Man, I wish I could animate all of these stories for you to see. It would help the comedy come across so much better, in my opinion. Still, I'm quite alright with how it turned out.
I'm also real excited since I love this arc, just like most of you. Issei gets to mess around, so that means I get to mess around.
Chapter 32: Setting the Stage
After a month, Issei's house-arrest was lifted. To be honest, he really didn't care. It gave him the time to plan everything out. He'd finish his business in the Underworld first, then, he'd leave for the world to hunt down the Aviturs.
Still, it wasn't going to be easy. Issei had his work cut out for him. Sairaorg was blunt, often not seeing the smaller details and signals that the girls sent him. Vali would sigh sadly sometimes, flash him a look, and just before he could realize her intentions, her courage would crumble, and she'd back off.
It had become his mission to get Vali and Sairaorg to notice each other's feelings without any ambiguity. Perhaps, he could do even better, get one of them to confess. He was no psychic, but he felt that there was a powerful attraction that they shared. Without a doubt, they had crushes on another. However, Issei was wondering just how deep their feelings went in full exposure.
He decided to visit Sairaorg. They were sparring in his gym, both punching away at each other.
"So, how's things going with you?" Issei asked.
"Pretty well. I lost a lot of supporters, but a bunch of new ones came up." Sairaorg smirked as he blocked a fist from Issei.
"That's great! How about your luck with Vali?" Issei asked.
Sairaorg looked troubled at that, biting his lip.
"About that, I wanted to talk to you about something."
Just as Sairaorg swung, he got distracted, his fist trained right for Issei's crotch.
"AGH!"
Issei dropped to his knees, his moving fist hitting Sairaorg in the same spot.
"What the hell, dude?" Issei hoarsely asked.
"I'm sorry." Sairaorg said while on top of him.
"Ah!" Someone gasped sharply.
Issei and Sairaorg looked at who did it.
It was a woman with long brown hair tied into a bun, green eyes, with a traditional maid outfit. She stared at them wide-eyed, with both boys clutching their crotches in pain.
"Issei, this is Imbara, my head maid and she helped take care of me after my mom went into a coma." Sairaorg said.
"Hello." Issei smiled at her as if nothing was wrong.
"My word…" She trembled.
"We were doing noth-"
"We were doing some things." Issei smiled, deciding to screw around.
"D-Do you require anything?" Imbara nervously asked.
"Yes, some lotion and towels, please." Issei nodded.
Imbara's jaw dropped as she ran out the room.
"I'm going to kill you. Imbara has wild imagination." Sairaorg growled.
"Still didn't answer my question. Still got the hots for Vali?"
Sairaorg went silent.
"It's…complicated."
Just then, Imbara entered, running through the doors with a smile.
"Lord Sairaorg, Lady Argina has come to see you."
She looked happy. Almost too happy.
Issei had given up for the day, having come home to think. Sitting in front of a massive whiteboard that was literally the size of his wall, he had drawn and scribbled all over it. Thanks to it being magical, he could save it onto the board's magical memory and display it when he desired it.
"Hm…why do those two have to be so awkward?" Issei groaned.
"You'd better not let the others see any of this." Rexis warned.
"Relax. They respect my privacy enough to not look through my things. Also, it's in my private folder. If anyone tries to look through my stuff, they'll be infinitely spammed for all time." Issei sighed.
"So, what's the plan?" Rexis asked.
"I really don't know. I'm trying to make this as efficient as possible, but, I just need a certain trigger that gets someone emotional." Issei tapped his chin.
Suddenly, a knock came at his door.
"Come in."
Vali popped in, smiling.
"Something going on?" Issei smiled back.
Just seeing her beaming was all he needed to brighten the entire day.
"Not really. We were all gonna go out to the sports center. Wanna come?"
"Who's all going?" Issei explicitly asked.
"The peerage, Sairaorg and his peerage, and Rias' peerage."
Issei smiled inwardly. This was the perfect chance.
"Sure."
The Sports Center was basically a gigantic stadium with several floors separating different sports. Stores sold equipment as well as letting people rent out rooms to play indoors. As for the game rooms, they were large oak rooms with benches and courts for whatever game they were designated for. There also windows just for the sake of safety as well.
