Hey Guys, we're back. Alright, so we're gonna have a major, MAJOR timeskip here. A timeskip….of 3 months. Lmao. So just a little tiny skip here since, I'm sure it wouldn't make sense to make whole chapters on his daily life. I mean I put those little moments in there but that's just icing on the cake. Maki loves cake.
Anyway, just wanna apologize for any impatient readers out there. No one has ever complained about it, but I just wanted to make sure and apologize in advance to any readers who are really itching to get to the Cannon events in Kuoh. All of these events and experiences that are shown are very important to Issei's character and development as a Gear user. I can't give too much insight besides what you read yourselves, but I can tell you right now that Issei is not going to be as weak as he is in Cannon when he reaches the LN timeline. Shocker right, I know. But the point of this story is exactly to subvert your expectations of this genre of 'Issei being a strong Sekiryuutei before Cannon'. So I'm not just going to skim over everything that makes him the person he is in the future or the warrior he becomes. So even though it's gonna take a little while for us to reach Cannon, it's all for the purpose of properly justifying how Issei will be in the future without Time skipping and flashing back randomly like all of the other stories on this genre are like. And unlike the betrayal story genre, I'm not as much trying to prove a point as I am trying to give a template for what to do. When I made my betrayal story it was to prove that the stories that come from that genre can actually be complex and make sense. Meanwhile here, it's more of a way to give advice through storytelling essentially. See, cuz most writers don't know how to make a story like this with completely original events and I don't blame them at all. It's honestly extremely difficult for the average writer. I'm good with it, but I can definitely understand why so many authors just skip over Issei's past. It's really hard to create an original narrative/dynamics and then relate those to future events. I mean, not bragging, but to me it's quite simple because I already know the storyline I'm leading up to, but for many it's just really hard to write a whole other story on top of another (and connect them). That's kind of why original stories are so revered in the community. It's hard as shit. Even for me it sometimes becomes quite difficult. It's ssoooooooo easy to get writers block for such a story. I don't because I have burning passions for my stories that I use to the fullest extent, but I get why other authors do. So basically what I mean is that I want this story to kind of be used as an example for people who don't know what to do when it comes to these stories. The best way to give a helping hand is just to show them.
Lastly, just a little self advertisement here, but have you read my story Red Dragon Of Of Golden Light? I would hope that you do. I don't usually advertise my stories aside from a simple "check out my others", but I've honestly become so unbelievably proud of what that story has become and what it will become. It is truly the greatest story I have ever written in every aspect. It has become my own little masterpiece, my personal magnum opus. So much led up to the latest chapter (20) and it all paid off beautifully. That chapter alone elevated the story to a higher level and it will only become greater from that point on. It sparked a new fire of passion for all of my writing and is definitely the best chapter of any of my stories (also longest 27,000 words holy). And pretty much everyone seems to agree since I've received the most reviews for that story, they were all positive, and started gaining followers and favorites like crazy. I'm not surprised. That chapter really was phenomenal.
Regardless, best story I've got, hope you read it, love ya, let's get into this one.
SCENE
"...Nnn…."
Early morning, Aikawa residence. A certain brown haired boy groaned a bit as he awoke from his slumber. He was lying on his belly with his face in his pillow. His eyes fluttered open and he couldn't help but immediately notice the unnatural weight he felt on his back.
"...Nii…"
Issei's little cousin, Maki, was sleeping peacefully on top of his back like a baby Koala.
"Ah…"
The boy quickly realized what this meant.
"I've been captured…"
It looked like he wasn't going to move from his spot in quite a while.
Gyeeeerooo~
His hunrgy stomach growled.
"Uuuu..."
He wishes he hadn't woken up just yet.
"Mm... Nii... I wuv you…"
The girl cooed in her sleep.
"Mm."
Issei nodded his head without remorse.
'Yep. Worth it.'
Part 1
Inside of a certain gymnasium, many children dressed in white martial arts robes were gathered along in a line, standing side by side. The children were facing the center of the gymnasium with the bleachers to their backs. Straight across from them, on the opposite side of the gym, was a line of adults standing together in a similar fashion. They all had a variety of colored belts on. Standing in the center of the gym was a man with the same clothing and an interestingly designed black belt.
