"Can you die for me?"
Issei's irises widened out of sheer shock and wanting to momentarily gain some distance, Issei immediately shoved her off his chest. She was actually surprisingly heavy; or at least, a lot heavier than she looked.
Issei wasn't strong by any means and never willingly worked if it wasn't for a grade, but still though… he should easily be able to push her with relative ease considering she was a small 5'2 girl. Thinking back on their first encounter, he did actually remember her weighing about the same, but for some reason his memory didn't associate that characteristic with her profile.
She actually weighed about as much as Motohama did and while his best friend was skinny, he was still 5'8 which was not really something to ignore. Issei estimated her to be approximately 140 pounds, since Motohama weighed 130 and she was a bit heavier.
Yuuma eyes widened for a second, probably not expecting Issei to take the initiative, but she quickly caught her balance and her feet skid on the ground she was standing on. In all of his effort, Yumma was pushed back only about a foot away and that's when she was caught off guard.
After the pathetic attempt to gain distance, Issei started to back up while keeping his eye on her. Getting over her surprise, Yuuma regained the seductive look from before and put her index finger on her chin and looked up in a mocking expression full of thought.
"What did I say?" She asked with feigned innocence, before her face morphed back into the grin she had on from before. "Issei, you continue to surprise me. What's the matter? I didn't think you could get more serious than you usually are. It didn't seem possible for a man like you." She started laughing, no that's not right, cackling at Issei like a deranged lunatic.
Not seeing the humor in it, Issei narrowed his eyes and thought of a proper response. How does one deal with someone who just blatantly asks another if they could die in such a casual manner like it was nobody's business? Leaving the situation would be his first priority, but Issei wasn't really much of a runner.
Cowardice or not, he had to make sure that he would get back home safely to his mother. She would kill him if he suddenly just died on her. Wait... "Issei. You're all quiet now. Not that that's anything new, but that dumb look on your face makes this day sooo much more worth it."
Yuuma turned around in a circle and her clothes shred from her body as black feathery wings protruded from her back. Her body shined a purplish underglow with a outer black tint covering her arms, legs, chest, and genitalia as the light expanded until it engulfed her entire body.
Once it had died down, Yuuma was dressed in a black leather two piece outfit with gloves that almost reached her shoulder and black combat boots that went up to her thighs. Additionally, she gained about a half a foot, Issei noticed.
Well, if her wings were anything to go off of, that probably eliminated running. Issei's options seemed few and far in between but he tried not to show it. Whether it looked like that in person is hard to say, considering he didn't have a mirror on him at the moment.
"You've mistaken my indifference of our 'date' as seriousness. In fact, it was more leaning towards boredom than apathy if anything. Regardless, you have my full attention now." As Issei went further and further on, Yuuma seemed to get more and more amused, until finally she started laughing out loud once he had finished.
It was a much more pleasant sound to listen to than the cackling from earlier.
"Never change, Issei. Never change. Even now, you still somehow make me long to see you at your lowest point. When all hope is lost and there's nowhere to go, my mind just aches not being able to understand what makes you tick. Even when you'll die, you'll still probably never give me the satisfaction of watching you crumble.
"Oh, what a sight it would be to see the strong hero bow down to lil ol' me. Still, you never manage to infuriate me or disappoint me. You impress me until the very end, Issei, and you've yet to prove me otherwise. It's a shame that you have to die; you would've made for an interesting boyfriend."
Issei considered putting up a fighting stance, but that would no doubt fail. He really didn't have any prior experience in fighting nor did he know any legitimate poses that would be productive instead of making him look like a clueless amateur.
His fists were clenched at his side, trying not to look confrontational, but the suspense was killing him faster than Yuuma ever could. His bangs were shadowing his face right now as he looked down on the ground, but he realized that's probably what Yuuma wanted to see; him caving under the pressure.
Issei finally looked back at Yuuma with what was hopefully a calm look on his face, as he opened his palms in a desperate attempt to relax himself. "And why do I have to die again? Forgive me, if I'm a bit confused over here. Could you at least explain what you're talking about before you kill me?"
Dammit, that was awful. His voice didn't quiver, but his wording allowed her to be able to hold his curiosity over him. It wouldn't surprise him if she just killed him right now just to spite him, letting him die an unsatisfied death without any real answers.
"Oh, well you'd have to ask God. He's the one that caused all this to happen." She raised her shoulders and shrugged while chortoling. "It's quite ironic. Out of all the people to be gifted with such unluckiness, you were probably the only one who wouldn't use it after awakening.
"Killing you right now is a such a waste of time, seeing as you really wouldn't pose much of a threat due to your seemingly endless disregard and lack of motivation, but nevertheless orders are orders."