"So, what're we gonna do first?" Vali wondered.
"How about dodgeball?" Issei suggested.
Everyone looked at him.
"Dodgeball?"
"Yeah. Go hard or go home." Issei shrugged.
Nobody argued since they were going to play it regardless.
"This is middle school all over again."
Issei was literally the last to get picked for teams, just cause… He was on a team with Vali, Sairaorg, Kiba, Jeanne, Bikou, Kuroka, Lianshi, Arthur, and Elaine. On the other team, was Rias, Akeno, Shirone, Beluga, Ladora, Regulus, Corianna, Kuisha, Misteeta, and Kiyome.
"Fire!" Issei yelled.
Instantly, everyone threw balls right at him.
"Why me?!"
Issei zipped back and forth, desperately trying not to be touched. All the while, he was thinking of how to get Sairaorg and Vali to interact more. Suddenly, he had an idea. He subtly dodged, weaved, ducked, and cartwheeled over to them.
"Oh my god!" Issei feigned slipping, slamming into Vali.
"Ah!"
As she fell, Issei twirled around, bumping Sairaorg into her.
"Agh!"
The two yelped, with Vali falling on top of Sairaorg. Issei smiled as he turned to look in front.
"AH, MY EYE!" He screamed as a ball hit him in the face.
Everyone stopped to stare as the two slowly processed what just happened. Vali was resting atop Sairaorg, looking rather romantic.
"S-Sorry." Vali mumbled.
"You're fine." Sairaorg cleared his throat.
"Oh, just kiss already." Issei grumbled, while smiling.
"Oh, young people these days." An elderly couple passed by, both on their way to play golf.
Vali scooted off Sairaorg, blushing. She was still thinking about how toned Sairaorg's chest was, with his rippling muscles. Sairaorg was doing the same, remembering the softness of her skin and her very gifted bosom.
"Ah! There you are!" Someone yelled.
Issei looked to see who it was as they ran into the room. It was a young woman with long dark green hair, brown eyes, and wore expensive clothing. In short, she was a dazzling young woman, who sported an innocent smile while appearing high-class. Even her gym clothes looked like they costed an arm and leg.
"Argina?!" Sairaorg was stunned.
"I came here to work out. I didn't expect you to be here." Argina smiled as she ran over to help him up.
"Thank you. What brings you here?"
Argina wrapped an arm around Sairaorg's left forearm as she looked into his eyes.
"Well, I was with some friends and then I decided to come here for some exercise. I was passing by when I saw you fall over." Argina explained.
She then turned to look at everyone else.
"Ah, how rude of me. My name is Argina Stolas. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She politely said.
Issei wasn't prepared for this. Vali had a contender.
'She's a competitor with Vali.' He muttered.
'How do you know that?' Rexis asked.
'Look at her! She's gluing herself to his arm. She keeps looking him in the eyes at close proximity. His biceps are in her cleavage, and she's using such an unnaturally sweet and cutesy voice. She's the aggressive type.' Issei explained.
Issei was firing around ideas in his head. He had to learn more about this.
"Say, are you finished here?" Argina asked.
Sairaorg gulped. That was when Issei narrowed his eyes. Something was fishy. A courteous person would either try to hang out, or she'd leave him to his current business. Instead, she was trying to take him away.
'Not on my watch, sister!'
"Hey, Vali, weren't you and Sairaorg going to check out the equipment later?" Issei asked aloud, pulling lies out of his ass.
"That's alright, we can do it another time." Vali chuckled with a hidden frown.
'No! You're supposed to fight for him!' Issei protested in his head.
'You'd be really fun on Jerry Springer.' Rexis quipped.
"Well, if that's the case, then wanna come with me to the Apothecary? I heard they've got stuff that'll be perfect for you." Argina excitedly said.
Before Sairaorg could say anything, she dragged him off. Sairaorg being Sairaorg, he wasn't going to deny her, probably. When it came to beautiful women, he seemed to act differently.
Issei turned to Vali, seeing how disappointed she looked.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Of course! Let's go ahead and keep playing." Vali instantly went back to her smile.
This time, Issei saw that there wasn't any happiness or radiance in it. It was forced, stitched together.
Once again, Issei was back to the drawing board. He'd done some investigating, mostly following Argina and Sairaorg on their trips.
