A/N: You guys responded pretty well to my dark side, good for you! :D This chapter will be a little fluffier and happier and should hopefully give you a very good idea of how the final showdown is gonna go. This arc should finish up soon and we'll get into a Riser section with a training arc, which should be AWESOME. Very excited to write that, if you can't already tell.
I do have a question for you all though. What are your thoughts on OCs and Crossover characters? I'll give an example of each. Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail in Rias' peerage as a bishop. Great comedic potential, he has a devil side to him, and he's a magic user. I think Gray fits perfectly into the DxD universe. I'd give him a slight change in backstory, as well as provide a reason for him being there, but it would be brief, mostly so it's not written as 'poof! peerage member.' One of my OC ideas is Okami Michi, a wolf yokai that's a tracking expert. He'd take the place as Issei's 2, considering he's primarily a support class user. While Issei is trying to make peace among the factions, they 'offer' Okami up to Issei as a member of his deck, and Okami takes it as a great honor. Hate those ideas? Love them? Let me know. If you wanna get into a discussion about them, let me know about that, too. I like talking about ideas!
"He'd dead too? You disappoint me, Kokabiel," hummed a tall man with long, brown hair, his bangs covering most of his right eye. "We made an agreement and you don't seem to be holding up your end of the bargain."
"Who cares about him? He was just insurance in case those filthy devils found out early," he grunted back. "I would have killed him myself. It's his fault we lost Twilight Healing. Heaven's got their disgusting claws on her now..."
"You seem to know much more than you let on, Kokabiel," mused a third man. He had dark-green hair and evil-looking amber eyes. "Tell me. Did you promise my nun to him as well? I remember agreeing to help with this plan of yours in exchange for her. I don't remember agreeing to it for a used nun."
"He wasn't going to use your nun, devil," Kokabiel snapped. "I just wanted an extra foot soldier and he was willing to listen to anything I said if I promised her to him."
"And why should I believe you?"
"Because if I wanted to kill you here and now, I would, devil."
"Now, now, why don't you gentlemen calm down. We do have an alliance, remember?" suggested the fourth man. He was mostly bald, with tufts of gray hair on the sides of his head, and was noticeably overweight. "I'm sure you'll all get what's promised to you."
"Remind me again why he's here?" the first asked rather aggressively.
"The Holy Swords. We can't do anything with them without those little crystals of his," Kokabiel grunted.
"I still don't understand why you need Shalba in the first place," the green-haired man mused. "Aren't you Kokabiel? The legendary warrior of the Fallen Angels? I thought you wanted to usurp Azazel? How can you do that if you can't even kill two little heiresses by themselves, hmm?"
"It's not them I'd have a problem with. I'd be able to kill them and their filthy slaves using two fingers," Kobiel shot back, narrowing his eyes. "Something else is there. An unknown. Freed was killed, Dohnaseek was killed, and Raynare was likely killed, but her body was never found. Someone is slowly killing off my underlings. Besides, while they were all weak by my standards, none of them would lose that easily to any of those stinking devils or humans. Someone or something knows about what I'm planning and now Azazel knows too."
"So, the little crow got discovered, did he?" mused the brown-haired man. "So, you came begging your enemies to pity you, is that right?"
"Watch your mouth, filthy devil scum. I could kill you where you stand," Kokabiel snarled. "Don't act like you want this just as much as I do. Killing those two devil-brats will set the Underworld on a rampage. You want to take over, don't you? What better time to launch a rebellion than against a country plagued by war?"
"I suppose you make as good a point as you did when you asked for my help in the first place, don't you," he hummed. "Very well. I'll help you deal with those two heiresses and this 'mystery figure' of yours and, in exchange, I want Nightmare and Transparency, in addition to a temporary alliance against the Heaven faction when we both take power. Do we have a deal?"
"You're pushing your luck, Shalba…"
"I suppose I could always leave you to your own problem. After all, you succeeding or failing won't change my cause at all, will it? I'm a patient man. I can wait for another opportunity if-"
"Fine. I accept your terms, devil," he relented, glaring the devil down.
"I'm glad we're in agreement."
"Very well done, gentlemen. A perfect alliance. You get the war you've always wanted, you get that little nun, and you get two swords and the opportunity to take down a mutual ally," the pudgy old man smiled.
"And why are you a part of this?" wondered the nun-lusting devil.
"Research! Since I was excommunicated from the church, I've had a distinct lack of...test subjects to work with, not to mention I no longer had access to the Excalibur fragments. Soon, I'll be able to make artificial wielders capable of using even greater swords! Ascalon! Durandal! Gram! My legacy will be legendary and those fools at the church will wallow in regret for having the audacity to treat me like garbage and then use my work for their own petty missions."
