The Lone Vigilante Issei – High School DxD
Hi there! It's me, Hide Shinyama!
And here we are with Chapter 5.
Now, the last time Issei, Matsuda and Motohama ended up in jail and are now awaiting trial.
Now, there are a lot of things I thought on how to continue this fanfic and – thanks to you commenters – I actually have some idea on what to add in this story.
So, thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it.
Perhaps I'll consider on implementing some of your ideas. They seem quite interesting.
Anyway, on with…
Chapter 5 – The perverted trio train together
7th September, Friday, about 5:10 am – Kuoh Police Prison Cell
It was another day in prison, as Issei woke up like yesterday at 5 o'clock. Why did he wake up this early, you ask? Well, it was in order to train, of course.
Issei was determined to get stronger, more durable and better at hand-to-hand combat. For that, he had to follow Ddraig's training regimen that involved 20 push-ups, 30 sit-ups, 10 pull-ups (from the bed-railing) and 20 frog-jumps every morning.
Naturally, it would wake his Matsuda and Motohama who weren't so pleased to be stirred up by Issei's training exercises.
"Ugh… dude…" Motohama groaned, clearly irritated as Issei was doing his finishing his 30 push-ups.
"Can't you just wait until an hour or two or so? We're trying to sleep here" he complained, looking at Issei with tired eyes from the upper bunk.
"Mmpffmmmmmfffppfffmmmuuu…" a muffling sound came up, confusing Motohama and Issei.
It was only when Motohama felt something… or rather someone lying right underneath his pillow he was lying on, did he realize where it came from.
"S-sorry, man!" Motohama said, before getting off of Matsuda who gasped for air.
"What the hell, man? Why did you have to sleep right on top of me?" Matsuda asked angrily, while sitting up.
"Hey, at least I wasn't… wrapping someone behind… while rubbing my body against someone else's… unlike a certain someone here!" Motohama replied stuttering, then bellowing.
Matsuda started to turn red and look away from embarrassment.
"Uhh, w-w-what are you talking about?" Matsuda asked embarrassed.
"You were doing that to me in your sleep again! And you were calling me Chibiusa for some rea… Wait…Were you thinking about Hentai Moon?" Motohama questioned.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'again'?" Issei asked this time.
"He was humping me the previous night, too! Except the last time it was about some girl named Mami Tomoe… or something like that!"
Issei dropped a sweat at that. Sleeping together in a bed certainly wasn't going to be fun with those two. He just hoped that he wouldn't get Matsuda as a bed-mate!
"Anyway, this sucks! I wanna get out of here! I wanna go home! Why can't they just let us go?" Motohama whined.
"Because we still need to go to court, remember?" Issei replied.
Sadly, that was going to be a reality, they were going to have to face. A cold impartial judge, a hostile prosecution and angry parents of the accusers going against them… this was not something Issei was looking forward to. While they were glad that they had met the attorney representing them, they were told that the court day was next Saturday – in other words tomorrow!
Issei sighed, he could understand his friends' frustration about their current situation, but right now sitting in the prison cell, they were in right now was still better than in court. That was doubly true for Issei, who would always try to make the best out of every situation, he was in.
And right now, he wanted to use this time in jail to train.
"But while we're waiting, it's about time we rotated! We've been here for more than two nights, so now it's Issei's turn to sleep with one of us!" Matsuda proclaimed, causing Issei to blush furiously.
"Dude! That sounds so wrong!" Issei retorted. Sleeping with one of them? No way was going to have sex with one of them, though Issei understood what Matsuda was trying to say.
Upon realizing what Issei implied, Matsuda blushed.
"Anyway" Motohama spoke up. "We need to decide who will sleep on the lower bunk bed tonight. So how about, we decide with another game of rock, paper scissors between you and me, Matsuda?"
"All right…" Matsuda said, preparing himself. "But I know one thing: You're going down!"
"We'll see about that!" Motohama replied, as he too started to prepare himself.
Issei, on the other hand, was just standing there, just hoping that whoever would lose wouldn't end up… doing stuff to him in his sleep.
A few minutes after the match…
"I demand a rematch!" Motohama exclaimed.
"No way! I won fair and square!" Matsuda insisted.
