The Lone Vigilante Issei – High School DxD
Why hello there, it is I Hide Shinyama.
So let us review… since the last chapter (or the first one since I restarted it with significant changes), the perverted trio officially have girlfriends. Now, they are trying to lose their virginity to them after trying to introduce porn to them.
Issei, however, has had to go to an opera with his parents – to his irritation. Thankfully, Sally made it easier and educational for him and thus had a good time.
However, after accidentally revealing to Sally that he forgot their first time meeting each other, she became upset and bolted into the house.
What will happen next? Will Issei reconcile with her? What about the perverted trio? How will their attempts to lose their virginity work out?
Find out in the next chapter.
Oh, before I forget. I said it before in my last chapter, but I will repeat it again.
I am fine. Nothing happened to me in Chapter 15. Everything you just read is a situation created by me.
Now that that is out of the way, let us begin with…
Chapter 2 – Motohama's date
3rd September, Monday, about 10:16 pm – Kuoh, on the way home
Issei was walking down the street with his hands in his pants pocket. The wind was blowing and even though Issei was not wearing a coat, he didn't mind it. Why? Because his mind still dwelt on what he thought was a terrible mistake.
How could he forget? What kind of boyfriend would forget their first meeting? And more so, how could he say (aloud) that he had forgotten their first meeting and hurt the girl he loved?
Issei still remembered the upset look on Sally's face when he said that and how she ran into her house, as if she was trying to get away from him – as far away as possible. He just hoped he could talk to her later… apologize for insensitive words he said just now.
Issei was angry and frustrated with himself.
He tried so hard to think back to his first encounter with Sally, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't remember. Not only that, but he also couldn't remember when their first meeting was or even how long they have known each other.
Issei was able to remember their dates, however.
Sally and Issei going out for some ice cream, Sally meeting his parents, doing their homework together, cooking meals together, making out with each other… Issei could remember all that.
The strange thing is that despite remembering all these events, he couldn't remember when they all happened or even the chronology of events. For all Issei knew, any of these events could have happened anywhere between a few weeks and a few months.
Issei rubbed his hand over his hair. Everything felt so… fuzzy, unreal… like somehow his memories were altered or something, like some kind of science-fiction movie.
On top of that, there were all the other events of today that made him… strangely nostalgic. As Issei reflected back on today, he realized that there were quite a few notable events that happened today. The most prominent of all was when that new teacher Monique showed up.
Having a new teacher alone was already a notable event, how much more having their actual teacher hospitalized by some criminal. But Monique was quite… young – and hot and sexy – but the strange thing… is that Monique didn't seem to have a surname. Indeed. After being questioned after class she insisted that she had no surname. What kind of person did not have a surname?
But the weirdest part was that Issei felt like he had seen her… met her somewhere before… but where?
Issei ruffled his hair more intensely. It was just one thing after the other.
'You know what?' Issei reasoned internally. 'I'll worry about it later. First, I need to get home. It's getting chilly out here.'
Issei hugged his body and moved a bit faster. He hurried to get home, since it was already getting late and didn't want to keep his parents waiting. Issei figured that they had finished their late shopping and were home already.
'I hope they don't ask me about my walk home with Sally,' Issei hoped.
About half-way on his way home, Issei passed by a dark alley. He would have ignored it if he hadn't heard something that caused him to stop.
"Shut your mouth, b****!" a male said in a noticeably unfriendly manner. Whoever that was that person was inside the alley.
Issei widened his eyes in shock. Was he threatening someone? What was going on?
Before Issei could figure it out. The man spoke again.
"I SAID SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Issei heard the man shout, followed by… what sounded like a punch.
"Please, please… stop…" another voice said. This voice was female and she was clearly whimpering and begging the man to stop.
Issei held his breath, as he realized what was happening.
Someone was assaulting that poor girl/woman.
Issei gritted his teeth. He may not be particularly strong or good in martial arts, but he had to do something. Standing back while doing nothing was not an option. If he did it would way heavily on his conscience more than whatever he said to Sally earlier today.
That is why Issei snuck towards the alley, moving quietly towards the end of the alley just before it turned to the right.
Issei peered his head around the corner to see what was happening. What he saw shocked him to the core. It was dark but the dim street light at the end of the corner gave him a clear enough view on what was happening.