"I suppose that's as good a reason as anyone else. All of you really are deranged, you know that? I just want another little nun to add to my collection. She'll be one of my favorites, I can already tell."
"And we're deranged," mused the brown-haired man. "I'll see you on the battlefield, Kokabiel. Valper. You have my word."
"To the victor go the spoils, as they say," the Fallen sneered.
{Line Break}
BEEP. BEEP. Colossians 3:23. BEEP BEEP. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. BEEP. BEEP.
"Why do I feel so heavy this morning," Issei grumbled, trying and failing to move his arm to turn off his alarm clock. "Come to think of it…"
"Issei~, not there," moaned Yuuma lightly.
"WHY ARE YOU ALL IN MY BED?" Issei asked loudly, waking up the various sleeping females that were.
"Issei~," Yuuma complained, yawning cutely as she woke up. "Why are you being so loud?"
Issei's eye twitched. As he distinctly remembered, when he went to bed, it was just him and a mentally scarred Katase. Now, one of his arms was trapped by Katase, one was claimed by Asia, and Yuuma had taken a position directly on top of him.
"Hmm~?" Asia hummed, waking up as well before she blushed in embarrassment. "G-good morning, I-Issei!"
Issei just sighed in defeat, destroying the alarm clock with a bit of light magic. "Good morning…"
"You realize that means you'll need to buy-"
'I bought multiple…'
"Good to know you've finally accepted it," Yahweh said smugly.
"Issei?" Katase asked, waking up herself. "Why am I in your bed? And why are there two other girls here too?"
"Alright, get off," Issei grunted, extracting his arms and picking up Asia and Yuuma, earning a yelp from both of them. "You are both wonderful, treasured friends of mine and I could not ask for better people to spend time with. That being said, go back to your own room. If you want to sleep in here, you can at least ask first."
"But Asia was already here when I got back," whined Yuuma, accepting the fact that he was carrying her out of his room. "Why should I be left out?"
"I-I'm s-sorry, Issei!" Asia sputtered, seemingly rather embarrassed. "I didn't-I just got scared so I decided to come sleep with you!"
"Look, I'm not angry or anything, just please ask next time, ok?" he sighed.
"Can I sleep with you from now on?" Yuuma smiled cheekily.
"And what about Asia?" he asked.
"She can join us!"
"W-wait a second!" Asia protested.
"Now, either go back to your room and get ready to eat breakfast or go back to your room and get some more sleep. It's pretty early. I need to talk to Katase."
"Oh~," Yuuma pouted. "Fine. Come on, Asia."
"Coming!"
"So, Issei?" Katase asked, sitting up from his bed. "Why exactly am I in your bed?"
"Just...just come here…" he sat down next to her and hugged her. "I'm really sorry I got there so late."
"Got there so...late…" her eyes widened as it caught up to her. The client. The corpse. Freed. "That...that was real?"
"I'm so sorry, Katase. I'm so sorry," he just hugged her tighter.
"He...he didn't…"
"No. I killed him for even trying," Issei said darkly.
"Oh…" she whispered, eyes starting to water slightly.
"So, you remember everything?"
"I do...he...he tried to...but then you came…" she recalled.
"She seems to be holding it together well," Yahweh pointed out, relieved. "Good thing, too. Sometimes people's subconscious will fully erase traumatic memories like that. They enter full-scale denial. All things considered, I think she should be functioning normally after a few days. Just being around friends and loved ones and she'll be right as rain."
"And then...and then you carried me out...and kept talking to me...and then…" her eyes widened as her face glowed red.
Issei chuckled. "And then you were safe."
"I said...that I was in love with you…" she whispered.
"You did," Issei nodded.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Are you really going to make me say it, Issei?"
"Listen, Katase," he sighed, still not letting go of his hug. "I've only known you for two weeks-"
"So...you're-"
"Hush. Let me finish," he scolded lightly. "I didn't say anything yet. You're not in love with me."
"Issei!" she said angrily, trying to escape his grip. "That's not your choice to decide!"
"I know that. You're not in love with me. You're in love with what I did," he explained softly, not letting her escape. "You liked me, sure. Maybe had a bit of a crush on me for whatever your reasons were. But you only said that because of what I did for you."
"That's not true, Issei! And even if it is, what does it matter?" she protested, finally breaking out and looking at him with tears in her eyes. "You could at least say something about it that's not this! Accept it or reject it, but don't make me feel like I'm lying to myself or to you!"
