Sorry for the late update! I was doing so good on sticking to a schedule for this one, but then this last semester ended up hitting me way harder than I thought it would, and I had to put writing on the backburner. Oh well- I just finished up and moved back home for the summer, so I should be writing plenty more soon! I'll have more to say at the bottom, so I'll get out of your way for now- enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review!
Night, March 29th
Dramaturgy.
A massive man over seven feet tall.
A dual-wielder of two gigantic flamberges.
A mountain of a man- a ball of pure muscle.
This was the man who'd taken Kiss-Shot's right leg...
A rather daunting opponent.
Or so Issei thought, as he stared at the one he'd been sent to defeat.
The giant vampire sat cross-legged in the center of Kuoh's athletic field, eyes closed and mouth shut, as if in some kind of zen meditation.
It was starting to rain now, and thunder rolled in the distance as Issei approached the man.
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting," he greeted, somewhat nervously, breaking the silence and announcing his presence to Dramaturgy.
In response to his voice, Dramaturgy opened his eyes.
"Z̴̳̙̲̙͊̽̕e̴͕͓̎̓n̵̢̘͕̩̿̆ḃ̶͇̘̬̇̈u," the man responded in no language that Issei recognized, eliciting a confused stare from the teen.
Then, lowering his head and grunting as if chastising himself, he spoke again.
"'One must adhere to the language of the locals', was it?" he asked, standing up. He looked tall enough that he had to duck when walking under the moon, and Issei was a little intimidated.
Just a little, though.
The teen also noted that those wavy greatswords, the flamberges- were nowhere to be seen.
"Before we speak of anything else, my brethren, allow me to explain my purpose here tonight." Dramaturgy began, in his trademark remarkably deep voice, speaking in fluent Japanese yet again. "I've not come here to slay you."
Now that got Issei's attention, though he didn't believe it at all. He readied himself for some sort of cheap trick or surprise attack, harboring suspicions about the man's unarmed state. Mentally replaying Tsubasa's kicks over and over again in his mind and wondering just how hard they'd be to pull off with no training, he stared wordlessly back at Dramaturgy.
"I did not accede to the pronouncements of that man- that sleazy looking man- in order to slay you," he continued, repeating words to the same effect.
"If you're not here to try and kill me, what are you here for?" Issei replied, cutting right to the chase. He wasn't one for any kind of mind games or conversational maneuvering, after all.
"I hope to recruit you," Dramaturgy answered, similarly leaping to the heart of the matter as he revealed his true intent. "My proposal is as such- why not don the garb of a vampire hunter, like myself?"
Issei's face crinkled in confusion.
"Didn't you try to cut me in half last time we met? Not exactly a good first impression for a job offer," he replied, fondly remembering the glint of Dramaturgy's swords against the moonlight as they'd been leveled towards his head.
"Episode and Guillotine Cutter were present at the time. I could not present this kind of invitation in the company of those two. But I would regret having to kill a being as rare as you- kin of Heartunderblade, the King of Monsters."
Dramaturgy sounded genuine, and made absolutely no move against Issei.
"So if I join you, you'll give me Kiss-Shot's right leg?" he tentatively responded, the proposition sounding almost too easy.
"You're quite brave, to call that woman Kiss-Shot, but your conjecture is incorrect. Your first job would undoubtedly be to slay her."
Issei's answer came without a moment's pause, not even a single thought crossing his mind before it was made up.
"No way dude, have you seen her?"
His eyes lit up as he recalled the beauty of Kiss-Shot's full form, even with her limbs removed being the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. Putting aside their relationship and the fact that she'd made him a vampire, trying to kill someone that pretty had to be some kind of sin.
"Of course. Have you forgotten it was I who claimed her right leg?" Dramaturgy asked in response, rather seriously, not understanding the implication.
"Rhetorical question. Anyway, I'd never fight Kiss-Shot, so that's a no from me."
There really wasn't any kind of point in talking about it any further than that. Issei didn't know much about being a vampire yet, but he certainly didn't plan on being one that killed his kin.
Unless it was in a cool vigilante way, like Blade.
That would be pretty rad, he idly fantasized.
"I see. That's unfortunate. Truly unfortunate," Dramaturgy lamented, seeming genuinely upset. "I currently have fifty-three brethren, and you seemed fit to join them- as someone whose mistress holds little control over him."
Issei briefly wondered what that meant- Kiss-Shot had mentioned something about how she wasn't experienced at creating thralls, so maybe that had something to do with it? He pushed that thought aside, though, in favor of the awesome sentence he'd just heard.
"Fifty three vampire hunter vampires? You guys have a whole club? That's pretty cool…" he mumbled, almost disappointed that he couldn't join.
In his defense, it did sound pretty cool.
"Indeed. As a matter of fact, I have no doubt you'd have become number one in no time. Incidentally, I am currently number one."
At that, Issei grimaced. He hadn't taken Dramaturgy for some grunt, sure, but to be the number one of a vampire slaying organization- yikes. The odds just kept stacking higher and higher against him.
But… there wasn't much that could be done about it now.
Oh well.
Time to do what he came here for.
"I appreciate the invite to your boy band, but I think I'll pass. Maybe next time, try a little harder with the invitation," Issei challenged with a cocky smirk.
In reality, of course, he was pretty scared.
This man was the size of three of him, after all.
