Hey everyone... here's the next chapter. Truth be told, I could have posted this yesterday but by the time I had finished it was already 11 am. I decided to simply upload it the next morning so I would have some time to proofread it.
I then ended up rewriting(for the third time) the majority of the chapter because I felt unsatisfied. Though the fact that I wasn't able to follow the "one chapter a week" rule I had imposed on myself bothers me a bit. Well let's all just pretend that this chapter was released yesterday!
This story has finally reached 100+ favs and follows. Thank you very much for your support!
By the way, please take the time to read the following chapter notes and the author's notes at the end of the chapter.
With regards to this chapter:
Alright, first of all this chapter was the hardest one to write yet. The majority of the things in here are stuff I'm unfamiliar with so I had to rewrite the thing several times. I focused on showing the current state of relationships of the characters (In this case Great Red, Ophis and Ise) and showing the slight differences in their general character as opposed to their canon counterparts.
Please leave a comment on whether I had done well with this chapter and If I was able to succeed in my intent. I will be very grateful if you would provide me with criticism and advice.
By the way, I was surprised the omake for the last chapter was so well received (Thank you once again rifansyah51). I ended up writing a similar one for this chapter, this time inspired by Unseen Lurker's comment. To be quite honest, I actually had other omakes planned for the this chapter and the one before it instead of the ones I've shown you... Guess I'll just have to put those in reserve for now.
Replies to some of the reviews:
Unseen Lurker: I'm a male calico cat! No... I'm sorry that was a lie. I'm just a normal male cat. By the way, the inspiration for the omake for this chapter was your comment so thanks for that.
The Fairy King: From what I can recall, Saber doesn't actually kill you but leaves to try and find another master for herself. When you return home, Illya find you and then you go splat. Ah, well it's been a while since I've last played it so I may be wrong. Enjoy playing the last route and getting Realta Nua :D
Guest #1: Basically, Vali and Kiba are left in a compromising position with Ise and Ophis with Gasper trying to join in on the fun. What happened after that is a story for another time :)
Guest #2: Thank you, I try my best with regards to Ophis' portrayal. I also have every intention of finishing this fic. I can't promise that there won't be any delays in some of the chapter releases though
Fate Burn: Thank you for going through the trouble of actually putting a review on every chapter :)
alfonse08: Even now I'm still on the fence on whether I should make him a devil. All your points are valid and I've put them into consideration but I might still end up having stay as he is. Thankfully though canon timeline won't start for a while so I still have a good amunt of time to decide.
Thank you once gain for those who had taken the time to write reviews. I am happy that you enjoyed the last chapter!
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't profit from this at all.
So with that out of the way, Chapter 4 begin!
==The Dream of the Infinite=========================================================
It was still dark despite it being 10am. It was drizzling outside but if the weather forecasts rang true then it then the rain would eventually become stronger and turn into a full pledged storm.
Though it was a weekday, both Ophis and Ise were still in bed. Ise was still in dreamland while Ophis was staring at the ceiling concentrating on the sound of the water droplets hitting the roof. Every now and then she would take a look at Ise.
Rains and storms never really bothered her; in fact it was actually something she liked. A storm meant that most members of the Gremory group would stay at home and she would be able to spend more time with them.
Right now however, she was uneasy. She was restless and felt the need to constantly confirm that Ise was still there with her. The feeling of fear was not something she was accustomed to. It wasn't something that she had actually ever experienced before. She had nothing to care for in the past, no bonds to be broken, no family or friend to lose, no enemy that could truly pose a threat but right now she did have someone. Someone she didn't want to lose no matter what.
She was powerful, more powerful than most beings in the world. Even gods themselves wouldn't be able to touch her. Yet despite the fact that she had access to her full power, she still couldn't help but feel that it was inadequate.
'I am infinite but not absolute'
It was something that she always reminded herself. It was a mantra that she would always chant as a reminder that no matter how powerful she was she could not accomplish everything. She may have symbolized the infinite and she may be one of the most powerful existences in the world but it was already made clear to her that she was by no means absolute.
'Will it be enough? Will I be able to protect Ise?'
She knew that her worrying was unnecessary and that Ise wouldn't simply disappear but there was this fear that he would be taken away she didn't pay attention. There was a battle inside her and unfortunately fear was starting to win.
'Stop…Calm yourself…' She lightly scolded herself. She took a few deep breaths to calm down. Telling herself to calm down had become a habit for her. It had become necessary because she had also formed a habit of worrying incessantly.
'Just as Great Red had said many times before, your worries are unheeded. You may not be absolute but no other being can oppose your power' she turned to her side to look at Ise. He was peacefully sleeping with a small smile on his face. Looking at him had always put her at ease and the smile on his face brought her relief.
'You can protect him. You have the power to do so' she went closer to Ise and pulled him into an embrace; doing her best not to wake him up in the process. It was an inversion of their former relationship. This time she was the one doing the protecting.
"I will protect you Ise" She uttered while closing her eyes.
…
…
…
She slowly opened her eyes rubbing them with her hands realizing that she must have fallen asleep. She didn't intend on sleeping. Sleeping was optional for her. Unlike other beings, sleep was unnecessary and her bodily functions wouldn't suffer from the lack of it. It was even somewhat strange that she would do so while using her vessel.
She could hear that the raging torrent of rain and the strong winds that accompanied it. The drizzle had already turned into a storm just as the weather forecasts have stated. The storm would indicate that an hour or so had past at most and that had bought her a small sense of relief.
'?!'
Her sleepiness was completely blown away as the realization sank in. There was no one else in the bed with her. Ise wasn't there. Countless possibilities of what had happened quickly came into mind.
'Stay composed…' she reminded herself as she got out of the bed.
'There are many explanations for his sudden disappearance' it had already been an hour so Ise must have already woken up and left the bed without her knowledge. He could have wanted to use the comfort room or had gotten something to eat.
'But… What is with this unease?' her instincts were telling her something was wrong. Fear was slowly setting in and her unease grew by the second. She looked around the room trying to see if there were any signs of unlawful entry or even if anything was misplaced but nothing had been touched.
It was only now she had noticed that the house was far too silent and dark. Despite only using a vessel as proxy her senses were still superior than most and if she concentrated she would be able to hear any sound made inside their small house or detect the presence of an intruder.
What distressed her was the fact that the only sound she could hear was the storm outside and nothing else. She concentrated but even then she couldn't detect any presence, not a single one.
That told her that something was wrong. Everyone in the Hyoudou family was supposed to be home due to the storm and unless they had suddenly become able to hide their presence like seasoned assassins then she should be able to sense them.
The realization that something had gone wrong made her break into a run.
"Ise?" She called out as she hurried outside their room, deciding to look for him. She was hoping that she was wrong, that her senses were just somehow being skewed by the storm, that everything was perfectly fine and that she would find Ise without trouble.
"Ise? Where—"She went down the stairs quickly and got a glimpse of Ise about to leave the house. Her voice should have been loud enough to be heard yet she was ignored. When Ise reached the door however he had turned his head slightly as if to look at her.
