PLEASE READ: THIS IS A SINGLE PAIRING STORY BETWEEN ISSEI AND RAYNARE. Phew, glad that's out of the way. I'm pretty sure I've said that like eight times, but still I get PM's and reviews asking if this is a single pairing story. Yes, it is. It will stay that way, so don't freak out.
Anyway, that's all I needed to say, other than sorry for the wait. I've been busy. Wait, no that's not it.
This chapter will contain errors and such, because despite my searching, I still have no one to proofread my stories. Oh well. Alright, that's all I needed to say.
Okay, open the game! (Jojo reference? Yes.) Read and Review!
"You already broke something? Well, that's fine, I expected the two of you to have burned the place down by now, if I'm being honest. So, what's the amazing story?" Lisa Lisa asked, a grin on her worn face.
Raynare and Issei fidgeted. Neither spoke. They hadn't gone over a story beforehand, and Lisa Lisa arrived far faster than they'd expected. They didn't really know what to say, and they obviously couldn't say Issei blew a hole in it with magic.
Lisa Lisa pursed her lips. "Hm, no one wants to talk, huh? That's fine. I'll just take a peek at the hole, and see what I can come up with. Sound good? Good." She said, smirking. Issei got the feeling she knew they were hiding something.
Lisa Lisa walked over to the large circular hole in the window, looking at it carefully. She examined it with all the careful deliberation of a practiced surgeon, which she was.
"A clean hole, no breaking. No glass on the ground, and the area around it is slightly singed. If it wasn't the size of a baseball, I'd say you shot it. It's almost like magic!" Raynare and Issei both turned a little pale, and shared a worried glance behind the woman's back. Was it possible she knew about magic? No, of course not. Did she?
"Well, I'm stumped. I'd like someone to tell me what happened, but it's not important. I'll send someone up within the hour to get in fixed, don't fret." Lisa Lisa said, turning back towards Issei and Raynare. They both sighed in relief. She raised an eyebrow at their behavior, but didn't press them.
"Thanks, Lisa Lisa. I'm really sorry about this…" Issei said, a little embarrassed. They hadn't even had the lavish penthouse for a week and he'd already broken a window.
She waved him off. "Bah, it's no big deal. Couple of young people like you, I'm surprised you haven't blown the place to smithereens yet. You've kept it remarkably clean and and filled it with nice things, both material and immaterial. What more could a home have?" Issei didn't really know what she meant. They had kept it clean, and they'd bought some neat stuff for the place, bought what in the world had she meant by "immaterial things?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Raynare asked, mildly curious. She didn't really understand Lisa Lisa word's either.
"Well, a house isn't a home until it's filled with love, is it?" Lisa Lisa said, a large grin on her wrinkled face. Issei immediately found something on the other side of the room to look at, and Raynare fought down a blush.
"I g-guess not." Raynare said, looking down. She unconsciously reached for Issei's hand, and he grasped her fingers within his own.
"Ha! You two are adorable!" Lisa Lisa suddenly exclaimed, cackling. She moved past the two, towards the door. "Well, I'll be going now. Expect a repairman soon. Best of luck to the both of you." She opened the door, and put one foot out, about to leave. Before she did, she stopped and turned back to the two of them.
"A bit of advice, before I go. A little of my old woman's wisdom, if you will. This is for both of you, so listen up! Be careful who you trust, hm? Not everyone has the best intentions all the time. Never know when someone might try to use you as a pawn. Maybe even someone at that new school you two are attending, Kuoh? Well, that's all. Bye now!" Lisa Lisa stepped out and closed the door.
"Hey, Issei." Raynare said quietly after a few seconds. He turned towards her. "How did she know we went to Kuoh?" She said, suspicious. Issei thought about it. No one told her. She shouldn't have known, but she did. Extremely odd.
"I don't know, actually. Maybe it's in her medical database, or something like that?" Issei suggested.
"I guess so…" 'That woman, I swear, sometimes I think she knows everything.' Raynare thought. Some of the things Lisa Lisa said and did were very suspicious to her, and she began to wonder if she was a little more than a doctor. 'Oh well. As long as she's an ally, it doesn't matter.'
On her way down the hall, Lisa Lisa passed a tall teenage boy with a delinquent's clothes and bright silver hair. She stopped next to him, and he stood beside her. They faced different directions, and each had a hard face.
"If you go in there and cause trouble, Vali Lucifer, I'll eradicate you myself." Lisa Lisa said in a stern and cold voice, completely unlike her normal form of speech.
A look of hesitation and surprise crossed his features. The boy, Vali, thought about her words for a second, then replied. He recognized her.
"If you tell me that, I can hardly go against it, can I? Even I stand no chance against you right now." He said, and turned around. Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor, walked down the hall from where he came. Stopping at the end, he turned back and looked at her.