But, it felt like the situation where he had to say something cool and act tough, and so he'd tried-
"Boy band? You mistake me, I was extending an invitation to a vampire slaying organization. We do not play music," Dramaturgy explained with a straight face, completely misunderstanding the quip.
-but it hadn't worked out quite well.
Issei nearly fell over from the sheer awkward pressure he was suddenly placed under, his cool line having fallen utterly flat.
"Uh...nevermind," he said meekly, suddenly unable to look his quarry in the eyes.
But, as he looked at the ground in embarrassment, he realized something- the odds weren't entirely against him.
His suspicions of weapon concealment having been quashed by Dramaturgy's brute and forthright nature, Issei realized the older vampire had probably left those swords somewhere in order to peacefully recruit him-
Which meant he truly was unarmed.
Immortal or otherwise, big swords are scary, and Issei felt a little more confident in his chances after coming up with that consolation. The only 'clean'- that is to say, not jagged or messy- wound Kiss-Shot had sustained was that of where Dramaturgy had taken her right leg, presumably with those swords- and Issei most certainly did not want to be on the receiving end of that.
"If that is all, then let us begin, O pitiful boy, O minion of Heartunderblade. You have no time to lose, yes?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Issei interjected, suddenly overwhelmed with anxiety as Dramaturgy began to menacingly stretch his massive arms.
Although, it may only have been menacing because Issei pictured himself on the other end of those arms.
To anyone else, it would probably just look like calisthenics.
"Before we do anything, let's just make sure we're on the same page!" Issei blurted out, definitely not stalling or anything.
"Mm? Very well. Then ensure that we are," Dramaturgy replied, cracking his humongous neck back and forth.
"Uh...right," Issei mumbled, sheepishly rubbing his neck. He knew the terms, and hadn't really expected to have to restate them, but he dug his own hole and now had to firmly plant himself in it.
"If I win," the teen began, "you have to give me Kiss-Shot's right leg."
"Correct. And if I were to win, you would disclose Kiss-Shot's location to me."
"Sounds right to me," Issei confirmed, cringing.
He vaguely wondered if crossing his fingers behind his back would protect him from having to actually give up Kiss-Shot's location in the event he lost.
Would Oshino have negotiated an anti-fingers-crossed clause?
That does seem like something that sleazy old man would do.
"Then, let us get to it," Dramaturgy replied.
There was no starting shot, no green light, no one to say "go!".
There was no indication the fight had begun.
Dramaturgy simply wound his arm back and punched.
Before Issei even realized what had happened, his left arm was unceremoniously ripped out of the socket.
He saw it coming, of course, with his elite vampire eyes- he watched Dramaturgy rear back and put all his weight behind the punch, like a trained boxer- but seeing something and being able to react are two very different things, and Issei could only watch as his arm was blown away.
It wasn't even a matter of pain, to him. It hurt, sure, almost worse than anything Issei had ever felt in his life; but that feeling was swiftly overtaken by fear. A fifth of his body had just been obliterated, without even so much as a thought from Dramaturgy, and that was absolutely terrifying.
He instinctively scrambled backwards, only narrowly avoiding another expert punch from Dramaturgy as he attempted to flee towards Kuoh Academy. Unfortunately for Issei, the rain had made the ground slick with mud, and as he turned to run his feet failed to find purchase.
He suddenly tumbled over himself, only barely able to avoid face planting entirely by bracing himself against the ground with his left hand.
Wait… left hand?
Issei's eyes widened, realizing his removed limb had already regenerated. He hadn't even had time to scream.
He knew he recovered fast, going off of his broken nose just several minutes prior, but to instantly regain an arm?!
As he picked himself up and quickly dashed towards Kuoh Academy, he once again noted that the Immortality of a vampire was nothing to be joked about.
Dramaturgy didn't bother chasing the sprinting Issei, simply following behind at a moderate walking pace. Issei didn't notice that, of course, as he didn't turn around to look until he'd reached the back entrance of the Academy. He spared one single glance back at his quarry, then unceremoniously ducked inside, not even bothering to close the door.
Issei ran through the halls, looking for something, anything to give him an advantage. He knew this building, and this area in general, far better than Dramaturgy; that had to count for something, right?
But, if vampires really could regenerate even mortal wounds like an arm being destroyed, then what hope did he have against a vampire kinslayer? If they both possessed the same amount of regeneration, then it came down to sheer lethality- and unfortunately for Issei, Dramaturgy certainly had the edge on him when it came to that, swords or otherwise.
What he needed was something Dramaturgy couldn't beat- something he couldn't do, but Issei could.
And as he ran through the halls, tearing his brain apart trying to think of something to help, he remembered something Kiss-Shot had said when she'd been talking about his new powers.
"A normal vampire would have none of those to begin with, of course. However, we in particular possess every power a vampire has ever had."
Did that mean Dramaturgy would be incapable of conjuring electricity?
Issei nearly jumped for joy, having found a possibility of winning this match.
But, as he continued running through the halls, he remembered one tiny detail-
He couldn't conjure electricity either!
The fledgling vampire mentally cursed his poor teacher, wishing Kiss-Shot had given him anything more helpful than telling him to "feel" the electricity.
Looking behind himself and seeing no sign of Dramaturgy, Issei flew up the stairs to the third floor, then ducked into one of the classrooms and closed the door behind him. Breathing heavily from exertion, he held up his hands and once more attempted to bring any sort of electricity to life. He grit his teeth and flexed his fingers, trying anything and everything he could think of to make even some little sparks.