"I care about you too much for that," he gently cupped her cheek. "I do like you. A lot. But I'm not going to let this get out of control because I killed someone who deserved to die."
"So, what does that mean?" Katase asked nervously.
"It means that, in a few weeks, when the feeling of me being your hero blows over," he told her, delicately putting his forehead on hers. "If you're still in love with me, I'd be really happy about that. I may not be able to say it now, and I may not be able to say it then, but I do care about you a lot, Katase. I like you a lot. Too much for you to throw away your chance at happiness because of me supporting a hero complex."
"I don't have a hero complex!" she denied. "I love you because...because…"
"Now you know what I mean," he pulled back. "I'll always be here for you, Katase. Always. And I do really like you, I said that already. But if you're jumping from a schoolyard crush to love in one night just because I did something that should have been done ages ago? I can't accept that. You deserve better than that."
"So...what does that mean for us…" Katase asked, rubbing her arm. "I mean...even if what you're saying makes sense...it doesn't change how I feel right now…"
"And it won't change overnight. That's why I said. Take the next week or two. Sort out how you feel in here," he said, placing a hand on her heart. "If I hadn't saved you. If that whole event never happened, I should say, would you still feel like that? And if you can't figure it out? I'd be happy to spend as much time with you as you want until you can."
"Issei…" she whispered, a few tears dripping from her eyes. "Thank you…"
"No-mmph!"
Katase pulled away from his flustered face smiling gently. "So, it looks like I have work to do to make you love me back."
"THAT'S what you got out of that speech?" he asked, bewildered and embarrassed from her sudden lip assault. "Did you hear anything I said?"
"Yep! And it's because of what you said that I have my answer," she winked. "Now, I intend to spend the entire day with you and I expect you to help distract me from...I don't even want to think about it."
"Uh...I mean...I was planning on it, but I don't see what that has to do with-"
"It's about time for breakfast. Shouldn't we be getting ready?" Katase interrupted.
"Well, yes, but I don't think-"
"So, are you going to give me something to wear, or do I have to walk around your house like this?" she asked, gesturing to the fact that she was wearing a pair of shorts and a sports bra, and still had dried blood in a few areas of her arms, legs, torso, and face. Luckily, thanks to Asia, she was fully healed, but she never got the chance to clean herself up.
"Right…"
"I'll need a shower, too."
"In the hall, first door on the right," he said, tossing her a towel, a t-shirt, and a pair of exercise shorts.
"Thanks, Issei. No peeking, ya perv!" she teased and left for the bathroom.
"I'm not a-WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" he complained.
"That, my dear Issei, would be a woman," Yahweh explained. "I may have created them, but they evolved beyond my comprehension. No amount of power or knowledge will help you understand these creatures, Issei. Only experience, luck, and a lot of asking for forgiveness. I wish you well in establishing your harem, my child."
'WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?'
{Line Break}
"I'm sorry, you agreed to what exactly?" Michael asked in exasperation.
"He agreed to meet with Satan Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan," Katase said simply. "And that was after threatening Rias and her peerage."
"Are you trying to get me into more trouble?" Issei groaned. "I didn't tell him that!"
It was now Sunday. Saturday had been, thankfully, uneventful. Katase did exactly as she told him and spent the entire day practically attached to his hip. Fortunately, Yuuma didn't seem to mind as he had two hips after all. Asia seemed a little uncomfortable, but he made sure she was included in their activities which included some light training with Katase's Kogarasu Maru, Yuuma was apparently quite adequate with a light sword, lunch out, time at the park to relax, and a movie. It wasn't a very good movie, it was alright, Issei thought, but the day seemed to keep Katase's mind off what happened, and she, Yuuma, and Asia enjoyed spending their time with him and each other. Yuuma and Asia were already extremely close, almost like they'd been sisters all their lives, and they each found common ground with Katase rather quickly.
When Sunday morning rolled around, Issei once again found his bed filled to the brim, even though he distinctly remembered depositing all three in the guest room. After an irritating proverb, Katase calling him a pervert for seducing three innocent maidens, and a breakfast featuring his parents crying in joy over how many grandchildren they would have, Michael showed up.
"You've certainly been more than a little bit busy," Michael rubbed his face in frustration. "I asked you to look after Asia and work with the devils. I did not ask you to threaten the younger sister of a Super Devil, kill Freed Sellzen and a Fallen Angel, enroll Yuuma and Asia into your school, somehow, and train a devil!"
"I'm so sorry, Lord Michael!" Asia apologized profusely, bowing. "I'll make sure I unenroll right away! I won't cause anymore trouble for-mmPH!"