It turned out that Matsuda had won the match, but Motohama (being a sore loser and all) refused to accept the results of the match. And this is why they were arguing right now.
"You just don't want to accept the fact that you lost, man" Matsuda sneered.
"Oh, yeah? At least I didn't delay showing my hand – unlike you!" Motohama countered.
"I never delayed my hand!" Matsuda protested.
"Yes, you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Did, too!"
"Did not!"
"Oh, yeah? Well, let's let Issei decide!" Motohama exclaimed.
"Good idea" Matsuda agreed.
As they turned their head towards Issei, they saw that he was back to training again (doing a number of sit-ups to be more specifically).
"Issei…?" Motohama asked with a dead-panned look on his face.
"Yeah?" Issei asked, not interrupting the exercise while doing so.
"Did you even pay attention to our match?" Motohama asked again.
"Uhuh…" Issei replied, still focused on his training.
"Then, why are you exercising again?" Matsuda asked this time, with a similar dead-pan.
"Because… *huff* I thought your argument was going to take a while… *huff* So, I thought I might as well be productive with my time and train *huff*" Issei replied, before getting up and stretching himself with his arms up.
"So… Who do you think won the match?" Motohama asked.
Issei didn't reply for a while, as he finished his stretches. Once he was done, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't know" he replied nonchalantly.
At that his two buddies comically fell down to the ground head-first in frustration (like in mangas and in animes).
Issei, on the other hand, just continued with his training, this time by doing some frog-jumps.
His two friends found it strange. Issei was never this much into exercise, so what could possibly motivate him to be like that? He's been doing that since the day, they got here. Push-ups, sit-ups, frog-jumps, even some shadow-boxing… Why was he even doing this?
That wasn't the only thing they noticed.
What also came to their attention was the fact that Issei would do this with a serious, determined look on his face – almost as if he wasn't the perverted fun-loving friend that they knew, but a warrior in training, as if he was preparing for war.
Another thing that they noticed (and that tied to their previous point) is that Issei seemed to mumble every once to himself. They noticed him saying things like "Please, no more…" or "I understand!" or "Ddraig".
That was especially true, in the bathroom. They would hear Issei say "Boost" or something like that and hear him straining, fighting against some kind of pressure, only for him to come out completely exhausted.
They found it… really strange. Sure, they may all be weird one way or the other, but this was a whole different kind of weird – one Matsuda and Motohama had never seen before.
They thought, it may have something to do with his parents' death. But, normally, the reaction would be depression or becoming more prone to isolation or having outbursts, not training!
It seemed like, he was trying to get stronger for some kind of reason. But why?
Trying to satisfy their curiosity, they decided to ask Issei.
"Dude, why are you even exercising in the first place?" Matsuda asked.
"Why not?" Issei asked rhetorically, still doing his frog-jumps.
"It's like… not even 6 am. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Motohama asked.
Issei stopped for a moment. He looked at his friends and decided to answer their question.
"Well, the earlier I get up, the more time I have to exercise. Plus, getting up early is an exercise in itself. It helps you to discipline your mind and body, by doing things, you normally wouldn't do" Issei answered.
"Yeah, but your exercises have been disturbing our well-deserved rest for quite some time now. Can't you just get up later?" Motohama asked.
"Yeah, not only do they interrupt our sleep, but the room smells so sweaty as a result, too" Matsuda added.
Issei didn't know what to say. He really, didn't want to forego his training, but he really didn't want to tell them the truth either. Issei just didn't want to drag Matsuda and Motohama into a possibly apocalyptic war with the supernatural.
But seeing that he needed to convince them of his motivation for training, he decided to tell them the truth… ok not the whole truth, but still enough to satisfy your curiosity.
"All right… I guess I need to tell you the truth."
"The truth?" Matsuda inquired curiously.
"Yeah. The truth as to why I'm training so hard" Issei replied.
Both of his friends looked at him with surprise. They clearly weren't expecting what seems to be a serious straightforward man-to-man talk about this from Issei. But they were intrigued, nonetheless.
"You mean to say that there is a reason as to why you are doing all this?" Motohama questioned.
Issei nodded.
"Yeah, there is. So, make yourselves comfortable. This is gonna take a while."
"No problems there!" Motohama said with a grin, as he patted the bed he and his buddy Matsuda were on.