It didn't work.
It was no use.
He simply didn't know what electricity "felt" like.
But then…
If he could feel electricity, could he manipulate it?
What better way was there to feel electricity than to get shocked?
And if he did get shocked, could he conjure lightning?
It was a bit of a stretch, but in Issei's mind it made perfect sense.
Not like he had many options, either.
So, with one final glance out the door to ensure Dramaturgy hadn't found him, Issei resolved himself to doing something really, really stupid.
Issei turned on the lights in the classroom, cringing as the bright white light flooded his eyes. Blinking rapidly, he gripped the little cover around the lightswitch and wrenched it off, throwing the piece of plastic to the floor. The sight that greeted him was a mess of wires, and he sighed.
Knowing this was probably going to hurt quite a lot (perhaps not more so than losing an arm?), Issei let out a battle cry, and plunged his hand into the wires.
The effect was instant. Searing pain shot through his entire body and his vampirically-enhanced muscles all convulsed at once, sending him shooting across the classroom.
(AN: I don't know how electricity works. If this isn't even close to realistic, keep it to yourself. Bite me.)
Issei flew backwards, tumbling into some desks and making a rather noisy commotion. He smelled something burning and his tongue felt weird, but otherwise there was almost no pain- no indication he'd been filled with electricity just seconds before. He'd 'felt' it, sure, but it hadn't felt like anything special- just burns and convulsing muscles.
He still didn't have a clue in the world what Kiss-Shot had been talking about!
Just then, a bright flash illuminated the now-dark room and thunder exploded, making Issei's poor enhanced ears ring.
His head slowly swiveled to the window, and his eyes widened.
Lightning had just struck obscenely close to the school, and the now-raging storm didn't show any signs of stopping soon.
In Issei's mind, a plan started to form.
The electricity from some random wires might not've been enough to feel what Kiss-Shot had meant...
...but would getting struck by lightning do it?
He could already hear the little blonde girl scolding him for his recklessness when he got back, but he didn't have any better ideas-
-and he didn't have any time, either, as Dramaturgy burst through the door just as he resolved himself to get struck by lightning.
The massive kinslayer didn't shout anything or yell or leap forward, like Issei would've expected from this kind of superpowered school battle- he simply stared professionally at his quarry and waited in the doorway, silently trying to anticipate his prey's next move.
Issei, meanwhile, was near the point of hyperventilating. His eyes darted around the room to see if any kind of advantage could be taken without resorting to his somewhat-drastic lightning plan, but nothing jumped out at him. Behind him was a window on the third story of Kuoh Academy, with nothing but a metal canopy beneath him- he didn't want to fall three stories, but surely that couldn't be worse than running forward into the arms of Dramaturgy.
"Will you flee again, pitiful boy? Or will you face me like your master's champion?"
Dramaturgy waited patiently in the doorway, staring Issei down. Once again the boy glanced behind himself, mentally gauging his options.
"I don't suppose we could call a truce, huh?" he muttered, resigning himself to do something really, really stupid.
"We can, if you forswear Heartunderblade and become a kinslayer. We need not shed each other's blood," Dramaturgy reiterated, his stoic demeanor letting through an uncharacteristic amount of sincerity.
But, his words betrayed his intent.
Regardless of his desire to recruit Issei, he wanted Kiss-Shot to die.
And that was something Issei could not abide.
"Sorry, no dice. I figured you'd say that, but I just wanted to make sure before I did this, 'cus I think it's really gonna hurt."
Issei flung himself backwards through the window.
The glass shattered without resistance, shredding his skin like a thousand tiny knives. He grimaced on his way down, not expecting it to hurt this much- how did those American action heroes make it seem so effortless?!
But, the grueling experience wasn't over yet, as he slammed into the metal canopy covering the sidewalk on the ground. His body smashed into the metal with a tremendous amount of force, and he felt like he'd just been hit by a truck- his thoughts were dazed and sluggish, and his entire body cried out in agony, but he couldn't stop moving.
He reached out with his right arm, grabbing the edge of the canopy- but, instead of pulling himself off of it, he clenched the metal as hard as he could and tore it.
The sound of thick metal being ripped like foil was absolutely horrendous, but it offered up less resistance than paper mache.
A mere moment later, he'd taken off a human-sized chunk of metal, then pulled himself off the canopy and onto the ground.
Even though it had only been mere seconds since he leapt from the third floor, his injuries were long healed, and he hit the ground sprinting. As he ran, he took the metal in his hands and used his immense vampiric strength to crush, twist, and mold it into a long staff-like shape, almost taller than he was.
Just then, he heard a grunt and a crash, and looked back to see Dramaturgy having jumped down to the same spot he had, a look of disdain on his face.
"I didn't imagine you to fight with a weapon, pawn of Heartunderblade; but whether it's your mettle or your metal, I'll test them both!"
Mentally, Issei whooped.
What an awesome line!
But, then- he saw what Dramaturgy was doing.
The massive man put his wrists together like he was wearing handcuffs, violently scraping them against one another so hard it was making sparks.
And sparks aren't all he was making, either.
From Dramaturgy's wrists sprouted two long curved swords.
Issei's jaw dropped.
How could he forget?
Vampires can shapeshift.
Dramaturgy hadn't come without his swords after all!