A shiver went down her spine at that action. She couldn't understand it. She couldn't comprehend why she felt frightened, why she was trembling in fear. Her instincts were screaming out to her to not allow him to go further or else she was going to lose him.
"Ise!" She called out to him once again in an attempt to stop him but to no avail. Ise had already walked out of the house. She promptly gave chase but Ise had already gotten far despite the fact that he was merely walking.
She deployed her wings in and took flight to reach him but the Ise seemed to only get farther. The strong rain hampered her pursuit and made flying difficult and taxing and she started to lose sight of Ise.
"ISE!" She shouted in desperation. To her relief, Ise had stopped moving and she was able to finally reach him. She landed a bit farther from his position. She turned around while retracting her wings and quickly approached Ise. He was strangely silent and unmoving. That did nothing but feed her worries.
"Ise… why—"She asked but her question was left unfinished when she finally had a clear view of him.
This is your fault
There was blood. A lot of it. His clothes were shredded and torn. His right arm was absent and from the looks of it, it was literally torn apart from his body. Some parts of his muscles were in plain sights showing that parts of his skin were forcibly removed.
You couldn't protect him
Shock was probably what she and experienced when she saw his body. She was trembling. She was completely frozen in place at the sight of Ise's current condition. The only thing she could do was bring her gaze up to look at his face.
It was an action she regretted.
There were large cuts across his face. The skin on his right cheek, along with the muscles, was absent revealing only the bone. Blood covered the majority of his face and his hair. The most unsettling part however was his eyes… or the lack of it. The sockets that usually held the eyes were empty. There was nothing inside it. Nothing.
Even with all your power, you still failed
"I-Ise…" She was able to let out. Her voice was weak and shaky. She attempted to approach but it took an extreme amount of effort to simply take a step towards him. Her body felt weak, her limbs felt numb. She felt that she could collapse at any moment. Her mind was blank, not being able to process what she was seeing, not even able to believe it.
You have no right to touch him
After what seemed to be eternity she was able to come close to him. It was at the moment that she was going to reach for Ise that she suddenly heard a sound.
The next thing she saw was more blood and that a hand had ripped right through Ise's chest. She wanted to move but her body wouldn't listen to her, the only thing she could do was helplessly look at the perpetrator of the act.
There is no one to blame but yourself
The perpetrator removed his hand and held Ise by the head raising it up as he looked at down her with a sickeningly sweet smile.
As the perpetrator stared at her, the smile turned into a large manic grin as he slowly tightened his grip on Ise's head, showing that he fully intended to crush it with his hands alone.
You are not absolute
"ISE!"
=={TDoI}==
Ophis woke up with a start. Her whole body was still trembling and her dress had become damp from tears. She immediately stood up to look at her surroundings trying to find Ise.
"ISE!" She shouted out deploying her wings preparing to take flight.
[OPHIS!]
A loud roar snapped her out from her delirium. She looked around and saw the sky of mixed iridescent colours and the red ground she was currently standing on. She could feel a gentle wind blowing on her face. It was only then that she realized where she was.
[Calm down. He is safe]
"I-Ise… Ise is safe?" She questioned, her voice weak, afraid of what answer she would hear from the red dragon.
[Yes he is. The boy is peacefully sleeping in bed with your vessel, dreaming of oppai]
"… safe… Ise is safe… he is safe" She continually repeated to herself. She took several deep breaths and wiped the tears on her face with her hands. Great Red simply waited for her to calm down before it spoke again.
[You experienced another nightmare. This was one was a bit more extreme than the others you've had] it stated. Great Red was flying more slowly than usual, avoiding sudden movement or performing any tricks.
"Ise was…" After a moment of silence she tried to speak but was unable to finish as images of her nightmare had come to mind once again. She bit her lip and held herself tightly, repeating to herself that Ise was safe.
She sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees her body still trembling.
[I know… I had seen it as well. Take some more time to calm yourself] the usually gruff way of communicating was absent. His words were as gentle as a parent caring for their child that had just experienced a night terror.
It took a few more moments before Ophis had stopped trembling. Several minutes pass but she stayed in position not uttering a single word so Great Red decided to speak.
[These nightmares you've been having are becoming more frequent and extreme]
Ophis offered no response to his statement, simply stating in her current position.
[He is safe and he will remain as such]
Ophis still did not offer a response.
[I have told you many times that your worries are unfounded. Can you honestly call yourself a dragon god if you are like this?]
"… I am not absolute" Were the only words she spoke in reply not moving from her position.
Great Red waited for any other response but Ophis had stayed silent. Feeling that a conversation would provide even some small relief to her, it decided on a course of action.
Channeling its slight annoyance over Ophis' current attitude Great Red decided to speed up its flight and perform a sudden double barrel roll. Ophis who was caught unprepared was thrown off balance.
"…Doing such things again" Ophis uttered with indignation.
[Heh… So are you finally willing to talk Ouroboros?] The gentle way of speaking Great Red had assumed earlier was replaced with the usual gruff way of speaking and had used the term Ouroboros instead of Ophis. It referred to Ophis by Ouroboros when it was teasing or being playful and only by name when it was being serious.
"You…" She started but settled simply sighed towards the red dragon's antics.
[Come now you dragon god, keep yourself bottled up and you'll eventually explode. That is if those sweets you keep eating doesn't kill you first!]
"Sweets cannot kill me…" She muttered. The red dragon had occasionally viewed some of her dreams and decided to poke fun at some of the hobbies and preferences she had developed.
[Maybe all those games will blind you first then? Heh… a dragon god with bad eyesight… Kukukuku, that would be absolutely hilarious!]
"Choose your words carefully… though I view you as my friend I will not hesitate use my power against you" She declared while standing up, fully intending to resort to violence if the red dragon continues it's teasing.
[Oh? Is dragon god-sama pouting? I have to thank that boy for helping you learn to express emotion… seeing you express yourself is great entertainment. You were far too damn boring in the past]
"Great Red" Ophis called its name with a tone of finality, already gathering energy for an attack but Great Red's next words had stopped her.
[Hmph… If you can do these kind of things then I guess you're already back to normal]
Realizing the red dragon's intentions, she breathed out a sigh and she dissipated the energy she gathered and went back to sitting.
Silence once again.
[I find it strange that you insist on sleeping… We have no need for such a thing in the first place] Great Red said, feeling that it was the right time to bring the subject up.
"It is… a force of habit" She replied. Even when she was weakened by Samael in the past, sleep was still something she could ignore. She had only adapted it into a habit partly because she had observed everyone doing it. The other reason was because it was an effective way to pass the time while waiting for Ise and the others to awaken.
There was a time when she remained awake and simply stared at Ise until he woke up but Ise had told her that that was extremely disturbing. She found that playing games also tended to disturb the others' sleep so she had learned to adapt and sleep with them herself.
[Hmph… You have become very much like a human]
Another comfortable silence followed Great Red's statement. Though the two would converse with each other a lot they were times that they simply revelled in silence.
