CHAPTER 22

The tension in the air rose to unbelievable levels as soon as Issei and Dohnaseek locked gazes.

The brunet wore a serious expression on his face as he glared at the Fallen Angel, while the latter looked all smug and arrogant.

Dohnaseek's demeanor raised some red flags in Issei's head. First of all, Raynare should have informed Rias about Dohnaseek still seeking Issei. This didn't happen, which meant that Raynare had been compromised. Either by Asia, or the original culprit didn't trust Raynare and made a change in leadership.

Honestly, Issei hoped that it was the latter. At least, in that case, Raynare's possibility of being alive was way higher than being compromised by Asia.

Even then, however, the brunet could still buy some time by showing Dohnaseek that he was Rias' contracted magician, hoping that it would be enough to deter the Fallen Angel from doing something drastic.

Speaking of the Fallen Angel, Dohnaseek had closed the distance between them as the brunet thought about the possibilities, but had yet to make a move on him.

The Fallen seemed content to just stare at him, for the time being, which was good. It gave Issei more time to think on how to act.

"I see that you're alive and well, for a dead man. Raynare must have killed another person, when she came back and told us that she had finished her mission. Maybe I should rectify that mistake of hers." Dohnaseek spoke airily, albeit smugly, as he crossed his arms against his chest.

Well, there went his time to think how to handle this.

Issei narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he took a seemingly relaxed stance. "No. She did try to kill me. It was Gremory-san that healed me, after Raynare left that night, leaving me bleed to death." he responded, hoping that the Fallen Angel wouldn't follow through with his subtle threat and believe his blatant lie. The fact that he had to lie made him internally disgusted with himself, but it was the only way to avoid making the situation even worse.

Dohnaseek rose a skeptical eyebrow. "Gremory, you say? As in Rias Gremory, one of the owners of Kuoh?" he asked. At the brunet's simple nod, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What proof do you have for your claim, boy." he demanded.

Issei rose his right hand, showing the back of his palm to Dohnaseek, where the Gremory crest was.

"Ah." Dohnaseek made a sound of recognition, before his expression turned skeptical. "But, you're not a Devil." he stated.

Issei understood the unheard question. "I'm Rias-san's contracted magician. I didn't want to be reicarnated as a Devil." he replied. That was true, even if the events were totally different as to how this happened.

"Oh. So, that's how it is." Dohnaseek sighed in a mixture of defeat and understanding as his shoulders seemed to relax a little, yet the brunet didn't let his guard down. "Well, then. It seems that it was a misunderstanding on my part." he said politely as he fixed his fedora, but his eyes showed that he didn't trully mean his words. "I'll take my leave, for now, boy. Pray that we won't meet again." he bid his farewell in a warning tone, before vanishing in a whirlpool of black feathers.

As soon as the Fallen Angel left, Issei felt that the barrier disappeared as well, considering he could smell and hear all around again.

However, Dohnaseek didn't take the tension with him. He left it all to fall on the brunet's shoulders.

Issei cursed under his breath that he didn't learn anything about Raynare as he continued his way to Kuoh Academy.

There were many possibilities as to why Dohnaseek planned their meeting and none of them were good as far as Raynare was concerned.

The frustrated teen could only grit his teeth and hope that Raynare and Asia would be alright by the time he found the way to get them out of this mess. Hopefully, safe and unharmed.

At the very least, he also hoped that his contract with Rias would be enough to postpone any possible conflict with the group from the church.

Issei sighed in frustration. The entire situation was getting out of hand and he had yet to think of a way to help Asia and Raynare, without kickstarting another war between Devils and Fallen Angels.

The only good thing about his meeting with Dohnaseek was that the brunet didn't have to reveal his Sacred Gear. He knew that it would just cause many more problems rather than turning the situation in his favor.

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It was lunch break at the Academy and Issei decided that he wanted all the peace and quiet he could get, in order to eat his meal and, hopefully, think of a solution for the grand scheme he was, at the very least, a part of.

So, the brunet headed to the most quiet place he could think of; the roof of the new building.