—Today was the promotion ceremony for the many students of "Kiritsugu Academy."
["San-kyu: Satoji, Ren."]
Clap, clap, clap!
As the dojo master known as "Kiritsugu" announced the name of one of his disciples over the microphone, an adult male from the adult side of disciples walked to the center and received his blue belt. His promotion, along with many others, was met with applause from the audience.
Many people were gathered for this ceremony. The bleachers were quite full. And somewhere in those bleachers was a familiar family of 3. The father of this family held a camera and was recording the event while the mother held her hyper, young daughter in her lap. There was also a familiar boy, not from the same family, sitting beside them.
Kiiritsugu announced a few more students from the adults side until those being promoted were finished. Once they were finished, he moved onto the "Junior Kyu" side full of child disciples.
Then, one of the very first and best students was announced, and the boy walked to the center.
["Yon-kyu: Hyoudou Issei!"]
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
Whistle~!
Issei received his blue belt from his master and bowed respectfully. His master reciprocated the gesture and Issei returned to his spot. The boy's congratulatory exchange was met with many cheers and claps, more so than his fellow students. Even his sensei announced him with more enthusiasm than anyone else before. It would've been unusual for some random child to receive the most attention at an event like this, but Issei was not some "random child." He was actually somewhat of a "hero."
—It had already been 3 months since the incident involving the Stray Devil "Zealous", but there were still many people who were aware of Issei's reputation and recognized him. Issei received national attention thanks to the prime minister's decision to award him with another medal for his bravery. The publicity was a bit ridiculous to Issei, to be honest. There were lots of articles and news pieces released about him during the time that the event took place, only giving Issei even more attention than he bargained for. If it wasn't for the fact that the prime minister decided to recognize him for his actions, Issei probably would've just remained a "local legend" thanks to the Aichi prefectural police. Some articles even suggested that the only reason the prime minister recognized Issei was because it was a publicity stunt, since the man was going through some sort of scandal at the time.
Whatever the case, it's irrelevant. What does matter however is that Hyoudou Issei was a well known name now. Not celebrity status, but if you asked a random person on the streets of (most of) Japan about "that boy who saved that other kid from a serial killer," they would definitely know who that is. And if not, then at the very least, everyone in Issei's neighborhood, school, and community definitely knew who he was. So, all in all, the attention Issei received was certainly unprecedented for him.
The belt ceremony continued on with the rest of the Junior students and eventually came to a close.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
The audience clapped with the closing of the ceremony and created a lighthearted cacophony as they cleared out from the bleachers. Disciples convened with their families and friends while many others greeted each other, took photos, and chatted before leaving.
"Nii-Niiii~!"
Issei approached his family with the first person to greet him being Maki, who joyfully threw her little body into his arms. From the looks of it, Issei's family was also accompanied by one of his school friends, Narutobi, and another family entirely. This other family consisted of a mother, father, and two sons. One of these two sons being familiar to Issei specifically. The familiar looking boy was named "Satoru Inoue", and he's the boy that Issei saved from Zealous.
"Mr. & Mrs. Inoue! Satoru-kun! You guys came!"
Ms. Inoue smiled sweetly at Issei's excited declaration.
"Of course! We wouldn't miss it for the world."
It went without saying, but the Inoue family was unbelievably grateful to Issei. He did save their important family member after all. So attending this event, for them, wasn't much. If anything, it was an honor for them.
"Did you properly record it, Satoshi?"
"Yes, yes, dear, I've got it."
"We also recorded it just in case."
Mr. Inoue held up his camera while Satoshi checked his own footage. Issei's sensei, Kiritsugu, approached the group with a proud smile.
"Oi, Issei! The Aikawa's too! Oh, could this be the family of "the boy who was saved" as well?"
"Nice to meet you."
"Hello."
Kiritsugu greeted and shook hands with the Inoue parents. He began conversing with Issei's adoptive parents while Issei patted the head of Maki, who was inexplicably karate chopping the air with Issei's old belt wrapped around her forehead like a bandana.
"So, Issei told us that you plan on having him train competitively."
Kiritsugu smiled smugly at Satoshi's statement.
