Hey hey people
where have u been dzanzy?'
i've been very busy w work, writing only once every 2 weeks. By technicality i was never on hiatus. I'm also planning how to get married without having to spend a lot of money even though it will upset both of our parents but i couldn't care less because it's my goddamn wedding and no one's gonna be invited but the two most crucial participants
okbai
Quit Staring at Me, That's Rude
〖Chapter 4〗
⦕ All Eyes on Me ⦖
"Right… So… uh… Well these things popped outta my chest earlier…"
With a nervous look and a fitting voice — the kind of face anyone would make when they weren't quite sure if they were responsible for something that happened that was beyond their control but felt bad anyway — Issei opened his palm, revealing the twisted four Evil Pieces that his body just seemingly spat out without notice. His senior Devils around him all had their eyebrows bunched up, a mix of downright confusion, fascination, and a pinch of unease.
Rias, most especially.
Being woken up during Saturdays was a horrible way to start her day (noon). Not to mention she had to hurriedly brush her messy hair to a reasonably presentable state and rushed outside her bed with little preparation, and now she was presented with a problem beyond her wildest hypotheticals.
Yet to reply, she instead picked up a piece and brought it closer to her eyes, inspecting it carefully. Her sleepiness had been kicked out the window and replaced by the kind of curiosity that was mixed with an unhealthy dose of fear. A little bit of dread began to accompany those feelings as she took note of the discolored state of the Evil Piece.
"My Evil Pieces…?" she muttered, yet to believe what she was seeing. "...You said they jumped out of your chest?"
"Yeah. It's like they were spat out."
"...Spat out…?" Rias inspected the Pawn piece once again, as though it would shift shape. If his body was rejecting it, such was the case for incompatible Pieces, then the Pieces wouldn't be able to enter his body to start with.
But upon closer inspection, it couldn't be that simple. The Pawn piece retained its crimson color alright, but it wasn't as bright. The shee was not as sharp. Dimmed, even. Its transparency had become milkier, clouded instead of a smooth, see-through, glass-like state it was before. But most concerningly, Rias could feel the loss of its magical properties.
The pawn piece she held was nothing more than an ordinary chess piece, albeit with a sinister appearance.
She frowned.
Issei couldn't stand the silence as he felt like he was in big trouble.
"Erm… So uh… You have any like… some kind of insurance policy or… replacement pieces? A backup or something. I… I feel bad. I mean… those things look pretty expensive. Maybe I can see Hell's HR or whoever's responsible for distributing these things…?"
That would be Satan Lucifer's and yes, there would be replacement pieces. That was the least of her concern. Normally she would laugh at his suggestion, but this was no time to be amused by his innocence. She was more concerned about him and the implication of this incident; that the Evil Pieces was not, for a fact, permanent.
"No. There's no need," she said. "You don't have to do anything. This isn't your fault. Or anyone… for that matter… You couldn't possibly have known," Rias assured. A much needed relief for him, but none yet for her as questions began to hound her brain. "...Replacement pieces are the least of my concerns right now… it's what happened inside you I'm most bothered by."
"Haha… yeah. You me both…." Issei nervously glanced down to look at his chest, wondering if there was a tumor growing inside.
Rias frowned. Unfortunately her hypothesis was proven to be correct. With this, there was no denying there existed something inside him. Something that granted him his ocular superpower. But what? Balor? As far as it was recorded in the codexes, there had been no record of a Forbidden Balor View possessor being able to disintegrate objects on a whim. And last she remembered, a Dhampir serving the Tepes Vampire Clan held that Sacred Gear.
There had been records of multiple possessors of the same Sacred Gear, but not one that had a soul of a certain entity in it. But even if the Dhampir had died years earlier, Issei had activated his power at a very young age.
So, what on earth resided within him?
A creature perhaps more sinister than a Dragon King? Sona had never experienced something like this kind of issue from Saji. Then again Vritra was comparably tamer than the rest of the Dragon Kings and significantly weaker due to being sealed in a Sacred Gear. Maybe Issei's case was a compatibility issue. Sacred Gears were originally gifts from God to Humans. For Satan Beelzebub to be able to through the Agreas Crystal to convert those 'God's Gifts' possessors was a miracle by itself.
"It'd be well appreciated if you can share your thoughts with us, Rias. We're no psychics you know." Noting she was too deep in thought — a bad habit Rias didn't seem able to shake, only got worse as she grew — Akeno kindly reminded her king that no one here could read her mind.
