"Issei Hyoudou" - Talking
'Issei Hyoudou'- Thought
"Issei Hyoudou" - Communication circle/phone
*Sounds*
[ Issei Hyoudou ] - Heavenly Dragons.
"Issei Hyoudou" - Draconic voice
[The Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig, has awoken]
Inanis words echoed through my head as I stared at the girl who possessed the Red Dragon Emperor. Now that Inanis mentioned it, I could sense the draconic aura flowing within her. She was concealing it quite well, making it harder for me to have noticed, and it didn't help that I was pre-occupied with other things at the moment.
"This confirms it. This has to be the town we are supposed to investigate," A serious feminine voice echoed from the hooded figure, an odd-shaped item wrapped strapped to her back.
"As if I'd be wrong, I lived here as a kid remember? I even lived closed by with an old friend, "The other spoke, walking up behind her comrade. Her voice took a much more childish and bubbly tone than the former.
I've never seen these two before, but for whatever reason, this voice seemed familiar to me somehow. It was almost nostalgic to hear it, although, I'm not sure why.
The two hooded figures walked closer to the scene. The one with the item strapped to their back leaned down closer to the body, almost as if she was examining what happened.
"Unfortunately, we don't have the time to give this man a proper burial in the church, we need to be quick," The serious voice spoke, rising from the ground as she began moving away from the scene.
"But, we can just leave a fellow member here like this," The more childish voice justified, trying to get her partner to stay.
"We don't have a choice. If the rumors of this place being in the territory of a dragon, then it will definitely come looking for you once it senses you," The voice justified. "With your lack of control, we wouldn't stand a chance against it,"
'Ah, that's good to know,' I thought to myself. After hearing that, I have much more confidence in the option to approach them, even if it's the possessor of Ddraig. Although, I must say that I am surprised that even the Church heard rumors about my debut.
I lifted a black cloth that rested on around my neck, covering my lower face and my hood covering my hair; the only thing left visible was my violet eyes. I gently lifted myself off the roof and into the air, preparing to land a relatively small distance away from them to confront them.
"Oh don't worry so much Xen-" The cheerful voice was interrupted as she saw a figure with wings lower into her vision behind her more serious partner.
"You know, I'd listen to her if I were you," I spoke.
The serious girl jerked to her allies side, her body quickly shifting to face me. The cheerful voice was now silent as she looked on at me, her more serious partner held a defensive position, with what I could only assume to be a blade within those wraps judging by how she grabbed onto it.
The air looming around us was palpable. The rain kept the air from being completely silent, as neither of us had anything to say that would fill that void. Within those moments, the girl looked my body up and down from her defensive position, almost as if she was examining me.
"A human body..." She muttered to herself. "He's a Demi-Dragon? So perhaps the rumors weren't entirely true, which means he may not be as powerful as the rumors spoke," She continued to speak to herself.
"Perhaps," I interjected, her words not quite enough to keep me from hearing them. She tensed in reaction to hearing my voice, her grip on the wrapped blade tightening.
"So what happens if it is true? Are you willing to take that risk?" I questioned, putting up a bluff as I had no clue what these rumors said about me.
She hesitated, backing up slightly, clearly not confident in her chances of winning this fight. I spread my wings wide, putting on an imposing presence to let them know that I have control of the situation.
Even if one of them wields the Heavenly Dragon Ddraig, without proper control their just a human with a power boost, so long as I don't let that boost get out of hand, and eliminate them quickly, there will be no problems.
"So, what are members of the Church doing in a devils territory? I'd prefer to avoid a fight, but I'm not going to idly sit by as people pass through territory under my protection, so it'd be a lot easier for all of us if you just answered," I sternly spoke, glaring at the two.
"What makes you think we should tell you? For all we know, you could be bluffing to get information for the devils that reside in this territory," She loudly declared, showing firm resolve in the face of danger.
Despite her partners resolve, the more bubbly natured voice still showed fear in her bodies movements, clearly not as confident as her counterpart. She gave her partners clock a slight tug, grabbing their attention.
"Umm, he said that the dragon is just as strong as the rumors said, probably even stronger," The girl whispered to her serious partner, her words just barely audible enough for me to make a proper sentence from what I heard.
The serious girl turned around to face the host of Ddraig, most likely distressed and shocked as to what she just heard from her partner. Even if she's on the weaker side compared to most higher classed supernatural beings, she has good intuition, to say the least.
I will have to keep my guard up regardless, as it appears that the other one has, at the very least awakened Ddraig, considering she can talk to what I presume to have been Ddraig. If she can Balance Break, then her boost ability may become a much bigger problem than I predicted. That is if she even can handle that much power. I doubt she even can, due to her partner mentioning her lack of control, so I shouldn't even have to worry about that.
"Well, now that you know I'm not just bluffing, why don't you tell me why your here," I asked them, slowly walking towards the two.
As I approached, the two backed away from me, clearly neither of them confident in attacking me. If the Heavenly Dragon Ddraig doesn't think either of them can fight me, then I clearly have the advantage, and they didn't have any other options.
With each step that I took closer, and each passing moment that my violet dragon eyes bore into them, their instinctual fear grew more prominent, their bodies beginning to shake from the intense fear and pressure.
"... F-Fine, but if we tell you why we're here, I want you to listen to a request I have," The serious voice begrudgingly spoke. It was apparent that she didn't want to tell me anything, but she's at least smart enough to know she doesn't have another option.
"A-Are you sure?" Ddraigs host quickly questioned, clearly not sure if they should tell me anything, and risk trying to run or fight.
"What other choice do we have?" She promptly spoke back, glancing over to me with suspicious eyes as she clearly didn't trust me either.
"...If you really want to talk, then there's an abandoned church not too far from here, we can talk there without having any risk of being herd," The serious one spoke.
"If that's where you want to talk, fine with me, but I don't feel like walking or waiting for you there, so we're taking a short cut," I responded, holding my arm out to them.
They both looked at my extended arm, neither of them moving a muscle closer to me, not showing any signs of grabbing on. I don't blame their hesitation, it's quite understandable really, but I don't have time for this.
"Look, if I wanted to hurt you, I would have. So there's nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm on a time limit, so we need to hurry this up," I explain to the two.
The two members of the Church glanced to each other, neither of them speaking a word. They seemed to be almost having a silent agreement on whether or not they should go through with this.
Thankfully, after a few moments, they slowly and hesitantly grabbed on my extended hand and wrist. Shadows rose from the ground, slowly consuming us as the girls looked around in confusion as to what's going on. Without them noticing, shadows began forming under the body of the deceased priest that was killed earlier.
Our vision was consumed by an everlasting darkness that clung onto our bodies. Slowly the darkness faded once again, our vision being restored back to us. Except instead of the raining streets, we were inside the Church where we freed Asia from the fallen Angels.
