OK! Here's the revised second chapter!
Chapter 2: Devils Walk The Earth
Sean made it back to his apartment complex and went up the stairs to go to his. Before reaching his door, he met up with his neighbor. He was a lanky man with glasses, dark brown hair with two chin-length bangs framing his face. He wore a solid white T-shirt, blue jeans and was in the middle of taking off his black shoes.
"Hey Morisawa." Sean called to him.
Morisawa turned to see Sean walking toward him. When he first met Sean, he didn't really think much of him. But after he saw his game and manga collection, he figured that Sean would be a good guy to hang out with. After a while, they had a few two-player battles on their consoles and even gave different opinions on their manga.
"Harris! Had a nice day?" Morisawa asked.
"Yeah, about as nice as can be expected." Sean answered with a so-so gesture of his hand.
"Cool. Hey, you up for some online Borderlands 3 later?" Morisawa offered.
"I would, but it's been a long day. Besides, I got homework to do." Sean politely refused.
Morisawa nodded in understanding. "Alright, well don't be a stranger." he said and went inside his apartment.
Sean took off his own boots and went inside. He couldn't think about playing games after what happened today. Not only was he attacked by a Fallen Angel, but she also said that someone else probably killed another person.
The voices didn't talk to Sean after what happened. He figured that they would talk to him in his dreams like they sometimes do. He still couldn't believe that someone like him could have this extraordinary power! Before he got it, he always figured that nothing would never change. He would get bullied at school, his father would always try to make it seem like he and his mother were in the wrong, demoralizing them, and his mother would constantly drown her emotions in beer and vodka.
But now, there were greater forces than humans at work, not only Devils, but now Fallen Angels. Ever since the voices first spoke to him, they told Sean of the existence of the supernatural: Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, Gods, dragons. The list went on and on. They also told him that some of these beings would try to recruit him to their ranks or kill him to prevent others from getting their hands on his power. Either way, this meant trouble for him.
After learning about these dangers, the voices trained him by relaying workout regimens in his mind. Working out with and without weights, meditation to focus his mind, training him fighting techniques inside his dreams and practicing them in reality, etc.
After finishing his homework, Sean decided to go straight to bed. He got down to his boxers, got under the covers, and after a few minutes, he closed his eyes.
XXXXX
Sean opened his eyes again. But this time, he wasn't in his apartment. He was in a space that had six differently colored open rooms side-to-side with each other.
The first was colored blue. This room had different kinds of weapons, in racks and shelves. There were also gold renderings of what looked like great battle on the walls that showed warriors fighting against large humanoid creatures with a tree dividing them in the middle, a large wooden horn displayed on a table, and, in the far corner, was a stone statue of a beautiful woman dressed in armor with one of her arms raised, spear in hand while riding a winged horse with its front hooves also raised.
The second was colored purple. The room had elegant furniture that befitted a queen. A large king-sized bed with a gossamer canopy and curtains, meticulously designed wooden furniture: dressers and chairs. There was even a door that led to a closet which most likely stored a large assortment of high-cost clothing. But the most peculiar items were what looked like torture devices off to the sides with chains also decorating one wall.
The third was colored yellow. This room was basically a massively expansive library with thousands upon thousands of old books. At the center of this room was a modest full-sized bed, like Sean's, an upholstered wooden chair next to a desk with a lamp on it.
The fourth was colored green. Its walls were adorned with clocks, ticking in synch with each other. The farthest wall had a large wheel of different markings that, upon closer inspection, resembled the Zodiac symbols and a full-sized bed.
The fifth was colored red. This was the most normal one. It was a simple room filled with pictures of the occupant's past. A queen-sized bed for two and a love seat. It was a room that looked like a married couple would have.
The sixth and final room was colored orange, but faded to black as you went farther down the room. It hardly had anything in it, minimalism at its finest. The only occupying piece of furniture was a queen-sized bed.
In front of each of these rooms, seven individuals sat in thrones as if they were waiting for Sean's arrival.
The first was a light-skinned hulking man with piercing blue eyes and a long, red beard that reached to the bottom of his neck. He had a powerful presence, like a guardian protecting his people. He wore shining golden armor with a twin-horned helmet that framed his face. He sat on a golden throne with his arms crossed that made him seem like he was all work and no play. His golden throne showed a ram's head on top of it.