[We will protect him] The sudden statement caught Ophis' attention. She could feel the seriousness in the red dragon's words. Great Red had always been neutral towards Ise only expressing a mild interest in him despite possessing the memory of it's other world counterpart.
[I've grown fond of that perverted boy… No, I guess it's better to say that I've always been fond of him but I only realized now why] Great Red continued drawing Ophis' full attention.
[The memories that I obtained from the other world version of myself were pretty damn short… but I can't help but feel excited every time I recall it]
She could relate to it. The dreams and memories were enjoyable because they allowed the recipient to feel the current emotions of their versions in the dream. It was something that Ise experienced as well.
[Kukuku… It was short but it was probably the most fun thing I've done. Seeing the stuff he does in his dreams is pretty damn enjoyable as well]
That statement brought a knowing smile on Ophis' face. It was another thing she could greatly relate to.
[Was it like for you as well Ophis? Was this why you had gone so far to be by his side again?]
"Yes… I, at first, had only been interested in his growth… However I had found myself charmed by the life I've begun to live beside him" She recalled that she had first approached the Gremory group with the aid of Vali and Azazel in order to observe Ise. She had hoped to find something she could use to defeat Great Red. What she found instead was something far better.
[Heh… I guess you were right… My desire to meet the boy has grown. That boy… is truly interesting]
"Enough that you would forsake flying in this world to stay with him as well?" She questioned. It was by all means an attempt at teasing the red dragon but teasing was something she had yet to master. She had yet to learn the proper tone and bodily gestures required to do so. It was something she was studying up on and hope to someday use.
[Heh… don't get cocky Ouroboros, nothing beats flying. That boy will never be able to make me leave this place just to spend time with him]
"That is quite the grand boast… however it is fine. You are free to think that. It is only a matter of time"
[Oh? What makes you so sure?]
"We are similar beings. I am the 'infinite' born from 'nothingness'. You are the 'dream' born from 'illusions'. We are beings of unmatched power. Just as I had revelled in silence, you have revelled in the feeling of flight…" She made a short pause so as to emphasize her next words.
"… And just as I had chosen him over silence, you will also choose him over the feeling of flight"
Ophis waited for any response or rebuttal from the red dragon but none came.
[…Hmph]
The red dragon was unable to form a reply to Ophis' assertions. Though one could take it as an act of stubborn defiance, Ophis took is an act of compliance towards her logic. Another bout of silence occurred.
[Will you continue your sleep?] Great Red asked, in what could be taken as a subtle attempt at changing the conversation by bringing up their former topic.
"Yes… I find myself restless if I were to ignore it now…"She replied, understanding where the conversation was leading to.
[I see… Then pleasant dreams Ophis]
Though such words were ordinary, it takes on new meaning when uttered by the dragon that represented dreams itself. Ophis was able to understand what those words implied and decided to go back to her slumber knowing well that she wouldn't experience another nightmare.
Though usually she slept on the same spot on Great Red's back (A spot she has already claimed to be her territory, one she marked with a small black flag), she instead brought out her wings and flew towards Great Red's head. She was able to reach her destination easily since Great Red had been flying slowly.
She landed on top of Great Red's head and made herself comfortable, she then proceeded to lie down and resume her sleep. Great Red on the other hand, simply allowed the action and slowed it's flight even more and made sure not to move its head excessively to make sure Ophis' slumber wasn't disturbed.
[Heh… Despite the amount of time you've lived, you still look like a kid when you do this]
Ophis was already fast asleep and it knew that no reply would come. It was something he could sense. Ophis sleeping on it's head wasn't actually new to either of them. She had first started to do it when she had experienced her first nightmare and had begun to do it every time she had one. Great Red would also make sure that when she goes back to sleep, her dream would be pleasant.
Great Red could easily realize or actualize anyone's dreams; making someone see a specific dream or prevent a nightmare from occurring was an easy task in comparison, one that took little to no effort.
[For you to worry so much to a point that you have nightmares… I've seen so many changes in you yet I'm still left surprised at times]
The nightmares weren't recent. At first she would have it on occasion but it had become more frequent recently. Though Great Red had thought it was due to excessive worrying, even it felt that there was something more behind it.
Great Red continued it's flight slightly speeding up.
[How long has it been since this relationship of ours started? Heh… I always thought you despised me]
It recalled the time when they had first met. The Ophis of that time was completely blank, emotionless and spoke as little as she could. Even when she was attempting to reclaim the dimensional gap she showed little to no emotion, no anger not even the slightest bit of irritation.
Though back then, she had yet to assume her form as a young girl.
[Yet one day you returned, different from what I had remembered]
When Ophis returned, she had already taken the form of a young black haired girl. The amount of words she spoke increased significantly though it still wasn't much, and a trace of emotion could be felt from her expressions and way of speaking. Still a far cry from normal standards but a significant change compared to her former self.
She stayed and after some time she changed even more. Though her expressions were reserved, the emotions behind them were genuine. Though her words were still few, she would speak her mind and converse willingly. Not once had she even attempted to drive Great Red out of the Dimensional Gap.
[Then somewhere along the line you started riding me while I was flying. Even putting that damn flag on my back…]
It wasn't sure when that started. Ophis simply started to stay in a certain spot on his back. She would be asleep at most times, allowing herself to dream. They would either converse when she was awake or simply revel in silence.
Eventually Ophis made a vessel, a perfect copy of her physical appearance, which was capable of carrying her consciousness so she could spend time with Ise without attracting unnecessary attention.
[Tch… You're literally living off my back now…damn freeloading kid]
It was at that moment that its head shook since Ophis had hit it's head at full power. Great Red was sure she was asleep but apparently she was somehow been able to sense that she was being made fun of and retaliated.
[Oi! That hurt you damn Ouroboros!]
Great Red of course was not expecting a reply. He made a gentle turn making sure Ophis was not disturbed.
[…Enjoy your sleep Ophis… Though I cannot fully alleviate you of your worries, I can at least protect you from your nightmares]
==The Dream of the Infinite=========================================================
'It had already been a year…' Ise thought to himself as he was sprawled out on the ground in exhaustion. He had just finished his assigned training.
'My body really, really hurts… Is this what a sack of potatoes feel like?' he considered, he remembered having carried one once.
'Being a hero sure is hard…'
It was only after going through training that he understood how truly awesome heroes were. If basic training was this difficult then he couldn't even imagine what advanced training was actually would actually be like.
'I wonder if Iri-chan is also having a hard time…'
The thought of course caused a certain chestnut haired girl in Europe to sneeze cutely. She was then hit by a wooden sword wielded by a blue haired girl she had managed to befriend and was currently sparring against.
"Uuuuuhhh…. I wonder when we'll do some other kind of training…" He grumbled. Though his training was hellish, it was all focused in improving his physical abilities. He wanted to be able to train with his Sacred Gear very badly.
'I really have trained hard…'
He closed his eyes and attempted to look back on the types of training he did in the past year.
=={Training Montage Start}==
Flashback 1:
"AHHHHHHHH! OPHIS-CHAN, I'LL DIE! I'LL SERIOUSLY DIIIIEEEEE!"