"Indeed, I do. Issei has already climbed his way to the rank of 4th Kyu just short of his three years in training. It's true that in our dojo it's possible to skip orange belt, if proven to have enough skill like Issei, but even so, his improvement is ridiculous for a boy. He's shown more proficiency in training than even most of my adult students. It'd be a serious waste to not have him compete anywhere. Especially since Issei wants to promote as quickly as possible. If he starts accumulating points fast enough, he'll reach [Shodan] in only a few years. It's unfair, honestly! Many of my students lose their confidence after learning about him, you know? He's practically a monster in a little boy's body!"
For some reason, Issei subtly flinched when a certain word caught his ear. Akane frowned.
"That's rude to say, Kiritsugu-sensei."
"Ahaha, sorry. It's actually a compliment, you know? I just can't help feeling proud after all. Issei really is one of the youngest children to achieve 4th Kyu in judo, at least from what I've seen. Not to mention, all the publicity he got from that incident brought a lot of attention to my dojo. Er... Although, I probably shouldn't be happy about it turning out that way. —A-Ahem, excuse me."
Kiritsugu cleared his throat awkwardly after his comment. After meeting the man, Satoshi and Akane could only think of him as an eccentric person.
"Ah, that's right. Issei told me that he plans on studying another martial art as well?"
Satoshi confirmed Kiritsugu's suspicion.
"Yes, that's right. Issei told us that he wants to study at the Tai-Chi dojo not too far from here. He wants to do it at the same time he studies Judo."
Kiritsugu crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"Hmm.. I'd advise against that. It's much better to focus on one martial art at a time. There are actually many dojo masters who won't even take on students who try to do more than one at once. If it's Issei, then I have a hunch that he could accomplish it somehow, but I still wouldn't recommend it. And I definitely don't want some random Chinese dojo stealing my best pupil!"
Issei sweat dropped at his shishou's passionate reaction.
"Hey, Kiritsugu!"
A pair of men called out to Kiritsugu from near the gymnasium's exit.
"Ah, looks like I gotta run. I might as well use this chance to thank Souichirou-san for letting us use the gym for this ceremony. Goodbye for now, everyone. And Issei, remember, no dojo this weekend. I'll see you soon."
"See tpya later, shishou!"
Kiritsugu made off towards the exit while Issei and his family waved the master off. Satoshi smiled.
"Alright then. Let's go home now, shall we? Inoue-san, we're going to have dinner in celebration. Would the four of you like to join us?"
Mrs. & Mr. Inoue smiled and nodded.
"Ara, we'd love to."
"Yes, I suppose we could. Come on, boys."
The group made their way out of the gymnasium and returned to their respective vehicles. Issei opened the car door for his little cousin and felt a gaze set itself on him right before entering the backseat.
[—Partner.]
Issei perked his head up and took a peek past the car door, looking around the parking lot.
His eyes eventually landed on 2 mysterious figures standing off in the distance. 2 unfamiliar men.
"Hm? What's up, Issei-kun? Are you looking for something?"
"Eh?"
Satoshi called out to Issei from the driver's seat, wondering why he hadn't entered the car yet. Issei only turned to his gaze momentarily when his uncle called out to him. And yet, when he turned to look back at the men from before—.
—They were gone.
"..."
Issei entered the car and sat down beside his cousin. He looked out the window to the spot where the suspicious men were last standing in.
'Ddraig... Who... No, what were they?...'
[I don't have that sort of range, partner. I couldn't tell.]
'Were they at least...human?'
[No.]
'...'
Part 2
"Kyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~!
RUMBLE!
Many cries and shouts resounded in the sky, followed by the roaring sound of roller coasters.
Today was the celebration of Issei's brave achievement from the Zealous incident. The dinner from the day before was the celebration for Issei's promotion in Judo. But Satoshi had been saving up money for a couple of months so that the family could celebrate by having fun at an amusement park.
Here we see said family walking through the park together with food and prizes in their hands. Maki, who was skipping happily while eating cotton candy and holding hands with her beloved cousin, excitedly pointed towards an arcade.
"Ah, Nii-Nii! I wanna play race games!"
Issei smiled and quickly took a bite from Maki's cotton candy, causing the girl to pout angrily.
"Mm. Yeah, 's go there next, Oba-san, Oji-san."
