Chapter Four - Fallen encounter

* 19 Hyoto Lane, Kuoh Town *
Rias stood at the front door of a house she had visited only once before. This time however she did not simply let herself inside. Issei stood beside her. He had unlocked the door but neither had moved inside. A chilly early evening breeze ruffled the plants in the small front yard. It raised goosebumps on Rias' skin and she rubbed her hands against her arms to warm them while taking the biting chill off. Issei watched her hands move along her arms from the corner of his eyes. As he opened the front door he stepped inside but held the door open with his body.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked her softly.

Rias nodded, "Yes" she answered almost a bit too quickly. Her voice smooth despite the unease that she felt in her chest.

"It's quite cold tonight." she added as she passed him into the small hallway that led to the rest of the house.

Issei closed the door and removed his shoes as he spoke to her.

"Yeah, it feels more like the middle of winter than close to the end tonight." he felt unsure while talking to her.

It was stupid. He had spoken easily with her before. Why was it so much harder now?

The pair walked further inside and made their way to the living area. Issei's stomach growled at him. Once again it was demanding the sacrifice of a small kingdoms worth of food to sate it. He sheepishly smirked at the sound.

"I suppose I will have to eat dinner soon." he said the words not particularly to Rias and more just stating them out loud to fill the silence.

"I can cook for you." she spoke up immediately. As she did her face took on a mild blush.

"I mean I wouldn't want you to aggravate the injuries to your back. The welfare of my peerage is a top priority of mine after all." her voice wavered, seeming to be trying to justify her reasons to be staying with him and Issei nodded.

Truthfully he didn't want Rias to have to need a reason to spend time with him but the pretext of him requiring care did make things feel a lot more comfortable between the two teenagers.

Issei smiled to her and showed her to the kitchen. "Feel free to use whatever you want. My parents eat dinner at work during the week and recently with my appetite having grown so voracious, I have been eating everything." he said to her feeling more comfortable now.

"I am just going to have a quick shower. Won't be long." he added as he went off to the bathroom.

Rias was glad that he had left after that last comment. As he mentioned the shower an image of him, more specifically his topless body had flashed through her mind and Rias had been forced to fight off the blush that threatened to overtake her cheeks. She looked around the kitchen and saw everything that would be needed to prepare a meal. Truthfully, she didn't cook often as it was something that the staff of her estate took care of, however she quite enjoyed the culinary arts and was a good home style cook. She found chicken breast and pork rashers in his fridge that looked to have been defrosted. It seemed Issei really did make his own food. Rias began grabbing various utensils, vegetables and herbs as she heard the sound of a shower starting from further in the house. She busied herself with preparing the food to avoid a repeat of her blushing incident.

Issei stood under the warm jets of water as they cascaded over his body. He rolled his shoulders and felt the muscles twinge and pull against the scared and torn skin of where the talons gouged into his flesh. Issei's body was healing quickly but not so quickly as to have already healed the wounds. The water stung as it came into direct contact with the pitted wounds. He moved the shower head so that the water struck his head and shoulder blades and only indirectly washed down his back. That relieved the majority of the throbbing pain. He spent close to twenty minutes in the shower. He could have cleaned himself much quicker but he was in no rush. That isn't to say he didn't want to spend time with Rias alone. He just didn't know what to say to her now that they were alone in his home.

Issei turned off the water, grabbed his towel and made his way to his room. Dark, damp patches formed on the carpet as his feet padded along the soft flooring. Issei pulled on the same tracksuit pants and singlet he had worn the night before. He usually avoided wearing the same clothes over again without washing them but these were the only clothes that fit him well as when he had bought them six months ago he had deliberately gotten them a few sizes too big so that they would be baggy. Now they fit snugly. He returned to the kitchen to see Rias finishing up quite the delicious looking meal. Issei's nose told him it was lemon fried rashes and Cajun chicken with herb encrusted vegetables. Issei grabbed the dishes and Rias looked as if she was going to argue.

"You cooked, the least I can do is to serve it all up." he said as if the matter was already resolved.

As he carried the food to the dining table, he missed the small genuine smile that graced Rias lips briefly.

The two sat down on either side of the cosy table. Rias smelt her food, something she liked to do before starting and looked up to Issei. He sat slightly off centre on his seat allowing his tail to raise up behind him and curl over like a balboa monkey's tail. She saw a ravenous grin spread across his face before he dug into the food with all the subtlety that a Saiyan can ever possess. Rias wasn't as shocked as the first time but it was still a touch disconcerting to watch. She ate her own food and for the next few minutes both ate in silence. Less then two minutes later Rias could see Issei place his cutlery down out of her peripheral vision. As he did he spoke to her.

"So I was wondering, your family must be quite well off from what I can gather." he said it as much as a statement as a question.

Rias swallowed her food and placed her own cutlery down before replying.

"Yes, my family is a noble household. An apt comparison would be that my father holds a position similar to that of a Duke. Further my brother is the current Lucifer. We also have many business's that are either owned by the family through trusts or invested heavily in by my father. Our main produce is energy as we hold most of the refineries in the underworld." she said all this with her voice as sweet as ever but a matter of fact tone edged its way into her words.

Issei was impressed to say the very least. He had never met a noble before or someone who could claim such input into so many different areas of employment.

"That's pretty incredible." he began. "Does that make you a duchess or princess or something?" he asked her slowly.

She giggled at his words, "No silly. I'm an heiress."

Issei looked at her with a neutral face. To him an heiress and princess may as well have been the same thing. Issei opened his mouth but found he had no reply to her statement and so simply moved the conversation along asking her about life as a noble.

The conversation flowed between the two of them for over two hours without either noticing the time. Issei learnt that Rias was the next in line to be the head of the Gremory family as Sirzechs was ineligible as the current Lucifer. She told him of the balance of power in the underworld with the four Satans sharing the balance of power. Issei had always been under the impression that there could only ever be one Satan but that was proven wrong. Satan being a title that aligned more closely with King or Crown Prince and the four individual titles of Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan and Asmodeus denoting each of the Satans.