"H-how did you get us here so fast?" The more serious one asked. Both of the girls looking around the dark and damaged church building, confirming that they were located at now.
"We'll just say it's one of my many abilities," I shrugged, avoiding the question entirely, as to not give away anything of importance about me to them.
The corpse of the priest rose from a separate pool of swirling shadows from within the ground. The two glanced at the body, then back at me with slight confusion.
"Why did you bring him with us?" Ddraigs host asked, her head tilted slightly to the side.
"Earlier your partner said you couldn't give him a proper burial due to the risk of being caught by me. However, seeing as I already found you two, it won't hurt to properly bury him in the Church after this is over with," I explained.
"More importantly, it's time for you two to answer some questions. Who are you, and what are members of the Church doing in a devil's territory," I question.
"If we are to answer anything for you, then I want you to at least hear out a favor that I have," The girl spoke, her voice carrying a more demanding tone.
"Fine, you answer my questions, and I'll hear you out on your favor," I agreed.
"...Fine, firstly, my name is Xenovia Quarta," The serious voice spoke, lifting the hood from her head, allowing me to get a good look at her.
From under the now lifted hood revealed a beautiful young woman with chin-length blue hair with a dyed green fringe on the right side and brown eyes. Her face held a very monotone expression to it, similar to Koneko.
Looking over to Xenovia's ally, my jaw dropped slightly at the sight of Xenovia's partner. A nostalgic scent bombarded my scenes as she removed the soaked hood.
What my eyes were met with was that of a beautiful young woman with long chestnut hair and violet eyes, her hair being tied into twin tails by two blue scrunchies.
"And my name is-"
"Irina?" I mumbled from within my mask, just barely audible enough for them to hear me.
Xenovia and Irina both looked at me with confused expressions dressed across their face. They both shared a quick glance of confusion shortly after turning back to look at me.
"Do you know me?" Irina asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at me.
I wanted to respond, but I couldn't. I couldn't respond vocally or physically in any way, shocked by the revelation that Irina was the... the Red Dragon Emperor. It seemed as if the entire world was focused on this one moment, the concept of time losing its meaning in these moments.
Irina's expression grew even more confused when I didn't respond. She tilted her head slightly as she looked at me, trying to figure out why I haven't said anything.
After a few agonizingly long moments passed, I regained some slight semblance of composure, slowly removed my hood, to which her eyes gradually lit up upon getting a more unobstructed view as I removed the face cover that concealed my identity from their sight.
"Issei?" She spoke, looking at me with wide eyes. She took a few steps back her body freezing in place shortly after, her hands covering her mouth, clearly stunned as I was.
"Wait... you two know each other?" Xenovia chimed in.
"Y-yeah, we were friends from a very young age, she moved a long time ago, and we never saw each other until after... well until now," I slowly spoke, my head still having a hard time trying to wrap around the concept that she was a possessor of a Heavenly Dragon.
Irina slowly walked closer to me, her eyes scanning over my body, mainly drifting over the draconic features and appendages that I held. Upon reaching me, she gently guided her hand down my scaled black wings, utterly silent throughout the entire process.
"Issei... you're body... what happened to... since when did you...?" Irina tried to ask through her shock.
"Well, it's... complicated, " I responded.
"Tell me, I... I want to know," She wholeheartedly spoke.
"I... well I didn't know until after you moved. A little while after that, it was revealed to me that my father was a full-blooded dragon, and... my mother was a half-breed and both, making me 3/4ths dragon... and 1/4th devil. I'm also a direct relative to the Black Dragon Emperor, Inains, and I weild his Longinus, making me this generation Black Dragon Emperor," I tried to explain.
Irina's body flinched upon hearing my words, her voice going dead silent. Her gaze at me shifted from one of curiousness and concern, too that of confliction and worry.
"That explains why you would let devils live in your territory," Xenovia concluded. "It also means you should be a big help for that favor I wanted,"
"You're not surprised about the Black Dragon Emperor thing?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow, as everyone who learned about the title that I held tried to ingratiate themselves like Ravel. Well, excluding my peerage members. Even Sirzechs and the others called me by my title at first.
"Not really. While we weren't told that the Black Dragon Emperor lived here by an official, we managed to overhear a rumor that said the dragon living here was the fabled lost Longinus, so we were prepared for the small chance that it was true," Xenovia explained.
'I guess that's why they sent Irina here,' I thought to myself.
"Irina... when did... when did you become the Red Dragon Emperor," questioned with concern for my old friend. My words shook her from her silent thoughts, her gaze looking back up to me.
"H-how did you know?" She questioned.
"I could sense it on you shortly after I saw you two. A heavenly Dragon wouldn't miss each other's signature unless they're good at concealing their aura," I explained.
"T-that makes sense. I woke Ddraig up a few years ago, and I've been training to use my powers for good ever since I found out about it," She explained.
'That's... pretty impressive. I never thought Irina would be able to host such a powerful being,' I thought to myself.
A clearing of the throat from Xenovia captured the attention of Irina and I, ripping me from my thoughts about Irina's true potential. Xenovia had a slightly irritated expression on her face as her arms were crossed, her eyes staring a hole into me.
"You said you had some questions for us?" Xenovia spoke, trying to move the discussion back onto the original topic. Leave it for a member of the Church to be impatient with a devil, why am I not surprised.
"Oh, yeah, why are members of the Church doing in a devil's territory?" I questioned her, my eyes narrowing as the gazed at her.
A few moments of tense silence filled the air. Xenoiva and I both staring at each other with distrust, both of us thinking about what to say next. Irina was silent in the midst of the conversation, seemingly distracted by the thoughts of something else.
"Seeing that you are the vanguard of this territory, I assume you are aware that Kokabiel is residing here with the stolen Excalibers?" Xenovia ironically questioned.
"Yes, I'm aware of his idiotic actions. Truth be told, I was following his trail before you two showed up. His presence is far from welcomed here," I harshly responded.
Xenovia rose an eyebrow at the disdain in my voice upon mentioning that he isn't welcomed within my territory. Although she simply shrugged it off rather than digging deeper into the topic, as it makes sense for me to be involved with such things in my territory.
"Well, we were sent here to retrieve the stolen fragments of Excaliber and return them to the rightful owner, the Church. I assume we won't have any problems with that?" Xenovia questioned, her sharp glare bearing into me.
I was slightly taken aback from her words. The Chuch was quite brazen to send just two soldiers from the Chruch, even if Irina host's Ddraig, she would have to have significant control on Ddraigs power to beat a Cadre class like Kokabiel, and judging by the amount of draconic aura leaking from her, I'd say she could barely activate her Balance Breaker, at best.
'I doubt they would listen to me if I told them it was a suicide mission,' I thought to myself, so I opted to stay silent about their lack of required power. It might be best if I keep an eye on them. I couldn't care less if this girl Xenovia got hurt, or worse, but Irina... well that's a different case.
