CHAPTER 16
Issei entered his house the same way he always did.
Without making a sound.
Thankfully, it seemed that his parents were in the living room and cuddled on the couch as they watched a movie.
The brunet was, still, dumbfounded at what had transpired mere minutes ago, his expression matching his sentiment as he sat on his bed.
After all, it was the first time a girl had asked him out on a date.
Even worse, due to his fried brain at that moment, he had accepted.
It was a good thing he had exchanged numbers with Kiba.
A figurative light bulb appeared above his head as he took out his cell-phone from his pocket. If anyone knew about dates, it should be his, more than popular with girls, friend.
Issei took a calming breath as he pushed the dial button.
"Ise-kun?" Kiba's curious voice came from the other end of the line.
"Yeah, it's me." Issei hoped he sounded calm as he, silently, gulped in nervousness, while, also, making sure he was quiet as to not alert his parents of his return. "Sorry to call so soon, after I left, but it's important."
"What happened?" it was obvious that the blond went from calm to high alert in an instant.
The brunet gulped one more time, before he answered. "The Fallen Angel stalking me, came in contact with me on my way home." he explained.
"Hold on a moment, Ise-kun. Koneko-chan just returned and is reporting to Rias-Buchou."
Issei felt his nervousness rise expotentially at that.
Through the phone, the brunet could, easily, hear Koneko's soft, monotone voice relaying the event of his meeting with his stalker to the red-head word for word.
Hearing Kiba sigh at the other end of the line, once Koneko finished her report, made Issei shrink to himself as if he'd been a five year old and done something increadibly stupid.
"Really, Ise-kun...? You agreed to that date on Sunday...?" Kiba asked in exasperation, with a little bit of mirth as well.
"Yeah..." Issei couldn't hide his embarrassment at his admition. "In my defence, she caught me completely off guard." he, meekly, defended himself.
A short silence ensued, in which the brunet's nervousness rose tremendously.
"Ise-kun, Rias-Buchou wants to talk to you and she seems serious." Kiba informed him in an awkward tone.
It only helped Issei's nervousness reach its peak.
"Ise?" Rias' voice called out to him as if to ensure he was there.
"I'm here, Rias-san." the brunet sighed in resignation to his fate.
"Don't feel bad, Ise." Rias tried to console him. "As stupid as it sounds, your date with the Fallen Angel is a good thing."
The brunet sighed in relief to hear that. "How so?" he, curiously, asked.
"Tomorrow, after school, I'll send Yuuto to fetch you to come to our club. I already have an idea on how to deal with your little stalker, as far as the date itself is concerned, at least. So, you can come here and we can talk about it." she told him conversationally.
"Ok, Rias-san. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Issei's whole being relaxed as he terminated the call.
Then, after heaving another relieved sigh, he went to his desk to do his homework.
It was difficult to concentrate, but he managed to pull through.
Looking at the time on his phone, he saw that he had around two hours before dinner.
His eyes, then, landed on his laptop.
Issei had been studying several things as to how he could be a perfect boyfriend material and an extremelly versatile person in society, once he would become an adult.
However, since he lacked experience on dating, there was something to guide him, which wasn't generic advice.
For once, Issei forwent his meditation and did an online research on dating. More specifically, failures and successes on first dates, from the boys' perspective.
Even if his date with Yuuma was a fake one, he would treat it as a normal date, based on her cute and shy personallity.
That said, he might have to make some adjustments, according to what Rias would tell him the next day.
After he had dinner with his parents, with his mother scolding him about being back too late and not even telling her, Issei had a shower and went straight to bed.
He wasn't particularly excited to spar with his tenants, but he knew they would leave him no choice in the matter.
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The next day, Issei couldn't wait for his meeting with the Devils.
Between Zangetsu's and Ddraig's brutality and, apart from the Devils and his parents, everybody else's fear of him, he wanted this day to end as soon as possible.
Not that he showed it, of course.
He didn't even pay attention to the girls' daydreams regarding Kiba and himself, when the blond came to fetch him.
The two boys walked in silence, since Kiba was able to detect the brunet's foul mood.
Issei may have been smiling all day, but he had his eyes closed as well.
And, considering the brunet's demeanor at the exhibition match, the blond found it easy to see the signs.
Once they were at the Occult Research Club's room, even the girls noticed the difference between his current mood and the one he had the day before. Though, they opted to not comment on it.
So ,instead, Rias got straight to the point. "Ise, we learned about the Fallen Angel's identity."
At that, Issei opened his eyes and his expression turned serious as he faced the redhead. Even if he didn't show it, he was thankful for the distraction. "And?" he probbed.
Akeno handed two photos to Rias, who showed them to Issei. One of them showed the same girl he encountered the day before, running right after her meeting with him. The other, however, made him narrow his eyes in suspicion.
The other photo was of a girl, almost, at the same height as him. Aside from that and the fact that she looked five years older, though, she was a spitting image of the other girl. That said, the leather straps that, barely, functioned as clothing and a pair of black, large and feathery wings out of her back all but confirmed that she was a Fallen Angel.
"Her name is Raynare and not Yuuma Amano."
