Alright guys, let's try and run through this as quickly as possible! I'm gonna do my best to pump these out one after another, just like we did with the Kokabiel arc. I wanna get to the climax of this one really bad. There's a lot of shit waiting for us at the peace meeting. Like, A LOT. I expect that chapter to be MASSIVE. And if not, then it'll be split into parts, and there's NO way I'm gonna be letting you guys need to wait in between those parts. Nah, those parts will have to be uploaded consecutively, otherwise I won't be satisfied with that. That's why, I'm gonna try my best to write these consecutively AHEAD of time and upload them accordingly. In fact, I'm currently writing this chapter only a few minutes after finishing the last one, just to give you an idea. So hopefully I can get this out in
You know me. Whenever I upload important arcs, I do it in spurts.
That word is so inappropriate sounding…
Part 1
"...Huh? What was that, princess? Think I heard you wrong the first time."
"You didn't. Your ears aren't playing tricks either. Despite his appearance, this one is a boy. He just has a habit of crossdressing. Well, it's more like a hobby of his."
Issei took a minute to process Rias's words. He stared blankly at the blond character that was shrinking away from his group. In fact, the more that Issei stared at the "boy," the more that he felt like he was shrinking under Issei's gaze.
"Heeeeeh…. A boy, huh?"
"Hiiieeeeeeeee…. N-Noooooo, don't hurt meeee! I'm sorryyyy…!"
Issei sighed and rubbed his forehead, a habit he no doubt, unconsciously, picked up from his godfather.
"Okay, so, you've still yet to answer my question. Why am I here? How does this involve me and why am I wasting time here instead of spending it with my family?"
"Oh come on, Ise. Gya-kun here is your junior. He's going to be participating in the club from now on so it's obvious that you'll need to meet him. Besides, I thought you might be interested in seeing a [Dhampir] in person."
That certainly did catch Issei's attention.
"Dhampir?"
"—Gasper Vladi. A first year student of Kuoh academy and Bishop of the Gremory clan. He's also the highest earner in terms of contracts for the Gremory group, despite being cooped up in this room. You'd be surprised how much one can accomplish just with a laptop. Incidentally, he also happens to be a half-vampire, half-human turned devil. Although, that isn't related to why he refuses to step foot outside. He's simply a hikikomori."
Akeno explained it thoroughly. Issei was heavily intrigued by the boy's bizarrely mixed nature, but much less so by everything else about him.
"W-W-Why are you all here?"
"Isn't it obvious? We've come to get you. It's time for you to come out now."
Rias gently beckoned the boy closer, but he was unreceptive.
"N-Nooooooooo! I don't want toooo! I don't want to go outside! People are scaryyyyy! If I go outside, it'll just cause trouble, I know it!"
Rias sighed defeatedly as Gasper scurried away from her and clutched his plushie.
"See?"
"See, what?"
"Well, I thought that if anyone could help in this situation, it's you, Ise."
"Me? Why me?"
"Well, you were once the type of person that I'd consider as being "standoffish" or "stuck in his shell." I would assume you have some experience with this type of situation."
"Haaaa? Are you fuckin—"
But then Issei stopped to think about it for a moment. Now that Rias mentions it, Issei did make friends with a boy like Narutobi, who was previously a baby face squirt with zero confidence, and then became a boisterous jock with intermediate experience in martial arts. He still maintained his level zero experience with women though. And Issei also can't deny that he is the type to be stereotyped as "standoffish." On top of that, he was able to get through to someone like Raynare, who was closed-off, so perhaps…
"Mmm.."
Issei just made a dispassionate sound, not really knowing how to properly deny Rias's claims after all.
And so, he approached Gasper without saying anything, effectively resigning to Rias's advisory motive for him. Needless to say, she felt pleased with the result. She felt confident that Issei might have an effect, whether that be positive or negative…
When Issei approached the crossdressing boy, however, he backed away towards the wall fearfully.
"Eeep! W-What did I do?!"
As if Issei weren't tall enough, he towered even more over the small boy with his back to the wall thanks to him sitting on the ground.
"Hey. You're a man, right?"
"Y-Yes..!"
"..Why are you wearing women's clothing?"
"I-I just think girls' clothes are c-cuter.."
"Hmm.. Can a half-vampire like yourself go out in the sun?"
"I-I can, but… t-the outside world is too scary!"
"But you can do it, can't you?"
"N-No, I can't..! I definitely can't!"
Although Issei's silhouette was tall, dark, and intimidating, his eyes were different. Their subtle lack of hostility didn't match his exterior.
"What are you so afraid of that's outside?"
Gasper flinched, gripping his plushie a bit tighter. His answer seemed more sincere this time.
"..T-The people…. The people outside are scary.."
"People, huh? Mm… That's a pretty decent reason, I guess. There's plenty of things to be afraid of in the outside world, especially those who inhabit it."
"..Y-Yes.."
"But ya know, there's something in particular that's far scarier than just the outside world."
"..W-What…?"
Gasper was hesitant to ask, but asked nonetheless. That was when Issei knelt down to Gasper's level and looked him straight in the eye.
"—Being alone."
Gasper felt a hitch in his breath and didn't say anything.
"Gotcha."
Issei suddenly grabbed Gasper's forearm, planning to casually drag him out from the room by force. However, at the moment Issei touched Gasper, something happened.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!"
—For an instant, everything stopped. Or at least, that's what it felt like.
"E-EEEEEEEEK!?"
Again, Gasper shrieked. Baffled, Issei looked at his right palm, which he had used to grab Gasper; empty handed. He also noticed that Gasper wasn't in front of him anymore. In fact, the shriek came from behind him.
"B-But h-how?! How did…?!"
When Issei looked back, he noticed that his Boosted Gear was present on his arm again. Not only that, but said arm was also holding onto a shocked Gasper, as if catching him mid-flee.
'I…caught him? But when did he get the chance to run..? A teleportation ability?'
Issei was confused, but Rias was once again filled with pride.
"Unbelievable… Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but you really are amazing, Ise. The fact that you were able to defy Gasper's power even a little bit…"
"His power? You mean, teleportation? Or was it invisibility? No… Even if he was invisible, that wouldn't have gotten him free of my grip... And since it affected my perception, maybe it wasn't a "space" related ability, but something else. A targeted ability of some kind..?"
Issei muttered to himself in pure confusion, but Rias complimented him.
"Fantastic analysis, Ise. You were so close to finding an answer. —The truth is, it is a targeted ability, but it can also affect the space around him as well. However, it only affects space as it pertains to his field of view. You see, Gasper is blessed with the Sacred Gear: [Forbidden Balor View]. It is a Sacred Gear that allows the user to "stop time" for anything that is directly within their line of sight. So in other words, just now, Gasper used his time-stopping ability to "freeze" all of us, including yourself, who were well within his range of vision. That was the phenomenon you just experienced. And you, somehow, unconsciously defended against it."
Issei absorbed Rias's explanation and questioned himself.
'..I defied the power without thinking? How did…?'
[The instincts of a dragon are nothing to scoff at, partner. It's the type of perception that surpasses even space-time, to an extent. Back in my heyday, I sensed even the clashing of [the Dream] and [the Infinite], which was taking place in another dimension entirely. Something like this is nothing to me. —Although, it is interesting that you were able to break away like that just through instinct alone, being just a human host with a fraction of my power. You nullified his peculiar ability using the Boosted Gear's aura and caught him at arm's length right before he could get away, all without thinking… As I thought, having a dragon's eye and brain matter has such an effect even on a mere human being's perception…]
'Yeah… And I could've sworn I saw his image move in front of me for just a moment, but it was all choppy and brief, like it was only a flash in my brain… But then it went blank and he wasn't there anymore… I guess I have some resistance thanks to you.'