What the hell was she talking about 'unluckiness' and 'awakening'? And what was this 'it' she is referring to? It made no sense in the context he was given. Perhaps he was gifted with some sort of power, but trying to summon it with anything besides sheer will would certainly get him killed the moment he attempted to do anything.
He could try to do an act of faith, and hopefully be able to clutch something out, but there was really no sustenance to act on such little knowledge. She could be lying to him after all; he would have no clue on how to separate lies and deceit from the truth, given that he wasn't the one who held all the answers. Wait. "God is real? For some reason that is harder for me to wrap my head around than all of this new information."
Raynare threw her head back in laughter. "Yes, but not in the way that you think. I bet you're thinking right now 'Shit, I regret not praying enough before. Perhaps I could've prevented this. Maybe I can still pray to him right now, and somehow get out of this situation. Please, God. Please save me!'"
Her hands were clasped together and she bringed it up to her shoulder, turning her head in the same direction her hands moved. Great, he was getting mocked. Fan-fucking-tastic.
In fact, he did think that for a brief second, before he realizing that sounded retarded and the chances of it working were most likely close to null. Hmm. Yuuma looked more like a fallen angel of some sorts than anything holy so perhaps he could threaten her with God's divine wrath or karma, but if she had truly fallen from grace she would probably just taunt him about God while proceeding to choke him to death.
There wasn't a high probability of her actually fearing God in any way; she seemed way too confident for that to be true and she basically pretty much just laughed at his name. Fuck.
He could ask all the obvious questions, like 'How did she get her powers?', 'How strong was she?', 'Are there other people out there like her?', 'Who did she work for?', 'What did she mean by God not being in the way he imagined?' 'Why him?'.
However, she obviously left out a lot of details on purpose; choosing to be vague by opting for the usage of proprietary pronouns. It didn't look like either God or her were going to help him any time soon.
Issei considered flattery, distracting her, propositioning to do anything she wanted, and many other things but at the end of the day, he would still wound up dead. The only question left was... "Why haven't you killed me before? You could've easily killed me when we met, or anytime before now. And why haven't you killed me at this moment yet?"
He needed to know if she knew where his house was; if his mother was safe or not. The best case scenario would be if she would somehow be coerced into telling him everything he needed to know, and then letting him go. Nevermind, that wasn't the best case scenario. It was too unrealistic to even be considered a scenario. He'd be okay with dying, knowing that his mother would be safe.
Thankfully, he wasn't stupid enough to ask her to leave his mother alone as a dying wish of some sort, invoking her cruel nature by allowing her to proceed to murder his mother soon after.
"Well, a couple of reasons actually. First, I had to make sure that you really were the one. When I was told that the person I was looking for was you, I was sure there had to be a mix-up of some sorts. There was no way the person I'm staring at right now is the one that needed to die.
"Additionally, I kept you around since you gave me a good time and I'm allowing you this last bit of conversation before killing you, for bring out my curious side. You deserve it for humoring me so much. I went through all this trouble of getting you alone, and I really deserve a break. I set a deadline for myself, but it was more personal than anything. You see it's the weekend and the bar is open, I think I'm well overdue for a couple of drinks. But that's merely just unnecessary details."
She waved him off with her gloved hand. "I believe the answer you are looking for is actually pretty straightforward…" she paused and looked down, letting her bangs fall over her face, before looking back up with a purple glint in her eyes "I was ordered to."
Well, that was much more information than he had been hoping to get, but it still raised more questions than answers. For one, he was alone many more times than just walking home with her right now.
She could've pulled him in a hallway or found someplace where no one was looking, and probably even killed him when he was walking to and from school. She could've even killed him when he walked out his house barefoot that one time this morning.
It was pretty obvious that she wasn't anyone super important considering that she was the one sent to kill him and the requirement for that seemed null. He just didn't know how high or low she was on the tier list of fodder though.
She talked about the weekend, but the bar is always open throughout the week; perhaps she had a job or worked a shift or something. No, that was definitely a stretch. All he had to work on was his interpretation on her wording, and he really didn't have any concrete evidence that she was telling him the truth. Damn.
"Well, I enjoyed our time while it lasted. Nevertheless, I have things to attend to. Farewell, Hyoudou Issei.." She extended her right arm forward, and a pinkish spear of energy formed horizontally in the air in front of her.
Not the blinding white color he associated with angels, but then again Issei had no idea if that was an accurate assesment or not. She clenched her fingers around it as she held it as twirled it around in her fingers, slowly walking towards Issei. Nowhere to go. She accelerated her pace and suddenly thrust her spear forward at him when she got close enough.
He managed to dodge the spear by moving to the side and twisting his body out a little. The thrust was actually really tame in comparison to a faster speed that Issei was sure she could put out; she was toying with him.