"Hm? Ah… yes," Rias muttered. "...Well… I was just… wondering about what might've happened. My guess is that there's something in you, we just don't know what yet. That said, not even my brother had seen something like this and his Servants are immensely powerful beings. One of them is a Dragon, for a fact."
Hearing that, Issei felt more anxious than relaxed. He did a spit take subconsciously and scratched his jaw. He wasn't book smart, but he was at least logically sound, and he could tell something was wrong with him. This event had only strengthened his worst fear; not being able to truly fit in, even when he already felt cozy.
"Could have been duds?" Akeno pointed out. "Those things have been sitting in your pocket for years, Rias," she added another thought, noticing her junior's anxiety. If Rias wanted to discuss this then she should do it somewhere not in front of him. He was a greenhorn and all this new information would only overload his brain.
Rias was about to answer straightforwardly until Akeno nudged her side, causing her to give her Queen a look. Akeno then flitted her eyes towards the boy, and Rias understood the message.
"Possibly," she then muttered, easing her tone and expression, smiling easily. "It's fine. There's a first to everything, including things we would've never thought would be possible. No need to fuss about this, Hyoudou. We'll take a look into it."
"Right. Yeah. Yea I'll try."
"For now, since you have been exercising, I believe, why don't you take a shower and have a rest. I'll take these with me. You can leave this to us, alright?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, right. I am a bit sweaty… now that you mentioned it…" Issei muttered as he handed the half-contorted pieces over.
"Mhmm. Thank you for your hard work," Rias smiled and grasped the pieces. "I'll let you know when we find something."
"Okay," Issei replied. He read the cue loud and clear, and didn't want to be rude and obnoxious. Especially to the people he just recently befriended. Except for one last thing— "Oh, by the way… am I still a Devil? Or am I back to being human again?"
The Devils glanced at each other, and they all looked expectantly at Koneko, who in turn stared at him with a focused glare.
"Mmmmnn… yes. You still are. And you smell."
"Oh, okay. Good to know." That lifted some of his worry. "Alright then. I'll… see ya guys later. Maybe during lunch or… whenever… anyway bai!"
As they waved, he left the room with a bit of a gusto, with the phrase 'what in the hell is wrong with me?' echoing in his head all the way down the hall.
Once she felt he was out of an earshot, Rias had to reconfirm with Koneko and asked, "Is it true? He's still a Devil?"
A question that was met with a slow shaking of the head.
"I thought he'd be sad if I told him."
Another terrible news.
"Goodness…" Rias sighed as she addressed her Servants. She mustn't show them that her control of the situation was slipping. "We all understand what this means, yes?"
"He's beyond our protection," Kiba answered. And for once he didn't like giving the right answer. "But… What do we do? What can we do?"
"We can't just leave him be," Akeno followed. "Even if he's not bound by the Evil Pieces, he won't instantly switch sides. I doubt he's that kind of person."
"No, of course not," Rias stated, her hands now folded. "The Grigori has no idea of this, so we have that going for us at least. We must make sure it stays that way as long as possible, and hopefully figure something out during that time. But for now, Yuuto, keep watch of him. We can't allow him to leave the school's premises just yet."
Kiba nodded. "Yes. I'll follow him into the shower if I must."
"No need to get that far. You'll only make him uncomfortable," Rias muttered. Akeno was giggling at the idea, obviously entertained. Her Knight could say some silly stuff sometimes.
"Can I do it instead?" Koneko spoke up without a preamble. "I can relate with him. …A little… And I was the one who lied to him."
Rias gave her a nod. "Of course. You can leave, Koneko."
Koneko did just that, brisk-walking o out of the room and down the corridor to catch up with the ex-Devil.
Rias glanced down to her palm, where the chess pieces remained. "As for these… There's no hope for us as none of us are experts about the Crystals, therefore… Akeno, contact Grayfia. We'll send these to Satan Beelzebub. He'll want to take a look."
"Ma'am yes ma'am~" and thus Akeno strutted towards her desk in the Occult Research Club clubroom. Having a King that was directly related to a Satan smoothened the administrative process a whole lot. For one, she didn't have to do as much paperworks as other Queens do.
