The Lone Vigilante Issei – High School DxD

Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.

Sorry again. I have been busy the last few weeks packing and moving my things to another guest family. I was also switching between using a laptop and my smartphone to write this chapter, so I got delayed.

I also wasn't sure where to go with this chapter. But I managed to solve that – conveniently before Christmas.

But enough of that. In the last chapter we got to see the daily school life of our heroes and got introduced to some of their teachers and classmates. But what kind of adventures will come next?

Find out in…

Chapter 30 – The Black Feathers

23rd September, Monday, 7:45 am – campus grounds, Furinkan Vocational School, Nerima

It was another day at school for the perverted trio. Granted, they were still new to Furinkan but one could say they have gotten used it. Heck, if anyone had to go a place for at least a week, a comfortable routine would have already been formed. Despite their new "same old, same old", there were things that they could not get used to, such as…

"YOU!" shouted an angry Mouse at no one in particular.

Issei, Matsuda and Motohama couldn't help but stop instinctively but when they saw that Mouse was looking at a tree, they shook their heads and wanted to move on.

"I heard what you did to Cat Fu, showing off your nudity to her shamelessly! Now, you will die Issei Hyoudou!" Mouse shouted and pulled out some daggers.

This got the trio's attention. Wait, he heard about that? And he was out for Issei's blood? If so, why was he looking at a tree and not him?

Before the three of them could think any further, Mouse leapt with a cry, ready to land on the tree and plunge the daggers into Issei. But what happened was…

[SPLAT!]

…Mouse smashing face-first into the tree and falling backwards unconscious.

The trio was confused by his behavior. What the heck was he doing…?

"Guys!" Ryuga called out to them from near the school door.

The boys went to him and Ryuga set foot inside the building.

"What are you standing around for? Let's get to class," Ryuga said to them.

The boys were hesitant, as they looked back at the downed form of Mouse.

"Umm… shouldn't we get some help?" Motohama asked.

"Yeah, and not only because he's unconscious. He just shouted and attacked that tree and thought it was me," Issei pointed out.

Ryuga blinked in surprise at first. But that surprise turned to laughter, much to the trio's confusion.

"You don't have to worry," Ryuga assured them after calming down. "He's tougher than he looks. He is a martial artist after all. And as for the last part, don't worry. He's not mentally ill or anything – except for his obsession with Cat Fu – he's just shortsighted and merely forgot to put his glasses on. He confuses just about anyone and everything with the person he is trying to talk to."

Issei, Matsuda and Motohama just looked at Ryuga dumbfoundedly and then at Mouse.

'Really…? So, that's how it is…' Issei thought with a sweat drop rolling down his face.

Issei just shook his head and went in with his buddies, just hoping to avoid the loony antics of those in the school.

"Nakane, my lo-"

[WHAM!]

Suddenly, a tall guy in a gi and a hakama flew past them and hit headfirst into the wall.

Issei, Matsuda and Motohama looked at the downed boy in shock. Judging by the swollen cheek, he looked like he was punched in the face – hard. And to top it off, he was rendered unconscious. They looked for the perpetrator and saw…

"Stay down, jerk!" said an angry Nakane, who seemed to be the one who punched the hakama-wearing guy and headed her way with Sanma right next to her.

"Did she just…?" Issei wanted to ask astounded at just how much power Nakane must have put in that punch.

"Yeah. Bizarre…" Motohama agreed with a nod.

Matsuda had his attention on the injured student.

"Guys, I think we should…" Matsuda began. He did not need to finish the sentence, as Issei and Motohama understood what he was going to say.

Before, the three of them could walk up to him to help him, Ryuga put an arm on Motohama's shoulder, causing all three of them to stop.

"Let him be," Ryuga simply told them.

"Huh? How come?" Issei asked of him.

"Yeah. Shouldn't we take him to the nurse's room?" Matsuda asked in worry.

But Ryuga just shook his head. "Nah. This guy is more resilient than he looks. Besides, he gets beaten up like this every other day, so it's no problem."

"Why does he get beaten up?" Motohama asked this time.

"'Cuz he always bothers Nakane by declaring his love to her in Shakespearian language, even though she has made it clear repeatedly that she has no interest in him. I don't know why he always does that, but I personally think that he is insane and stuck in his own world. His name is Takaki Kono by the way," Ryuga answered with a headshake.

"Oh…" Issei voiced.

Another weirdo, huh? So, this guy is obsessed with Nakane, as Mouse is with Cat Fu, huh? Come to think of it, Ryuga also likes Nakane, right? So, does that mean he is a rival to Ryuga? That would explain why Ryuga was so cold to him.

But leaving him here alone? Seriously?

Then again, if this happened every day…

The perverted trio decided to just leave him be and be on their way. They did that to Mouse, so why not? Besides, they had class and they did not want to arrive late.


23rd September, Monday, 11:25 am – cafeteria, Furinkan Vocational School, Nerima

Issei, Ryuga, Matsuda and Motohama were once again eating in the cafeteria.

The day had been normal enough so far. Besides the shenanigans from Takaki and Mouse this morning, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Because it was Monday, they had Asumi-sensei as their teacher for the whole day, whom the perverted trio loved to ogle at.