Rias knelt down and stared at Issei's Boosted Gear with great interest.
"I wonder if that's the sort of thing that could work on others..? If it's just aura based, then it's certainly a possibility, but…"
Both Issei and Rias were lost in their own individual thoughts, leaving Gasper to tug at his own arm awkwardly.
"U-Um…. C-Can you please let me go..?"
"Huh? Oh, right."
Issei wasn't really thinking so he released Gasper, but once he came back to his senses, he caught Gasper again.
"No, wait a minute."
"EEP! P-Please give me a break!"
"No. We're going outside, remember?"
"B-But I can't go outside!"
"Sure you can. Watch."
"W-Wait, NO! P-PLEASE! STOP DRAGGING ME! I DON'T WANT TO GO OUTSIDE, DON'T MAKE ME! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Part 2
Eventually, the group ended up in the clubroom. However, despite getting Gasper to go outside of his room (by force), he was now hiding inside of a box at the corner of a room.
"So why was he locked up in the first place?"
Rias sat at her desk and explained.
"Well, despite its power, Forbidden Balor View is a notoriously difficult ability to control. As expected, Gasper also has difficulties in commanding it. However, it seems that he has more trouble than most of his predecessors. If left uninhibited, his power is dangerous. On top of that, he was reincarnated from a mutation piece, which only increases the risk factor for him. And considering that his power keeps growing day by day, that increases the chance that he might reach Balance Breaker as well."
"And if can't control his power normally, then the Balance Breaker will be ten times worse."
"Precisely."
"And so the solution was not to nurture him or teach him control, but instead to isolate him…. Force him into solitude for everyone else's safety, huh?"
Issei stared at the shivering box in the corner.
"The higher-ups must've received word that you helped Yuuto-kun reach Balance Breaker and considered that. They also must have taken Ise-kun into account as a factor since he is already a capable Balance Breaker user."
That was Akeno's explanation, but Rias shook her head in contrast to her point.
"No, I don't think so, Akeno. I do believe that Yuuto played a part in the higher-ups' decision to release Gasper, but if anything, Ise would have put them further against it. Those types would more likely see Ise as a serious threat, or at the very least, untrustworthy than anything. They wouldn't trust Ise, who isn't even a Devil and proclaims himself as an "unaligned Sekiryuutei", with something as sensitive as the Forbidden Balor View. No, I'm sure that Onii-san has something to do with this… It's probably thanks to him convincing them that Gasper had a chance at coming out. If it was left entirely up to them, they'd probably never let him out, especially now that Ise is here."
"Heh… So the old kooks are paying attention to me now, huh?"
"After the situation with Kokabiel, it was unavoidable. If the Kuoh Defense Battalion and the Yondai-Maou were deployed in response to a threat like that, then it was inevitable that news of your involvement would make it to them. The Yondai-Maou would have had no choice but to explain it, and Onii-sama isn't the type to let that opportunity go to waste. He probably used that incident to our advantage and claimed you as an ally, in order to keep the higher-ups from making any desperate calls concerning you. After all, even in the world of Devils, the Maou are not the end all be all. If the higher-ups decided to do something about you, that might cause some unnecessary issues and Onii-sama wouldn't allow it."
"Ha. They can push a scrawny little vampire around if they choose, but ME..? Well, I'd like to see them try.."
Issei chuckled threateningly to himself. His eyes, however, were still stuck on the cornered box even now.
"Uuu… I don't like when you talk about me…"
"Toughen up."
Koneko karate chopped the box, causing a shrill yelp to escape from inside of it. Issei walked towards the box with his hands in his pockets and stared down at it.
"...Forcing someone into solitary confinement because they can't be controlled? Sure sounds like Devils. I'd say it's the worst punishment, just short of killing him. No..…in some ways, it may even be seen as worse than death.."
Somewhere beneath the surface, Issei felt disgust at the idea. He growled.
"Ya know… I'm not entirely sure what my feelings on Devils are at this point…. But one thing's for sure, princess: I really hate the way you Devils do things.."
Rias frowned and admitted it solemnly.
"The truth is... They were going to kill him, originally. In fact, it was my brother who convinced them not to. The same thing happened with Koneko in the past, and he used that as leverage to argue on Gasper's behalf… But after already letting Koneko off easy, and considering that Gasper was an even greater threat than Koneko, they only agreed to compromise with Onii-sama. And that compromise…was isolation."
"Hmph… Some 'compromise'."
Gasper's little voice crept out from the box in mild protest.
"...I-I don't mind being alone…! The outside world is filled with scary people… I like being alone… It's better for me this way… I'm…better off this way. Everyone is.."
For a moment, Issei said nothing. Somewhere in the depth of his mind, Issei envisioned Gasper sitting in an old chair, alone, in a dark abyss. Then Issei saw his own younger self standing across from him, with a teary scowl.
And Issei could hear those two phrases playing back on repeat as the two children stood parallel to each other.
("...I-I don't mind being alone…. I'm better off this way… Everyone is..")
("—I'm all alone again, mum and dad…. No, that's how it's always been… That's how it always should be..")
….
Eventually, Issei knelt down low enough to be at eye level with eye holes punched into the front of the box and whispered.
"...You can't lie to me about something like that, boy.."
"..."
To that, Gasper said absolutely nothing. For once, he didn't even make a sound.
Issei stood back up, still staring down at the box. Rias asked Issei hopefully.
"...So, Ise..?"
Even without being said, it was obvious what she was inquiring about. But with Issei's back facing her, she could interpret nothing from his expression, causing her worries to rise.
However, at some point, Issei sighed deeply.
"...Ugh… You really know how to get on my nerves, huh, princess?"
Despite what he said, Rias smiled. She knew him well enough to understand what that meant. With that, she was finally satisfied and stood up from her desk.
"Thank you, Ise. I'll leave Gasper to you then. —Alright. Now, if you would excuse me, I'll need to take my leave here. Akeno and I need to go discuss the conference. Yuuto, my brother is interested in hearing about your Balance Breaker, so would you accompany us?"
"Of course, Buchou. —Good luck with Gasper-kun, Ise-kun."
Issei grumbled.
"So not only are you leaving me responsible for this twerp, but you're even fucking off to who knows where without telling me ahead of time?"
"Sorry, Ise. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't important. But I'm sure it'll be okay. I know that I can put my full trust in you with this. And if you can get him to come out of his shell by the end of the day, I'll have a nice reward waiting for you..."
Rias exited the room while blowing a kiss in Issei's direction, which he briskly dodged. He sighed and rubbed his forehead again.
"Ah, geez… I'm starting to regret this."
Part 3
"He's been outside for less than 10 minutes and they're already traumatizing him."
Raynare said, deadpan at the sight of the crossdressing boy being chased around by both Xenovia and Koneko, in different directions, with different items. In Xenovia's hands, she carried her Durandal, claiming that she "knew how to handle vampires." Meanwhile, Koneko was carrying a bunch of garlic and casually following the two around with it.
"Come back here! Stop my blade from reaching you! You can't do it if you're running away!"
"Gya-kun, eat your veggies. You can't be picky about food."
"IYAAAAAAAAAH! At this rate, I'm going to be exorcised! Somebody help meeeeeee!"
Asia prayed with worry, but Issei just shrugged his shoulders carelessly.
"Well, if he can't deal with this level of hazing, he won't be able to survive training of any kind. Especially not with me. Let them do as they please."