Not only had he not come without them, he hadn't even hidden them!
They'd been with him the whole time!
They were him!
How was he supposed to fight a guy with two swords when he had a makeshift lightning rod?!
"Enough games, child! Here I come!"
With a bellowing roar and a mighty leap, Dramaturgy leapt forward, destroying the canopy and crossing the significant gap between himself and Issei in a single jump.
Issei didn't even have time to stumble backwards before Dramaturgy swung his sword-hands down over him in a terrifyingly powerful arc, carving a great chunk out of the ground beside Issei. It hadn't hit him, of course, because he'd leapt away as hard as he could- but Dramaturgy kept up with his pace, swinging just as fast as Issei could dodge and keeping him on the defense.
Rather than deflect or counterattack with his metal rod, however, Issei kept it pointed high in the air. He looked like a priest calling down a holy smite, but unfortunately nothing so dramatic was happening.
Barely able to think in-between Dramaturgy's wild swings, Issei began to panic. His plan relied on random chance to work, but at this rate, he wouldn't even have time to put it into action!
"Why do you hold back?! Am I not pressing enough for you?!" Dramaturgy roared in apparent anger, swinging a dreadful overhead arc with both hands and nearly cutting Issei in half. He only narrowly dodged, but his window of 'narrow' was getting closer and closer- if he kept this up, Dramaturgy would kill him.
Nearly frantic with desperation, Issei gave in to sheer instinct.
Keeping his 'staff' high above his head, he closed his eyes and yelled with pure adrenaline and tried one more time to feel electricity.
Nothing happened-
-save for a tingle down his neck.
Dramaturgy stopped moving immediately, his eyes going wide.
The tingle down his spine was the only warning.
Neither of them even had time to react.
Issei's body erupted into searing pain, and his world went white.
His ears echoed with nothing but unbearably loud ringing, his mouth felt like it was filled with cotton, and his entire body was wrapped in a fiery, prickly sensation- not unlike the feeling one might get after sitting on their hand for too long.
Weakly groaning, Issei numbly shook his head to clear the horrible sensations, wondering what in the world had happened.
After several grueling moments, his vision began to finally clear and the situation became apparent.
He was lying faceup on the ground, rain battering his face and filling his wide-open mouth. He rolled onto his hands, coughing and sputtering as burning agony suddenly wracked his body. More than just that, he felt incredibly hot, like he had a fever that was way too high.
In between his coughs and gasps, his vision cleared enough to see his hands. He had intricate burns in the pattern of a lightning strike running down the length of his arms and dispearring underneath his torn t-shirt. Without even looking, he could feel the same kind of burns all down his body.
More than that, though, he could clearly see and feel the wounds starting to diminish and recede, overcome by his healing. He sighed in relief as the pain started to fade, finally letting him take a deep breath. His hearing cleared enough to hear thunder roll in the distance, and his eyes finally went back to their normal state.
Then, once his head was finally completely cleared up, he remembered exactly what the situation was.
Issei leapt from the ground with a panicked expression, frantically looking around for his opponent.
He saw burnt metal scrap and the smell of ozone filled the air, but he didn't see Dramaturgy- until he turned his attention back towards the fallen canopy.
Amongst the ruined metal structure, Dramaturgy lay face-down in an undignified heap on the ground. His body was entirely still save for the occasional twitch, and he didn't show any signs of getting up.
Breathing heavily, Issei warily approached his fallen foe, not truly believing that to have been the end of it.
"You sure got him, huh?"
Issei nearly jumped out of his skin as a voice spoke up from behind. He whirled around to see Oshino Mémé standing behind him, nonchalant as ever from underneath a pink Hawaiian-patterned umbrella.
"Whoa, no need to look so shocked, Hyoudou! Haha, you like that little joke?"
Issei exhaled in annoyance. Of all the people he'd expected to show up, it certainly hadn't been this sleazeball. He glared daggers at Mémé, not sure whether or not his being here was a good thing.
"Why are you here, dude?" Issei asked, his short temper apparent in his frustrated voice as he turned back towards Dramaturgy. The kinslayer was still seemingly unconscious, but Issei didn't particularly trust that.
"What, you aren't happy to see me? Gosh, you're as feisty as ever. Something good happen?"
"Not really. Pretty sure I just got hit by lightning," Issei retorted. The physical injuries may have been gone, sure, but he still didn't feel good- it had been like a bomb going off on top of him, and all the healing in the world wouldn't make him happy about standing in a thunderstorm after that.
"You sure did, huh?" Oshino replied in a sarcastic tone, walking up to stand abreast with Issei. "Hold this for me?" he asked, holding his umbrella out to the teen.
Issei begrudgingly accepted it, awkwardly taking it from Oshino while the old man dug in his breast pocket, retrieving a box of cigarettes. He put one in his mouth without lightning it, then stuck the box back in his pocket. He didn't make any move to retake his umbrella, however, simply letting Issei hold it as he walked forward to inspect Dramaturgy.
Swishing his cigarette to the side, Oshino blew an admiring whistle as he sank to his knees in front of the fallen vampire, appraising the damage done. His white shirt was blown to pieces, allowing both of them to clearly see his burned torso, covered in the same lightning-pattern scarring that Issei had had mere moments ago.
Dramaturgy's scars, however, weren't healing.
Issei's eyes opened wide, not having expected that at all.
