Chapter 19: Holy Memories Part 2

The unnatural sound that can only be produced through a metal bat rang throughout the air. Behind the old school building, the Occult Research Club was busy practicing for the upcoming ball tournament. After informing the aliens on what games would be played during the tournament, the schedule for training was made.

First, in the mornings, the devils would do their usual training and workout. Then, they would all attend school as normal and afterwards they would train for the tournament before they began their club activities.

The current sport the group was practicing was baseball. Rias had given Run a small rulebook on the game and told Run, and Ren as well, to look up more about the game to familiarize themselves with it. The red haired devil did not do this for Lala though, deciding that a more hands on approach would be better. She informed the pink haired alien the basic rules of the game and sent her up to bat to see how she would do.

Much to everyone's surprise, Lala excelled at the task. Not only did she manage to hit the ball on her first swing, she also sent it flying. However…

"Please try and keep your strength under control Lala," Rias said.

Lala smiled and laughed. "Sorry, sometimes I kind of forget my own strength." Thankfully, she managed to tone down her next swing.

About half an hour later, Rias nodded while wiping the sweat off her brow. "Alright, that concludes batting practice. Lala will be our third batter, if she can keep her strength under control, and our fourth will be Koneko."

"OK!"

"…Affirmative."

'Having the two girls with superhuman strength be third and fourth batters, only natural,' Issei concluded.

Hearing these words, Ren couldn't help but smile and nod his head. "It was only natural that someone as physically gifted as Lala would be third in the lineup. Ah, this takes me back to our days as children."

This caused Issei to turn his head and stare at the white haired boy with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, you guys used to play games like this too?"

"Indeed!" the prince declared. "We would sometimes play games like tag or hide and seek. The only problem was that Lala wasn't able to control her strength as well as she can now."

Issei's eyes widened before they resumed their natural state. The pervert's expression shifted into a somber one while he patted Ren on the shoulder who stared at the devil in confusion. "I am so sorry."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Now then," Rias shouted, garnering everyone's attention, "we will be practicing our catches and throws! Everyone put on your gloves and spread out!"

'Wow, Buchou is really fired up.'

Walking up to him, Akeno giggled behind her hand as she looked at the brown haired male's expression. "As you know Ise-kun, Rias really enjoys these kinds of competitions and hates losing."

"Yeah," he replied while nodding, "I can definitely see that."

"But, we should be able to win so long as we don't make any mistakes." The pervert couldn't help but agree with that statement. With the entire club being made up of devils and aliens who possessed greater physical strength, beating the other clubs wouldn't be a problem. However, this also meant that they would have to hold back a great deal. They don't want any kind of suspicions or rumors being spread. "After all," she continued, "this isn't like a Rating Game."

Ren turned to look at the two in confusion. "Rating Game?"

"I'll tell you later," Issei said.

A minute later, the members of Rias' peerage and Ren were spread around the field, their gloves on and in readied positions, with the exception of the two blondes in the group. Rias was in position with her bat while Lala was standing at the pitcher's mound, who was told not to throw too fast or hard but just enough so the red haired devil could hit the ball. They'd focus on ball pitching speeds later.

Drawing her hand back, the pink haired ball flung the ball towards Rias who in turn smacked the ball with her bat, once again creating the unnatural sound. Looking at the direction of the ball, the red head shouted, "Asia! It's all yours!"

Hearing the sudden command surprised the already nervous girl, making her raise her glove in the air while closing her eyes tightly. As expected, the ball didn't even touch her glove before it hit the ground and rolled between her legs.

Rias sighed and shook her head. "Asia, if you don't catch the ball, go fetch it!"

"Y-yes! I'm sorry!

"And do not close your eyes! The ball isn't going to hurt you!"

"Y-yes!"

As he watched this, Issei couldn't help but sigh and shake his head. 'Asia really doesn't have any sport's talent.'

Once the ball was retrieved, Rias turned toward the other blond and shouted, "Yuuto, this one is for you!" The pitch was made and the ball made contact once more with the bat, this time flying toward the fastest member of the devils.

However, whether he did not hear his master or did not care, Kiba simply stared at the ground before him, his glove to his side and his eyes dull and lifeless. The ball then hit him straight on his head, bouncing off and falling next to him, but the boy made no indication that he was hurt or that the ball did any kind of damage to him.

