Cry Havoc

An idiom: to warn of danger


"Kaa-san! Today, Yuuma should be coming over around 8—"

"What!?" Hyoudou Miki's head peeked out at him from the kitchen. "You decided to tell me the afternoon of?" If it weren't for the window above her, Issei would've thought she was annoyed with him. Instead, his mom was fretting over what she had on hand, what to make, what to wear, what dishes to use, and having to meet Yuuma's parents. And, most importantly, the faint yet ever-present idea that she could and would lose another child— "Oh no, I..." Her racing thoughts were starting to overwhelm her.

"Kaa-san?"

From her muttering, she blinked up to him before responding sadly, "My darling son, Ise..." Issei bit his cheek so he wouldn't twitch or flush at her fond nickname. However, he was glad to see that the reminder of his presence helped to calm her down. She took his hands into hers, rubbing circles into them slowly. It was something she's done ever since he was a baby. "You must've realized by now your Okaa-san is bad with people, huh?"

After a moment of cursing his blindness and density with the matters of people, more so one of his important people, he calmed down. His mom didn't need that.

He hadn't actually known that about his mom, but it did explain a lot now that he thought about it. Whether she was excessively polite or inexpressive in public, his mom always felt out of place and in a rush, like she wanted nothing else but to return home.

'I really should've noticed...'

"Never with you, my beloved son," she continued to ramble on, "I was always worried that part of me rubbed off onto you." His general lack of companionship went unsaid but clearly noted. Though he didn't really think it had anything to do with his mom. It was more like his open honesty (perversion) was unnerving or annoying for most people, to say the least...

He had tried to speak up, but she pulled him into a hug and indirectly pulled his field of vision away from her status, a comfort he recently realized he had gotten used to. "I understand... it hasn't, thankfully." Her hold tightened. "I knew you were going to leave this- our home, sooner or later. Preferably the latter... But to do so, so soon?" She tightened her arms around him further. Maybe if it weren't for his endurance stat, he might've struggled to breathe. "It's not even uncommon for families to send away their children to study... Your dad and I- we promised that we were always going to be by your side. I know you don't ask for a lot, but this... is quite a lot, you see?"

He shut his eyes, nodding. His loving mother was the one who raised him to always fulfill his promises, no matter what. That was the pillar that set him up for life. It was where his (in)famous honesty had originated, a careless promise he had made. He swore to try and uphold it after breaking that promise once and witnessing his father's disappointment. In this case, it was just like his mother, who has yet to break one to his knowledge. Things like the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus were always creatures of fairy tales for him.

Though now? He wasn't too sure about that. They weren't a part of anything supernatural clearly. It's not like they meant to lie to him. Lately, all the misdirection has been toeing the line, if not outright stepping onto the other side...

"I understand." And he did, really.

With that, his mother parted from him.

"But—" his vision, blurred with unshed and bitter tears of frustration, snapped up at her voice, "I-," her voice cracked, "I can try to make an exception." Miki gave a small laugh at his gobsmacked face. It easily helped to soothe her over. Her boy's honest reactions could never fail to pick her up. "Yuuma really helped me out when you were gone, and I couldn't... couldn't do anything and was just so useless." She mustered a weak but bright smile, "I really, really like her too. Just how did you snag her?" She shook her head, biting back a small laugh at her son's embarrassment.

"Kaa-san...!"

"Sorry, sorry." Issei's mother ruffled his hair. Issei's reactions were always the best.

"It makes me really happy to know that you really like her." There was a blush on his cheeks as he smiled up to her on bent knees. "Honestly, it was the other way around. She found me." He averted his gaze and scratched his cheek in sheepish delight.

Ah, her son was really growing up. She bit back her knowing smile. Instead, she took a moment to observe him.

His joy was her favorite reaction by far.

"She's... done you a lot of good too. I can see it, my darling son. You've changed a lot in these recent months. She may have been at the latter parts of it and all. She has been encouraging and basically nothing except perfect... I don't want to ruin that." She held her lovely son's face, which turned to meet her, "I might not be good with people but even I've seen how distance can affect people. It rarely ends well, sadly."

Her gaze averted from his. "Speaking of which, I never really gave you dating advice—not to say I've dated a lot or much at all really." She giggled a little at her good luck. "I absolutely hit the jackpot with your dad, y'know? So never mind ol' me and that. But... if this doesn't work out, home is still here with your dad and I."

The woman knew her boy would never do anything too serious to hurt Yuuma, despite his open perversion (honesty). While she trusted Yuuma with Issei at school, their home, and the occasional dates, the girl wasn't her daughter yet or someone she had known for years. Her experience with people wouldn't allow Miki to be so... easy. Moreso, with her one-in-a-million, only and perfect child.

She tongued the backsides of her teeth as the worries and doubt started to return. "I know." Issei rubbed his covered forearm over his eyes. If it was left up to him to describe his current actions, crying wouldn't be one of them. He was too old to cry in front of his mom! Then, he followed up with, "I love you so much, Kaa-san."