"Ise is strong…you will not die"
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER!"
"Do not worry… I will not allow Ise to die… I will protect Ise"
"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT WHEN YOU'RE THE CAUSE!"
"Fight-o, Ise…"
Flashback 2:
"… U-ummm… Ophis-chan why are we just standing here?"
"…"
"O-Ophis-chan why are you raising your hand like that?"
"…"
"O-OPHIS-CHAN?! W-WHAT'S THAT GLOWING BALL IN YOUR HANDS?! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GLOWING BALLS AROUND US?!"
"… I believe in Ise… So please… dodge"
"WAAAAIIIITT!"
Flashback 3:
"Oppai…"
"Un… Oppai"
"Oppai!"
Flashback 4:
"W-WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SNAAAAAKKKEEEES?!"
"They are friends..."
"THEN WHY ARE THEY LOOKING AT ME LIKE I'M THEIR FOOD?!"
"They will not kill Ise"
"DOESN'T THAT MEAN THEY CAN STILL HURT ME?!"
"Yes, but it will be fine. Now snakes… attack"
Flashback 5:
"IT'S GONNA EAT MEEEEEE! I DON'T WANNA BE EATEEEEN!"
"… I, had decided to name her Chocolate…"
"PLEASE TELL CHOCOLATE NOT TO EAT ME!"
"It is fine… she only… desires to embrace Ise"
"THEN WHY IS TRYING TO BITE ME?!"
"… she is shy and nervous"
"THAT'S NO REASON TO BITE SOMEONE!"
Flash Back 6:
"HOW IS THAT SNAKE FLYING?! WHY DID IT HAVE TO HAVE WIIINNGGGSS?!"
"I had used an evolution stone to evolve it…"
"WHAT KIND OF STONE GIVES WINGS?!"
"… the flying stone…"
"CAN EVEE EVOLVE TO A FLYING TYPE NOW?!"
Flashback 7:
"Zoom zoom iyan~~"
"Eh?"
"Zoom zoom iyan~~"
"E-EH? EEEHHHH?!"
=={Training Montage End}==
He felt a shiver run down his spine as he attempted to remember his more unorthodox training but for some reason the only parts he could remember were his desperate shouts and retorts that he made during the training. Any attempt to further remember any details drew a blank and caused him to shiver uncontrollably and sweat profusely.
When your own brain refuses to allow you to recall particular memories, you were definitely better off now knowing. The brain had a tendency to repress memories that may cause mental trauma.
The fact that there were so many parts that he couldn't remember bothered him a lot. He also had this very strange sense of gratitude that he was alive right now.
"I…I-I think it's better not to remember…" Ise wisely stopped the attempt knowing that doing would both be fruitless and would cause unnecessary grief.
After a moment, he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the refreshing feeling of the wind.
'The one in my dreams did this a lot too…' He recalled the big version of himself in the strange dreams he had. Said dreams had become rather vivid. Conversations, noises and any other sound could now be heard perfectly but the faces had still remained blurred.
'What did it feel like again? Un… It felt like I really needed to train and get strong no matter what' It was a trick he used during when he was training. When he was having a hard time or felt like giving up, he would recall the feeling he always got when he saw the bigger version of himself training hard in the dream. Every time he recalled those types of dreams he always felt an extremely strong sense of purpose. He felt the need to persevere regardless of how difficult things got and the need to get as strong as he can. As long as he did that, he was able to get through his hellish training.
"He was really strong…" he muttered, recalling all the battles he had dreamt of.
"…Will I… be able to become that strong someday?" It was something that he had begun asking himself recently. The bigger version of himself in his dreams was strong. He would fight no matter what and was able to defeat the bad guys and save his friends.
That person was able to save other people. That person was cheered by children who admired him. That person was hero. A hero everyone had trusted, believed in, and relied upon.
"What if I… can't do the same things he did?" It was a thought that always bothered him. He admired the bigger version of himself and used him as a point of comparison but the thought that he wouldn't be able to do the same things scared him.
'What if I can't beat the bad guy? What if I can't save my friends? What if I fail? What… what does Ophis-chan think?' His thoughts were brought to a certain black haired girl.
Ophis had stayed by his side since they had met a year ago in the park. She had been the one to train him so he could become someone like version he saw of himself in his dreams. She was strict with him when they were training and would make him do downright impossible things fully believing that he would be able to succeed no matter what.
She trusted him implicitly. She believed in him more than anyone else. He felt that she viewed him to be the strongest and most reliable person in the world. Though he felt good about it, there were times when it made him uneasy.
There were times when he thought that he didn't deserve such things from her.
"Ise… What is wrong?" A voice broke him out of his contemplation. He looked towards the direction of the voice and saw the person who was currently the subject of his thoughts.
'A friend. Someone important and precious. Someone to protect no matter what' They were the emotions he felt when he saw her. It wasn't only the dreams that suddenly provoked random bouts of strong emotions; sometimes certain places or objects would do the same.
There was another that was park away from the town they had once visited for training. The second he entered the place he felt a strong sense of fear. His stomach, for some reason, felt painful.
Another place was a certain all girl school named "Kuoh Academy". Unlike the park, the school made him feel at ease and happy. There was a sense of belonging with the place and he felt like he wanted to enter it.
Aside from places, some objects also made him feel different. There was one time he found a strange book in his father's closet that had pictures of naked women. He felt a very strong connection with it and was compelled to keep it for himself. He still didn't get why he liked that book but he thought he would find out eventually.
He didn't understand why but the word and image of breasts resonated with him. He felt energized when he thought of it.
"Ise?" Ophis inquired again this time approaching him to check his condition. Ise realized that his thoughts were getting side tracked again and focused on Ophis.
Out of everything she was the one that provoked the most emotions. Her presence felt completely natural like she had been around him for a really long time. There were also those times when she would let out a real smile to him.
He couldn't explain or put into words how happy he would always feel when he saw that. There was also a strange sense of pride that accompanied it.
He wanted to continue his thought process but a sudden soft feeling on his lips broke him out of it.
"Ise… It is time to go back home" Ophis said after kissing him. She gave him a small smile. Ise had gotten used to it because she had the tendency to do that whenever she got the chance.
'Ah… There it is again… I feel so happy when she smiles like that' It was that feeling he got that made him want to make Ophis smile as much as she could.
"A-ah… gomen… let's go home Ophis-chan" He forced his still tired body up. Though he had a good amount of time to rest, he still felt exhausted. He somehow managed to get up and start walking towards their house.
"Un… Let us go home" Ophis replied, following him.
'Ah… I should ask Ophis-chan when we can train my Say-kred Ge-ah. I really wanna learn how to use it. Irina probably already knows how to fight with a sword right now!'
At that moment, a certain chestnut girl had once again cutely sneezed, this time on the food that she and her blue haired friend were going to eat. The glare she received afterwards from her friend scared her.
"Ophis-chan, when are we going to train my Say-kred Ge-ah?" Ise asked turning around to look at Ophis only to realize that she wasn't there.