"Does this have to do with your parents' death?" Matsuda asked.
"Well, it actually does. But that's not all of it" Issei answered.
"Well… what other reason do you have for doing this?" Motohama asked this time.
"Well… it has to do with the fact that there are people like my parents' murderer to begin with" Issei explained.
The two of them nodded. It was a well-known, but sad fact that there were robbers, thieves, crooks and murderers of all kinds out there.
People that are probably in prisons in the masses like this one, they thought and shuddered at the mere thought of it.
"Yeah, but what does this have to do with you training?" Matsuda asked again until he got a suspicion of what might be the reason.
"Wait, don't tell me you're going out to become a crime fighter or something, are you?" Matsuda questioned Issei.
"Well… yes…" Issei said, shocking his two buddies. "To be honest, I wanted to use it primarily to defend myself and those I care about – like you guys – in case something bad should happen."
"Dude, are you crazy!?" Motohama asked shocked.
"Yeah! What were you thinking? I mean, sure, your parents were killed and there are… all kinds of criminals out there, but… that's not something you can just deal with on your own!" Matsuda said.
"I know that! But I have to start from somewhere!" Issei protested.
He knew it was going to be dangerous, that was clear. Issei didn't even know, if he would even last two minutes against a supernatural opponent.
"Besides, it's not like I necessarily have to fight. I can even do other things to solve the problem, like becoming a police man or even a politician!" Issei said. He frowned inwardly as he said that.
'Me and being a politician? Wow, I can't believe I just said that!' Issei thought, the idea appearing to be completely ridiculous in his mind.
"But, by your logic, that still doesn't mean that you should just wake up at 4 to 5 am and train, while robbing us of our sleep" Matsuda replied with his arms folded at his chest.
"I know… but still! If I can't do any of these things, I can at least protect myself and those near me if they are threatened" Issei responded.
Motohama and Matsuda looked at each other with questioning looks, before turning back.
"Ok… you may have a point… But something doesn't make sense…" Motohama thought out loud.
"What doesn't make sense?" Issei inquired.
"Well, the fact that you mumble to yourself every once in a while…" Motohama said.
'They heard me mumble to himself? I have to remember to keep it down the next time.' Issei thought to himself.
"Yeah! You would constantly say something, like "Ddraig" and "Boost" or something like that. It was really weird…"
Issei widened his eyes. Oh crap! He really needed to learn to shut his mouth. At this rate, they'll know!
His two friends immediately noticed his widened eyes.
"Issei, what's the matter?" Matsuda asked concerned.
"N-n-nothing!" Issei stammered. "I'm just embarrassed that you guys noticed something this embarrassing about me. Ahahaha…" Issei tried to laugh it off.
Matsuda and Motohama wrinkled their eye-brows with confusion and suspicion.
Something was definitely off.
He tried to laugh off what they had seen – just like a lot of fictional characters would when they were hiding something.
But what could it be?
His whole motivation for becoming a crime-fighter didn't make sense. They could understand that losing one's parents may be a legitimate reason for becoming a vigilante, but just what made Issei so sure that he could even make it in the first place?
Looking at it logically, there was no way a normal, out-of-shape guy like Issei Hyoudou could actually become a vigilante. But on the other hand, Issei looked so… serious. He did all those exercises persistently, as if he was determined to become one – despite all odds.
At times, Issei even looked happy, laughing even, after collapsing on the threshold of the bathroom doing… who knows what kind of exercise in there!
It almost seemed like… he was actually achieving his goals and that he there was a sense of surety to becoming a hero.
But how?
Thinking about it, both of them realized in one way or the other that the answer must lie with Issei's mumbling.
That was the most suspicious part of it all.
They have known their friend since middle school and he has never talked to himself in his life. That was true up until they ended up in prison.
The words that Issei said: "Please, no more…", "I understand!", "Ddraig" and "Boost!" …those didn't seem like words you would say to yourself.
It was if Issei was not talking to himself and more like… he was talking to someone else…
Nonsense! How could that be? It's not like there were supernatural beings out there, right?
But still…
Matsuda and Motohama just didn't know what to make of this…
"Ummm… guys?" Issei spoke up, interrupting their thoughts.
"Yeah… what is it?" Motohama asked.