They hugged. However, this time, Issei was the one who initiated, making sure to squeeze instead of pretending to feel overly awkward to receive a hug.

"I love you so much more, Ise." It was a line she used ever since he was a toddler. Back in those days, she always beat him in quantity and quality with big adult words, so he learned to not one-up her.

'I wonder though, does she miss those 'arguments?''

They parted. Miki swiftly returned to the kitchen. She had dinner for guests to prepare. Issei headed into his room to study in an effort to distract himself from his optimistic joy.


Unbeknownst to her jailer, Ddraig did not know what to make of the emotions flowing into her from Issei. She had been 'sleeping' before this, and ever since she regained a good portion of her extended memories, dreams that weren't plains of nothingness returned to her.

['Dreams are strange.']

It was the thought she had almost every time she woke from them. The dragon could tell it was a mishmash of her memories, but they had no sense of time, direction, or anything really. They only really served to make her want to continue swimming in her returned memories, even if just to relieve herself of any confusion or lack of context. It only left her with more questions.

It didn't help matters that she could barely control what she was seeing. It wasn't a matter of flipping to a page or skipping forward in a movie. Her memories, so forgone that each was alien and seemed like a foggy fantasy, moved in real-time in moments and other times in flashes it seemed.

It was a tiring process to relive them outside of dreams, to say the least.

The barest control of what she could relieve: pause or skip to the next random memory. Apparently, it was Gamer's Mind doing this to her, tacking on yet another thing to hold the skill in disdain. A few hundred years—or more; she couldn't exactly measure or remember—of memories was a lot, apparently. It would help if she increased- regained her levels but she could handle it.

The Red Dragon Emperor could handle it, she was sure.

['Right?']

Ddraig was that big ol' tough dragon. She supposedly had power to spare, impossibly brilliant fire, and swatted down gods like gnats. There was nothing she couldn't tackle, literally. The description about her past self said as much. Her dulled but rawest, intrinsic instincts of a dragon among the highest echelon said as much. The various, almost apocalyptic rumors of unforgiving strength whispered into the ears of her past hosts said as much.

That was her. It had to be her.

['Right?']

So much a shell of her former self, she couldn't answer.

Her soul trembled at her sudden terr—unease as the remaining chains warmed up to punish her for whatever reason and the gathering chill of Gamer's Mind threatened to return in response to herself and the chains.

The fact that her soul could even tremble helped to distract her, ironically. It was a new experience; one she didn't realize her former self never experienced. The new wiggle room with the shattered shackles must've explained it.

However, it was too late.

The warmth and cold had crept too far and no amount of distraction would halt it. Again.

Again.

Again.

And again.

And again.

And again.
And again.
Andagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagain
AndagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainandagainANDAGAIN

'—Ddraig? Is everything okay?'

Or so, she thought. She had forgotten she wasn't alone; that this time around she was more than an unfeeling drone of a dragon.

Driven by her near-mad desire to show no weakness in front of her host, she finally shoved away her negative emotions with a muted growl and frantic frenzy, before turning her attention back to her host. ["I'm... just thinking about my returned memories and sensations. This time, I can't simply absorb them as I had done with the previous... batch. It's... vexing as are the new... experiences."]

They both could tell she wasn't being entirely truthful.

However, Issei simply nodded as if Ddraig could see him. He recalled seeing her shattered shackle count go up among his notifications on the way home.

'Oh. Well, uhm,' there was a familiar prod. He was looking at the [Boosted Gear], more specifically, her status. 'Don't forget to relax?'

["Right."] Whatever that meant...

There wasn't much she could and couldn't do in her jai— current state. 'To relax' wasn't something she could do. Making sure to balance her emotions, keeping the remaining taut chains that held her satisfied, and withholding her leaking power, the little she could leak out was enough to easily corrode a human—she had to be on top of those things at all times. The former has been tipping the balance wildly with its new additions to the thinned pool.

Issei's many, seemingly random peaks and descents didn't help the issue to say the least.

She twitched as there was a familiar prod.

- :|: -

(Minimized)

Name: Y Ddraig Goch
Race: Dragon
Lvl: 47

Description: Withdrawing to protect you
Emotions: Terrified, Tentative, Resolute

- :|: -

Ddraig nearly roared at her own status window as it practically yelled her thoughts to Issei.

It was wrong!

'I'm sorry if that's not very helpful... but, I appreciate you a lot, Ddraig. I thought I'd say since I haven't really said that before... Sorry about that! I do hope we could be good friends since I guess we'll be partners for the rest of my life?' Issei paused, 'Well until I get you out, I guess... At this rate, it might not be much longer! Well, unless the other ones are more difficult to unlock...'

The dragon blinked, which hadn't actually changed her view all that much. Ddraig didn't quite hold much hope that he would release her. Nothing against him, but...

