Chapter 14 Issei's Irritation
I don't own DxD; I just use its characters and techniques. All credit goes to its creator. Same applies for anything that I used from other animes.
(Airport)
There was a bittersweet look on Issei's face as he Ravel Momo Xenovia and Murayama saw Irina off. The news that Irina was returning to England wasn't a surprise to Issei, but it was the news that came along with it that caught him off guard. Apparently, her partner Xenovia decided to become a devil under Ravel's command due to feeling betrayed by the church for hiding God's death and Ravel accepted making Xenovia her second knight. Now Ravel's peerage consisted of Issei as her sole pawn; Akeno as queen; Xuelan and Koneko as rooks; with Asia making up her sole bishop since Ravel had no interest in Rias's extra bishop. Xenovia's news, reminded Issei of what Kokabiel revealed and he was terrified by the thought of the Church executing Irina instead of simply dismissing her like they did for Asia. "Earth to Issei… are you there." Irina said calmly breaking him from his musings.
"Oh sorry. I was just thinking about some things." Issei admitted. He could worry about Irina later, for now he had to show a smiling face for his childhood friend.
Irina sighed since she knew exactly what was on Issei's mind and he couldn't blame her, "I know you're worried about me Issei but relax. Thanks to my dad and Murayama's dad's influence I'll be just fine" Irina smiled wanting to reassure Issei even if she wasn't sure herself.
"Are you sure" Issei said nervously.
"I am but if you're worried about me, how about you give me a kiss for good luck. They worked really well in the past" Irina smiled before putting her suitcase on the ground and walking towards Issei.
"Alright" Issei smiled before wrapping his arms around Irina's waist and pulling her into a deep kiss. The pair clashed tongues for a little bit before Irina pulled away.
A "Look after Issei for me. I know he can be a handful but he means well." Irina smiled as she turned to leave the side of her childhood friend.
"Don't take too long to get back Irina or your spot might get taken." Murayama taunted trying to hide her own concern.
"I wouldn't be too mad if that was the case." Irina replied bitterly before getting onto the private plane that would be taking her home.
Everyone knew that Issei Murayama and Momo were concerned so they gave the group a small bit of time before Ravel spoke up. "Well now that we've sent Irina away it's time to start focusing on getting you settled Xenovia. Your first day is tomorrow and we've got plenty of paperwork to do." Ravel said calmly.
"Of course" Xenovia replied.
"I'll see you guys later." Issei frowned before leaving via a magic circle.
"He's really messed up about this huh?" Ravel frowned.
"Yeah, but unlike last time he's got us to back him up." Murayama replied with a bitter smile. Irina's importance to Issei is something she knew about for a long time and the last week reinforced it. His rage towards Kiba was the greatest proof of that.
"That's good but will that be enough." Ravel wondered ominously. The Irina situation was a problem, but something else was bothering Issei and she knew it.
"I hope so" Murayama replied honestly. It was irritating to know that Irina still held his heart this much and she was kind of glad the roles between Irina and Xenovia weren't reversed. Now she had a chance to bridge the gap before Irina's inevitable return. There was no way her father and Irina's father would let them kill her. It wasn't a matter of IF Irina returned to Kuoh and by extension Issei, but when.
(Scene Skip)
When Issei first learned about his boosted gear, he decided that in order to make the gear more useful he needed to get stronger. In order to do that, Issei went to a local gym not too far from his house that was open 24 hours a day and signed up for a membership. The gym in question was massive and had three floors worth of activities. The main floor had the entrance and lockers along with a pool area that had a small hot tub and sauna. Issei could use the area to enjoy a swim, along with enjoying the sight of the beautiful bikini clad girls that tended to show up even in the early morning that he tended to come to the gym. The second floor was the weight area and Issei had used the treadmills and weights to great effect. However, it was the third floor that Issei loved the most. The final floor was primarily for boxing and combat sports and Issei used the area to work on his fighting technique which was his biggest issue. This was where Issei found himself a mere hour after Irina had left trying to get rid of his frustrations. Issei was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black tracksuit bottoms as he pounded the bag with various punches in order to deal with his frustrations.
"Damn it all" Issei cursed having been at it for 30 minutes.
'Partner calm down. You need to relax.' Ddraig said nervously.
'I know Ddraig I'll only be a little longer.' Issei replied hoping to get rid of his frustration and failing miserably.
"Huh what are you doing here Hyoudou" a familiar voice shouted that Issei wasn't too pleased to see and one that made his annoyance return in full force.