"Didn't you guys want to deal with the bed issue for tonight?" Issei asked.
Both Matsuda and Motohama widened their eyes in surprise.
"Oh yeah! That's right!" Matsuda exclaimed.
"Indeed! Totally right!" Motohama smirked, looking sideways at Matsuda.
"I'll be the referee!" Issei announced, while raising his arm like a referee would before starting a game.
"You're going up with Issei!" Motohama declared.
"No, you're going dow- umm, I mean up with Issei!" Matsuda corrected himself.
"Let's bring it on!" Issei announced, bringing his arm down.
And so, the second paper-rock-scissors game began…
In the meantime, somewhere else in the prison
In the administration department of the Kuoh police prison, a police man was secretly looking through the records of the inmates in the cells. He had been looking for an opportunity to search the records since he got here and had now found his chance.
After checking the prison's database on the laptop computer, the police officer finally found what he was looking for.
He opened a file to check out its content and, sure enough, it told him everything that he needed to know.
Name, age, reason for detention, trial date, physical attributes and so on... But what stood out to him was the cell the subject was in.
He smiled in a devious manner. Finally! He had gotten what he wanted. Now, he just had to figure out how to do it.
As he was thinking of a plan, a senior police officer came into the office.
"Hey, new guy! Police chief Okubo just called for you. Apparently, there's still more paper work for you to do" the senior police officer said.
The new police recruit nearly jumped out of shock at his call, but managed to compose himself, before replying: "Yes, sir. Right away."
He walked off, heading straight to the police chief's office.
The senior police officer just shook his head, until he stopped when he noticed that the computer was on. Apparently, the new recruit was checking something in the police records.
He looked and was surprised to see that a specific file had been opened.
It was Issei's file.
The police officer wondered why his new colleague was looking at this particular felon's file.
But in the end, he decided not to think too much about it. He closed down the file, locked the computer account and went away.
The senior police officer didn't know that the new police man harbored… less than well intentions towards Issei.
Kuoh Police Prison Cell – 8:00 am
"Knock, knock, knock!" the cell door went as the prison guard knocked on the door.
The perverted trio stopped their activities and looked to the door.
"Here's your breakfast. Enjoy your meal" the prison guard said.
The perverted trio immediately went for the door to receive their food.
Through the slit came the breakfast tray. On it were six slices of toast bread, samples of jam and peanut butter in two small bowls and some packs of milk.
Overall, the food wasn't bad, but Motohama did have a complaint.
"Umm, excuse me, Mr. Warden, but can it be that this is all we're getting for breakfast?" Motohama asked.
"I'm sorry" the man replied. "But this is all you're getting for breakfast. Besides, it's not up for me to decide what you get, so make the most out of it".
After that, the police man left to distribute meals to the next cells.
Upon hearing this Motohama slumped down in disappointment.
"What's wrong, Motohama?" Issei asked. "The food as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I expected far worse, so why ask for something else?"
"It's not… the quality of the food I'm complaining about…" Motohama said despondently. "…It's the quantity…"
"Quantity?" Matsuda asked.
"Yes! We only get two pieces of toast each morning with jam and peanut butter and some milk! A man can't possibly live on that alone!" Motohama responded.
"Ok… I'll admit that they could have given us more to eat… I mean, I exercise a lot…" Issei said, but then his tummy grumbled, causing him to hold his stomach out of embarrassed.
"See what I mean!" Motohama pointed out.
"Yeah… you may have a point…" Matsuda conceded, as he took the food tray and put it on the table, near the window.
"At least we still have lunch and dinner!" Issei said, trying to look things at the bright side.
"Lunch and dinner?" Motohama scoffed. "They don't give us that much either! And besides, the food we get for lunch and dinner sucks in comparison to breakfast!"
"Really, I thought the salmon we got for dinner yesterday wasn't so bad…" Issei commented.
"Dude, the fish sucked especially!" Motohama retorted. "That's not to mention the third-rate spinach, we had for lunch and the eggplant we had on our first day!"
"Oh, tell me about it! That stuff tasted terrible!" Matsuda said in disgust.
"Sadly, that's not the worst part… the worst part is sleeping with Issei for the night before our trial…ugh" Motohama shuddered, remembering the humiliation of losing to Matsuda.