Either way, it wasn't something she could just say as he had agreed to a certain quest. Nothing else was coming to mind so she wasn't sure what to say. ["Yeah, partner."]

She could tell he wasn't quite satisfied with her answer but moved on for her sake. And so, to ignore his excitement for the evening and put aside his growing worry for his literal soulmate, Issei immediately turned to his homework and studies. He was still catching up.

Funnily enough, Ddraig could help with math and a fair bit of biology. He tried his best to not reveal those works from her memories were much too advanced for the meager little his science class glossed over. It came with her instinctive knowledge of the laws of the world and the first few memories she had filed alongside the plant studies that she forced upon him during that one training session.

For some reason, Issei was happy about receiving help and happier for her sake. Both bothered her as she couldn't understand why that was so, but she ignored her diluted emotions again, choosing to focus on helping Issei.

When a new notification marker materialized before her host, she promptly ignored it as well. Her affection wasn't raised at his meager effort to appease her! So what if she chose to call Issei by his name in her head. It was simply less effort to think two words, like her host or her partner.

If he was unconscious or wasn't using his hands, Ddraig would've swiped it away, but he was using one to trace his finger on his current passage and write with the other.

She took minor consolation in the fact that he was too busy to notice it.


"—Ise, get the door please!"

"O-," His heart leaped into his throat not in surprise but nervousness before he forced his words through it, "Okay!" After all, Raynare had his heart now! She was surely just as nervous as he was.

He stuffed himself into a hoodie and flew out the room. The boy leaped to the bottom of the stairs with a heavy thud and quickly made his way to the entrance, sliding to a stop. His hand stopped to hover over the doorknob as he blinked.

This reminded him of the first time Yuuma had come over that one morning. He made sure to give himself a once-over this time just in case, despite the fact he just replaced a hoodie.

In the next moment, he swung open the door, "Good evening Yuuma—!"

His girlfriend wore the red hoodie from the first time she had stayed for dinner. He hadn't realized she took it home nor how perfect it looked on her back then. Gods above, she was absolutely delectable in it. A black pair of sporty shorts just peeked out from the bottom of the hoodie. There was a glint of a pair of small gold earrings peeking underneath her hair. Her ever-black locks were done up into a ponytail that draped itself over her shoulder, where a purple scrunchie held it together.

As she stood sideways before him, she twirled the tip of her tied hair around her finger, nervously. It took her a moment to realize the door had opened. Her attention was somewhere down the street.

Her status flared with relief at the sight of him, "Missed me lots, Ise?" A smile replaced itself on her red lips.

"Yeah."

She was taken aback. Quickly, she recovered, "I should be used to your honesty by now..."

Issei could only smirk, "Yeah, you really should be." He peeked behind her. The rest of her 'family' was still catching up.

The tall man in his ever-present fedora had to be Dohnaseek. He wore some wrinkled desk-slave outfit. Issei nearly cracked a grin at the mental description. It was one his dad would use. Then he upped and got a promotion. Dohnaseek was uncaring, sleepy, or lazy to actually dress up, he'd assume.

It annoyed Kalawarner greatly. Even from their distance, her expression, riddled with disgust and shame to be walking with him, twitched each time she picked and prodded him. Despite her increasingly unpleasant look, she had cleaned up and covered up a little more since he had last seen her. Gone was the colorful mini coat. Instead, she wore a gray coat, draped from behind hung its fur hood, swaying with her every moment. Within the coat lay a woven purple sweater, personalized to her body as it perfectly hugged the parts of her Issei could see. Though, the right side was longer than the other, pooling over her tanned slacks. The ends of her pants barely reached over the top of her matching heeled leather boots.

Behind them, Mittelt looked every which way, scanning the surrounding area. She wore a gothic version of a summer dress... in the middle of the cold autumn evening. Her blond hair wasn't as messy, missing its usual twin tails. Instead, her hair was down. It seemed to float slightly as she used her powers. If it wasn't for the way she twitched at every little thing the group passed and the various metal thorny rings, she'd seem like a normal middle schooler.

"They okay?"

"Yeah," the disguised Fallen glanced back at them.

- :|: -

(Minimized)

Name: Yuuma (Disguised)
Race: Fallen
Lvl: ?!

Description: Even despite her recent awakening, her 'power' hasn't changed
Emotions: Frustrated, Discouraged, Empty

- :|: -

Her status revealed she was disappointed more in herself than at them; the real reason as to why, however, was lost to him even with his powers. Until she came out and directly said so, surprising the teen, "Despite my word, they wanted to make sure the path was clear of any sort of surveillance or traps. I'm... so useless as a leader." Her smile was gone, and in its place, her lips sat in a firm line.

"Uh..."

Raynare realized her smile was gone. "There's..." The tug on her lips failed to bring even a false smile, "There's no need to worry about it. It's just Fallen matters." Technically, he wasn't with the Fallen just yet. She wouldn't allow Issei to formally join because of the official communication signals she'd have to make. That and she would have to change up his backstory which she had already worked overtime to straighten out in the backend. Her traitorous boss would pick up on it. Besides, her beloved uncle already knew she was in contact with a Longinus user. Only he needed to know.