Rias also took an interest in Issei's family and he told her about his parents work and how their schedule meant he only really spent time with them on the weekend. He also told her how he was now considering getting a part time job to try and pay for all the extra food he would now need to buy with his drastic change in metabolism. Rias was unhappy with the idea of him having a regular job on top of his duties as a member of her peerage but Issei explained that he didn't want to have to tell his parents yet about why he was needing so much more food or had to replace all of his clothes that now no longer fit him so suddenly. At that last comment Rias jumped to her feet.

"I can fix that for you now she stated." her voice chirpy at the prospect of being able to fix part of Issei's reason for employment.

Issei didn't get a chance to reply as she bee lined to his bedroom. He followed and watched as she opened his wardrobe and cast a spell of some sort across all the clothing. Issei knew what she was doing now though. She was changing the clothes in his cupboard, just as Akeno had done to make his uniform fit him. Now however all his uniforms, formal and casual clothes would fit him properly.

He smiled to Rias as she turned back to him. "All done." she stated simply.

Issei scratched the back of his head. "Thanks. You don't know how big a help that really is." he spoke the words genuinely to her.

The pair smiled at each other dumbly for a moment before Issei yawned deeply. He felt instantly embarrassed at having done that in front of Rias. Rias laughed however.

"Oh look at the time. It is almost eleven." she said as she looked at the digital clock on Issei's study desk.

"Do you want stay?" Issei blurted out. He instantly felt his face burn. Why the damn hell did he let that slip out?

"Oh" Rias replied turning away from him. Inside she felt butterflies dance in her stomach.

"Id like that." she replied, with her words coming out quietly, almost a mumble.

She turned back to Issei after a moment to avoid him seeing her blush again. Issei was unsure what to say but quickly recovered.

"I will sleep on the couch. You can have my bed," he offered genuinely.

He wanted to move away before his nerves got the better of him. Rias shook her head.

"No I can't drive you from your own bed. It's definitely not right." she argued back in a sincere voice.

"It's fine. The couch folds out into a bed. I sleep out there when it gets too hot in here as the air flow can be kinda stuffy in here." he explained to her.

After a bit of to and fro between the two, Rias agreed to Issei giving her his bed and they said goodnight to each other before going their separate ways.

Issei lay on the fold out couch. His tail tucked under the cushions so that there was no threat of his parents accidentally seeing it when they came home. If they came home tonight. Issei had gotten a blanket before settling down. He lay topless underneath it as that was how he liked to sleep. A smile crossed his lips before he closed his eyes. Who would have thought that Rias Gremory would be sleeping in his house alone with him. Albeit in different rooms.

In his bedroom though Rias herself lay awake for over an hour. Issei made a strange feeling build up inside her. She had never felt it before. She had felt similar flutters for someone else that was close to her before but never so rapidly building and intense as these were. It was a hot burning feeling that warmed her up entirely. But at the same time he made her feel calm and secure. All her worries flashed away when they spoke. It made no sense. They had only known each other for less than a week. Could feelings begin that fast. Her feelings for the other person she held close had grown over a long time. Rias bit her lower lip and chewed it lightly as she decided what she would do.

Throwing caution to the wind, she climbed from his bed. She no longer wore her school uniform. She had magically replaced it with a turquoise light nightie. The material flowing down her body. She moved over and opened the door to the rest of the building. Her devil eyes gave her perfect vision in the dark and so she wouldn't have to turn any lights on in the dark house. Rias soon found the extended couch with Issei asleep on it. The couch had extended into almost a double bed. Issei lay on his side facing into the centre of the bed but kept his body to the right side. Again Rias paused. Should she do this? Would it freak him out? She took a deep breathe and slipped onto the mattress next to him on the left hand side and lay so that she was facing him. She closed her eyes and smiled contently as she pulled the excess blanket around herself and placed a hand on his bare chest before falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.

* Seaside cliffs, Issei's Mindscape *
Thick perspiration dripped from Issei's brow and pooled in the bottom of his helmet and neck guard. He was once again kitted out in the armour Ddraig had conjured for him. Additional straps hung from his gauntlets and boots with moderately sized sacks affixed securely to the end of them. A sturdy heavy duty backpack was strapped to the back of his armour as well. Each sack currently contained three iron plates. The plates that were hanging from his arms and legs were five kilograms each. The ones in his backpack weighed ten kilograms each.

Currently Issei was half was up the three hundred metre seaside cliff face. The seas swelled and smashed against the rocks below him as his body burnt. Each thrust of a limb or pull of a muscle caused a burn deep within himself that Issei relished. Ddraig was curled up at the top of the cliff. The dragon had accompanied Issei here for his training but saw no reason to actually exert himself. Issei reached the top of the cliff and pulled himself over the ledge. He stood on shaky legs and cracked his neck. "More please." he spoke through heaving breathes to Ddraig.

The dragon's eyes glowed and another set of iron plates added themselves to the sacks and backpack Issei wore. The additional thirty kilograms threatened to pull him down into the dirt. Issei started jogging down the small track that led to the beach. From there he would run back along the beach to the base of the cliff and climb back to the top before adding another set of weights and doing it all over again. It was a brutal workout and now in the fifth round Issei was exhausted. But that wasn't going to stop him. He was loving it.

Rias opened her eyes to the sounds of seagulls calling to each other. She looked up and saw an open sky. Thick white puffy clouds floated along and the bird she had heard circled and flew this way and then another. This was not what Rias had expected to see when she woke up. She stood up and found herself on a grassy hill. The sea stretched out before her. She looked to her left and saw a track leading down to a beach. The waves far out from the sand banks indicating a low tide. She looked to her right and froze. To her right was a cliff, the grass turning to dirt and rocks a few metres before the edge. But lazily sprawled across those rocks was a dragon. A giant red dragon of monumental size.

So far the dragon seemed to have no interest in Rias, its gaze was firmly focused on something beyond the cliff. That didn't really matter to Rias though. If the dragon turned to her, he may very well consider her either a threat or food. Probably the latter. She had no interest in being the latter.