The second was a beautiful, fair-skinned beauty that would make any man kneel to her. She had long dark hair as black as night, enchanting purple eyes, and ruby red lips that formed a sultry smile. Her attire left little to no imagination to her figure. She wore a black corset that emphasized her large breasts, matching thong, and black knee-height high heeled leather boots. She wore a cloak of black feathers that glistened with the light surrounding the area she was in. Finally, she held a spear with a curved blade and black feathers tied just below it with cloth in her left hand. She sat on a black throne, with her legs crossed in a way that showed them off, had a design on what looked like a crow over her head.
The third was a young looking man, around the age of a college student with round glasses and pale skin, like he never saw daylight. He had slightly messy blonde hair and green eyes. Wearing a pristine white priest's robe with a picture of a long-legged bird with an equally long, down-curved beak with its wings spread across the shoulders of the robe. In his hand was an ancient tome that's cover looked very worn out. He sat on a white throne that had a design of scales above him.
The fourth was an eldery man. His hair was grey as was his beard with blue eyes that looked like he had wisdom beyond time itself. He wore a Greek-style toga that reached his ankles with straw sandals. He had a harvesting scythe laid out on his lap with the blade facing toward his body, away from his host. He sat on a green throne that had what looked like a chimera on top of his.
The fifth and sixth were a couple that wore traditional Japanese clothing. The man wore a black yukata with sliver obi wrapped around his waist and had matching zori with white tabi. He had black hair combed neat and matching eyes that conveyed a relaxed demeanor. The woman also had silver hair that was shoulder-length with sharp red eyes. She wore a white kimono wrapped in a red obi with matching zori and white tabi. The couple had a two-seated red throne in which they sat side-by-side. The man held a sword in his right hand while the woman possessed a simple bamboo comb in her left, using it on her hair.
The last one was a middle-aged man with dark skin, brown eyes and a well-groomed black beard. He wore a red dastar with a matching sarong wrapped around his waist and no shirt or shoes of any kind. His most distinctive feature was that his left leg was necrotic with the lower half of it turned black with peppered gray patches of skin and with wounds exposing the bones inside. When they first met, his expression sent a chill up Sean's spine every time he saw it. But after a while, Sean learned that he was actually very compassionate. His orange throne had a buffalo design on on top of it.
These seven beings inside Sean's mind were actually gods and their souls dwell within the stones of Sean's gauntlet.
Heimdall, Norse god and former guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, in the blue Space Stone.
Morrigan, Celtic goddess of magic and war, in the purple Power Stone.
Thoth, Egyptian god of knowledge, in the yellow Mind Stone.
Chronos (not Cronus, the Titan), Greek god of time, in the green Time Stone.
Izanagi and Izanami, Shinto god and goddess of creation and destruction (respectively), both housed in the red Reality Stone.
Yama, Hindi god of death and judge of souls, in the orange Soul Stone.
"Sean, we need to discuss what happened." Heimdall said sternly wanting to get right to business.
"Yeah, I figured you all would to talk about it." Sean replied.
"We warned you that something like this would happen." Thoth calmly lectured.
"It was never a problem before." Sean argued.
"Did you forget what I told you?" Morrigan asked with her silky voice. "The reason no one knew of your power was because I was able to seal it from others when we came here. But when you used the Space Stone to escape from the Kendo Club, you broke the seal."
"And now that it's broken, not only do the Devils sense your power but the Fallen Angels as well." Chronos finished in his wisdom. "You slipped up and they made their move just as I told you they would."
"You said the Devils would do that!" Sean countered.
"And they have. Right after the Fallen Angel left, Morrigan sensed a Devil's energy nearby. Most likely trying to verify your power for themselves."
Sean couldn't say anything in his defense. Chronos did warn him about not mistaking waiting for ignoring. And Morrigan did say when he started going to Kuoh not to use his power around the Devils. He did use his power for emergencies, but that was far enough away that it didn't give himself away. He got careless and it almost cost him his life. Sean held his head down in shame, realizing his mistake.
"Oh, I can't stand seeing you sad." Morrigan said, feeling bad for her host. She got off her throne, walked up to Sean and hugged him to her generous bust. Ever since Sean came to Japan, feeling bad about leaving his mom behind, she adopted a motherly personality for him. Sean had a faint blush on his cheeks.
"Morrigan! Cut it out!" Sean cried out in embarrassment, trying to pry the goddess off of him. Morrigan, however, simply smiled and hugged her host tighter.
"Lucky host." Izanagi jealously said earning a swift elbow to his side from his wife, Izanami.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you're married?! To me!" Izanami angrily chided her husband.