The spear of energy disappeared from her hand and in the corner of the eye he saw another one form in her left as she thrust it in his chest and managed to puncture one of his intestines.
Catching his footing, Issei gripped the upper shaft of the spear in an attempt to stop its path further in his stomach. It hurt like hell and he felt his hand get third degree burns as he was forced on one knee.
There was a cylindrical shape of burnt black skin on his palm and his fingers from where he grabbed the spear. It was increasingly getting blacker and blacker as it spread across his hand from the original place where it burnt it to a crisp.
Yuuma cackled again as she held the middle shaft of the spear firmly with one hand, preventing him from pulling it out. "Valiant attempt, Issei-kun. Good try, but not good enough."
Issei had blood dripping out of his mouth and he was breathing heavily. "Damn...you...Yuuma." he managed to let out in the middle of his breaths.
She started laughing with her melodic voice again, "You're still calling me by that name? For your information, Issei darling, it's actually-" Yuuma grabbed Issei's back with her free hand and with her other hand, she pushed her end of the spear into his stomach with more force than he was pushing back.
She leaned closer into his ear and finished, "Raynare." as she made the last push with increased effort and it pierced through his stomach and came out the other side. Issei's body fell into her spear and into her arms as she cradled him on her chest. She then took her hand away from his back and let the spear go, allowing Issei's body to fall on the ground with a thud.
The arm Issei used to try to wrench the spear out fell limply to his side on the concrete floor beside him. The now self-proclaimed Raynare left the spear of energy stuck inside Issei's body as she just watched him as he laid down. A breeze of air blew on his prone body laying on the ground and his bangs fluttered in the wind, before resting back on top of his face.
Raynare looked at Issei's body with a serene look on her face and softly let out a "Goodnight, my sweet prince. Sorry it had to be this way, Issei."
Raynare turned and walked away, but unbeknownst to her, Issei was still alive but was hurting him to breathe. Issei brought his unburnt hand and gripped the spear of energy, trying to shatter it into pieces since there seemed to be no infrastructure to its formation but rather just a conduit of energy channeled into a shape.
It didn't appear to work, and Issei's hand fell tiredly on top of his chest, feeling his aching heartbeat beating slower and slower. Issei heard a sound similar to when the first spear disappeared from Raynare's hand, and struggled to open his eyes.
He could barely see the outline of the spear dissipating from his body as it thinned out into air. He didn't know if it was due to a time limit of some sort, an intervention from Raynare, or him somehow contributing to its disappearance, but he was thankful for it for a few seconds.
The cold breeze blew painfully on his exposed chest and he coughed up blood. Nevermind, give him back the spear. He closed his eyes once more and tried to embrace death, repeating to himself that his mother was safe even though he knew that there was a high chance that it was a lie and she really wasn't.
"Still alive I see. That's good. I can still use you." a beautiful silky voice reached his ears.
'Go away Raynare' Issei thought to himself because he wasn't able to say it out loud. 'Let me rest in peace.' he thought before realizing that her voice was a bit different than Raynare's.
While Raynare had a melodic tone to her voice, this person sounded a bit more ecstatic and of a higher pitch. Issei struggled to open his eyes one last time and faintly saw an extremely beautiful woman with crimson locks of hair that suited her gorgeous blue eyes well.
'Damn. I'm starting to hallucinate now. It's strange that my subconscious formed a girl though; I'd more or less expect to see my mother instead rather than an accumulation of my perception of beauty. Oh well, time to hit the ol' bucket.'
Issei's eyes closed for the last time, and the last thing he heard before he was whisked away to the realm of the dead was a woman saying "Live for me." while he felt his consciousness slipping away from him.
"Yo. Partner." Issei immediately shot up his upper chest from laying down. What the fuck was that? It was a deep manly voice with the bassiest sound Issei had ever heard. It was surprisingly relaxing, but it just caught Issei completely off guard.
Issei breathed heavily and could feel sweat dripping down his forehead from all the stress. He remembered visions of fire and right now felt like his whole body was on it. He couldn't even recall if it was a dream or a nightmare, and struggling to produce a recollection of it just hurt his brain trying to think about it.
Issei let out a deep breath and instinctively uncovered his blanket, before realizing he was in bed at home. In his room. Last night's events came flashing back towards him. Going to dinner with Yuuma, no Raynare, gorgeous feathery onyx wings, purple and pink energy, and something about red hair.
Issei got up out of his bed and headed to the bathroom. Putting his sweaty palms on the marble sink, he raised his head to look at the mirror. His eyes looked even more dead than usual and he looked like shit.
Issei washed his face with cold water and, still feeling dirty, turned off the faucet and went into the shower to let the water run as he just stood there under the showerhead and took it in introspection.