"Mou! Nii-Nii! My pink fluffy! Ha-nom!"
Maki began furiously nibbling on Issei's shoulder like a hamster, though it didn't hurt one bit. Satoshi laughed at the children's antics.
"Ahaha, alright, alright. Let's go, you two."
The family went into the arcade and proceeded to play various games. Maki and Issei ran straight though the arcade to play the multitude of different racing games first. Issei won most of the time, prompting Maki to keep angrily nibbling on his shoulder in retaliation. Satoshi and Akane simply observed the two children from the tables outside the arcade venue while ordering some food. Satoshi didn't remove his gaze from the two kids very often, if at all.
At some point, the food that the parents ordered had arrived. It was about time to call the children over to come eat.
—Until Satoshi heard a voice that he didn't recognize behind him and his wife.
"Oh, fuck this. Just do it already. He clearly ain't lookin' away any time soon."
"Wha—?"
—Before Satoshi could turn around fully, he spotted a man standing behind his wife in his peripheral vision. The man lifted a finger and spawned a small light from behind Satoshi and his wife's necks.
And so, Satoshi's mind suddenly went blank and his eyes gained an "empty" gaze.
"There. Now he ain't gonna look our way."
"Isn't. You're a High-Class, aren't you? Speak properly. That language is a bad habit of yours."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
The two mysterious men walked away from the unmoving parents and seemingly entered the arcade.
"Mou! Nii-Nii! Let me win!"
"Ahaha, sorry, Maki-chan. I'm just too good at these games."
Issei bragged facetiously as he jumped off of the the seat from the arcade racing game he was playing. He came around the machine to stand beside Maki's own seat.
"Here, Maki-chan. You go ahead and play one on your own. I'll just watch you."
Maki pouted as she reluctantly accepted some coins from Issei.
"Mmm! Fine! Maki will show you! I'll win first place!"
Maki started playing the racing game with a new determination that Issei found adorable. She hardly even fit in the seat of the machine and had to really reach out with her little foot to touch the pedal below. Issei stood beside her seat with a hand on the chair and spectated her.
—That was, until the voices of 2 young men halted his thoughts and shut all of the sound from the world out.
"Hm? This him?"
"Yes, it would seem so."
[—?!]
[Hm? What is it—? Partner!]
Issei felt chills up his spine as his instincts overwhelmed all of his senses. His grip on the seat that Maki sat on tightened dramatically, almost to the point that his hands were on the verge of tearing the leather seat.
Issei's gaze was dead set on the screen that Maki played her game on. The reflection of the men became clear on the screen. One adult man with a proper, professional appearance and dark skin. He also had green hair and pointy ears. Beside the older gentleman was a preteen boy, not far from Issei's age, who resembled a delinquent. The teenager wasn't wearing a shirt and his torso had some odd looking black tattoos all over it. This teenager also had green hair and pointy ears, like the older gentleman. The older man stood with a proper posture and a stoic expression. The younger boy slouched and kept his hands in his pockets like a delinquent would.
—Both of these people - were not human.
"Hah? This is it? You sure this is him? The little shit doesn't seem like much."
"This is unmistakably him. He fits the description perfectly. There's something seeping off of his body as well. Do you feel something emanating from him?"
"Hm? Nah, not really."
"Then you still aren't adequate quite yet. We'll do something about that later. For now, we should evaluate him properly. We do not yet know if he is still dormant."
"Hm? Oy, is it just me...or has this little shit noticed us?"
The older man's gaze met Issei's through the monitor reflection.
"Indeed, he has… There's clue number one."
CHILLS!
For some reason, Maki shivered in place. She was feeling the instinct to run away, but her curiosity compelled her to turn around instead. Maki peered around her seat and noticed the 2 men behind her.
"Nii-Nii…? Who—"
Maki turned to her cousin and froze.
—Issei was silent, and dark shadows masked his expression. His eyes were the only feature that peeked through the darkness.
As if they were pitch black in color, they held only darkness and….one other thing.
Up until the Zealous incident, Issei's instinctual response to danger was fear. Fear for his life and fear for the lives of others. Yet, somehow, now that someone who mattered to him more than anything was being threatened—
His darkened eyes were burning with killing intent.