"I know, I know." he replied in an apologetic and carefree manner."But he is a lucky one! Especially with all those fangirls chasing after him!" he immediately bounced back to his perverted envy, earning another punch to his stomach that caused him to hold it in pain. After which, Izanami crossed her arms and faced away from her horndog husband.
"Can we move this along?" Yama interrupted in his grave tone.
Thoth cleared his throat at Yama's suggestion. "Yes. There's also something else that we must discuss. The Fallen Angel, Kalawarner, mentioned that another person, most likely another Fallen Angel, named Raynare should've killed another human."
Morrigan, who released her host from her embrace, went to sit back on her throne. Sean heard Thoth and nodded at his summation. "Yeah, she did say that."
"After thinking about it, the only explanation that I can think of is that disguised Fallen Angel you met earlier today was the one Kalawarner was talking about. And based on that logic, the only human that she would have killed was..."
"Issei." Sean finished with a grimace. He shouldn't have been surprised about this, but he couldn't believe that his classmate was now dead. Sure, he was a pervert that would constantly peep on girls. But that didn't mean he deserved to die. Sean hung his head while remaining silent.
"You can't change the past. The potential changes to the future can lead to even more disastrous outcomes." Chronos spoke. "I know this is terrible news to you, but all you can do now is move forward."
Sean didn't respond to the time god's consolation. He could've done something about this. He knew that it was dangerous being around Fallen Angels, yet he did nothing to try and help Issei.
"Besides, even if you tried to warn him, he probably wouldn't have believed you anyway." Izanami threw her two cents in.
Sean sighed out, shook his head and raised it. "Well, no point in moping about it, I suppose."
"He may not have seemed like it, but he had a good soul. He will find peace in the next life." he solemnly said. Yama was a god of few words, but what he did say made Sean feel a bit better. After all, who better to know a person's soul than a god whose job was once to judge them?
"Thanks, Yama." Sean said with a small smile. Yama merely nodded.
"Now that that's over with, it's time for you to wake up." Heimdall mentioned.
Sean nodded at this and the room soon began to fade to black.
XXXXX
The next morning was not a happy one. Sean listened to Gary Jules' "Mad World" as he made his way to school. As he listened to the melancholic tune, he soon thought about how the other students would react to Issei's death. The girls would most likely be outwardly sad but internally grateful that they had one less pervert to worry about. Actually, the only people Sean would imagine being torn up about his demise would be his family and those other pervs he always hung out with.
"It really is a mad world we live in." Sean thought as he heard the somber lyrics.
He was so absorbed in the song, he didn't realize that he already walked past the school gate. He finally made it to the classroom. He realized he never turned his music off. So he took out his earbuds and stored them in his pocket. He finally took his seat and sat his head down onto his desk with his arms underneath.
"Hey Harris!"
Sean opened his eyes and looked up in confusion at the voice. He turned to see...
"Hyoudou?!"
Issei Hyoudou, alive and well.
"How is he still alive? I thought Kalawarner said that her friend killed him." Sean thought in shock.
"She did. It seems like the Devils must have brought him back to life. I sense that he's one of them now."Morrigan mentioned.
"Really? Well, lucky break for him, I guess." Sean indifferently thought.
"HARRIS!" Issei yelled, snapping Sean out of his mental conversation.
"What?" he replied, irritated.
"I was asking if you know Yuuma! You even talked to her! You have to remember her!"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, 'What do you mean?'? I'm talking about the girl that was here with me yesterday and Matsuda and Motohama don't remember her!"
"What? How could they not remember her?" Sean thought in confusion.
"It's better if you go along with what his friends said. Fallen Angels usually erase the memories of any human they come in contact with when they finish their business." Thoth suggested. Sean gave him a mental nod and turned his attention back to Issei.
"Sorry man. Don't really remember someone named 'Yuuma'." Sean said. Then a teasing smirk grew on his face. "Besides, I seriously doubt that you would ever have a girlfriend with the way you have with the ladies."
Issei got angry at the jab. "Ahh! I don't know why I even asked an asshole like you!" At that, he sat at his desk, grumbling about the American student.
Sean ignored him as class finally got started. He didn't pay attention to the lecture his teacher was giving him as he thought about Issei's survival and what it could mean when the Fallen Angels learn about it.
XXXXX
School had ended as Sean got his things, took up his backpack, and left the room. As he was walking down the halls, the girls were staring at him in adoration and the guys did the same, only with contempt. Sean paid none of them any attention as he made his way out.