"And as for me… I suppose I'll take a bath…" Rias sighed. She wanted to go back to sleep but that was no longer feasible. "Yuuto, have a patrol around the area for crows. They've been oddly quiet these past few days… No doubt they're planning to do something about our new recruit."
"Now 'former', I suppose…"
"That as it may, he was one of us and he's not a Stray. Should things go south, play dumb and say you've no idea that he's no longer a Devil."
Kiba smiled. Rias was kind but she was shrewd for these kinds of things. "Got it."
Behind her desk, Akeno frowned a little. "Can we switch jobs?"
"No can do, Akeno-san. I'm the Knight. I don't have the authority to do your assignment."
"Hmm… something in me tells me you just don't want to deal with the paperworks."
"Well… I have always been a better field worker."
Break
Back to the streets of Kuoh for him. It was his habit to get rid of things in his head, or to mull them over until he's tired of them eventually, or something to simply pass the hours when he felt like walking. Besides, he might as well since he didn't really break a sweat. His 'spar' with Kiba was the blondie darting around while he just had to stand around, trying to 'see' him.
The streets were mostly empty. With time nearing 12, not many people wanted to be under the sun when it was climbing to its peak. Either way, he didn't really pay that much attention to his surroundings. The recent incident swallowed all of his attention that he failed to realize he was jogging rather than walking. Perhaps it was his subconscious demanding his body to get somewhere where he felt most at ease; the town park.
The same phrase from earlier when he walked out the room was still replaying in his head. With slight variations and a handful of dead end theories. Despite the things raving in his head, he still looked around both sides when he was about to cross the road, because he wasn't about to get isekaid anytime soon — and because that was something his parents taught him that just stuck.
"Issei-senpai!" a feminine voice suddenly called out to him, and his head turned around on autopilot. He saw Koneko running from the distance, growing bigger and bigger until she caught up to him. He found it funny that she didn't look much larger this near.
"Yo. Sup, Koneko-chan? Off on a walk too?"
"...Yes. Sorta." Koneko didn't need to catch her breath and she spoke as though she hadn't been sprinting the whole way. "Anyway, we shouldn't leave the school, Senpai."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because…" Koneko paused there. If she told him straight out that it was dangerous to be out on his own, then he might piece the puzzles and figure out that he was never alone. "...Because of what just happened."
"Well…" Issei paused as well. He supposed this was that big of a deal, and he really shouldn't be pushing his luck with the Fallen Angels either way now that he thought about it. "Well. Yeah, fair enough. Let's get some ice cream before we get back though. I know a place nearby."
"I don't bring my wallet," Koneko reasoned.
"Nahh, don't worry about it. My treat."
"..." She couldn't lie this time; she could use some ice cream in this kind of heat. And free ones would taste even better. "Okay.".
Their talk started small at first, but even then, Koneko learned a thing about him; he was immune to brain freeze because he gobbled his soft-serve in seconds, and that he knew how to hold a casual conversation without making it awkward, and that he actually talked a lot more than she thought a 'recluse' would talk. She felt it was one-sided, however, since he was the one who kept asking questions.
No one said it was easy to be introverted — she always felt guilty about this kind of small stuff yet she had no idea on what question she should ask him, if it was appropriate or too personal or not.
"Are you an only child, Koneko-chan?" he asked this time.
She hesitated for a moment. "I… have a sibling. A sister."
He raised both his brows. "You do? Where's she at?"
"I don't know." Koneko shook her head. "I haven't seen her for a long time."
"Oh." Well. Maybe he just stepped on a landmine. That or he was about to, but… he wanted to know more about her. About the Devils in general, truth be told. They seemed to know more about him than he knew about them or even himself.
So he thought to himself; 'screw it.' He started with a lead-in nevertheless. People are more inclined to share a thing about them if he shares first.
"Well… ya'know, I'm supposed to have two siblings. Older siblings."
"Supposed?"
"Yeah. Miscarriages," he pursed his lips. Not in a sullen kind of manner, but more in a 'it's already passed, and can't be helped' kind of manner. It is how it is. "That's why my parents are overprotective of me. At least that's what I think anyway…"
"..." Koneko couldn't and knew she shouldn't tell him that Rias did a bit more than just convincing to make them agree. "I see… I'm sorry to hear that," so she instead said, having a small, delicate lick of her chocolate ice cream so as to not hurt her sensitive tongue.