"Eh?" He looked around and saw that she her unmoving. She was staring at a random direction with a very serious face.
"O-Ophis-chan? What's wrong?" He called out her name again, trying to get her attention. He stuttered a bit since he was a bit shocked at Ophis' expression. It wasn't one he was used to seeing.
"Ah… yes, my apologies. It is nothing. Let us go home" Ophis said as she ran towards him assuming a neutral expression.
'I wonder why Ophis-chan looked like that…' he was honestly curious but decided not to ask. Something was telling him that he wouldn't get an answer anyway.
==The Dream of the Infinite=========================================================
'What had I felt back there?' Ophis contemplated. She and Ise had returned home and were currently eating together with Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou on the dinner table.
'I could not detect any presence… nor could I feel anyone observing us yet…' Back at the place they had trained, she had felt something. It was brief and the feeling had disappeared immediately.
'… I must discuss this with Great Red… It may be nothing however it would be foolish to be careless'
"Ophis-chan? Don't you like the food?" Mrs. Hyoudou asked slightly worried since Ophis had not touched her food since she they had begun eating.
"Ah… I was distracted by my thoughts" She then took a bite and proceeded to smile at Mrs. Hyoudou. "It is delicious" she praised.
"Hahaha, come now honey, there's no way anyone would hate your cooking!" Mr. Hyoudou shamelessly praised his wife's cooking, causing his wife to blush slightly and give him a playful punch on the shoulder.
"Kaa-san, seconds!" Ise asked while his mother quickly gave him a second serving. He kept glancing at Ophis, obviously worried about her strange actions.
=={TDoI}==
Dinner ended and after cleaning up, Ise and Ophis had gone directly to their room.
"Ophis-chan? What's wrong?" Ise asked with a worried face. Ophis had noticed that he had been taking peeks at her ever since they got home.
'I am causing him to worry. Should I tell Ise?'
"…" She gave Ise a look somewhat conflicted whether to share her troubles. She proceeded to close her eyes.
'Ise had protected and cared for me in past… It should be my responsibility this time to do the same towards him'
"Ophis-chan? Hello?"
'However… my current worries may simply be an illusion. Telling him would most likely only give him unnecessary worries'
"Oooophis-chaaan"
'Un… It would be the wisest course of action to keep it to myself for now. Great Red should be able to provide some advice on the matter at hand'
"…"
'Yes… Right now I need—'
To her surprise she felt a sensation on her lips. The sensation only lasted for a moment.
When she recovered from the slight shock she realized that Ise had kissed her. Though she had done the same countless times before, it had been the first time the action was performed on her.
She had long ago observed that it was an important gesture of affection. One used to express one's emotions towards a person whom they find precious. Ise was a special existence to her. She felt a strong need to beside him at all times. She kissed him to express that fact and though she had always find doing so enjoyable, being kissed by Ise felt entirely different.
'What… is this feeling…?' She felt her face heating up and her heart beating faster than normal. There was also a strange unidentifiable feeling in her stomach.
"Hah! I finally got Ophis-chan to notice me!" Ise, being a young boy who have yet to experience the complications brought about by hormones, had not thought too deeply on the implications of his actions nor its effect on Ophis.
"Hmmm….? Eh, Ophis-chan, are you sick? Your face is red…" Ise, again being a young boy who had no idea what effect his actions may have, brought his face close to Ophis and touched foreheads with her in order to check her temperature.
"A-Ah…" The dragon god on the other hand had somehow become even redder from Ise's actions.
'This feeling… could it be what they would call embarrassment?' She mused. She was able to analyse situations like these calmly despite her apparent embarrassment. There were many emotions she had yet to experience and she wanted to make sure she understood each of them.
"I-I am… fine. I… was just distracted by my thoughts…" She managed to say causing Ise to retreat his face back to a normal distance. She was having some difficulty looking at Ise for some reason so she opted to stare at the ground for the time being.
"Ah, well maybe Ophis-chan is tired too… Well I wanted to ask whether we'll train my Say-kred Ge-ah soon" Ise asked deciding that asking Ophis about training would be better than asking why she was acting strange.
"Ah… We will engage in Sacred Gear training tomorrow." Ophis replied.
"Really?! YES! Okay, let's go to sleep!" Ise shouted out in glee immediately climbing into bed.
"…Yes… Let us… go to sleep" It took her a few more moments before she was able to properly compose herself.
'Such a strange feeling… It is confusing and causes me complications yet…. It is not undesirable' Ophis thought to herself as she went to bed with Ise.
"Good night Ophis-chan"
"Goodnight Ise"
As she closed her eyes, she prepared to transfer her consciousness to her main body in the dimensional gap in order to speak to Great Red.
The Dimensional Gap would later be filled with guffaws as a certain red dragon would laugh and tease a certain black haired girl about her newly acquired concerns.
==The Dream of the Infinite=========================================================
=={Unknown Location}==
His eyes open and he slowly got up from his bed. He had once again seen the same dream he had had for the past year. Similar to every other instance, he could feel himself getting extremely angry and irritated at the mere recollection of the dream.
Unlike in the past however he did not allow the rage to overtake him. He controlled himself, keeping calm and allowed his anger to pass.
'The dream had become clearer' He noted to himself. He noticed that that particular dream he was having became more detailed as he saw it more. When he was able to control himself better, he had started to willingly invoke the dream to appear so as to reveal more details about it.
'It had taken time and an unnecessary amount of effort however I now have what I need' The dream he had moments ago was significantly longer and more detailed than the others before it. The voices could be heard clearly, every word spoken could be understood and the most important detail of all was revealed.
'I can finally clearly see the trash's face' It was his goal since he had started having the dreams. Most of the parts he could see at first had the face of his killer covered in a helmet and even when he reached a point where the helmet was removed, the face was a blur but now he was able to see it clearly.
The boy that had fought him has short brown hair light brown eyes. He could even clearly remember the contours of his face.
What's more is that he was without a doubt the wielder of the boosted gear. The Sekiryuutei.
'Now… If the dream is indeed an oracle of the future then the boy may not even born yet…' It was the last detail he needed. There was no clue to provide at what time his dream where to occur only that it would eventually take place. Devils can live for several thousands of years and his dream may take place soon or in the distant future.
"Hmph… Well, I have more than enough clues to locate the trash if he were already alive…"
"Furthermore… There are other methods I could use to determine his existence"
==The Dream of the Infinite=========================================================
=={Devil Halcyon Days 4}==
He opened his eyes slowly. He felt light-headed.
'Huh? Where…'
His consciousness was a bit hazy and his body felt strangely light.
'Where am I? … How did I even get here?'
He brought up his hands and rubbed his eyes. He blinked a few more times before he was able to make sense of his surroundings.
He was currently sitting in a comfortable chair. The surroundings were dark but a glare of light brought his attention to a large screen which was currently playing a credit reel.
'… a movie theatre?' He thought, trying his best to identify his current whereabouts. He brought his hands to the back of his head touching a sore spot causing him to wince in pain.