"So, Sairaorg and Argina have only gone to stores. During those times, she kept him in close proximity, didn't let him speak too much, and she overrode his energy with her own. Most of all, they've only gone to fashion and fad stores." Issei summarized.
"So, what do you think?" Rexis asked.
"I think she's a gold-digger. Sairaorg, bless him, being the gentleman he is, paid for all her stuff."
"How do you even know that?" Rexis asked.
"I know when someone's not really interested in paying for their stuff. She pulled her wallet out as slow as a college student after tuition payments." Issei reasoned.
"So, what'll you do?" Rexis asked.
"No idea." Issei sighed.
On one hand, he wanted to continue. On the other hand, he had some reservations. If Sairaorg was interested in this girl and Argina was actually into him, then it wasn't exactly his place to meddle. This new factor in the equation had caught him off-guard.
Deciding that he was getting nowhere, Issei walked downstairs. That was when he noticed someone in the Living Room. Seeing as how it was 12 AM, he figured it was either Vali, Lefay, or Arthur. Bikou and Kuroka were too lazy to be up this late. As for Rizevim and Ezagyra, they always had the other to rely on to go to sleep without any trouble. Despite having been together for so long, they never got tired of each other. When they got into it, it was as if they were still a young newlywed couple.
"In an astonishing piece of news, it seems that the Heir to the Bael House, is now courting a High-Class lady of our society, Argina Stolas, first-born daughter of the Stolas House. Early yesterday, the two were spotted visiting many stores and restaurants. From what we gather, there is a possibility of a relationship going on." A news reporter's voice could be heard from the TV.
Issei walked over to the couch and took a good look at Vali and what was around her. Thrown on the couch, were several wrappers of dark chocolate and gallons of water. Issei grimaced at this sight, a bit disheartened. Vali never ate dark chocolate unless she was upset to the nth degree. That solidified it. Vali's feelings for Sairaorg were definite and well-founded. Unless…somebody died or something, but chances of that being the reason were slim. Well, that might happen in 15 months after he was dead.
"You really like him, don't you?" Issei asked.
Issei remembered before when he asked her about her feelings for Sairaorg. Back then, he had asked because of his feelings for her. However, this time, he asked because he needed to know if she would be unhappy being a part of his little scheme. If her feelings for Sairaorg weren't strong enough, he'd drop this fiasco.
Vali didn't respond. Taking another bite of her dark chocolate, she simply continued watching the news with a pained look. She drew her knees close, resting her chin on them.
The gauntlet was thrown at his feet now by fate. For the past half-year, Vali had taken up a major portion of his own heart. She'd become a source of light and happiness to him. When he was flung into the supernatural realm, she protected him. When they went on adventures together to solidify the Alliance, she trained him and helped him grow until his past incarnations took over. When his parents died, she stood by him and helped him get back on his feet. It was time for him to help her, even if she didn't know that she needed it.
Issei took one last look at the video and pictures of Sairaorg and Argina. When he was smiling, it was forced, his brows furrowed and his lips tight. When that wasn't happening, he had an uncertain and uncomfortable look on his face. This wasn't going to fly. He wasn't going to let it.
Now, it was time to work on the other parts of his plan. He went to Rizevim, for starters. No more beating around the bush. It was time to pull out all the stops.
"Can I help you, Issei?" Rizevim asked as Issei entered his office.
"Yeah, I was wondering if I could ask a favor."
"Oh?"
"What can you tell me about the Stolas Clan?" Issei asked.
"I wonder how Sairaorg's doing right now." Beluga mused.
"I'm sure he's fine. Sairaorg isn't stupid." Corianna sipped her coffee.
Suddenly, the entire Peerage heard a rattling that grew a bit louder as time went by. It seemed to come from Sairaorg's room.
"Come on…open…" Issei muttered.
Using picks, sticks, and pricks, he managed to (not so) quietly creak the window to Sairaorg's room open. Wearing a ski mask with an eye-patch under it, Issei jumped into the room. Thanks to some talking and dirt-digging, Issei found out that the Stolas Clan wasn't exactly nice, with Argina already having wormed out of some controversy. It mostly concerned past boyfriends who'd gone bankrupt. Sadly, the Stolas Clan bribed the papers to stay quiet.