"Hush, Asia. Remember what I said?" Issei asked, covering her mouth with her hand as she nodded. "You want to go to school, ergo, you are going to school. Michael couldn't do anything for you before because of your situation, but now that you're not with the church anymore, he wouldn't deny you something that you so desperately wanted and deserved. Right, Michael?"
"Your guilt-tripping skills have improved," Michael huffed. "Fine. Asia can stay and live with you and go to school as long as she likes. However, I still haven't finished your punishment for what you did to Yuuma."
"Eh, come on, that's in the past," Issei waved him off. "What's done is done, right? No harm done."
"Issei, the harm is not what's important here," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What's important is that you learn that if you do things without thinking, there will be consequences. You'd better be on your best behavior during that meeting. Got it?"
"Of course! I'm always on my best behavior!" Issei smiled.
"Is that why you abducted Asia?" Katase asked innocently.
"Katse!" he hissed. "I didn't tell him that either!"
"Considering Asia seems more than happy to live and stay with you, I don't even want to know," Michael shook his head. "All that aside, Gabriel wants to see you again. I was going to make an exception so you could go see her-"
"Aw, come on, Michael!" Issei protested.
"-But instead I think I'll just tell her where you live. You don't mind having another girl stay with you for while, do you?"
"Michael," Issei said seriously. "You're getting me my own place."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because if you don't get me my own place, I'll be sure to tell Sirzechs all about you during our meeting. Everything."
"So? Sirzechs and I aren't exactly enemies, you know. I don't have anything to hide." Issei just gestured him closer and whispered in his ear. Michael froze for a moment before sitting up. "So, would you like a place similar to this one or a mansion? How about we just rush the construction on your Brave Saint building!"
"And how will Katase stay there? She is a devil after all?" Issei asked.
"I'll make an exception for her to visit sometimes?"
"Good. We're in agreement."
"Very well then, Issei. I have to head back to Heaven now. Gabriel will probably visit you sometime this week." Michael stood to leave. "Take care and have a blessed day all of you. Tell father of my visit when he awakens as well."
"Oh, I'm awake. The boy's good. Very good," Yahweh laughed.
"Right," Michael said, actually looking embarrassed for once. "Goodbye."
"Um, Issei?" Katase asked as Michael disappeared. "Did...did you just...blackmail the ruler of Heaven?"
"If it wasn't so funny it would be a sin point," Yahweh laughed. "I'll make an exception this time."
"I would say the chances that that happened are very high," Issei nodded.
"Does that mean I'll really get to meet Gabriel?" Asia questioned hopefully, sparkles in her eyes. "She's supposed to be the most beautiful woman in Heaven! I read all about her from the papers in your room!"
"What papers?" Katase asked slyly.
"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT!" Issei quickly denied. "Now, we should really have some lunch. How about we go out? My treat!"
"You're not getting away that easily, Issei!" Katase laughed and ran up the stairs. "I need to know my competition!"
"She's not prettier than me, is she Issei?" Yuuma asked, tears collecting in her eyes.
"Well...uh...you see…" Isse stumbled.
"Issei thinks I'm ugly!" Yuuma cried, running upstairs as well.
"Did I do something wrong?" Asia wondered aloud as Issei ran after the two of them, trying to do something to rectify the situation. "I wonder if Issei will let me watch more of that show..."
{Line Break}
Monday morning had come, thankfully Katase had gone back to her own house, and Issei was now taking Yuuma and Asia to school with him. They both looked adorable in the school uniforms, he had to admit. Yuuma wasted no time in riding on his back to school while Asia walked alongside them, asking all sorts of questions about what school would be like.
"Hey, Issei? How come everyone speaks Italian?" Over the past week, she'd noticed that, for some reason, everyone was speaking in Italian. She couldn't figure it out! When she'd arrived, no one could understand her, but now that she'd been staying with Issei, everything seemed to make perfect sense.
"They're not. Stick out your tongue," he requested.
"Like this?" she asked, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Yeah. Here, look." Issei gently touched her tongue with a finger, much to her confusion, and she felt a slight tingle. He gently lifted something off her tongue and showed it to her. "It's an Angel tool. They're not all that common nowadays, but I had Michael bring me one. Angels have something called Universal Tongue so we can speak and understand all other languages. Devils have it too. This is a temporary, artificial version of that. It should last about a month or so."
"That's amazing!" she exclaimed, eyes sparkling with excitement. "But...when exactly did you give that to me?"
"The first night you stayed at my place," he shrugged. "You passed out and I gave it to you. Now, open up."