"Hey Kiba!" Issei shouted while running up to him. The pervert then began to shake the blond, causing his eyes to turn back to normal and his expression to shift into confusion. "Focus man!"

"Oh," he replied while picking up the ball, "my apologies. I…I wasn't paying attention." He threw the ball back to the obviously confused alien princess.

Looking at her servant, Rias' expression became concerned while she said, "Yuuto, are you alright? You've been rather out of it lately and that's not like you."

"I'm sorry Buchou," Kiba replied while bowing, "I won't let it happen again."

The red haired girl stared at him for a few more seconds before nodding, temporarily satisfied by his response. However, it was the brown haired male who continued to observe his male comrade. 'He's been acting like this ever since the meeting yesterday, even when he went home.' The pervert thought back on their conversation and picked out a specific and glaring detail. 'He did mention that Holy Sword. And he sounded pissed when he mentioned it before. But why?'

The group practiced for another half hour before taking a break. Sitting down on the bench near the field, Rias pulled out a book titled "Batters and Catchers: A Guide to Baseball".

"What's that?"

Looking to her side Rias saw Lala standing right next to her. Without even following the alien's eyesight, the devil replied, "It's a manual on baseball. While I do know the most basic of rules, learning some of the more complicated ones is of the utmost importance."

"Can I see?"

Not seeing any major reason to refuse, Rias slid over on the bench and allowed Lala to sit down before handing her the book. While Lala began thumbing through the pages, the red haired devil turned her head over to see her queen and pawn interacting with each other. Issei was sporting a shocked expression and Akeno was giggling behind her hand. The boy's face then shifted into a depressed and worried look. 'Akeno probably told him something that made him very worried. I really need to teach him how to make a poker face, he's too easy to read.' Rias then formed a soft smile while her eyes gained an affectionate glimmer to them. 'But that honesty is what I love about him so much.' The red head then turned her attention back to the still reading alien as a thought made its way to her head. "Lala, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure," the alien princess replied, her focus still on the book.

"Do you love Ise?"

The question caused Lala to raise her head away of the book and stare at the devil with a tilted head before smiling brightly and nodded. "Yep!"

Shaking her head, Rias sighed. "OK, that one is on me. Let me rephrase the question. What is it that you love about him?"

"He's really nice for one thing!" the pink haired girl replied immediately. "He's also really honest and he helped me out when he didn't have too!"

Rias nodded at this reply. If she were speaking honestly, these were among the reasons that she fell in love with her pawn as well. However, that was the thing: there are more reasons for her affection. "Anything else?"

At this Lala put her finger up to her chin and began humming in thought. After nearly a minute of deliberating, she turned back towards Rias and said, "Well, I'm sure I can come up with more as we spend time together."

"I suppose that leads me back to my previous question then: do you love Ise?"

"I…" The alien princess paused in her response. Her she took on a hard thinking expression while her hands rested on her thighs. "I really like Ise and spending time with him. It reminds me of my time with my sisters but…different." Lala turned to look the devil in the eye with a curious expression before asking, "Do you love someone?"

"Yes," was Rias' response. There was no hesitation in her voice. Her face took on a nostalgic and blissful expression as she thought about how the brown haired pervert burst through the doors of the party hall and declared that her virginity was his and his alone before he fought for her freedom.

"What does love feel like?"

"Well…it's…it's a hard feeling to describe. There's the love you feel towards a family member, me to my parents and older brother while you perhaps to your parents and sisters. But love for another person is…it's like a feeling that makes you think if you two were the only people left in the world, you wouldn't mind as that person is with you."

"Oh, that makes sense…I think," Lala responded. "Hmm…I certainly wouldn't want to be one of the only two people left, but if that's the case, I'd like it to be Ise. He's really dependable and I know I can trust him!"

"Alright, then let me change the question again," Rias continued. She had no idea where all of this was coming from, but something was telling her to ask these questions. Perhaps it was due to her love manual back at home. "Why do you want to marry Ise? Is it because you love him or because he understood your situation? And if that's the case, what do you think Ise's thoughts are on the matter?"

The pink haired girl moved to open her mouth but no words came out. While her face was set in its normally confused look, Rias could tell that behind the scenes Lala was trying to figure out some kind of answer.