"I should ask you the same thing Saji. I figured you'd be studying up chess moves for your precious Sona." Issei retorted angrily. Saji was in a brown t-shirt and the same black tracksuit pants Issei was wearing that were apart of the Kuoh gym uniform
"Hardy har har. The Sitri run this gym so I get to work out for free. Though I wonder when you started coming here." Saji replied.
Issei was a little surprised to learn that the Sitri ran the gym but that didn't matter. Saji would prove to be the perfect punching bag as long as he played this right, "Been here for a few months actually. Usually I come early in the morning since I'm occupied during the evening with various things." Issei said with a perverted smile causing Saji to groan in annoyance.
"Then how about we go for a round or 2. I could use a new partner and you look like you could use a spar." Saji replied with a smile that hid his annoyance and his desire to put Issei in his place.
"Sounds good" Issei replied but Saji couldn't see the vicious smile on Issei's face that proved what a bad idea it was to challenge him.
To call what followed a fight would be an insult to the concept. It took all of one punch to the gut for Saji to be pushed back and a smiling Issei realized as much. From there he took great delight in pounding Saji to a pulp. He never hit Saji with a major punch after the first one, but the jabs were precise and vicious. Five minutes and around 3 knockdowns later and the match was called at last by the young man acting as the referee. It was clear to anybody watching that Saji was in trouble and if that Saji would be in the hospital with a concussion at bare minimum if not for the gear. "That was boring" Issei smirked as he leaved the ring just to find Momo of all people dressed in the employee uniform looking at him in shock.
"What happened here?" Momo wondered.
"Nothing happened Momo. Saji and I just had a friendly spar." Issei said calmly before walking away with a vicious smile on his face that Momo couldn't see.
Seeing how badly beaten Saji was even with the headgear and the smile on Issei's face made it clear that it wasn't a very friendly spar, "Wait a minute Issei." Momo said nervously hoping to calm him down.
"I'll see you later Momo." Issei shouted but before Momo could reply Issei seemingly vanished. She was incredibly worried about Issei but Saji was the priority right now due to his injuries.
(Scene Skip)
The next day Issei was back at school and the ORC with a bored look on his face that didn't really suit him at all. Xenovia's first day was predictable with most of the non-supernatural members of the class going crazy at her appearance and asking her about various things. Admittedly, Issei had very little interest in the bluenette so he simply allowed it all to play out. "So, any questions for our new recruit." Ravel said calmly hoping to break the malaise that Issei was clearly under.
"I understand that you're Ravel's knight, but I'm curious what weapon you'll be using since you had to give back Excalibur Destruction." Issei mused. For Ravel to take her would mean she had to have something decent aside from Excalibur.
Xenovia smiled before putting her hands forward and starting a small chant. Before long, her weapon was revealed, and it shocked the rest of the group aside from Ravel who learned about it during their conversation.
"You're kidding. Somebody so young wields Durandal." Xuelan gasped.
"That's right. I'm a natural Holy Sword wielder as well." Xenovia replied.
"In other words because you were one of the only ones capable of wielding Durandal the church let you keep it." Issei surmised.
Xenovia smiled before saying, "Pretty much. It helped that we gave back the Excalibur" Xenovia admitted.
Ravel frowned at the interaction since Issei hadn't shown nearly as much enthusiasm as before. It was obvious to her that what happened to Irina and Xenovia had weighed heavily on his mind, "Issei why don't you take Xenovia over to the kendo club. Katase is over there and she'll be a good training partner for Xenovia for right now." Ravel suggested.
"Alright" Issei replied calmly barely holding back his annoyance.
(Scene Skip)
Issei took Xenovia over and after a knowing glance from Murayama the bluenette was allowed to enter for a little practice with Katase as her obvious partner. He wasn't playing this game that Ravel was trying to play and he knew it. Making his way to the edge of the school he was pleasantly surprised to see Momo Hanakai waiting for him yet again. "Hello Issei. I'm surprised you're going home so early." Momo said calmly.
Issei paused before turning towards Momo with a cold expression, "Ravel told me to bring Xenovia over to the kendo club and I did. Seeing as how Ravel didn't say anything else I assumed it meant I could go home and that's exactly what I'm doing." Issei replied before he resumed walking.
"What's wrong with you Issei? This isn't like you" Momo said with a solemn look on her face.
Issei turned towards Momo with a surprisingly cold expression on his face, "And how exactly would you know what I'm like Momo. You knew me years ago when we were children, but a lot has changed since then. I mean let's be honest, if Irina hadn't said anything I wouldn't have remembered you at all." Issei smiled viciously taking his annoyance out on the innocent girl.