"That's... complicated. Even if you don't have any trouble with me, you will undoubtedly have conflictions with the High-Class devils that reside here," I shrugged, unsure of how Rias would take to hearing this.
"Well, then the favor I want you to do will unquestionably help with that," Xenovia confidently spoke, causing my curiosity to her favor to peak.
"All right, what is this favor then?" I questioned.
"I wanted you to-"
"Xenovia wait!" Irina interrupted, her sudden words echoing through the desolate church. Xenovia and I both looked over to Irina in surprise to her sudden outburst in contrast to her previous silence.
"We... w-we shouldn't be getting help from him. Even if its Issei... he's still a devil... we shouldn't even be talking with him," Irina spoke, uncertainty filled shaky voice.
The room was silent for a few moments. Xenovia and I were both surprised by her little outburst. Although I guess I shouldn't be, she always stuck with her beliefs, even at such a young age.
"Issei is only 1/4th devil, so I don't mind making a slight exception this time as long as it helps us achieve the ultimate goal," Xenoiva justified herself.
"But-"
"Besides, you need to convince yourself of that before you try to convince others," Xenovia spoke, clearly seeing through the weak facade Irina held to try and cover her confliction.
Irina stumbled backward slightly at her allies words, stuttering as she tried to form a proper sentence to justify herself. In her stuttering, I gently place my hand ion her shoulder, causing her to turn to look to me, which a warm smile greeted her.
"As long as the Church or devils don't find out, it will be fine. You can trust me, and when have I lied to you before," I reassured her.
Irina's violet eyes locked onto my own. A small tinge of pink formed across her cheeks. She quickly turned her head back down to face the ground, breaking the line of sight I had on her face.
The room went silent, the rain hitting the church's roof keeping the air from being completely silent. After a few moments of quiet thought, Irian tilted her head up slightly, looking back to Xenovia and me.
"W-well, if it's Issei... I guess I can make an exception," Irina softly spoke, her words putting a smile on my face.
"All right then, as I was saying earlier. I was hoping you could tell us where the devil's lair was located at, that way we can meet with them for ourselves," Xenovia explained, her sudden bazar request quickly grabbed my attention.
"So, let me make sure I got this... you, members of the Church... want to meet with devils?" I questioned.
"Yes, that is correct,"
"... Why? Isn't it your job to... oh I don't know, kill devils?" I sarcastically questioned.
"While that is true, we were given specific orders to make a temporary truce with the devils residing in this territory while we hunted down the fragments of Excaliber," Xenovia explained.
"...You're insane," I deadpanned.
"As much as I don't like the idea of marching into a devils lair to reason with the vile creatures, its the orders given to us from the higher-ups, so we don't have any other choice," Xenovia sighed.
"Very well, I will hold up my side of the deal and give you this information. However, I myself, am a member of their peerage, so if you cause any trouble for them, I will be on their side," I warned the two, my voice carrying a grave tone. To which Xenovia nodded in understanding.
"All right, they are located within a school called Kuoh Academy, and we are enrolled as students there. I'd advise you two to arrive at around 4:30 P.M. as that is when the school closes, and we hold our meetings under a club room as a front, its called the Occult Research Club," I explained.
"I should also inform you that Sona Sitri is the President of the school council, but she is a reasonable and intelligent woman, so you shouldn't have any problems with her, so long as she understands the situation," I informed the two girls.
"Understood. I appreciate your cooperation tonight. You're probably the most reasonable devil I've met," Xenovia spoke, slightly mixed messages being sent from the displeased tone in her voice.
"I'll just take that as a compliment," I shrugged as I began walking towards the exit.
"I'm assuming I don't need to say this, but it'd be best for you two to act like you never seen me, you know since I'm part of their peerage and all," I mentioned on my way out of the building.
"Of course," Xenovia simply responded.
"I'll see you then Issei, take care of yourself," Irina called out, giving me a smile with a wave goodbye. Just like her usual bubbly self when we were children, typical.
I gave her a wave from over my shoulder, exiting the building. I removed my phone from my pocket, checking the time to see how much time I have left to shop.
'Ten minutes, huh, I better hurry,' I thought to myself deciding that I would take the quickest way there. Pocketing my phone, I allowed the shadows to form around my body, pulling me into the darkness as it blacked out my vision.
My vision returned to me, my body now transported to a location behind the supermarket. I quickly pulled my hood up, protecting my hair from the cold rain as I jogged to the entrance of the store. My Draconic features being reverted back to my more human appearance.
Upon entry of the supermarket, I removed my hood as I grabbed a cart from the side of the store. The clerk glanced at me from their desk, only to return to their phone.
'So, how would you judge Irina's strength from today?' I mentally asked Inanis.
[It's hard to say. Ddraigs presence didn't seem too prominent, yet her aura was far more significant than that boy, Saji's.] Inanis responded.
'Yeah, I could feel that after I focused on her aura. Do you think she even has a chance against Kokabiel though?' I mentally questioned as I grabbed large quantities of different meats.
[It's hard to say. She didn't feel especially strong, but it's hard to judge someone's potential without seeing them in combat. If we're going off what we felt tonight, then she wouldn't stand a chance. However, if she can use her Balance Breaker, then it's feasible to assume she could compete with him]
'You think? She's just a human though,'
[And so where those before her. The Heavenly Dragon's sacred gears, despite being wielded by humans, are all still known as god killers for a reason Issei. Even humans with the Longinus can bring the supernatural to their knees. Your the first supernatural being to wield a Heavenly Dragon, you know] Inains justified.
'Yeah I suppose your right, but Irina is... Irina. She isn't exactly a warrior at heart. She's more akin to a squishy marshmallow than a warrior.' I chuckled, a mental image of a marshmallow with hazelnut twin tails charging into battle with a sword appearing in my head.
[While that may be true, she has also been training for two years at least, and perhaps even longer considering she could have been training with the Church since she moved as a kid]
'I suppose that's true, I just never imagined Irina to be involved with this stuff,' I spoke, moving some fruit and vegetables into the cart. The girls eat them quite regularly, so it would be thought-full if I got them something as well.
[I wasn't awake to see her as you did, only hearing stories that you've told me. Unfortunately, from what I felt today, she wouldn't stand a chance against Kokabiel]
'True, let's just hope she can at least hold him off,' I mentally spoke.
The inner thoughts of my mind went silent, Inains seemingly silencing his words as he had no more to say, allowing me to focus on what I need to pick up for the others and myself.
Thankfully, our money, or Rias's, comes from her wealthy family, so I don't really have a limit on what I can buy. However, even with that, I don't want to spend money that isn't mine recklessly.
A few more moments of silence passed as I picked up more items that I need for myself and the four others living within my house. As I stared into the contents of my cart, Inanis broke the silence once again.