Rias concentrated on her magic and summoned a Gremory portal to take her home. Or she would have but it didn't come. She tried again and then a third and fourth time. Still nothing. Rias huffed quietly and started to fret. If she couldn't use magic how would she get out of here? More importantly how did she get here? Was Issei ok?

Her worries were cut short when a voice spoke. "Come over here little devil. Don't worry. You are perfectly safe."

Rias looked to the voice and saw the dragon staring directly at her. She felt fear rise up inside of her but she didn't want to falter before the titanic beast. If Rias couldn't use magic then she was defenceless against the dragon. She could try to spread her wings and fly but even if they summoned correctly she could never out fly a dragon. She set a determined and hopefully brave look to her face and approached the dragon. As she got close, the dragon turned from her and went back to looking over the cliff face.

"So you are the one who saved Issei." he stated in his guttural voice.

Did he say Issei? Rias wasn't sure what to make of that and a suspicion was growing in her.

"Where is Issei?" she asked in a voice that was not as bold as she would have wanted it to be.

The dragon dipped his head toward over the cliff and Rias looked. She could honestly say she did not expect to see what she saw. A man in full armour of blazing red was climbing up the cliff. Ropes of some sort with sacks hung off the man and Rias could tell that the things he carried were very heavy. Rias watched as the man climbed. He would reach the summit soon. Rias knew it was Issei, something instinctual simply told her that the man in the armour was him. If that was Issei then the dragon would be. She turned to the dragon.

"Are you the red dragon emperor, Ddraig?" she asked in a respectful tone.

The dragon nodded his head and smiled at her. "It is a pleasure to meet you Rias Gremory." his voice friendly yet rough.

A scrapping noise stole Rias' attention and she turned back to watch an armoured gauntlet grip onto the rocks and pull an armoured body up along with its heavy load. As the figure stood up he spoke two simple words.

"More please." great heaves of breathe coming out before, after and between the words.

Ddraig nodded but as the figured went to move he stopped.

Issei was shocked indeed. Rias stood before him. She was standing right next to Ddraig and wearing a night gown of a light flowing material in the colour of turquoise. Issei dropped the weights from his hands and pulled the helmet from his head. His body relishing the clean, crisp air on his face and the clear breathes he could take in. "Rias?" he asked. "What are you doing here in my mind?" the words plain and filled with confusion.

"This is your mind?" Rias slowly said aloud. More a statement then a question per say.

Issei spent the next quarter of an hour explaining his mindscape to her, how he had created the area from the nothingness using his Ki and how the armour he trained with and weights he carried had been created by Ddraig. The dragon added in points when Issei's own explanations were lacking in an area. Rias nodded thoughtfully and slowly as she finished listening to the explanation.

"So that is why I couldn't use my magic here." she inquired.

"Actually that was my doing." Ddraig clarified. "I felt the connection to the Shoki in Issei's mind as you attempted to call forth magic and stopped it. I was not aware that you were the one doing it and simply barred the magic for Issei's protection should you have been a hostile entity."

Ddraig's voice took on a protective quality as he spoke of defending the young Saiyan. Although he had resided in the warrior's body for the past 15 years, he had only truly met Issei in the last week. In that time he had grown to like the boy. His resilience, strength and courage spoke to the dragon and he was not inclined to let anything happen to his new favoured host.

"Well that clears that up, but how did you get here?" Issei asked of Rias.

Rias explained how she had struggled to sleep and then joined him on the extendable couch and lay a hand on his body before going to sleep. She had already put the pieces together herself and realised that the physical contact they shared along with the relationship of King Piece to subordinate pieces is what had allowed Rias to enter the mindscape. It was probably Issei's potent Ki reserves that had made the transition happen without Rias' input. Issei tried his hardest but despite that, all he really heard was that she was sleeping next to him. The thought invading his mind and planting an image of her body in that night gown next to him. A blush took to his face and Rias saw it. She knew where that redness had come from and a matching crimson graced hers. Issei decided to change the topic and informed the pair that he would be resuming his training however Ddraig shook his head and stopped him.

"I believe your body has had enough for now. Strong you most definitely are but you are seconds from collapse if you continue and even you can over do it. I think a different training is in order."

Issei accepted the words of the dragon. He did feel shattered beyond belief and hadn't been sure that he would have made it back up the cliff with yet another set of weights added to his load. Ddraig's eyes glowed and the straps, sacks and weights vanished from Issei and the beach below. The armour remained as Issei had no intention of removing the heavy metal. Every second he wore it strengthen him and he would not waste that.

"What training will I be conducting?" he asked Ddraig.

The dragon turned to his body so that he could address both Rias and Issei equally. His voice once again resumed the air of the wise and proud sage as he spoke to the two teenagers as if they were his students.

"I believe Rias will be able to help you learn to control your Ki properly. At the moment you can only create balls of raw and unrefined energy. Simple masses of swirling Shoki and Genki with barely the right control of Yuki among them. While powerful, if proper control and technique was applied you could refine your Yuki and form the pure Ki into a proper source of power that could be used in an absolute magnitude of ways."

Rias agreed with what Ddraig had said and stated that she was more then happy to help Issei learn to control his Ki in the ways that she learnt to control her destruction magic. The pair moved away from Ddraig and found a patch of open grass that was both comfortable and appropriately spacious for their activities. With her magic re-enabled, Rias began by changing her clothes into something more practical. A plaid skirt with dark leggings, cream blouse and red jacket that she left open. He hair tied up in a yellow bow.

Both her and Issei sat cross legged and Rias began to instruct him on controlling his inner flow of energy. She started by having him only produce a minuet quantity of energy. It took him only a few seconds before it appeared in the palm of his left hand and raged as it had always done. Rias explained that with her magic, the energy needed to be focused and refined so that it would become stable and then she could properly manipulate it. She demonstrated by creating an uncontrolled ball of destruction energy and then focusing the energy into a refined form. As she worked the ball went from a swirling unpredictable mass of purple, black and red energies and became a solid 'baseball' like shape of the same energies. It pulsed now in a slow rhythmic form with an almost calm intent.

Issei was impressed by how easily she achieved the refined energy. Rias smiled as she looked at Issei's look of awe at her power. It made her feel good to have impressed him with her skills.