And, because he was as noiseless as always, he wasn't followed by anyone. Although, his fellow students fearing him might have also been a factor as to why he was able to go up there without being followed.

Thankfully, it took him only five minutes to reach the roof and start having his lunch.

He practically inhaled the food from his bento in another five minutes, leaving him twenty to spare, before he would have to get back to class.

The brunet sat cross-legged, leaning against the wall, with the door to his left as his eyes gazed at the clear sky. "So, what do you guys think?" he asked curiously to noone in particular.

Or, that would be the case if he didn't have two sentinient beings in his soul that he could communicate with.

Also, he needed all the help he could get. And those exact beings he was talking to were more experienced in difficult situations.

[Unfortunately, I have no experience in situations like the one you are in, partner.]

Ddraig's apollogetic words shot that hope to hell. Brutally.

Issei sighed in defeat and his head almost touched his chest.

"Don't be like that King." Zangetsu interjected, his tone unreadable, which was rare. "Yes, you don't have enough information, but that doesn't mean you're completely helpless."

"What do you mean?" Issei asked in confusion.

[For starters, you have me and the sword, not to mention the other two powers, should a conflict occur.] Ddraig gained the attention with his serious voice. [Then, you have the Devils as allies. You can ask this Rias girl to get information about your ex's group from the Underworld's resources, which can help you tremendously in your endeavor.]

The brunet nodded thoughtfully, taking the Dragon's words seriously, while also noting that the 'sword' didn't throw a temper tantrum at being called as such. "I'll do that, but, then, if it's that easy, why hasn't Rias-san done this herself?" he asked in confusion.

"From the beginnin' she had said that she didn't wanna start a war, just like you. Unfortunately, a fight is unavoidable, in this case. Clearly, the one behind the schenes made things in such a way that the Devils would have to fight the Fallen Angels in the church. The question is, how many puppets do they have in that group and how many will get out of the inevitable fight alive." Zangetsu explained, sounding unusually serious.

Issei breathed another defeated sigh, acknowledging the spirit's words and begrudgingly accepting the fact that there would be a fight, one way or another. "Fine. So, I just have to ask Rias-san to use the Underworld's resources." he confirmed the plan of action. "Then, what?" he asked curiously.

[You'll act according to the information you'll recieve, partner.]Ddraig replied patiently. [That said, I have to warn you that it may take a small while for the Devils to get the information you need to proceed. It might take more than a day.] he added in a thoughtful tone.

"Great..." the brunet sighed in frustration at that. "And what about the possibility of Rias-san rejecting my request?" he asked.

"She won't." Zangetsu replied with certainty, making the brunet blink in surprise at the sword spirit's sentiment. "If she's as prideful as I think, then she'll want to keep her name clean. Meanin' that she'll use your request as an attempt to rise her own reputation in her peers in the Underworld. While this doesn't make her sound good as a person, since, after all, she's a Devil and not a human, it works fine for you." he explained.

"Well... you're not wrong..." Issei acknowledged the point with a reluctant sigh as he gazed back at the sky with an unreadable expression.

[You just need to stop overthinking things, partner.] Ddraig told him wisely.

"I guess..." Issei conceded with a small sigh, before he checked the time on his phone. "Well, I have ten minutes until lunch break ends." he muttered under his breath, before he stood up and dusted off his clothes. "Thanks for the help, guys." he muttered gratefully as he opened the roof's door, ready to descend the staircase to head back to class.

[Think nothing of it, partner.] clearly, Ddraig wanted to say more, but left it at that, his tone sounding a little emotional, for a reason that Issei couldn't even come close to understand as to why.

"Don't sweat it, King." while Zangetsu was dismissive, the brunet took notice of a hint of appreciation.

Instead of questioning his tenants about those small details, Issei just smiled to noone and accepted their words as they were as he descended the stairs.

They had helped him tremendously to clear his mind of all the unnecessary thoughts.

With a goal in his mind for after school, the brunet went to his class with a smile on his face, confusing anyone who saw him on his way there in the process.