"Oy, oy….. This little shit…. Why's he makin' my hairs stand on end? That shit ain't funny. Human's ain't supposed to be able to do that.."
"Such bloodlust for a little, human boy…. There's clue number two…. Could that mean you "feel" us as we truly are, boy?"
[Feign ignorance, you fool! NOW!]
.
.
"..W-Who are you?"
—Issei turned around with a "fearful" expression.
...For a moment, the two mysterious men paused. However...
"Hoh? Convincing…. But those eyes…. There's still something lingering in there…"
Just as the older man's hand was about to reach out and touch Issei—
"Hey."
A hand landed on the shoulder of the man.
"Excuse me."
The turned to find a serious Satoshi standing behind him.
"Can I help you?"
The two strangers didn't reply…
"Hmm."
The older man gestured to his younger companion and began to walk away.
"—Let's go."
The teenage delinquent followed the older fellow without saying anything. The boy's eyes were clearly set on Issei the entire time.
After seeing that the two strangers had left, Satoshi addressed the children.
"Are you two alright?"
"Papa!"
Maki jumped off her seat and clung onto her father fearfully. She quickly pulled Issei into the embrace and held onto him as well. Satoshi smiled and patted Maki on her head reassuredly.
"Come on. Let's go with your mother. We'll make sure to let security know about those suspicious figures."
Issei glanced behind Satoshi one last time. He could see the 2 mysterious figures gradually fade away into the crowds.
'Ddraig... Those people were..'
[High-Class Devils…]
"What the hell was up with that? How'd that guy break out of it?….. Our magic ain't weak, ya know?"
"I know. I myself don't fully understand it. That was something he shouldn't have been able to break out from. I've seldom heard of such a thing occurring, when it comes to normal humans, at least. Though... there was once that time our elder brother recounted a similar event with a human he once met... But that human was far from normal."
"Big bro had a similar experience? What'd he say?"
"Not much. Simply that: [That human was no fool, so it didn't work. That's all there is to it]."
"Hah? The hell's that supposed to mean? It works on smart people just fine, doesn't it?"
"Hmm…. Perhaps he wasn't referring to his intellect? If it were his instincts, he would have already known we were there in the first place. In that case… it may have been something to do with what our brother believed in."
"Huh?"
"As he always used to say: [A strong willed fool will always best the halfhearted genius. But should you meet a "strong willed genius", you might as well give up]."
"What the hell kinda lesson is that? Of course it was that lazy bastard who said that. And how come you know so many of his fuckin' quotes anyway? You write them all down or somethin'?"
"I value the teachings of the wiser. You should too. It would serve you well, little brother."
"Tch. Yeah, well, I ain't a "sheep" like you. I do my own thing."
"It's precisely that attitude which paints you as a delinquent amongst the higher-ups."
"Ha! Let those shitty geezers think what they want. As if I care. Anyway, who cares about them. How come we're the ones who did this shit, by the way? How come [Gremory] didn't handle this? Didn't they just get some fuckin territory in this buck ass place?"
"No. Their newly acquired territory is a bit aways from here. It isn't far, but this is still beyond their "jurisdiction." Don't you remember? It was the same place that was attacked. The attack that has no leads outside of it possibly being the Old-Maou supporters."
"Ah, that shit? I forgot all about that. I ain't into no conspiracy shit so I wasn't interested. The "old-fashioned side" from the war is dead. There ain't no way they came up to start some shit again right? Cuz then they'd just be terrorists or something, right? Plus, ain't nobody strong enough to do what they did. It's probably just one of the other sides like the crows or something."
"In any case, I doubt they would have had Lord Gremory see for himself either way. He may have just sent his servants. Or perhaps the [Maou] himself would see to it personally? But this is a good learning experience for you. So it's good that we volunteered."
"Che! Yeah, thanks for volunteering me, bro... So what about the kid then?"
"I don't know. At first, I believed him to be some dormant gear user, but somehow it felt as if part of his being was starting to touch my skin."
"What? You mean like an aura? Bullshit. Humans can't do that. Not normal ones, at least."