"I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to apply the same technique to control your Ki. Mine is made from manipulating ether through my Shoki. Yours is both Shoki and Genki manipulated through Yuki. That being said though, the process should still be the same." she spoke in that sweet voice that was music to Issei's ears.

Issei nodded with a look of determination that only a Saiyan can get at the prospect of training. Or eating for that matter. Issei looked at the tiny ball of Ki still raging in his palm. It was perhaps the size of his thumb. He focused on the Ki, willing it to bend to his desires. Time passed, five minutes, ten minutes, and then fifteen minutes. Neither Issei nor Rias spoke or moved and the Ki changed in no noticeable way. The efforts of manipulating the Ki was mentally exhausting to Issei. He was having to dig into his Ki pool to keep the small mass in his hands and summon other threads of Ki to focus on manipulating it.

After the first hour of no success he placed his second hand on the other side of the Ki and focused the Ki between his palms as if he was going to clap them together and squash the ball of white blue light. It was slow work but slowly the Ki changed shape. The tendrils of renegade power slowly receded and the mass became more spherical. A grin took to Issei's face as he saw the progress he was making but that grin was enough to break his concentration and the Ki jumped in size to as big as his palm and resumed the undisciplined raging state that it previously upheld. Issei cursed his own wandering mind and fought against the much larger mass with his willpower and focus. This was his energy and it would bend to his will. Unfortunately he was becoming exhausted and it appeared the energy had won this round. Issei closed his hands around the Ki and changed his focus, absorbing it back into himself. He collapsed onto his back and splayed out exhausted.

Rias moved over and lay down on her back beside him looking up into the sky.

"That was a really good first effort. It took me absolutely ages to learn to control my magic. The same with Akeno." Rias said to Issei.

She didn't want him to be disheartened. Her worry was for naught though as Issei turned and smiled to her.

"Thanks. I know I will get it eventually. Just have to practice." he said to her with his goofy grin. The pair lay next to each other contently and talked about nothing of any real consequence. Food they liked. Music they listened to. Things that interested them. Rias asked if they were awake or asleep here and Issei explained that to him he thought of this place sort of like a lucid dream and that she wound be completely refreshed when she awoke. Rias was thankful for that as she had worried that she would awaken as if she hadn't slept. It would be Wednesday and she hadn't liked the idea of being exhausted on whilst trying to maintain her high levels of academic performance, that would result in her losing part of her weekend most likely to going back over the studies that would have been lost.

Issei told her he was going to collapse the mindscape and return them to their bodies. He instructed Rias to hold onto his hand and to close her eyes. She did exactly as he said. Within less than a minute she felt as if she was falling through the ground and then she was asleep once again.

The pair awoke facing each other. As luck would have it they were face to face on the couch. Morning sun broke through the blinds of Issei's living room and created a soft light in the room. They had no way to be sure of the time but Issei knew it would be around six. He freaked out for a moment that Rias may have been seen by his parents, a beautiful girl with bright red hair was rather hard to miss but considering he hadn't been woken up by his irate mother he assumed that they has spent the night sleeping at the office. It was a consistent enough occurrence for the hard working parents.

Both teens smiled to each other and each had to fight off the urge to blush. Rias stretched her body out with her legs and arms pushing out as she scrunched up her face in a way that Issei found absolutely adorable as he sat up. He was still topless and Rias found herself fighting off the urge to stare at his chiseled body. His tail came out of it's hiding place as he shifted his body toward the edge of the couch and tickled Rias' face. She giggled at the soft touch and Issei looked back to her. He saw the merry look on her face and twitched his tail to cause it to tickle her more. His tail darting around her face tickling the soft areas of her neck, under the jaw and anywhere that would get laughter.

The game continued until Rias rolled away and flopped onto the floor of the room having come off the makeshift bed. The pair burst into deep laughter at that. It took a moment to control themselves but once they did Issei returned the couch to its seating form and took the blanket to be washed. Rias watched him leave with a content grin to her face before becoming embarrassed at standing in just her nightgown now that day light illuminated the room. She summoned a fraction of her power and changed her clothes into the outfit she had worn whilst teaching Issei in his mind. With that done she sat on the couch and awaited Issei's return.

Issei had taken the blanket to the laundry before going to his bedroom to find a shirt. He didn't mind being topless but he wanted to be a bit more dignified around Rias. Throwing on a comfortable grey 'Echo' shirt he wrapped his tail around his waist and went back out to her. He found her sitting on the couch.

"Are you going to stay for breakfast before school?" he asked her. She shook her head and Issei was disappointed. Rias saw his look and clarified.

"I always eat breakfast with my parents, brother and his wife. It is a tradition of ours." she truly didn't want to see him disappointed.

Issei understood having a cherished tradition with a family member. It was like how his mother enjoyed cooking breakfast for the family when she could.

"You seem to be healed up nicely so I will see you Sunday for club activities." Rias said in a chirpy voice to Issei.

"Of course" he replied to her with a soft smile before continuing, "No activities for the rest of the week?"

"No, it seems unfair to take all the time of the peerage. I understand that people have their own lives and don't want everyone spending all their time on just working for the peerage."

Issei smiled at her reply, it was compassionate and showed that while she was the master of her peerage, she valued each of its members as their own people.

With their next meeting planned, the symbol of house Gremory appeared beneath Rias and she vanished from the building, Japan, Earth and back to hell. Issei made himself breakfast and then went to his bedroom so that he could get himself ready for school. It would be another day of listening to lectures and participating in activities whilst spending all of his time focusing on ways in which he could strengthen himself or develop his Ki further.

Over the remainder of the week Issei saw members of the Occult research Club and smiled to them as he passed them. Kiba and Akeno stopped for small chats with him, with looks of jealousy being thrown his way by other students when he did. He also noticed that as they chatted other people seemed to take a little more notice of him. Through association Issei was no longer able to slink into the shadows as easily as he previously had. Koneko avoided outright conversation but would acknowledge him with a nod of her head as they passed in the halls.