"But, soon enough...I'm be coming for you, and after that...I'll be coming for him." Vali said, and disappeared into motes of light.
Lisa Lisa sighed. 'Get strong soon, Issei. I won't be able to protect you forever.'
Back inside Issei and Raynare's penthouse, the two of them had found something to do. Issei was reading a book, and Raynare was trying her hardest to distract him.
He sat on the couch with his legs propped up, and she sat next to him, poking him in the sides and flipping the pages in his book and tussling his hair and whatever else she could think of to get his attention. He read with a grin on his face. He thoroughly enjoyed her doting, and though he held the book and looked at it, all his attention was on her. He couldn't read so much as a sentence with his Angel so close.
"Issei. Issei. Issei. Issei. Issei. Issei." Raynare repeated his name over and over again, accentuating each repetition with an increasingly hard poke to his stomach. He started to laugh, but still focused on his book. She started blowing air at him, making him scrunch up his face. He did notice how good her breath smelled, though. The thought struck him; he wanted to kiss her, a lot. He resisted the urge. Issei slowly and deliberately closed and put down his book on the coffee table, and turned to Raynare. He had a grin on his face.
"Raynare. Raynare. Raynare. Raynare. Raynare. Raynare!" He poked her in the stomach too, turning the tables on the Fallen Angel. On the last 'Raynare' Issei lunged at her, and started tickling her with all his might. Raynare collapsed into a laughing mess as her boyfried tickled her relentlessly. She tried to fight him off, but all she could muster was a light punch, not even enough to push him. The two of them were laughing like mad, and when Issei looked up, they'd both fallen off where they'd been sitting and had ended up on the floor between the couch and coffee table.
"I win." Issei said, sitting over her. Raynare had a few lingering giggles, and she breathed heavily beneath Issei. She was glad she'd gotten his attention, but he'd challenged her, and it meant war.
"Is...that...so…?" She breathed out, still feeling out of breath.
"Mmhm." Issei hummed, nodding.
"I beg to differ." Raynare said. She had an evil glint in her eyes, and Issei was wary. She sat up, and immediately jumped at Issei. She tickled him more than he had her, causing him to writhe and squirm under her fingers. He laughed so hard he couldn't breath, but Raynare didn't stop.
A minute or so later, a heavily-breathing Issei lay on the ground beneath a triumphant Raynare. She straddled him underneath her, preventing Issei from launching a counterattack. He would've been blushing at the position they were in, if not for the fact that he was facedown and completely out of breath.
"I'd say I win, hm?" Raynare said with a smirk, poking Issei's back. He laughed under her, and thumped his head against the floor.
"Yes ma'am." He said, his voice muffled by the floor.
"Good." She said, and stood up off of him. Issei picked himself up, still laughing a bit.
"I guess I should make something to eat?" Issei suggested, after he'd collected himself. He sat down on the couch.
"Hm...nope. Let's go out!" Raynare exclaimed, sitting next to him and putting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her.
"Sounds good to me. Where to?"
"I don't know. You've lived here way longer than me, you pick."
Issei put his head back, thinking. "I've got it."
Raynare looked at him expectantly after he didn't say anything else. "Are you gonna tell me or what?" She asked.
"Hm...nope. It's a surprise. I'll go make a reservation." Issei said. He flew off the couch and into their room, locking the door. Raynare, still on the couch, sighed. She looked at the coffee table, at what book Issei'd been reading. His copy of 'How to be a good boyfriend' lay on it's side, one of the pages dog-eared to keep his place. Raynare smiled softly. He really was trying his best for her.
Issei came out of the room, a minute or two later. He wore a grin on his face. "We're golden." He said.
Raynare looked at him, and matched his grin. "You really won't tell your girlfriend where you're taking her?" She asked.
"It's a surprise." Issei said, his smile widening.
Raynare huffed good-naturedly. She still had a smile, but she was genuinely curious. She trusted him, though. He had good taste, if nothing else. "Fiiiine…" She said, sensing that he wouldn't relent.
The two of them settled back into doing random things around their house. Issei picked his book back up, and Raynare started fiddling with their TV, trying to set it up for movie streaming. About fifteen minutes later, someone knocked at their door. Issei opened it up, expecting a repairman, but was surprised when it was Officer Yoshikage instead.
"Good afternoon! Can I come in?" Yoshikage said, tipping his hat to Issei. Issei greeted him and led him inside, sitting with the man at their table/bar while Raynare made tea.
"Sorry to show up on such short notice, but you've still got a bit of business to take care of as far as your inheritance and such. I know you said your step parents disowned you, but they hadn't made it legal yet, so you're still their sole heir." The officer said, going slow to prevent confusion.
"Really? So, all their stuff is mine?" Issei asked, not using any tact. The comment made Yoshikage cringe inwardly. How terrible could his step parents have been to him to make him care so little about their deaths? Yoshikage didn't know the specifics, but they must've been awful.