"Well I don't feel that sad… I mean I was when I heard about it. Sucks seeing your parents being sad. Dunno if they still think about what could have been… they probably do, I guess," Issei shrugged, realizing he had gone off on a tangent. "Welp, they're gonna go on a trip anyway so that should take their mind off things," he lightheartedly said, lifting the mood back up.
Koneko was relieved. She had no idea how to console someone.
"Do you want a sister or a brother, Senpai?"
"Either is fine, honestly. But if I have to pick, then a brother. Wait— then I'd prolly get hand-me-downs instead… I told you my parents are overprotective but my mom is still stingy about spending money." Even if it was her husband's… albeit Issei knew his father couldn't bargain a can of tuna even if his life depended on it. "...Still, I think an older brother would've been cool."
"And for a younger sibling? Girl or boy?"
"Hmm… either is fine because I'll bully them regardless."
"That's horrible."
"I am equal to all," Issei pridefully announced. "What about your parents, Koneko-chan? Do they know about your whole Devil business?"
"I don't know," she muttered. A small frown could be spotted. She'd be frowning sullen if not for the ice cream treat. "They're not exactly around."
"Oh. Busy overseas?"
"They're more like dead than busy."
Yikes. He didn't just step on a landmine; he cannonballed onto it. "I'm uh… sorry man. I mean— Koneko-chan."
"It's fine," she said, nigh-emotionless. "You didn't know."
Alright. Time to reel back and salvage the conversation before it steered off the road to Awkward Hill.
"So what were you doing, Koneko-chan?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, y'know. Before you got here. Before you met Prez. Y'know what I mean."
"Oh," she blinked. "I was…"
She went quiet. That sentence didn't seem like it was going to be completed anytime soon.
"Y-You don't have to answer that if you don't wanna. I get a bit nosey is all." He enjoyed talking to new people (as long as it wasn't in a crowded place), Issei simply didn't get much chance to. Most of his peers avoided him like he was a moving plague. "I don't get to talk a lot, y'see. With people my age, I mean."
He got to be chummy with some street vendors, at the least. The discounts that sometimes come with that was a well appreciated bonus.
"Why not?"
"Huh? Well… Hmm. Because people don't talk to me I guess."
Because of the M and M duo, she recalled. She forgot he was a social outcast due to how talkative he was.
"But you're a good person, Senpai," Koneko spoke honestly. "I'm not saying you should ditch your friends or anything but if you have… saner friends then…"
"Well, they're pretty cool people too. Just a bit… pervy, is all," he sighed. He wouldn't lie to himself and claimed he hadn't wondered about what kind of school life he would have if he wasn't friends with those two idiots. A lot more normal perhaps, but certainly a lot duller. "I mean yeah they're out of line sometimes, but oddly, it's fine if it's a girl that does it."
"A girl?"
"Yeah. Kiryuu Aika. You've probably heard about her. She's like the… female counterpart of Motohama. But instead she can measure… actually nevermind that. Let's uh… let's just say she has this strange ability."
"Ability…?" The bespectacled girl… the one that used to be in Rias' radar but was never approached. Koneko often wondered why. She knew her President was much more nitpicky than Sona who was nearing a full set of Peerage. Perhaps because of this ability…? "What kind of ability?"
"Eeeh… uh… The… strange kind…" he cleared his throat and scratched his side as he went on to shift the person of interest. "So what powers do you have, Koneko-chan?"
That was some jump from one topic to another. "Powers? I can punch things really, really hard."
"Oh yeah, Kiba said you can throw things far too."
"I also have a strong grip," she told him.
He spotted a smile there. Just slightly but it was there. Was she boasting? That was kinda cute, he thought, given her minute size. It's like a kid bragging about being strong and stuff, except Koneko could probably toss him into the stratosphere and crush his bones in half.
But even so… she wasn't without her weakness. "But you eat pretty slow."
"Because it's cold," she replied, taking another tiny lick of the cold delicacy.
"That's kinda the point of an ice cream."
"I have a sensitive tongue," she huffed.
"Cat's tongue huh? Sucks to be you."
Koneko pursed her lips, thinking about the things she could devour in an instant if not for her tongue, but laughed quietly either way.
"But at least you get to savor the taste a bit longer. I just eat like a vacuum cleaner. I don't think my taste buds get to enjoy the flavor."
"Heh…"
She never expected to be this comfortable with a person she had only known for a few days. Maybe because her shell had been slowly dismantled by Rias, Akeno and Kiba that she could warm up to a new person this quickly.
