Plans Coming Together
Issei sits up on his bed with Irina sitting right next to him and she has a slight sense of concern "Did Xenovia tell you not to try anything with me?" she asks calmly
Issei nods while looking her in the eyes, but all she can look at is the wound on his shoulder.
Despite all that has happened today, Issei came very near
to meet his end, and this causes Irina distress. Even Issei is compelled to let out some emotion "Irina, you saved my life and you didn't even know it was me. No way of even trying to put it small, you were like an angel of mercy when I needed one, and I need to tell you that I'm really thinking of just ignoring what your friend told me." Irina blushes slightly and looks at the ground a little in her fluster at his words.
Issei then takes note of the string tied around her arm and is curious "What's that about?" and he points to it.
Irina looks at what he's pointing at and proudly claims "Oh, this is my weapon. It's a holy sword given to me by the church." She pulls it off and then it suddenly turns into a katana and Issei thinks that is awesome.
He then asks her if that is the weapon she used to save him; to which she nods. She turns it back into its previous form and they go back to the earlier topic. Rather, Irina gets back to being more casual because she has talked about why she is really here.
Issei listens as she is passionate about her words. "I'm am here on a mission, and yet I have the trouble to run into my childhood friend and crush, oh what am I to do?...Oh wait, I do have an answer and it is because our heavenly lord has granted me this chance…(holds her rosary) *CHU* Amen!"
Issei puts his hand to his chin and wonders what she is implying, but it sounds like she's saying that they can do something together "Does this mean we can go on a date? Because I don't really feel like doing the same nervous crap after today."
Irina giggles a little because she is, in fact, getting flustered "Yes, but I also have to make it part of my duty."
Issei, tired and needing to rest, lie back in his bed but Irina lies next to him, which makes him a little flustered now "Um shouldn't you go back to the guest room, Irina? I think we both need some sleep."
Irina's blush stays and her smile is warm "I'm making it my duty to protect you, and I wouldn't be doing it well if I left you alone for a second."
Issei just lets it be because his exhaustion is too great and he just closes his eyes and Irina puts a sheet over the both of them and falls asleep next to him. The two sleep very peacefully and there is nobody to separate them, just the moonlight coming in through the window illuminating the dark room with the silence only being slightly broken by their breathing.
Outside in the darkness, a woman with dark blue hair wearing red looks into the window. This woman is an ally of the fallen angel named Raynare, who took the name Yuuma to trick Issei. She is observing the young man and his friend while being annoyed at the loss of her leader.
The woman stands on top of the roof of a nearby house and is contemplating the next move "Without Raynare, the plan will have to change….but then again (smirks) I think maybe that little virgin's luck just became my golden ticket."
She turns around and a pair of jet-black wings with feathers that have many black feathers that flow around her emerge from her back and she flies away.
The next morning, Issei wakes up and Irina is already up because she isn't in bed with him right now. He sits up and feels at his wound to see how bad it still hurts, which it does, but not as bad as yesterday. The next thing to catch his attention is the smell of breakfast because he smells all kinds of scents from bacon, eggs, coffee, and toast. He is about to get up to get closer to that good smell but his door opens before he can get up and Irina walks in with a smile on her face, an apron around her torso, and a tray in her arms.
She walks over to Issei, who is still sitting up on his bed, and places the tray in his lap "I was helping your mom in the kitchen, she is so nice that she should probably be a saint for the church." She giggles a little after saying this, and Issei can't help but think differently.
On his bed, Issei is handed a fork while he looks at the spread which perfectly matches what he smelled, eggs, bacon, toast, a cup of coffee, orange juice, and a salad for nutrition. Looking at this makes him feel like a duke "Oh did I die in my sleep and go to heaven? Holy crap this looks good."
Issei immediately digs in and the breakfast is delicious with every bite and sip. Irina is happy that he is enjoying his breakfast but gets serious over his health "You had better all of that, Issei. Your mom and I worked really hard on it and you need to eat and get your strength back."
Issei, with egg and juice on his face, wonders if he's well enough to go to school "I mean, with this glory hole on my shoulder, I don't know how long I can make it look like I'm fine?"
Irina is a little surprised by his willingness to move around after yesterday, but she is worried about leaving him unguarded "I'm not sure you should go to school today. If that fallen angel knew where to find you, then her heretic friends must know where you go to school."