She was so sexy… they should snap a picture of her as soon as they got a smartphone!

But back to the subject, the trio was grateful for any sense of normality and they weren't going to take it for granted. All the weird and quirky teachers and students needed some getting used to.

And because of that, they just hoped that no supernatural beings were going to ambush them like the last time. That was exhausting and terrifying!

Speaking of exhausting, so was Ddraig's and Ryuga's daily morning training.

Every time, the three of them fought Ryuga, he would beat them to a pulp. Ryuga claimed he was holding back which made the trio wonder how it would look like if Ryuga had gone all out.

Top it all off with Ddraig making them get up ay five am and you had to wonder just how Issei, Matsuda and Motohama were still standing and doing fine.

The reason for that? They were getting better. Their progress is slow and clumsy, but it still existed, nonetheless.

Matsuda was starting to get the hang of flying his Chopping Board Type 2, whether it be via remote control or even in the cockpit. He was even learning how to use the growth and shrinking function to his advantage.

Motohama had gone from learning how to swing his seax to sparring. With the help of Ryuga, he learned how to fight one on one. Granted, it was a bit weird to use a seax against an unnaturally hardened and overweight umbrella (which Ryuga had specifically brought along for the training) but it worked, too.

Issei had also improved. He learned how to aim and shoot better (and more frequently, too) and had even learned how to use his ice orb better.

He also managed to reach the six-boost-mark with his five-minutes-per-boost training. He barely lasted five seconds after that but it was still a notable improvement, nonetheless. Ddraig had applauded him and said that with a little more improvement to the seven-boost-mark, they could continue his dragonizing process.

Issei had mixed feelings about the dragonizing process. On the one hand, it meant he could become stronger and fight stronger opponents. He could even get wings at some point. But on the other hand, it also involved him to leave his humanity behind.

Issei could not help but wonder? Would he… still act the same way or become something… or rather someone different?

His thoughts were interrupted by the relatively loud conversation of two male students walking just behind him.

"Seriously, this newspaper has been putting out all kinds of crazy things. I mean come on! Giant black vultures here in Nerima! You would have thought that the story with the frozen Arakawa river and the wolves weren't bad enough. But this?" said one of the students with derision.

"Dude, why do you keep buying them? You know that this is fake news, so why support them – with your money?" his companion asked him with a frown.

This caught his friend of guard. He mustered himself and came up with an answer.

"Well… it… has good comics…" he answered sheepishly.

"Well, they suck! So, it's not worth wasting your money on," his friend reprimanded him.

"Yeah, you're right. Next time. I think I'll buy some comics next time around…" the first student said with a defeated sigh and threw the newspaper into the nearest bin.

'Giant vultures?' Issei wondered.

Out of curiosity, he went to the bin, reached inside and took out the newspaper in question.

Issei went back to the table to read it.

"Dude, what have you got there?" Matsuda asked Issei. Motohama and Ryuga eyed Issei with interest.

"Just this newspaper. I was just curious as to what those two guys just now were talking about…" Issei answered and looked at the newspaper.

The newspaper's headlines read: "Mysterious black feathers found in gardens across Tokyo".

Issei flipped the page to where the story was put out in detail.

"Residents have reported that in the past couple of days they have found unusually large black feathers. It is unknown where these feathers came from. Bird experts have expressed marvel at the findings. 'These feathers cannot be found on any of the birds that are found in Metropolitan Tokyo, such as pigeons or ravens' said Dr. Shinzo Karata an expert on birds. 'Judging by the size of the feathers, I believe these may be from bigger species, such as vultures. If they are anything else, then we would say they are the feathers of abnormally huge crows.' Dr. Karata concluded saying that he and his team were researching as to why these mysterious birds were appearing across the city and just how many of them there were in Tokyo. He noted that vultures are not native to the city or the surrounding region of Tokyo. More to follow…"

Other than that, the article contained a picture of the expert in the interview, as well as a depiction of the feather in question and the measurements right next to it. The feather was about 33 cm long.

"Why the interest, Issei? Did you suddenly develop an interest in birds?" Ryuga asked jokingly.

"No, just wanted to know… I was just curious," Issei answered truthfully.

"Fake news, huh? You know, if only they knew about half the things that we know, I don't think they would dismiss this story that easily," Motohama said.

"Totally. I mean, those could be big birds, but they could also be…" Matsuda stopped speaking when he froze halfway through.

Issei, Motohama and Ryuga looked at him confused.

"Matsuda? You OK?" Issei asked with a hint of concern.

"Guys, I just realized something," Matsuda spoke with a pale face. "What if it could be…"

Issei noticed Matsuda's words hanging in the air. "…could be what?"

"You know… Stray Devils…?" Matsuda said.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"""Stray Devils!?""" Issei, Matsuda and Ryuga called out in shock.

This caused every student around them to look at them.

The boys were flustered at the scene they had caused. "It's nothing! Just ignore us!"

Ryuga told all the onlookers, hoping they would mind their own business. Thankfully, they did so and were back to doing what they had been doing earlier.