[Do you have any other ulterior motives to inviting them to meet with your master?] Inanis questioned.
'That's random, why do you ask?'
[Well, knowing you, it just makes sense for you to have different motives than what appears on the surface, so I am merely curious as to what my host has planned]
'You know me too well. Yes, I do have a few other reasons for telling them where they could find Rias,'
[Mind catching me up?]
'Well... you remember when you and Grayfia taught me about how tracking energies worked, correct?'
[Of course]
'Well, as you already know, the more you are exposed to a specific form of energy, the easier it is to recognize and track. Fallen Angels and members of the Church, along with their weapons, radiate different forms of energy. The Fallen Angel's energy wields a... corrupted feel to it compared to the Church's much purer version, a version of this energy that I have rarely been exposed to,'
[So you wish to use those girls to your advantage by allowing them to track the energy for you?] Inanis filled in the blanks quickly.
'Perceptive as ever. Yes, that is my ulterior motive. Those two have been exposed to pure holy energy far more than I ever have, so they will be able to detect it and track it far easier than I would, so all I would have to do is follow them, or wait for another uncontrolled burst of holy energy, like we felt earlier tonight,'
[That's a decent plan Issei, just be careful not to be caught by them. I doubt they would take it well if they learned that you were following them]
'yeah, I'll be careful,'
[You should probably finish up here, or you'll run out of time]
Initially confused by Inanis's words I looked over to the clock above the check out station, only too see that I've been out for about 27 minutes now. So I only have about three left to check out and get home.
'Shit, yeah I told them 30, right?' I thought to myself as I hastily made my way to the self check-out station.
I quickly scanned all the contents that my cart held within it, a hefty price tag popping on the screen from all the items. Thankfully Rias gave me a card to her family's account so I can use it for food, if she didn't, I think I would've gone broke by now.
As I removed the contents out of the cart, I took a quick peek out through the sliding glass doors, seeing the rain has yet to let up. I grabbed my hood, shifting it above my head as I pushed the cart into the line others.
'I hope these all hold' I thought to myself, running my arm through the loops of the bags to hold them.
After a few short moments of readying myself, I quickly ran out the door and proceeding to dash to the back of the store where I initially arrived. With my arrival to the back, I quickly scanned the area for any possible employees on break, and thankfully there wasn't.
Leaping into the air, the shadows began forming around my body, my sight fading as the shadows manipulated its way around my body. Once I and the bags were covered entirely by the shadows, I and the contents made a quick jump directly to my front porch.
The sound of rain hitting the roof above the poor was a relieving so, to say the least. My vision came back to me, my eyes adjusting to the light of the bright porch light that one of the girls must have turned on for me while I was gone. They really are a thoughtful group.
I unlocked the door, tiptoeing my way into the kitchen, attempting to be as quiet as possible as not to wake anyone.
After stocking the fridge and pantry with the items I bundled up all the bags, hanging them on a rack that Asia bought to reuse bags. While I initially thought it was a bit wasteful, it does come in handy when we need to bunch stuff together.
I quickly ran to the laundry room, reclothing myself in the clothing I was wearing earlier today sans the shirt as I was about to go to sleep. While at the same time, placing my drenched combat clothing in the dirty clothes basket. I'll just have to use a different pair if I go out to hunt again.
With everything back in place, and my tracks covered, I began making my way up the stair to my room, stopping to peek into the living room. Wynter was still sleeping on the couch, yet her body was much more sprawled out than before, the blanket covering a small portion of her body.
I took a slight detour from my way upstairs, quietly making my way into the living room, recovering Wynter's body with the blanket. I don't want her catching a cold... if she can, she's technically a supernatural dire wolf, and I can't ever recall getting a human virus, but better safe than sorry.
On my way out, I flipped the light switch in the kitchen, as well as the one next to the front door, turning the kitchen lights off along with the porch light outside, and proceed to make my way upstairs.
Slowly opening the door revealed the two girls sleeping, each one on their respected side of the bed while facing each other. Thankfully they were both relatively hard to wake up, so hopefully, it will be easier to make my way under the covers than it looks.
I tiptoed my way in, making my way over to the bottom of the bed. The wood creaked slightly as I lifted myself over the bed, my wings folded against my back, and my tail curled up behind me, attempting not to hit them with my extra appendages.
My body relaxed as I lay down in the center of the bed, Rias and Akeno only having a small space between them and me. I slowly let my wings on fold unto the bed slightly, both girls instinctively rolling over the wings to snuggle against my body, seemingly happy hums leaving their lips as they snuggled against me.
As I stared at the ceiling, a soothing feeling washed over my body, the girl's soft skin cuddling up against my own, the pleasant sound of rain falling from the dark clouds above. I wave a dreariness ran through me, my vision slowly fading to darkness, as I fell asleep.
-Sleep Time-
"Issei... wake up," A soft voice spoke. Two small hands gently pushed on my back, rocking me ever so slightly.
"He isn't moving... oh no, what do I do?" the soft feminine voice asked herself in a slightly panicked tone. She reached down to try and move me again.
My eyes shot open, and out of instinct, I grabbed her wrist and shot her a harsh glare with my draconic slitted eyes, a low growl making its way from me. I quickly realized who it was though, shaking my head slightly as I let go of her arm.
"What are you doing here? Also, sorry about that, it happens from time to time," I yawned, stretching my arms as I sat up. The blanket covering my body sliding down to my waist as I sat up.
Asia froze as she heard me, her gaze slowly turning to look over to me. Upon seeing me, her face dyed a deep red, and I'm pretty sure I saw steam shoot from her ears.
"I-I.. uhh. R-Rias told m-me to...uh,"
"Hey, Relax. Take some deep breaths, take your time to think about what you wanna say, I'll be patient," I spoke, noticing she was having trouble trying to say what she wanted to, to be honest, it's kind of cute seeing her flustered like this.
Asia looked surprised at my words, but nodded her head never the less. The next few moments were filled with silence as Asia took a few deep breaths, giving her time to think about what she wanted to say correctly.
"S-so, Rias noted that you were still asleep and that you'd need to wake up soon or you'd be late to school. A-Akeno volunteered to wake you up, but Rias said she didn't trust Akeno's m-motives, so I was told to wake you up," Asia explained.
'Huh, last time Akeno woke me up she tried to screw me before school, so I don't really blame Rias for that one,' I thought to myself.
"Oh, Rias and Akeno and I made breakfast, and we set aside some for you whenever you get ready," Asia spoke up.
"That's thoughtful of you guys, would you go let them know I'll be down in a bit, I gotta take a shower first," I asked of her.
"Y-yeah, I can do that. Try to hurry though, we have school today after all," Asia notified me as she made her way out of the room, presumably downstairs to the others.