Wednesday and Thursday nights his parents had returned home but with their long hours and very heavy work loads conversations had been minimal with Issei completing his homework, eating dinner early by himself and then entering back into his mindscape to continue his training under the guidance of Ddraig. Now the routines contained both physical and Ki manipulation aspects which would allow him to enhance himself further all around. Overall Issei was happy with the new routine that he was developing for himself and very keen to see how much further he could develop himself.

Saturday morning arrived with Issei waking before his parents, whom often slept in on the weekends to compensate for their lack of rest through the week. He ate a modest breakfast by Saiyan standards before returning to his room to complete all of the longer assignments that had been given out to the classes by his teachers throughout the last week. He was less then halfway through when his parents began making their way about the house. They both apologised for having had to work late into the night throughout the week but Issei told them he completely understood. Truthfully he found it easier then having to conceal his tail or avoid breaking things by mistake. Already issei had destroyed quite a few stationary items by not noticing his own strength and snapping, pencils, metal rulers and a cheap calculator without meaning to. Controlling his strength was as much an issue as learning to grow it.

After completing the long assessments, Issei spent the rest of the day with his parents. They chatted and played cards. Issei was paranoid that they would notice his tail. His father did make a comment about him having clearly grown well from his workout regimes and that he was getting much bigger but Issei was able to play it off by saying he was using the school gym everyday and had recently undergone a growth spurt. The answer satisfied his father who commented that it was good that his son was taking care of his body as well as doing well with his studies. His father believed that someone should have the balance of both a healthy mind and body to be happy in life. The family had a delicious dinner cooked by Issei's mother with his help. Unfortunately the portions although big did not fill his unquenchable appetite and after his parents had gone to bed Issei found himself raiding the fridge for left overs and a few turkey sandwiches.

Stomach now appeased Issei went to bed and resumed his training. He continued to split his training time in half. His first half was spent once again at the cliff face that he had climbed the night Rias stayed over. He had avoided it over the past few days but was now curious to see how much more he would be able to attain. Tonight he was able to achieve eleven loads of weights before being unable to continue. From there he removed the weights but kept the armour on and practiced controlling his Ki as Rias had taught him. By the end of his time in his mind Issei was still unable to fully control the Ki into a refined orb but he was able to stop it from growing uncontrolled or throwing out excess tendrils of energy. He understood that mastering the raw power would be something that would take time and each achievement was a crucial win in learning to master the various aspects of his Ki.

Issei awoke Sunday morning excited to once again complete some activities with Rias and the peerage. He ate breakfast while listening to his parents chat before telling them that he would be spending the day with friends, his parents were happy to see him going out with other teens and happily waved him off as excused himself. He quickly showered and dressed in loose fitting black jeans, a white shirt and a plain orange jacket. With that done he left for the Occult Research Club. When they asked what he would be doing with his friends, he had told his parents that he was now in a club but for obvious reasons he didn't elaborate.

* Occult Research Club, Kuoh Academy *
Issei entered the clubhouse with a thin sweat to his body. He had ran over from his home. As he ran he realised that he was running at a speed that would have put the track and field team to shame and he was barely exerting himself. He was curious to know just how fast he could go and resolved to perform sprint training that night to find out. Was he faster then Usain Bolt now?

Inside the club the other members sat and chatted among each other. Kiba greeted Issei first with a friendly smile. Issei returned the greeting and nodded to Koneko who inclined her head to him just as she had during brief encounters at school. Issei had barely taken a step further in when a mass hugged itself into him. He looked down and saw Akeno's smiling face close to his and her very womanly body pressed against him.

"Hi Issei." she chirped excitedly whilst dragging his name out in a seductive manner, as she did her body pressed further against him. Issei felt his mouth dry up partial as he looked at the gorgeous young woman pressing herself to him, this was definitely a change from the casual chats in the halls of the main school building.

"Hey Akeno." Issei was all he was able to get out in an almost hoarse manner before he would lose the ability to speak.

Kiba and Koneko laughed under their breath in the background at Issei's expense. Akeno dragged Issei over to a couch and sat him down. She took a seat right next to him and began quizzing him about the Tuesday night he had spent with Rias. This was the first opportunity she had to drag the details from the Saiyan boy and Issei felt uncomfortable explaining everything to the Devil girl but she kept up her efforts, practically forcing him to tell her parts of what had happened. He deliberating omitted that she had slept at his place or that she had visited his mind. It seemed Akeno was going to ask him further questions when Rias appeared in the room via her teleportation. Issei had been saved it seemed.

Rias greeted everyone, her eye twitching just ever so slightly at how close Akeno and Issei sat next to each other. No doubt Akeno had been her usual self.

"I have had a thought for an activity that we can do today." she directed toward her whole peerage.

Everyone in the room gave her their undivided attention.

"I have a few more hunts that I am clarifying for you to do Issei but I was thinking we could all do some training to improve, Issei I would like you and Koneko to spar if you wouldn't mind." her voice was authoritarian. The voice of a natural leader.

Issei was definitely interested in sparring with a partner but he feared he may hurt Koneko. The small girl looked over to Issei and before he could speak up she said, "Alright I will train with him but I can't promise I won't break our newest member." her voice louder than he had ever heard it, confident and a clear challenge to Issei.

Issei looked at her and grinned. His Saiyan blood would never let him back down from a challenge that clear. Issei stood up immediately receiving a disappointed whine from Akeno. It caused him to blush ever so slightly but he followed Koneko as she led the way outside. The other members of the peerage following behind them. The Occult Research Club was the only school club to conduct activities on Sundays. The others all used the school facilities on Saturday mornings. This meant that the emptiness of the school as well as the thick wooded area to the rear of the school which the club building was tucked away in gave Rias' group a fair degree of privacy with which to practice their skills.

That being said Rias summoned and placed out wards that would cause anyone without magical talent approaching to forget why they were moving toward the club area and instead create a craving to go eat a meal at their favourite restaurant. It was a non-invasive way of adding an extra layer of privacy to the activities of the club.

Kiba moved away from the group and sat by a thick oak tree. He adopted a relaxed meditative stance with his eyes partially closed. Issei watched him as Koneko warmed up on the large dirt patch that they would spar on. Swords began to rise from the ground and float around Kiba parrying and slashing at each other. Kiba's clear control of the swords via his mental focus greatly impressed Issei.