"Something wrong, kiddo? You look like you've seen a vampire~!" Oshino laughed, rolling Dramaturgy face-up. He hadn't even turned around to look at Issei, so the teen briefly wondered how he knew what he looked like, but Oshino didn't give him much time to think about it before he continued.
"Surely you didn't think every vampire could regenerate like you can? Oh no, not by a longshot. That little blast you just tanked? It'll have this guy out cold for a day or two, at least."
Oshino chuckled appreciatively, opening one of Dramaturgy's eyelids and inspecting his eye.
"Oh yeah, you did a number on him. Biggest lightning bolt I've ever seen. Heartunderblade teach you that? Crazy little girl."
"Wait, you're saying he won't regenerate?" Issei asked, a little guilt leaking into his voice. He hadn't really wanted to kill Dramaturgy, but he also hadn't even known he was calling lightning- much less how to make it less powerful.
"Oh, he will. Just not like you. You're the servant of the King of Monsters herself, Hyoudoofus! You may not know it yet, but that's a big deal. This guy, though? Just some small-time vampire hunter. He'll regenerate, for sure, but it'll take a while. I'd say…" Oshino pinched Dramaturgy's nose, raising his head to an angle high enough for the sleazy old man to peer into his nostrils- "two weeks? Till he can walk, that is."
Issei was silent for a moment, turning over some thoughts in his head while Oshino continued to examine Dramaturgy.
"Well, in any case- you definitely won Heartunderblade's leg. I'll get this guy sorted out and meet you back at the school with your prize, so why don't you go ahead and head back there? I'm sure your little master is eager to hear what happened. I'll get all this cleaned up, too- I can think of some devilish ladies who wouldn't appreciate your artistic vision, haha!"
Huffing in exhaustion, Issei decided to hold his questions until he saw Oshino again, simply too worn out from the exertion and pain to bother asking anything right now.
So, without saying a word, he started dragging himself back to Kiss-Shot.
May 2nd, morning
"Surely thou wilst tire of this 'school' eventually? I see no point in continuing to go, day after day."
"Oh believe me, I got tired of it a while ago. But, even so, I gotta go."
"Why?"
"So I can go to college and get a job, or whatever. It's complicated."
"Jobs provide currency, no? I couldst simply create it. Would that save ye from having to go to school?"
"Okay, first of all, that's awesome, but it's also, like, super illegal. Secondly, I think Rias would bite my head off if I told her I was gonna drop out because we started printing money."
"Illegal? Ye still care for human laws?"
"I mean, a little bit. Besides, that's not the biggest reason I enjoy going to school."
Issei and Shinobu were in his bedroom, the morning after they'd encountered the exorcist and Asia at the devil-summoner's home. He was standing in front of his dresser, putting on his uniform for school, while Shinobu sat on the bed in her teenage form, wearing the same purple hoodie and skirt she generally wore.
"Oh? What would that be, praytell?"
"The girls!"
Shinobu rolled her eyes. Her insatiable master was as one-note as ever.
In an attempt to change the subject before he went off on a rant, she brought up something else entirely.
"What will ye do about the sister now? Ye surely cannot meet with her again."
Issei sighed.
"Yeah, I know. I wonder what she thinks about me?" he answered with a half-hearted chuckle. "Maybe that I'm some kind of vampire-fighting badass?"
"'Twould not be far from the truth, after all."
"I totally owe you one for that, by the way," Issei said suddenly, turning towards Shinobu. "Who knows what would've happened if she thought I killed that dude and the priest," he added with a sheepish laugh.
"Hmph. 'Tis only right that I prevent such annoying misunderstandings," she answered dismissively, looking away from him.
"Yeah, but even so. Thanks, Shinobu."
Issei accentuated his gratitude with a sincere and gleaming smile, making Shinobu's cold heart skip a beat as she turned around to avoid his gaze.
"And ye'd best remember my benevolence, worm," she murmured, unable to look back at him.
Issei just laughed and turned back towards his dresser, digging for his blazer for a few more moments before remembering he could simply create one.
"Oh, hey, by the way. Did you ever remember anything about this?"
Turning around to face her once more, Issei held up his left hand and summoned the red gauntlet from before, looking at it quizzically. "It looks totally awesome, but I don't really know what it does."
Shinobu hummed in response, standing up and walking over to him so she could take a closer look.
"As I said, it seems familiar, but I cannot recall from where. A moment, milord."
Issei grimaced as Shinobu raised her right hand up to the side of her head- he knew exactly what she was about to do, and it made his stomach turn.
Without hesitation or even a slight hint of fear, Shinobu flattened her hand and thrust it into her own skull.
Her eyes rolled and bulged as she crushed and kneaded her brain, sending blood and spinal fluid flying into the air. Luckily for the poor boy's carpet, it evaporated before it even hit the ground.
Meanwhile, Issei cringed and grit his teeth, feeling every ounce of pain she was- he didn't know how she could stand to do that to herself. Even for all their immortality, they still possessed the exact same sense of pain as a human.
After a grueling few moments, Shinobu ripped her hand out of her head and instantly regenerated, her eyes rolling back into place as she returned her gaze to Issei with a frown.
"I don't remember," she said, disdain dripping off her voice. "How frustrating."
"You did all that and you didn't even remember…?" her grossed-out master asked, holding his own head as if she'd come for it next.