Raynare brought Officer Yoshikage a cup of tea, and handed another to Issei. "Mm, thanks. Yes. They had roughly six-hundred million yen in savings, two houses, and other stuff, like furniture and objects. You'll have to talk to someone else to get the specifics, but you've just become a rich man. For now, anyway. Who knows how far that much money will go in today's economy?" Yoshikage said light heartedly.
Issei exhaled slowly, taking all the information in. He was happy that he got a chance to spit in the face of his step parents one last time. They'd made a mistake, and now he owned both their stuff and the stuff they'd taken from him. It made him glad, but also guilty for having such morbid thoughts.
"That's great news. Who do I need to talk to?" Issei asked the officer.
"There's a man ready to come up to the police station to explain it all to you, whenever you feel like it. Sooner rather than later, preferably." Officer Yoshikage explained.
"Well, we're actually expecting a repairman here pretty soon, and then we've got reservations at *******." Issei whispered the the last part into Yoshikage's ear, preventing Raynare from hearing it, much to her ire. The Officer's face lit up with surprise and then morphed into a smirk.
"Ooh. Fancy. Well then, how about tomorrow?" Officer Yoshikage asked, back in business mode.
Issei glanced at Raynare. She nodded. "Yeah, that should work. Tomorrow's Friday, so we'll be good to go after school's out."
"Great! Well, I'll tell the guy you'll be there tomorrow. He's patient, so it shouldn't be an issue."
Someone knocked on the door. Issei opened it, and a tall man in a gray shirt and blue jeans with a tool belt stood in the doorway. Issei shook the man's hand, and he introduced himself.
"Been told ya'got a window needs fixin'? I'm yer man. Name's Sadao, Sadao Yukaza. Good t' meet'cha." The man moved past Issei, who stood in the doorway with a dumbfounded expression. Yukaza, the man's last name...was the same as Matsuda's. Matsuda Yukaza.
This was Matsuda's father.
"Y-yeah, you too…" Issei breathed out, finally. Raynare and Yoshikage looked at him with a puzzled expression as he moved back into the penthouse. Sadao tipped his grey hat to the both of them as he moved over to the window. His gaze lingered on the Officer, but he didn't say anything.
Sadao whistled apprehensively as he approached the broken window slowly. "Ya really did a number on this one, huh? Well, there's a couple of options. One, I c'n jus tape it up, literally…" The repairman tapped a thick roll of clear tape at his belt. "Or, I can take out a section of glass and replace it. It'll be minute, but it'll look better than the tape. Whaddya think?"
"Tape, please." Issei said extremely fast. Raynare gave him an odd look. She was sensing his nervousness, and she was wondering way he was acting so strange. Who had they just let in their home? She was glad Officer Yoshikage had stuck around.
Officer Yoshikage was wary of the repairman. If he'd heard correctly, the guy was Sadao Yukaza, someone Yoshikage had dealt with on multiple occasions. He didn't look similar, but every time Yoshikage had seen him, he'd been in a convict's uniform, not a repairman's. He had a long history of beating his wife and son. At some point, he beat his wife to a point where his teenage son had stepped in and tried to fight him, leading to the boy being sent the hospital with severe injuries, and Sadao being arrested. Because of a legal loophole, he'd been able to avoid going to prison, but had still been removed from their house and put on probation. Yoshikage knew the guy was trouble.
"Uh, sure. Yer the boss. Be done in two shakes of a dog's tail." Issei sighed in relief. He wanted the man out as soon as possible. Sadao removed the tape from his belt and put a long strip on both sides of the window, slowly, so there wouldn't be air bubbles visible. Within a few minutes, he was finished. He stood up, looked at the window from a few different angles, and clapped his hands.
"Done n' done. S'that all, or was there something else?" Sadao asked, looking at Issei. Issei shook his head.
"Nope, that's all. Thanks for coming." Issei gestured towards the door. To someone else, it might've seemed rude, but due to Sadao's...upbringing, he didn't even notice. He moved to leave, but before he did, he gave Issei a comment.
"Ya know, you remind me of m'boy, Matsuda. Ya both got th'same fire in your eyes...hm. Well, good afternoon." Sadao stepped out, leaving the penthouse. Issei let out the breath he'd been holding, and Raynare finally understood why he'd been so tense. If that was Matsuda's dad, it was no small wonder he'd be a little nervous.
"Phew. Glad he didn't start any trouble." Officer Yoshikage said. "I would've left a minute ago, but I had a bad feeling about that guy, so I stayed put."
"What makes you say that? Who was he?" Raynare asked.