"Lady Rias, why all of these questions?" Peke asked, just as confused as the red head was.

"I just…want to know." The red head then patted the alien on the shoulder, snapping Lala out of her thoughts, before saying, "I don't need an answer right now but I do want you to think about those questions." Rias then grabbed her bat before standing up and yelling out, "Alright! Everyone, back into positions, another half hour of this and then we call it for the day."

Everyone responded loudly and clearly, except for the blond knight who gave a halfhearted yell. Watching the devil's back, Lala's mind continued to process the questions she was given. 'Do I want to marry him?' For the rest of the practice and day, this plagued her mind.

When he walked into the club room with Asia and Lala, Issei's jaw dropped and his eyes widen at the sight before him. He was told by his master to come to the clubroom after lunch so that they could continue practicing for the tournament.

Sitting on the couch sipping a cup of tea was Sona Shitori, the student council president of Kuoh Academy. Even for students who have not seen her a lot, it was hard not to recognize her with her short and neat black hair, glasses that amplified her cold and strict eyes, her slender and beautiful body, and the all business atmosphere that surrounded her.

Not only that, but if Rias' words were true then that meant that she was a devil as well.

Standing behind the black haired girl was a young man. He sported short sandy colored hair and wore the same uniform as Issei, but his shirt was buttoned and he was wearing his tie. Shaking his head a little, the male stared at Issei and said, "No offense Rias-senpai, but did you honestly not tell Hyoudou about us? I mean, it's a little weird considering we're devils too."

Placing her cup down, the glasses wearing girl said, "Saji, it's not unnatural that he would not know of us as not only are we not to contact each other normally but it has not even been that long since Hyoudou became a devil." Sona then shifted her attention onto the red head, who was sitting at her desk and said, "But I am surprised that he wasn't even given a little bit of information."

Rias merely shrugged at the statement. "The opportunity for me to say it hasn't really come up."

Walking up next to the group and leaning in close to Issei, Akeno said, "The student council president before you is also the devil Sona Sitri, heiress to the house of Sitri."

While hearing the confirmation that Sona was indeed a devil settled Issei's question it was the revelation that she was the heiress to one of the remaining 72 Pillars that caused the pervert's eyes to widen further.

Sona looked over her shoulder up at the boy before nodding. Nodding back, the sandy hair boy turned towards the group at the door before saying, "My name is Genshirou Saji, a second year and Kaichou's Pawn. The reason you all have been getting such a peaceful school life is because of her, so please remember that."

Hearing the boy's words made Issei's head perk up and a smile appear on his face. "A Pawn? Hey, you're the same as me! That's amazing!"

Saji sighed at Issei's words. "Please don't put me in the same category as you, one of the "Perverted Trio". You'll hurt my pride."

"What the hell you say?!"

"Oh, you want to start something? Well bring it on! I may not look like it, but I happened to consume 4 Pawn pieces! I may be a rookie, but I won't lose to someone like you!"

"Saji," Sona said, garnering the two males' attention, "stop it."

"B-but Kaichou-"

"We came here to introduce you to both Issei Hyoudou and Asia Argento, two recently reincarnated devils like you, not to start a fight." The glasses wearing girl then picked up her cup and said, "Besides, I do not think at this point in time you would be able to defeat Issei Hyoudou. He not only consumed all 8 Pawn pieces but he was the one to defeat Raiser Phoenix."

This bit of information caused Saji to harshly whip his head between his master and the pervert. "W-wait a minute! He defeated Raiser Phoenix?! I thought it was Akeno-senpai or Kiba! How did he beat someone like Raiser?!"

'With all the right tools and clear thinking,' the pervert thought while his left eye began twitching.

Sona stood up and turned towards the group before bowing. "Saji here does not have the battle experience that you two have so I ask that you get along with him, please." Behind his master, Saji grumbled causing the glasses wearing girl to look at him over shoulder. "Saji," she said, as if a mother scolding her child.

Nervously and reluctantly, the male bowed to the group and said, "Please take care of me."

"Yes, and please take care of me," Asia replied as she walked towards the boy with a gentle smile.