"Oh well… at least that's good for me…" Matsuda smiled cockily.
"Easy for you to say!" Issei retorted. "Now, I've got to sleep with a guy who might hump me in my sleep while dreaming of some anime chick!"
"W-w-what are you guys talking about… No, I don't…" Motohama countered shyly.
"DON'T TRY TO DENY IT!" the two of them shouted at Motohama, who winced back.
This clearly wasn't going to be easy for the perverted trio. Being in prison in a confined cell for at least two days was taking their toll on them.
"Speaking of trial, when's our lawyer coming again?" Matsuda asked.
"I… think it was at 2 pm, right after lunch…" Issei said.
"Right after lunch, eh?" Motohama said, after recovering from the two shouting at him. "What are we going to talk with him about?"
"I think it was about what to be know about how the trial will run and maybe what our chances of being pardoned are, or something like that" Issei responded.
"We're probably going to prepare our case with the lawyer, you know, planning a strategy" Matsuda added.
"Yeah, but I'm still worried, guys" Motohama said. "What if we don't get pardoned. I mean, we could be thrown in jail for… ten years maybe. What are we going to do if something like that happens?"
Issei and Matsuda looked at each other.
Unfortunately, that was a possibility.
After all, they committed a serious crime by beating the crap out of three girls and sending them to the hospital. Heck, they wouldn't be surprised, if the media was going to portray them as enemies of all women and all that. They probably calling for the harshest punishment possible for them – not that they were unfamiliar with demands like that.
"I…" Motohama was tearing up. "I'm scared, guys. What if we don't get to see each other if that's the case? Think about it… ten years in prison with little means to contact with the outside world, except for visits from our parents… eating rotten food like that all day…" he said tearfully pointing at the untouched breakfast tray on the table.
"…And that's not all…" Motohama continued, his tears trailing down his cheeks "…wasting our lives away, when we are at the prime of our youth… when we should be having girlfriends and having fun… instead we are here… rotting away…"
Issei and Matsuda were surprised to say the least, they never expected Motohama to get this emotional.
"…I don't want this, guys…" Motohama said quietly. "…I don't want to live my life in isolation… I… want to live…".
Issei and Matsuda smiled at their friend and put a hand on each of his shoulders.
"We both feel the same way, man…" Matsuda said. "We both have so much to live for…"
"Yeah, besides… we've got a lawyer who is willing to help us. A lawyer is there to represent us, speak for us. I'm sure he's had to do it with far worse people than us, so what's there to worry about?" Issei added.
At that, Motohama just hugged the two of them. Issei and Matsuda were taken aback, but decided to return the gesture.
And so, they stood there, just hugging each other, not caring about what people thought about a trio of guys hugging each other – after all who was going to watch them anyway?
They just hugged, like there was no tomorrow… no… like there was a tomorrow… one where they will be free to leave these four walls… free like a bird in the sky…
Unfortunately, there was somebody waiting just outside the cells. Somebody, who only thought in rage, as they fantasized about getting out scot-free.
They didn't even deserve to be free, they deserved to die!
But unfortunately, the hate-filled police man realized that the perverted trio was telling the truth.
That lawyer would definitely increase their chances of getting out or receive a lesser sentence.
The man trembled in anger.
Issei Hyoudou… no! He and his two friends deserved to die!
He knew time was running short and needed to act fast!
The question was: Wow could he possibly kill them in such a short period of time?
He thought for a while, until he finally realized.
There was a way how he could do it!
He just needed to hurry up and do it.
And so, the man left, in order to get the necessary ingredient for the plan…
Kuoh Police Prison Cell – 1:12 pm
Issei was exercising once again – though not alone this time. His two friends also joined in Issei's training.
Why was that?
Well, seeing as they were in prison with no smart-phone, no PC, no books, no porn and no food to eat (until lunch which should come anytime soon) they decided to just go along with Issei's exercises.
And Matsuda and Motohama were seeing the thrill of it. Not only, did it take their mind off of boredom, it challenged them and gave them something productive to do.
Matsuda found it especially good, as it brought him back to the days when he used to be an accomplished middle-school athlete.
Motohama, while never the athlete, also found some enjoyment in it. Looking at porn was better, but this… wasn't so bad either. Sure, he found it tiring, but it was better than nothing.