Issei saw a man wearing a blue coat, brown pants and a hip-pocket pinning down what seemed to be a black-haired woman being forcefully being undressed by the man. Issei saw how her shirt was violently torn off her chest and how her skirt had already been removed. Even worse was the fact that the woman was crying and sobbing during the whole ordeal. She was struggling to get out, but the man would not let her. Instead he used his fists to punch her repeatedly in order to silence her. The woman, not willing to give up, tried to escape for dear life despite all the blows she received to her face.
But even so she couldn't succeed.
Issei saw all this and it sickened him. He gritted his teeth even more. He was ready to move in and beat the living crap out of the rapist, but then Issei saw the man pull something out from his hip-pocket, causing Issei to freeze.
It was a gun.
The young woman also froze, stopping her struggle the moment she saw it.
"Please… please… I don't want to die…" the woman begged the violent man. "You can take anything you like… even rape me… just… don't kill me…"
The criminal made an evil grin upon hearing her say that.
"That's better…" he said, as he put the gun to her head. "…You know, it's a shame for me to kill someone as pretty as you. So…" The man then put a hand on her bra-strap and removed her bra from her chest, exposing it.
"…You'll do everything as I say," the man said with a sadistic grin. The woman whimpered and moaned as the man started to fondle her boobs.
Issei, despite his desire to stop this crime, remained frozen where he stood, watching the scene before him quietly. And why did he do it? Well, it wasn't because he was attracted to the huge oppai the woman had before him. In fact, in a rape context it was totally abhorrent to think about to get absorbed by them while someone was being raped. No, the reason why Issei froze was because the moment he saw the gun, the dark alley, the criminal, the woman being harmed and the pleas and screams of horror she made at the same time… something came to his mind.
To be more specifically…mental images of some scenes that suddenly came to mind.
[BANG!]
"HONEY! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY WIFE!?"
[BANG!]
"DAD!"
"Let… me… go… Or… I'll… kill… you…"
While Issei was busy dealing with the sudden rush of mental images, the rapist had stopped groping the young woman's bust with his left hand and started moving his hand to his pants. To the woman's horror she saw that the man was taking his pants off and was bringing out his… well… you know.
"Now, we'll move on to the next stage. I hope your p**** feels good," the evil man said with a scarily perverted look on his face. The woman whimpered but she couldn't do anything with the gun to her head.
'I want to be stronger… Stronger…!'
Issei broke out of his frozen state and took his first steps towards the rapist.
'Stronger…!'
"Now, take your panties off. I want to see your p****!" the man demanded. As Issei started to rush towards the rapist with a murderous intent.
'Stronger…!'
The man was too busy with the woman that he failed to notice Issei coming up from behind him with a strong killing intent. The woman on the other hand noticed it. She stopped whimpering and crying and looked over the man's shoulder to see who was coming up behind him.
"STRONGER!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Issei roared, making the rapist stop what he was doing and perk up and look behind him. What he got was a violently angry Issei throwing himself at the man and slamming him into the wall. The man's gun immediately dropped from his hand.
The woman saw her chance. She immediately got up and ran for dear life, not caring if she left her clothes behind. She ran around the corner with nothing on except her panties and her arms to cover her chest.
Issei didn't care for her at the moment and neither did the criminal, who was still dazed after being slammed against the wall like that. Issei grabbed the man's head by his hair and smashed it against the wall.
"L-L-LET GO OF ME! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"
The man tried to resist, but Issei smashed his head against the wall once more.
"Let go of you?"
The man groaned, but Issei showed no mercy, as he smashed his head against the wall again, causing it to bleed.
"You hurt my mum…"
And again, making the blood spatter against the wall.
"And my dad…"
And again, spattering Issei's clothes with blood.
"AND FOR THAT I'LL KILL YOU!"
Issei let go of the rapist, as he sunk down almost lifelessly. But Issei wasn't done yet. He saw the man's exposed crotch and raised his foot…
"AAAAAAGH!"
… and crushed the man's private parts in a bloody mess.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!" the rapist screamed, as he grabbed his destroyed crotch whimpering and screaming from severe agony, thrashing on the floor as he did so. But even then Issei wasn't done yet. He repeatedly curb-stomped the rapist's head multiple times until he stopped screaming and thrashing, lying perfectly still.
Issei fell down exhausted on the floor with his clothes being completely stained with blood. He panted and gasped for breath as he knelt exhausted on the floor. After a minute of calming down, Issei looked at the scene around him.
All around were either the clothes of the poor woman that had been raped, the dirt inside the alley, the rapist's gun and…
Issei gasped as his eyes lay on the rapist himself.