'Gahhh… it feels like something hit the back of my head' He spent a few more second rubbing the sore spot on his head before deciding to analyse the situation.
'…okay, I feel really weird for some reason. My body feels lighter though my head feels like its being weighed down by something… My lowed body feels a lot less restricted than before… there's this painful spot on the back of my head and I really can't remember what happened before this…'
He tried hard to recall the events prior to the current one but drew a blank. He gave up and decided to just leave the movie theatre for now to see where he actually was.
He couldn't help but feel a several uncomfortable gazes on him.
=={TDoI}==
He got out of the theatre and did a stretched his body a bit. He looked around and determined his exact location.
"So right now I'm in the usual shopping mall… It's… 12 pm right now and I'm pretty sure it's still the same day" He noted, relieved that he wasn't out for a long amount of time. His friends excessively worried about him and any time he was gone for more than half a day without anyone knowing, search parties were sent out.
There was one time where he slept over at Motohama's place and forgot to inform anyone. When he woke up there were already posters of him on every wall and post in town, a missing persons report on every news station was being reported and hordes of familiars in town were trying to find him.
When he got back home he was tackle glomped by every single one of the girls who had been crying their eyes out scolding him for not telling anyone where he was. It was an even more tearful reunion compared to his return from the dimensional gap with Great Red.
Yes, a tearful reunion ensued despite the fact that he was gone for less than 12 hours.
'I think that they worry a bit too much for me sometimes…' He smiled wryly while recalling the whole fiasco. Since then he made sure to always inform someone of where he was no matter what to avoid unnecessary things from happening. He liked the fact that they worried so much about him there were those few times that he felt that it was a bit too excessive.
"Ah well let's get back to making sense of what's happening" Noticing that he was going off on a tangent he brought his focus back to analysing his current situation.
"Nothing seems off and I can't detect any dangerous presences" He continued, looking around the place and eventually reaching the food court.
The malls food court was lined up with high end shops. Looking around he saw a crowd of people a certain table cheering loudly for someone.
He took a look at who they were cheering for and saw a familiar black haired girl wearing a black sailor uniform with a pink cardigan consuming an abhorrently large amount of sweets and confections faster than the speed of light. He couldn't even follow the girl's hand movements; he could only see a blur.
'Ah… Guess that proves it's still Sunday today' He concluded. The dragon god and former leader of a terrorist group liked to visit the food court every Sunday to clear out the mall's stock of sweets and confections. It was totally ordinary and commonplace for the residents of the town.
He walked around some more and by chance he passed by a mirror and caught a glimpse of his reflection.
He froze on the spot.
'Calm down Hyoudou Issei' He immediately told himself. One thing he learned is that the first and foremost thing one should do when dealt with unexpected and undesirable situations was to remain calm and not panic.
'You were probably just seeing things… Yup, no way what you saw was real' He quickly went into denial. Though he could go back and look at the mirror to confirm, he was sure a certain part of his mind would break if what he saw was true.
'B-but I have been feeling really off since I woke up and it would explain a lot of things…' He argued to himself. What he saw provided a perfectly logical explanation for the strange sensations he'd been experiencing.
After a few more seconds of debating with himself; he finally decided to go back and see his reflection.
'…You can do this Ise… no matter what you see in that mirror, you will be able to take it calmly and you will definitely not panic'
Steeling himself and conditioning his mind, he went in front of the mirror and studied his reflection.
"Ahahaha… Jeez what was I worried about? It's just a perfectly normal reflection of a cute brown haired girl"
He paused. He felt that there was something slightly off with what he just said so he decided to repeat it.
"Ahahaha… J-Jeez… w-what was I worried about? It's just a perfectly normal reflection of a cute… b-brown haired… girl…"
His made another pause. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and once again looked at his reflection desperately hoping that his eyes were just playing tricks on him.
Unfortunately what he saw didn't change. In the mirror he could clearly see a girl with unkempt shoulder length brown hair and light brown eyes. She was wearing a black form fitting sweater and a red filly skirt. She was also wearing black knee-length socks and doll shoes. He was also wearing a bracelet with weird engravings on his left wrist.
"…." Ise simply stood there in absolute silence. If someone were to say that Hyoudou Issei was a calm and collected individual that was able to take unexpected situations in stride they wouldn't exactly be wrong.
On the other hand, they're not the ones who had just suddenly been turned into a girl so Ise's subsequent reaction isn't really strange.
"KYAAAAAAHHHH!"
A cute girlish scream resounded in the mall.
=={TDoI}==
It took several minutes, many deep breaths, and several helpful strangers within proximity before Ise managed to calm down and recover from the shock.
"Okay… let's review the situation" He talked to himself, trying to make sense of everything. He was currently sitting in one of the benches that a concerned passer-by had helped bring him to. Said passer-by was male and he took every bit of mental ability he had to ignore the blush on said males face.
"Right now… I've been… turned into a girl…" He finished, slowly digesting each word he spoke.
It explained a lot of things when he thought about it. His head felt weighed down because of his longer hair, his lower body felt less restricted due to wearing skirt instead of jeans, and his balance was off due to his newly acquired assets.
They were C-cups he noted. He some weird sense of pride for having that size but he promptly ignored the feeling as soon as it appeared.
"So… How the hell did this even happen?!" He shouted out grabbing his head with both of his hands trying to dedicate all of his mental faculties into remembering what happened this morning.
"I went through the usual morning with the others and then Azazel-sensei called me to—"
He felt very, very stupid right now. The fact that he was now female should have told him who the perpetrator was in the first place.
"Of course… OF COURSE IT WAS HIM!" He abruptly stood up and broke into a run, fully intending to find and kill a certain fallen angel for the amount of trouble he had been causing him lately.
Now, anyone who has ever read a manga or light novel or watched an anime whose genre was romantic comedy (romcom as they are often called) would have seen the next set of events that Ise would undergo coming from a light year away.
So with the guidance of the ever so lovable romcom gods, Ise, who had not been paying attention to his surroundings, managed to bump into someone while he was running. The collision caused him to fall down on his butt on the floor due to his lighter body.
Said person could have been a totally random stranger who would have simply helped him up and be on his way but the romcom gods would have none of that and made sure that it was in fact someone Ise knew.
"Oh shit! My hamburger… Hey you—"As the person who Ise had bumped into was just about to let out his anger, his face and demeanour suddenly changed as he saw who bumped into him.
His demeanour suddenly made a complete 180.
Fixing his appearance quickly and putting on the best smile he could show, he politely reached out his hand to help the cute girl (Ise) in front of him and made sure to introduce himself properly.
"I deeply apologize… it seems I wasn't paying attention and had caused you some trouble. I insist that you allow me treat you to something for the inconvenience I had caused you" He stated in a perfectly polite and formal way as he helped the girl(Ise) in front of him up.
"By the way, my name is Raiser Phenex. What would be yours my fair lady?"
If anyone were capable of reading minds within the vicinity, they would hear an internal scream from Ise.
…
…
…
Ise had found himself in another peculiar situation.