Issei gets her concern and thinks for a second on the issue and then has his own idea "then why don't you just come with me? I could say you're like looking at the school to see if you wanna enroll or something."
Irina likes the idea but has to run it by Xenovia first because if she doesn't it could be seen as insubordination on her behalf. Also, Issei points out a critical thing if she is to come with him "Also, you should probably wear something less bondage play and more normal girl."
Irina is mad flustered as she shows off her outfit by taking off her apron and is grander in her argument "I'll have you know that this is standard church armor worn by all female exorcists that are personally made for us maidens of god."
Issei can't help but think "I'm sure who designed those didn't have god in mind….but I'd like to meet them and shake their hand."
Despite the argument, Issei is ultimately right in this matter. It is still early in the morning, so they have time to get Irina a new outfit. But first, Irina has to talk to Xenovia about it. Downstairs in the kitchen, Xenovia is washing the dishes as thanks to Mrs. Hyoudou for feeding and sheltering them for the time. Irina stands next to her and helps with the dishes and explains the situation to her.
After listening, Xenovia's attitude towards the situation is divided "Irina, you're getting too close to that boy, I have fears that you are not heeding my warning from yesterday. But you do have a point. That being the case, I should protect him and you look for our rogue."
While Xenovia is being rational, Irina uses her one biggest advantage "I may be getting more attached, but I want him to be comfortable with us if he decides to come with us. Besides, if there is a fight, my Excalibur Mimic is better suited for disguises than your Excalibur Destruction."
The two girls look at Xenovia's sword, which is propped against the wall and there is no way to keep it hidden, so Xenovia agrees to Irina's plan, but like a broken record "Just don't get…."
Irina splashes some of the dishwater at Xenovia because she is annoyed "I heard you the first two times. I'm starting to think you have a button on repeat somewhere, Xenovia." Irina playfully pokes Xenovia as a fun gesture and she simply ignores it.
Back inside of Issei's room, after the dishes have been cleaned, Issei is fully dressed in his uniform and his injury didn't act up too much when changing but he has to carry his stuff on his opposite shoulder. Irina, because there aren't too many girls clothes that fit her, has to wear some Issei's clothes which are just a short-sleeved red shirt, jeans with a belt to hold them up, her boots are fine because she is wearing her armor under it as underwear for the moment and her Excalibur Mimic remains tied to her arm as an accessory, and she wears her rosary over the shirt because she prefers to have it showing.
Issei feels a little guilty having her wear his stuff "Sorry I don't have any actual girl clothes. At least they fit you, kind of…" the pants would fall off if not for the belt, so they don't completely fit.
Irina waves it with a smile "Oh that's no big deal. I'd actually be worried for your soul if you did…pervert."
The two laugh a little because Irina was clearly joking and Issei isn't really ashamed of it "Yeah, I'd have panties and plenty of bras too, make my sheets out of them."
Xenovia listens to them and is rather annoyed at this situation but rather than just dwell on it she decides to head out on her own for a while to find the rogue priest. She views this as her top priority and plans to swiftly finish the mission.
Issei and Irina walk to Kuoh with lunches made by the former's mother and talk about small things like hobbies and stuff that's happened over the last few years. Nothing too meaningful is mentioned but it really feels like two old friends catching up after all this time.
After some time talking, Irina becomes curious about Issei's social circle and is worried about his friends being as perverted as him "Issei, are your friends…perverted like you?" she curiously asks.
Issei is about to answer but then spots two figures ahead of them waving at them that he instantly recognizes them "Why don't you ask them yourself? He suggests.
Irina sees the two figures ahead and they appear to be friendly. The two people are actually a boy, who is quite tall, with black hair, dark blue eyes, and wearing a brown baseball a cap along with a standard Kuoh uniform and a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a black ribbon in her hair.
The boy with brown hair approaches with a confident smile and greets Issei with a rather unnerving statement "Issei, you dog, I thought you had a hot date with some Yuuma babe yesterday. I gotta say that you should settle a little more."
The girl smacks the boy on the back of the head and scolds him "Obviously you don't see that our friend's date didn't work out, so he picked up another girl to drown his sorrows. But a REAL girl, now that is worth calling a priest over."
Issei tries not to get overexcited because his shoulder will act up, so he simply waves off their comments "Come on you guys, she's an old friend looking at our school, so just be cool today."