His head looked like mush, like his brain was oozing out. His crotch looked like it had been mutilated by torture in the most gruesome ways but Issei knew better.
He was the one who did it.
And worst of all, was that the man wasn't breathing – in short, he was dead!
Issei scrambled back in fright at the horrifying scene before him.
"Oh, goodness… I just killed him… I just killed him…" Issei whispered in horror. His bloody hands and clothes just proved the horrific deed which he had committed.
Issei couldn't believe it. How could he have done something like this?
Issei tried to think back. He saw the woman being raped by that piece of s***, he saw his gun and then… something just snapped inside of him, as if what he saw triggered some repressed memories.
But what were those memories? Issei could vaguely remember a similarly bloody scene that took place in an alleyway like this one, except…
'No, it couldn't be…' Issei thought. 'There's no way my parents could have been attacked by a robber. I mean, how could I – or even them – possibly forget about it?'
It was ridiculous. What Issei experienced were something akin to flashbacks. But how could he have flashbacks to events that couldn't have happened?
While Issei was pondering all this, suddenly more 'memories' came rushing to his head.
Issei held his head in pain. When he looked, he saw an alternative version of himself holding his father in his arms. What shocked him was just how bloody his father was. Moreover, his mother was shockingly lying motionless on the ground with her head completely bloodied.
"Dad! I-I…"
"It doesn't matter… Son… *cough* Just please… take care of your mother… and… *cough* live…"
"Dad… no… Please… dad…Dad, wake up! Please don't do this to me! Dad! Dad! DAAAAD!"
"What is this?" Issei said in horror. He saw himself turn his face towards his mother who was lying not too far from his father.
"MUM!"
"What is this?" Issei asked once again, as he saw himself desperately trying to shake his mother awake, hoping she would respond. But she was already dead.
In his horror, Issei saw the other Issei looking around horrified and then running away in fear.
Issei watched as the other Issei ran away and when he looked back he saw one more body of a person he didn't know whose… spine was ripped out of his body or something. Issei recoiled in horror, as he saw the corpse. Issei immediately looked away.
'Who is that?' Issei thought. But as soon as he looked back, his parents' bodies were gone and the unknown man with the ripped-out spine was also gone and was instead replaced by the rapist Issei had killed earlier.
The 'memory' or vision had ended.
Issei couldn't take it anymore. Just like his other self, he ran out of the alley horrified, running as fast as he could through the night.
He didn't care where he was going. All he cared was to get away from that alley as far away as possible. He has had enough of flashbacks!
First, all these weird feelings of déjà-vu earlier, then the fallout with Sally and now a first-time kill!
And to top it all off, horrifying memories of his parents lying dead in an alleyway – something that he knew couldn't have happened (not that it made it any less horrifying). All of it felt so… real… and eerie.
It was like a horror movie in real life. It was though as if someone was going out of his way to throw Issei's life off the loop.
'I've had enough. I'VE HAD ENOUGH!' Issei screamed mentally, as he ran towards the darkness of the night. 'I WANT TO GO HOME! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!'
Unfortunately for Issei, he failed to notice the passer-by right up front and ran into him. They both fell to the ground and groaned, as the passer-by started to speak up.
"Hey! Watch where you're going…" the passerby wanted to continue, until he looked up and saw Issei.
"ISSEI!?" the passerby shouted in surprise.
"What? Who…?" Issei said, as he looked at the passerby in question. It was then that you recognized him.
"Motohama?" Issei said, as he looked at his friend in surprise. Motohama was still wearing his school uniform after school for some reason (something which he never did) and was staring at Issei with a shocked expression.
'What on earth is Motohama doing out here so late?' Issei wondered.
"Issei! What the heck happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?" Motohama asked out loud.
"I…" Issei tried to speak up. He tried to explain but then he looked at the estate of his clothes and decided to postpone it. For now, Issei needed some spare clothes and a shower.
"Motohama? Can I come to your place for a while? I need to change my clothes and I don't want my parents to know," Issei asked to the still shocked Motohama.
3rd September, Monday, about 10:45 pm – Kuoh, Motohama's house
Issei had just taken off his clothes, taken a shower and changed into some new clothes. Right now, he was wearing a yellow shirt and some brown shorts which belonged to Motohama. It felt weird wearing his friend's clothes but at least they fit.
Issei sighed as he looked down at his bloody clothes that were lying on a pile on the bathroom floor. If it hadn't been for those, Issei would have considered everything that had happened earlier to be nothing more than a dream.