"Bastard" Momo replied before slapping him on the face and running away with tears in her eyes.
"Whatever" Issei grunted before making his way home not worried at all about Momo's actions and how brutal his response was to her.
(Scene Skip)
Issei's bad mood continued for the rest of that day and night and since none of his girls decided to visit, he was angry and had a case of the blue balls to go with it. "I wonder what poor sap will annoy me today." Issei smiled as he got changed for his workout. He couldn't help but notice that the gym was mostly empty which was a surprise, but he didn't make much of it. Making his way out of the lockers he frowned because he sensed a familiar presence appear that he wasn't focused on before; actually, there were three presences and they were by the pool. 'Let's see what they want.' Issei thought to himself before making his way over to the presences in question.
When he arrived at the pool area, Issei was quickly met by the cold gazes of Ravel as her actual self, Murayama, and Momo. To his amusement each girl was wearing the Kuoh uniform despite their location. "We need to have a little chat Issei." Ravel said with a calm expression on her face.
"I have a workout to do. We can chat later" Issei replied coldly as he turned to leave just to fall to his knees from an unknown pressure. 'What is this' Issei cursed mentally as he felt pain throughout his body.
"No Issei we'll be talking now. By the way, that pain you're feeling is me using my evil pieces to force you to stay. I've given you free reign for some time and it's time I reign in my rebellious dragon." Ravel said coldly using an expression that even Issei had never seen. It showed that Ravel was serious this time and she wasn't playing around.
"I'm listening" Issei said with gritted teeth as Ravel stopped using the power of her King piece. Admittedly he had trouble getting up for a second because of the pressure.
"Issei" Momo said nervously as she ran over to Issei and tried to grab him just to be pushed away.
"I'm fine Momo" Issei said hastily.
"Just let her help, you stubborn idiot" Murayama said coldly. Issei stayed still as Momo pulled a reluctant Issei up to his feet before walking back to the side of the others.
Issei was still annoyed but he kept his cool, "Alright so what's going on." Issei questioned. He was annoyed enough as is and he didn't need the third degree from these girls.
"We get it Issei. Irina is special to you and you're mad because of what happened, but that's not your fault. Kiba acted on his own." Ravel explained deadpanning at the last point.
"Kiba's actions are hardly my issue. I resolved that rather nicely" Issei said sharply. His killing of the blonde knight pretty much put that subject to bed and since Kiba was dead when he realized the truth there was nothing he could do.
"Then what is. Talk to us Issei because we care about you." Murayama said calmly before Ravel realized the problem.
"It's about your special training isn't it?" Ravel surmised.
"Special training" Murayama wondered in confusion.
The explanation caused Momo's eyes to widen since it explained plenty of stuff. "Wait a minute. When he was missing for the whole day, you knew where he was didn't you." Momo said accusingly. As the secretary she was aware that Issei was away for a day right after Kokabiel appeared. It was a major reason why she got nervous when she noticed Issei not show up after they left Kokabiel's barrier.
"Yes I did. I can't say what he was doing and who he was wit since that's private, but I know that Issei engaged in a level of training that could've killed him. Luckily it didn't, and Issei's power skyrocketed as a result. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for Issei to stop Kokabiel." Ravel revealed to the two girls.
"I see" Momo replied calmly having understood the real problem. All Issei's effort and training was for nothing and he would've likely been dead if not for the White Dragon's appearance.
"Who would've guessed that you would give up after one loss. God you've become so weak" Murayama scoffed.
'What did you just say Murayama." Issei growled angrily.
Despite the growl Murayama stayed firm, "Do you know how many times I lost when I was first starting to learn kendo before I got good enough to actually be the fighter I am today. It's easy to forget because of your big bad sacred gear, but you've been a devil for only a few months. That guy Kokabiel has been fighting since the beginning of time. There's no way in hell, sorry for the bad pun Ravel, that you were going to win that battle. You lost sure, but you're alive and frankly you can get stronger. Instead of moping around about what happened, focus on getting stronger so the next time a bad guy comes your way you can kick his ass. Isn't that the Issei that you wanted to be back in the day. The one who wanted to be a hero" Murayama shouted. The cold way she went at him and the reminder of his childhood was enough to quickly calm him down.
"Mury" Issei said solemnly since she was right. Issei's pride had blinded him to reality that he was alive and could get stronger.
"Besides Irina, wouldn't want you to mope about what happened and we both know that Irina will be back sooner or later. When she does, she'll want to see you as strong as ever instead of being this whiny idiot." Murayama scolded. She had to catch her breath afterwards, but she said her piece.
"Thanks Mury" Issei smiled back.