"That was Sadao Yukaza, like he said. He got sent to the pen for beating his wife and son nearly to death, but got out on a loophole. It's a real shame, that someone like him is walking around free when we've got innocent people doing time. Ah, sorry. Got distracted. Anyway, he got removed from his family and put on probation, so I was worried he might be a little volatile. I'm glad he didn't recognize me, otherwise he might not have been so nice." Yoshikage said, rubbing the brim of his police hat.
Issei was reeling. Matsuda was beat by his father? Issei suddenly understood the boy a lot better.
"That poor kid…" Raynare said, probing for information. She saw Issei's reaction, and knew of his history with the boy, and she wanted to fill in some blanks.
"Yeah, Sadao was beating up on the wife one time, and the kid, Matsuda if I remember right, stood up for her and tried to fight the father. He got hurt so bad he was sent to the hospital and we had to get involved. As if that wasn't enough, the Mother died of cancer a few months later. That kid definitely drew a short stick, that's for sure." Officer Yoshikage spoke solemnly, showing his concern for the boy.
Issei's head was spinning. Matsuda had gotten hurt trying to protect his mother? And then...she died? And his Dad not only wasn't around, but he was an abusive asshole? Issei felt like he wanted to hug the boy, despite his bullying. They were two peas in a pod, both dealt a bad hand by a world that didn't care.
"That's awful…" Issei said quietly, talking to himself more than anyone else.
"It is that, definitely. Well, I'd better be going. Call me tomorrow when you're ready and I'll give you two a ride over to the station to get everything settled. Goodbye!" Officer Yoshikage said cheerfully. He tipped his hat to the two of them and left, Issei and Raynare waving him out.
Issei sighed. He wasn't used to socializing with so many people in one day. Between his first day at school, the meeting with the Student Council President, and everyone after, he was mentally exhausted. He crossed the room and flopped down on the couch. He looked at Sadao's handiwork. The glass in the window was fixed, though it looked kind of raggedy.
Raynare sat next to Issei and fell over on his lap, laying across him. "Something on your mind?" She said, looking up at him.
"Who'd have known he'd have such a horrible life?" Issei said, talking to himself as much as Raynare.
"Matsuda? So what, you've had a hard life too." She said, not intending to forgive the boy for a thing. The time she watched him beat Issei mercilessly had been more than enough to make her hate him.
"Yeah, I know. But...still. I know how he feels. It's...tough, not having anyone in the world to lean on." Issei said. He was absentmindedly stroking Raynare's soft raven-black hair, and it felt good for both of them.
"That's no excuse for treating you so terribly! You've had a rough time, but you didn't start bullying people for no good reason, so why should he?" Raynare asked. She was honestly shocked Issei was even trying to defend Matsuda.
"He was different, though. My step-parents might have been awful people that deserved what they got, but they never once hit me. Matsuda didn't have that luxury. His birth father, the very person who brought him into the world, beat him and his mother. I can't imagine what kind of effect that'd have on someone." Issei said. Despite being treated so badly by Matsuda, Issei couldn't help but sympathize with him.
"...I guess you're right. I still don't forgive him, though. I mean come on, he tried to kill you, like, two days ago. Did you forget?" Raynare said. She understood where Issei was coming from, but she still didn't quite agree.
"No, it's definitely still fresh. Don't get me wrong, I still hate the guy, I just...get him a little more, I guess. I'd like nothing more than to bash his face in." Issei said, looking down to Raynare and smiling brightly. The words didn't match the smile, so to any normal person it would look kind of ridiculous, but as for the Fallen, she agreed wholeheartedly.
"That's more like it. Well, next time he tries to kill you, don't hold back, okay? And hit him once for me." She said.
"I doubt he'll try again. Not to toot my own horn, but I beat him pretty well, I think. I wouldn't know, actually, since that was my first fight…"
"Issei, you threw him into a tree. I think you won. But no, his kind of person definitely isn't done. He'll try something again soon, I know it. But, that's a problem for another day. Let's talk about something else." Raynare said, poking his chest with both of her pointer fingers.
"Anything in particular?"
"Oh, I know. Issei~." She said, in a tone that, to Issei, sounded like angels singing. Which, he guessed, it pretty much was. "You could tell me where we're going later…" She said, and reached up to fiddle with his hair from below him.
"I can't. It's a surprise. Telling would ruin it." He said, a smile on his face. She grinned. He was resolved. Issei was 100% sure she'd enjoy it, sure enough to not even tell her what it was. She was happy he'd try so hard for her, even if it irked her not to know where they'd be going.
"Give me a hint…" Raynare said, in a pitiful but good-natured whine.
"A hint...hm. Okay. Here's the hint: it's a secret."
"Issei!"
Alright! Next chapter, Issei and Raynare's first real date! I might take some extra time to work on it, because I'm not great at writing dates. Oh well, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Leave a review! Oh, and don't be afraid to send me a PM. As long as it's coherent and I can understand it, I will answer. Try me.
Bye!