"But seriously," Issei said, as he pinched his nose bridge. "Are you sure about those mysterious 'birds' being Stray Devils?"

"I don't know but those were the only mysteriously large and winged creatures in this city. What else could they be?" Matsuda reasoned with Issei.

Issei didn't answer and instead took his time to think about it. That was when Ddraig spoke to him mentally.

[Partner, I do not think those were vultures or Stray Devils] Ddraig said to Issei.

'How come?'Issei asked Ddraig.

[For one, vultures don't fly around bustling cities like these. Two, Stray Devils do not have feathery wings like birds do. In fact, Devils have leathery wings, like that of bats] Ddraig replied.

Issei remembered back to his encounter with the Stray Devils. Come to think of it, they did have bat-like wings… But if they weren't the suspects, then who?

[The only major supernatural faction with such feathers has got to be the Fallen Angels] Ddraig concluded.

'Fallen Angels?' Issei asked.

[Yes. Angels that have fallen due to their sexual desires and as a result have been cast out of heaven. They are the only supernatural group I can think of right now that has those kind of feathers] Ddraig explained.

'But why would they be here in Tokyo?' Issei asked again.

[Who knows? Fallen Angels could have all kinds of reasons to here] Ddraig shrugged (not physically by the way).

Before Issei could ask some more, the bell rang.

"The break is over?" Motohama said surprised.

"Oh, man! I still wanted to eat!" Ryuga complained.

"You can eat on the way to class. Now, let's go. Issei? Are you coming?" Matsuda addressed Issei.

Issei nodded and joined them on their way to class.

'Oh, well. Guess, I have to deal with this later…"Issei said, as he took along the newspaper, hoping to look into it later.


23rd September, Monday, 3:20 pm – in detention, Furinkan Vocational School, Nerima

Issei was sitting in detention once more, sighing tiredly. Because of the incident with Cat Fu last week, he had to sit there until Friday from 3 pm to 4 pm. Even on days where he only had six periods instead of eight, he had to wait until 4 pm.

And they could not go on their own. No, they had to wait until the teacher told them they could go. And the teacher, whose name Issei had forgotten, was a very strict one.

Issei groaned. This wasn't fair! It wasn't his fault that that pervy old man had to steal his underwear that day and pull his pants down with his manhood completely visible in public. Also, it was Cat Fu's fault for losing her cool that day. If she had remained cool, none of this would have happened! Then again, he was the one who knocked down that cupboard…

It was Ddraig's fault! He left it at that.

But back to detention. Honestly, it was boring. He just wished he could fall asleep like the last time, except without the help of a desk. According to Matsuda and Motohama, they told him he was knocked out by an angry Ryuga, who had aimed at Sanma but hit Issei instead. After that, he had been brought to the nurse's room where he woke up at 7 pm.

Issei had to admit he was rather irritated at Ryuga for doing that. But he decided it wasn't worth his energy and decided to let bygones be bygones. He went home that day, later than he had hoped to get home and went to bed early.

And speaking of beds, Issei just wished that sleep would overtake him because Ryuga and Sanma were arguing once more. Cat Fu was also there, playing and tidying her long blue hair, seemingly fine and calm despite the noise. And Hiroshi and Daisuke were playing poker once more.

Distracting himself was also not possible since any of his thoughts (whether it be the issue of the mysterious big birds or boobs and porn) would immediately be shattered by the sound of Sanma and Ryuga arguing.

"I'm telling ya! Ukyu is a great cook! OK, she may only make okonomiyaki but her cooking is at least good. Nakane? Ha! She can't even chop a carrot right, cuz' she also ends up chopping the wooden board underneath her!" Sanma told Ryuga with a laugh.

"And I'm telling you, you are wrong! Her cooking is amazing! She makes the best bento ever!" Ryuga argued with furrowed eyebrows.

"Have you ever tried her bento?" Sanma asked Ryuga challengingly.

"Of course! They taste great!" Ryuga claimed with absolute conviction.

"Heh! Then I guess you really like eating wood chips, huh?" Sanma mocked.

Ryuga growled angrily and was about to say something but Sanma continued to speak.

"I dunno how she doesn't get even a simple bento right. After all, her sister Kasumi is the complete opposite. She always knows how to make a good bento. Heck, she knows how to cook masterpieces! Sigh… oh yeah… that woman is so good…" Sanma sighed happily, his happiness quickly placed with a downcast face. "If only it weren't for him…"

"Him?" Ryuga frowned in confusion.

"Sanma?" Cat Fu stopped playing with her hair and looked at Sanma with concern. "Something is wrong?"

At this Issei turned his attention to Sanma's and Ryuga's conversation. He could not sleep and figured he might as well make the most of listening into their conversation. Also, the shift from angry shouting to sober behavior did catch Issei's interest.

"Yeah… No…" Sanma said with a saddened look. "It's just that things have changed, now that Kasumi has a boyfriend now. Ever since she had this guy, I haven't had a decent meal in days…"

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Ryuga sneered. "You miss her cooking and have to deal with Nakane's Oh-so-terrible cooking, huh?"