From his observation of the night, Issei brought his attention over to Akeno and Rias. The two glamorous girls stood roughly twenty paces apart and began to fire small bursts of magic at each other. It was clear that they were only warming up their own abilities before beginning a duel of their own.

Issei conducted a few quick stretches of his own and then adopted a relaxed stance. Koneko raised an eyebrow at him and dropped into her own fighting stance. As Issei had never received any formal martial arts training he was unsure if the stance was formed correctly or not and simply watched Koneko from his relaxed position. His confidence told him that he would be able to handle anything she sent his way with little difficulty.

The small girl began to move and circle around Issei. Never letting her feet cross over the other. Issei simply turned his body to watch her. As Issei shifted his left leg to keep her squarely in his vision a blur moved toward him and a fist struck his right cheek and caused him to stagger off balance further. The blow caught him completely off guard. Even his enhanced reflexes hadn't registered it. There was no time to ponder these actions though as a straight punch ploughed into his stomach and Issei felt himself thrown back and he crashed into the dirt on his back. He looked up to see Koneko where he had just stood.

Still in her low stance, fists up in a frontal guard. A broad smile played across her face. Issei knew what she was thinking, that he wouldn't underestimate her again. She was right to think that. She was fast and strong. A broad grin broke Issei's face, this was brilliant. He pushed his arms under himself and launched his body into the air with a back flip. As he landed on the balls of his feet he broke into a sprint at Koneko. He balled up his right fist and threw it at her face. He caught nothing but air as she bobbed under his arm. Koneko drove her left elbow into his ribs and caught his outstretched armpit with her right arm. A short roll of her midriff and shoulders later caused Issei to be thrown over her and sprawled out onto the dirt.

She was good. Issei had no idea how strong or fast she was. She may have exceeded him in both regards and with her obvious training in martial arts this would be a difficult fight to win. Issei would have to be smart. First he would have to learn more about her fighting style. That would mean attacking more. Issei rolled to his right and sprung back to his feet. Koneko was kind enough not to attack him whilst he was down. Perhaps she didn't want to end up in a grapple. Issei rushed back at her.

This time he fainted to the right at the last moment and threw a hard knee at her. His knee stuck against her forearm. Koneko had turned into his strike and blocked it. The force still drove her slightly backward but put her at no disadvantage. Issei dropped the leg and was forced to block a right hook. As he raised his own left arm to catch the fist his body was left open and Koneko took advantage with a quick series of three jabs to Issei's left shoulder socket. The muscular joint strained under the harsh blows. He retaliated with a right uppercut of his own. The strike never connected with anything but air again as Koneko leapt into the air using her right fist still held by Issei as a pivot. As she went over him Koneko drove her left fist into his shoulder socket again driving the arm backward at an uncomfortable angle.

Completing her flip she sprung toward him as her feet met the ground and drove both knees into the same socket. Issei resisted the urge to scream out as he was driven into the ground. Koneko had completely dislocated his shoulder joint. Nothing was broken or torn but the joint had been utterly dislodged. Issei's had dropped from Koneko's fist. The strength evaporated from his arm. Add nimble to her list of fighting characteristics.

Issei grabbed his arm at the shoulder joint and pushed firmly, driving the arm back into place with a grimace to his facial features as a sharp burst of pain confirmed the correct placement of the arm. Issei rolled onto his back and looked at Koneko. She was still standing defensively but a confident smirk covered her face. Time for Issei to go on the offensive again. He rolled his arms under himself. His left arm screaming in pain at the movement. It would stop soon. Issei curled his midsection and pushed himself airborne toward Koneko like a cannon ball fired from the ground. The look on her face said she hadn't expected that and Issei thrust his legs out toward her in a rudimentary rabbit kick.

His driving legs struck and it was the small girls turn to be thrown to the ground. Momentum kept Issei moving and he rolled his body to land on all fours. Koneko was already on her feet and Issei sprung at her. He threw a left jab. She dodged it. He followed with a right cross. Her left forearm blocked it. A right jab came toward his head. His left hand glanced it away. He had successfully blocked her. He swung the arm in from the block and bent it so that the elbow would crash into Koneko's face. She dropped her body and dodged his arm. Issei's momentum took him over her and Koneko struck his ribs hard causing him to lose balance as air was driven from his lungs causing him to cough and gag for air. She then swung a leg out and tripped him into the dirt.

The pair sparred for over two hours. Issei found that Koneko was incredibly talented. Her strength and speed rivaled his. It seemed that physically they were both equal but there was one crucial area where Issei's Saiyan nature gave him a clear advantage. Stamina. Koneko was tiring at a much faster rate than Issei. As the duel went on she found herself in the dirt more and more often. Issei was able to learn some of the basic patterns to her movement and had even begun to predict some of her attacks. The pair would probably have never stopped fighting if Rias hadn't interrupted the fight.

Issei had just thrown Koneko to the ground. Both their bodies were sporting a series of rather nasty bruises, grazes and small cuts. But nothing that wouldn't heal easily. Koneko had climbed back to her feet and gone to charge the boy when Rias had flown between them with her wigs out and a ball of energy pointed at the pair.

"Enough." she stated. "I have let you two beat the hell out of each other for long enough. I am glad you are both improving but if you continue then someone might end up needing proper medical care." she stated the words with an authoritative tone that told both warriors that arguing was total folly.

Both Issei and Koneko groaned and pouted at having their duel stopped. Akeno laughed at their synchronized response.

Everyone returned inside and found a large spread of food laid out for them.

"I asked for your appetite to be accounted for." Rias informed Issei.

The group sat and began eating. Issei wolfed down his share of food before he began bombarding Koneko with questions about her techniques and training. She answered his questions openly and with detail. It seemed that the spar had done well in opening her up to him. Koneko explained some of the basic holds, stances, strikes and guards that she used. Issei stood and adopted the positions as she explained them. Koneko moved around him and corrected his body. Feet and arm placement. Hip extension. Knee and elbow angle. These were just a few of the points she corrected him on. As they finished Issei turned to her with a broad smile across his face.