They were doing push-ups, sit-ups, frog jumps, pull-ups and a number of other exercises for an hour.
After all those exercises and being pooped out, Issei realized that there was something, he had been missing for his combat training – a sparring partner.
He convinced his two buddies to be his sparring partners. At first, they were hesitant about fighting, but they agreed to start off slow.
They took the mats from the bed and laid them on the floor, before they began and started with some improvised wrestling one-on-one.
They were clumsy, at first, but Issei seemed to have a good know-how on combat. After each match, Issei gave the two of them helpful instructions on how to improve on their fighting.
What they didn't know was that Ddraig was the one secretly giving Issei all these hints.
Either way, all three of them had fun learning how to fight.
From wrestling, they went on to try out grappling and tripping each other. It wasn't easy, but they got better at that.
Most of the times, it was Issei that came out on top. Probably, because Issei had a head-start when it came to physical strength, endurance and speed (due to his habitual training, of course!).
Anyway, as it now stood, Issei had won twelve one-on-one matches, while Matsuda won eight and Motohama won five.
As of this moment, Issei was trying to fight both Matsuda and Motohama at the same time (and for the first time, too).
He stood there, looking at both of his opponents who were both shirtless and sweating – just like he was.
Issei knew that if both Matsuda and Motohama got a hold of them, they would take him down.
[Partner, use your head!] Ddraig instructed. [Instead of using brute strength to try to overcome them, you should try to take advantage of the room's entirety and take them down one by one.]
Issei nodded mentally. With Ddraig on his side, they were going down!
Matsuda and Motohama moved closer in order to take down Issei.
"You know, taking us one by one is one thing…" Matsuda remarked with a smirk.
"…But trying to take both of us head-on is bound to fail!" Motohama added.
"Heh, we'll see about that!" Issei said confidently.
As the two of them approached him, he jumped back and moved behind the bunk-bed.
"Hey, what's the matter? Can't take us on?" Matsuda mocked.
Issei didn't say anything. Instead, he gestured with his hand as if telling them "Come on!".
Both of them, looked at each other and nodded. It seems they had something in mind.
They both rushed at Issei from different sides of the bunk-bed, Matsuda from Issei's left and Motohama from Issei's right.
Issei smirked. His plan worked! He had them exactly where he wanted them.
As they came, Issei suddenly moved towards Matsuda.
Matsuda was caught in surprise, as evidenced by him flinching back.
Using this to his advantage, Issei grabbed Matsuda's right arm with one arm and used the other to seize his shoulder and then used the momentum to yank his arm up and push him down to the floor.
Matsuda grunted as he landed. He probably wouldn't get up for a while.
With Motohama left, Issei went head-to-head with him.
Issei grabbed Motohama, while he grabbed him in return and tried to trip him. Issei on the other hand was well-aware of that attempt, as he became aware of his friend's fighting habits.
It was Ddraig, by the way, who told him: [Every enemy has fighting habits and tactics that one constantly uses. Find out his habits and tactics and think of a way to counter them. Adaptation is a vital quality that one needs to fight opponents of any kind – especially those who are stronger than oneself. If you are capable of thinking fast in situations where you are hopelessly outnumbered, you may even turn your disadvantage into an advantage.]
Issei took this advice to heart. He constantly dodged Motohama's attempts to swipe him with his legs, looking downwards at his legs, until he found the perfect moment.
As Motohama tried to swipe him once again, Issei seized the momentum by stopping Motohama's leg while it was outstretched and seized his leg with his own.
Then Issei quickly let go of Motohama's torso and seized his leg and lifted it with both arms. This caused Motohama to lose balance and fall on his back.
All that was left for Issei to do, was to get on top of him and pin him down with his knee on Motohama's chest and thus Issei was the winner.
"Ughh… Issei…" Matsuda groaned, as he got up. "The next time, if you do something like this… please use the mats… This really hurts…" he said as he massaged his back.
"Yeah, man… this may be fun, but being thrown on the floor really hurts!" Motohama added on the ground.
"Ahahaha…" Issei laughed nervously, as he got off of Motohama. "Sorry, I got carried away there…"
"Knock, knock, knock…" the door went. All three of them drew their attention to the door as the police officer looked in through the door slit.