She thought 'training' him would be a pain, if she was to be honest. Never judge someone by their cover, she supposed.
"So anyway, do you have any other powers? Other than punching and throwing people straight into orbit, I mean."
"I… do," she muttered. Quieter this time. "But I hate it."
"Really? Why?"
"Because…"
And she went awfully quiet again, even fully stopping like she just entered a freeze frame.
"Bit personal huh? That's fine. I won't push, Koneko-chan."
"No, it's not that, Senpai," Koneko whispered suspiciously in a lower tone as she grabbed his wrist, even throwing her ice cream cone to the side.
"Hey don't litter or waste food," he promptly scolded, sounding a lot like his mother, when then a cold, deep female voice came from above.
"Don't worry about it," Kalawarner declared as she descended, the skies behind her had shifted into an unnatural purplish hue. "Your face will be in the same ditch in a few seconds."
.
.
.
"Man. You're crazy strong."
"She's just weak."
Puffing out a huff and dusting off her hands after successfully planting the now unconscious Kalawarner's face into the ditch, Koneko went on, leaving the beaten Fallen Angel with little to no fanfare. Issei kinda felt bad for the lady, but she did swing first.
Meanwhile, back at the ditch, Kalawarner groggily and grumpily —mostly grumpily— pushed herself off the shallow water. Luckily for Japan and their cleanliness, she was mostly wet and sore and not covered in garbage. Still, the humiliation felt worse.
"What did I tell you, you idiot."
And thus came the rest of her group. Cowards who chose to lag behind and watch instead of helping her. Dohnaseek, the biggest coward of all, offered her his gloved hand. Of course, Kalawarner slapped it away. The suited and fedora-wearing man simply shrugged, being used to it.
"You didn't help me," Kalawarner griped, her eyes glaring at Raynare. Her de facto leader.
"Of course we didn't. We're not stupid," Raynare replied with her hands folded.
"You're lucky he was with the little runt instead of… well, any of them," shrugged Mittelt, throwing in some minor healing spells to ease Kalawarner's bruising. "You'll either be minced-meat, deep-fried, or straight up evaporated."
"Tch…" Kalawarner scoffed, evidently bitter. "Are we really this pathetic?"
"No. We just have the shittest luck. Also nobody will give a shit if any of us dies except maybe Dohnaseek's wife," Raynare commented, sighing afterwards. "But we do give a shit about us, so quit moping. At least we got something out of this."
"What?" Kalawarner spouted.
"A picture is one," said Dohnaseek, currently gazing at his phone at the picture he took moments before that little Devil smashed Kalawarner's face into a wall with the human boy looking absolutely stunned.
Raynare only sighed. She just wanted to get this over with. "No, you blithering idiot; he turned back to human."
"How?"
"Do I look like an expert to you?" Raynare grumbled, causing Kalawarner to grumble back. "Why care about the how; he's a human again. That's it."
"Perfect. We'll get him when he's alone," Dohnaseek smirked. Knowing him, he'd probably be the last to get in the fray, but Raynare kept the thought to herself; she was fed up from being lambasted by Penemue for 'stalling' her assignment.
"They probably already know as well. He's gonna be guarded like the queen," Mittelt pointed out, poking Kalawarner's bruise to elicit her pained groan just because she could. She dodged Kalawarner's slap swiftly as she continued, "What if he's never alone? No one can pay me to risk my life fighting those bats."
"There's four of us and four of them… that Gremory brat should be taking a day off today or busy playing detective. So that leaves three. There's a chance the Halfbreed will be helping her as well."
Already knowing what to expect, Dohnaseek stepped in first in line. "I'll distract the little girl."
"No. You're good at running away. You get Baraqiel's brat," Raynare ordered, much to Dohnaseek's woe. Priestess of Thunder against a common grunt. The odds didn't look so great.
Disregarding Dohnaseek's apparent gloom, Raynare went on, "Mittelt. You're good at being annoying - annoy the hell out of the runt. I'll deal with the sword guy."
"Eugh… I'd rather deal with the swords guy… I feel like I'd be able to reason with him… Plus he doesn't look half bad."
"But you are," Raynare rolled her eyes, dismissing Mittelt's unpleasant scowl.
"What about me?" asked Kalawarne who felt a bit left out.