"Thanks Koneko, I feel much more prepared now that I have had that spar with you and the techniques you showed me. I promise I will practice them all." his words came across in a tone of voice that spoke of genuine happiness.

Koneko let a small smile grace her lips. "You're welcome Issei." she replied softly.

Issei felt a finger jab him in his sore shoulder and he turned to have Akeno before him. Everyone had finished lunch and Kiba was getting ready by packing a bag that he would use later for a job. Rias sat at her desk looking at something on a tablet.

"You're battle obsessed Issei. Come spend time with me instead." Akeno said to Issei in a sultry tone.

Koneko and Rias rolled their eyes at her antics.

Issei just felt his temperature rise at the way her words suggested things that he was sure she would insinuate.

"We um we can chat sure." he stuttered out.

Issei took a seat on the closest couch. Akeno next to him. He noticed that Rias watched the pair from over the top of her tablet. She looked almost jealous. Akeno began asking Issei questions about himself. Surprisingly they were innocent questions. The same sort of things that he had spoken to Rias about. He asked her questions back and found that he had some similar interests as the seductive girl. Before long the other members of the club joined in the conversation and Issei enjoyed getting to know all of them. They spoke at lengths about shows they enjoyed watching on Netflix or streaming online. The group had a wide variety of interests. Kiba enjoyed drama series and nature documentaries like David Attenborough. Koneko liked horror shows and American horror story was her favourite. Akeno enjoyed romance and lifetime shows. Her answer was something Issei could have predicted. Rias let the group know that she enjoyed watching anime the most and Issei agreed saying that it was also his favourite thing to watch.

Before long it was approaching time for the group to finish activities for the day. Everyone said their goodbyes and each made their separate way to their own places of residence. Issei arrived home and immediately went for a shower. The grime and sweat from the day was starting to make him stink in a rather unpleasant manner. He wore long sleeve clothes to avoid the questions his parents would ask about the many bruises he was now sporting. He ate dinner and returned to his room to rest before he would train with Ddraig. Issei was about to close his eyes when his phone vibrated. He picked it up and swiped the message open.

The hunts for you have been confirmed. Here are the details of both. Start your search at them. Don't go tonight. Let your body rest first.

A map pin drop of two address' came up. Both were in rural areas outside of Kuoh Town and Issei would only be able to do one a night. He thought for a moment and hoped that whichever one he did second wouldn't be able to hurt any innocent people while he dealt with the first. Either way he wouldn't be able to do anything tonight. His body was too sore and worn out to fight effectively.

Issei entered the world in his mind and resumed his training. He augmented the training with practicing the techniques he had learnt from Koneko. Ddraig assisted by summoning three long metal poles into existence. The poles floated around Issei and struck out at him. He blocked and parried the strikes. Incorrect form was repaid with a harsh strike from the metal. Even under the armour he wore in his mindscape the blows hurt. By the time Issei was ready to awaken into the physical world, his self in his mind was exhausted. Thankfully the exhaustion of one plane of existence didn't transfer to the other.

* Wooded area. Six kilometres east of Kuoh Town *

It was now Wednesday afternoon. Monday Issei had completed classes for the day and then gone to work afterwards. Without too much trouble he had tracked down the rogue devil. It had been in the form of a half bear creature and whilst it was indeed big, the creature had been almost too easy for Issei to slay. He had learnt from his over confidence of his first hunt to not allow the claws of the beast to make contact with him and ended up killing the beast in less than five minutes. When he had reported his success to Rias she had praised his efforts and wished him luck with the second rogue.

Tuesday night Issei had gone hunting for it however he had been unsuccessful in locating the creature. Reports that Rias had forwarded onto Issei stated the creature to be some form of arachnid and therefore Issei had spent his time looking for a large spider of some kind but despite that he had been unable to track down any sign of the beast. In the end he had returned home empty handed and taken his frustration out on his training against the floating poles that night.

Tonight however Kiba accompanied Issei. The swordsman was keen to see Issei in action but that wasn't his only reason for tagging along. He was also a skilled tracker and tactician. These skills would make the hunt far more effective. They walked along a rough partially ill kept dirt lane. Rural and farming estates sat either side on large properties but due to the late hour, few lights could be seen coming from the dwellings. Issei had searched this area the night before without any success. They reached the farm that was the address Issei had started at the day before. The one Rias had sent to him in her message.

"This place was completely abandoned yesterday. I couldn't find anything." Issei informed Kiba quietly.

"Let's try again." the knight replied.

Issei nodded and then jumped over the metal gate onto the drive way that led to the dilapidated homestead. Kiba paused every few steps along the track and examined the ground and area for signs that Issei was unaware of. Eventually he stopped and turned halfway up the driveway moving into a field and began walking through the dead crops. He stopped after a few minutes and looked to Issei pointing to the ground. Issei frowned at Kiba not understanding what he meant. Kiba pointed again and mouthed to Issei, "Beneath us."

Issei understood this time and waited patiently as Kiba listened intently. Kiba suddenly darted to the left and Issei felt his reactions take charge as he leapt backward. A pair of large chitinous pincers had erupted from the ground. A sword materialized in Kiba's hands and he swung the blade at the protruding appendages sinking the blade into the closest one. A screech filled the air and a disgusting creature rose from the ground in anger. It was at least seven feet long. Eight legs. A long tail tipped with a pointed barb. Pincers on the end of its human like arms. The face was sort of human. Mandibles clicked in front of the mouth and the eyes were far too large and dome shaped as if looking everywhere. It was a scorpion of some sort. They had found their target.

The creature lunged with its tail at Kiba and Issei darted forward. He launched a hard kick into the side of the creature and it was knocked off course. The tail passed to the left of Kiba and he swung his sword upward slicing into the flesh of the tail but unable to sever it. Kiba stepped back out of reach of the pincers and the rogue devil turned to stab at Issei. He charged a blast of unrefined Ki in his right hand and tossed it at the beast. The Ki struck the left pincer and disintegrated a large section of the chitinous armour and natural weapon. The creature charged at him and Issei stepped into the charge ducking under the pincers that went over him as they attempted to grab a hold of and mutilate him. Issei unleashed a volley of punches into the creature's torso, bobbing and twisting to avoid the revolting creature's mandibles as it attempted to bite at him.