Seeing the former nun in front of him, Saji straightened his body and grew a goofy smile. "Well, if it is with Asia-san, then I do not mind getting along." He then extended his hand out to shake with hers only to have that hand taken by the brown haired pervert who was sporting a very strained smile.

"Yeah!" Issei exclaimed while tightening his grip. "Also, if you even think about touching Asia then I will kill you."

Saji's own eyes formed a glare while his smile shifted into a similarly hostile state. He squeezed his own grip to match Issei's own. "Oh? Are you trying to keep her all to yourself? Not only are you a pervert, but you're also a brute."

"Rather a brute than a jackass."

"Rather respected than despised."

The two heiress watched the interaction between their two male pawns and sighed. Sona turned to look at her friend and said, "Things are hard for you I see."

"As are they for you, my friend," the red head replied while shaking her head.

Shifting her focus back onto the group in front of her, Sona said, "I want to make something perfectly clear. Saji already knows this, but this will serve as a reminder. I love this school and I will not tolerate anything that will harm the peaceful life of this school." She turned towards the only alien in the room and said, "That means you Lala Deviluke."

"Huh?" Lala responded, focusing on the one who spoke to her. "Me?"

"Yes, I heard about the situation when you first arrived here as well as the 'Chomp-Munchy Eater-kun' incident. That was not something that I enjoyed dealing with." Sona's eyes sharpened. "While you are from a different planet and a princess, please think of those around you before you do something." The pink haired girl's only response was to laugh nervously. "In any case, I believe that we have accomplished what we set out to do and so Saji and I will take our leave."

As she made her way to leave, Saji following behind her, Issei turned around and bowed quickly. "Um Kaichou…no Sona Sitri-sama, please take care of us!"

Seeing the boy's action, Asia followed suit and said, "Y-yes! Please take care of us!"

The black haired girl stopped and turned to face the pawn and bishop before smiling gently. "Yes, let us get along." Her focus shifted to Rias in the back before saying, "Also Rias, good luck in the tournament. The student council has no intention of losing."

The red head merely smiled cheekily and replied, "We have no intention of losing to you either." With their piece said, Sona and Saji left the clubroom. Rias turned her attention onto her servants and said, "Ise, Asia, please try and get along with Saji-kun. Not only him though, but also the rest of the student council. I would rather not us start a fight since we are going to school with each other. So please, try and get along."

The two nodded their heads. 'I'll get along with him, but I won't like it. I may not like Kiba, but I really don't like Saji!'

The ball tournament began the next day. A wave of excitement traveled throughout the school, but for different reasons. Some were excited about competing against one another, others were excited to win, and there's those that just wanted to see the girls in their gym clothes.

The first match that Issei, Asia, Lala, and Ren participated in was the class matches. The game was baseball and thanks to their previous training they were able to help their class march into victory. There was also the incident where Lala tried to improve the bat for Asia but Issei managed to get her to back down on it.

A few hours later and they, along with most of the other members of the ORC were busy watching a tennis match Rias was in. Her opponent was none other than Sona Sitri. Seeing his master in a tennis uniform not only revitalized Issei but also gave him the energy to cheer on the red head. Meanwhile, all around him were several female students, as well as the male pawn the pervert met the previous day, shouting in favor of the glasses wearing president. As the match went on, it seemed clear that the two devil heiresses were equally matched. That is when Sona decided to begin using magic to make the game more interesting prompting Rias to follow suit. In the end, both of their rackets were destroyed and a tie was declared.

Lala did make an offer to make a much stronger racket in the event that they played tennis again, but Rias gently shot that down. After all, when would they ever need to play a game of tennis again?

The final match the Occult Research Club would participate in the tournament was a game of dodgeball against the baseball team. To the devils and aliens, this was a game they would not lose at unless they tried to, but that didn't mean they were going to play half-assedly.

"Hm, what is this?" Rias asked as she pointed at the items Issei was holding in his hand.

The brown haired male smiled sheepishly while scratching his cheek. "W-well, I thought that we should have some kind of symbol for the game, so I spent all last night making these." The items in question were white headbands that had the kanji for "Occult Research Club" embroidered on.

The red head was the first to take one and inspected it. "This is very well made Ise."

"N-nah," Issei replied, "it's just a little something. If I had more time I'd probably would have made something much better."

"…Issei-senpai is much more skilled than I thought."