"Of course not!" Sanma retorted. "Ok, it may have a small part in that but… there's more to it…"

"Why? What more?" Cat Fu asked curiously. By now, even Hiroshi and Daisuke had stopped playing and were listening in.

"It's just that ever since she got that boyfriend, things have changed – and I mean a lot. Kasumi has been acting differently. Not only cuz' she isn't at home in the evening every so often but just… that something feels off. I… just dunno how to describe it. If I were to put it into words, I'd say she seems colder somehow," Sanma explained, as he bowed his head in sadness.

"Kasumi? Nakane's oldest sister?" Ryuga wondered.

Issei didn't say anything and simply nodded.

Nobody said anything else. All those present (except Issei) knew Kasumi Tengu rather well from the occasional visit to the Tengu home. All of them knew her to be a sweet woman who tended the house like the perfect housewife. She seemed almost perfect. And now she has changed for the worse? That's quite unusual…

"But that's not the only thing that's gone wrong at home," Sanma added.

Everybody's attention was raised with Sanma's statement. Sanma paid them little heed and continued.

"Ever since that guy dropped in, I've been finding all these big black feathers in our front yard from time to time. I dunno if that's a coincidence or whatnot but it constantly ticks me off just to clean them, ya know?"

Issei could not help but laugh, something Sanma noticed to his irritation.

"What's so funny, Hide number 3?" Sanma demanded angrily.

Issei calmed down and wondered about the strange insult for a second before he answered.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I just had this crazy image in my mind that that boyfriend was a guy in a bird costume. Hehe…" Issei chuckled. "Also, are you living with the Tengu family or something?" he asked curiously.

"First, no he ain't! In fact, I've never even seen a single feather on that guy! And he wasn't wearing anything feathered either! Second, yeah I am living with the Tengu family 'cuz of arrangements our parents made," Sanma answered back annoyed.

"What if he was hiding his feathers underneath his clothes?" Hiroshi theorized.

"Now, why would anybody do that? There ain't no point in doing that and it would just be ticklish underneath the clothes, too!" Sanma debunked Hiroshi.

Issei just shook his head in amusement and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Ahaha… sorry… it was just something that came to my mind…" Issei laughed.

"Oh, yeah? Well, do me a favor and shut it, will ya?" Sanma said to Issei in scorn, which caused Issei to stop laughing and frown instead.

"Jerk…" Issei spat out and turned away from the pig-tailed martial artist, who decided not to respond to Issei's insult.

'Still, I have to say that I did get a good laugh. A guy in a bird costume… Ahahaha… it still gets me… The only other way is if the guy could make the feathers disappear and reappear like a magician… or maybe Sephiroth from Final Fanta… sy? Wait a minute…' at that point Issei stopped his funny fantasies and started to think, thoughts and conclusions forming in his mind.

'Sanma did say something about black feathers, didn't he? Could it be…?' Issei connected all the dots before he wheeled himself around to face Sanma once more.

"Hey, Sanma. How did those feathers look like?" Issei asked Sanma suddenly.

Sanma frowned in irritation, as the irksome brunette talked to him once more.

"What's it to ya?" Sanma asked back rudely.

Issei unzipped his bag and pulled out the newspaper from earlier.

"Did it look something like this?" Issei showed Sanma the article about the mysterious birds in Tokyo and made sure to point at the black feather on the picture.

Sanma and the other detainees looked at it. After a few seconds, Sanma nodded.

"Yeah, the feathers did look like that. So?" Sanma asked Issei.

"Wait, what's this newspaper all about?" Daisuke's eyes scanned the page. "Giant birds in Tokyo? Really?"

"Yeah, I know that's what the article says but… that's not what I'm concerned about," Issei said to Daisuke.

"What is it then?" Ryuga asked this time.

"It's about…" Issei was about to say what he had on his mind until he gasped upon realizing that there were many people listening that ought not to. He wracked his brains to figure out how to get out of this mess. "…Uhh… never mind. It's just a crazy idea I had in my head. Anyway, do you still have one of these feathers at home, Sanma?"

"They appear at my place occasionally, so there should be plenty. Why?" Sanma asked.

"Take me there," Issei said bluntly.

This caught Sanma, along with everyone else by surprise.

"Whaddya mean by that!?" Sanma yelled almost outraged.

"Ahem!" they were interrupted by the teacher in charge of their detention with a deliberate cough. It was clear to everyone that he wanted them to quiet down.

Returning to a normal volume Sanma asked again. "Whaddya mean by that? Why would you wanna visit my place for some big bird feathers?"

"Yeah, Issei. Why would you go out of your way to visit this jerk's place?" Ryuga thumbed at Sanma, who glared at Ryuga for the jibe.

"As I said. I have this… idea and I want to see if it's true. So, will you help me, Raotome?" Issei looked Sanma in the eye.

Sanma looked back at Issei, not flinching once. Silence enveloped the two for a while, before Sanma turned away and folded his arms to his chest.

"Since ya're this obsessed with bird feathers, might as well give ya all the bird feathers ya want," Sanma let out a deep sigh.

Issei nodded. "Good… We head there right after detention. Ryuga? You coming?" Issei asked Ryuga.