Of course Raynare had to spell it out. Once again rolling her eyes, Raynare said, "You deal with the boy," she stressed, to further engrave the thought into this dumb brute's brain. "Don't even toy with him. Get near him and kill him. No one-liners. Got it?"
"One-liners…? That's your thing."
"It doesn't matter," Raynare squawked. "That's the plan for now. We'll tweak it accordingly depending on how the Devils make their move…"
"What if the only move they make is no move at all?" Mittelt pointed out. "What if they camp in that school of theirs? What then? If you're asking us to Banzai charge there like a maniac then I might as well turn myself in right now."
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, but I think if you're desperate enough then… I don't know what you won't do."
"She has a point," Dohnaseek chimed in. "Assuming they never left, what then?"
"Then…" Raynare sighed, danger close to her wits' end. "Then hell if I know… I'm not suicidal either. This shit is way above our paygrade… How the fuck did things escalate this quickly?"
Break
For some odd reason, Issei felt a bit off. Was it the ice cream earlier?
Probably because of the earlier exercise and the small walk with Koneko, but he felt… off. Something wasn't right but he couldn't pinpoint the reason why.
He rested on his bed, flat on his back, staring at the sloped ceiling. He wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon but Rias insisted. 'Try to get some rest' she said then, right when he came back with Koneko. She looked somewhat upset. Why? He had no idea. Probably because of something he did or didn't.
Oh well.
…
Sure is boring here though.
Spacy room but overall empty.
…
Might as well practice how to hover—
BLAM—!
And he had successfully smashed his face right into the ceiling. Felt like the ceiling just slapped him straight and reintroduced him to the floor.
"Balls," Issei eloquently muttered, one hand rubbing his stinging face. It seemed like learning how to fly without hurting himself was a challenge too steep to take.
It didn't take long for his seniors to check in on him. Kiba rushed in first, briskly opening the door with an alerted look. Koneko followed suit, looking agitated. But both their expressions shifted from one of vigilance into one of shock as they registered the sight.
"I… Hyoudou…" Rias muttered, "your wings… they're…"
"Yeah, I…" he sheepishly scratched his head, "I admit trying to lift off inside an enclosed room wasn't my brightest idea, but then again, I never was that bright to begin with."
"It's not that… I mean…"
"Look at your wings, Senpai," Koneko softly ushered, the slightest hint of surprise carried by her quiet voice.
"Why? What's the matter— oh."
He glanced over his shoulder, expecting a pair of black wings. Well they were black. Similar to his Devil seniors' bat-like pinions. But the smooth, steelish black were now covered in ghostly violet flames, searing dimly and lazily — before they too, completely devoured the bat-like wings, right in front of his and the Devils' very eyes.
"Holy fu—!" There was no pain felt, but he flinched at the sight of his own appendages being dissolved. "Wh— the hell's goin' on!? Is this normal?! Of course it isn't— you guys won't be surprised if it is—"
"Right— this is getting more bizarre by the moment… we need to get you checked now," stated Rias, sparing no more time for the 'what ifs'. "Akeno, get Roygun. I'll see if I can get Satan Beelzebub to spare some time this week… In the meantime, I'm sorry in advance, Hyoudou, but I'll have to forbid you from leaving this building. Kiba and Koneko will take shifts guarding you… in case stranger things happen again."
"Understood," Kiba said. Koneko simply nodded, but her eyes never left his purple, flaring wings, mystified, almost as though she was petrified by the sight of those violet flames.
"I hope you won't mind," Rias continued. "But we don't know what's happening with you. This is for your safety, Hyouodu. And ours as well."
"I— wh— what? Well… okay," Issei heeded without any retort, completely forgetting he wanted to ask who 'Roygun' was since he was second-guessing his choice in becoming a Devil.
Akeno stayed for a moment, staring at the boy and his utter confusion, before leaving after giving Rias a look. It was a disapproving one, as if telling her King she could've chosen her words better.
"...Am I in trouble?"
At that, Rias eased herself. "Of course not, Hyoudou. We're… worried. For you. Whatever it is you're going through, I am also responsible. These things happened after you became my Servant, after all." Even if he might no longer be hers. "Don't worry," she reassured. "I invited you into our group. We'll never leave you to figure things out on your own."
Later on, the Devils exited his room one by one, giving him space to relax and loosen up. He had recalled his 'wings' by then, and sure enough, he didn't feel them retracting inside his back. They just… disappeared. The same way he activated his eyes; by simply thinking about it.
