.
"It's okay," Irina assured them. "I did look like a tomboy back then."
"I'll go make some more tea," his mom said. She left the room.
"I didn't know you had a childhood friend," Asia said.
"Neither did I," Issei said dryly.
"Is that your girlfriend?" Irina-san asked.
"This is Asia Argento," Issei introduced her.
There was a visible change. Irina's eyes widened in surprise. However, it was the other girl that bothered him. There was something else entirely in her eyes.
"So you're the witch," the blue-haired girl said.
They all felt the tension rising.
"What are you calling her?" Issei asked.
"She used to be a Holy Maiden," the girl continued coldly. "And now look at her. She's even wearing those sinful clothes."
Asia gripped her new skirt with both hands. She was trembling on her feet. Issei saw some tears blinking in her eyes.
"Hey, Xenovia," Irina said. "Calm down a bit."
"You should be careful," Issei warned her. "Asia is with us now."
"Oh, of course. With devils. Seems like she has fallen quite low. Tell me, Asia Argento, do you still believe in our Lord?"
Asia swallowed hard. "I just can't quite get myself not to," she said with a trembling voice. "I believed in him all my life."
"That's blasphemy," Xenovia said. "You should let us kill you right now." She shifted the grip on her sword. "I'm sure God will forgive a former Holy Maiden."
Asia was shaking heavily by now. Tears fell down.
"You're the ones who called her that," Issei shouted. "All she wanted was to have a normal life. To make friends. You're the ones who took that away from her."
Xenovia now stood right in front of him. "Holy Maidens only need God's love."
Issei's fist lashed out and hit her square in the face.
Xenovia stumbled back. Her hands went to her bleeding lip.
"Xenovia!" There was fear in Irina's voice.
Issei blinked a few times. He seemed to be surprised by his own action.
Or maybe he was just surprised he had been quick enough to hit a trained warrior from the church.
Asia was the only one who had seen it. For a moment, his eyes had flickered red. But now, they were gold-brown again. He had not lost control. He had simply channeled Freed's speed through his body for this one hit. It was the only explanation that fit. Issei himself would never have been quick enough to hit her.
Xenovia wiped the blood away.
"If you want to play it like that." She prepared to unwrap her weapon.
"That's enough." Rias-senpai said. "If you want to fight so badly, take it outside." Wait, she wasn't angry at him?
Buchou had told him not to cause a scene at that was exactly what he had done. Shouldn't she be angry?
"Two against one seems hardly fair," Yuuto said. He stood next to Issei.
"Yuuto?"
"We're comrades," Yuuto said. "We fight together."
"Fine," Xenovia said. "Let's take this outside then."
She grabbed her heavy sword in both hands and went outside.
Irina-san didn't seem keen on following.
"This is a bad idea," she said.
"It's just a mock fight," Buchou said. "We won't kill anyone. Not yet that is."
"Still."
"Do you expect us to just forget what your friend said?" Buchou said coldly. "Asia Argento is with us now. Any attack on her is an attack on us. Unless she was planning to apologize?"
Asia seemed quite surprised by that sudden statement.
"I understand," Irina said. "I'll see if I can convince her. Give me some time please."
"Alright."
Irina went outside as well.
"She'll never convince her," Issei said.
"I doubt it as well," Buchou said. "That thing she was carrying is a Holy Sword, I'm certain of it. If they hit you, you'll take a lot of damage."
"Right. Yuuto, can you take that blue-haired girl?"
"Huh?"
"We'll need a proper tactic," Issei said. "Were you planning to just charge in there blindly? These are trained warriors. If you can't handle it then I can ask Koneko-chan instead." He didn't like the look in Yuuto's eyes.
"No! Sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly." Yuuto's eyes cleared up a little. There was no longer pure hatred inside of them. Now, there was a little calculated revenge too. "You're right. We need to think."
"Given the size of her sword, you'll have to use your speed. She'll get tired swinging a huge thing like that."
"Right. What are you gonna do about the other girl?"
"I'll see if I can use some psychological warfare. She seems to remember me quite well. A bit too well for a simple neighbour."
"Good," Rias-senpai said. "You're a great tactician, Ise-kun."
"You're not angry at me?"
Buchou shrugged. "That girl overstepped her boundaries. Asia-chan is a member of our family now. We protect her."
Buchou was suddenly hugged by Asia.
She was surprised for a moment, but then she patted Asia's back. "It's okay," she said. "We'll protect you. All of us."
A/N:
-Asia's new clothes are all based on mobage cards. I'll put them up on my 'blog' in case anyone is really curious about it.
-Thanks for all the reviews, as usual.