'… This type of stuff had been happening way to much recently…' A certain event that involved Vali, Kiba and Ophis came to mind. He felt the need to apologize to Kiba now that he could relatively understand the feeling of having your gender changed without warning.
"Hyouri-chan, what would you like to have? I recommend that you try the hamburgers here, you could try every other hamburger in the world and they would still pale in comparison to the quality of the burgers here" Raiser said his smile never leaving his face.
'I get a strong urge to puke every time I hear Raiser say my name like that. Why does he say so damn sweetly like I'm his love or something?!'
Hyouri, as he was now called, was a name he came up with on the spot. He didn't immediately recognize who he had the (mis)fortune of bumping into so he had intended to say his name however when he saw that it was Raiser he quickly changed what he was saying due to panicking.
There was a small part of him that was telling him that telling Raiser his actual identity and explained the situation clearly would most likely prevent him from experiencing further problems and grievances however said part was weak and remained unheeded.
'I… I just need to somehow get through this, get back home, track down Azazel-sensei and kill him…'
"Don't be shy, I consider that amount of money needed to be spent here as cheap change so don't hold back in ordering" Raiser subtly boasted.
'Come on Ise… tap into your inner maiden and reply naturally!' He noticed that there was something wrong with that statement but he had no time to ponder on it.
"T-Then I would like a burger then R-Raiser…-san" Ise managed to reply successfully changing his way of speaking to that of a female. He was having a difficult time due to the fact that he was trying to pass himself off as a normal teenage girl.
He never really thought there would come a day when he would have to do such a thing.
"A hamburger it is then! Come on Hyouri-chan, sit here and wait for me while I get our food, okay?" Raiser grabbed his hand naturally and brought to a table. He pulled out the seat and allowed Ise to sit.
'Must ignore urge to punch the yakitori… Must not punch the yakitori'
Ise repeated inside his mind. It took a lot of effort not to punch Raiser when his hand was grabbed. Raiser then left him and approached the counter to make their orders.
'Can't he recognize me by my aura or something?' It was something he had been wondering about for a while now. His appearance may have changed greatly but others should still be able to sense his aura. The aura of the Sekiryuutei was quite unique and noticeable.
'Now that I think about it, Draig hasn't said a thing since I woke up… is it… caused by the bracelet?' He looked at the strange bracelet on his left were strange engravings on it. He could vaguely remember that he saw something similar from his visit in the Grigori Institute.
'It probably conceals or masks my aura… damnit Azazel-sensei why do you have to be so thorough when it comes to these kinds of things?!'
After a few minutes Raiser returned to their table with a tray of burgers, fries and drinks. He sat down and handed Ise his share of the food.
"Hyouri-chan, I didn't know whether you were able to drink carbonated drinks so I had taken the liberty of ordering some pineapple juice instead" Raiser said as he handed Ise the drink. Ise made sure to not allow their hands to brush against each other.
'I will not allow any cliche eroge situations to happen no matter what!'
"T-That's very considerate of you… T-thank you" Ise replied with a slight stutter. His stutter was caused by his difficulty in pretending to be female, Raiser on the other hand, apparently thought he was just being shy and found it endearing.
"Haha, you're very cute Hyouri-chan~" He said with a sickeningly sweet smile. Though some other female would have found Raisers gentlemanly attitude and flattery desirable, Ise felt differently.
'Disgusting! Super disgusting! What the hell is up with Raiser?! Why the heck is he acting like a gentleman?!' were Ise's true feelings. The usual Raiser Phenex had a bad boy image, though he was in actuality kind and caring to a certain extent, such attributes were usually overshadowed by his arrogance and rudeness.
Right now however, Raiser was acting like the perfect gentleman and that bothered Ise to no end.
'Is this how he gathered his harem?! This damn yakitori bastard!' Ise shouted in his mind.
"T-thank you Raiser-san… " despite his feelings however, Ise ate his food quietly, doing his best to get through the current situation. Raiser continued to converse with him about various topics all the while subtly inserting praises and taking every opportunity to engage in physical contact with him.
'Damnit! I need to find a way out of here! This damn perverted yakitori! He keeps touching me!' Ise was already gritting his teeth; doing everything he could not to just punch the hell out of Raiser and make a run for it.
It took a several more minutes of endurance but by the grace of the yondai maou he was able to get through the situation and quickly tried to make an escape.
'Thank you… Thank you maou-sama!' If Sirzechs Lucifer was here, he would probably hug him in relief and gratitude.
"Raiser-san… Thank you for treating me but I really have somewhere I need to get to" finding a perfect opportunity to escape, Ise stood up and attempted to leave but Raiser seemed intent on staying with him.
"Is that so? Well allow me to escort you then. It would be unbecoming of me to simply allow a beautiful girl such as yourself to be without company." Raiser stood up as well and walked with him out of the establishment. Ise on the other hand, was trying very hard not to gag and puke from that last line.
'Damnit! I hate persistent men!' He knew what that particular thought made him sound like but he really couldn't be bothered to care at this point.
"I-It's really alright Raiser-san I wouldn't want to trouble you anymore than I already have" Ise tried, wishing to every being in the world that Raiser would just take a hint and leave him be. He was slowly backing away from Raiser.
"Oh no, I insist. It is no trouble at all" Unfortunately it seemed Raiser was not one to be able to take hints and simply approached him as he was backing away.
'I need to find something… anything to use so I can escape…'
It was at this moment that the gods of romcom decided to cut him some slack. Hence, as he was backing away from Raiser her manage to bump into another acquaintance.
"O-oh, I apologize… I wasn't looking" Ise made a quick apology thinking that he might be able to make use of the current situation.
'If I play my cards right, I might be able to use this' and with that, Ise tapped into his inner maiden and assumed the cutest and most helpless look he could to get the person's help.
"No it's completely fine" The person he bumped into then turned around. It was a familiar face indeed.
"Yuuto Kiba?" Raiser uttered, seemingly displeased with seeing the blonde knight of the Gremory.
"Raiser Phenex?" Kiba replied, his eyes widening in surprise.
'My prince charming is here!'
Ise paused to consider what he just said in his mind. He then proceeded to pretend that he never had that thought. No one in the world could ever convince him that he had ever thought that Kiba was his prince charming even if his life was threatened. No one. Ever.
=={TDoI}==
Kiba had a very good ability to sense the mood of a situation. It was something he developed in order to make sure that he was nowhere in the room when the female members of the Gremory group were going to do something for his friend Ise. It helped him avoid many awkward situations.
Another ability he possessed was the ability to tell one's current state of mind and their emotions from their facial expressions and right now, he could clearly see that the brown haired girl that had bumped into him was troubled by Raiser's presence.
Though he wasn't one to interfere into another person's business he had this rather strong urge to give aid to the brown haired girl that he had just met. He didn't understand it himself but he felt like it was his duty to help the girl in question.
"Hyouri-chan, come on now, let me escort you to your destination" Kiba noted how different Raiser was acting towards the girl whose name he had just learned. The helpless and troubled look Hyouri had did not escape him.