"It matters not. Memories or not, perhaps we can diagnose its purpose. Can ye do anything with it? Dost thou feel any different?"
Shinobu had the air of a distinguished scientist as she closely inspected his hand, genuinely trying to figure out what the red gauntlet was. In fact, she sounded so credible it almost made Issei uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything.
"Uh…"
Closing his eyes, Issei tried to focus his awareness on the gauntlet. He could feel Shinobu's fingers through it like it was a second skin- but other than that, not much was different.
No, not quite-
There was something.
An inkling of a feeling, pulling at the back of his mind.
A feeling of… danger?
A raw instinct.
The instinct… to run away.
Quiet though it was, it was quite a distinct sensation- easily identifiable.
The gauntlet was practically screaming at him to flee- from Shinobu.
Issei opened his eyes, confusion written all over his face.
"It's telling me to run," he said. "Like, hard."
"Run?"
"From you."
"A good idea, in almost all cases. Hmm… 'tis intriguing. Did ye only just notice the sensation?"
"Yeah. I had to focus pretty hard to feel it."
"A gauntlet that tells thee to flee from a vampire. 'Tis a rather helpful thing for ye then, no? On account of the fact that, when we met, thy first instinct was to safeguard my bosom rather than run."
"And I don't regret it at all!" Issei retorted, pumping his fist in the air as if he was proud of the fact that he'd thrown his life away for Kiss-Shot's chest.
"To thy credit, it is magnificent," she agreed, nodding. It was smaller in her teenage form, but only marginally so, and she could absolutely still give even girls like Rias or Akeno a run for their money.
And, of course, she could just shapeshift at will.
Much to Issei's joy.
"In any case, thy gauntlet remains a mystery to me. Perhaps 'tis simply ornamental."
"What, you mean it's just a fancy glove?"
"'Tis merely idle conjecture on my part, milord."
"I'm still hoping it strips chicks!"
"And for all women alive, I hope it does not."
A few minutes later and the two were walking to school together, Issei doing his normal routine of sweltering under the sun while Shinobu just pulled up her hood. It always irked him that she seemed completely unbothered by the weather, even if he was nearly burning.
At their current level of vampirism, they were maybe about ten percent as strong as their full power- around the level of the average half-vampire. In other words, just enough to be able to bear the full brunt of the sun without bursting into flames.
Definitely still wasn't comfortable, though.
"My master. A grave thought has occurred," Shinobu said suddenly, stopping in her tracks. Issei stopped too, turning around to see what she was talking about. Without giving him even time enough to ask what was wrong, she stepped uncomfortably close and put her face right next to his, staring threateningly at him from the side.
"In the past several days, thou hast promised me donut after donut, but I have seen nary a one. Where are my donuts, master?" she growled, a dark edge to her voice. Issei quickly stumbled backwards, only mildly terrified of her.
"I-I haven't had time!" he said defensively, defensively putting his hands up between the two of them.
"Hoh? So then, all this time traipsing around and chatting nonsense with girl after girl? That time couldn't have been spent buying your life partner donuts?" she continued, walking a step closer for each he took backwards.
"O-okay, look! We'll go after school and-"
"After? Thou wouldst dain to make the King of Monsters wait more? A truly bold master I have," Shinobu challenged, glaring a hole into the side of his face.
"...right now?" he mumbled.
"'Tis agreeable. Let us depart."
Her previous intensity forgotten, she whirled around and began walking in a new direction, straight towards Kuoh's resident donut establishment- Mister Donuts. Issei, meanwhile, peeled himself off the wall she'd backed him up against with a sigh of relief. He weakly continued after her, resigning himself to explain to Rias why he'd been late for school.
"Anyone ever tell you you're freakin' terrifying…?" he murmured, catching up to her.
"Ne'er once. Indeed, I have been sung many praises, but frightful? Ne'er once. In fact, I daresay the Bard described me best- 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate,' he said."
"Why does that sound familiar?"
"I should hope it does. The Bard is a man as deserving of memory as any of the great heroes."
"Who's 'the bard'?"
"Hast thy school taught thee naught? As I recall, his name was… Shaking Spears?"
"Shakespeare?!"
"I believe mine was closer."
"Are you saying Shakespeare wrote about you?!"
"Well, I cannot say I recall having met him, but when I read the man's poetry I could only assume he was speaking of me. After all, where else could such a fair maiden lie? There exists but one, methinks."
At that, Issei audibly groaned. He always thought there had to be a limit to her arrogance, and she always surprised him.
After a moment, though, he remembered something interesting about the particular poem she was talking about. It was nearly the only thing he'd remembered from his english literature class, except for how to fall asleep on command.
"Wait a second, wasn't that poem about a dude?"
"Nay."
"No, I'm pretty sure-"
"Nay! Now be silent, worm! I must tally thy tribute to me."
"Oh boy, this'll be good…" Issei muttered. He couldn't remember exactly how many donuts he'd promised Shinobu over the last several days, but it couldn't be that many, right? After all, he only had about two-thousand yen ($18-ish) on him at the moment, so he couldn't go too crazy-
"Ten donuts, milord. At minimum."
"...you've gotta be kidding."
"Nay; I am deadly serious. Three to allow ye to court the fallen scum. Three to keep me from hunting and slaying the rest of them after she betrayed thee. Three to help ye make a pact with that miserable human. And an undefined amount to teach ye to create objects."