His wet hair was now dripping down on his shoulders as Issei looked up at the ceiling, he could feel the hairs on his head tickling his body and the nape of his neck. Perhaps he should get a haircut. Whatever, it didn't matter anyways.
There was no one Issei wanted to look good for, and it didn't bother him when it normally rested on top of his head messily. It was only in the shower and during the rain did Issei realize just how long his hair truly was; it almost reached his shoulders, but Issei corrected his thoughts after feeling it a little bit more. It wasn't really long but rather just uncut.
His bangs were resting on the top of his face, held down by the running water, and his sideburns tickled his ear. Issei poured soap on top of his head a little too excessively, and just let it wash down his hair and the sides of his body.
Issei slouched forward and put his palms on the wall of the shower as his lower back rested on the ends of the opposite wall. What was he going to do? Was he just to go about his daily life and hope that he never saw Raynare again? How was he still alive? Was it all just a fiment of his imagination? If so, were the things he said aloud to no one in particular heard by other people?
Issei thought of all the possible avenues he could take to find out. If he could somehow the takeout box from last night, or perhaps go to the restaurant and ask the staff if they remembered him and a purple eyed girl from yesterday, that would confirm what happened last night did indeed happen.
Issei stood straight up, and proceeded to scrub the dirt off his body. Dammit. He didn't get a good look to see if his body was layered in the dust of concrete, and it was too late now since the water washed it all away.
His body no longer felt on fire, but it finally started to register the aches, but he wasn't sure if that was from sleeping in a weird position or if it was somehow proof that last night's events were actually real.
Issei turned off the shower and dried his hair with a towel, before using it to dry the rest of his body. He opened the sliding door of his shower and instinctively reached for his old clothes since he forgot to get some new ones to wear.
He patted the wooden bench where he usually left his clothes, but he just felt wood until finally he came into contact with some sort of cotton material. He immediately opened up his eyes, tiredness aside, and pulled back his sliding door like it was a shower curtain.
On the wooden bench he only saw one pair of his white boxers that clearly had been in use from yesterday. Did he get out of bed and walk to the shower with only his boxers on? Issei closed his eyes and furrowed his brows, massaging the sides of his head with his fingers to hopefully coax out some information from his amygdala.
He turned up with a blank, damn useless brain. He would check for sweat on the underwear, but Kuoh pretty much stayed cool for the entirety of the year, and he didn't recall sweating during his 'death' yesterday.
That's a thought. Perhaps, he was in some sort of afterlife currently, with everything being exactly the same. A more pronounced thought popped into his head; one that made more sense. Didn't Raynare say that God was real? By that logic, he could assume that Satan was also real by contrast.
This was hell. It had to be, there was no way that heaven would put him back in such a boring ass life. He had to have been punished of some sort by somebody or someone. That was the only possible explanation for his current predicament. No, no, no. Issei shook his head.
He still didn't know if Raynare was telling the truth, if it was even real to begin with, and even if it were real and she was telling the truth, the assumption that Satan was real as well didn't have to be true. After all, Raynare did say that God wasn't in the way that he imagined, Issei remembered. Damn, he was too old for this shit.
Bringing his arms back up from the place of leaning forward on the wooden bench, Issei stood up straight and slid the door to his shower back closed; seeing the condensation of water molecules forming on the glass panel.
Issei looked back to the mirror, and he saw that he still looked like shit, with the only exception being his spiky drying hair and the bags under his eyes being more noticeable. He didn't have a resting bitch face per say; it was more like a permanent appearance of someone on suicide watch.
Sighing, Issei grabbed the towel again and flattened down his hair as best as he could, not with the intention of being presentable but rather trying to not draw attention to himself from an irregular hairstyle.
His hair wasn't being complaint and pushed back up defiantly, but at least it was the messiness that Issei was usually accustomed to, if not a little bit messier. Whatever, it would go back to normal in about an hour or so.
Issei slouched again and looked down on the floor, with his hands supporting himself by gripping the marble sink in the same position he was in before, but was interrupted by his alarm going off from the other side of his room.
Gripping the marble, Issei raised his head back up to look at his face. His eyes were fully open, but he still managed to look more dead than he probably looked when Raynare killed him. He looked like shit, and as a result, could be considered 'shitfaced'.
Issei brought his body back up off the sink and headed nakedly back into his room, with his boxers in tow. He dropped his boxers back on the floor, reminding himself to wash it later since he couldn't let it stay in the drying machine the entire day and he didn't have time to wait for the washing cycle to stop spinning.
Unable to find the school uniform he had on yesterday or the day before, Issei opened his closet and took a new pair off a hanger. He was actually able to find his same socks and shoes in front of his bed. Strange, he never ever put them there before.