Issei still couldn't believe it. He had killed someone. Jumped on his head and crotch until they turned into mush.
Issei felt sick. He was still feeling nauseous, despite having thrown up a few minutes earlier. He wondered how people could ever get used to killing. It was bloody, messy and horrifying.
Even worse was the feeling of guilt and the images that would follow into his nightmares.
"Was what I did right?" Issei asked himself.
Sure, that man was evil and deplorable and was willing to rape and possibly even kill that poor woman, had Issei not arrived in time. But Issei couldn't help but feel that what he did was too excessive. Maybe if he had just restrained the rapist and called the police would have been enough. Instead, Issei just… killed him like a fanatic… almost as if he had been driven to do so.
And it was all because of those feelings of déjà-vu… those mental images that he had received earlier.
What were those? Memories? Visions? Mental suggestions?
Issei put a hand to his head as he stood in front of the mirror.
Today… was quite an eventful day… to say the least. But more so, something… was going on. And he needed to find out what.
Putting on a more determined look, Issei left the bathroom and went downstairs. Coming down the stairs, Issei could see Motohama standing near the table and drinking a glass of coke. After Motohama finished sipping from his cup, he looked at Issei.
"Want some?" Motohama offered.
Issei nodded and was handed a cup which Motohama had poured coke into.
Issei gulped it all down. He needed to get the taste of vomit and the smell of blood off his mind and the coke helped him significantly. After Issei finished his cup, he turned to see Motohama looking at him expectantly. Issei sighed and spoke up first.
"You're… probably wondering why my clothes were covered in blood, right?" Issei asked in a subdued tone.
"Heck, yeah you're right! What on earth happened? Did you get into an accident? Were you hurt?" Motohama asked worried.
"No…" Issei reassured him. "…Nothing of the sort. I'm fine… at least physically…"
Nevertheless, this did not calm down Motohama's anxiety. It was clear that he was worried for his friend and comrade, which is why he continued badgering Issei with questions.
"Then what happened? Did you get into a fight? What happened to Sally? Did the date turn into a disaster or something? Or…"
"Motohama! Calm down! I'll explain everything. One by one," Issei cut his friend off.
Motohama calmed down and apologized.
"I'm sorry, man. It's just… a lot of things happened to me today…" Motohama said. This caused Issei to raise his eyebrows.
"Why? What happened?" Issei wondered.
Motohama looked downwards in soberness.
"I… tried to get Julie to watch porn with me here… and… It didn't go as well as I'd hoped it to be…" Motohama answered.
Issei simply shook his head and put a hand to his face.
"Let me guess… You blew it up, she got mad and left, right?" Issei assumed.
Motohama shook his head. "Well… No… What actually happened was something different…" Motohama replied.
Issei looked at Motohama quizzically.
"How so? What happened?" Issei asked again.
Motohama sighed in response as he looked back at what had happened earlier this day.
"Well… I think I should tell you what happened…" Motohama started, thus beginning his narration.
Flashback – a few hours ago
Motohama and Julie had just arrived at the Todoriki residence. They had just come back from school and were planning on spending the evening together. However, Motohama was nervous because 1) it was only their second date together and 2) he was afraid his plan (or should one say Issei's plan) would fail. After all, it was quite a risky move to watch porn with someone who might find it revolting – especially if it's the girl one likes.
Julie was also noticeably nervous. After the two of them had taken off their shoes, she looked nervously around the house. Motohama presumed she was also nervous just like he was (probably for the first reason of Motohama's reasons, too). As a result, there was this… awkward atmosphere between them that made them both feel tense.
They went into the living room and then Motohama made the first move to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Say, Julie… Want something to drink?" Motohama asked nervously.
Julie nodded. "Y-yes… I do…" she responded just as shyly.
Motohama went to the kitchen to fetch some coke and two glasses. At the same time, he tried to mentally calm himself.
"Calm down… calm down…" he mumbled to himself. "You've dome this before… you're together now. You shouldn't be feeling this way…"
Nevertheless, Motohama could not help but worry whether his plan would work. After all, it was porn they were talking about. And although some women may be into porn (like Issei said earlier), it might still spoil the date just because of how awkward it might get.
Even worse, it might ruin Julie's image of him.
Though then again, as Issei also said earlier, they were known as the perverted trio. Why should that even be a surprise to Julie whether he watched porn?
Motohama rubbed his head a bit.
'Still… it is a risky move…' he thought to himself. Then Motohama had an idea.