Her gaze drifted from him to the kitchen, where the faint scents of dinner leaked continually. It made her hungry from the smell. 'What a strange feeling.' To be hungry from a smell alone... Perhaps, she was just used to eating Miki's food. In any case... "We'll be fine in front of your parents. That, I promise."

Internally, he beat himself because he couldn't figure out anything else to say besides, "oh okay." And so, they waited for her 'family' to catch up.

Or at least, that's what they intended.

Miki's voice cut the tense atmosphere from right behind them, "I'm sorry for not welcoming you in like usual, Yuuma-chan."

The girl flinched, too distracted to hear her approach. She really was too used to this... home. She needed to be and was better than that! If a certain maid saw her now, Raynare wouldn't ever catch a break. "It's okay," she started, gathering herself, "I'm sorry to drop my selfishness on you..."

There was a rise of conflict within the woman at the response. Miki couldn't be irritated in the slightest with the girl. She really was too perfect for her son, huh?

Between them, Issei stood. Chewing his cheek and digging his nails into his palm, he still couldn't find the words to get rid of the growing tension. It was strange to feel powerless when he felt so powerful the evening prior.

['...Partner.']

'It's weird. They're not even fighting. They don't even want to dislike one another. And then, Yuuma's shutting me out again, and I'm standing around like a bigger idiot than I usually am. It's just... all weird. I don't like any of it.'

['You only need to endure it for a while longer.']

Ddraig tried something new. It was the least she could do for earlier...

Issei snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to his hands. He could feel Ddraig's presence as his fists relaxed. It was as if another pair of hands held his, warming them.

'D-Ddraig?'

Silence was his answer as the presence became frosty before vanishing completely.

'Ddraig?'

['Just... Just focus on your congregation.']

- :|: -

(Minimized)

Name: Y Ddraig Goch
Race: Dragon
Lvl: 47

Description: Withdrawing to protect you
Emotions: Terrified, Tentative, Resolute

- :|: -

Her status window was worrying. 'What about you?' But again, silence was his answer. 'Ddraig? Please say something!'

['...Your guests are here, Partner.']

"—Aw, aren't you so cute, Mittelt-chan!"

Oh shoot, he was so distracted that he didn't even realize the rest of the Fallen had caught up. Still, he planned to ask Ddraig about whatever just happened. For now, he'd go along with her wishes. "Kaa-san, the rest of the food?"

Miki's eyes widened before she quickened towards the kitchen. "Excuse me!" Recalling her guests, she turned at the entrance, "Issei, be a good boy, and show them around our home, ok?"

"That's the plan!" He gave a faux salute.

With that, the matriarch was gone.

"She really is a normal human, huh?" Dohnaseek noted, a hand to his chin. "I still don't get why we aren't just gonna hypnotize her."

Yuuma glanced toward her boyfriend to gauge his reaction. Though, a part of her wanted to pummel her subordinate for something she had already explained!

"Because she is mine." A dragon isn't bound to anything besides their choice and oaths when it comes to things they call their own. There doesn't need to be a thorough reason. Ddraig had expressed as much from what she could recall. He was supposed to be a dragon, incarnation or not. "These are the terms I've laid for the Youkai faction too. I made that choice long ago, and I'm not leaving it behind just because I'm leaving them behind." He stared up at the Fallen male.

After a bit of a stare-down, the visibly aged Fallen held his hand up in surrender. "If that's what you want, dragon incarnation," he ended with spite.

Issei blinked at the last words. Was there something wrong with his standing as an incarnation? Yuuma hadn't made any comment of the sort when she told him his cover. He hadn't thought to ask what it really meant either...

Yuuma stepped in, seeming to misunderstand his lack of reaction. "Mind your words, brawl-seeker. If you wanted a fight, you only needed to ask, but not here, dimwit."

"Hmph. You never said how far along he was."

"He's the literal bridge for the Youkai to humans in their capital. What did you think?" She practically hissed into his face. "Did you even remember that fact?"

Dohnaseek at least looked a bit embarrassed. "No. You dropped it on me when I was tired."

"Grow up, Dohnaseek. That is no excuse."

"—Hyoudou Issei!" came the girly voice, peeking out from beside him.

"Yeah, Mittelt-chan?" He made no mention of the fact she was looking at his left hand instead of him.

Suddenly, her bloodshot eyes shot to his. There was a moment of silence as she studied him. "...nice Milf!" Everyone gaped. Despite their looks, the little girl then thought to herself about the meaning of MILF for a second. Hyoudou Miki wasn't really her type. She had simply wanted to use the word. It rolled off the tongue quite weirdly in her personal opinion and she probably wouldn't use it again. "Wait, I take that back. Nice mom! Shefeelswarm!" She heaved in air, "Ilikeit!" her hands held one other behind her as she leaned forward with a bright smile.