"Ahh~"
"There you go. Good as new," he patted her head affectionately. "Now, let's go."
"Come on, Issei~!" Yuuma happily requested, leaning over his head to look at him. "If you don't hurry, we're gonna be late!"
"We might already be there if you would walk on your own two feet…" Issei grumbled, but Yuuma just giggled at him.
{Line Break}
"Alright, everyone! We have two new students today!" Ms. Hatcher, ever the bubbly woman, informed the class. "Why don't you two introduce yourselves."
"Hello!" Yuuma smiled brightly. "I'm Yuuma Amano! I'm Issei's first girlfriend!"
"WHAT~?!" the class yelled, looking back at Issei who was equally as shell-shocked.
"YOU BASTARD!"
"YOU ALREADY CLAIMED THE NEW GIRL?" the boys yelled in protest.
"I told you he was seducing everyone!"
"Maybe I can be his next girlfriend?" the girls whispered amongst each other.
"Alright, you can spread rumors about who's dating who later. Next up!" Ms. Hatcher instructed.
"H-hello!" Asia nervously greeted. "M-my name's Asia Argento! I-I'm Issei's girlfriend too! Please take care of me!"
Issei's jaw was still on the ground, unable to speak at what was clearly a well-planned attack. Yuuma stood there giggling, clearly having been this instigator in this little plan.
"YOU TOOK BOTH OF THEM?"
"DAMN YOU, ISSEI!" the boys yelled.
"How many girlfriends does he have?"
"Are we sure he's not a pervert?" the girls asked each other. Katase, however, had other plans.
"Hi, Asia! Hi, Yuuma!" the pinkette greeted.
"Katase, you know them?" Murayama asked suspiciously.
"Of course I do! I'm Issei's third girlfriend after all!" she announced proudly. "Right, Issei?"
"Three strikes and he's down! Another brilliant knockout by the Legendary Pink Beast!" Yahweh roared as Issei comically passed out. "Can anyone defeat her? Find out next week, on Teenage! Heart! WRESTLINGGG~!"
"NOT ANOTHER ONE!"
"KILL HIM BEFORE HE TAKES ALL OF THEM FOR HIMSELF!"
"SHARE WITH THE REST OF US, BRO! READ THE BROBLE, NOT THE BIBLE!" the boys cried.
"Alright, everyone! Quiet down!" Ms. Hatcher clapped loudly, somehow not bothered by one of her students fainting after three other students declared to be dating him. "We have to start class now!"
The students grumbled but settled down as Asia and Yuuma took seats in proximity to Issei.
"So, to start our lesson today, we'll be going over why gravity in Australia is actually backward-"
Before she could finish...whatever that lesson was going to be...there was a knock at the door.
"Good grief, who could that be now?" she wondered aloud, opening the door. "Hello, may I help you?"
"Hello!" came a soft, feminine voice from the other side of the door.
"Oh, no! Not now!" Issei groaned from the floor. "Asia! Hide me!"
"What are you talking about, Issei?" she asked, tilting her head.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yahweh laughed.
"You're looking for Issei? I suppose. How long do you need him for?"
"Not too long. Just the day," said the woman.
"Now, hold on a second! You can't just take-" Ms. Hatcher tried to protest, but quickly grew a slightly distant look. "Of course, miss! Issei's sitting just over there! I'm sure he'd love to go with you!"
"Really? Thanks so much!" the woman smiled, entering the classroom.
Instantly, the mutterings of gossip stopped as the entire class looked at the absolutely radiant woman in front of them. She practically glowed with beauty as she scanned the seats for her target.
"Wow…"
"She's the most beautiful woman…"
"I've ever seen…" said the boys, in a dream-like trance. Even the girls agreed, unable to think of anything but how perfectly beautiful the blonde-haired, green-eyed woman in front of them was.
"There you are, Issei!" she exclaimed, walking to the back where he was hiding behind Asia. "You're not hiding from me are you?"
"No! I would never do that, Gabriel!" Issei denied, quickly standing. "I just didn't expect you to be here! That's all! In my school during class! In front of everyone!"
"Well, I haven't seen you in a long time! How are you doing, father?" she greeted, unintentionally giving everyone the wrong idea. Gabriel covered her mouth, remembering that she shouldn't be talking about the supernatural in front of humans. "Whoops! They don't know about that, do they?"
"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT!" Issei shouted.
"FATHER?"
"SHE'S PREGNANT?"
"ISSEI, HOW DARE YOU! YOU GOT HER TOO?"
"HE IS A PERVERT!"