The two look nonchalant about this and then they introduce themselves with the boy going first "Name's Daisuke."
"I'm Misa."
The two are formally introduced to Irina, who is happy to meet them. They talk while walking to the academy and Issei doesn't mention anything about his shoulder since he doesn't want anyone outside his house to know out of concern for them. They continue talking about small things for little ways until they are stopped by the police while walking to the academy.
Issei is concerned that the police may be here to talk to him specifically because of what happened yesterday and Irina is right next to him who assures him that he'll be okay regardless of what happens, but they aren't here for him specifically.
One officer pulls out a photo of two boys, one with glasses, and with a shaved head. "Have you seen any of these two boys? They haven't been home since yesterday and their parents are worried. They both go to the school with uniforms that you're wearing, so maybe you may have seen them." He explains to Issei and his two friends.
Both of his friends don't know, but Issei isn't so sure because he feels that they are familiar to him. Misa steps forward and points out something that's coming to her. "Oh yeah, I think these guys were peeping on the girls' soccer team the other day."
"Oh, so they were peeping toms." Irina chimes in
Issei continues to look at the picture and it bugs him because he feels like it's deeper than that. Eventually, Daisuke snaps him out of it when he reminds him that they'll be late to school at this rate, which gets them going faster.
Somewhere else in Kuoh, a different area surrounded by trees, Xenovia is inspecting the area and comes across an old building, an abandoned church. Seeing this as a notable area, she cautiously approaches it while keeping her eyes peeled for the enemy. She readies her sword and removes her cloak because an enemy is very likely to hide here.
Upon opening the doors, she takes a look at the area and doesn't see a soul. She moves closer to the center and notices that while the building is in decent shape, the religious icons are destroyed, something she takes immediate notice of upon seeing the cross at the end is almost completely destroyed.
Seeing this, she immediately figures out something "This church must be where the fallen angel was hiding. If that is the case, she must have allies who were with her, or else she wouldn't have bothered."
Upon speaking these words, Xenovia hears clapping and she turns around to see a buxom woman in red clapping. She has long blue hair and large breasts that are barely covered by her outfit. Xenovia can recognize what she is based on her sudden entrance and demeanor.
The woman continues clapping a little and has a condescending look on her face. "Wow, I never expected a bloodhound of the church to figure out a fallen angels calling card. You must special or something to find this place."
Xenovia, not falling for the clear sarcasm, keeps her calm and cool demeanor. "Bloodhound…I guess that's not truly wrong. Since I'm staring at a mutt who fell from God's loving grace. A hound should take it upon itself to clean up the mess."
The woman's face turns a little sour and she reveals her two black wings and Xenovia readies herself for a fight with her. The woman then produces a spear that is a bright yellow while Xenovia brandishes her massive sword.
Back at the academy, Issei and his friends are just in time for the first bell and they split up since Misa and Daisuke don't have the same classes as him. Irina can't join him in class, so she decides to simply check around the school as the fallen angels, if any, can't attack him in a public area full of people.
While exploring the halls, Irina passes by two very beautiful girls, on with long black hair with a calm smile and seductive eyes while the other has crimson red hair and a confident smile. The two ladies just pass by but their eyes seem to be focused on Irina's rosary.
After passing them, Irina wonders if those two girls are fallen angels because of their seductive appearances since fallen angel females have seductive forms to seduce men. Though she can't make her move in a public place either, she's found people of interest and makes a note of it.
She checks around the school some more while waiting for the next bell and eventually waits for lunchtime to reunite with Issei and tell him what she thinks of the two girls she passed by. The bell rings for lunch and Irina is passed by many students until she is approached by a girl with glasses being followed by a blonde boy and a girl with long black hair wearing glasses as well.
The girl is very serious with her expressions. "Why are you at this academy and not wearing a uniform?" she asks seriously.
Irina, in a respectful manner, smiles and explains herself. "I'm here to get a personal look at this wonderful school I've heard about. I was thinking of enrolling."
The girl accepts the answer and the boy approaches in a grand fashion and a cocky presentation. "Oh really? Then you've come to the right people. This lady is our student council president and top student in our school, and her name is Sona Sitri…"
The girl named Sona interrupts the boy with a cool demeanor "Saji, I don't need you to introduce me, now behave and go to eat your lunch."