He could have done without the Perverted Duo's curses, though. Those guys were getting annoying as they threatened to kill him themselves for his good looks.

That said, they managed to give him an idea, in case Rias refused his request.

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Rias was looking at the brunet in consideration.

He had just asked of her, kindly of course, to use her connections to the Underworld, in order to learn as much as they could about Raynare's group.

She was frustrated that she hadn't thought of it first as much as she was irritated about Issei's persistence of saving Raynare and Asia. Why did he care about those two so much?

Why couldn't he care the same way about her too? Or, even better, only herself.

It wasn't like he had spent so much time with them, as he did with herself and her servants.

As frustrating these thoughts were, she couldn't voice them. Instead, she decided to focus on the task at hand.

For now.

"Akeno, please make the call and relay Issei's request on my behalf." the redhead ordered professionally, albeit kindly, her eyes not leaving the brunet that was seated on the couch to her left, from where he stared straight at her own eyes with seriousness.

"Yes, Rias-Buchou." Akeno responded in kind, having read the mood as she produced a magic circle on her left ear, in order to relay the message to the Archduke.

Only then did Issei bowed his head at Rias in what she presumed was gratefulness. He even gave her a sincere smile, once he raised his head, making her heart skip a beat.

Yet, her only visible reaction to that was to send his way a matching smile of her own.

"Rias-Buchou, it's done. An information gathering squad will be sent within an hour. Also, the Grigori will be contacted, but it's douptful that they'll answer immediately." Akeno announced softly, albeit professionally.

It managed to bring Rias back from her reverie. "Thanks, Akeno." she said simply as she smiled at her best friend and Queen.

A comfortable silence followed, with everyone doing their own thing, or having their own thoughts.

Rias, for example, thought that making the request on her behalf was only because she thought that she was protecting her contracted magician from the Underworld's attention. Sure, it would boost her name that she took a correct decision on the matter, but it was the absolute last thing on her mind as far as she was concerned.

Issei didn't show it, but he was glad that he didn't have to use underhanded methods to persuade Rias to do what she did for his request without resistance. That said, since he wasn't a mind-reader, he didn't know what she was thinking. Especially since he couldn't read her expression either.

Akeno opted to go to the kitchenette to prepare dinner for everyone, including Issei, to distract her mind off of the apparent interest the brunet had for a Fallen Angel and her disgust over the matter. In her mind, she hoped that Raynare wouldn't be excused, in case they were allowed to raid the church and take down everyone in it. Due to that man, she hated her original lineage, aka the Fallen Angels, with a fierce passion.

Koneko was just munching on her sweets, seemingly not paying attention to anyone or anything around her. That, however, wasn't the case. She had listened to the brunet's request, which left her conflicted. On one hand, she was suspicious of the brunet, for reasons even herself couldn't explain. On the other, she just wanted this situation to end, so she could focus on how her sweets tasted, not just eating them out of habit and use them as an excuse to not attract any attention. That, and she was pretty sure that her King's personal problem was right around the corner, for which she had no idea as to how to help her King. And she refused to use the power of her heritage to do so. Even the thought of that power sent a shiver down her spine. She just hoped that the brunet's help with her King's problem would be enough.

As for Kiba, he was the only trully calm person in the room. The blond had heard the small conversation and how it had turned out as he was reading his book. In his mind, whatever his King ordered, he would perform with no questions asked, as an honorable Knight should do. And the blond believed himself as one. That, and he trusted both Rias and Issei to make the correct decisions for their regrettably little group. In fact, he trusted his brunet friend enough, to the point that he believed his friend would be the catalyst they needed for his King's personal problem, no matter if it knocked on their door as soon as they finished with this mess.

"Dinner is ready~!"

Akeno's cheery announcement brought everyone out of their musings.

As she served for everyone on the coffee-table, Issei was surprised that her food smelt and looked almost as good as his mother's.

The girls situated themselves at the opposite couch of the one Issei and Kiba occupied, in order for everyone to be comfortable.

After a collective "Itadakimasu!", the teens started having their meal.

Once Issei tasted the food, he made eye-contact with its creator. "Your food is exquisite, Akeno-san." he praised sincerely with a small smile.