Kiba took advantage of the distraction Issei was creating and jumped above the creature coming down with a brutal swing of his blade that severed the beast's tail clean off half way up its length. The devil let out a loud cry and Issei charged another small ball of raw Ki which he forced into the face of the devil. It exploded on impact and blood from the foul creature coated Issei as an eye, cheek and mandible were obliterated.

Kiba followed through with strong strikes against the monsters chitinous hide. His sword was barely able to breach the thick insectoid plates though. The creature proceeded to body charge Issei and drove him onto his back. Issei rose his legs and delivered a powerful thrust kick with them to stop the creature getting on top of him. The beast staggered and the young warrior focused in on the soft flesh of its underbelly. He rolled backward onto his feet and darted around the creature. His speed was too much for it and the beast lashed out in frustration.

As it did, Issei shoulder charged the devil and it was knocked prone onto its side. Kiba didn't need to be told what to do, he pivoted and drove his sword into the exposed flesh. The long blade gutting the creature. Bile, intestines and body fluids poured from the beast and Issei prepared a large Ki attack. He worried about accidentally hitting Kiba and so dove in and onto the creature. Its legs kicking into him. He grabbed a leg with his left arm and tore it from the body as he forced the unrefined Ki ball into the gaping hole of the beast's belly. The Ki exploded and the giant scorpion stopped moving immediately. A large hole blown through its back.

Issei climbed back to his feet with the barbed leg of the devil still in his hands. Both the Saiyan warrior and Devil knight approached the head of the creature. Its eyes were darting around. Unable to move or fight back Issei thrust the creature's leg into its head as Kiba did the same with his sword. A final twitch shook through the body of the beast as it died.

The pair left the site of their successful hunt tired but in high spirits.

"That was a brilliant move exposing the weak flesh man." Kiba said happily to Issei as the walked down the lane.

"Thanks." Issei replied in as jovial a voice as Kiba.

Climbing back over the gate and onto the main track, the two made small talk about the coming week. As Issei was explaining an issue he was having with his math homework, his instincts flared and he shoved Kiba to the side and dove with him. Less then a millisecond later a spear of light impacted where the two had been. The boys looked up to see a pair of blacked winged individuals floating above them. Issei felt a severe hate rise up inside of himself as he looked at the floating people. Both had large black feathery wings. The one to the left was a man with sharp dark blue eyes and short black hair. He wore a stylish double breasted suit. To his right was Yuuma. She still wore the same revealing and slutty outfit that she had donned when she had first attempted to kill Issei.

"Disgusting. His reflexes are still intact it seems." Yuuma spoke to the other fallen angel with revulsion in her voice.

The boys sprang to their feet and readied themselves.

"Look Raynare." the male fallen angel said with a sneer of derision. "The evil little brats want to play."

At that the pair summoned spears of light and launched them at Kiba and Issei. Kiba sliced through the spear that came toward him and remained unharmed. Issei dodged the spear that arched at him and summoned a sphere of raging Ki. He unleashed the Ki toward the fallen angels who moved to avoid it.

"That is quite the powerful attack. Too bad his aim is so shockingly bad. Does he ever hit anything." the male spouted in a mocking voice.

Issei watched the pair dodge his attack. They were at least sixty feet up and far too high for him to jump at. He would be unable to fight them here.

"What do you want?' Issei yelled at the pair of fallen angels.

"Well I still want to kill you my dear Issei. When I heard you were still alive I knew I had to finish the job. I hate to love a job unfinished." Yuuma or as the other angel had called her Raynare replied with a derisively mocking laugh.

"Fuck you!" Issei yelled and jumped up at her.

He may not have been able to reach but the jump made him far closer to unleash a Ki attack. As he reached his apex he threw another blast of Ki at her. She countered with a spear of light but as the Ki reached it the spear was disintegrated and the blast continued toward her. She veered but lost some feathers in the process. As Issei returned to earth he could see the partially healed burns to her lower abdomen that he had caused in their last encounter. Yuuma screamed as her right wing was clipped by the Ki ball moving past but both her and her partner were unprepared for the blast to explode behind them.

The blast caused them to be pushed by its force down toward the ground. The fallen angels stopped themselves before impact but were now much closer to Kiba and Issei. Kiba charged toward the male but had to dodge a barrage of light spears that forced him to back peddle. Issei rushed toward Raynare. She attempted to create a light spear but he had already leapt up at her before she could release it. Like lightning his fist connected with her chin sending her careening backward and into the ground.

"Damn it Raynare." the male yelled and threw a spear of light at Issei as he pivoted toward the ground. Issei was unable to dodge it and so struck the spear away with his arm. Coming into contact with the projectile burnt against his skin but it was still launched away from his body. He charged at Raynare as she climbed to her feet but had to dodge another pair of spears fired at him. This caused him to slowdown and Raynare leapt to the sky.

"Dohnaseek. Withdraw. Let us move back and regroup for now. They killed the devil we came for anyway and we can deal with these two another time." Raynare yelled sharply toward her partner as she dodged another blast of unrefined Ki that was thrown by Issei.

This time both fallen angels braced for the explosion of the Ki detonating and rose higher into the air. Dohnaseek continued to fire blue spears of light at the boys causing them to be forced into backing away and allowed their two enemies to escape.

As the fallen angels disappeared into the night Kiba turned to Issei. He had fresh cuts to his clothing and skin from the spears of light he had ducked and weaved around in his attempt to close the distance with Dohnaseek.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked Issei in a tone of annoyance and disbelief.

"I don't know." Issei replied "But we had best tell Rias immediately."

Kiba nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket. His fingers brushed quickly across the flat surface of the phone as he sent the message before the pair waited patiently for a response. Less than a minute later the Gremory house symbol illuminated the ground near them and Rias appeared along with Akeno and Koneko. The pair approached her and her symbol extended to allow them access. Once everyone was inside they all vanished.

Edited on 24 December 2020