"Could you please keep it down? You're disturbing the other inmates" the officer spoke sternly.
The perverted trio only blushed in embarrassment.
"""S-s-sorry…""" the three apologized. Ok… they were definitely going to tone down their martial arts sessions in the future…
"Anyway, here's your lunch, so please enjoy your meal!" the man said, as he pushed the tray through the door-slit and left.
"Oh well…" Issei said. "…let's eat, shall we? All this training and fighting has made me hungry!"
"Good idea!" Matsuda exclaimed.
"Let's dig in!" Motohama added.
The perverted trio took the tray and put it on the table.
On it were ramen with pork-cutlets and a bottle of water.
After washing their hands, they got ready to eat.
"Say, guys?" Motohama asked. Issei and Matsuda turned their eyes from their lunch to him.
"What is it?" Issei asked.
"The lawyer guy will come, right?" Motohama asked.
"Yeah, he will! Don't be so pessimistic" Issei reassured him.
"Issei's right" Matsuda added. "I mean, if the prison guards say that he'll come, he'll come! I mean, the worst that could happen to us would be, if we died the moment he came in…."
As he prepared to dig in, however…
[Stop! Don't eat it!] Ddraig's voice suddenly lifted its voice, startling all three of them. Matsuda immediately dropped his fork.
Matsuda and Motohama looked around bewildered as they tried to find the source of the voice.
"What was that? I thought, I heard someone say 'Stop, don't eat it!'" Matsuda exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Motohama confirmed. "You're not the only one. I heard the same thing!"
Issei on the other hand, knew who that voice belonged to and thus communicated with Ddraig mentally.
'Ddraig! Are you crazy? What do you think, you're doing? Matsuda and Motohama just heard your voice!' Issei rebuked Ddraig.
[I'm sorry, Partner. But I had to do it!] Ddraig replied.
'Why?' Issei asked.
[That food you have before you…] Ddraig started.
'Yeah? What about it?' Issei asked, looking at the ramen with pork-cutlets.
[…I don't know why, but I think it's poisoned!] Ddraig finished.
"POISONED!?" Issei exclaimed loudly. This caused Matsuda and Motohama to be startled once again.
"Wha-what about 'poisoned'? What are you talking about, man?" Motohama asked.
"Yeah, and why did you just say it out loud? It really hurt my ears…" Matsuda complained, as he rubbed his right ear in pain.
"I-I'm sorry, guys, but…" Issei trailed off, before communicating with Ddraig again.
'What do you mean by poisoned, Ddraig?' Issei queried.
[Just like I said. The food has been poisoned by something. I can tell, just by the smell it gives off. Partner, go call the next warden and tell him that the food has been poisoned!] Ddraig instructed Issei.
"Issei?" Matsuda said confused, as he was waiting for answer from him.
"You said you're sorry, but… what were you going to say? You just trailed off there" Motohama remarked, also confused at everything that transpired in the last minute.
Issei didn't say anything, instead he took the food tray, went to the door and knocked on it.
"What is it?" the guard asked, looking through the door slit.
"Sir, we think someone has poisoned this lunch here" Issei said.
The guard just raised an eyebrow, as he looked down at the food.
"And what makes you so sure of it?" he asked.
"I'm not sure… maybe it's the smell or… just the way it's colored… something like that! Anyway, could you please analyze it, sir?" Issei asked, hoping the guard would buy it.
The man looked at the food closely once again. After a while, he made a decision.
"All right, I'll take it. We'll have it inspected and checked for anything suspicious. Until then, please wait for at least another hour."
The man took the tray from Issei and left to have it analyzed.
As soon as the gurad left, Matsuda and Motohama didn't waste badgering Issei with questions.
"Dude, what on earth was that voice? Where did it come from?" Matsuda began.
"What do you mean the food is poisoned and what kind of smell did it give off that you would recognize it as poison, anyway?" Motohama added.
"You spaced out earlier, too? Did that have something to with it?" Matsuda asked again.
"And shouted, too! You shouted 'Poisoned?', as if someone just spoke to you and you just repeated what that someone said!" Motohama added again.
"We want answers, Issei! What's going on? You've been acting weird, ever since your parents died!" Matsuda badgered.