Lifting his shirt back up to check on his chest, Issei quickly found out that his stomach looked perfectly normal, with no signs of burnage anywhere. Welp, whatever. He supposed he would have to check on the restaurant today afterschool, WAIT WHAT?
Issei immediately patted his pockets before realizing that his phone was not on his person. "Mom", he called out realizing his door was open and she could probably hear him. After a few seconds of no response, Issei went to go turn on his computer to find out what day it was before he heard a faint "Yes?" back.
Issei quickly put on new socks, leaving his old ones on the floor, slid on his shoes and tied a knot as he exited his room, making sure to gently close the door behind him.
Issei walked to his parents room and stopped right outside the closed door. He pondered entering the room for a second, but decided on just waiting outside talking to his mother. "Mom, what day of the week is it?"
He had to know. "It's Monday, Issei. Weren't you paying attention the past three days? Honestly." she chastised him. Three days. Three whole fucking days. Issei opened his mouth to ask her what happened in the past several days, but decided differently and closed his mouth.
"Sorry Mom, I forgot. I'm going to school now. Bye! Love you."
Where the fuck was his backpack? Oh yeah, he didn't bring it to school on Friday since all his core classes except math were on Thursday. That meant that he needed to bring it again today, so he went back into his room to look for it, eventually finding it laying down on the side of his bed; a place where he actually put things.
Issei turned off the lights in his room, and closed his door behind him as he headed downstairs. Grabbing his wallet instead of snacks, Issei was going to come prepared in case he decided on eating at the restaurant after school today. If he got robbed, he got robbed.
He only had 1000 yen on him, it really wasn't anything substantial but he had been mugged for less in the past. Additionally, if the restaurant staff were feeling uncooperative, perhaps sliding a couple yen would jog their memory a little bit. But, that would have to wait until afterschool. He just had to survive until then, perhaps literally if his memory of Raynare served him right.
Closing the house door behind him, Issei realized that he had no way of locking it. Patting his pockets for the keys, he realized that he had left them in his backpack.
He was going to knock on the door when he came home from the arcade on Friday last night since he already informed his mom he was coming back late. Or perhaps, a few nights ago would be a more accurate wording.
He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that it had been three days since he last remembered being conscious. Opening up his backpack, he finally found the keys that he was looking for. Thank fucking God.
Going to strap his backpack back up, Issei caught the sight of a piece of paper in the corner of his eye. Fuck, he forgot to finish his homework it seemed.
Reaching in his pocket once more to check his phone for the time, Issei grimaced as he was quickly reminded that he had no idea of where it was, and just started walking. Hopefully he wasn't too late to class.
Once Issei arrived at the courtyard, he was greeted with the sight of absolutely no one. It was empty of personnel, students and staff alike. Issei could practically hear the sound of crickets in the distance, taunting his isolated figure as he proceeded to walk to his first period to see if that was the right class at this time.
Once he arrived in front of his physics class, his eyes carefully glanced over the room. Issei knew he shared this class with Raynare after catching a glimpse of her schedule when it dropped on the floor in front of him during the afternoon that they first met. She was nowhere in sight it had seemed.
"Ah, Mr. Hyoudou. You're thirty minutes late. Join me at lunch and we can see if I can catch you up and ignore your tardiness." Glancing up at his physics professor, he still saw the same professor that taught one of his least favorite subjects. He was just as annoying as Issei remembered him; everything was normal it seemed.
Issei calmly walked over to the back of the class, where his desk was, while the other students were pointing at him behind his back and started whispering to each other.
Once Issei sat down, his physics professor continued his lesson from before and while Issei didn't sleep on his desk like he normally did, his eyes were fully open, he wasn't paying attention to a single bit of information that his physics teacher was droning on about.
Issei was daydreaming about all the directions that today could go. Was he even prepared for the reality of the situation? The truth might hurt more than Issei was ready for. Issei was listing off in his head all the symptoms of hallucination and even considered simulation theory for a bit. Goddamn it. Ironically, Issei was currently thinking more about physics than the other students in the actual class right now.
The bell rang and Issei left along with the rest of the class, but was grabbed on the shoulder by someone. Issei widened his eyes and turned around, about to hit whoever touched him, but stopped once he realized it was just his physics teacher. "Remember to see me during lunch, Hyoudou-san."
As the teacher saw Issei's threatened face with sweat trickling down his brow, he switched his tone to a more serious one. "Issei, are you okay?" his professor addressed him in a much more unprofessional manner.
Issei quietly panted as he tried to relax himself. His physics teacher had a free period, so he was free to talk to Issei. If only Issei had a free period as well, but catching up on the work from class could wait until Issei's lunch break.
"Hai, senpai… Senpai, do you perhaps know if Amano-san was sick today?" His teacher narrowed his eyes in a worried expression and Issei thought for a second that he said something wrong.