Ryuga immediately shook his head. "Nah, I'll pass. Don't wanna spend any more time with Sanma here than necessary."

"And I am too busy," Cat Fu joined into the conversation. "Have to help Great Grandmother with restaurant. Otherwise, I love to be with Airen."

"Ahaha… I didn't ask for ya to come…" Sanma muttered under his breath, which Cat Fu somehow managed to pick up.

"What you say?" Cat Fu frowned, swearing she heard something negative come out of Sanma's mouth.

"Nothing, nothing…" Sanma told her, while sweating nervously.

"And we can't come either," Hiroshi spoke for himself and Daisuke. "We both were hoping to get to this café before sundown and try their newest parfait. Sorry…"

"Nobody asked you to come either…" muttered Issei under his breath.

""Huh? What?"" Hiroshi and Daisuke asked, thinking they heard Issei say something.

"Nothing, nothing…" Issei told them, also sweating nervously.

"It feels like deja-vu already…" Ryuga muttered under his breath this time.

""What?"" Issei and Sanma asked Ryuga simultaneously, thinking they heard something from him.

"Nothing, nothing…" Ryuga replied, ironically doing the same thing as Issei and Sanma did, while sweating profusely.

And so, Issei and Sanma agreed to go after detention had ended.


23rd September, Monday, 4:16 pm – on the way to the Tengu residence, Nerima

"Keep up slowpoke!" Sanma called out to Issei from on top of a wall.

"Hey! What's the deal? Why are you running anyway? I thought you wanted to show me the feathers in your house! So, shaking me off defeats the purpose, doesn't it?" Issei called back, panting as he tried to keep up.

"I never said I wouldn't do that!" Sanma mocked him.

Issei groaned but decided to endure it. He did insist on coming with him after all… But still, why did he have to go running? The morning runs were more than enough and given the training Issei did, he was afraid he might get cramps or something like that.

"How far is until your house?" Issei wanted to know.

"First, it ain't my house, it belongs to Nakane's family. I'm just staying over as a guest of a sort. Second, we're there in a few minutes," Sanma replied, and leapt from the wall he was on to a fence.

Issei had to say that he was impressed by Sanma's jumping and balancing skills. He mentally noted to ask Ryuga about it later.

For the rest of the run, none of the two exchanged a word. For one, Issei had to make sure to use his every breath just to catch up with Sanma. Even though his training put Issei into shape, he had yet to reach Sanma's level of fitness.

'Come to think of it,' Issei thought, as he sweated heavily. 'Sanma is a martial artist like Ryuga. What did I expect? I bet they trained from young just to get where they are now. How long would it take for me to catch up to their level?'

[Partner] Ddraig spoke from within his mind. [Although his physical strength and martial arts talent is great, you should not aspire to merely reach his level]

'Yeah, yeah… I know…' Issei replied mentally. 'God-level, right?'

[Indeed, Partner. And even beyond that] Ddraig affirmed.

Issei sighed. God-level… He could only wonder how that would be like… Issei did not know whether to be in awe or unsettled at that prospect. Would he still remain human?

While he was thinking these things, Sanma slowed down upon reaching a building that resembled a dojo. They went through the gate and were greeted with the sight of a garden, surrounded by a wall. The garden had trees covered in yellow leaves and the evening sun enhanced its golden glow. Moreover, it had a koi pond with fish swimming inside it. And right before Issei stood this grand old Japanese building that had a sign saying "Tengu School of Randomness".

Issei had to sat that this place was magnificent. He always loved such buildings. They always made him feel like he went back into the pre-Meiji era.

But one thing about this place bothered Issei though…

"Tengu School of Randomness? What kind of name is that?" Issei asked Sanma curiously.

Sanma had a calm and neutral expression, despite the run as he answered. "That's the Tengu's family martial art style."

"Wait, Tengu? You mean your fiancée's family? Does she also practice martial arts?" Issei wondered.

"Yeah," Sanma nodded. "And I am the same. In fact, it's because she and I and practice martial arts that we are engaged."

"Well… congratulations, I guess…" Issei said to Sanma.

However, much to Issei's surprise, Sanma's face darkened.

"Congratulations? Pff…" Sanma scoffed. "If you think that that's great, then you are welcome to take my place."

This response confused and annoyed Issei.

"Why?" Issei simply asked.

"It's a long story but… simply put, too much stress coming from my Pops, too many fiancées wanting me to get married simply because I'm a great martial artist and lots of misunderstandings and fights, I'd rather not have," Sanma summarized.

This got Issei even more confused but none more so than this one part…

"What's wrong with having multiple different fiancées?" Issei wanted to know.

Sanma looked at him blankly.

"Huh?"

There was a moment of silence before Issei asked again.

"Isn't it great to have a harem? You've got girls left and right just waiting for you to get in their pants and make love with them and have sex with you. I mean, if I was in your shoes, I'd fondled boobies every day and finally lose my virginity. I mean, what's not to like? You got this once in a lifetime opportunity and you just want to get away from that? I… I just don't understand why…" Issei trailed off, as he finished his monologue.

Sanma rolled his eyes for a bit and turned to face Issei.