Akeno was momentarily surprised at the compliment, if the blink of her eyes and her admittedly cute expression was any indication. "Ara~! Thank you for the compliment, Hyoudou-kun~!" she tittered when she collected herself, before returning to her own food.

Issei did so as well, having taken an inner satisfaction to the fact that he managed to bring a faint dust of pink on her cheeks.

Rias was glad that her contracted magician didn't refuse their unspoken invitation for dinner, but she could have done without the unintentional flirting between her Queen and said magician.

The rest of the dinner was spent in silence, with the Devils being utterly surprised by the brunet's excellent table manners. Especially when he made less noise with his utensils than themselves.

Yet, they didn't dare to ask about this. Apparently, Sona had tried to ask him as to why he was so silent in his moves and failed to get an answer.

A verbal one, that is.

So, Rias ordered her servants to not ask about this matter, unless the brunet opened up to them.

That, however, didn't mean they were less curious about it. Especially Rias herself, followed closely by Kiba.

Once everyone was done with their meal, Akeno was about to start cleaning up the coffee-table, but someone else beat her to it.

"I'll clean up. It's the least I can do, after I was treated to such a wonderful meal."

Issei's announcement as he stood up from the couch with his own plate in hand, accompanied with a smile that made Rias' and Akeno's hearts to skip a couple of beats, caught all the Devils off guard.

Including Koneko, if her slightly widened eyes at his direction were any indication.

"Ara~!" Akeno exclaimed in pleasant surprise, being the first to regain her composure somewhat. "I didn't expect that~! Allow me to help you, Hyou-no, can I call you Ise-kun?~!

"Nah." Issei gently turned down her offer with a shake of his head, being internally amused about her reaction. He kept his smile in place as he looked at her. "I help my mother whenever I can at home, so it's no problem for me, Akeno-san." he explained briefly, much to the further surprise of the Devils. "You can call me however you want, though. After all, I'm not one for formalities." he added as an afterthought, before he started to pick up all the plates in a careful manner.

The brunette just giggled behind her delicate hand at his response, before she nodded in acknowledgement.

Rias just smiled at the interaction. She wanted to meet Issei's parents, if only to see what kind of people were the ones that raised such a kind Sekiryuutei.

Kiba was about to offer his help, but thought better of it. Akeno wouldn't stop teasing them if he did. So, he settled to just sent his friend a grateful smile and a nod.

Koneko stared intensely at him as if she was trying to decifer his character by just looking at him.

Just as the brunet was about to go to the kitchenette, the redhead remembered something. "Ise?" Rias called out to him.

"Hm?" the brunet hummed at her in question.

"Can you perform a contract tonight, please?" Rias asked politely. At his questioning gaze, complete with a small tilt of his head, which she and Akeno found cute, she elaborated. "Koneko is double-booked tonight at one of her contracts. It's simply impossible for her to be in two places at once. Akeno and Yuuto have their own contracts at that time as well. So, that's why I'm requesting your help."

Issei didn't even think about rejecting this. After all, he would be payed from the contract. "Of course. Just tell me when and where it is." he said with an easy tone. Right before he turned around, he paused and added in a serious tone. "I'll go there on foot, though. There's no way I'm using the teleportation circle, unless you know a spell to erase my motion sickness."

Kiba held himself from laughing at the last moment, with Akeno being the complete opposite. The brunette didn't even hide her amused giggles at the brunet's admittedly funny weakness. Koneko just deadpanned at him, but didn't make a comment.

Rias just smiled in amusement. "Very well! Just make sure to be there on time!"

Issei, just barely, held back a round of curses. Instead, he grumbled under his breath as he went to the kitchenette.

When he was on his way for the contract, something told him that this night would suck as well.

His suspicion was proven correct once he was at a close distance from the client's house.

From there, he saw something transparent covering it, which he guessed was a barrier, considering that, from the outside, he couldn't smell or listen to the client.

"I hate it when my gut is right." Issei sighed in dejection as he stepped forward, a defeated expression on his face.

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