"KYAAA! IT'S THEM!"
Sean slightly winced at the noise the girls made and he saw them looking down the hall. He turned to see what set them off and there she was. The redhead from the vision he had earlier. Rias Gremory walking side by side with Akeno Himejima. They walked with grace like a pair of princesses toward Sean.
"Oh my God! The Two Great Ladies of Kuoh AND the American Gentleman in the same place?!"
"That bastard better not ask them out and take them from us!"
"Wait, what? Is that what the girls call me?" Sean thought in bewilderment.
The three people in question just kept walking towards each other as the other students watched in awe. Sean looked at Rias while she looked right at him, as if they were sizing each other up. Akeno just wore her graceful smile as she accompanied Rias.
The crowd of students waited with anticipation as the trio's distance from each other grew smaller. Then, they finally passed each other. The Great Ladies kept walking as the American went on his own way. The girls were gushing about the "wonderful" moment seeing some of the Academy's celebrities together just for a minute.
"So, what do you guys think?" Sean thought to the gods.
"The Gremory girl is definitely a Devil, as we already know. But so was the girl next to her." Morrigan told her host.
"What was her name again? Right, Akeno Himejima." Sean remembered.
"But that's not the only thing I sensed from her." Morrigan added.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked.
"She had something else in her. She felt a little similar to Kalawarner. I think she might be a Fallen Angel hybrid." Morrigan explained.
"Should we be worried?"
"I'm not sure. She looked like she takes cues from the Gremory girl. Keep your guard up just in case, though." Thoth warned.
"Got it." Sean acknowledged as he finished.
As Sean continued to leave the school, Rias took a second look at the American that passed her. When he passed her, Rias felt the power that came from him. And it was tremendous. After Kiba told her about what happened with Sean and the Fallen Angel, she decided to assess him for herself. And she wasn't disappointed. She recently just acquired another servant and began to think of ways to get this boy into her peerage.
XXXXX
Sean sighed contently as the school day ended and was walking toward his part-time job. Before he came to Japan, he made a lot of American dollars with the Gauntlet. When he arrived, he converted all of it into Japanese Yen. The total amount was enough to keep him housed, but he needed to keep it up. So he found some work to maintain his lifestyle.
He had arrived at his workplace: Freedom Manga Cafe. It was a two-story manga cafe that had was fairly busy during the afternoons after school. Since Sean enjoyed reading manga, he came down here to find a quiet place to read outside of home. Eventually, he decided to apply for a job and now has been employed for a while.
Walking inside onto the tile floor, there were tall shelves, of course, filled to the brim with manga and comic books. Posters plastered on the walls advertising new or upcoming manga. Off to the far side of the store was a fountain drink bar and the information desk. Sean proceeded to go past the desk and into the employee area behind it.
Inside, he noticed his co-worker. A woman with blue eyes and violet hair done in a ponytail that flowed down to her mid-back and with some of it resting on her shoulders and curving around her large breasts. She wore a white button-up shirt and a blue knee-length skirt, fastened with a black ribbon around her waist, black leggings and matching dress shoes; her work outfit.
This was Rei Suzukawa, Sean's trainer when he had gotten the job.
"Hey, Rei." Sean greeted. She merely nodded with a blank look on her face. Rei was never really one to show much emotion, even when Sean met her.
"Hey, Harris!" a voice shouted in acknowledgement towards the American. Out from the employee break room, behind the information desk, was a young man with spiky brown hair with a few fringes covering the sides of his forehead. He wore an outfit similar to Rei's, only he wore blue slacks. His shirt also had a name tag clipped to his shirt pocket that read "Yoshioka".
"Hey, Yoshioka." Sean hailed back as his manager approached him.
"I'm actually glad that you're here! I got a new hire here and I need you to help him out."
"'New hire'?"
Yoshioka nodded. "Yep! He got fired recently and we could use an extra pair of hands around here." He jabbed his thumb behind him, pointing it towards the room he came from. "He's right in there and don't worry about giving him a tour. He's an old regular, so he knows his way around the store and what the job entails. So you shouldn't have a problem showing him the ropes."
Sean tilted his head and crossed his arms in confusion. "I thought Rei handled training new employees."
"She does, but this guy's a special case."
The explanation only left Sean more confused. "Special how?"
"I'll let him explain that one." Yoshioka covered his mouth as he let out a yawn. "Anyway, I'm going home. Need to get some sleep after staying up all night. Later!" With that, he passed Sean and Rei then left the cafe. Sean sighed in exasperation at the thought of training a newbie, but at least he had the advantage of said newbie having a general idea how things were done in the cafe.