"Yeah, you've been acting strange in all kinds of ways! Grieving, we can understand. Losing your cool with Mikasa and the others, we can understand, too! But now, you're training like you're going for the Olympics, while mumbling some weird words to yourself! And now all the sudden, you're able to sense poison? Is there something going on that you're not telling us?" Motohama demanded.
Sweating bullets, Issei didn't know what to say.
On the one hand, he knew he was being cornered. Matsuda and Motohama were close to finding out the truth.
He didn't want them to find out the truth.
He didn't want to drag them into the supernatural.
But then again, Issei dragged them into a lot more messes than he was expecting, anyway. So, why did it matter?
But, if Issei did that, Matsuda and Motohama would fight for their lives in a world full of supernatural beings that they possibly couldn't defeat.
Heck, Issei didn't know if he could survive the potential onslaught!
He may have the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig and the Boosted Gear with him, sure! But even if he could take the challenge head-on, Matsuda and Motohama couldn't!
But back to the matter at hand, what should Issei do?
Tell them the truth and risk their lives or say nothing and keep them safe?
What on earth was he supposed to do?
What… should… he…do…?
[…]
[That's enough, Partner! It's no point hiding anymore!] Ddraig's gruff draconic voice sounded loud and clear for all of them to hear.
Once again, Matsuda and Motohama were bewildered.
"Hey, it's that voice again!" Motohama exclaimed, looking around the cell once more.
"Ok, who the hell are you? What are you? Show yourself!" Matsuda demanded.
[*Sigh* I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this… Partner, summon the Boosted Gear!] Ddraig told Issei.
"Partner?" Matsuda asked surprised, as his eyes focused on Issei.
"Ddraig, are you sure?" Issei asked, while looking at his left arm.
"Ddraig? Is that the voice's name?" Motohama asked Issei.
[Do it!] Ddraig insisted.
Issei hesitated, but he decided to do it anyway. There was no going back, now…
[BOOSTED GEAR!]
A bright flash of red and green appeared, blinding both Matsuda and Motohama. Once they opened their eyes, though…
"W-w-what is that…?" Motohama asked with widened eyes.
What Matsuda and Motohama saw was a blood-red, crimson gauntlet on Issei's left arm. On it was a green jewel that flashed brightly.
Matsuda and Motohama were shocked and awed, as they saw the gauntlet radiating with power.
[It seems like the time has come to introduce myself…] Ddraig spoke from the gauntlet.
"W-w-who are you…?" Matsuda asked.
He was dumbfounded. He had seen a lot of things… been through a lot of things… but this is something beyond his comprehension…
His buddy Motohama was also just like him. He, too, couldn't believe what he was seeing – from his friend Issei out of all people!
Together they stood there, trembling at the awesome sight that came from the supernatural gauntlet.
[I am Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor and one of the two Heavenly Dragons. I'm sorry, my Partner and I had to keep so many secrets to ourselves, but what you are going to hear, you are going to make sure to keep it for yourselves. Is that clear?] Ddraig commanded.
""Y-y-yes…"" they managed to say, for they were to shocked to say anything more.
[Good! I think, it's time I told you about everything that has transpired from beginning up till now…] Ddraig said, as he explained his origins once more.
And that was chapter 5 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.
I have to admit, I was hoping for Issei to meet his next enemy here in this chapter, but I didn't want to drag out the chapter more than I had to.
So, anyway. Let's talk a bit about the chapter.
Issei and his two buddies are finally learning some combat-training! I've been waiting for quite some time to get them to train together!
Now, I'm not sure what kind of martial art or fighting style, I'll be giving them.
I'll give them something that's for sure! Even if it could be purely improvised or created by me.
In the mean-time, Matsuda and Motohama finally find out about Ddraig.
I've also been waiting for this! All this waiting and writing… but it was worth it – worth the story, the development and the build-up!
Speaking of story and build-up.
Yes, the perverted trio's food has been poisoned.
And I think you can all guess who it is.
However, I won't give him a name here.
That's something the perverted trio has to find out in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading! Please, write and review.
I hope, I can release the next chapter soon, which is not always easy for me because I am in training and work full time and thus am rather busy.
Until then, see you soon!
Hide Shinyama