He laid on his bed, staring at the familiar ceiling once again, this time with a noticeable dent in one of the wooden paneling.
He joined the Devils searching for answers, yet he found more unanswered questions instead.
That being said… What Rias told him earlier… That might have been the kindest thing anyone had ever said to him. Sure she could just be saying that to ease his nerves or… simply out of sympathy, or even to look like she was a good, caring leader. Whatever her intentions might be, it wouldn't change the fact that it did help comfort him.
Even so… a single question never stopped spiraling inside his mind as time continued to tick by…
The hell's wrong with me?
"...pai… Senpai."
Issei didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he was woken up by a quiet, feminine voice.
"Wake up."
Weird… This soothing, child-like voice… must be one of Motohama's weird anime girl alarms. Wait, or was it Baldy that had this weird obsession over tiny anime girls who looked 7 but are actually older than the Earth itself? No… Baldy was into the 'little sisters' archetype, not necessarily lolis.
"Senpai, wake up."
He felt a nudge on his shoulder. Alarm clocks nowadays sure have gone far in tech… Perhaps soon enough, there'd be robot girls in maid outfits. Why specifically maid outfits? Issei had no idea but he's blaming Motohama. They guy just liked girls in costumes so much that—
Koneko smothered his face with a pillow. He fully woke up then.
"Huh? Yeah… Hey, Koneko-chan…" he groggily said, yawning and stretching and then scratching that nest on top of his head that people called hair. "...What… year is it?"
She guessed he meant the time. "Around four," she told him. He didn't sleep long then. Figures. "Sorry to interrupt your sleep. Prez wants to see you."
"Huh… but I thought we're governed by an Emperor… Wait, or was it a Prime Minister?"
Koneko wondered if he had lost several brain cells in his sleep. "Issei-senpai, before we go… can I… ask you about something…?"
"Huh? Sure… Alright, go ahead," he said as he moved to ste at the edge of the bed. "As long as it isn't a math question… ahahahaaaaaa— I'll shut up now."
"Thanks," Koneko sniffed, unimpressed. "...Back when… your wings…" she paused, looking confused for a moment, "turned…?"
Riiight. He had that going for him. "Uh-huh. Yeah. My wings… what about 'em?"
"...Are you… were you… scared?"
"Huh. Scared?" Issei muttered, proceeding to give a thought, restarting the gears in his brain. "I dunno. I wasn't thinking much about my feelings then— I was shocked though. Confused too. Dunno if I'm terrified…"
"It's something you have that's beyond your control… that you didn't know you have. If I were you I'd be… at least half terrified."
"Oh yeah, fair point…" he nodded several times, looking thoughtful. "Well… Guess I'm more worried than scared of it. Those things are kinda the same in a way though, huh?"
Koneko would say it was entirely different, but she was more interested as to why he felt that way. "Worried?"
"Yeah. For me… and the people around me. Though mostly for me because I don't know what the heck is happening in me and why it's happening," he decided. "But, there's excitement too. Kind of the childish kind. Like… going on a jet coaster for the first time if that makes sense."
Koneko wouldn't know. She wasn't allowed to ride one. Too short. "I see."
"Mhmm… Yeup. It's like… learning something new about me… Which is kinda scary now that I think about it… Like if I don't know what the hell I am then how will someone else, amiright?"
"That's why we have physicians and doctors," she muttered. She didn't mean to soun sarcastic but certainly came across that way.
Issei thought she made a lot of sense though.
"We should go now. Roygun-sensei is waiting for you."
Issei blinked. "...Sensei? What, like a teacher? From here? This school?"
"Yes," Koneko blankly said. "She's a nurse."
"Huh?"
"The school nurse."
"What?" He furrowed his brows, scratching his eyes. "Wait, which one?"
Koneko frowned confusedly. "We only have one school nurse," she stated matter-of-factly, "Chisato-san is our university's nurse. She goes to our medical room to hang out… Because Roygun-sensei always slacks."
"Alright, wait… so Royz— Roza— Ro— that-sensei? She's a Devil too?"
Although she didn't say it, the look in her eyes told him she was questioning his intelligence. "Senpai, the Gremory Family funds and runs this school. Some of the staff here are Devils."
"...Oh yeah…" Issei muttered sheepishly once he thought about it. "That… Yea that makes sense..."
To be continued…
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