"Look. I dunno what yer sources are but real life ain't like that," Sanma explained. "For one, no girl – and I mean no girl – is ever gonna be happy where she is one lover out of many."

"How so?" Issei asked Sanma with a questioning look.

"'Cuz girls wanna feel like they are the one and only in the eyes of their man. All the girls I know feel that way – that and maybe some other motives," Sanma quickly added before continuing. "But what I'm trying to say is that there is no way a harem can ever work."

Issei could not help but be irked at the last part, considering that his dream is to make a harem.

"Dude, sure it can," Issei argued with some passion in his voice. "If all the girls want you and nobody else and neither of them wants to give way, then all you need to do is… well… persuade them. Show them that they can all be friends and agree to share you. I mean, you've got the looks and are athletic, so… why not?"

Sanma widened his eyes in surprise for a brief moment before pondering about what Issei had just said. Issei waited expectantly to what Sanma had to say.

"Ya do realize that polygamy is not legal, right?" Sanma asked of Issei.

"Sure, I do. But that's not a reason not to have a harem," Issei argued.

Sanma sighed. "Dude, even if I could have a harem… it will only end up badly…"

"Oh, yeah? How would you know that?" Issei asked challengingly.

"How? 'Cuz I'm practically already in one even if I'm not married yet," Sanma answered. "And let me tell ya something. Not a day goes by in which I'm either not bothered by my pops and Nakane's dad to marry Nakane… Nakane whacking me with her hammer at the slightest offence or… Ukyu demanding I fulfill her expectations… or Komachi wanting me to be hers for her deranged fantasies even though she hates my other half… or Cat Fu and her granny to become part of her tribe… With all these things, it's impossible to come to a mere harem solution. Each one of them wants me for themselves and there's only one of me. And ya know, even if they all did agree to be my harem, I… I don't think I wanna do it," Sanma finished in a somber tone.

Issei's expression softened at that. "Why not?"

"'Cuz whatever I do, I end up making people mad or trouble follows me. And I've had plenty. Combine that with what I mentioned before. Fulfilling their desires and wishes. I can't do that with one girl, let alone four. And then, there's also the martial artist's code of honor and my family duties laid on my lap by my folks, my life is already complicated enough. Simply put, it's impossible… Sometimes I wonder if it's better for me if I… could just leave all of it behind altogether…" Sanma said, as he looked to the sky melancholy.

Issei did not know what to say. He could tell that Sanma had a lot of issues in his life. Issei still held on to the belief that the harem solution was the best. He almost drooled at the thought of doing it with all four of Sanma's girls…

Yet, Sanma raised a valid point. How could Sanma satisfy the individual needs of all his girls? Heck, how could anyone? Even hentai protagonists would come across this problem, so how much more in real life? And with all this pressure coming from the people around him, could Sanma really be blamed for thinking that way?

And while Issei was thinking about it, how would he have dealt with it? If Sayori was still with him and Issei got another girlfriend, how would she react? Would they even be together? How would he have balanced between Sayori and a new girlfriend? Issei realized that he had never thought about it this far. If balancing the two of them was thus hard, how would anyone do it with four?

For that matter, was it even realistically possible for him to have a harem in the first place?

Suddenly, Issei's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud arguing coming from inside the house, followed by the opening of the house door. Out of the door came a young woman with long light brown hair tied together with a blue scrunched in a ponytail. She had a green coat and a beige dress that reached to her ankles.

Upon seeing her Issei widened his eyes in surprise for two reasons. One, she looked beautiful and looked graceful even as she tried her best to hold in her negative feelings. And two, Issei recognized her from the other day. She was the one, he, Matsuda and Motohama had rescued the other day from those Stray Devils.

"Kasumi, I forbid you to see him and that's final!" a man with a moustache, long dark flowing hair and a black gi angrily told Kasumi. But Kasumi did not react to this, as she walked away.

This made the man really angry. He went after her and forcefully laid a hand on his shoulder.

"STOP! You will…" the man began until suddenly Kasumi lost her cool as well. She shrugged off her father's hand and turned to face him.

"NO!" Kasumi screamed at him, much to the surprise of everyone present. "I've had it with you forcing me to be a housewife and I'm tired of letting you take away my chance to be happy! I'm leaving and that's final. Go do your own cooking from now on."

With that, Kasumi stormed off, leaving the man, Issei and Sanma behind shocked and stunned.

A few second later, the man was comically crying tears.

"WAAAAAAH! My daughter just shouted at me! How could she do this to me!?" the man, who apparently is Kasumi's father, wailed.

"Tengu-san! What the heck just happened!? Why did Kasumi say she was leaving!?" Sanma demanded as he approached him.

"It's… it's that boyfriend of hers!" Tengu-san said as he recovered from his shock. "He must have manipulated her. He must have! My sweet girl Kasumi would never act this way towards me!"

Issei merely watched the scene from the sidelines. 'A family drama, huh? As if there weren't enough of those…' he thought.

Tengu-san turned to Sanma with despair-filled eyes. "Samna-kun! Please! Go to her and reason with her!"

"Wha-? Why me?" Sanma asked surprised by the request.