"My my, these certainly will show our fighting spirit."

"So…is doing things like this the path of a man?! Impressive!"

Despite being thrilled at hearing the praise for his handiwork, Issei blushed slightly at the attention. He then took notice of the blond knight who was staring at the floor again a little way from the group. Walking up next to him, Issei placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder before handing him a headband, causing the other male to jolt a little in place. "Hey man, let's just focus on winning right now."

"…Yeah," Kiba replied while taking the offered headband, "let's go…win." As he made his way back into the group, Issei stared at his back, concern filling his eyes.

"Get him!"

"Death to him!"

"Show no mercy!"

When the match began, total chaos enveloped the court. While mostly on the defensive, the baseball team were showing that they were no slouches when it came to throwing balls. The only problem was who they could target.

They couldn't hit either Rias or Akeno as they were the two most popular girls in the school and the most beautiful. Can't hit Koneko as she was the unofficial school mascot and they'd feel bad if they did hit her. Kiba and Ren were off limits as the girls in the school would hate the one who even thought about hitting them. And Asia, Lala, and Run were untouchable, mostly because Lala could catch any ball thrown at her and send it back with as much if not more force, but also because they were the beautiful transfer students.

So that left only one feasible option.

As he weaved and ducked his way through the barrage of rubber balls, Issei couldn't help but sweat. 'I know why they want to hit me, but couldn't they at least act like they have no choice?!'

[The pains of being surrounded by beautiful women: there will always be jealousy.]

'This isn't jealousy, this is premeditated murder!'

Thankfully, because all the balls were focused towards the pervert, this allowed the others to grab the balls and build up their arsenal.

Then, one member of the baseball team yelled, "I don't care if I'm hated, die you handsome!" He threw his ball towards the blond knight.

Seeing this, Issei ran over to the male and stood in front of him. "Hey man, get it together!" he exclaimed.

"…huh, Ise-kun? What are you doing?"

"Don't 'huh' me! Get your head in the game and focus-"

The brown haired pervert did not finish his statement. Although he was in the proper stance and ready to catch the ball, it did not go that way. Instead, at the last second, the ball changed its trajectory and fell downwards and hit Issei in his family jewels. This caused every single male, except Kiba, to flinch and cover their groin.

Issei grasped his crotch and fell to his knees. His expression was mixture of pain and horror. Running over and helping him up, Rias said, "Ise, are you alright?"

"B-Buchou…ball…"

"Yes, I've got the ball and I will make the one who hurt you pay."

Walking over to the two, Akeno leaned into to her friend's ear and said, "Actually Buchou, I believe that he speaking of another type of ball."

The red head's eyes widened. "No," she began before looking at Asia. "Asia! Come here! It will be very troublesome if it becomes useless because of something as trivial as this."

The former nun nodded and ran over to her master, with the rest of the club surrounding them. "What should I do Buchou!"

"Ise's…special area was harmed by a ball. I'm going to need you to heal him."

The phrasing of the request confused her but Asia nonetheless nodded with a determined expression. Lala then shot her hand up and asked, "Can I go too?"

"No Lala, we are going to need you here to help avenge Ise."

'I'm…not…dead yet…'

Looking at her beloved pawn, Rias patted him on the cheek and said, "Don't worry Ise, your sacrifice will not be in vain." She then gently handed him off to Koneko and said, "Take him around back for Asia to heal and then quickly come back." The white haired girl nodded before dragging the injured boy out of the gym, Asia following suit. With the three now gone, Rias' expression darkened before turning back to the baseball team who all flinched. "Now then, who was it that had that audacity to hit my beloved Ise?"

Giggling beside the red head, Akeno said, "Wouldn't it just be better if you knocked them all out?"

"Yes, that is a good idea."

"There are lines that a man must never cross, and one of them crossed that line," Ren began, a fire burning in his eyes, "For that, I will avenge my rival and fellow man Issei Hyoudou!"

"I really don't know what avenge means, but I guess I just have to hit every one of them right?" Lala asked while holding a ball.

The only one who didn't shout out was Kiba who turned his attention back onto the floor and fell into the background.

What followed next was a massacre that would go down in Kuoh history as a warning for 'unsportsmanlike behavior towards fellow men'.