Rias' serious voice turned his attention back to her as she put the photos upside-down on her desk in front of her.
"What else?" Issei matched her seriousness. In his mind, he erased the plan he had made for the date on Sunday. He needed a completely new one.
"She is, probably, the strongest out of her group of four, including herself. Although, that doesn't say much. Fallen Angels with just a pair of wings are considered cannon fodder and easy to dispose of. Anyway. Raynare, also, has a small army of an unknown amount of Stray Exorcists and their base is the abandoned Church. Their intentions are completely unknown to us, unfortunately. That said, they are certainly up to no good, considering the amount of people Raynare's group consists of." Rias, thoroughly, explained as she leaned back on her chair and crossed her arms under her breasts.
Issei mimicked her actions so as to get more comfortable as he nodded in understanding to her small monologue. "So, what do I have to do on the date?" he inquired.
Rias grimaced a little, something that Issei didn't like. "Unfortunately, you have to treat it as a normal date between two teenagers in high school."
"Why?" the brunet was genuinely confused.
"We don't want Raynare to get suspicious of any of us, especially you, Ise. We want her to see the date to the end and make her intentions about you clear. Should she try to kill you, I'm sure that you can stop her and capture her."
Honestly, Issei didn't like Rias' plan, even if it was solid and full-proof. Particularly, he didn't like the fact that the redhead sounded sure of Raynare's possible attempt to kill him. There was a question, though. "Why capture her?" he, curiously, asked.
Rias took a moment to drink some of Akeno's tea to hydrate her mouth and throat. Delicious as always. "If it was up to me, I would have killed her without a second thought."
Issei didn't bother to hide his grimace upon hearing that. Especially since Rias was both casual and cold about it.
"However, I cannot do that, unless I wanted to jumpstart a war between Devils and Fallen Angels."
Oh. He had forgotten about that simple fact. "My question still stands, though. Why capture her?"
To his bewilderment, Rias smiled mysteriously and playfully, before she spoke confidently. "The first day we met you at Souna's office, you matched her word for word and even managed to outsmart her throughout the last year. So, I will give you some time to figure it out yourself."
The brunet heard the challenge loud and clear, alright. His mind ran a mile a minute, going through the strategic knowledge he had accumulated throughout the years. Even if he didn't have experience in the Supernatural world, he was pretty sure he could-.
His mind came to a grinding halt as his serious dark green eyes met Rias' knowing blue ones.
"You want to interrogate Raynare-san about her group and her intentions." Issei said in realisation.
"Souna was right to take an interest to you, Ise. So have I, for that matter. You are increadibly smart, for a human of your age." Rias praised him with all the honesty she could.
Issei found himself smirking in satisfaction and pride that he figured out the red-head's plan in a matter of seconds.
A short silence ensued, with Kiba and Akeno looking appraisingly at the brunet. Koneko was her usual self; munching on some cookies.
Typical glutton.
"Ok." Issei broke the silence, gaining the attention of the room. "Now that we have a solid plan, is there something else you need from me?" he, conversationally, asked.
Rias put on a thoughtful expression as she thought about it, for a moment. Then, a figurative bulb lit up above her head and her eyes widened a little at her own forgetfulness. "Actually, there is." she, slowly, said.
"There is?" Akeno raised a delicate eyebrow to express her skepticism.
"Yes." the redhead replied, confidently, not even looking at her friend's direction. Instead, her gaze was locked with Issei. "We haven't signed a contract for our alliance."
Three silmutaneous 'Oh!'s in realisation was her response.
Then, Issei became uncomfortable. "I agree with you, Rias-san, but I don't want the rest of the Devils to know about me just yet."
"That's fine and understandable." the redhead nodded in agreement. "So, we will make the contract match our desires in a way that nobody in the Underworld will be suspicious. Not even the Maou." she added, sounding eager and confident.
For the first time, Akeno became stern, almost knowing what her best friend planned, but didn't say anything. Kiba understood as well, but opted to remain silent, hoping his King's plan wouldn't backfire.
Issei relaxed upon hearing that. "Then, what about Sona and her own Peerage?" he asked curiously.
Apparently, it was the wrong thing to do, because Rias and her Peerage seemed to be on high alert.
Oops.
The brunet smiled awkwardly as he raised his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me like that, guys. I've known you're all Devils since day one, due to Ddraig."
"We figured that out yesterday, Ise-kun." Kiba drew his attention with a serious tone. "What we want to know is how you know Sona-Kaichou's real name." he elaborated as calmly as he could.
Oh. How stupid of him to let it slip out like that. And he doupted telling them about his extremelly sensitive ears would persuade them.
That said, Issei hated lying. "Would you believe me that I have extremelly sensitive ears and nose, as well as unbelievably good eye-sight?" he asked in a hopeful manner.
"Proove it." Koneko challenged him, immediately, her voice as emotionless as ever.
Issei just nodded and closed his eyes to focus.
The others, Koneko in particular, watched him with bated breath.