"You're very welcome you stubborn idiot. Now why don't we get in the tub and relax. I've heard these are pretty comfortable" Murayama smiled.
"All of us" Momo said with a blush not expecting that. Honestly she was still caught up in the fact that she was able to be with Issei at all.
"Yes Momo, all of us. You may not have slept with Issei yet, but if you're going to be at his side you're going to need to get used to this kind of thing." Murayama chuckled aware of how insane it sounded.
"What a matchmaker" Issei chuckled as he began to reach for his shirt before he felt his phone ring in his pocket. As he pulled his phone out his eyes widened at the message he received.
"Something wrong Issei" Murayama said in surprise.
"No but I'm afraid I'll have to postpone our little bath for another time. I'll see you girls at school." Issei said with an odd expression on his face as he pulled his shirt back on and left.
"What was that all about?" Momo wondered.
"I don't know" Murayama frowned herself before her phone rang as well. To Murayama's surprise it was her father sending her a message. When she saw the message she could barely hide the scowl. "Of all the freaking times." Murayama cursed.
"What's going on" Ravel wondered.
"Take a look" Murayama frowned as she showed Ravel and Momo the message that just appeared.
'Irina Shidou will be arriving at Kuoh airport in roughly ninety minutes on a special flight from England. I figured it would be best to have her tell you what was decided. Dad'
The frown that formed on Momo's face was obvious and she knew what the message meant, "Issei won't be coming to class will he?" Momo smiled bitterly.
"Probably not but hey at least we don't have to worry about his bad moods anymore." Murayama said with a bittersweet chuckle. She knew it wouldn't be long before Irina had returned but this was ridiculous. The worst part was that she couldn't even make any progress with Issei aside from this crappy intervention.
"I can't tell if this makes me happy that my pawn is not going to be a maniac anymore or angry because I know that things have gotten far more interesting with Irina returning." Ravel frowned herself.
"Go with both! Always makes things easier." Murayama chuckled.
"Right" Ravel sweatdropped.
As for the third girl, Momo couldn't help but wonder if the interference was a good thing or bad thing since she wasn't quite sure how she felt. At least Issei's mood was better so she could properly talk to him next time and since he came to the gym all the time, arranging something would be a simple task.
(Scene Skip)
Many emotions were running through Issei's head as he stood by the gate where his childhood friend's flight would land. He was glad she was back there was no doubt, but he also felt guilty because he lashed out at Momo for trying to care about him.
'Welcome back partner' Ddraig said mentally.
'Where have you been' Issei wondered since Ddraig hadn't really spoken to him since his beatdown of Saji.
'I've been letting you work out your emotions on your own. Dragons are creatures of instinct and pride and yours were running rampant. I couldn't exactly stop you from dealing with that so I allowed things to run their course.' Ddraig admitted.
'Sounds good to me but it's time to welcome back my childhood friend.' Issei smiled still dressed in his workout clothes. Looking outside he could see a relatively small plane approaching and he knew Irina was here. After what felt like hours but was ten minutes Irina Shidou walked into the airport and Issei's eyes widened as she walked towards him in an outfit, he was very familiar with.
"Hey there Issei I'm back." Irina said bashfully as she stood a few feet in front of Issei. Unlike the last time he saw her, Irina had her hair down completely and she was wearing a blue sleeveless dress that was cut so that most of her upper body was hidden outside of her neckline and went just past mid-thigh. Issei couldn't help but chuckle mentally since it was the exact same outfit she wore when they first met back in kindergarten in a time long ago. Of course Irina didn't fill out the dress nearly as well as she did now. "This outfit looks familiar to me." Issei teased causing Irina to twitch.
"Couldn't you just say welcome back like a normal friend?" Irina pouted. Admittedly when her dad showed her the dress, she was stunned that he pulled it off, but when her father suggested she use it to signify the start of her new life with Issei, she gladly accepted.
A smiling Issei closed the gap to his childhood friend with a smile on his face, "I could but then again we aren't normal friends." Issei replied before cupping her cheek with his right hand and pressing his lips against hers in a gentle kiss that he held for a few seconds before pulling away.
"I'm back Issei." Irina smiled as she wrapped her arms around Issei and pressed her head against his chest. After everything that happened to her it was good to be back and with Issei.
"Welcome back Irina" Issei replied wrapping his arms around her. He would apologize for his behavior later but right now he wanted to take a chance to enjoy his moment with Irina.
That's it for Chapter 14 everyone and yeah Irina's back. Next chapter Ravel is unsure how she feels about her pawn and with Irina's return, decides to figure out just where she stands.