"Where's that guy? Ooh, I wonder if he has a diary." Issei chuckled before slapping himself.
"No, get to work." He scolded himself.
Looking through Sairaorg's notes and other things in his room, Issei found a lot of things that he never expected, like:
Sairaorg likes to exercise. He owns lion-themed pajamas. He also…owned a very flamboyant wig that looked like a disco dancer's do after a night on acid after unicorn's vomited on it. Before long, Issei heard footsteps approach.
He began frenzying his way through Sairaorg's notes before spotting what he wanted.
Hellfire Bistro
7pm
Note to self: Bring flowers and chocolates.
P.S. Try to break off the socialization.
"Oh, so that's where you're gonna be." Issei said, amused.
Suddenly, he heard the handle jiggle.
"Oh shit." He muttered.
About to jump out the window, Issei cursed when he saw that the Sairaorg Peerage was making rounds around the place. Common sense told him to tell them about what was happening with their King, but he decided that it was best if he say nothing. He wasn't sure if his plans would fall apart if others got involved and he didn't know if he'd be stopped. He had to keep this a secret.
Diving into the closet, Issei closed it and locked it tight.
"Is anyone there?"
Opening the door, Corianna walked in.
'Damn it, it had to be the smart one!' Issei whimpered.
"Show yourself. I know someone's there." Corianna demanded.
Issei could already hear the magic circles spinning and her spellbooks opening.
'Think, Issei, think.' He panicked.
Then he remembered something someone said in passing: Corianna had a nerve-shattering fear of ghosts. At least, he thought Sairaorg said something like that.
'Rexis, can you project yourself if I use your image instead of Bahamut for the Abyssal Aura?' Issei asked.
'Technically, yes.'
'Perfect!'
Pointing his finger at the crack of Sairaorg's closet, he used the [Abyssal Aura] at a reduced level to bring out a projection of Rexis' form. A humanoid ghostly image was now standing in front of Corianna.
Seeing him, she instantly froze.
"Gah!" She choked.
"I seek a replacement. Come…"
"EEK!" Corianna whimpered.
She dove back into a corner, cowering.
"Uwawawawawawawawawawa!" Corianna sputtered.
Backing up quickly, she stared at Rexis projection.
"G-G-G-Ghost…" She whimpered.
At that point, Issei pushed it even farther. Guiding it closer and closer, Rexis stretched his hand out.
Manifesting his left gauntlet, Issei grabbed the closest thing to him in this dark closet: a baby doll? Shrugging, he encased it in armor. Slowly sliding the door open, he made it creak and shake, catching Corianna's attention.
"Nugh!" She stiffened like a statue.
The moment she looked at the closet, she saw two glowing red eyes. She froze, eyes bugging, body stiff as she stared at the crack.
"Momma…" Issei changed his voice.
Slowly opening the closet, Issei made the baby move forward. He was going to have to apologize to Corianna later…if he got the chance.
"Momma…" He changed his voice impression.
Issei motioned the baby out while hiding in the closet.
"!%!#%!^#& &($#&^!%#^#^$I$ ^%!^" Corianna sputtered.
"Come home to us." Rexis' ghost echoed.
"Momma." Issei repeated.
"WWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Corianna screamed.
Smashing Sairaorg's door down, she barreled right out the room. Making a mad dash for the window, Issei jumped out like diver. Rolling onto the ground, Issei tore into the bushes of the estate as he jetted right for where Sairaorg's date was taking place.
Sadly, he stopped when he saw that Sairaorg's maid was standing guard at the gates.
"Halt!" She demanded.
Issei ripped his mask off. She instantly shrieked and turned away, freezing up.
"Look me in the eye." Issei demanded.
"No." She whimpered.
"Look me in the eye." Issei repeated himself as he circled to the gate.
"No." She declared.
"Where's Sairaorg?" He asked.
"He's out."
"Out where?" Issei asked.
"Out finding love."
"Ah, I see. Well, I better go stop him." Issei jumped the gate but the Maid caught him.
"No, you won't."
"Ma'am let me go."
"Leave the young master alone."
"If I leave him alone, he's gonna be a slave to that bitch."
"Stop trying to ruin his life. Leave him be!"