He turned to Rei while shrugging his shoulders. "Well, looks like I gotta take care of the crash course."
Rei nodded again at him. "I'll leave it up to you then." she said monotonously as she went off to do her duties.
Meanwhile, Sean proceeded towards the employee area. As he entered, he noticed the new recruit sitting at the table in the center of the room. He seemed like a normal guy already wearing the uniform. The only thing that Sean would find distinctive about him was that his brown hair with bangs covering his eyes.
"Sup, new guy. Name's Sean Harris, nice to meet you." Sean introduced himself to the new hire.
The new guy seemed a little taken back by Sean's casual greeting. "Hello." he responded. But he still seemed a bit bewildered by the name of his superior.
"'Sean Harris'? Sound like a foreign name."
"That's because it is. I'm originally from America and I've been living here in Japan for the last two years."
"I see. I'm Keiichi Oyamada and I'm in your hands now, Harris." Keiichi bowed.
"Sure. And you can just call me Sean; I never really cared for formalities."
Keiichi nodded. "OK. Then you can call me Keiichi."
"Alright. Just let me change into my uniform and we'll get started." Sean told Keiichi and went toward the shower room on the other side of the cafe.
After entering the room, he opened up his backpack and started taking out the white button-up shirt and blue pants. He stepped into the shower for a quick rinse and stepped out to put on his uniform.
"That boy has a certain feeling to him." Morrigan said.
"Really? What kind of feeling?"
"A feeling of attraction."
"'Attraction'?"
"I can feel it too." Izanami agreed. "It's that same feeling I had before Izanagi and I became the Reality Stone. It's a sexual attraction." Izanagi himself crouched into a ball in a corner of their room, depressed from his wife's words. "But it's too weak to actually affect us."
"Wait, does that mean I'm..." Sean asked, leading the gods into the question without saying.
"No, because I'm not feeling the same as they are." Heimdall answered.
"Neither am I." Yama followed.
"I don't feel it either." Thoth added.
"Safe to say that none of the men are affected by this 'feeling' that the women are picking up from the boy." Chronos surmised.
"Well, that's a load off my mind." After that, Sean finished dressing up and stepped out of the room. Keiichi was standing by the door, patiently waiting for his superior co-worker to emerge.
"OK, let's get started." Sean told the new guy, nodding in reply.
After listing the responsibilities for Keiichi, Sean began to think back on what Yoshioka said about the new employee. The reason for him specifically choosing Sean to train Keiichi being that he was a "special case". Sean assumed that it had to do with the "attraction" that Morrigan and Izanami felt from him.
At the end of the shift, Sean and Keiichi were clocking out for the day. Looking at the schedule, it seemed that Keiichi would take the morning shift while Sean kept his in the afternoon. So it didn't seem like they would be seeing each other much after today. Realizing this, Sean then decided to ask Keiichi about his "special case".
"Keiichi, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?" Keiichi replied.
"When Yoshioka told me that you would be working here, he told that I had to train you about your responsibilities here when Rei usually handles that." Sean started. "And the reason for that is because that you were a 'special case'. He said that you would explain what he meant by that."
Keiichi started to break into a nervous sweat. "Uh, well, I don't know if you'd believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
Keiichi sighed before he told Sean about his condition. Apparently, Keiichi had a problem that involved women, not that he was hateful towards them. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Every job that he had, Keiichi seemed to always find himself in situations that ended with him sleeping with all the women that he ended up coming across. This led him to losing every occupation that he held. Yet Yoshioka knew about his recurring problem and hired him despite that fact.
Sean raised an eyebrow hearing Keiichi's story. If it wasn't for the Infinity Gauntlet suddenly appearing on his arm one day, Keiichi would've been right in Sean not believing him. Though some people he knew would kill to have his "problem", Keiichi also mentioned that he tried to find work where he didn't have to deal with people to try and break the cycle he was in.
Keiichi noticed the look on Sean's face. "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't believe me."
"Actually, I kinda do." This response left Keiichi surprised.
"Really?!"
"Believe me, I've heard stranger things."
"Oh, I see." Sean slung his backpack over his shoulder and started to leave.
"See you around, Keiichi."
"See ya!" With that, Sean left the cafe and started to go home.
"So what do you guys think about him?"
"Well, given the explanation he gave you and the "feeling" that Morrigan and Izanami felt coming from him, it's most likely that he's at least part Incubus." Thoth theorized.
"An Incubus? That does make a lot more sense than some 'lucky pervert' power."
"Yes, it is. Though an Incubus should have control over the pheromones that they release which causes the 'attraction'. Perhaps he doesn't know of his own bloodline." Chronos speculated
"Or maybe the parent he got his Incubus side from wasn't around or didn't care about teaching him to do so." Thoth countered.
"Well, he's definitely a cut above them, that's for sure." Izanami commented.
"But this is bad! If he sticks around, then Sean will lose his chance of getting with Rei!" Izanagi moaned.
"No, Izanagi. She's my coworker, even if I was attracted to her, it would make things awkward during work."
"Sean, you're missing out on so much with that kind of mentality! I mean, have you seen her?! I could tell just by looking at her that she's a freak in the sheets! Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if those huge tits of hers could even lactate!" Izanagi's impassioned rant stopped on account of his ear being tugged on quite forcibly.
"Oh, my poor, dear husband. Whatever shall I do with your dirty, perverted mind?!" Izanami gritted out her words through teeth.
"I've actually been thinking about the two of you and your fighting. And I think I figured out why you continue to punish Izanagi as you do, Izanami." Morrigan spoke up.
"You mean how I have to remind Izanagi that he has a wife and I don't approve of him talking about other women in front of me?"
"Ufufu` No, I think the reason you harm him so much is that you want your 'dear husband' to talk about you like that." Izanami's cheeks soon turned fiery red.
"EH?! That's ridiculous! I don't want him talking about me like that with the rest of you listening!"
"So you'd prefer him to whisper those sweet nothings into your ear when you two are alone?" The Shinto goddess could only stammer incoherently at the Celtic goddess' teasing. With that, Sean quickly cut the link in his mind to avoid being mentally scarred for life.
XXXXX
Another day went by and not a single Fallen Angel feather in sight. That was a plus. Sean didn't want another run-in with the Fallen Angels. He soon arrived at the gate and started walking towards the building.
"There's no way this is happening!"
"No way! Is he supposed to be cool now?!"
"Yes and I think it's working!"
Man, the gossip never really ends, does it? Sean turned around to see what set the other students off this time. Well, lo and behold, Issei Hyoudou walking with Rias Gremory. No wonder everyone's losing their shit. Sean felt a sudden déjà vu, reminding him of the time that Issei came here with Yuuma. Sean paid them no mind as he continued his walk into the building.
"What the fuck?!"
Sean groaned at the next nuisance that assaulted his eardrums. He looked to see the other two of the Perverted Trio and saw that Matsuda had punched Issei into a stone column and left him slipping into the ground with a glowing red fist imprint on his cheek and a bloody nose.
"How in God's name did you manage to get Rias Gremory of all the hot chicks in the school to walk with you here?!" Matsuda yelled at the top of his lungs.
Motohama placed his hand on Matsuda's shoulder in an effort to rein his jealous rage in.
"Matsuda, calm down. There's no need for violence." Motohama calmly dissuaded his outraged friend.
"How can I be calm about this?! You saw what happened!" Matsuda argued.
Motohama fixed his glasses as he kept his cool. "Issei's our friend. We should at least give him a chance to explain himself." He then pointed an accusing finger at his downed traitorous colleague.
"Where did you go and what happened to you yesterday?" he questioned.
Issei suddenly got smug and had a superior smile on his face. "Oh, I'll tell you what happened."
"Yeah, and?" Motohama urged him to follow up. Issei turned to look at his friends over his shoulder with that smug smile still plastered on his face.
"Last night, I got to roll around in some double D's." Issei confessed.
Both of his friends stood in shock and awe at this new information. They tried to visualize how it could've happened but failed due to their lack of experience. They soon fell into a roshambo battle in an effort to get Issei to give them more details. Sean couldn't help but groan at their unending perversions. Did they really have no other thoughts in their brains?
XXXXX
Rias walked up the stairs to class after leaving Issei to his devices. She was amused at Issei's behavior and thought he would be a great asset to her.
"You sure are certain about him."
Rias looked ahead of her as she reached the top of the stairs and saw Souna Shitori leaning on a stone column as if waiting for her.
"Good to see you, Rias." Souna said.
"Good to see you too, Souna." Rias replied as she approached the Student Council President.
"It's not like you to gain anyone so rashly. What's special about him?" Souna asked as she and Rias looked down to the Perverted Trio's roshambo match.
"I'm not sure myself. But it does feel like I adopted a little brother." Rias answered with a smile on her face.
"I see." Souna replied.
"Although, I may have another one not far behind him." Rias added.
Souna looked at the redhead in surprise. "Really? How fortunate for you. And who's this other one?"
Rias faced the President as she answered her. "I think you may already know him, considering how much you lecture him."
Souna had a closed-eyed smile as she knew exactly who Rias was talking about.
"Well, good luck with that one. He's not exactly fond of authority." Souna playfully warned. She walked away to continue her business as Rias kept watching Issei with a smile as he had his arms in the air in victory of his roshambo war.
XXXXX
Sean sat at his desk when class ended, reading his comic. He just couldn't stop reading it. Did that make him seem a bit vain, all things considered? Maybe, but if anyone had what he had, then they would probably end up like him too. Sean overheard Issei a few desks away, grumbling about fetching and someone taking their "sweet-ass time."
Girls started to get loud as someone came walking in the room. It was a handsome young man with short blond hair, bluish grey eyes with a small mole underneath his left one. He was wearing the standard boy's Kuoh Academy uniform. This was Kiba Yuuto. Sean didn't know how, but he seemed to sparkle as he entered the room.
"Seriously? How does he sparkle like a Twilight vampire? Weird." Sean thought to himself.
"Sean." Morrigan said.
"Let me guess. He's the one Issei's waiting for?" Sean replied.
"It would seem so." Thoth confirmed. Kiba walked past the fangirls and approached Issei and Sean.
"There you are." he said to the other two boys in question. "I'm here on an errand for Rias Gremory." Issei perked up at the mentioning of Rias while Sean just looked at Kiba.
"Is this the fetching?" Issei asked Kiba.
"Would you both mind coming with me?" Kiba asked the two classmates.
"See, they're making their move. Just like I said." Chronos spoke in Sean's thoughts.
"Yeah, yeah Chronos. Stop rubbing it in." Sean waved the time god off as he brought his attention to the Devil in front of him.
"I get why she would want to see Issei. What with her walking together with him here and all, but why does she want to see me?" Sean questioned out loud.
"She didn't say. She just told me to bring the two of you to the ORC." Kiba answered with a smile.
Sean sighed at that. He knew that Kiba was lying if Rias wanted to see him too. But he decided not to call him out on it, curious to what the redhead wanted from him. He and Issei got out of their desks as they got their stuff and went to follow him.
Murayama and Katase were among the crowd of fangirls as they saw the three guys start to leave together. They held hands and looked in disbelief with the others as they saw this.
"Oh my God! Don't tell me Kiba and Harris are about to leave out of here with that lecher!" Murayama cried out in horror.
"No! Don't do it, you guys! You'll both catch pervert!" Katase warned. "You'll lose all your friends and smell like moldy meat!" Sean raised an eyebrow at that logic. How any of that would be possible just by spending a few mintues walking together was beyond him.
"Oh, just chill out. I promise I won't drain their pimp juice." Issei said in irritation.
Sean chuckled at what Issei just said and turned to Issei. "You should really be more careful in what you say to people. They'll get the wrong idea." he said with a shit-eating grin.
Issei just got more pissed off at the American's antagonizing as the three guys left the room.
XXXXX
Sean, Kiba and Issei all walked outside with the sun setting in the distance. Sean started to get bored so he decided to listen to some music.
"Hey, you don't mind if I listen to some music while we walk, do you?" he asked not wanting to seem rude.
"No, not at all." Kiba answered.
"Whatever." Issei grunted. He must still be mad about the "pimp juice" thing.
Sean put his earbuds in and decided to listen to "Deal With The Devil" by Pop Evil. Sean started to bang his head slightly to the rhythm to the song. When the song ended, they arrived at the old schoolhouse. It was a little unkempt with vines growing along the walls, the bushes were untrimmed, and the clock on the roof was incorrect.
"Well, let's go in." Kiba said opening the door for us.
Sean and Issei went through while Kiba followed as he shut the door. They soon arrived at a candlelit, wood-paneled room with Victorian-style couches and chairs along the walls. One of the couches sat Koneko Toujou, eating some chocolate on a stick.
"So, where are we?" Issei asked as he looked around the room he was in. He noticed the white-haired girl in the room. "Hey. I think I know her."
"Oh?" Kiba replied. "Koneko Toujou is a first-year and a valued member of the Occult Research Club."