As she left, I helped myself to one last big stretch, my wings fully extended. With that, I lifted myself from the bed, losing any previous bits of temptation to lay back down and pass out within the comfortable sheets of the bed.
I grabbed a casual pair of clothes and made my way out into the hallway and over to the showers.
-Shower Time Passes-
I jumped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around my head as to keep water from pouring onto the floor. The mirror was fogged by the steam that was produced by the shower. I flipped a switch on the wall, the switch turning on a fan that would suck out the water vapor from the bathroom.
'I can't believe I almost passed out in the shower,' I thought to myself, looking at the bags under my eyes through the mirror.
I dried my hair with the towel, a sharp inhale being made as I continued drying my hair. Once my lungs were filled with air, I lit the oxygen into flames like a mini internal explosion, heating my body up drastically, causing the thin layer of water to vaporize off my skin.
With my body now dried, and my hair mostly dried, I took the fresh clothing that I got earlier and dressed myself before exiting the bathroom.
Upon opening the door, my sense's were bombarded by the delicious aroma from the girl's breakfast filled the air, causing my mouth to water in the thought of the tasty food. Even if I was half awake, their food always seemed to get me hungry.
Walking down the stairs, the girls were all talking together in the living room, my more than adequate portion of food sitting on the table, steam still rising from the hot food.
I sat down, quickly beginning the morning feast, which consisted of a variety of meats that I bought last night and a much smaller yet still present portion of fruits and vegetables on the side. I quickly tore through most of the meal.
"Oh, Issei" Rias called, noticing my arrival to the table, halting me from finishing the meal in front of me.
I turned my gaze to her, looking through the doorway connecting the two rooms. I didn't respond vocally to her, not that I didn't want to, but more like I couldn't, my mouth was still full of food when I turned to look at her, so I opted for a simple flare of the eyebrows to let her know she has my attention.
"I wanted to thank you for purchasing more than just meats. I'm aware that it's often easier to think about what you need over others, so I wanted to thank you for thinking about our likings as well," Rias spoke.
I quickly swallowed the large bundle of food sitting in my mouth.
"Yeah well, it's nothing to thank me about. Since I wash the dishes, it's easier for me to notice what you like and don't like, and it's only natural to get you guys things when your such a big help to me," I responded, returning to my meal, scarfing down what's left.
"Are you all right? You look quite tired," Akeno mentioned, giving me a slightly concerned look, like a mother looking at her sick child.
"Uh? Oh yeah, I'm good. Going shopping so late must have messed with my sleep schedule," I excused myself.
"I hope you didn't have any trouble with it. I'd hate to be a burden," Asia mumbled.
"Why would I have any trouble with it? It's just getting groceries,"
"I believe she was referencing the harsh rain from last night, and your currently drowsy state. It sounded quite loud when it was beating down on the roof, and you look like a walking corpse right now, no offense," Akeno interjected before Asia could respond.
"Oh, don't worry about that, with the shadow movements I can mostly avoid the rain, and I can always catch up on sleep tonight, or later today," I assured her.
"T-That's handy. I'd hate to be a burden to my host," Asia mumbled, her voice slightly overlapped by the clanking of the plates and silverware I collected from the table.
"Don't worry so much, you girls a far more helpful than you realize," I spoke, making my way over to the sink. My eyes caught a slight smile forming on Asia before I lost sight of the living room.
.
.
.
With the dishes done we set off. The girls both walked parallel to one side of me. The girls were all talking together, while I simply followed them in silence, occasionally getting the now typical glance of either confusion, jealousy, or anger.
My thoughts were cut short as the vast hell of a building crept into my view. Student's making their way in the grounds just as we are, and judging by most of their expressions upon seeing this place, their feelings are quite similar to my own.
"I really didn't miss this place," I grumbled as we passed through the school gates.
"Come on, it can't be that bad Issei," Akeno spoke her voice carrying a slightly cheerful tone.
"You'd be surprised," I grumbled. If it weren't for the ORC's reputation, I would skip every day.
We made our way down the pathway towards the large building in front of us, students scattered across the campus. Unfortunately, we appeared just to have made it on time. Once we closed into the school, the bell rung, signaling all the students to go to their respective classes within the next five minutes.
"Well, I guess we have to split paths now," Rias pouted.
"True, but why don't you send us off with a kiss Issei," Akeno flirtatiously spoke, moving her self out in front of me, Rias quickly joining her.
I only sighed, obliging both the girls to their request. Rias was satisfied with a quick kiss, reasonably so as we are in public.
Akeno, on the other hand, got a little more intimate. Once our lips met, she quickly took the aggressive, forcing her tongue into my mouth, despite the stare we were receiving from the other students.
After a few moments of what is now best fit as a makeout session, she finally pulled away, her breathing slightly labored and her face flushed a pink color and a sultry expression on her face as she stared into my eyes.
"Seriously? We're in public Akeno, try to have a little restraint," Rias spoke, giving her a disapproving glare.
"My my, I apologize, but I couldn't just pass such an opportunity up," Akeno chuckled.
"Well, I'm glad you got that out of your system. Also, Rias wasn't you mad at her the last time she did something like this?" I questioned.
"I was, but not because she kissed you in such a way, but more so of the fact that she was trying to have sex with you right before school," Rias deadpanned, a slight annoyance to her tone.
"Oh please, don't act like you would have passed up to opportunity if you had it," Akeno slyly spoke, as she proceeded to make her way to class, now satisfied with her kiss. A viable tick mark appearing on her forehead as Akeno walked away.
"My God, that girl is such a handful," Rias sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Yeah, tell me about it," I jokingly spoke.
"Well, we should get going. Will I see you three in the club room during lunch?" Rias questioned.
"Where else would I go? The club room is the only place that has some semblance of silence, and it has you guys," I gave Rias and the others behind me a warm smile.
"I will go where ever my ma- Issei goes," Wynter spoke. Thankfully she caught herself before calling me master around a school filled with teenagers. That would have been a weird story to hear about.
"Y-yeah, I'll go to the club room too," Asia happily spoke.
"Well then, I'll be looking forward to seeing you there," Rias happily spoke.
Rias jumped up, giving me one last quick kiss before splitting from us, her arms waving goodbye to us as she made her way to her classroom. I and the others gave her a slight wave until she left our field of view, to which Asia, Wynter and I set off for our class as well.
"So what are we doing today?" I questioned, as I didn't really pay attention to the notes or anything we really did last I was here.
"I believe the teacher said something about taking notes. Although I could be wrong, it has been a while since we've been here," Wynter answered.
"Ah, fuuuuuuuun. You sure that's it? I hope not because I really don't want to sit in that boring class until lunch," I sighed.
[Look at the bright side, you could sleep through class if all they will be doing is talking]
'huh, I didn't think of that,' I thought to myself, clearly not thinking clearly due to the lack of sleep.