"I'm sorry, Issei. Who?" Issei repeated again, hoping to clarify to his teacher who seemed like he had no clue what Issei was talking about.
"Amano-san. Amano Yuuma. The new girl that started at the academy on Friday. Long black haired girl with purple eyes, about this tall" Issei gestured with his hand to a height around his upper chest, the same place that she rested her head on.
Raynare hadn't actually attended his physics class, since they both had it on B-day and Friday was A day, but the school should've still notified his teacher about the roster change; the city of Kuoh wasn't that big, with Kuoh Academy being on an even smaller scale.
A new student drew attention, evident by all the students interested in her on Friday; surely his physics teacher knew about her or had heard all the gossip going on in the academy. Issei had even heard some rumors about Issei being Yuuma's boyfriend.
The thought made his stomach curl. In the same place Raynare stabbed him in… Issei held his stomach fondly in his hand, promising it that he would eat more often now; he'd learnt his lesson.
"I'm sorry Issei, there's no one named Yuuma Amano attending Kuoh Academy. Especially not somebody with purple eyes, trust me, I would know. I would've seen or heard about someone with purple eyes at this point."
Issei's eyes widened and his physics teacher brought his other hand on Issei's other shoulder. "Issei?" After Issei didn't respond, he started lightly shaking Issei to get his attention. "Issei!"
Issei's blank eyes were wide open, with his mouth slightly open, his physics teacher kept shaking him with gradually increasing force. Issei's faraway look went away and his mouth closed so his physics teacher stopped shaking Issei but still kept both his hands on Issei's shoulders.
"Huh? Oh, sorry sensei. I'm fine, don't worry." His physics teacher didn't look like he believed a single word coming out of Issei's mouth, but that didn't matter to Issei. He opened his mouth again to ask if he could see his physics teacher's class roster but was interrupted by the bell, signaling the end of passing period and the start of the second period.
"Are you sure you're okay?" His physics teacher looked straight at Issei, trying to find any signs of deceit in his eyes. Issei relaxed back to normal, well normal for Issei at least. "Hai, sensei. I am okay. " The teacher looked back with an incredulous look, but took one of his hands off Issei's shoulder and patted his other shoulder before taking that handoff as well.
Of course, it had to be his physics teacher who saw him like this. Oh well, he seemed genuinely worried for Issei's wellbeing, so it wasn't like he was going to spit in his teacher's face. "Alright, if you say so. Take today off, Issei. I'll mark you down as a present. Do you want me to write you a note to the nurse, or do feel good enough to attend your next class?"
Issei thought about leaving school today on the premise of being 'sick' so he can walk to the restaurant sooner, but decided that it could wait while he came to terms with the situation. "Preferably next class."
The teacher went back to his desk and scribbled something down on a sticky note. He stood back up and outstretched his hand to give the note to Issei "Here." Issei took it in his hand and palmed it.
"Arigato, sensei."
Issei turned around and as he headed to his next period. Issei groaned, it was English. For some reason, Kuoh required people to learn a secondary and third language to graduate high school and Kuoh Academy took their learning very seriously. Or rather, the teachers did, until they didn't that is.
Issei chose to take Italian and English since his only other options were Chinese and German. Motohama took English and German and in classic Motohama fashion, childishly said 'Heil Hitler' whenever he could in the worst imitation of a German accent Issei had ever heard.
Oh, well. At least English was shared with Motohama, so this class should be a bit more bearable. Entering the class a few minutes after the bell had already rung, Issei's English teacher, who was Japanese mind you, said "Issei. So glad for you to join us. Do you have a note for me?" in all English.
Issei's eyebrow twitched. His English teacher demanded all talking in class to be said in English; you ask questions in English, answer in English, converse in English, it was fucking frustrating as hell.
Oh, that and his teacher still had a very heavy Japanese accent, and while Issei had no idea of how English truly sounded from a native speaker, he doubted his English teacher was coming off very clear. Every single word coming out of his mouth sounded wrong, even down to the pronunciation.
You'd think it would be really important for a foreign language teacher to know how to talk at least decently well so he can set an example to their students.
Thankfully, there was no participation grade, so Issei didn't need to respond in English unless it was for an assignment or he was called on to answer a question. Issei silently walked forward and handed the note his physics teacher gave him to his English teacher.
Sadly, it seemed like his teacher wanted to be difficult today and after looking at the note, turned it around and said to Issei "Okay Issei, I'll accept your tardiness if you read this to the class in English." Issei looked at his physics teacher's chicken scrawl on the note.
He definitely wasn't going to face the class when he was about to embarrass himself and said to his teacher in a slightly louder voice "This note excuses Issei Hyoudou from tardiness. I needed to talk to him afterclass, please allow him to come to class a few minutes late."