"Imbara!"
The Head Maid immediately stopped clutching him.
"I know that Sairaorg doesn't feel the way I want him to. But! He will once I'm done. I can't let Sairaorg be with that bitch." Issei turned around and went off to save Sairaorg.
Imbara froze stiffly as his words echoed in her head. Immediately after, she fainted.
When he arrived, he was relieved to see that the pair had just arrived.
'You're lucky Imbara's deathly phobic of you. Also, you're lucky that Corianna's deathly afraid of ghosts. You better make it up to her later. You've probably traumatized her for life.' Rexis sighed.
'I'll apologize when I'm a ghost.' Issei shrugged.
'You really are horrible.' Rexis retorted.
As the pair went in, Issei snuck into the restaurant and sat at a table that was a bit away from them. Putting up his hood, he stared at the menu. Ordering some steak, Issei took a bite of his cutlery before holding up his knife to see behind himself.
"So, I, uh, heard the papers spotted us." Sairaorg sheepishly chuckled.
"So did I. What do you think we should do?" Argina asked nervously.
"I don't know. I mean, we're not even dating." Sairaorg sighed.
"I don't want to give this up." Argina's head sank.
Sairaorg didn't say a thing, only looking guilty.
'Ugh, you poor, poor, heart-bleeding sap.' Issei groaned, rolling his eyes. He had half a mind to toss the knife behind himself.
"I don't want to leave you. I want to be with you. These past few months were some of the best that I've enjoyed." Argina held onto his hands.
Sairaorg didn't say a word.
'Oh. So, he's holding himself back, eh?' Issei nodded.
"What about you?" Argina asked.
'Now, he's in the spotlight.'
"I've also enjoyed these past few months as well."
'NO, YOU FOOL!' Issei scolded him in his mind.
"Really?!" Argina's eyes lit up.
She grabbed hold of his hand, purposefully showing him the impressive cleavage that she had. Sairaorg seemed a bit surprised for a moment, but remained calm.
"It makes me so happy that you've enjoyed our little trips. I don't care if the media keeps bothering us. I don't want to lose this." Argina declared.
At this point, Issei began second-guessing his gut. Was Argina as horrible as his instincts were telling him?
"Give me a moment, please." Sairaorg walked away.
The moment the two were separated, Issei followed Argina. She walked out to the balcony, smiling at the moon.
"Oh, and another is about to bite the dust. He may not be at the top anymore, but I'll still settle for second-best." Argina giggled.
'Oh, honey, you really shouldn't be talking out loud about your plans. And I thought I was going to grow some sympathy for you from my ass.' Issei feigned concern, a hand over his heart.
As Argina was leaning against a wall, so was he, listening from the other side, nodding. Se had no idea what she'd just done to herself. Clearly, from the very start, Argina had been trying to slowly corner and woo Sairaorg into being her newest chew toy. She was probably the one who got the paparazzi to take photos of them together.
'Oh, I'm gonna enjoy throwing a wrecking ball at her.' Issei snickered.
'You're a nasty piece of work, you know that?' Rexis asked.
'Hey, I'm already in Hell.' Issei shrugged.
As Sairaorg opened the door of the bathroom, he yelped.
"AH!"
Issei had been holding a scary mask where his friend's face would be.
"What are you doing here?" Sairaorg asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, I was just in the neighborhood. Saw you and your girlfriend and decided to stop by and grab a bite to eat." Issei waved his hands around obliviously.
"What made you follow? Are you trying to cockblock me?"
"No, I'm trying to save you. That girl you've been hanging out with is gold-digger."
Sairaorg only gave him a deeply disturbed look.
"Have you been stalking her?"
"No…" Issei said.
"Have you been stalking me?"
"No!" Issei gave him a disgusted look, while his eyes were shifting.
Sairaorg breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm here to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life." Issei walked into the bathroom.
"What?" Sairaorg looked at him.
"That girl is going to suck you dry and then leave you to dry like a piece of jerky and then chew you up before spitting you back out." Issei said.
"You act like I'm a piece of rotisserie chicken." Sairaorg threw his hands up.
"Considering how you can't say 'no', I'd say, 'yes', people see you like a piece of rotisserie chicken." Issei retorted.