"KILL HIM!" shouted various members of the class in outrage.
"Y-you're Lady Gabriel?" Asia asked in awe.
"Yes, dear!" Gabriel smiled back.
"I'll introduce you two later! I need to run or I'm gonna be killed!" Issei complained, grabbing Gabriel and taking off.
"GET BACK HERE, ISSEI!"
"HOW DARE YOU TAKE HER TOO?"
"MY DREAMS ARE RUINED!"
{Line Break}
"Why did you show up at my SCHOOL?" Issei asked loudly, having run full sprint out of the building and into town. "I thought you were going to visit my house or something!"
"I did, silly!" Gabriel gave her beautiful, innocent smile. "But you weren't there, so I had to come get you."
"Right, because that's what I meant…" Issei grumbled. "What's done is done, I guess. Not like rumors weren't going to spread anyway…"
"I'm not sure what you mean," Gabriel tilted her head cutely. "Did you not want to see me?"
"No, of course, I wanted to see you!" he quickly corrected. "Just...ok, people take things the wrong way, especially human teenagers. Their lives are so empty and boring the thing they find enjoyment in is spreading rumors and gossip. You came up to me and asked about 'father,' so they immediately thought you were talking to me. I'm seventeen, ergo, they assumed that I got you pregnant."
"What?" she asked, a mortified expression and an atomic blush. "B-but to do that, we-we'd have to-and then-when we-we're…"
'Is she ok?' Issei asked, noticing the now babbling Seraphim with a face that was closer in color to a tomato.
"...I don't like this conversation…" Yahweh grumbled.
"Anyway," he started, trying to steer the conversation away from potentially impregnating the most beautiful woman in Heaven...thus requiring them-moving on! "So, what are you doing here? I mean, why'd you want to see me? Aren't you, like, a super-busy Seraphim or something?"
"Not really," she admitted, her blush calming down to more reasonable levels. "I'm mostly just a helper. Outside of the work I do with my Brave Saints, I'm our messenger. Unless Michael asks for my help, of course."
"Really? So, what does the most beautiful woman in Heaven do all day?" Issei teased, walking through town with her.
Gabriel giggled. "A little bit of everything, I suppose. I normally help Griselda with morning training, visit Raphael and any of his patients, run messages to the human world, and sometimes do a little scouting on the exorcists. Whenever Michael leaves, I do paperwork for him, too."
"Don't you get bored?" Issei asked her, leading her towards a cafè where they could sit down.
"I guess so," she admitted timidly. "I mean...it gets kind of lonely…"
Issei got a table and they each ordered drinks. "Really? I was half-surprised you ever wanted to meet me in the first place because I figured you'd always have people fawning all over you."
"Me? Oh, no! Don't be silly!" she shook her hands slightly. "I actually rarely get visitors. I have a few Brave Saints, but since they're my subordinates, they don't really feel comfortable being all that casual with me."
"I guess that makes sense," he nodded. "But, come on! You're Gabriel! The Gabriel! One of the Four Great Seraphim! And the most beautiful woman in existence! Don't men fawn all over you?"
"Not so much anymore," she sighed. "I mean, I don't exactly miss it, but some attention would be nice I guess... Listen to me, I must sound like a spoiled brat, huh?"
"You don't sound that way at all," Issei assured her, as their drinks arrived. He thanked the waitress before continuing. "You sound like someone who's tired of being alone. Someone who's happy to be at the top, but finds that people are too intimidated by her notoriety to interact with her. Someone who just needs a friend."
"I guess so…" she said softly.
"Well, that's easy enough to fix," Issei grinned. "Just find a friend. Someone who can spend time with you, will talk to you like a person, maybe someone with several other friends that would like nothing more than to become friends with the Gabriel of Heaven?"
"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Gabriel smiled sadly. "But where would I find someone like that?"
"Issei Hyoudou, resident friend of Gabriel, at your service," he said sarcastically. "I was talking about me! I mean, assuming you want to be friends with me."
"You'd really be ok with that?" she asked, a slight look of surprise. "I mean, being friends with me?"
"I've wanted to meet and be friends with you since I was thirteen…" Issei deadpanned. "This is kind of a childhood dream of mine, you know."
"Really?" she giggled. "Don't you think there are better dreams to have?"
"What's wrong with that one? You're sweet, friendly, super-powerful, totally adorable,-"
"Receptive to joining your ever-growing harem…" Yahweh grumbled.
"Receptive to joining my-hey, wait a second!" Issei protested, blushing. "That's not what I was going to say! And I don't have a harem!"
"That's not what your three girlfriends would say," Yahweh teased.