- :|: -

(Minimized)

Name: Mittelt
Race: Fallen
Lvl: ?!

Description: Since drawing upon your mom's warmth, shefeelslikeneverbefore!
Emotions: Silly, Satisfied, Joyous

- :|: -

In the next moment, her status flickered between that, confusion, and growing anguish before defaulting back to what he first saw it as: complete suffering.

Issei felt like he wasn't paid enough to deal with this. But for a split second, Mittelt's status seemed normal. It was more than enough as payment. The girl liked his mom more than she could convey. Whatever the reason, he couldn't care less. He was glad her situation wasn't hopeless. Mittelt could be saved.

At the thought, the counter of notifications at the edge of his vision increased. He hoped it was a mission based on his desire to help.

And so, he smiled back as her raven-black hair fell from her shoulders and replied, "I would hope so."

"Ehehe~" She leaned away, pulling her arms into a stretch, and craning her neck side-to-side, cracking it. "Let's go!" One of her hands grabbed at Kalawarner's.

With that, the boy left Yuuma with her 'dad.' His personal angel probably knew his home like the texture of her feathers by this point. He cracked a smirk at the thought. His hard work the past weeks at making Yuuma truly relax at his home had paid off, despite her efforts to be serious and uppity!

Ddraig was right after all!

With a portion of good mood returning, Issei doubled back to his guests, "This is the living room. The TV's right there..."


"Honey, Issei, I'm home!" As the man took off his shoes, he heard footsteps approaching. "You're welcoming me home for once, Ise?"

His son blinked, "how'd you know if it was me?"

"Er," Masaru couldn't just tell him that he knew his mother's smell intimately. That was weird, even for their family. "Don't worry about that." Quickly, his eyes searched around for a distraction. They homed in on the extra pairs of shoes as he slipped on his slippers. "Guests?"

"A-Ahem," his boy coughed into a fist, "Yuuma's family is here..."

A moment went by. The man could only stare at Issei flatly as the latter worried about his father's reaction. "...Is Miki okay with this?"

"Y-Yeah. Kaa-san's almost done with dinner too."

"Did you help?"

The teen nodded vigorously, "after I finished my homework and showed them around."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Masaru placed a hand onto his son's head and said, "you gotta work on warning people though. You have a phone, remember?"

Issei gave a small nod, "Sorry." Ever since he had gotten his gamer powers, he's barely used his computer, never mind the pocketable device.

"Come on, it's too late to be like that." His father ruffled his brown locks, "lemme meet your girlfriend's family."

"Yeah, let's..."

Issei led the way to the living room, fixing his hair all the while.

As they entered, all eyes turned to them. Dohnaseek and Yuuma rose to greet the Hyoudou patriarch.

"I've heard a bit from Yuuma-chan here." Said girl twitched at her naming convention but said nothing otherwise. Her body language screamed guilt of some sort. "I'm Amano Don."

'Knowing her,' Masaru thought, 'she felt bad for dropping all this on them suddenly.' The man wouldn't hold it against the girl.

Issei had told him that her parents, especially her mother, weren't home often. This day happened to be one of those when her father was home then. It wasn't like she could decide when they dropped by.

"Hyoudou Masaru. It's a pleasure to finally meet the man responsible for raising such a perfect girl."

They shook hands. "I can't take all the credit. She practically raised herself under the care of her older sister." The woman with dyed hair waved from behind the man. "That's my eldest, Kali. Those three all take after their mom, thankfully."

Masaru peeked past Don and Yuuma, "There's more?"

"My youngest, Mittelt, is in the kitchen. She's quite taken by your wife," Don laughed and stuffed down his unease. He wasn't sure if it was ok to leave the crazy girl with that human woman.

"Three girls, huh? I'm quite envious." Masaru had always wanted to make a large family since he had grown up as an only child. He would never blame or would've forced his wife, but the unrequited dream was always there in the corner of his mind. Perhaps, his son would see it through for him, giving him plenty of grandchildren. It would certainly be the reward for the various heart attacks the boy put him and his wife through with his infamous but earnest honesty.

Yuuma peaked up nervously, "Good evening, Hyoudou-san..."

His son had really hooked a cute one, eh?

"To you as well, Yuuma-chan." The man gave a wave, "I need to go greet my wife in person. I'll be right back." With that, Issei took his spot and kept them company as his father made his way into the kitchen.

"Honey, you there?"

Greeting him was a small blond girl shaping rice into various figures.

"You must be Mittelt-chan?"

The girl shook then stilled. Her eyes widened before she blinked down at her hands and then up to him, shocked at her previous actions and being caught off guard. She felt like she snapped out of a hypnosis or spell.

"W-.. Who are you?"

"Me?" He pointed at himself, "My wife calls me Ma-kun. Nice to meet such a helpful little girl such as yourself, Mittelt-chan." The man held a hand out.