"You know what? We don't even have to go so far. An ecchi anime is also good enough! Yeah, there's no need to go all with hentai if a subtler anime could do the job!" Motohama said out loud.
"Umm… what could a hentai do?" Julie asked, as she peered her head through the kitchen door.
"WWWAGGHH!" Motohama screamed in surprise. Julie yelped as well.
"Julie! W-what are you doing here?" Motohama asked, as he recovered from his shock.
"Umm… you invited me here…" Julie responded with a slightly confused look on her face.
"N-no… umm… What I meant was… Never mind…" Motohama said.
Both of them didn't say a word for a while because of the awkward situation until Motohama remembered about the drinks.
"Oh, yeah! The drinks! I should get them…Umm… Please wait a sec, I'll get right to you," Motohama spoke up.
"Uh, yes, yes. Sure…" Julie replied and went back to the living room.
Motohama sighed. This was not going as planned. Nevertheless, it was too early to call this date a lost cause. The day was still young and could be fixed.
And so Motohama readied himself and took the drinks out to the living room.
Once there he found Julie sitting on the sofa, looking around the room. Upon his arrival, Julie turned her attention upon her boyfriend who was pouring her glass with coke and handing it to her.
"Th-thanks…" Julie said with a shy smile.
"You're welcome. Ehehe…" Motohama responded with a smile as well.
After finishing their drinks, Motohama sat down next to Julie. Once again both of them were silent and didn't say a word for a few moments.
"Umm… Julie?" Motohama asked.
"Yes…?" Julie replied.
'OK… here goes nothing…' Motohama thought as he prepared himself.
"Do you want to watch a henta- I MEAN, UH…" Motohama quickly halted himself, as Julie blushed in surprise at what her boyfriend was saying. Motohama was also embarrassed at what he let out of his mouth.
"I mean… umm…" Motohama cleared his throat as he clarified himself. "Do you want to want to wa-"
"No problem," Julie replied with her bangs covering her eyes.
This caused Motohama to look at Julie in confusion.
"No problem… what?" Motohama asked unsure of what Julie just said.
"I said it's no problem… watching a hentai together… if that's what you want…" Julie said.
"EEEEHHHH!" Motohama screamed, as he moved away from Julie in shock but still remained seated on the sofa. Julie flinched back in surprise from the scream.
'She… she… really doesn't mind? This is… no, no… a hentai may still be too much for a girl like her. I should go for a regular romance anime…' Motohama reasoned.
Sitting back upright, Motohama responded.
"Well, I didn't want to say 'Watch a hentai'. What I meant to say was… watch romance anime. I mean, a hentai may be too much for you…" Motohama reasoned.
"OK… if you say so…" Julie said, as she calmed down, playing with her long purple hair as she did so. "What do you suggest we watch?"
Motohama had to think about it. What did he want to watch? He thought for a moment…
"I've got it!" Motohama exclaimed. "Why not a classic? Like 'Onegai teacher'? That's a nice anime. Have you ever seen it before?" Motohama asked.
"No, never," Julie replied as she shook her head.
"Well… ok, then…" Motohama replied with a nervous smile, as he prepared to go upstairs. "I'll get the DVD down. In the meantime, if you want to drink, there's more coke on the table, OK?"
Julie nodded and Motohama ran upstairs to fetch the DVD in question.
After coming down the two of them watched 'Onegai Teacher' on the TV-set. It spanned a total of 12 episodes totaling more than four hours (there was a 13th episode but that was basically an aftermath filler episode so they decided to leave it out). And so the two of them watched till it was getting dark outside.
Generally, the anime deals with a boy called Kei Kusanagi who had a medical condition that causes him to get standstills, meaning he would fall in a sort of coma for a few hours or even three years. Although Kei is fifteen years old physically, he really is eighteen years old, having fallen into a standstill for three years only to wake up after three years and finding out everything has changed. As a result, he left his original home and his now grown-up friends to live with his uncle and aunt in the countryside and has made new friends. Nevertheless, Kei still lives with the fear of falling into a standstill which happen every once in a while, though thankfully nothing serious.
One day, while lying out in the field at night, he sees a mysterious spaceship arrive and an alien in the form of a gorgeous woman appearing before him. Kei escapes, though eventually he and the woman meet again.
The female alien's name is Mizuho Kazami and she was on earth exploring and watching over the earth. On earth, she is Kei's classroom teacher.