"Three girlfriends?" Gabriel asked, a twinge of barely noticeable sadness on her face.
"Just ignore him…" Issei sighed. "Asia and Yuuma introduced themselves as my girlfriends and Katase joined the bandwagon. After that, you walked in and basically convinced everyone that you were my fourth and were going to have my child and...well, my reputation is now distorted beyond repair."
"O-oh," she replied, blushing again at the miscommunication she caused. "So...you're not...dating any of them?"
"Not exactly, no. It's kind of weird…" he admitted. "Let's talk about something else."
"Ok!" Gabriel seemed receptive to talking about things other than his current situation with three women vying for his attention.
The rest of his Monday was fairly simple but enjoyable. He spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon with Gabriel, who hadn't had that much fun for as long as she could remember. She found new things to do, new things to talk about, and got to experience things she'd never bothered to try before. Surprisingly enough, Gabriel was extremely fond of the arcade. Turns out, she'd never tried video games of any kind before and loved all of them. Every one she tried, she absolutely crushed and had a blast doing so. Issei watched in a mixture of shock and awe.
When evening came, Gabriel was sad to leave, but Issei assured her that she could visit any time...any time he was at home. He asked her very nicely if she could refrain from stealing him from class because it was 'in bad form' or something along those lines. She just giggled and said she'd think about it, which translated to 'I'll steal you from class whenever I want.'
After Gabriel returned to Heaven, Issei started the trek back home, thinking about what he and Gabriel had first talked about.
'Hey, Yahweh? Did...did you ever have any relationships?'
"I'm God, Issei."
'...'
"..."
'...'
"No…"
'Didn't think so.' Issei sighed to himself. 'I know that Katase said that she loved me. I still think she's caught in a hero complex-'
"And I think you're in denial, but continue."
'But what about the others? I mean, Yuuma only asked me out so she could kill me-'
"Following which you gave her the only thing she'd ever wanted, showed her the kindness she'd never had, and promised to always stand by her side," Yahweh finished for him.
'I mean, I met Asia by accident and then abducted her-'
"Which was more of a bad joke than anything else. Following which, you offered her a personal apology on behalf of everyone who had isolated her, not that she held a grudge, offered anything in your power to make it up to her, became her first friend, helped her understand the outside world, showed her care and love she'd never experienced, and protected her from a threat she didn't know was after her."
'But...do you think they actually...like...have feelings for me like that?'
"So, you know how you constantly compare your life to one of the anime shows you always watch?"
'Yeah? Are you finally admitting that I'm totally similar to an anime protagonist?'
"Yes. In the fact that you're dense and stupid."
'WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?'
"Ok...I shouldn't even need to tell you, but I will anyway. Yes, Issei, they do. It could not be any more painfully obvious than it already is. Gabriel is getting a little crush on you, too, you know."
'GABRIEL?' he mentally shouted in shock. 'BUT THAT'S GABRIEL! THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN HEAVEN! People have been vying for her for millennia!'
"And? She's been treated like a Goddess. A goal on a pedestal they could never reach. You treated her like a friend."
'I mean, today we did, sure, but-'
"As long as I can remember, Gabriel has never had a friend. She had me and she had her brothers. That's why, Issei. Show her kindness and show her love. She needs it."
'I mean...I guess that makes sense...but what about everyone else? What makes you think they like me too?'
"Did you not hear the speeches I gave about what you did for them?"
'Do they all have hero complexes?' Issei asked.
"NO! NOT EVERYTHING IS A HERO COMPLEX!" Yahweh yelled, before sighing in exasperation. "Listen, Issei. With Katase, in the beginning, you were probably right. She hasn't known you very long and as far as you knew, you were just friends. Jumping three leaps and seven hurdles to love is definitely a hero complex."
'But?'
"But, that's not the case for everyone. Yuuma likes you because of what you did to her, sure, but it's also because of who you are. Can't you see that by now? All she wants is your attention, as often as you're willing to give it to her. Not because you're her hero, but because she likes you. Asia likes you because you're her first friend. I see a lot of Gabriel in her. She was placed on a pedestal, out of reach above everyone else. Asia was sheltered and kept away from the world, chained to her life with no way to spread her wings. You took those chains away and changed her life. You didn't come flying in and fighting off a deadly fire dragon in order to save the princess, Issei. You were just a good person. She saw that and likes that about you."
'So, what does all of that mean exactly?'