"...you haven't done that yet, by the way…"
"I have yet to receive my payment. Perhaps it should be more than ten, considering-"
"Ugh~ fine! Ten donuts," Issei relented, flipping through his wallet as if it could magically conjure more money. Ten donuts would probably cost pretty much all of what he had, unfortunately.
"Hmph. I suppose that shall suffice," Shinobu acquiesced, a smug grin on her face.
"Not only am I skipping class, I'm also spending all my money on donuts. I was saving up for a new figurine, damn it…"
"Let not anger cloud thy heart, my master. Simply think of it as keeping thine other half happy and healthy."
She neglected to bring up the fact that she could not only create more money at will, but also fabricate any number of figures.
"That's easy for you to say-"
"Issei?!"
Issei and Shinobu both stopped as they heard a frantic voice cry out from behind. The boy barely had time to turn around before he was tackled by a blonde streak, sending him careening backwards as if hit by a car.
"I was so worried!"
It was Asia.
Shinobu made no attempt to hide her sneer.
Of course the sister had to show up now, of all times.
"A-Asia? What are you doing here?"
Issei didn't really know what to do as Asia violently hugged him, tears in her eyes. He glanced at Shinobu and saw pure hellfire in her eyes, and something deep down inside told him she would be absolutely no help in this situation. Something on his abdomen, however, told him Asia was still wearing her blessed silver cross, too- he hoped she couldn't tell it was literally burning a patch of his skin away.
"I was just taking a walk, and then I saw you, and- and- oh thank God, I'm so grateful you're okay!"
A stabbing pain jutted through Issei's head as the nun sent up a prayer, making Shinobu smirk. She wasn't at all pleased by their foray to Mister Donuts having been interrupted, but her master's discomfort made it a bit more tolerable.
"I'm- I'm fine!" Issei stammered, trying his best to separate the nun from himself without just flinging her away. He didn't want to be rude, but her cross was really starting to hurt.
Finally, she pulled away from him and wiped her eyes. They were puffy and tired- she'd clearly been crying quite a bit.
"Sorry, I know that was sudden, I'm just… I'm so glad you're okay…" she murmured, sniffling.
Issei's heart skipped a beat.
'Could there be a more pure hearted maiden in all the land?!' he mentally exclaimed, eliciting a scowl from his partner. The one time he seemed semi-verbose, and it was to praise some random girl?
Heresy.
"I'm fine, really, no need to worry," Issei assured Asia, giving her a trademark goofy grin as he subtly rubbed the burning patch of skin under his shirt. Not only did it feel like a thousand tiny knives, it also itched.
Asia gave him a bright smile, then turned towards Shinobu. She blinked in surprise, as if she'd only just noticed the vampire for the first time.
"Good morning, Miss Shinobu," she said with a polite bow.
Shinobu's brow twitched, and her frown didn't lesson. She'd been sure the little nun would instantly recognize her as Freed's murderer and flee, but she clearly hadn't the faintest inkling that the hoodie-clad teenager before her was the same vampire from the previous night.
In fact, she was so clueless, Shinobu was rather certain that if she were to present herself to the nun in the form of a child, Asia would likely re-introduce herself. Such were the depths of her innocence and naivety, to meet someone and not for a moment suspect they might be more than meets the eye.
At that, Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heartunderblade inwardly scoffed.
What blissful ignorance.
"Aye," she finally replied, not making any attempt to further acknowledge the callow girl as she turned back towards her and Issei's original destination and continued walking.
"She's, uh… she's grouchy in the mornings," Issei apologized, rubbing his head in embarrassment as he defaulted to the same excuse he'd given Asia the first time they'd met. He sensed a burning feeling in the back of his mind that told him Shinobu would be very displeased if he didn't hurry up and follow her, but at the same time he didn't want to just leave Asia here- especially after she'd been so worried for him.
He owed her a tiny explanation at least, right?
And then, a solution presented itself.
A metaphorical lightbulb popped up above Issei's head as an idea formed- unfortunately for him, he didn't stop to think about whether it was a good idea or not.
"Hey Asia, why don't you come with us?" he asked. "We're going to get… breakfast," he added after a moment, wondering if that was quite the proper name for what amounted to Shinobu devouring whatever Mister Donuts had on display.
Before Asia could even answer, Issei sensed a powerful feeling of ire from his other half, making him inwardly grimace. He hadn't even spared a thought to whether or not Shinbou would enjoy that particular plan.
"Sure!" Asia replied, smiling brightly.
When he saw her excited expression, he somehow forgot all thoughts about Shinbou being upset- which, unsurprisingly, did little to cool the vampiresses' temper. She angrily kicked a rock and started to walk a little faster, making Issei and Asia jog to catch up with her.
After a moment of gaining, the two walked abreast a couple steps behind the angry Shinobu, matching her pace.
"So I guess you're probably wondering what happened last night, huh?" Issei finally asked, after a silent few seconds.
Asia looked down, staring at her feet as she walked.
"I am," she replied after some thought. "Mister Freed was an awful, wicked beast, but that other person was just a sweet old man- I got to talk to him a bit, before… before he passed. I wish that lady hadn't killed him…"
"She didn't kill that guy," Issei interjected, quick to clarify. "He was actually already dead when we- I mean, when I showed up. She came after me."