It didn't even take a minute for the brunet to find something worthwhile. He was lucky, though. "Sona-Kaichou and Tsubaki-Fukukaichou just finished talking about recruiting a second year guy, named Genshirou Saji, in Sona-Kaichou's Peerage. Apparently, Saji-san has a Dragon-type Sacred Gear, although nowhere near as powerfull as the Boosted Gear, her words not mine. Also, it seems his goal to be a teacher in the future aligns with Sona-Kaichou's interests."
An awkward silence ensued. Partly because Rias believed him, since she wasn't informed about that, yet. After all, Sona and herself had agreed to talk about potential recruits. The second part was because they all felt uncomfortable for a specific reason.
"How much have you heard, Ise?" Rias, basically, demanded.
The brunet smiled awkwardly, again, as he spoke. "Well, apart from Akeno-san, I knew your first names even before I met you at school, since I heard you talking on that hill, so I knew your plan as well, at the time. I also know about your meeting after I told you about the Fallen Angel following me. And for Raynare, it was thanks to my nose I knew she was around me. Nothing else." he explained in honesty.
Understandably, the Devils were shocked at the revelation, but didn't react otherwise.
"So, what about the contract?" Issei asked quickly, hoping to change the subject.
Fortunately for him, he was successful.
"Yes." Rias' mind was still a little blown by the latest revelation, but she decided to discuss this at a later time. "For starters, I won't hide the truth from Sona, but I will keep your identity a secret to the rest of the Devils, including the Maou, disguising you as a magician." she started the negotiation.
Issei nodded in agreement to that. If it came down to it, he would pass his abilities as magic. Even Zangetsu. "Since I don't have experience in this at all, I'll have to trust you for everything else as well." he, sheepishly, said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Very well." Rias nodded and wrote down at a paper that had appeared out of nowhere in front of her.
While she was writting, the rest waited her, patiently, albeit with anticipation.
It took her five minutes to finish, before, with a calm wave of her hand, the paper floated to Issei's hands for him to read.
"I have to help you with your Devil contracts, the protection of Kuoh and the Devil race, along with any possible allies, and your Rating Games until you complete your Peerage." the brunet summarised what he read in a thoughtful tone, before raising his head to show his confusion. "What are Rating Games?"
"Basically," Akeno drew his attention. "they are battles between Peerages. Rating Games are used, mostly, as some kind of entertainment for the Devils, while, also, being used as a way to solve any kind of issue between Houses." she explained in a lecturing tone.
Issei seemed skeptical about that. "Are there any deaths?" he asked as calmly as he could to hide his apprehension.
"The Rating Game's system is programmed so that noone dies. There might be some accidents, but, so far, there hasn't been a reported death. Only serious injuries. Yet, even those can be healed with magic, or other means, so you don't have to worry about that, Ise-kun." Kiba was the one to explain, this time, in a reassuring tone.
The brunet sighed in relief, before his eyes fell to the paper, once again, in contemplation. After all, for his services, he would be payed handsomely, even if he performed a single contract a month. 60.000 yen per contract and the fee got expotentially bigger for other events, like winning in a Rating Game. Plus, he would be allies with people he could call his friends, in time. For now, only Kiba had that priviledge.
Last, but not least, however, he would be bound to the contract until either Rias had a full Peerage, or they, mutually, agreed to terminate it.
All in all, it was a win-win for both sides.
Issei smiled as he raised his head to meet Rias' expectant expression.
"I agree to your terms, Rias-san." the brunet, softly, said.
Rias' heart, almost, stopped beating at his announcement. She was so happy, she had to, forcibly, restrain herself to jump from her chair and hug him to death.
She had done it! She found a way out of her personal problem, should it come down to a Rating Game.
The redhead hid her inner glee under a small smile of her own.
The paper in Issei's hands glowed a soft, crimson glow for a moment, catching his attention.
Then, the same glow appeared on the back of his right hand, before it took the shape of a crimson sigil. He guessed it was Rias' family emblem.
The same emblem appeared on the paper's bottom as if to show it sealed the deal between them.
Once he raised his head, again, he saw Rias staring in satisfaction at her own right hand, before she met his eyes.
"Thank you, Ise! It was the first time I did something like this and, thanks to your compliance, it was successful!" the redhead spoke, emotionally, from her heart.
The brunet didn't know why she spoke that way, but he liked how she sounded. "And I thank you, Rias-san, for becoming allies with me. All of you are good people and, like Kiba, I would like to call you as my friends in the future." he, also, spoke honestly with a hopeful smile.
Rias' and Akeno's eyes widened in surprise, for a moment, before they, appreciatively, smiled at him and nodded in agreement to his words.
Kiba stood up, kind smile in place as he presented his right hand. "Welcome to the Supernatural world, Ise-kun."
Issei took it without hesitation as he stood up himself.
"Thank you, Kiba. I hope we all get along well."
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Author's notes.
This time, due to how late I was, I updated SIX chapters in a single day.
I'm thinking about re-writing this, because, as somebody pointed out -correctly at that-, this story lacks in meaningful -or even meaningless, since it's DxD- dialogue.
Tell me what you think in a review or PM.
Sorry I was late, but it'll definetely happen again, considering that I returned to work.
See ya!