"Indeed. Perhaps I was mistaken. Nevertheless, I felt a spike when he caught glimpse of us. Those eyes of his….. His confusion and ignorance was convincing…. But I felt that I could see a deep seeded hatred somewhere in his eyes….. Yet, the odd impression around him seemed to fade when he turned around…. As I thought, it must be something subconscious. These clues lead me to believe that he most definitely unlocked something in his encounter with the stray from this territory. He must not be consciously aware of himself, but he is subconsciously aware of us. The hatred must be a sort of residue from the initial trigger. His encounter was one filled with fear, but as time passed, it gestated and became subconscious hatred. I wonder..."
"So then, what do we do about it? Just leave him like that? You think he'll forget about it?"
"No. I believe that his power will present itself once again, he will become aware of it, and he may become a bit of an eyesore. From what it seems, I didn't sense anything significant from him, so we can assume that it's possibly a third-rate gear. I suppose we'll just report this. I suspect that the higher-ups will not care much for it. They might wave it off and order us to forget about it without consulting the Maou or other officials. They don't care for this new tradition of "Reincarnation", in fact they loathe it, so they'll most likely want to avoid bringing it to that result at all costs. They don't like the idea of "continuing to infect the populace with such low rate beings" any further. Even if that means that he would become a nuisance in the future. I expect that we won't be asked to see him ever again."
"Heh. Shitty geezers always doin' shitty things. Whatever. I don't care. This mission was boring anyway. Reconnaissance sucks. I couldn't care less if we ever came back to this place."
"Enough lazing about. Fix your slouch. You are a High-Class Devil. Present yourself with some dignity. There may come a day when you must represent our household yourself. I also aim to become a Maou after [Falbium] after all, so it's possible that won't be too many decades off."
"Ha! Becoming the next heir? With you around? Yeah, I doubt it. The only way I become heir is if you die or some shit, and that ain't happening any time soon."
"Think optimistically, [Zephyrdor]. Life is unpredictable."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, bro."
DxD
Later that night, Aikawa residence.
Issei was watching a television program with his little cousin sitting in his lap. He was still thinking deeply about the events that transpired at the amusement park.
'Neh... Ddraig. What do you think will happen to me..?'
[I don't know, partner. I would hope that they simply forget about you. If not for the fact that I focused every fiber of my consciousness to lowering the prominence of your gear's influence, then they would have most likely have become too interested in us. That would have turned out to be a serious problem. The only reason I was able to pull it off was because you've been making considerable improvements to your strength and instincts. Regardless, it was an extremely difficult task, and I couldn't eliminate our presence entirely. That was thanks to your malice, of course.]
'Sorry... I…I don't know what came over me…'
[Oh? Well, believe it or not, partner, but hearing you admit that only sets me at ease even less than before.]
'...Sorry…'
[Well, that's enough worrying about it. What I'm more concerned with is whether you felt the presence of those Devils at all or not.]
'Hm? Ah, yeah, I think I did. I felt them the moment they spoke. Like if the something clicked inside of me...'
[I see. That's good. —But not good enough. You should've felt their presence from the moment they entered your range, even if that range is still small. Noticing them when they are already that close, it's unacceptable. Especially for High-Class Devils, who are not only more dangerous, but even easier to notice because of their power. What do you believe would have happened if they were hostile? This child that's sitting in your lap, they might've—]
'—Stop.'
[...Very well. As long as you understand, that is what is important.]
'Yeah… I get it…'
[Good. We must continue to hone your instincts. Despite what happened, in a way, this is good. The more you encounter beings of a higher power, the more your instincts will develop naturally. We can work on it ourselves from here. Animals and humans should do well as test subjects.]
'Test subjects?'
[We will do some practice—]
"Kids! Time for bedtime~"
The voice of Issei's aunt interrupted his internal conversation with Ddraig.
[Hmph. Well, that is your summons. We will speak more later, boy.]
'As I thought, you do call me that when you're belittling me...'
[I have no idea what you are referring to, boy.]
Issei and Maki stood up from the couch and began making their way upstairs. Issei turned off the lights on their way up. Akane was standing at the doorway to the master bedroom, waiting for the children to come up.
"Brush your teeth."
Maki groaned as she and Issei proceeded to brush their teeth in the restroom. When the two finished, they walked out into the hallway and Akane turned off the light.
"Alright. Good night, kids."
"Night, Mama."
"Night, Obaa-san."
Maki turned to Issei and stood on her tippy toes. Issei smiled as he bent down a bit to receive his nightly kiss on the cheek from his cousin.
"Night, Nii-Nii!"
"Night, Maki-chan."
Maki ran off to her room and everyone collectively shut the doors to their rooms as they gave their good nights.
….
...
Only a few short minutes passed until the door to Maki's room clicked open.
Dakun…
"...Nii-Nii~"
She whispered out into the empty hallway.
….
A light sigh could be heard from behind Issei's bedroom door.
Dakun...
Issei's door opened quietly, leaving it only slightly ajar.
Maki smiled brightly and began scurrying across the carpet in her pink onesie pajamas, heading straight into Issei's room.
As the door to Issei's room closed shut, the muffled voices of Maki's parents could be heard from behind their bedroom door.
Dakun...
(..Satoshi…)
(Yes, dear. I heard it...)
(Hehe~)
And with that, the Aikawa residence fell asleep.
End
There we are. Alright, now I can get to A Fool's Heart. Lol. Every time I finish a chapter to a story I can only think about the next chapter for it and the next chapter for the next story I gotta work on next. And in only just realized it now, but I fucking consistently write 4 stories at the same time holy shit. HAHA. Never even thought about it. And these aren't some half assed stories either, they're pretty big stories with heavy topics and themes and all this shit I gotta write in and consistently uphold. I have to read back my own chapters back a lot just to make sure everything connects well. It's crazy now that I think about it. Are there any other authors who do the same? I know one author who has like 5 stories but he updates them all at the same time with months in between updates from what I've seen. So it's not really the same. I can't imagine an author doing more. They're actually insane if they do, cuz that's not worth it lol.
Anyway, how'd you guys like that twist? I tried to write it so that there were clues all over the place but it wasn't obvious, so that if you come back and read it you'll be like "OH SHIT". As for Zephyrdor's age, in the LN it is never truly stated, but it is assumed he is not far from age when compared to Issei. I decided to make him a few years older. Somewhere around 3+ years. At this time, Zephyrdor would be 12 while Issei is around 3 months from being 9. Ah, little thing here: some people asked me about what Maki looks like, I've already given a description, but here's a better one now that she's a bit more grown (6 yrs old in 2 months): short brown hair that doesn't go past her chin, green eyes, small body, a little fang on the left side of her mouth and usually always smiling. Her original appearance is actually based somewhat off of a mini Maekawa Miku from Idolmaster. (Also, yes, she has healed from her Pneumonia)
Also, just cuz the Devils are out of the picture temporarily doesn't mean Issei ain't gonna keep seeing some shit. He's gotta keep suffering. Unfortunately for him, he is the one who weeps. Mostly because I'm just a sick fuck. Speaking of which, I recently revealed in my latest chapter of Red Dragon Of Golden Light why exactly Issei was referred to as "The Fool" in both RD of GL and A Fool's Heart, and of course the reason was explained in more detail, but the main reason was because of the Tarot card the Fool. There's actually a parallel in this story as well. And that's "The Tower". Upright, the Tower indicates a sudden change into a time of great turmoil and destruction, which will eventually bring with it change and regeneration. Reversed, however, the Tower card indicates that you are simply delaying the necessary 'destruction'. You need to go through this difficult time in order to learn an important lesson. Do not resist it. Even though it is shocking and hard to deal with, it is a very important part of your life journey." This is the perfect representation for the Issei in this story. Whether he will represent the tower upright, or upside down, that's what the story is for. He will suffer and in that suffering we will find the answer to that question.
So yeah, tell me what you guys thought. Did you expect the Devils to be who they were? What do you think Issei is going to encounter next? What do you want to see him encounter? Has Issei changed since Zealous? Based on his reaction to the Devils, is Issei beginning to change? Is Satoshi kind of badass? Will Issei become a master martial artist? Do you think this is the last we'll ever hear from the Devils? Is something else going to come look for Issei?
P.S. Did I freak you out when the Devils showed up around Issei's family? Did I scare you? Lmao. Suffer.
Read, Rate, Review go crazy.
Stay frosty.