"Y-yeah that's it, here look," Asia spoke, grabbing our attention as she began digging into her pockets. She quickly pulled out her phone, opening a tab ob google that held this classes schedule for the next week.
"You actually use the school website?" Wynter questioned.
"I didn't even know this place had a website that told you what the schedule was," I deadpanned.
"Y-yeah, of course I use it. Why? Is that weird?" Asia asked, her voice growing slightly nervous.
"No, its actually a smart thing to do, it's just... I never realized how differently we all treated school," Wynter spoke.
"What do you mean?" Asia naively questioned.
"Well, you pay attention to every single thing the teacher says, I more or less pay attention to the essential parts, but nothing else. Issei, on the other hand, does all his work in like twenty minutes without listening to s single thing the teacher says, and then he sleeps through the rest of the class," Wynter explained.
"Yeah, I'd skip if I could, but I could only imagine what Rias and Akeno would say if I did that, not to mention Sona," I sighed.
"While I don't blame you for not liking school, it is pretty essential," Asia justified.
"Yeah for these humans, but when am I going to use this knowledge? Why would I need to know the history of a world and society that I'm barely involved with?" I quietly spoke, purposefully lowering my voice as for no regular humans to hear my rant.
"Don't devils go to school for stuff?" Wynter questioned.
"Technically, but from what I understand it's for Rating-Game training, and for high-class devils only," I spoke.
"That's... idiotic, why would they limit training schools to high-class and higher only?" Wynter asked.
"Yeah, that's not fair to the others," Asia joined her.
"I don't know. I'm not even sure if that's the actual case, I've never been to a city in the underworld, aside for the Rating Game. If that is how it works, I bet it has something to do with those old geezers in the council,"
"Yeah, makes sense, judging from what you Rias and Akeno told us about them that is," Wynter reasoned.
"B-by the way, did they ever decide who was going to come to our meetings to report on you?" Asia asked.
"No, Sirzechs hasn't told me anything yet," I responded.
"That's odd. Considering how much the old fools wanted to keep an eye on you, I figured they would have assigned someone immediately afterward," Wynter spoke.
"Maybe Sirzechs is keeping them at bay for as long as he can. I'll have to thank him if he is, the longer they take, the better," I sighed. None of the peerage members were looking forward to it, but it's not like we had another choice.
"Yeah, well I hope it isn't some stuck up," Wynter spoke.
"W-We should probably stop talking about this, were almost to class after all," Asia spoke up, Wynter and I both heeded her advice as we saw the door leading to our room.
We finally made it into our class. The students were clumped in separate groups across the classroom, each on with their friend group. Asia was intercepted by a few girls who wanted to talk to her before she could get to her seat, while Wynter and I both just walked through and sat at our seats, ignoring the others in the classroom, not interested in their activities.
While Wynter has piqued the interest of a considerable portion of the male population of our school, and the same with the female for me, neither of us cared about them.
Wynter laid back in her chair, attempting to get in as comfortable of a position as the chairs would allow. I leaned forward, resting my head on the palm of my hand as I stared out the window next to me.
The other students continued their gossip, giving Wynter and I glances of curiosity, as they knew hardly anything about us. Whispers of whether we are related or not, due to our similar lack of interest in the others, as our closely similar black hair.
The final bell rang, silencing my class peers as they began making their way to their seats, though they didn't stop their chatter as the teacher hasn't arrived yet, and everyone chooses to sit next to their friends if they have the chance.
A few moments of more chatter amongst the students passed, that was until the doors to the classroom. Through the wooden doors entered the teacher, who happened to fashionably late, although that is understandable, who in their right mind would be up at this ungodly hour.
"Apologise for running late class. My alarm didn't wake me up in time," The teacher excused.
The teacher unpacked their things and prepared for whatever we had planned today, but that doesn't really matter to me. Thanks to their arrival, belated as it may have been, the others actually shut up, giving me peace and quiet to sleep some more.
I cross my arms on the desk, using them as a pillow for my head. As I laid my head within my arms, it felt as if my eyelids weight increased by the second. As my eyes close, my consciousness fades out as I fall into my slumber.
-Sleep time-
I was brought back to consciousness by a loud ringing sound, as well as the sound of chatter accompanied by the movement of multiple people. A low growl left my voice. Cracking open my eyes, I peered through the gaps of my hair that hung down in front of my vision.
"All right, I'll see you all after lunch," The teachers voice spoke, barely audible as all the other noises were masking it.
All the students were rising from their desks, and gathering their belongings, chatting with their friends. The ringing noise must be the school bell, so it should be lunch now.
"Come on, Issei, the others are sure to be waiting for us," Wynter gently spoke, giving me a gentle tap in an attempt to wake me.
I slowly rose from my desk, raising my arms as I stretched the sleep from my body. Thankfully the teacher must have already left along with the students, so I don't have to try and act as if I'm fully awake.
"Y-you know, you really shouldn't sleep through class?" Asia meekly spoke.
"I can't help it," I spoke, rubbing my eyes as I rose from my seat. "I need my sleep, and waking up at this damned hour is terrible,"
"I-I don't exactly disagree with you about waking up so early, but that still doesn't mean you should sleep through class," Asia sighed.
"Just leave him be. He passes his classes, so there isn't any reason to keep trying. Besides, even if we did try to keep him awake, I don't think it would work," Wynter spoke, knowing the unbridled pain of not wanting to wake up early.
Asia sighed. Her face showed slight unsatisfaction with the results, but she couldn't exactly repute Wynter's words. I must admit though, it is a little bothersome to have her nag on me about that, but I can't be mad at her, she's just looking after me. It's rather sweet of her to trouble herself like this over me.
"W-well, let's not keep the others waiting," Asia spoke in her typical gentle and happy tone.
"You two go ahead, I'm going to stop by the cafeteria to get something to eat," I spoke as I began to walk away, only to be stopped by Wynter grabbing my wrist.
"Don't, Rias and Akeno have something planned for today," Wynter spoke to me.
"What is it?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"W-we can't say, it's a surprise," Asia quickly spoke.
"If you say so. Let's go then," I shrugged, following the girls out of the classroom.
As we walked through the building, the two girls in a comfortable silence as we made our way to the ORC room, I began searching the town for any pure, holy auras in the city. Unfortunately, I didn't pick up a single trace.
'Inanis, you sense anything that I can't?' I mentally questioned.
[Yes, but it's faint, I can feel those two's aura just entering the town again, so they should arrive after school, judging by their current speed] Inanis spoke.
'Thanks, I'm glad you can at least sense it, but... those two are all you sense? You don't sense Kokabiel or the Excaliber fragments he stole?' I hopefully asked, dreadfully already knowing the answer to my own question.