After Kei and Mizuho get caught by the principal spending time in the sports equipment shed and in order to prevent Mizuho from being fired, Kei give the principal the excuse that they're engaged. And because Kei manages to convince the principal that he is eighteen years old, the principal buys it and Kei and Mizuho actually get married for real for good measure.
After that, they move in together, get to know each other, try their best not to have their relationship discovered and even have to deal with a love triangle between Kei, Mizuho and a girl named Koishi Herikawa, who has a crush on Kei.
Eventually, Kei falls into a serious standstill once more which causes Mizuho to use alien technology in order to save him. But Mizuho's superiors weren't pleased and removed her from earth and erased everyone's memories of her, including Kei's. Before she left, they managed to say goodbye and share one last romantic moment together. After Mizuho's departure, Kei manages to overcome his standstill, move on from his past and wake up.
After a year has gone by, Mizuho manages to return back to earth in secret, she meets Kei once more, Kei remembers her and they both get married once again. And thus, they lived happily ever after.
As for Julie and Motohama, they both enjoyed it. Both Julie and Motohama were moved tears. Motohama, despite having watched it once before, couldn't help it. It just was a strong and well-executed anime with a solid story, deep characters and beautiful soundtrack. Julie having watched it for the first time, was constantly on edge or was sobbing – so much that almost the entire box of tissues had been used up.
By the time, the end came up, they found each other in each other's arms and neither one of them was uncomfortable with that. In fact, while the credits rolled, they were looking into each other's eyes and giving a few pecks to the other and giggling. They snuggled with each other with Julie lying on top of Motohama, her breasts pressing against Motohama's, with their arms wrapped around each other.
Motohama grinned. His plan has been an unbelievable success.
'O wow…' Motohama thought lecherously. 'Her boobs are the best! I can't wait to see them!'
All that he now had to do was to convince Julie to come to bed with him and have sex.
"Say, Motohama?" Julie said, as she kissed his cheek.
"Yeah?" Motohama smiled, as he kissed her lips. Their kiss lasted at least five seconds before they separated.
"I really enjoyed this anime. Thanks…" Julie said.
"You're welcome," Motohama replied, as he played with her hair, feeling the smooth touch of her hair.
Flashback ends – back to the present
"Hey, that sounds like an alright date," Issei remarked, as he heard Motohama's story. "So, why did you think it went bad?"
"Well, it's not so much that the date went bad, but…" Motohama started.
Flashback – about two hours ago
They continued making out on the sofa for a few minutes until Motohama got up to take out the CD and switch off the TV. As he made his way back to Julie, Julie was already sitting up straight and had readjusted her clothes.
"I have to say, the anime was well done," Julie commented.
Motohama nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Although it may not be my type of anime, I still thought was a good anime."
"Yes, especially the soundtrack. It was beautiful…" Julie sighed happily.
"Well… yeah… I agree. But as I thought about 'Onegai Teacher' over the years, I realized that the most interesting part of it was the antagonist," Motohama said. Julie raised her eyebrows in confusion.
"The antagonist?" Julie asked.
Motohama nodded. "Yeah, the antagonist. The standstill."
Julie face lit up in realization. "Oh… Is see. Come to think of it, the standstill was the whole reason for Kei's problems… An illness as an antagonist. It has been done well before in other shows… you know as an impersonal enemy of a sort…"
Motohama nodded again. "Yeah, but not only that. What makes this enemy different from other illnesses is the fact that the standstill is not only impersonal, but also personal as well."
"What do you mean?" Julie asked.
"Remember Kei's sister that died, causing Kei to fall into the three-year standstill and always have these visions about her trying to persuade him to join her into the eternity of nothingness? She's the personification," Motohama explained.
"Oh, I see… How brilliant. I didn't know you knew how to interpret story-telling devices so well…" Julie praised Motohama.
"Ehehe… It's nothing," Motohama chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Anyway, when Kei came to the decision to live for the present and give up the past, or in Kei's words, he gave up 'eternity' to live in the 'finite' world… or something like that… he rejected his sister, too. In doing so, he was finally able to say goodbye to her and overcome his standstills. Ever since, he has never had any problems with standstills and can finally move onto be with Mizuho."
"Wow, that's a well-done explanation," Julie praised. "If only you were this good in school more often, your grades might actually go up."
"Well… don't expect too much from me. I only can do something like this only with topics I'm interested in and a lot of what school teaches is not what I'm interested in," Motohama clarified with his arms crossed before his shoulders.