God fucking damn it, he sounded like a moron. Sleeping and not paying attention in class clearly didn't help his English speaking skills, but then again Issei didn't value it as something to actually learn. The usage of it in real life seemed practically nonexistent since Kuoh wasn't a tourist friendly city and since it was so small, everyone knew each other and practically their Zodiac Sign as well.
It seemed like it was more of a formality if anything; Issei couldn't imagine university professors being arsed to speak in a language they aren't fluent in while teaching four dozen young adults.
Issei looked back up at his teacher, silently hoping that he wouldn't have to read his physics teacher's name out loud in English. He wasn't planning on butchering it out a name in a language that it wasn't written in today.
Thankfully, his teacher seemed adaquetely satisfied and looked back at his students, saying "Excellent job, Issei. Let's clap for him, class!" The class halfheartedly started clapping for him as Issei awkwardly smiled and walked to his desk in the back.
Once he put his bag down, he decided that he was in fact going to sleep today. Issei immediately put his head down in his arms saying to himself 'fuck this shit'. Once the class bell rang, Issei was the first to head out for once, and realized he had forgotten to check to see if Motohama was here today.
No, he was definitely absent, Issei murmured to himself. He would've definitely heard Motohama's contagious laughter during his screw up at the beginning of class if he were truly here.
Sitting in their usual spot at lunch, Issei calmly just sat there in contemplation since he chose not to bring food today. Issei heard a voice behind him saying "Issei!". He didn't even need to look in the direction of the voice to know who it was; it's just Matsuda.
Matsuda sat down next to him. "Hey, Issei." He had to make sure though.
"Matsuda." Matsuda seemed surprised to hear Issei suddenly talk to him, and it wasn't in a greeting tone; it held an underlying question.
"Hai, Issei?" Issei looked directly at Matsuda.
"Is Motohama sick today? I didn't see him in our English class." It wasn't like Motohama to skip classes, but it wasn't out of the question. Issei needed to know.
"No, I haven't seen him at all today." Ah, so that's what it's like.
"Don't worry, Issei. I'm still here today though!"
Yep. Definitely hell.
The rest of the day passed by quickly. Issei had no means of contacting Motohama to ask him if he was okay, since he had no phone. He would have to go to his house later on today, it seemed.
During his last period of the day, Issei's U.S. History teacher looked happy that Issei was awake during class. He had better not get used to it. When the last bell sounded, Issei started walking to the restaurant from three nights ago. Even if he wasn't preoccupied, there was no way Issei was going to be alone with Matsuda as Matsuda looked through the Kendo Club's peephole.
Finally arriving at the restaurant, Issei saw the same salt and pepper haired man from yesterday outside the entrance greeting any possible customers. "Good afternoon, sir. May I interest you in trying out our new okonomiyaki? Our chef is cooking up something new today."
Did he not remember Issei? It had only been three days and while the smile on the man's face was definitely just for display, his ingenuity didn't seem to extend to his memory.
"Oh, no. I was just wondering if you remembered seeing me or my girlfriend on Friday? We saw you there as you were the one who introduced us to the restaurant."
The man looked confused and said, "I don't believe I've ever seen you in my life, Mr…." he left a pause and Issei filled in.
"Issei. Hyoudou Issei."
"Mr. Hyoudou." the man finished.
Still trying to get more information out of the man, Issei prodded "Then, perhaps you remember my girlfriend. Black hair, purple eyes. About this tall." Issei gestured with his hand and gave the man the exact same description that he gave his physics teacher.
"No, I don't believe I remember a girl matching that description either. Is there anything else I can do for you, Hyoudou-san? Perhaps I can still interest you with our okonomiyaki."
Issei thanked him, "That's okay sir, I was going to go inside anyways. Thanks for your help and cooperation. Sorry you couldn't help me out."
The man handed Issei the menu, saying "Don't worry about it. It's my pleasure and I should be the one saying sorry. I hope you have a good time tonight, Mr. Hyoudou."
He gestured inside with his hand, saying "Please, follow our waiter as he situates you. You will get seated shortly." Issei went inside and saw the waiter waiting patiently for new customers to come inside with his hands behind his back.
"Good evening sir, please follow me." It was the same waiter that bagged his takeout box on Friday, that was good. It meant that Issei could get done with his business here and leave without paying for anything.
Issei followed procedure and acted normal as he sat down in a chair tucked under the table and opened his menu, pretending to look at it. The waiter turned around, and was about to leave, but Issei called out for him.
"Excuse me, sir?" The waiter turned around and looked at Issei, with the menu placed back down on the table.
"Yes, sir? Did you call for me?"
Issei affirmed. "Hai, that was me. I was just wondering if you remembered me or a girl on Friday night. She has black hair and purple eyes. About this tall." Issei gestured with his hands for what was hopefully the last time today.