Despite herself and her admittedly poor judgment, she raised a hand to his. "N.. Nice to meet you too, Mister Hyoudou."

Hiding a grimace, the man said, "quite the grip you got." He could see her immediate panic as she released him. And so, he brushed it off and left to continue his search.

"Sorry..."

Issei's father threw a glance back but didn't say anything. The girl was too busy in her own world. He didn't know about her, nonetheless, hoped she'd be fine.

Just like his wife.

While they had always hoped his son would bring people, preferably friends and never the police, this was a whole 'nother can of worms. It was one they had been ill-prepared for.


The male heads sat at the opposite, far ends. On one side sat Kalawarner and Millet. The other side had Yuuma closer to her dad. By her side, Issei glanced left and right, reading every status diligently. Miki ended the row, setting down the last bowl.

The mother took her seat, adjacent to her husband. Hiding her nervous excitement by closing her eyes, she prepared for the prayer.

" "Thank you for the food!" "

Only Dohnaseek and Kalawarner didn't say the common phrase. Their lack of action went unsaid but noted. They had nearly started before the prayer but pulled back noticing the silence. Issei's parents brushed it up to their foreignness. The younger half of the family were the ones in school and probably acclimated to the culture more. They both glanced at the youngest, meek girl. Maybe she hadn't exactly integrated with all her withdrawal. Maybe it had to do with something at home. Or bless her heart, maybe something was wrong with her.

There was something offabout her. The same could be said about the rest of them too.

Miki and Masaru shared a glance. They both realized they were on the same wavelength. Only because these were the people they may be leaving their son with.

Masaru sighed. There would be plenty of future dinners to gradually learn about them. Knowing his wife, he draped his hand over his wife's trembling hand under the table. She was in a far worse spot than he was with new people, never mind those that may "take" her last child.

With that, dinner started with the ticks of utensils, clanks of bowls, and awkward silence of those eating. Neither group of the families were too willing to start or continue any sort of conversation.

Issei hoped that they'd talk it out after eating. He flashed a glance in his girlfriend's direction to his side, catching her attention. In return, she sent a sheepish smile and mouthed a silent apology.

It didn't go unseen by his parents, who visibly relaxed at the objectively cute gesture. That served to widen Yuuma's grin, figuratively patting herself on the back for easing them.

...

Despite the young couple's efforts, the rest of dinner and the farewells were rather uneventful.

The Amano family bowed at the front door.

" "Thank you for having us." "

Unbeknownst to Issei's parents, there was a flare of power from the girl they knew as Yuuma. Since they were still bent, it hid the flicker of fear from the host family. All except one, Issei.

Issei tried his damndest to not react. And it seemed like Yuuma bought it as they left. He chewed the inside of his lip, nearly piercing the skin.

Whatever Yuuma's issue was, she wouldn't trust him. He couldn't understand why. He couldn't understand why she couldn't be as honest as he was with her. He couldn't understand why she would hide the fact that she barely had a handle on her group, why she had no backup plan other than to do the thing she promised she wouldn't at his behest.

Those things Ddraig had tried to warn him of that he disregarded ease, that he tried so deeply to overlook and hope otherwise...

His draconic energy swirled within him. If it weren't for his parents and home behind him, the boy was sure he would do something drastic to let out some steam.

"—Ise," said his mother as she tapped his arm. He turned to her. At the sight of her quaking shoulders, downcast face, and eyes that couldn't look his way, his train of thought crashed and burned. "I-I'm sorry for... being s-s-s-s-so quiet a-a-and un...friendly."

"What the h—"

"Issei!" hissed his father.

The Longinus user had completely forgotten his dad was right there and tried to amend himself. Some son he was. "Sorry, I just mean..." He averted his gaze, "Kaa-san doesn't need to apologize for that. It wasn't even a problem" His jaw clenched as his annoyance with himself returned, "It was my fault, anyway." Bending at a near-perfect right angle, he bowed, "Forgive me!"

His mother's familiar hands grabbed at his, drawing him into the house. "It's-," she hiccupped, "It's okay, Ise."

Immediately, Issei was almost jealous of her lack of hesitation, but just as quickly, he mashed it down. This was his mother. She was the person he had always tried to emulate.

Had.

['Normally, a child shouldn't have any logical motive to protect their parents. You weren't—aren't wrong in hiding the supernatural. I hadn't said too deeply about the manner because I assumed you'd gotten the lecture from someone before but that was my fault. The number of people who can easily use and abuse them in all kinds of manners is virtually any being from the "other side."']

It did and didn't make him feel better.

['You are doing the right thing. And, based on your status, being vigilant and afraid is the right thing to feel. That is why you must get stronger.'] To end it, the warm aura encased his left arm again.

His mom felt it too, turning to send him a reassuring smile, despite her previous expression. Like the wall that Issei once looked up to him as, his dad huddled them in and his face just as stern as it was ever comforting in its familiarity.