"I beg you, Sanma! I don't know what to say to her. I've argued with her over and over for the past few days but she just won't listen to me. Please, if anyone can do this, it's you!" Tengu-san begged Sanma with tears flowing from his eyes.

'What a crybaby…' Issei thought in amazement. 'Is he even an adult?'

"What about Hibiki and Nakane? They're her sisters and probably know better how to deal with her than me," Sanma argued.

But Tengu-san shook his head. "They're not home… Nakane is with some friends and Hibiki had some errands to run. Sanma-kun, you are the only one I can ask…"

"And my pop?" Sanma asked.

"He's taking a nap. Wait, are you actually suggesting that…?" he was about to ask if Sanma was actually suggesting that his father was the better talker than his son but decided that now was not the time. "Never mind! Right now, you are the only one I can count on. So, can you please talk to her?"

Sanma put a hand on the older man's shoulder in a bid to calm him down.

"All right, all right.. I'll go and talk to her," Sanma conceded reluctantly.

Tengu-san hugged him tightly. "Thank you my boy… thank you…"

Sanma blushed embarrassed at how awkward this scene was. He glanced over to Issei. But Issei managed to look away from him, so as to avoid eye contact. It was clear he wanted nothing to do with the matter at hand.

Sanma turned back to the sobbing Tengu patriarch. "It's OK… Just let me go…"

Tengu-San nodded and let Sanma go. Sanma was about to run off when Issei stood in his way.

"Wait! What about those feathers? You promised me you would show them to me," Issei insisted.

Sanma pointed at Tengu-san. "Ask him. He will show you. Now, if ya will excuse me…" Sanma said to Issei and then dashed off in pursuit of Kasumi, leaving Issei and Tengu-san alone in the garden.

Issei slowly turned towards Tengu-san and awkwardly started a conversation. "So… Sanma told me you had black feathers in your house…"

The Tengu patriarch looked at Sanma wearily, his tears having dried up quickly as though he had never cried to begin with. "Excuse me, but who are you? I don't believe I have seen you before."

"I am Issei Hyou- I mean Hide," Issei quickly caught himself from saying his real name. "I'm a classmate of Sanma, sir. Please take care of me," Issei made a polite bow, which Tengu-san acknowledged with a nod.

"Pleased to meet you, Sanma. I am Soun Tengu, master of the Tengu School of Randomness. I apologize for any discomfort my daughter has caused to you," Soun Tengu apologized.

"Eh, it's no problem," Issei waved it off. "I didn't mean to intrude for too long. Just wanted to see those big black feathers Sanma told me about. I heard they were lying about in your house…"

"I understand…" Tengu-san said. He gestured Issei to come in.

The inside of the house was not all that special, though it still seemed like a nice place. Though one noticeable difference was the door to the left. Issei saw that it led to the dojo, which was nice and spacious. Just the right place for multiple students to train.

Tengu-san led Issei to the living room where Issei was asked to wait.

Tengu-san went to the nearby dustbin and pulled out a feather. He went back to Issei and handed it to him.

"For some strange reason we keep finding these feathers every once in a while. They've been appearing about the same time Kasumi introduced her boyfriend to us…" Tengu-san explained to Issei with a heavy sigh.

"OK… Thanks, Tengu-san…" Issei thanked the man before heading out of the room.

Issei inspected the feather. It was just like in the newspaper. It was black and certainly seemed bigger than that of any regular bird feather. Issei sighed as he remembered the last time he held a feather in his hands. It was when he and Rin were playing cowboys and Indians when they were children. Issei would play the cowboy and Rin would play the Indian. Running up and down, fighting with makeshift toy guns and spears… Those were wonderful days… Issei could only wonder what became of Rin after he moved to England. He just hoped he was doing well…

[Partner?] Ddraig interrupted his thoughts.

'Oh, Ddraig? What gives?' Issei answered mentally.

[You were spacing out. Is something the matter?] Ddraig asked.

Issei shook his head and smiled. 'It's nothing… I was… I was just thinking about my childhood. That's all…'

After saying that, Issei focused on the matter at hand. 'What do you think? Is it Fallen Angel or something else?'

[It certainly looks like that of a Fallen Angel. But it's hard to tell just by looking. Unless we find a Fallen Angel passing by and shed feathers on a regular basis, we have no proof] Ddraig answered.

Issei frowned upon hearing that. 'Then what do we do? Just sit back and do nothing? Maybe even hope until the next feathers drop someplace else?' Issei asked in sarcasm.

[Partner, don't give up this early. There are ample opportunities to find out if…] Ddraig was then interrupted by the sound of the door opening and painful grunting.

Issei turned to the source of the sounds. He knew that voice. He went to the door and saw a horrible sight.

It was Sanma and he was limping. Blood was pouring out of his wounds on his legs and torso. Even his clothes were torn.

"Sanma!" Issei called out in shock. "What the heck happened to you?"

"Kasumi…" Sanma said in a raspy voice, trying his best to speak. "That boyfriend…" Sanma collapsed to the floor while panting heavily.

Issei narrowed his eyes. "Her boyfriend? What about him?" he asked while walking up to him.