"I think it's pretty obvious what that means, Issei. You need to decide on something. You can do what all of the characters in those anime do where they sit there, completely oblivious to the obvious affection from all the females until they get upset and force you to make a decision after leading them on for a long time, you could choose one now and hopefully avoid hurting them in the future, you could tell them all you aren't interested, which would hurt them now but save them from heartbreak later, plus it's a painfully obvious lie, or you could do what I've been telling you and hoping they go along with it."
'Your advice...the advice from the LITERAL GOD FROM THE BIBLE...where chastity is celebrated, monogamy is required, and lust is a cardinal sin...is telling me to build a harem that includes his daughter…'
"I don't see your confusion."
'Mind telling me how your mind flips from an aversion to sex to telling me to build myself a harem?'
"...Uh…"
'Wait a minute…'
"No, Issei it's not-"
'Didn't you say earlier-'
"NOT LISTENING! LA LA LA LA LA!"
'I KNEW it! You only said all those things because you were single! You made an entire religion forcing people to stay pure until marriage and insisting that sex was a sin just because you're the world's oldest virgin!'
"..."
'NO WAY! I've heard of jealousy before, but this takes that to a whole 'nother LEVEL! You have got to be kidding me!'
"...I'm not proud of it... One of my first works said 'you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God.' They knew who they were following…."
'You're...you're the universe's biggest hypocrite!'
"LISTEN, BRAT! I MADE THE WORLD. I CAN CHOOSE TO DO WHATEVER I WANT WITH IT. NOW, ARE YOU GONNA GO START YOUR HAREM, OR ARE YOU GONNA KEEP GOING ON ABOUT THE MORALITY BEHIND CREATING A RELIGION THAT'S FORCED 31% OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION INTO BELIEVING THAT SEX IS A CARDINAL SIN?"
'One question first. Don't Angels fall when they have sex? Isn't that, like, a pillar thing for Heaven?'
"..."
'YOU'RE KIDDING ME? THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN?'
"IT DOES TOO HAPPEN!" he shouted back. "...But it only happens when you do it for the sake of sex...if you do it for love or procreation you'll be fine…"
'I'm gonna be holding this over your head for a really long time. You know that, right?'
"If you do that I'll revoke your permission to date my daughter," Yahweh threatened.
'You can't interact in this plane…'
"But I can loudly sing Never Gonna Give You Up every time you try to talk to her so you can't focus on anything."
'You wouldn't dare…'
"Try me…"
'Well done, old man... Well done. Your permission in exchange for my silence. The deal is made.'
"Good. Now, I need a nap."
Content with his deal about keeping God's secret in exchange for permission to eventually add the most beautiful woman in Heaven to the harem that he would apparently create, Issei finished his walk home.
"I'm home!" Issei called, entering his home once again.
"ISSEI~!" Yuuma cheered, running and tackling him into a hug. "You're back! You left me all alone on my first day you know!"
"I'm really sorry about that, Yuuma," he apologized.
"Hmmm, you can make it up to me," she hummed. "By letting me sleep with you!"
Issei just chuckled, having expected that. "Fine. If that's what you really want, you can sleep with me."
"Yay! Thanks, Issei!" she smiled, hugging him again.
"Alright, alright, yes!" he laughed, getting her off of him. "Where's Asia? I have to say hello to her too."
"Asia said she had to get ready to go somewhere tonight," Yuuma shrugged.
"Go somewhere?" Issei asked, heading up the stairs to find Asia.
"She didn't say," she shrugged.
"Asia?" Issei called. "Where are you?"
"Issei? You're back!" she exclaimed, smiling at him from the door to her room. "Welcome home, Issei!"
"Nice to see you too! Don't I get a hug?" he asked, holding his arms open as she darted into them. "Where are you going?"
"I think I made friends today," she smiled.
"Already? That's great, Asia!" he grinned.
"Yeah! I met a girl named Kiryuu and two boys named Matsuda and Motohoma!" she explained. "They invited me to something called a three-way. Do you know what that is?"
"I have some perverts to go murder, Asia, so I'll be back later." Issei happily waved from the other side of the house.
"Wait, Issei! Where are you going!" Asia called. "Hey, Issei!"
"Please don't kill them, Issei!" Yuuma called.
"We'll see," he answered, exiting the house.
"Where is Issei going? He just got back!" Asia pouted.
"Maybe~ I should tell you what you agreed to go to before anything else happens," Yuuma grinned, beckoning her over.
"What? What do you-" Yuuma started whispering. "Eh? EH? EEEEKKKK!"
Just another average night for Issei, Yuuma, and Asia.
A/N: Don't worry, those two'll be fine...probably. I...I should go make sure he doesn't kill them, shouldn't I?