[Unfortunately no, I don't sense any others aside from the Church members. Even if their energy is weaker, they aren't trying to conceal it like Kokabiel is] Inanis explained.
'That's disappointing, but I kind of expected it. Thank's anyway, at least you can feel the presence of those other two, I can't even feel them,' I mentally spoke.
[It's expected, you've rarely been exposed to pure, holy aura, so it's not like you know what you're trying to sense. Perhaps we should start training to detect aura's like that, not knowing where the enemy is could be detremental]
'Yeah, if you can simulate those auras in the MindScape then we should definitely start working on that,' I agreed.
[Then we will start working on that, staring the next time you are in the MindScape, whenever that may be, as you seem to be getting back into the hunt for Kokabiel]
'Yeah, perhaps that's why I'm abnormally tired today,' I thought to myself. Although it is much better now that I slept in class, I was so tired this morning.
I looked up from the ground, now leaving my thoughts. The old school building was in front of us, Asia giving the windows a quick glance to the windows of the ORC room.
'You think Kiba's in there?" She asked, giving Wynter and I a glance.
"I'd imagine he would, where else would he be?" Wynter questioned.
"Well, considering we struck a nerve last night, he may want some distance to handle it himself," I mentioned, understanding why he would want to do such things. I took the offer from Sirzechs and the others because I didn't have a choice, not because I wanted help from others. I'm grateful now, of course, but it was different when the scar was fresh.
Wynter stayed silent, making no attempt to act like she knew what it was like to want revenge so intensely.
"I hope he's doing ok," Asia worryingly spoke, her voice filled with concern for her friend.
"I wouldn't worry, Kiba is a tough guy, I'm sure he'll do fine," I reassured her, even if I was a little unsure about that subject myself. I certainly hope he's doing ok.
The three of us made our way into the building and I, along with the others, was a little taken back by the cleanliness of the building. What was once a slightly dusty old building was now quite possibly the cleanest building in the school grounds, so clean that the freshly waxed floors practically mirrored our reflections.
"It's so shiny," Asia spoke in amazement.
"Huh, those spring cleaner people certainly went all out, didn't they?" Wynter spoke, looking down the clean halls that lead to our club room.
"You got that right. I don't think I could clean this good unless I vaporized everything in the room," I joked.
The other gave a small laugh at my words as they opened the doors leading into the clubroom. Rias was revealed sitting at her desk, Akeno at her side as usual. Sona was standing in front of Rias's desk, Saji sitting on the couch listening to the girls.
"Ah, hello you three, come sit we were just talking about things. Issei, you look much better than you did this morning," Rias spoke, waving for us to come in.
"Oh yeah, I'm a lot better now than I was this morning," I spoke, not mentioning the part about sleeping through class due to a specific individual in the room.
"Hey, Issei," Saji spoke, giving me a wave, to which I gave him a wave back.
"Why don't you come set down Issei. Rias and I got a surprise I know you'll like," Akeno spoke, making her way over to the door to welcome us inside.
Unsure of what they planned, I scanned the area for anything that looked out of the normal while making my way over to the couch. To my disappointment, I couldn't find a single item that would give me any clues to what they were planning.
"So what's this big surprise?" I questioned, relaxing on the couch as I sat where they signaled me to sit. I appreciate their thoughts, but there isn't anything that I want, so I would feel a little bad if they spent something on me.
"Hold on, and we'll show you," Akeno spoke, standing up from the couch. She began clearing anything off of the large coffee table in front of us.
Rias waved her hand in front of us, a crimson red Gremory circle appearing on the table in front of us. The air filled with a delicious fragrance, and a large number of bento boxes faded in on the table from the magic circle.
"Here, we made a little to much this morning, even for you. So instead of wasting it, we decided to use it for our lunch," Rias spoke. Each bento box holding a sizable portion of delicious food.
"Please, help yourself, everyone. Sona, Saji, your both more than welcome to eat some as well," Akeno spoke.
"I'm fine, thank you for the offer though. Saji, if you want any feel free, so long as they don't mind," Sona appreciatively spoke.
"Seriously?" Saji asked excitingly, to which Sona nodded. She must be a stricter master, glad I'm not in her peerage.
Saji and I both began digging in the food, while the others, except for Sone, each grabbed a portion that fitted them, leaving the rest to be filling the seemingly bottomless pit that is my stomach.
Akeno grabbed the three of them some food from the bento boxes, placing the food on Rias's desk as they continued their quiet conversation. Wynter and Asia took their seat's next to me on the couch.
"So, how have you been hatchling, gotten any stronger since we've last talked?" I questioned Saji
"Well, I haven't got much stronger physically, but I can summon my Sacred Gear now, so there's that," He spoke.
"Well, don't just tell me, summon it already," I quickly responded, intrigued to see one of the five sacred gears of Vritra, as well as how much Saji has improved.
"O-oh, right," Saji stuttered slightly, sticking his left arm out and closing his eyes to concentrate.
A few moments passed as Saji concentrated on summoning the small and cute black Chameleon sacred gear. After a little bit of concentration and some determination, Saji's hand began glowing a violet color, the light slowly taking around his wrist.
Once the bright flash died down, the sacred gear was revealed around Saji's arm. It has the appearance of a small black bracer in the form of a small lizard with violet eyes, its face deforming slightly as it wraps around his hand, and partly up his wrist.
"Sona said it was called the Absorption Line," Saji spoke, holding it out so we can get a good look at it.
"Aww, it looks like a small and cute black Chameleon," Asia spoke in amazement.
"What does it do?" Wynter questioned.
"All I've got it to do as of now is to shoot out a little tethering thing that restricts peoples movements," Saji explained, shooting the tether to his other arm as an example to us.
"Well, I'm sure it can do something besides that, it is the sacred gear of a Dragon King after all. Perhaps it has something to do with the name, Absorption Line, try getting it to do stuff the relate to that name when you train with it," I advise, examining the Sacred Gear and it's tether carefully.
"Maybe... tethering people is all it does, as far as Sona and I know, but I'll definitely look into it, you're the dragon after all," Saji spoke, his sacred gear fading from his arm.
"Also, I wanted to ask how you all are doing, after that Rating Game with Riser and all," Saji asked.
"Well, I'm doing fine, we all got a lot of time off of school to rest, thanks to Rias and Akeno," I responded.
"Yeah, I wasn't as injured as badly as the others, but I feel just fine," Asia confidently spoke. Wynter just gave a nod of the head after Asia spoke.
"Also, I have to say, I was amazed after seeing you guys in action. You guys did incredibly. I would never have guessed you would have defeated the immortal Phoenix, how did you even pull it off?" Saji questioned, his impressed nature displayed for us to see.
"I don't get why people keep saying immortal, because he isn't," I grumbled.
"What do you mean? He could regenerate from anything thrown at him, sounds pretty immortal to me," Saji voiced his confusion.