Julie only shook her head at his stubbornness, while giggling.
"Oh, you're hopeless…" Julie remarked.
Motohama also chuckled alongside of her, before pausing to think for a moment.
"But still… it got me thinking…" Motohama said with a distant look as he sat down right next to her again.
"What?" Julie wondered.
"I wonder if I ever could do what Kei did," Motohama said, turning his face to Julie. "You know… Getting over the past you just can't let go off and moving on to a new life…"
Julie looked at her boyfriend with concern on her face.
"Why would you want to do that? Is there something in the past that's bothering you?" Julie asked a bit worried.
"No… no… nothing of the sort…" Motohama reassured her. "It's just that the show has got me thinking for some reason…"
"You mean about letting go of the past?" Julie asked again.
"Well… yeah…" Motohama replied while nodding. Then after looking downward, he continues.
"What if I was in situation like that… you know… if I was in a standstill… and had someone forcing me to stay in a world of nothingness when I could be awake, living out my life in so many different ways… ways I could never imagine… places I never thought I would see… people who I never thought I would meet… Could I ever make that step? I don't know. But one thing I do know…" Motohama said as he looked at Julie with a tender smile.
"I just want you there by my side. Whatever may come…" Motohama finished, but then realized something was wrong. Julie's hair was covering her eyes once more, but this time… she was trembling. Then… teardrops?
Motohama widened his eyes. Did he upset her? Did he do something wrong?
Motohama tried to console her by hugging her, which lead to Julie returning the hug as the tears dripped unto his Kuoh Academy T-shirt. They sat there for a while not saying anything.
"Julie? What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Motohama asked concerned.
Julie just shook her head, as she tried to dry her tears.
"No… *sob* no… it's something else…" Julie sobbed, as Motohama handed her a tissue from the tissue box. She blew her nose with it and wiped her tears away. Then tossed it in the trash bin where the rest of the used tissues were.
"Then… what is it?" Motohama inquired further.
Instead of answering, Julie looked away, still sobbing.
"Julie?" Motohama asked.
"I…" Julie hesitated. Motohama listened with anticipation to what she had to say.
"Can I use the bathroom for a while *sob*…?" Julie asked. "I need to wash my face."
Motohama was taken by surprise because of her response but eventually nodded.
"Upstairs… on the left side. That's where it is," Motohama pointed out. Julie excused herself and went up the stairs to the bathroom.
After hearing the bathroom door close, Motohama sighed. He wondered why Julie was in tears. He didn't say anything offensive, right? Maybe she misunderstood it. Motohama perked up. Wait, that could be it. Maybe she misunderstood that he was trying to leave her and go someplace else. But then he shook his head.
"No…" Motohama mumbled to himself. "…That can't be it. I did tell her that I wanted her by my side whatever happens. So… what could it be? Maybe… it has to do something with her personal life. Yeah! That might be it. But what could possibly cause Julie to cry like that?"
Then he heard the bathroom door close and Julie coming down the stairs.
Motohama looked at her. She had calmed down from her crying, but still had a reddened face. Once Julie sat down next to Motohama, there was once again an awkward silence between them. Nobody said a word until Julie spoke up.
"I…I'm going home…" Julie simply said, as she stood up.
Motohama didn't say anything. He complied with her wish, seeing that neither one of them was in a mood for romance and the atmosphere was ruined now. He accompanied her to the door and helped her put on her jacket.
Neither of them said a word until the door was opened and Julie was ready to leave. Motohama and Julie looked at each other one more time.
"Julie…I'm sorry…" Motohama apologized.
Julie shook her head. "No… it has nothing to do with you…"
"Then what? What's wrong? You can tell me, can't you?" Motohama asked her.
"It… it's personal. I don't want to talk about it. Good night," Julie replied. She kissed Motohama's cheek before going out the door, leaving a saddened Motohama behind.
"Good night…" Motohama said quietly half to her and half to himself before closing the door.
Motohama went up to his room and sat on his bed, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Flashback end
"I sat there for about an hour just trying to wrap my head around why Julie was crying but I couldn't – not really. After that I decided to get up and take a walk out in the night. It was dark but I didn't care. I don't know how long I was outside. Then I bumped into you and… well… you know the rest of the story," Motohama finished telling Issei what had happened.
Issei was still sitting on the sofa and had listened quietly (well mostly) to Motohama's story, while Motohama sat on one of the chairs near the table. After hearing it, Issei was shocked just how similar his date was to his own.