"Do you even have any proof of this?" Sairaorg crossed his arms.
"Oh, I'm happy you asked." Issei had the biggest smile on his face.
Holding up a tape recorder, Issei played back what Argina said. As the recording continued, Sairaorg looked more and more disappointed.
"I see." He sighed.
"In the Human Realm, she's what we call a 'gold-digger'. The parasite leeches off your wealth and success, pretending to care about you, and then they're gone once you become obsolete. Of course, men do it too, but there's a different term for those guys." Issei explained.
"I had a feeling about that. It was just difficult saying 'no' to her." Sairaorg scratched his head.
He had known better but, that sympathetic side of himself just wouldn't allow it. In a fight, it was different. Pride, dreams, convictions, and so many other things were on the line. With a simple date, Sairaorg just couldn't muster the same sort of conviction.
"Now, what're you gonna do?" Issei asked.
"I'm not too sure. To be honest, I don't have much experience with women. You know that." Sairaorg shook his head.
"Well, we can't let this continue, or she's gonna suck you dry like a box of juice."
Issei then paused before smiling deviously.
"I've got an idea."
Sairaorg soon returned to his table, where Argina was waiting.
"Did I keep you long?" He asked.
"Not at all." Argina sweetly smiled.
"Listen, Argina, there's something that I wanted to share with you."
Argina was a bit uneasy, considering the extremely serious look Sairaorg had on his face.
"I've just been cut off from my entire family. I was just contacted. My Clan has ousted me from my position as heir. My financial backers have stopped funding me and all of my political supporters have gone. Even so, will you still stay with me?" Sairaorg knelt on one knee and gently held Argina's hand.
"Oh…" Argina said quietly.
Issei rolled his hand like a reel from behind her, cueing Sairaorg.
"I don't want to keep things from you, either. I have a secret for you." He sat down.
Pulling stuff out of his pockets, he had a ton of anime and manga merchandise flood out. He had a literally piles fall out of his jacket.
"I-I love anime so much. I could lick my screens."
Sairaorg showed a body-pillow of a half-naked anime girl.
"Every night, I hug her to sleep. Every day, I watch all this. Every day, I speak to all of my waifus. I know they're not real, but they will be, one day. So, would you be willing to share me with them? Like you said, I don't want to lose this."
As soon as Sairaorg blinked, Argina was gone. Literally.
"Told you it was gonna work."
Sairaorg fell out of his chair when he heard Issei speak right next to him.
"Very funny. This is gonna snowball later." He sighed.
"Oh, come now. You've got the wench out of your hair. Now, we can talk about more important issues." Issei poured himself a glass of water.
"Like what?"
"Like, who you're really interested in." Issei said.
"What're you getting at?"
"Sairaorg, how do you feel about Vali? No more pausing. No more beating around the bush. Give me the real answer right now because I'm getting real tired of all this wishy-washiness." Issei declared.
Sairaorg was silent, pondering his answer.
"I…like her. I'm very interested in her, maybe I even have a crush on her."
Issei nodded, prodding him to continue.
"But, I don't know. Maybe it's not enough to pursue her." Sairaorg shrugged.
"Well, what do you like about her?" Issei asked.
"She's brave, independent, strong, caring, hardworking, and soothing. She's always trying to look out for others. She tries to help wherever she can and she's not afraid to stand up for others." Sairaorg listed off.
Issei nodded. If Sairaorg had listed off something more physical, then he'd have been a bit more concerned. However, the moment Issei asked him that question, Sairaorg had immediately listed off Vali's strongest qualities without much pause.
"And, say, you were given the chance to date her or even confess, would you do it?" Issei asked.
Sairaorg was silent once again.
"Yes, I would."
Issei was satisfied.
"Good. That's why I'm here."
"What?"
"You're my friend. I'd even go as far as to say that you're like my brother. That's why, I want to help you. Your entire Peerage and I can see that you like her. However, I can understand that you do have issues with confessing to her. So, that's why I came here to stop you from making a horrible mistake. If you wait too long, you'll lose her and you'll regret it forever. So, how bout it? Do you want my help to get the girl? Of course, if you don't want it, then I also understand." Issei held his hands up to show signify his free choice.