'She's greatly troubled… I need to do something' With such thoughts, Kiba stepped forward and took action.
"Ah… Hyouri-san! I had been looking for you. You weren't there in the designated meeting place so I had become worried" Kiba stated hoping that Hyouri would play along. The relieved and hopeful look the girl gave him made him somewhat embarrassed.
'She's very cute…'
"Ah Kiba-kun! I'm sorry, I got lost on the way. Raiser-san over here had also treated me to some food… I apologize for making you wait" Hyouri(Ise), who had finally seen a light at the end of the hellish tunnel he had found himself in, played along with Kiba's acting flawlessly.
"Raiser-san thank you for all you help. I'll just have Kiba-kun over here escort me to my destination" Hyouri(Ise), gave Raiser a small smile and quickly ran as fast as he could while pulling Kiba along by the wrist.
"W-wait! Hyouri-chan!" Kiba heard Raiser call to them but they quickly took several turns. Kiba simply allowed himself to be pulled along.
"Haaah….haaah…. Thanks Kiba, I thought I'd never be able to make that guy leave" Kiba noted how Hyouri(Ise)'s way of speaking had suddenly changed. It became more casual and somehow felt familiar to him.
They approached a stall nearby where Hyouri(Ise) bought a drink to cool down.
'… Had I met her before?' He considered and tried to recall whether they had met. He was quite sure he would remember someone like her. Hyouri also felt very familiar to him for some reason.
"Hyouri-san… have we met before?" Not being able to recall, Kiba decided to simply ask. The questioned caused Hyouri(Ise) to pause.
"A-ah… no... I-I apologize for what I just did… I couldn't get Raiser-san to leave me alone" Hyouri(Ise) replied once again assuming her more formal and polite way of speaking. She took sips fomr her drink every now and then.
"No, it was no trouble, I'm glad I was able to help. Raiser Phenex can be a bit troublesome after all" Kiba let out a comforting smile fully understanding what she was going through. He could still recall the whole marriage thing with Raiser and his master Rias.
"Well thanks again… I need to get going now" Hyouri(Ise) decided to take her leave and began walking away.
'Ah… I wanted to talk with her some more…' Kiba felt a strange urge to stay with his new acquaintance. Before he knew it he had already tried to follow but had somehow tripped over nothing and knocked into Hyouri(Ise).
The drink Hyouri(Ise) was holding spilled onto he, soaking her clothes. The look of shock and irritation on her face made Kiba feel guilty.
He then took the only course of action he could, not knowing that he was only increasing Hyouri(Ise)'s troubles.
"I-I apologize! Please let me replace your clothes!" Kiba offered and Hyouri(Ise) had only sighed as if he had given up on life.
…
…
…
'Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid!' Ise was now mentally berating himself.
'Why didn't I just refuse and went away?!'
They were currently in a high end clothing store that sold women apparel. Kiba had gone to find clothing similar to what he was wearing while he was inside one of the changing booths waiting. He tried telling Kiba that anything was fine but the blonde knight insisted on getting something similar to what he was wearing.
'Damnit… He just looked so guilty… and it felt like I would hurt his feelings if I refused so I ended up accepting…'
Unlike Raiser who he could hate for having clear ulterior motives. Kiba had genuinely tried to make amends for an accident he caused so he had a harder time refusing. Ise was relatively sure he could have refused outright if he was normal but he was certain that his current state of gender had something to do with it.
'I guess the only relieving thing here is that my underwear wasn't soaked to' It should be noted that the gender swapping ray gun did not only change the outward form of its target but its mentality as well.
'Curse you my maiden heart! Why do you make things unnecessarily hard for me?! I swear to maou-sama that when I get my hands on Azazel-sensei—' Before he could describe his plans of the unspeakable torture he would inflict upon his fallen angel teacher however, he heard Kiba call him.
"Hyorui-san? I've found clothing similar to yours, I will hand them to you now so please see if the size is correct." He heard Kiba say from the other side of the curtain. He was currently in nothing but underwear (female underwear to note) so he made to use the curtain to cover his body while he took the clothes that Kiba handed him.
"Okay, thank you… please give me a sec" Ise replied and proceeded to try on the clothes. He had a hard time due to his current body. He found that the top was particularly tight but he still stubbornly tried to force himself to wear it.
'This is… too tight… No choice, though I want to get out of here fast this won't do. I'll just get Kiba to get a larger one'
After a few seconds he finally gave up and decided to just take it off again and ask Kiba to get something bigger.
"KYAAAH!" As he was removing it however he lost his balance and almost fell over.
"Hyouri-san?!" Kiba, who was patiently waiting on the other side of the curtain, heard her girlish scream and decided to take a look to see if he was alright.
"W-Wait! Don't come in!" Ise protested and tried to stop him reaching out for the curtain as Kiba tried to open it.
What happened next was obvious.
Kiba who was faster had opened the curtain before Ise could reach for it. Ise who had essentially made a jump for said curtain had crashed into Kiba causing both of them to fall onto the floor.
As both of them tried to get up from their current position they heard a sound of several bags falling on the floor.
'Please… please don't tell me it's someone we know…' Despite Ise's fervent wishes however, he realized who it was when he looked.
It was the vice president of the student. The ever so strict and serious girl with glasses, Shinra Tsubaki.
To those who are unaware, Shinra Tsubaki had a major crush on Yuuto Kiba. It would also explain why she currently had dull and lifeless eyes as she stared at the two of them.
Ise considered what they might have looked like in the perspective of another person.
They were on the ground. He was a half-naked female currently straddling a handsome blonde male who was holding several articles of clothing.
'This is a date between a young couple no matter how the heck you look at it!' He concluded. Ise had honestly thought that the situation could not possibly get any worse than it is.
The universe being the troll that it is, accepted his challenge.
"Hyouri-chan! I've—" Raiser suddenly appeared out of nowhere only to see the same scene. One could see that he was processing and digesting the scene in front of him.
He then came to a conclusion.
"Y-Yuuto Kiba you tasteless fool! Why would you choose such crude underwear for Hyouri-chan?! Someone as cute as her deserves better! Hyouri-chan wait for me! I, Raiser Phenex, will choose the best underwear for you!" Raiser declared with passion as he went to the conveniently placed underwear section near them.
Ise facepalmed. Kiba stayed silent, blushing profusely. Tsubaki stayed frozen on the spot with cold, dull, and lifeless eyes.
'I swear I'll destroy that damn gun' Ise swore to himself.
==The Dream of the Infinite=========================================================
A/N: That concludes this chapter. Hopefully I was able to pull that off.
Have you noticed how Ophis' emotions were more apparent in the nightmare segment? I felt that it was appropriate to do so to fully reflect her current state of mind. The training montage was done like that because I honestly have no idea about anything regarding training... I'll probably have to amend that soon.
I also noticed i had trouble depicting other characters... I may have to reread the novels soon.
Well, hoped you liked this chapter. If I find some extra time, I might be able to finish writing the next chapter and post it on or before Sunday. If not, well the next chapter will be uploaded next week.