Both their dates went well until the very end, which left both Sally and Julie crying for some reason – because of something that they said.
"It really seems like a coincidence," Issei muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Motohama asked Issei.
"No, I was just thinking about how similar our dates went out. You see, Sally also cried at the end of our date because of something I did," Issei explained.
"Did that have something to do with all the blood on your clothes?" Motohama asked.
Issei shook his head. "No, it didn't. That… was another issue. But back to your story. You said that she said that she cried for some personal reason. Any idea what it could be?"
Motohama frowned. "Are you ever going to tell me your story?" Motohama asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, yeah…" Issei said dismissively. "But first, answer the question and then we can move on."
Motohama looked at Issei sternly before responding. "As I said, I don't know. It could be anything for all I know."
Issei mulled over what he heard about Julie and Sally's reaction and tried to compare the two.
Motohama didn't seem to forget about his first meeting with Julie, let alone say it out loud, so obviously the reason for the two of them to get upset couldn't have been the same one. But still… Issei still felt like something Motohama said may have been the trigger. Only… what?
'*Sigh* Whatever it is, all I can say is: Women, the greatest mysteries on earth,' Issei reasoned.
Then he turned his sight to the sofa seat next to him and saw a piece of folded paper. It was half tucked under the pillow that got his attention.
"Motohama?" Issei asked.
"Yeah?" Motohama replied.
"What's that?" Issei pointed with his finger at the piece of paper.
Motohama moved closer to see what his friend was talking about. His eyes narrowed as he saw the piece of paper.
"It looks like a piece of paper," Motohama said, as he picked it up and opened it. "I wonder what this i-"
Suddenly, Motohama stopped speaking. What he saw surprised him that it left him speechless.
"Motohama?" Issei asked curiously, trying to get his friend's attention. "Do you know what it is?"
Motohama signaled Issei to come with his hand. "Check this out, man. You've got to read it."
Issei came over and what he saw surprised him, too.
On the paper were words written to Motohama – by Julie! Now why did she do that? Nevertheless, the two of them read the letter and it contained the following words:
Dear Motohama,
I'm sorry for ruining our date. I didn't mean to. But you must listen to me. I can't say this out loud, but what you just said about 'Onegai Teacher' earlier is pretty much the reason for everything.
You must be careful. She is still out there. And she wants revenge.
Be on your guard. Look for the true author.
Love Julie
Issei looked at Motohama in confusion.
"Motohama? What on earth is she talking about?" Issei asked.
"I… don't know…" Motohama asked frustrated. "What I do know is that something weird is going on..."
"Do you think Julie is being threatened? It must be if she has to go out of her way in order to write a letter," Issei remarked.
"Maybe… I don't know… I think we should decipher what she is trying to say point for point first…" Motohama suggested.
"Good idea…" Issei agreed.
While they looked over Julie's letter, they heard some frantic banging on the door.
"MOTOHAMA! MOTOHAMA! OPEN UP!" Issei and Motohama heard a familiar voice beg them.
Motohama opened the door and a sweat-drenched Matsuda burst in, panting and wiping the sweat of his face.
"Oh… thank goodness… Thank goodness… hah… hah…" Matsuda said in relief. He lifted his face towards Issei and had a look of surprise on him.
"Issei…? You're here…? Hah… hah…" Matsuda panted.
"Never mind all that. What's going on?" Issei asked.
"Yeah, what happened? Why does it look like you ran a marathon?" Motohama added.
"Hah… hah… very funny…" Matsuda said, as he calmed down. "But seriously. YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME!"
Matsuda's scream caused Issei and Motohama to flinch.
"Why? What's wrong?" Issei asked.
"Lots of things! So many things are wrong that it's freaking me out!" Matsuda answered.
"Ok… calm down, man. Tell us everything," Motohama told him.
And so, Matsuda began to tell his story…
To be continued…
And that was Chapter 2.
I have to say I had a nice summer break from work, but I'll be back to work by Monday. And that means I have much to catch up.
I'm glad I managed to finish this chapter before the weekend ends.
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, let us talk about the chapter.
I hope the rape scene wasn't too disturbing, though… I bet you've seen worse. Issei has just killed someone and now he has to deal with the trauma – right after falling out with Sally. Not a good day.
Motohama also had a falling out with Julie after a nice date and now this mystery letter written by her appears. What does this mean? And what is Julie trying to convey?
And now Matsuda comes in looking all terrified. What does he have to tell?
Find out next. Please read and review.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama
