They had about 5 days left when, during a particularly rough training session with Tannin, Ise was thrown into a rather rough outcropping of rocks, and Shi-Shi cheered him on like always.
That's when the similarities stopped.
This time, he truly listened to what she said as she cheered her heart out for him, always pushing him to get better. Not for selfish reasons, not so that he could protect her better, but so that way he could always protect himself, and be the best version of himself he could be.
'If it's for Shi-Shi, then I think I can do it.' , Ise thought. 'Ddraig, can we do it?'
'It's a long shot partner, but we just might be able to pull it off. Increasing power output… I think that we have enough energy to pull it off. Just get a clear picture of what you want in your mind and allow me to do the rest.'
And then Ddraig spoke out loud "Do it partner!"
"Alright old man, it's time to take this to the next level! Here goes nothing!" And then Ise did something different that Tannin didn't expect. "BALANCE BREAKER EVOLUTION!"
"BOOSTED GEAR EVOLUTION! BALANCE BREAKER: 2ND EVOLUTION!" Called the Boosted Gear, as with a flash of light Ise was clad in armor much like his balance breaker, but… better.
The armor was sleeker, but the raw power of the armor was the most impressive. It easily surpassed anything Ise had shown off before by miles. Shi-Shi found it cool but kind of scary.
Ise's faceplate was up, so they could see his face. He was casually smirking, but inside, he was awed at his own power. "So, old man, why don't you come at me at full power so we can try this new form out, huh?" Said Ise.
Tannin laughed. "And I'm guessing the cat has nothing to do with this new form?"
"Maybe a little. Come on, old man." The aura change was palpable, as the energy shifted. Ise's foot tensed for a second, his face plate enclosed his face, then he spoke again. "Let's go." Ise said, his voice tense.
Tannin nodded, transforming back to dragon form.
Ise's foot moved so fast Shi-Shi couldn't even sense it with Senjutsu. He quickly charged the much larger dragon, before disappearing and reappearing behind Tannin. He leaned to hit the dragon, but even with Tannin's larger size, he easily avoided the hit that would have sent him to the ground. His eyes widened at Ise's strength, before his expression settled. "Ho ho, that's how it is, huh!" He spoke, noticing something Ise had not noticed about his new form.
Ise was quick to frustrate, and if one could see his face, it was set in an angry scowl. He once again lunged for Tannin, who used Ise's momentum against him to dodge and whap Ise with a massive smack from his tail.
Ise fell quickly, before standing up again angrily. Shi-Shi called to him.. "Come on Ise, you can do it!"
"I'm trying to focus!" he shot back.
He jumped straight to Tannin, fist cocked to deliver a massive blow.
And then he passed out in midair. The last thing he heard was a female voice screaming "NOOOOOO!"
Ise woke up to Shi-Shi sleeping on his chest. He coughed a little bit, and she instantly shot awake, blushing. "I- Ise!" She hugged him tightly, before lightly hitting him several times in quick succession. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! You were so weak, your life force was fading… you almost died. What would've happened to the others if you had died?" 'What would have happened to me?' She thought softly to herself.
"Don't worry about me, Shi-Shi, I'll be fine. Anyway, what time is it? he said, looking around. It looked like they were in a cave.
This time a different voice spoke, a voice that made our protagasinist's heart stop for a second. 'Oh shit.' "It's about 2 in the afternoon." Spoke Rias, her tone dripping with poorly disguised fury. "What were you thinking, using all of your stamina like that? You could've died! If it weren't for Koneko you would have! And for what, to test out some terrible idea that might not even work? Are you stupid?" Rias yelled. She didn't stop to let Ise reply. "How stupid are you? Huh? What made you think it was a good idea to do something so incredibly stupid as try to alter the balance breaker of a fucking Longinus, Ise! Nothing that's what! Honestly, are you fucking retarded…"
Ise simply looked down at the ground. Then, without a sound, he sprouted his wings and disappeared in an impressive burst of speed. Shi-Shi shot Rias a glare, before using Senjutsu to track him. She knew he wouldn't hide his energy signature completely, he always left it showing at least a bit, just in case something happened. But she was the only one who could sense it most of the time due to her skill. She disappeared, following Ise on foot. He wouldn't have gone too far, right?
Ise looked around at the glade he was in. It was so peaceful, so quiet. It was a nice place to come and think. Then, he smiled softly, sadly. "Hi Granny." He spoke softly.
"Young one, your heart is saddened, what's wrong?"
"Rias was furious after I tried something that Tannin had suggested. She said some hurtful things, and that hurt, but she sounded so much like…"
"It's ok youngling, I understand. It's okay." Granny spoke. She wrapped him inside of her wing. "Let it out, youngling. Let it out."
His mournful cries filled the clearing that day.
And Shi-Shi and Tannin were only able to watch.
"Rias, what you did was wrong." Said Akeno.
"Yes, I know. I was just so worried. I didn't know what to do, so I just yelled. I didn't mean to hurt him so much." Rias spoke sadly. She had once again hurt the man she loved, over something that she should have been proud of. And it had been Koneko who had run after Ise, Koneko who felt the need to confort the man that Rias supposedly loved.
Ise awoke slowly, and instantly remembered where he was. "Hey Granny, thanks for letting me sleep." he spoke softly.
"Anytime youngling."
"But what about the others? What if they would have needed you?"
"Ise, something you need to understand is that even though I care about them, I knew that you needed me more. And besides, I care about you. We all do. They understood you needed help, and they encouraged me to come and help you."
"I… I don't know what to say. Thank you for caring. And can you tell the rest of the younglings I'm thankful? Please? I need to get back."
"Oh, Ise."
"Huh? What's so funny?"
"You're just too predictable." Granny smiled. "Have fun, okay? And tell your mate the dragons say hi."
Ise just laughed.
so several people seem to have misunderstood Granny's role in the story. No. as of yet there will be no harem. and Granny is supposed to be a mother type figure to Ise. as seen in this chapte, Ise has some problems. so no, if there is a harem, she will not be in it. and honestly there is a very slim chance that it will be a harem.also, ill give a shout out to anyone who figures out what is the negative side effect to Ise's new form. in my mind it looks similar to the Triana Knight btw.