It reminded him of something.

"Um, Tou-san, can we go see the Old man and Obaa-san tomorrow?"

"Of course?"

"Okay cool."

Only Ddraig noticed the odd changes to his parents' statuses.


There was a knock followed by Miki's ever-comforting voice, "Ise?"

Shirtless and seated by his desk, he turned to his bed, grabbing his shirt, "Yeah?"

"Excuse me." The boy just got the shirt over his head when his mother entered. "Oh my!" She exclaimed softly, "No wonder you got Yuuma-chan, huh?" Biting back a laugh at his blush and frozen state, Miki hesitantly tapped his exposed shoulder. It was more defined than last time. She almost couldn't believe it.

Issei shoved his shirt back on and coughed into his hand, "Did you want to talk?"

Her lips formed a strained smile. "Take a seat," she said, gesturing to his bed. As he did, she followed suit beside him. "How do I start this..."

- :|: -

(Minimized)

Name: Hyoudou Miki
Race: Human
Lvl: 16

Description: Figuring out how to tell you the truth about your grandparents
Emotions: Conflicted, Worried

- :|: -

Her status only served to fill him with dread

'A- Are they dead?'

"I guess, I should just say it, huh? No, they aren't dead." If Issei didn't know otherwise, he would swear his mother had a power like his! "Heh, Ise, your thoughts are on your face. Instead, your dad was adopted so they have no blood relation." From what he could remember, they certainly seemed similar enough to be related.

And she dropped a bomb on him.

"They aren't human." Miki scratched at her cheek in mild confusion, "Or, well, they're effectively immortal and change their appearance at will?" She continued to ramble on, "They tend to avoid contact with other people. It's a bit of why you don't see them even though we're family. I'm... also a bit intimidated by them. It just scares me..."

His mind went back to his nearly forgotten encyclopedia. Were they the God or other Angel beings he had apparently met? If they were the former, that would mean they would be absolutely overpowered. If they were Angelic beings, it would make sense for them to avoid human contact, right?

They could be something else entirely since he hadn't always had his powers either. From the various books from Yasaka, it was entirely possible they were some kind of Youkai, given Japan was their homeland. The city was practically the Youkai capital too with it being Yasaka's territory. With the civil war that Yasaka was dealing with coming to an end (at least Raynare had said so), the statuses of Youkai have become more and more common, coming out of hiding…

['Partner, your mother is calling you.']

"—Issei?"

'Thanks, Ddraig!'

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"Does it really bother you?"

"N-No. I just... this is new?"

"Mhmm," His mom patted his back, smiling, "They're still your grandparents and love you, regardless of their lack of contact. I know that much despite my... misgivings with them. Your dad makes sure to check up on them at least weekly. And they usually stay within city limits, so chances are they'll be home. Oh," she recalled something, "they don't really use modern technology, so they don't have a phone."

Issei had thought that was just because they were old. He bit back a laugh at the thought before asking, "so they're okay?" but not old and absolutely fragile?

"Yup!"

The boy felt a little dumb for worrying.

"What about you, Ise?"

"Huh?"

"Those muscles, better grades, a girlfriend on top of all that; you're not crushing yourself with responsibilities?"

For a moment, the maple-haired boy thought about it. Honestly, despite his recent growing worries, it was like Kuroka-shishou had said: he was getting help almost every step of the way. By Raynare, Ddraig, Kunou, Yasaka, and probably many more to come, knowing his dumbass.

"Honestly," Issei couldn't stop the grin from raising his lips, "I'm getting help every step of the way in almost every way. I can handle this," he clenched his left hand into a fist, "much."

"Oh, how mature and cool you are, my son."

"Urk!"

Miki giggled into her hand, rising from his side, "I'll be right back with some snacks and get out of your 'cool' hair. Srk! In a couple of hours, we'll walk down to Okaa-sama and Otou-sama's adobe. Ma-kun will meet us there when he gets off."

"Right."

With that, she left, and Issei returned to his meditation. All the new info made it harder to clear his head, so Ddraig stepped in.

['...Since you were just a normal child, your memories of them don't hold anything of note about your youthful 'grandparents.' There's no point in fretting over it. They haven't done anything harmful to your family either way. Frankly... they could probably sense my presence within you even as a child and decided to do nothing.']

That left her with even more questions. Yet, she succeeded in calming him down a little bit. His daily meditation was important in getting the balance and control of his various energies dormant within him refined to perfect levels. With his ability to spontaneously gain the powers of... his potential mates, it was best to build an ever-sturdy base now rather than later.

Ddraig could only suspect it'd overwhelm him when he'd boost in the future. Too many clashing or 'oily' powers empowered in an instant? Certainly, it would be a recipe for disaster.

It was true that his compatibility with her was among the best of her users. But he couldn't rely on that. On her. Not with her mental and emotional state jeopardizing it with all these 'new' sensations.

In other words, she was the weak one. She, the strongest Dragon of Domination, the Herald of Scorching Flames of Everlasting Destruction, and many, many other superfluous titles, was the weak one, holding her host back instead of being the near lifeless soul for her wielder to rely on.

Her smoldering gaze flicked to her shackles.

She mustn't distract her partner further. And so, she drew upon her [Gamer's Mind] lightly before sinking back into her memories.

'...Y'know, I think it's still surprising Ddraig doesn't realize I feel almost everything she does when I'm meditating.'

Upon clearing his mind, and focusing on his soul, which was intertwined intimately with Ddraig, the young boy sensed only the powers gifted to him through his bonds based on how the [Game Gear] worked.

Ddraig within the [Boosted Gear] was certainly a 'power,' even if she hadn't realized it. Her blindness to her strength, utter sense of helplessness and drive to prove herself shone so brightly that he couldn't help but use it as momentum to push himself. He could only hope that Ddraig would realize she meant more than whatever she once was, if not just because she was his friend, guide and 'potential love interest.'

With her presence diminished to almost nothing because she was 'dreaming,' he could focus a little better now.

Starting with his wild Dragon Energy, Issei pulsed it through his body, in every nook and cranny. After weeks of doing so, his body was pretty familiar with it, easily drawing and circulating the emerald energy into a stable current. This time, unlike most sessions, he soon ended the circuit so the gathered energy would well into his core instead of slowly diffusing into the surroundings as to make a blank slate for his next form of energy.

He repeated with the cultivated and comforting Holy Light within him, albeit with a few changes to compensate for the change of pace. Making sure to be mindful of the concentration of Dragon Energy in his abdomen, he slowly reintroduced his system to the Holy Light that Ddraig detested.

Thankfully, his dragon energy had no connections to Ddraig and wouldn't clash with the Holy Light out of sheer abhorrence. They came from different sets of 'wells,' made to contain almost completely different liquids. Whereas he only needed to point the direction of his shapeless Dragon Energy and bend it to his will, Holy Light required consistent concentration of pure will to gather, summon, and form lest it goes to waste and wavers into nothingness.

Issei drew upon his [Intermediate Sin Manipulation II] skill to rebound the Holy Light within him. It was a hint Ddraig had given him in order for him to treat it similarly to Dragon Energy but with extra effort. Sadly, the skill couldn't help him generate it.

A knock and his mother's voice interrupted his concentration, "Ise?"

"Come in!" he said, rising to meet her at the door. Now that he was thinking about it, he was hungry, having skipped breakfast. It would serve as additional practice to control both energies in peace while distracted.

He was confident in his current abilities to handle them. His weeks of boring training helped immensely.

As he gently took the plate from his mother's hands, careful to make no physical contact, he bit back a wry smile. He couldn't help but recall the times he spent complaining and fretting over his seeming lack of progress and growth.

"There's some extra since you skipped out on breakfast. Make sure to eat it all, ok?"

"You're the best! Thanks!"

They beamed cheerful smiles at one another before they parted.


Aes (A/N): Man, I missed out on writing before the holiday season. Nevertheless, I hope you can at least make it alive to the next one and all that. Might not seem like much given the time of this release but you never know these days. In my case, I finally got hacked at the beginning of the year, and the family caught covid for the first time :)) those were very, very fun days.

Next chapter, I'll probably do a deep dive into Raynare's past as another extended intermission since I'll be delving into family stuff anyway. I've finally decided what that'll look like. Please look forward to it! (assuming I follow through with it and decide it's appropriate for whatever my sleep-deprived mind, i.e., the only time my inhibitions are basically malfunctioning)

I was supposed to update my vanilla story again, but I have no motivation for that, sadly. Barely got this out after all these months tbh... actually a whole year for this story, huh?

Obligated plug: join the Extalia writer's server by using the invitation code: dxtkkFYpbJ or adding it to the end of the discord link.

[Words: 8,265]


Reviews:

Tyrant Overlord Killidia: Hopefully it would seem tough enough as I envision!

ThisIsStorm101: Thanks! And yes. I've been slowly mulling some things over and trying to remember events I had set up that I haven't and won't write down.

Tenjo: First thing, she's confusing Issei himself. While Ddraig's bounded soul is tied to his and therefore, unintentionally giving his "observation" some insight (I haven't really gotten into that yet koff), it's ultimately up to him to believe it. Secondly, people are pretty fickle (sadly) and are pretty dramatic despite what they might believe :) Though for now, I'll share that she hasn't been involved with Azazel.

Xerozzuro: I try! Most fights are boring for me so I try things I don't see enough of (excluding the stuff that obviously shouldn't be emulated) or would help me enjoy them myself. And if I haven't said it earlier, don't worry about the ps! Thanks for the brief read-over!

Nain Tarlow: :)

To everyone else (yes, you omniform bunch): Sorry for the long wait, and thanks again for sticking around!


Found a random bluetooth keyboard lying around the house, so no more keyboard troubles thankfully...