Ahead of them, Shinbou rolled her eyes. She didn't hate that her master was an honest man, but would it kill him to at least try to lie properly? After all, to any vampire worth their salt, a sharpened tongue was far more dangerous than sharpened fangs.
Of course, to a centuries-old vampire like Shinobu, there was hardly ever a need to fight with the tongue, sharpened or otherwise.
There wasn't much that could withstand her might, and the few things that could weren't likely to be swayed by honeyed words.
That's not to say she was one to fight with words, anyway. This particular vampiress much preferred to simply eviscerate her enemies, manipulation and plotting be damned.
"So then… Mister Freed killed him?" Asia asked after a pause, her sad tone telling him she already knew the answer.
"...Yeah," Issei answered. "And then she killed Freed. Sorry I… sorry I couldn't stop her."
Issei apologized sincerely, but if he was telling the truth he didn't give a rat's ass about Freed or his death. The man was clearly unhinged, to say the least- he'd mutilated that 'sweet old man' just for the crime of trying to summon a devil, probably for some relatively innocent contract no less.
"No, don't apologize!" Asia exclaimed, turning towards him as they walked. As if surprised by her own fervor, she looked down at her feet again. "Mister Freed was… he was a bad man. I didn't want him to die, but… it's not your fault. And, you saved me, so… please don't apologize."
Asia looked back up at him with a bright smile, sincerely grateful for him having 'saved' her from the 'evil vampire' that killed Freed.
It made him feel so guilty he could hardly stand it.
There was a small part of him that just wanted to scream "I didn't save you from anything! That vampire lady is actually right in front of us! Please don't thank me!"- but if he did that, he'd have to come clean about the whole thing, including his status as her natural enemy.
So, without a word, he just looked down at his feet.
"If you say so," he mumbled, unable to say anything else.
Asia, sensing that Issei was still sore about the subject, dropped it in favor of walking in relative silence for a bit.
Deep down, even though she'd never admit it to even herself- she was glad Freed had finally gotten what he deserved. The man was repulsive and vile on his best days, and she had been secretly ashamed he claimed to serve the same God she did, even if it was just an excuse he used to justify his deeds. He committed sacrilege with his every word and action, and though Asia wasn't one to particularly care about such things- having been excommunicated herself- she could not abide the horrible actions of the renegade priest. This hadn't been the first time he'd killed an innocent person, and if he was left alone to roam, it wouldn't have been the last.
She wasn't sad he was gone, not by a long-shot, but she was sad that it had such an effect on Issei.
Although, she appreciated the fact that it did affect him- yet further proof that he was a truly good person.
Asia had plenty more things she wanted to ask her friend, like "how did you beat that woman?" and "Is she still around somewhere?", but he still seemed uncomfortable and she was already intruding on him and his friend's breakfast as-is.
So, without a word, she reached out and reassuringly rubbed his arm, giving him a bright smile to try and lift his spirits.
Outwardly, Issei smiled back.
In his head, though, he was cursing his own name.
He wasn't one for lying or secret-keeping to begin with, but he hadn't the foggiest idea how to tell the poor, innocent girl that not only had he not 'saved her life' from that 'vampire woman', but it was his fault she murdered Freed in the first place- not to mention his own status as a vampire and devil, two things she was likely to despise.
Issei almost wanted to just take off running and leave her alone, if only to spare himself having to trick her any longer- but just like he couldn't bring himself to reveal the truth to her, he couldn't ditch her either, especially not after how genuinely worried about him she'd been.
So, as Mister Donuts slowly came into view ahead of them, he silently resigned himself to lying just a little bit longer.
Apologies if the present part seemed like it got cut off short. I mostly cut it off a little bit early for the sake of my own sanity, but also so I could go ahead and put the chapter out, since it's been so long.
So, anyway, about the chapter.
I chose to lean a little heavier on the prequel section this time, to give the Dramaturgy fight the 'weight' it needed. That was an important fight from a storytelling perspective, because it's the first time this story has seriously diverged from the canon one. Those of you who have read/watched Kizumonogatari will note that it played out entirely differently, which is only natural given that this is an entirely different story. I had some complaints before that I was mirroring Kizumonogatari a little too hard- that was intentional, I assure you. This chapter is where things really started to turn out differently, though, so I wanted to make sure I wrapped it up nicely. For those of you who are still worried about this story mirroring Kizu, rest assured- the rest of the prequel story will only diverge more and more from the original work as I update. I've got some great things planned, don't worry.
To focus on another point from the Dramaturgy fight: the lightning. That may seem random to some of you, and I'm sure there's gonna be several of you who will jump into my reviews and say "that's not something a vampire can do!"- but let me reiterate something I mentioned in a previous chapter/AN. Kiss-Shot has all the powers. That's not a joke- look at her VSbattles Wiki page. Anyway, electricity manipulation and weather control are both powers vampires from fiction and myth have had, so I figured it wouldn't be that much of a stretch.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I'll try to wrap up briefly cus I'm inflating my word count way too much here.
Will this story be a harem?
I'm still not totally sure. I think I'm leaning a bit more towards harem now, but Kiss-Shot x Issei is still a very attractive option- if any of you have any legitimate cases one way or another, I'd love to hear them. You can put that in a review or PM me, or you can-
Join my discord!
here's the link, just copy & paste into a browser and delete the spaces: d iscord .gg / 66CKxgJsEg
That's all I've got for now, folks. If you've got any questions or concerns, be sure you PM me!
See you next mission!