"I guess that's true. I barely survived your training too, so this kid doesn't stand a chance."
"Yup, and you became my star pupil. Can't say what that means for his chances."
"R-Right. Um, yeah…"
Issei turned his gaze towards the corner of the old school building, where he sensed a presence approaching from behind. From there, Saji Genshirou emerged.
"Oh, it's you."
"Geh! You were looking at me before I even showed up! What are you, a fucking bloodhound?"
"Only when I've got prey to hunt. Whaddya want, caramel stick?"
"Geez… I only came over here because I was curious about the "peerage member that was sealed up" that I heard about from Kaichou being released. To be honest, I was hoping I wouldn't see you here…"
"Hmm. Must be your lucky day then, rag doll."
Saji raised his brow incredulously (and somewhat irritatedly).
"..What the hell are those nicknames even about? They don't make any sense."
"Sure they do. Caramel stick is just describing your appearance, scrawny and light brown-headed. Rag doll is way more obvious."
"...How so?"
Issei chuckled lightly.
"Sure you wanna find out?"
"N-Nope! I'm good! Don't need to know!"
Saji focused his attention elsewhere, desperately trying to avoid Issei's gaze. When he looked in front of him, he saw the blond vampire dressed in a girl's school uniform.
"Uooooh! A petite blonde bishoujo! Don't tell me that's the unsealed bishop!?"
Issei's face had a devilish grin on it now.
"Yeah, that's her. Cute, ain't she?"
"Hell yeah! Suuuuuuuper cute! I've never seen such a cute little blondie in my life! Well, except for special 'film productions,' that is!"
That was when Raynare, with a similarly cruel smirk on her face, revealed the truth to Saji.
"Well, sorry to break it to ya, but that's a boy in women's clothing."
"...Eh?"
"Raynare's right, boy scout. Despite what he looks like, that's a dude with a dick. Probably your size too. He just likes women's clothes."
Saji didn't say anything for a good minute, until he collapsed onto his knees defeatedly.
"No… It can't be…"
Issei chuckled.
"You should've left him alone, Raynare. I wanted to see if he was gonna try hitting on him or not."
"Yeah, but look at his face. This is funny too."
"That's true."
Issei prodded Saji with his foot.
"..How can fate be so cruel…?"
"Oy, what are you so heartbroken about? He still looks the same, don't he?"
Saji shot straight up and shouted at Issei with comical tears running down his cheeks.
"Haaaaah?! Of course it's not the same, you idiot! What are you, homo?! You just said it yourself, he's got one hanging down there like I do! There's no way I'd be attracted to him after learning about that!"
"You liked how he looked before though. What's the difference?"
"Don't point that smug look at me! Of course a psychotic bastard like you wouldn't get it! A brute like you probably just thinks of the world in a simple way, like predators and prey or some shit! You're a simpleton, a "black and white" thinker! But unlike you, I can't imagine that outlook, just like how I can't imagine such a cute person having "that thing" down there! Uggghhh, why'd you have to go and make me imagine it! Get it outta my heeeaaad!"
"You're the one who thought about it."
While Saji was moping however, as if a light bulb appeared over his head, Issei realized something.
"Hey, Saji."
"..What?"
"Let us borrow your Sacred Gear for a bit."
Saji's face went pale and he guarded his left arm frightfully.
"...I-It doesn't work when the limb is d-detached! I-I can't say for sure because I haven't tested it, but I'm sure it doesn't!"
Issei sweatdropped.
"..Uh, no, I'm not tearing it off, you idiot. I'm asking for your help."
"W-What would you need my help for?"
"I don't need it, Gasper does. I believe that your Sacred Gear could prove useful in his training."
Skeptical, Saji asked hesitantly.
"..And how's that?"
"Well, you have the ability to siphon other people's power, remember?"
"Yeah, so?"
Issei frowned, almost pitifully.
"Come on, boy scout.."
"D-Don't give me that look of disappointment like I'm supposed to know what you're alluding to! And don't call me that!"
"Sorry, it was easy to figure it out, so I just thought that you had that one, for sure. But I guess I overestimated you… You're not as smart as your master."
"HEY! Fuck off, asshole! How am I supposed to figure out everything you're talking about right away like that, huh?! It's not like we think the same, you psycho! You and I are a world apart, so don't compare us! And of course Kaichou is smarter than me, she's the smartest person in the school! Don't you forget it! You might as well give up on trying to beat her in chess or anything like that!"
"You're right, we're definitely a world apart. In fighting ability, strength, and intelligence."
"Yeah, that's right! And also— wait a…. why you!"
(—!)
Issei's face went deadly serious the next moment, his gaze shooting around the area, trying to find the source of the unsettling presence that set off his instincts.
"What's wrong, Ise-sama?"
But Issei didn't have time to answer Raynare's question, for the presence that he was scanning his surroundings for appeared before them all.
"—Oya, oya. How intriguing. The fact that you were able to detect my presence even though I was hiding it is an impressive feat, even for a Sekiryuutei. Hehe, maybe next time I should take you a little more seriously, boy. But bravo on your deduction. I also came to the same easy conclusion as you. It's obvious what you should do about the vampire's power when you have something like the [Absorption line] lying around."
The person who appeared out of nowhere was none other than "Azazel," the Viceroy of the Fallen-Angels.
[—?!]
Everyone in the vicinity, save for the confused Gasper, formed a defensive position with Asia in the middle of it. Raynare uttered out his name with trembling lips.
"..A….A-Aza-zel..sama…."
"Wha..?! Who?! A-Azazel..? Hey, that name.. Hyoudou, don't tell me this guy is..!?"
"Yeah, it's him. He's the "don" of the pigeons."
Azazel chuckled sarcastically.
"Keke, and here I'd thought that I had solidified myself as a reliable non-threat, but look at you. You're still totally on edge."
"Yeah, that tends to happen when you sneak up on people unannounced, birdbrain."
"Heh. My bad, that's an unbreakable habit for me. Being sly and cryptic has always been a part of my nature, even since I was first created. It was of no surprise that I fell from heaven. Although, my reasons for falling were far simpler."
Azazel's eyes subtly analyzed the group, causing Raynare to freeze when his gaze met hers. But as Azazel stared into her eyes silently, Issei maintained his position in front of the girl and even seemed to emphasize himself more by lifting his Sacred Gear higher.
For some reason, this made Azazel smile momentarily.
"What are you doing here, Ash Crow? Running away from your annoying, spiky haired escort?"
"[Ash Crow], huh? Heh. Wasn't sure if people called me that anymore. You must've gotten that from Kokabiel. That's funny. And no, I'm not running. Just sightseeing, mostly. Bal is probably somewhere around here too. You just can't sense him. He's good like that. —Anyway, I came to see the Holy-demonic sword user. Is he here?"
"If you're looking for him, you're shit outta luck. He ain't here."
"Is that so? How boring. I was hoping to take a peek at his blade. I've been interested in it since the moment I heard about it. It's too bad if he's not here though."
Azazel glanced around until he found Gasper, who was hiding behind a tree.
"The vampire-halfling over there."
"Hyeee?!"
"You're the [Forbidden Balor View] user. "Pseudo-Longinus," huh… Your Sacred Gear is the type that is limited by its users capability, more so than others. It works off of the user's basic five senses, but it's a dangerous one if you aren't strong enough. The best course would be to make up for what he lacks with augmenting devices in the meantime, but… Well, Devil technology has yet to progress that far, I suppose. And you, over there. You're the Absorption line user, correct? During training, why not have him connect to your line and absorb some of the excess power. That might balance him out."