The blonde boy's name is Saji and he walks away groaning from being told to be a good boy in front of somebody. Sona also looks at rosary but doesn't comment on it. Rather, she is being a good student to Irina and is here to help. "If there's anything you'd like to know about the academy, just ask me." She offers with a smile.
Irina is curious about the two missing boys but doesn't want to cause a stir, so she asks a different question "Does this school have any pervert problems?" A question she immediately regrets because it was still lingering since this morning.
Sona puts her hand to her head and looks embarrassed in thinking of this. "Unfortunately, three boys were caught earlier this week peeping on the girls from the Kendo club." She shakes her head in disbelief since it is clear she expects better.
Irina is flabbergast by this and puts her hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh my, the kendo and soccer clubs are being harassed by three boys?" she nearly shouts this but keeps her voice calm.
At hearing this, Sona is a bit confused and explains "While Kuoh is a marvelous school, it doesn't have a soccer club, but our kendo club is our biggest pride. for sports"
Irina is confused for a second since Misa said they peeped on the girl's soccer team and then she hears three as in three boys. Curious, Irina now has to ask the question "Where those two of those boys one with a shaved head and boy with glasses?"
Sona nods and also adds "And the third was a boy with brown hair and a red shirt from what the girls were saying."
Now figuring something out, Irina begins to panic a little since she hasn't met up with Issei yet. She begins walking and thinks about what the danger could possibly be and even passes by the two girls from earlier and they simply cross paths again. Irina becomes afraid even since she let it go by her head.
She looks for Issei near his classroom and asks a boy nearby, another blonde boy being followed by a flock of girls, in her panic "Excuse me…have you seen a boy with brown hair with a red shirt nearby?"
The boy can see her concern and suggests she take a breath and then thinks. He barely noticed but mentions seeing him with his two friends. Irina knows now that those two must be fallen angels in disguise like that woman from yesterday and they must have worked their way to separate him from her.
In another part of the academy, Issei is following his friends with his lunch in hand into a shed. He is curious why they would want to eat here since it's dark. So he decides to be a little more assertive in saying "Hey, why don't we eat near the field since it's much brighter and we'll have a nice of the gir…."
From behind he chopped in the back of the neck by Daisuke, who now wears an uncaring face. "Man this was a bigger pain that I thought it was gonna be."
Misa now transforms by her clothes simply tearing off and a shadow covers her form to create a new gothic dress but she retains the bow. She has a cocky smile and remarks "Come on, Dohnaseek, an old bastard like you should appreciate being young for a couple of hours, or is being dressed like a stalker too much fun?"
The boy whose real name is Dohnaseek throws his cap off into the air as it transforms into a fedora and he catches it now revealed to be an older-looking man and wearing a long brown coat as he retorts with a smirk "Hmm, being a man such as myself has its perks… unlike looking like jailbait such as yourself, Mittelt."
Mittelt, the girl who used the name Misa, is annoyed by this remark "Screw you!" she snaps at him.
Dohnaseek snickers. "That still won't make you more like a woman, little girl." He tells her.
The two cut it and look at an unconscious Issei with calm looks because they are about to do what they want with him.
Back at the church, Xenovia has Kalawarner pinned to the ground with clear threats. "Tell me, do you have any more allies, or are you the last of the fallen angels sent to kill Issei Hyoudou? Why were you so interested in him, and do you know of a rogue priest?" She demands.
She holds her Excalibur at the woman's jugular and has no qualms about ending it here. The woman smirks and even winks, which Xenovia is caught by and she turns her head to see a short man with white hair and a crazed smile holding a gun and he immediately pulls the trigger which hits Xenovia in the back causing her to lose balance and the woman immediately stands up and uses her yellow holy spear to knock away Xenovia's sword and then impales her with the spear. Xenovia is then slammed into the ground and drops her sword while blood spurts from her mouth.
The short man approaches and takes Xenovia's sword and puts it on his back. He then takes his gun and points it at Xenovia's head and has a deranged look in his eyes and is clearly getting a sick enjoyment out of this. "Looks like its ol' Freed Sellzen's lucky day. I get a new toy, a target, and also a corpse to fuck to boot." He states with his sick grin.
Xenovia can't get up despite her efforts; the attack must have hurt her spine. Before Freed, the rogue preacher she was after, can finish it, the woman stops him. He back off and lets her get close to Xenovia. The two also have plans for Xenovia and she can't fight them back at the moment, so she all she can do is wait for that they are planning.