Seeing the waiter's confused look, Issei elaborated with the names of the dishes they ordered along with the approximate time they dined in. "Sorry, sir. I still don't remember you or the girl you described." Sighing, Issei thanked the waiter before heading back outside.
Issei walked towards Motohama's house; the restaurant was a dead end. He supposed he could ask the chef if he remembered cooking that particular dish twice in a row; that would confirm that he and Raynare did in fact eat there on Friday. But, the chef had most likely cooked that dish a million times and perhaps a few more on Saturday, Sunday, or perhaps even today.
Additionally, after getting stared at three times in a row like he was crazy, Issei was getting sick of the same confused look he was getting. He didn't have high hopes for the rest of the restaurant's staff somehow remembering something that happened only three days ago when two people already hadn't.
Asking Motohama about Raynare was a much better lead, considering he was the one that explicitly warned Issei about her in the first place. Ringing on the doorbell and knocking on the door, for additional effect, Issei waited for someone to open the door and greet him.
Issei heard a distant voice from somewhere inside the house "Coming! Coming!". Issei heard the door be unlocked before it was opened by someone. "Yes? Oh, it's just you, Issei. Come inside." Motohama's mother led him inside and seated him at the kitchen table.
"What can I do for you today Issei? I assume it's something important since you never really come to our house." Issei smiled back at Motohama's mother. She was a very nice woman, who knew Issei and his mother since Issei and Motohama were kids.
Issei hadn't visited her house since he and Motohama were young, but he still remembered the address and had fond memories of hanging out with Motohama in this house. But this was no time for reminiscing about nostalgic thoughts. "Indeed it is. I'll get straight to the point. Can I talk to your son? It's urgent business."
Motohama's mom's expression turned quickly from welcoming to extremely worried. "I thought you knew where he was. Motohama hasn't come home in three days. I was going to call your mother to ask her about it tonight if he didn't come home today."
Issei's eyes widened. This was bad. "Can I borrow your phone, please?" She brought a flip phone out from her pocket and handed it to him. Issei took it in his sweaty palms immediately. He quickly dialed Motohama's number, pressing a bit too hard on the keys, but he didn't care about that in the moment. It rang for a few seconds.
That's good; it didn't go immediately to voicemail. After putting it up towards his ear, he couldn't hear any ringing from inside the house. Straining his ears, Issei listened closer and could hear a faint ringtone from somewhere outside the house. Thank God the window was open, allowing him to hear outside.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but I gotta go now. Don't worry, ma'am, I will find your son."
Issei promised Motohama's mom as he gave her back her phone before quickly heading outside, almost slamming the door behind him as he heard "Okay. Be careful, Issei!" from behind him.
Now outside, the ringtone was much louder and clearer. It was a song by a female pop model that Motohama was obsessed with, so the ringtone lasted longer since it belonged to a song.
Motohama told Issei that he was in love with her voice and swore that he would have her hand in marriage the moment he graduated high school. The thought of Motohama made Issei frown. The things he would do to see his best friend smile one last time.
Issei continued to follow the sound of the pop idol, her voice progressively becoming louder and louder the closer he got, and it led him to a clearing in some trees behind Motohama's house. Issei looked for the source of the noise around him, but couldn't find anything.
Still hearing it, Issei was sure it was here as the loud voice indicated its proximity, but he didn't know where it was. Issei checked in all directions around him until he finally looked up, eyes widening in shock.
In front of him was a black haired woman dressed in black leather S and M clothing in the air, held steady by the soft beating of black feathered wings. Looking at her face, Issei saw her mesmerizing purple eyes that went beautifully along with her smirk.
She held a closed flip phone in her outstretched hand that was playing audio; Motohama's ringtone. She shook it tauntingly at Issei and she finally spoke with her silky voice as the ringtone died out; the pop singer's voice getting cut off by the forty second time limit.
"Hello, darling. Did you miss me?"
A/N: My muse is still here for the time being, so I'm trying to grind out some more chapters before it leaves again for another year. Just been tired lately. Also, fun fact, Motohama doesn't have a canon family name, so that's fun. Not being able to call his mom 'Ms. _" is a real pain.
On another note, Issei in this story is meant to be akin to how a teenager would act in the real world. This isn't a self-insert. He isn't me as Issei; his personality is not mine as that's not the point of the story.
This story isn't romance focused, so the pairings in this story shouldn't make or break your enjoyment of it.
Additionally, this story isn't supposed to be centered around a certain genre. I only put the genre as 'general' because I don't want anyone to see this fanfic, and click on it because it says 'romance', 'humor', 'adventure', 'mystery', 'angst' or anything like that. I might change it later on, but as of the moment it will stay this way. Have a good night.