However, Issei was crossing his fingers. He hoped Sairaorg was going to say 'yes'. The faster he got this to work out, the sooner he could leave for his mission. Normally, he'd let the two work it out, but this wasn't the time for that. Sairaorg had to take the bluff.
Michael wasn't sending cherubs, so he would play the role.
Sairaorg and Vali were both emotionally stunted people. Sairaorg had a bit of a hard time with more intimate and heart-felt matters and expressing them. People neglecting him and bringing down his self-esteem and value had done horrors to his security. He just did a good job at hiding the damage. Vali knew how she felt about things, but would often hesitate to express her thoughts and feelings out of fear of rejection or negativity. The abuse done to her at the hands of her brainwashed parents and the persecution she faced from humans left deep scars on her psyche.
Soon enough, Sairaorg answered.
"Alright…if you're willing to advise me, then I'll accept it."
Issei gave a sigh of relief in his heart.
"Alright, let's get started." He smiled.
"So, what do I do." Sairaorg asked.
"You don't have to worry about planning. I'll take care of that." Issei smiled devilishly.
"Give me a month, and everything will work. For one month, we will enact my plan where you'll do the feeling and talking while I do the thinking. Hehehehehehehehehhahahahahahaha." Issei chuckled evilly.
Sairaorg and everyone in the restaurant backed away when they saw the look on his face.
Inside, Issei felt the first piece of his heart tear off. This was going to be an agonizing few weeks for him, but he swallowed the bitterness. He had to get this done.
When Issei got back home, he tried to be as silent as possible. Sneaking into his room through the balcony, Issei closed his windows. Suddenly, the lights switched on.
"AH!" He yelped.
Sitting in an armchair, was Vali in a long black sleeveless nightgown. She had her arms crossed and legs crossed with a very strong frown on her face.
"You know it's rude to sneak into another person's room and stay in there for a long time."
"It's 3 in the morning, Issei." Vali ignored his statement, glaring.
Issei looked away, pretending to be innocent.
"What were you doing out so late?" She asked.
"I was…" He trailed off.
"What were you doing?" Vali asked again, more forcefully this time.
"I can't say." Issei shook his head.
"What sort of chaos did you cause this time?" Vali asked, disappointed.
'I was helping my best friend plan how to get the love of my life.' Issei admitted in his head.
"Again, no." Issei shook his head.
"Issei, if you don't tell me what happened, I will [Half Dimension] your scrotum into nothing." Vali growed.
"I was helping Sairaorg." He vaguely said, pale.
"With?" Vali continued.
"With some personal issues. We didn't get into trouble, I swear." Issei clarified.
"Really?" Vali narrowed her eyes.
The two stared each other for a while before Issei relented.
"I found out that girl he's been talking to is a gold digger. Sairaorg was having trouble saying no and I just helped him get out of that situation. That was all." Issei said.
Vali sighed in exasperation.
"Seriously, Sairaorg and his bleeding heart." She rubbed her temple.
"May I go to bed now?" Issei wondered.
"No, you're going to sit in seiza and get your lecture." Vali rumbled.
For an hour, Vali let him have it.
"That's why, never run off like that again." Vali finished.
Honestly, Issei wasn't listening. He'd zoned out on everything except for the end. He'd been reflecting on himself and what was going to happen. It was going to be a heartbreaking month for him. He wouldn't be surprised if this was going to kill him faster. He loved Vali with all his heart. Now, he had to set her up with another guy for both their happiness. Issei sighed, nodding in tandem with what Vali said.
"Honestly, with your track record of disappearing, getting wounded, and kidnapped, I almost have to keep my eyes on you at all times." Vali sighed.
Her stern gaze then softened as she looked at him. Kneeling, she hugged him. Issei instantly felt regret, his resolve shaking once again.
"If something were to happen to you, I'd have no idea what to do." She said.
Issei steeled himself. At this moment, he felt the urge to renege on his decisions. However, he stopped himself. In a few months, he'd be gone. In that time, he'd make sure that Vali would be able to handle it if she ever found out he died.
"Yeah…I'll be fine. Trust me. No matter what happens, I'll always be with you." Issei quietly said.
And that's the end of this chapter. Just a little something to bridge the gap over to the next chapter.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I hope you'll look forward to the next one. Do take care on the holidays and have fun. I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