"So we won huh?"

After the match, Lala met up with Issei and Asia. The blonde had finished healing Issei up with a massive blush on her face when the pink haired girl arrived to tell them everything. The brown haired male sighed sadly. "Wish I could have been of more help than just being a reason to fight."

"By the way Ise," Lala said, "what exactly did you hurt?"

Issei blushed at this question and turned his head to the side, not wanting to look the alien in the eye. "W-well, you see um…" Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peke trying to shake her head. "I'll…tell you later." Lala was disappointed but did not push on the matter.

The trio then began to walk back towards the gym to meet up with Rias. As they did so, it began to rain heavily. 'Thankfully it only started raining now.' And as they continued onwards, the group heard a loud noise that overtook the rain for a second.

Standing a few meters away from them was Rias whose arm was positioned as if she had slapped someone and the one she had slapped was her blond knight. "Are you awake now? I don't enjoy doing this but if it will help then I will."

Upon his cheek was a bright red hand mark that slowly began to fade. However, if the slap was painful in anyway it did not show on Kiba's face. His eyes were almost lifeless and he did not sport his usual smile. Turning back towards his master, a smile now upon his face, the knight said, "I apologize Buchou. Are we done now? I don't seem to be feeling well so I'm afraid I will have to take a few days off from the club. Goodnight." With his piece said, Kiba turned and began to walk away.

Frowning at his words, Issei ran after him. "Kiba!" he called out, causing the blond to stop. "Hold on a second!" When he reached the other male, the pervert asked, "Hey man, are you doing okay?"

"That's none of your concern," Kiba replied in a cold tone Issei never thought he hear.

"Look man, I'm just worried about you alright."

"You? Worried? We are devils. The only people we need to worry about are ourselves."

Issei's frown deepened. These were not the kind of words he expected to come out of someone like Kiba, a guy who seemed loyal and caring about the people around him. "Well I am. Today may have just been a game, but what if the same thing happens during a fight? We're comrades, we look out for one another."

"…Comrades huh." Kiba then turned around, hiding his face from the pervert. "Ise-kun, do you know what motivates me?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know why I fight? I only just remembered and I am ashamed that I forgot such a basic thing."

"It's…it's because of Buchou right?"

"No," the knight replied before turning back to stare at Issei. His expression was filled to the brim with a kind of anger that Issei had only once felt before mixed with a determination that worried the pervert. "Revenge. I seek vengeance upon the holy blade known as Excalibur and I will not rest until it is destroyed."

'Excalibur?' Issei thought while watching Kiba walk away into the darkness and rain. 'Is…is this the real Kiba?'

AN: Don't you just hate cliffhangers? Seriously, whose lame brain idea was it to end this on a...what's that? Mine? Oh...well alright then. Well hi there guys! Been about what a few weeks? I think I'm getting into a groove right now of an update schedule but nothing really set in stone. In any case, here we have the next part of the Excalibur Arc. The ball tournament goes down and Kiba remembers his past and everything that came with it. Now it is only a matter of time before a certain angel and her blue haired companion show up.

But in any case, onto the reviews!

the Composcreator: True, it is the needed part to get to the juicy bits of the story.

TigerWarrior1998: Ohohohoho, tremendously.

The Casual Noeru-kun: Well, here it is. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Raximus: Well, later years Gid, but yeah Gid does have a lot of interest in Issei. Whether or not that's a good thing depend solely on you.

DT-Demon-Trigger: Yeah, I decided right away I wasn't going to do an incest relationship but more of a wholesome and familial one. And Freed vs Zastin? Hmmmm...

Imperial-samaB: Oh she will most certainly be.

lightkirinhuruname: Well, we will just have to wait and see. I don't want to spoil a lot now.

For-the-Emprah: A man of culture I see.

CxC: Oh it was probably there. I had a friend on Spacebattles do a Christmas themed snip and one of the gifts Mikan got was a picture of her and her brothers when they were young with their grandparents. Really adorable shit right there. And yes, Irina was aware of Mikan. The ages check out. Irina moved when she was 7 so that means Mikan was about 2 or so.

Well, I believe that is all for this chapter. Thank you all so much for reading this chapter. Please leave a fave or follow and a comment and I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay loud, stay proud, stay toasty.