"I must admit, I have to agree with Saji this time, Master," Wynter spoke as I finished the last bit of food left in the bento boxes.
"Think about it, to regenerate, there has to be something there to start from, correct? Well, then what would happen if you destroyed every last cell of him?" I questioned, leaning back on the couch to relax from the large helping of food.
"He wouldn't regenerate," Wynter caught on to where I was heading.
"Ok, sure, but it would be really difficult to destroy every cell in a body, that's a lot of cells," Saji retorted.
"And he was super tough," Asia spoke.
"Sure he was tough to you guys, lower-class devils, no offense. However, he isn't abnormally strong, fast, or durable compared to other high-class devils, meaning the main thing keeping him relevant is his hyper regeneration. If anyone strong enough came by to destroy him entirely, he would be nothing more than a piss-ant," I reasoned.
"That's not even taking into consideration that regenerating injures takes energy, and hyper regeneration like his most likely stems from his demonic energy, meaning that if you splashed him with a powerful enough holy water, neutralizing his demonic energy, he would lose his fabled immortality," I continued, making air quotations when saying immortality.
"I... I never thought of it like that. How do you know all of this stuff?" Saji questioned.
"Well, in reality, it's just a guess, so I can't say for sure that is what would happen, but I wouldn't advise going up to him with holy water to find out, regardless of how entertaining it may be," I spoke, chuckling at the thought of Riser getting splashed with holy water.
"Yeah, as if I'd do that, I'd be killed," Saji chuckled.
"It would be a fun sight though," Wynter spoke, giving a sly smile.
Asia, Wynter, and Saji continued the conversation about how each of them did in the Rating Game, while I closed my eyes and allowed my body to sink into the couch.
As I was relaxing on the couch, I managed to overhear a few things from Rias's conversation, some which piqued my interest, so I began to listen in.
"It's been quite some time since the three of us could have a friendly chat like this, hasn't it Rias," Akeno spoke.
"Indeed it has, I've been so busy trying to come up with a way to beat Riser that I've neglected my free time, that was until Issei showed up," Rias responded.
"Indeed, and I must say, you and your peerage put on quite an impressive display," Sona complimented Rias.
"Thanks, but it was all their doing, I couldn't have done it without them helping me," Rias humbly spoke.
"While it is true that Issei may have finished it in the end, you came up with the plan that allowed the others to get as far as they did, so be a little more confident in yourself," Sona reassured, her voice carrying a somewhat proud tone to it.
"Oh, why don't we have a joint training camp?" Akeno suddenly suggested, clasping her hands together.
"What brought that up?" Rias questioned, clearly surprised by the sudden suggestion from her Queen.
"Well, earlier you said you haven't been able to have any free time since you were so pre-occupied with the Riser situation, but now that we took care of that, why don't our peerages have a join training camp, like when Issei trained us for the Rating Game, except less serious," Akeno explained.
"That does sound nice, and it would allow our newest members to get some time together, along with the other members of our peerages," Sona agreed.
"Are you sure you aren't just trying to get Issei to train your peerage for our future Rating Game?" Rias teased.
"I'm sure, while the idea is nice, it only makes sense for our peerages to be on good terms, we do operate in the same territory after all," Sona explained.
"That does sound like it would be fun, but let's just keep it on stand by for now," Rias chuckled.
'Heh, that does sound nice,' I thought to myself. My mind flashing through the thoughts of fun activities we could do with a relaxed training camp.
[I doubt Kokabiel will wait on us, so let's hope we can take of that first]
'Yeah, let's hope he makes his move soon,' I thought.
[Have you thought about how you're going to explain this to them when the time comes?]
'Kind of, but I'm still not sure,' I sighed.
[Well you'll need to think of it, as the death of a Cadre-Class Grigori won't go unnoticed, and will cause shock waves]
'... Yeah,'
My mind went silent, the echos of the other conversation being heard as Inanis and I were both unaware of what to say now. After a few long moments, I broke the silence.
'How do you think the others will handle that news?'
[Hard to say. It is undoubtedly a unique chain of events to take place, and these individuals are odd for devils in their own rights. I believe you will have Kiba's understanding at the very least]
'Because he wants revenge for something as well, right?'
[Percisely. He knows what it's like to lose those he cares about at a young age]
'Yeah... I wonder where he is right now,' I thought. Kiba was usually in the club room before I arrived, so it's weird to not have him here for once.
I let out a sigh, focusing my mind and thoughts on searching out the energies flowing through town. Within the multitude of demonic signatures emanating at our school, one of them quickly stuck out from the others, Kiba's. He was out in the schoolyard, sitting under that lone tree by himself.
'At least he's here, and not getting himself in trouble. If he found those Excalibers, he would undoubtedly be massacred by Kokabiel,' I thought, letting out a sigh of relief.
My thoughts were interrupted with the annoying ring of the school bell going off, signaling that lunch has come to an end and that we need to return to our classes. As I peered out the crack of my eyes, I could see the others standing up to grab their belongings.
"C-Come on Issei, we need to go," Asia gently shook me in the thought that I was asleep.
"Yeah yeah, thanks," I spoke, lifting myself off my spot on the couch stretching my body. Even though I wasn't actually asleep, thanking her for trying seemed like the right thing to do.
"All right, I suppose it's time to go back to class. I'll see you during the club meeting after class everyone, take care Issei," Rias gave us a wave and a warm smile. Her red magick circle picking up the bento boxes, moving them to where ever the hell they go when they faded within the light.
"You too, and thanks for lunch, it was delicious," I appreciatively spoke, giving her a wave back along with Asia and Wynter. With that, we left the club room, leaving to rejoin with the repetitive, boring school routine.
-(Boring School stuff)-
Looking at the clock showed that it was getting near the end of class, the final class, meaning I can almost be done with this hell today, only to be forced back here once again tomorrow.
Ignoring the other students finishing their test, I began gazing out the window. My gaze was drawn on an unexpected sight as they left the classroom, that sight being Sona and her Queen Tsubaki both standing at the front gate of our school.
'The hell are they doing out there?' I thought to myself, my gaze still locked on to the girls as they just stood out there, seemingly for no reason.
I stared at them for a few moments, my mind running through Ideas about what they could be doing out there. Perhaps there was a school intruder. I'd feel bad for the intruder if that was the case, I doubt some random human would be a match for a bevy of devils and a demonic dragon.
My thoughts were interrupted when a holy aura was suddenly revealed to my sense. My eyes widened slightly as I realized the purpose of why they were standing out there alone.
'So, those two finally arrived,'
[This will be interesting]
It is finally done with this chapter. Hopefully, I can start working on this much more than I am right now, but that should be happening after December as my second semester for school will be WAY easier than this semester.
Either way, thanks for the read, remember to leave your reviews and criticisms down in the comments :D