"Absorb..?"
"What, you already know, don't you? Why are you acting so ignorant? Do you seriously not get it? Who trained you? Honestly, Devils are still so unrefined in dealing with your types, aren't they? This is why you're behind everyone else right now. Even heaven is exploring new research. —Listen. Your Sacred Gear has the power of the former Evil Black Dragon–King, the "Prison Dragon," Vritra. It can scatter and absorb the power of anything it makes direct contact with, but it can also attach itself to something for a short period of time. You can use that to limit the vampire boy. That's what the Sekiryuutei was getting at earlier."
"For real..?"
Although Issei didn't necessarily lower his guard, he was still speaking fairly nonchalantly with the Fallen-Angel boss.
"You'll have to forgive him. He's not smart, but his master is. If she was here, she would've figured it out too. Try not to blame his ignorance on her. He's just an idiot."
"OY!"
"Kekeke, something about the Sekiryuutei who grew up hating Devils defending a Devil is rich. I guess that speaks to the Sitri heiress's capability. To have your respect, it's interesting. The world is not so black and white after all, is it, kid?"
Issei's scowled and his eyes became darker.
"...Devils aren't my enemies. They're just a nuisance, like the rest of you… My real enemies are still out there somewhere.."
For a moment, Azazel's expression got serious and he stared into Issei's eyes. And despite the feeling of being analyzed down to his deepest components, Issei did not break away from his gaze.
"—And what exactly will you do when you find said enemies?"
"...You're smart, aren't you..? Take a good guess…"
His low, sharp tone came out with venom in its conclusion. Issei's intention was clear as day without a single need for elaboration.
Eventually, Azazel broke away from Issei's glare and looked off into the distance thoughtfully.
"...Is that right? So it's inevitable then.."
When Azazel looked back down at Issei, he noticed that the boy's expression did not change a bit. After that, he seemed to disregard it and snapped his fingers in realization.
"Oh, that's right. Almost forgot. There's also a faster way of doing it. If you want to help him out quicker, you could just have the little vampire runt drink some dragon's blood. That is, he should drink some of the Sekiryuutei's blood. Since he's a vampire, that would be the most effective method."
[—?!]
That was something that surprised Issei.
"..My blood?"
"That's right. Blood is the most potent fuel for vampires after all. Even for a half-vampire, the principle is the same. They might be able to eat regular food as well, but it's blood that is still the king of nutrients for them. In fact, even more so for halflings. It can increase their resistance to the sun, holy artifacts, and more. Plus, it makes them stronger than normal vampires, since they need much less of it for pure survival reasons and can divert more of that energy to other aspects. There's other positive effects that it has that normal vampires don't experience either, but I'll leave that for you to figure out. You guys can experiment on your own."
Azazel casually walked past the defensive group and stopped a bit aways from their position.
"Ah, by the way… Raynare."
At the sound of her name being called, Raynare stiffened. The iron grip she maintained on Asia's hand should've been enough to break her hand, theoretically, since she was just a human. However, she was so weakened by fear that her strength wasn't anywhere to be found there. She wasn't sure to herself why she feared Azazel so, the man she fell from heaven for. Perhaps it was the shame or the guilt. Or perhaps it was fear of repercussions, fear of the punishment that would come as a result of her foolish actions, acting alone and almost turning the Sekiryuutei against Grigori. She couldn't tell which. Maybe it was both. Whatever the case, it shook her to the core, and she didn't know how to shake this dread. Except…
When she looked at Issei, she could catch a glimpse of his face over his broad shoulder. His firm glare directed towards Azazel somehow brought her a sense of reassurance, and she remembered his words to her before.
("—Don't worry. Whatever happens, I've got your back.")
At that moment, Raynare felt her ragged breath steady just a bit. Quietly, she calmly released a gasp of trapped air from her throat.
She took a heavy gulp. With unbelievable hesitation, she responded.
"W...What?"
"—Are you happy here?"
Needless to say, the question took her aback.
"...What?"
But Azazel did not repeat himself, he merely stood there with his back facing towards the group of teens, saying nothing. It was clear that he was only waiting for her reply and her reply only.
"...I…I don't.."
But when she felt the warmth of Asia's hand clasping her own, she was reminded of something important. She felt a fragment of her strength return to her and the firmness of her grip increased within Asia's hold.
"Yes…. That's right… I'm… I am….happy.."
And there was only silence to follow.
…For a time.
"Ah, I see. That's good."
—Before Raynare could process his simple reply, Azazel was gone like the wind, leaving only the audible trail of an echo behind.
"See ya, brats. Until we meet again at the conference."
Just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared. Issei reverted to his regular demeanor shortly thereafter.
"...Alright. Koneko-chan, Xenovia. You guys can leave, you won't be needed here any longer. Raynare, you and Asia can head home without me. If the princess asks about me, just tell her I'm still busy with the scrawny puke. Oh, you can fuck off too, Saji."
Saji grumbled.
"Yeah, yeah, well, you don't gotta tell me twice.. I'll catch you guys later."
Koneko pulled at Issei's sleeve curiously.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't like being told what to do, not by guys like that. Especially if it's an idea I already had. Smug asshole… Call it my dragon nature, but guys like that make me want to rebel… I'll do things my own way."
Issei glanced over at the cowering Gasper, causing him to hide behind his tree even further.
"Hmph… I'll make a man out of you yet, boy."
Part 4
Boooooom!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Another minor explosion rumbled the wooded area around the old school building. Hours had passed since the school day ended and now night had fallen.
Issei, who was still attempting to train Gasper, shouted at the cowering Dhampir.
"Don't duck under the blasts! You have to stop them with your power!"
Gasper, who was down on the floor, holding his head and shaking profusely, shouted back.
"I-I have to dodge them! If I don't dodge them, I'll d-die! I can't freeze them because I don't have proper control! Every attempt ends in failure anyway, I just end up freezing you instead and then you yell at me! So that's why dodging is my only option! If I don't dodge, it's over for me! I'll cease to exist! I'll be turned to dust!"
"Don't be so dramatic. I know my own power. None of these will kill you. They'll definitely hurt, but as long as we take you to Asia afterwards, the scars won't stay. For the most part."
"Uwaaaaah! Issei-sempai is trying to kill meeeeee! Someone heeeeelp!"
Issei sighed, but his voice got deeper and his tone became stern.
"No-one's coming to help you so you might as well shut up. Cowering and running away isn't going to get you anywhere. If you keep running away, then you're only going to prolong your own suffering."
After what Issei said, Gasper went quiet. Soon enough, his voice came out like an indignant whisper.
"...I'll suffer either way.."
"What's that, boy? Speak up. When you're talking to someone, you need to properly raise your voice or they won't hear you. If you're gonna speak that low, then you might as well not speak at all."
Following a long pause, Gasper didn't stand or change his position, but he raised his voice.
"...I said I'll suffer no matter what I do! That's the truth… If I stay here and do whatever you say, I'll still end up failing and suffer for it. Because no matter what, at some point, I'll lose control of these powers, just like always. The result will be the same as always… And even if I don't listen to you, I'll end up suffering because I won't know how to control my powers in the first place.. My only choice is to run and hide forever…"
Issei groaned frustratedly.
"You can't control these powers if you never learn to try."
"I-I have tried! I've tried…. Do you think I never spent time in that room alone just trying and failing to control my own powers over and over again..? Even when Buchou and the rest tried to help me in the past, it only ended with failure and I ended up being sealed up for it.."
As Gasper continued, Issei listened intently, assuming that this might have been the only chance to hear Gasper open up. Letting him vent was the only route that might lead to the source of the problem.
"...When I was first turned into a devil, Buchou-san had kept me a secret.. She started training me along with everybody else, but…. One day, when I couldn't control my powers, I froze her…. Sirzechs-sama and Grayfia-sama were there too…. And when I told Sirzechs-sama that I couldn't unfreeze her, I started panicking. Sirzechs-sama looked like he wasn't bothered at first… But then, when he and Grayfia-sama went to inspect Buchou-san, Sirzechs-sama made a face that I had never seen before… For just one split-second, Sirzechs-sama's face looked like he realized that his sister might never be unfrozen again… I was afraid to see what he looked like when he turned around, but when he faced me, he was smiling like normal. He calmed me down and told me everything was going to be okay, and eventually, I was able to unfreeze Buchou-san again…. Sirzechs-sama was smiling like he was proud of me, but I felt more like he might've been relieved instead…. And after that happened, the higher-ups found out about my existence thanks to some other Gremory maids, and they sealed me up for what I did…. Sirzechs-sama and Buchou-san made sure that I had everything I needed while I was locked up… It was a good thing… It's what I deserved…"
"...Deserved? You deserve to be locked away? You deserve to be alone? Is that what you think? "
Gasper paused before continuing.
"...Do you have any idea what it's like? The feeling that you have this uncontrollable power that puts everyone around you at risk? My power isn't only limited to sight, you know? It can go even beyond that. When it's out of control, it can even go as far as freezing everything around me, if it gets bad enough… "the closest thing to a Longinus that isn't a Longinus." That's what they all called it… "Too dangerous a power to be left alone," they said, "too amazing," especially for a mutation piece..."
For a moment, Issei could hear a sniffle coming from Gasper.
"Stupid… There's nothing "amazing" about this power… There's nothing even good about me existing. I'm not even useful to anyone like this. I'm just a nuisance. A threat….. Everyone around me is always at risk of being frozen and never being unfrozen again. The possibility of freezing someone for days, months, or more is always there. And what do you tell them when they're finally free? "I'm sorry?" What if an entire year passes and they didn't even know? Is it even truly possible? I don't know. I've never known. That's what scares me... It doesn't even matter anyway. Because how could someone even trust you knowing that you could potentially do that? How could someone feel safe around you knowing that you could freeze them in place for however long without them even knowing, at any time or place, completely by accident…and you couldn't even bring them back when you wanted to? No one could trust somebody like that.…. No one could be around somebody like that…"
By this point, Gasper was already crying.
"Uuu… All my life, I've had this dream… This one bad dream where I've frozen time for everything else in the world, and I'm the only one left unfrozen… And I'm just alone there, staring at all the animals and all the people who can't move…with no one to talk to, unable to do anything about it….. Alone…..forever…."
Issei allowed Gasper's words to hang in the air silently. Issei looked up at the moon in contemplation. A while of nothing but chirping crickets and Gasper's "hic"ing and sniffling passed. Eventually, Issei sealed away his Boosted Gear.
"...That's enough, boy. Go back to your room. That'll be all for today."
Gasper picked himself up and walked away defeatedly, arms hanging loosely at his sides. Issei didn't say anything else, he just picked up his stuff and made his way home.
The day ended just like that, in silence, and in failure.
Part 5
—The next day, Issei had already explained what happened with Gasper to Rias. She made futile attempts to call Gasper out from the room that he locked himself in with Issei beside her, but Gasper wasn't receptive to it.
"Gasper, please unlock the door… I'll train you myself today so please come out and try again. One time can't be enough of an attempt.."
From behind the locked doors, Gasper's small, muffled voice leaked through, getting weaker as it went on.
"...I don't want to…. I don't belong in the outside world after all.. I don't belong anywhere…"
"Don't say things like that. Come now, don't you want to be with the rest of your fellow club members? Everyone is waiting for you."
"...No one's waiting for me… We're not even friends yet.."
"That's not true, Gasper. Everyone in our group is a family and everyone in the club is your friend. If only you'd come out, then I could easily prove it to you—"
"—No! I don't belong in the outside world! This is where I belong, so I'm going to stay here! Who cares if I can't control my powers!? It won't matter as long as I stay here. As long as I'm alone, it won't make a difference either way… That's how it should be…"
After that, Gasper was simply unresponsive. Rias sighed ashamedly.
"Haah… So once again, he's shut himself away…. I'm not fit to be called a king."
"It's my fault."
Rias went wide-eyed at the surprising display of remorse from Issei. It took her aback to see him admitting fault with such a straight face in a situation like this, but she denied his guilt nonetheless.
"No, you shouldn't blame yourself, Ise. The fault is my own. I'm the one who pushed this issue onto you despite knowing that you were both total strangers. I thought that you could help him because of your experiences that I mentioned before, but maybe that was naive of me. You might have some similarities in the emotions you feel, but you have such wildly different personalities after all. You were probably just incompatible from the beginning. Haaah… And now I've pushed him even further away from us.. What a failure of a master I am."
Issei stared at the double doors in front of him as if he was looking right through them. Unexpectedly to Rias, he prodded her for information.
"...This isn't just regular agoraphobia. What he's dealing with is a deep-rooted trauma. And I doubt it's only from where he told me it was. There must be a long history to his disdain for his powers, and himself... Do you know what it is?"
Once again, Rias sighed. Inevitably, she understood that an in-depth explanation was in order. Hesitantly, she began recounting Gasper's story, in a hopefully low enough voice that he wouldn't hear it.
"...Gasper was a vampire from a prestigious family. His father was a high class vampire, but his mother was just a human concubine, so that's why he isn't pure-blooded. However, vampires are far more exclusionary and discriminatory than even Devils are, as shocking as that might sound. To them, Gasper is the type of existence that doesn't belong anywhere at all. Some would even go as far as saying that he's just an "abomination." They claim that the fact that vampires can even reproduce conventionally at all means that they were meant to reproduce only with each other and not other races. I can't even imagine what they'd say now that he's a devil too…. That aside, it's a pretty obvious fact that he was discriminated against. Distrusted by even his own family members and friends, feared and loathed by everyone else. With the rare abilities of a vampire and the exemption to most vampiric weaknesses through his human blood, add to that an amazing Sacred Gear that is almost universally considered the unofficial "14th Longinus," he's a being that is bound to grow exponentially more powerful once nurtured, more so now that he possesses a [mutation piece]... But in the eyes of the vampires, every angle of what he was, was bad. A "disgusting abomination" with nearly unforeseen potential for growth… The combination of all of these factors was like a ticking time bomb. And eventually, it blew… But it was a flame that they started, and that they tried to put out. "
The day eventually came when Gasper was driven away from his home…by his own father. I was there that day. My familiar was scouring the area and happened upon the sight of the vampire estate.
Gasper's father had taken him out onto the edge of the estate and ahead of the two was only forest as far as the eye could see. Confused, Gasper looked up at the silhouette of his father who was sitting upon his horse, shadowed by the gleam of the moonlight behind him. Fearfully, he finally asked his father why they were there. But to that, his father only said:
"—Run."
When Gasper hesitantly asked again, why, his father told him:
"When the prey is confronted by the deadly predator, it need not ask why it should run. It need only ask itself which one of two courses of action it should take. Fight - or run. If you fight however, you will not win. Not against any enemy. You are too weak. Your only choice is to run. —Run, as far away as you can - run. And when you've run far enough, hide. Hide away somewhere the world cannot see you, somewhere where you can never again be found. For as long as you exist in this world, you will be persecuted. You will be hunted. As long as you exist in this world, you will be a risk— a threat, and never will you encounter a place that you belong to, nor that belongs to you. So run. Run and hide. And when it finally tires you to run or hide— die —as all "men" do."
Speechless, Gasper simply stared up at his father's silhouette with teary eyes. He was wrought with fear, but even more so with disbelief. And so, one last time, he dubiously asked his father what was happening while shedding tears.
Coldly, without a shred of sympathy for his own son, he told him..
"—You need not ask why. You are prey."
And so, Gasper ran. He ran as far through the brush as his frail legs could take him. Eventually, he landed on the main road, heading towards nowhere. Aimless and afraid, he held himself tightly as he walked. And though he was crying, he kept walking with bloodied feet.
He was barefoot, because his own father had instructed him not to "burden his feet with tension," after all, it "wouldn't take long." But the true reason was not yet revealed until Gasper had already escaped his estate. The truth is…without his shoes, he wouldn't get far.
"Hey. Blood-sucker."
After some time, Gasper found himself standing across from an individual wrapped in a dark cloak. Emotionlessly, the human titled his head and then nodded. It only took a moment for Gasper to realize what the man was. Even without revealing the countless weapons underneath his robes which reflected the moon's glow, Gasper's heart had already sunk to the pit of stomach. I saw that heartbreaking expression of despair with my own eyes. How "unlucky." To Gasper, it was just like the vampire ghost stories of old.
[A young, lost and inexperienced vampire encounters the descendant of Van Helsing himself.] It was too unlikely to be a coincidence and too terrible a fate to be true. And yet, it was Gasper's fate.
Hopelessly, yet desperately, Gasper turned and ran. He didn't get far before his back was slashed open and he was left on his knees, ready to die.
"Hmm. An easy one."
But I did not allow Gasper to consign to that fate. My familiar had been watching him from the moment he and his father left the estate, and I had been watching him myself from the moment he aimlessly stumbled onto that road.
I galloped onto the road, placing my horse and I between the vampire-hunter and his prey.
"If you lay another hand on this child, I will blast away at you until there is nothing left but dust."
The vampire-hunter was as perplexed as he was irritated by my appearance.
"A Devil? This wasn't mentioned by the commissioner."
Looking briefly between Gasper and I, the vampire-hunter conceded. He put away his weapons and retrieved something else. A coin, which he tossed towards Gasper. The coin slid off of the exposed muscle on Gasper's opened back. The vampire-hunter then spoke directly to him, confusing us both.
"Take that as an apology token for not completing the job. I don't deal with devils. They can keep their money. Since you're going to live anyway, you might as well tell them yourself."
Unconsciously, I felt the leather of the saddle-rope in my hands strain from the pressure of my squeeze.
"You… What are you saying? You don't mean that the commissioner is…?"
But the vampire-hunter simply ignored my rage, turning away and walking off to who knows where, never to be seen again. I should have burned him into nothing, but he wasn't my priority at the time. I turned to Gasper and descended from my horse. When I knelt down to his level, I found only the despair of true loneliness.
"Are you alright?"
But he said only one thing.
"Kill me...Please kill me….."
But I didn't allow him to die, only to live. If not for himself, then for anyone else. For me. And from there, Gasper became a part of my family.
Issei stared at the double doors in front of him with a hollow expression. His dragonic eye had been exposed from underneath his contact lens and his voice seeped out with an eerie tone.
"...Oy. The person who paid that vampire-hunter to be there.."
Rias held her trembling arms at her sides and clenched her fists so tightly that the skin of her palms was beginning to tear. She responded with her face turned away from Issei.
"...We can't know for sure why he was there…. We couldn't prove anything. We couldn't confirm it….and even if we could, it wasn't our place as Devils to… There was nothing we could do…"
Rias held back her own aura, subsiding the anger brought out by the memory of Gasper's tragedy. Although Issei himself wasn't leaking any aura, his agitation came clear enough through his voice and through the grinding of his teeth.
"Told all of his life that he doesn't belong anywhere…. Chased off and assassinated by his own family…. And the solution to all of his problems is isolation….? Like I said, I despise the way you Devils do things…"
"Yes… Needless to say, Onii-sama was very unhappy with it as well… Very, very unhappy… But the higher-ups wouldn't budge, no matter how long he argued… We knew that would be the result, that's why we kept him a secret as long as we could, but it was all for nothing….. They wouldn't listen to Onii-sama…. It was the first time I'd ever seen him make a face like that… And now, we're back to square one. Gasper's back to being alone, just like before. All because of my failure…"
"..."
—In his mind, Issei began to envision two children stuck in an abyss once again.
One child alone, stuck sitting on an old chair, clutching his plush toy for comfort. And across from him, another crying child standing next to two empty coffins on either side of him, alone.
Then, slowly but surely, the crying child gradually ceased his weeping, and the coffins beside him were eventually replaced with family and friends… But all the while, the other child across from him remained alone.
It was only the Boy, Hyoudou Issei, who was covered in warmth, as little as it might have been. But the little Dhampir was left alone with nothing but his old, decrepit toy to keep him company as he wept in his rickety old chair. Shrinking further and further away from warmth. Alone, in the darkness, forever….
—Outside of Issei's mind, Rias sighed once more before having her downtrodden demeanor suddenly changed.
"Rias. Go back to the clubroom. Go to class, do whatever you're gonna do for the day…. I'll do something about this."
Rias questioned Issei in disbelief.
"What..? But, it isn't your responsibility, Ise. It's mine. You shouldn't have to burden yourself with this.."
"—Burden? When did I ever call this boy a burden? Did those words ever come out of my mouth?"
"..!"
Rias looked at Issei in amazement. Though he had no visible expression on his face, his eyes sang an untold story. There was a light in his eyes that she couldn't describe. Was it anger, was it determination, was it hope? She didn't know, but it filled her with an indescribable confidence in him.
"No matter what, helping someone else in need will never be a burden on me.."
—Fittingly, the images of every person that Issei has helped throughout his life flashed in his mind. Haruka - the girl who was drenched in blood, Asia Argento - the lost priestess, and even Rias Gremory - the naive but innocent devil-girl. And of course, most important of all, Marie Bellerose. The girl who helped Issei even more than Issei could have ever helped her or himself. The girl who taught him how to help others even when he didn't want to. The girl who was never burdened by helping others…
The girl he could never forget.
"...Never."
And so, hearing his declaration, Rias couldn't contain her hopeful smile.
"Very well. Then I'll leave it to you, Ise."
Rias walked away confidently, completely reassured that Issei would solve the issue of Gasper. And more so than that, she was happy to see him so eager to help someone else, especially her precious servant. So when she left him there, it was with a spring in her step.
Issei, now alone in front of Gasper's door, took a breath. Then, he kicked in Gasper's doors, breaking one of them off of its hinges.
Slam!
Naturally, Gasper released a fearful gasp. Issei entered the dimly lit room, causing Gasper to shrink away towards the corner in terror.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry! I-I'm sorry, but I can't do it! I d-don't belong in the outside world, I n-need to stay here! P-Please understand! I don't want to a-anger you, I just need to stay here! Please!"
As Gasper pleaded with Issei, Issei simply ignored him and picked up the door he broke. He placed the door back in its former spot and leveraged it so that it would hold still. He also placed a chair up against it for good measure.
"...Um, Issei-sempai..?"
"Senpai."
"Eh?"
"It's senpai, not "sempai." You keep pronouncing it wrong. Although, I guess it doesn't really matter that much."
"O-Oh, I'm sorry.."
"It's fine. Call me whatever you want."
After setting the door enough, Issei walked around the room curiously, as if looking for something. Eventually, he picked up a rubber ball and went over to a bean bag that was sitting on one side of the room. He sat down on it without saying anything and laid back with arms resting behind his neck.
Essentially, he was lounging, leaving Gasper in more of a confused stupor than a frightened one.
"...Um…? Issei-senpai…?"
"Yeah?"
"U-Um… W-What are you doing?"
"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm relaxing."
"...W-Well…why…?"
"What, is relaxing against the rules now?"
"N-No, but..! But…w-why are you doing it here?"
"Well, I'm not going to leave this room until you're ready to come out again, so I might as well make myself comfortable."
"..!? W-W-What..?!"
"You heard me. I'm not leaving until you do. —I'm staying here with you until you're ready to leave this room once and for all."
"B-But, but..! I-I don't understand! Why would you do that..?!"
"Before, you said that you "deserved" to be alone. You said that it was better that way. —If that's true for you, then the same is true for me. That's why, we're gonna both get what we deserve. We're gonna be alone. Just you and me. For however long you're willing to stay here. Whether that be days, weeks, months, or even forever, is up to you."
Issei was satisfied with his own explanation, but Gasper was still confused.
"Y….You're going to isolate yourself like this….f-for me…? W…Why..?"
"...Gasper."
Issei turned to Gasper and appealed to him with a serious expression.
"—Your father is a prick. The people who betrayed you are bastards and so are those damned old geezers at the upper echelon of Devil society. To hell with all of them. Forget all of them. Don't concern yourself with the disdain or suspicions of others. Live for yourself or live for the sake of those you care about, it's your choice. It's all up to you. But don't live for the sake of those bastards. If you run and hide, that's all you'll be doing. You'll be living on behalf of those who ostracized you for their own selfish reasons. And if you chose to die because of that, you'd be dying on their behalf too. To hell with that. The last people who get to decide what happens to you are any of those scumbags who'd rather lock you away or abandon you instead of taking responsibility. You decide. Don't resign yourself to the fates that others have created for you. Fuck that. Your life is your own; your fate is your own. Forget all of the rest."
For a moment, Gasper was speechless. But soon, he lowered his head and his voice.
"...It's not that easy to just….forget..… It's not that easy to just…..live on….."
"I know it isn't…. But, even so, do it. Even if it's hard, keep trying. Struggle and suffer, but live. You might think you're cursed and that might even be true, but you're also blessed. You have all of the necessary tools to move on from what's happened to you. You have all of the tools to become far more than what any of them could have imagined of you. You have allies who you can trust, those who care about what happens to you. Even if it might seem like you're alone, the truth is, you're not . And you don't "deserve" to be alone either… Maybe neither of us do….. That's why, I'm going to stay here with you until you understand that. And if that means never leaving this room, then that's fine by me…. Because you don't deserve to be holed up in here any more than I do…. Not like I do…"
Eventually, Gasper's body started shaking.
"...But, I'm scared…. Even if I'm not alone, I'm still scared…. I don't want to hurt anyone…. I don't want to cause anyone trouble…. I don't want to scare everyone away… But I also….. Most of all, I also don't…."
When Issei looked at Gasper, he noticed the tears running down the boy's porcelain colored face without remorse.
"...I don't want to be alone anymore either…"
Issei's gaze returned to the ceiling above them as he was reminded of an interaction reminiscent of this one.
In front of his eyes, he could see Marie Bellerose looking up at him curiously, clear as day…
"Neh, Écaille. What's your biggest fear?"
"Ya know, usually, the person who asks stupid questions like that is the first one to admit what's going on with them. It's kind of like when you give your name first before asking someone else's. It's called a courtesy."
"A courtesy, huh? Well, for me, if I had to say what I'm afraid of most, it would be…. Well, I don't know, actually! I mean, I know that in the past I was always afraid of being a failure, but now... Hmm, something's different. Now I'm afraid of losing…"
"Isn't being afraid of losing the same thing as being afraid of failure?"
"No, no, not that. I wasn't finished… I'm afraid of losing something.."
Issei always remembered the way she looked up at him from his side with those beautiful ocean-colored eyes.
"Losing your faith?"
"That's…. No. No, my faith is secured, I think…. What I'm afraid of losing now is…probably just as important as my faith is to me…if not more…"
"If not what?"
"N-Nothing… Anyway, I don't know if I can give a clear answer right now.."
"What a cop out. And you were the one who asked the question too. In the first place, I know it's a BS answer because there's nothing more important to you than your faith, not even your own life."
She stopped in front of Issei, causing him to stop as well. Once again, she gazed up at him. For those short few moments that she didn't speak, Issei could lose a silent eternity looking into her eyes.
"...You never said what your biggest fear was, Écaille."
"Me…? I don't have one…"
"That's not true. Everyone has their biggest fear. I'm sure for you it's a lot easier to pick out, right? Since you've fought so many monsters."
But Issei's eyes lost themselves elsewhere now, looking down the empty street ahead of the two, dimly lit by street lights. He looked directly into the abyss further down, devoid of light.
"No… It's not monsters that scare me. I can handle monsters. If I can kill it, I'm not afraid…. What I'm afraid of is…not so tangible. Not so easily killed…"
Looking down that street, it was not the darkness that sunk the pit in his stomach even further down. It was how eerily devoid of life it was. The emptiness.
"...Solitude…."
And for a moment, Issei must have imagined his parents' faces being devoured by the obscurity of the night.
"Teehee! That's what you're afraid of? How silly."
"...Excuse me?"
"You can't be afraid of "being alone," silly!"
Once again, Marie blessed Issei with that overpowering smile brimming with light.
"Beca~ause! You're not alone! I'm right here, partner!"
She laughed.
For a moment, Issei also smiled. But gradually, he lost his smile and he looked down longingly at Marie's own. He spoke, but whatever he said was lost outside the bounds of time. Because what he said was nothing but his present self speaking backwards into a memory, and so, Marie never heard any of it.
"Yeah, I… I guess you're right. But, you know, I…. Even though you say that, I'm still…. I'm still afraid…. Yeah…. As I thought, I'm still afraid. Afraid of.."
And soon, Marie's smiling face disappeared like a flash in his mind and all that Issei saw was the lifeless expression of Marie's corpse in his arms. It was as if he was always stuck there, frozen in that one point in time forever.
"...being left alone…"
While staring up at the ceiling, Issei felt an emotion that he couldn't describe in words. It was like a rush of smog had filled his lungs and gravity was pushing down on his chest. But he recognized it.
In this moment of mutual vulnerability that he shared with Gasper, he found a thread of understanding which lined itself deep with his heart. The pain of knowing the same solitude, the fear of the same decrepit loneliness. It was a greater understanding than probably that of even him and Kiba. An understanding not of hatred or vengeful emotions fueled with unequivocal passion, but an understanding of the terrible, unspeakable silence contained within abandonment.
This rush of emotion almost burst out from inside of him, but he stuffed it down quietly with what felt like a clog in his throat. Why did it happen so suddenly, so unexpectedly, he wondered. But he knew the answer. It was simply something that was inevitable. In finally finding this sense of understanding between him and Gasper, his own heart fought to claw his emotions out from deep inside. To break apart the dam holding everything back. All of the sorrow stemmed from loneliness. A chance for the child's cries to finally be truly heard by someone who understood…. Yet still, he held it in place. Still, he hid it away behind himself, somewhere no one could find it. He hid it away, even from the person who understood it most out of everyone else in the world.
And yet, despite that, The Boy still couldn't prevent the dampness growing near the edge of his only human eye…
"You're not alone….. You're not…..alone…"
And so, the two lost and lonely boys wallowed in the silence of a room devoid of light for a long while.
—.
After an hour or so, Gasper wasn't crying anymore. Gasper's room was totally silent.
Issei was still sitting flat on the bean bag, tossing the rubber ball he'd acquired earlier into the air, while Gasper just silently sat in his coffin. Consequently, the ball impacted the ceiling a few times at random intervals. For Issei, it was just a mindless distraction that he was bored of since the moment he first started doing it, but considering that there wasn't much else to do, he continued tossing it and catching it habitually.
Eventually, one of Issei's throws ended up losing its regular descent trajectory and fell in the direction to his right. In order to catch it, he extended his right arm fully and caught it at the last second thanks to his reflexes.
"Ah."
But it never actually landed. Instead, the rubber ball was suspended in the air just above his open palm, surrounded by a subtle purple glow.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry.."
Gasper apologized, unfreezing the ball and allowing Issei to catch it.
"I, I didn't think it would actually stop.."
Issei stared at the ball without saying anything, causing Gasper's anxiety to rise. But soon, Issei would smirk and look at Gasper expectantly before hopping to his feet. Issei then faced the wall ahead of him and wound up his throwing arm.
"Eh? Issei-sempai?"
Gasper watched confusedly, but quickly realized what was happening when Issei threw the ball straight at the wall with full force.
"Senpai!"
In a split second, the ball reached Issei's face. But right before the ball smashed into his nose, the ball stopped in midair and fell down a second later, causing Issei to smirk again. When Issei turned to Gasper, he was smiling fully. It was a sight Gasper thought he'd never witness.
"Gasper, stand up. Training happens on your feet, not on your ass."
"W-What?! B-But, I still don't know if I can do it well yet!"
Despite his own self doubts, Gasper was still standing up.
"Heh. The hell are you talkin' about? Ya just did, boy."
After school, Rias returned from her daily club activities with Asia and Raynare to check up on Issei and Gasper. She noticed that Issei wasn't waiting outside of the room, which was a good sign, but she also noticed that the door was placed very jaggedly within the door frame as if it had been broken right off, a bad sign.
Curiously, but nervously, Rias peered through the slim openings in the door frame to look inside the room. What she saw was a sight that she could only classify as "random."
WHAP!
"Gyah!"
Gasper's face was red with marks after being smacked by a rubber ball. For some reason, Issei was throwing a rubber ball at the wall in front of him with full force, causing it to bounce back and hit Gasper in the face. As a result, Gasper's nose had a small dribble of blood leaking from one of his nostrils.
"Huh. Looks like you're still not good at stopping objects from colliding with you. Maybe the idea just gives you performance anxiety?"
Gasper rubbed his forehead, which was also red from previous collisions.
"Uuu…. W-When I do it for Issei-sempai, it seems so easy, but when it comes to me…. I don't know. For some reason, I can't get it fast enough."
"Hmm. Is it really just your nerves? I mean, what's the difference in your thought pattern in each scenario? What are you usually thinking when it happens?"
"For me, I'm just thinking "I have to stop it!" But for Issei-sempai, I… I'm not usually thinking about anything. It's more like a feeling."
"What kind of feeling?"
"I don't know… Just "I can't let Sempai get hurt" or something like that…"
For a moment, Issei didn't say anything. Issei knelt down in front of Gasper and lifted a hand up to the boy's face. He gently rubbed the dribble of blood leaking out of Gasper's nose with his thumb. Issei's soft staring made Gasper nervous, but Issei just smiled.
"It's [senpai]."
"E-Eh?"
"Nah, it's nothing. That's fine too."
For reasons unknown to Gasper, Issei chuckled delightedly and threw an arm around Gasper's neck, nuzzling the boy's head in his chest and using his free hand to ruffle Gasper's hair.
"Hehe, you'll get the hang of it, I promise. We just gotta keep tryin' is all. And then tomorrow, we can keep tryin' to get you accustomed to the outside too, bit by bit. Just leave it up to your "sempai," okay?"
Gasper's cheeks reddened considerably, but he nodded his head nonetheless.
"O-Okay.."
"Alright then. Now, let's try this again. Get ready, boy. I'm going to chuck it at full speed again. Well, actually half speed, but whatever."
"Y-Yes, sempai!"
WHAP!
"Guah!"
"You weren't ready."
—Rias couldn't help smiling widely, a tear threatening to escape the corner of her eye. Satisfied with what she saw, she turned to the other girls behind her and nodded.
"Yep. Just like I thought. Let's go girls. We aren't needed here."
"You're not the boss of us, Devil-brat. You're just lucky we're going the same direction. Come on, Asia, let's go home."
"I knew that Ise-san would be able to help! I hope this means that Gya-kun will come out more."
"I have no doubt, Asia."
—About a day or two passed, it was now the day before the conference between the Three Factions.
For reasons yet to be revealed to Issei, he was approached by Rias and Akeno regarding some important topic. Rias explained to Issei that he was being "summoned" by an individual of high importance for an issue that very closely concerned one of his "loved ones." He didn't understand it at first, but assuming that it could involve the death of his parents, he inevitably agreed to whatever meeting was taking place.
Today, Issei found himself climbing the steps of a shrine mounted on a hill in his town. When he reached the top, he found that Akeno was waiting for him while wearing a priestess outfit, something he'd only seen her wear previously in the encounter with Kokabiel.
"Himejima. You're here. You gonna be the mediator of this meeting or something?"
"That's right. Since this is still considered an important interaction between factions, a mediator and neutral ground was necessary to establish."
Issei scoffed annoyedly.
"Of course. I'm still being used as a damn conduit for the flying rat king's business, huh."
"...I'm afraid that this will be far more personal than something like that."
"...What do you mean by that?"
《"I'm afraid that, for now, my answers will need to suffice."》
Suddenly, an ethereal, blinding light shone from behind Issei. It was a light so bright that it overpowered the sun itself. And its shape - was the silhouette of a cross.
End
Okay, that's done. Next, we have what I consider the "intermission" section involving Micheal and Akeno. That'll be short. I think I might honestly make that one chapter so when we get to the peace conference, it's all gas and no brakes.
As for what happened with Gasper…. Um, I can explain lol. I know that I said I would try to speedrun through his content because I don't really care for his story, but… I'm sorry, guys. I have a talent of taking characters who had good story potential that was never truly capitalized on in the original source material and expanding further on them. I can't help it, I make habits of things like these because I'm good at them lol. So without even meaning to, I made Gasper a better character and tied him more relevantly to the story through his unique bond to Issei. My bad.
Anyway, not much to say here, hopefully will be back soon so we can get through this fire ass arc. Because I can assure you, once I get to the action, things will go much more smoothly from there. Action and huge events are like, a billion times easier than the quieter and subtler moments. Ya know, because they take a lot more brain power and heart. I also really wanna get through this arc because I want to try to focus on Red Dragon of Stupidity and A Fool's Heart after this one is over.
So whaddya think? How were Issei's interactions with Gasper? Did you enjoy their dynamic? Did you like the way they connected and how their relationship developed? Were you surprised by Issei's refusal to follow Azazel's instruction? Did you like the changes to Gasper's backstory? (Also yes, Van Helsing's descendant is a supernatural hitman who doesn't care who hires him at all. Unlike his ancestor, he has no morals.)
Read, rate, review, go crazy!
Stay frosty. (Or scorching hot because, ya know, summer.)