The girl in question noticed the three boys in the room.
"My friend Issei here thinks he might know you." Kiba said to her.
"Uh, I could be wrong." Issei added as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
Sean approached Koneko to formally introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Sean Harris. Nice to meet you."
Koneko looked to her senior. "I know who you are."
This left Sean nonplussed as he never knew her. He never saw her among the fangirls that constantly tried asking him out.
"Really? How do you know me?" he asked.
"I've seen you get those perverts in trouble whenever they try to peek on the other girls." Koneko answered.
"Huh. Well, I mostly do it when they're nearby and wake me up from my naps. But I'm glad I can help in some way." Sean said. Koneko looked to her chocolate and presented it to the American.
"Oh really?" he asked. She nodded in response. Sean then took one for himself. "Thanks." Koneko nodded again.
"Well, that's a surprise. Koneko usually never shares her sweets with anyone." Kiba said in mild shock.
Sean then noticed the sound of running water coming from the other room.
"What is that? A shower? In a schoolhouse? Wait, does someone live here or something?" he thought.
"Your clothes are ready for you, Miss President." a female voice said.
"Thank you, Akeno." another female voice replied.
"I JUST HEARD RIAS TAKE A SHOWER!" Issei shouted with a blush on his face. "OH MAN, I LOVE THIS CLUB!"
Sean winced at the volume of Issei's shocking discovery. "Damn man! Inside voice! Shit!" he scolded the perv.
"It's not polite to spy." Koneko simply stated.
"Yeah, but I doubt that's going to matter to him." Sean added.
"Who's that?" one of the female voices from earlier inquired.
Sean and Issei turned to see Akeno Himejima looking at them.
"I didn't see you two." she smiled as she walked towards them.
Issei flinched a little as she stopped in front of us. Sean just stood there with a faint blush at the beauty approached them.
"It's OK, I won't bite. You're the new guy? It's nice to meet you." Akeno bowed in greetings. "There's nothing to be nervous about. We're all really nice. I'm the Vice President, Akeno Himejima."
Issei calmed himself down as he introduced himself. "I'm Issei Hyoudou and I promise I'm not always this awkward."
Akeno giggled at Issei's fumbling as she turned to look at Sean. He cleared his throat and bowed in return.
"I'm Sean Harris. Pleased to meet you." he said.
Akeno kept her smile as she met the American. "So you're the American student? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too. I hope you decide to join us here."
"THIS IS THE GREATEST CLUB EV- OW!" Issei cried out before receiving a slap to the back of the head, courtesy of Sean.
"I told you, dude. Inside voice." Sean chastised the gushing pervert.
"There's no need for that, he's just excited." Rias said as she came out of the shower, fully dressed as she finished drying her hair.
"Sorry to keep the both of you waiting, but I didn't have a chance to freshen up after this morning at Issei's place." Rias explained.
Sean raised an eyebrow at her. Not only she walked with Issei to school, but she was at his house this morning? Why would-? You know what? He didn't want to know.
"No, you're hot- uh, I mean fine- I mean uh, all good." Issei stumbled with his words as he tried to convey his understanding.
"Well, now that everyone, including Sean is here, we should get started." Rias said.
Everyone sat down, except Sean, who just stood as there were no other open seats available.
"First, I want to formally welcome Issei into the Occult Research Club." Rias addressed.
"Oh, uh, thanks." Issei replied.
"But before we get into the real details of the Club," Rias and the others looked at Sean, who started to become tense as they stared at him. Normally, he wouldn't have felt like this. But right now, the anxiety built up inside because of him being the odd man out.
"Sean Harris, the reason I had Kiba invite you here is because that we know of your power." Rias informed.
And that's the chapter! Sorry that this took so long! I'm dealing with a bit of a financial crisis and my job hunt takes priority over my writing.
Anyway, I'm sure you all realized that I added a new part to this chapter. See, with Sean having lived in Kuoh since he started going to the Academy and his seal on the Gauntlet being active during that time, he needed a way to provide for himself up to this point.
Other than that, I changed some wording in the whole chapter that was redundant and I'm going to change Sean's dialogue that suggest that he doesn't know anything about the supernatural. Huge mistake on my part! Aren't you all glad I'm revising this story now?
As for using the Light Novel, I decided that I'll start using it at the end of the arc. It's too much work for me to actually use it now and that would mean you guys would have to wait even longer just to do that.
I hope you're all satisfied with the addition and changes!
Remember to Follow/Fav/Review
See you all next time!