Sanma didn't speak, since he was still breathing heavily.

"Never mind. We should call an ambulance…" Issei suggested, but Sanma held up his hand.

"No need… I… can handle this… I just need some rest. That's… *wheeze*… all…" Sanma coughed.

Issei helped him up and assisted in moving him to the living room. As they got there, Soun Tengu got the shock of his life when he saw Sanma bleeding and injured.

"Sanma-kun! What happened to you?" Tengu-san expressed with concern.

"Tengu-san, lay him on the couch and get some band aids," Issei instructed.

Together, the two of them supported Sanma and carefully laid him on the couch. Sanma winced in pain but was fine otherwise. As Tengu-san made sure he was OK, he went off to get some band aids.

While they were waiting for Soun to come back, Issei tried to get some answers from Sanma.

"What on earth happened back there? Did Kasumi's boyfriend do this to you?" Issei peppered the injured teen with questions.

Sanma nodded. "It was… the weirdest thing… and an unexpectedly close brush with death, too. *Cough…*"

Issei paid close attention to what Sanma had to say. The feeling in his gut told him that something sinister was behind all of this.

"I was out there looking for Kasumi when after only a few minutes… *cough* I managed to find her. I walked towards her, tried to come up something to say… and then I saw her boyfriend and decided to stay hidden. I dunno why I did that but… *wheeze* I'm kinda glad I did. I heard Kasumi talking about running away from home and how she wanted to stay over at his place. The boyfriend agreed… *hack* and told her to take off her clothes first…" Sanma said, before Issei interrupted.

"He wanted her to take off her clothes!?" Issei exclaimed.

"WHAT!? HE RAPED HER!? HOW DARE HE…" Soun shouted in outrage, as he came into the room with bandages a bowl of water and an ice pack.

"No, Tengu-san. He didn't. Please, let me finish my story first," Sanma told Soun, who thankfully calmed down to listen.

Sanma coughed for a bit and noticed he was bleeding on the sofa. "Then again, if ya two don't mind…?"

Soun and Issei understood and were quick to get to work. While they were tending to Sanma's wounds, Sanma continued his story.

"I was as surprised as y'all were when I heard that douchebag say that. Kasumi tried to say no and was going on that she wasn't the type to undress in public. But that jerk simply couldn't take no for an answer and did something strange. He held his hand out in front of her face and then she just… stopped talking... and she also had this blank look on her face, like she was being hypnotized – or at least in seemed so to me. I thought to myself that there was no way I could let that happen," Sanma narrated.

"What happened then? How did you get wounded? And what happened to Kasumi?" Soun pressed Sanma.

"I'm getting to that. So, as I was saying, while the guy was busy with Kasumi, I snuck up from behind and knocked him out… or at least I thought I did. I was too busy to snap Kasumi out of her hypnotized state that I almost didn't notice that the guy had gotten up and had pulled a spear out of nowhere," Sanma told them.

"A SPEAR!?" Issei exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, ya heard right. I barely managed to avoid that spear but it left this wound on my stomach. I was so caught off guard that he managed to slash my legs," Sanma pointed to the wounds on his legs. "The only reason I'm still alive was that I fired a Lion's Despair Blast at him to make him jump back. But then that creep… grew wings for some reason. He said something about taking me seriously and shot something from his wings. I tried to avoid it but… he got me… luckily he missed my vitals, though it still hurts badly…" Sanma pulled out something out of the legs of his pants.

Issei widened his eyes. It was a black feather, similar in size to the one he found earlier. Though, he noticed something was different. This feather was giving off a sheen and when Sanma gave Issei the feather, it felt hard and sharp, different from the feather he had found.

'No doubt about it…' Issei realized.

[…this is a Fallen Angel feather. Only Fallen Angel's can harden their feathers and turn them as hard as diamonds] Ddraig finished Issei's thought for him.

"I dunno what those feathers are made off but they really hurt…" Sanma winced as he felt his side, indicating that this was where he was injured.

Soun went to work and did his best to tend that wound as well.

"How did you escape?" Issei wanted to know.

"I had to resort to some cheap tricks. Thankfully, he was arrogant enough to get close to me. And when he did, I used the opportunity to throw some dirt in his eyes and high-tail outta there. The rest of the story, you know," Sanma finished his tail.

This made Soun angry for some reason. "You ran away and left my daughter in the hands of this… monster!?" he said in outrage.

Sanma glared back. "I was badly injured and still am, remember? I couldn't just take him down, 'cuz he was strong enough to almost kill me. Had I stayed, I wouldn't even be alive. After all, who knew what tricks he had up his sleeve. He managed to surprise me this much."

"And leave Kasumi into the hand of that monster!? What if he kills her? What then?" Soun demanded, accidentally pressing Sanma's wound too hard..

"Owow… Tengu-san… you're hurting me…" Sanma grimaced in pain.

Upon realizing what he was doing, Soun backed off.

"I… I apologize…" Soun said.

Sanma sighed. "It's OK, Tengu-san. Besides, I have the feeling that that man won't kill her, so there's no problem in that department. Only problem is, we don't know what that guy is planning… or what he is… and we don't know where Kasumi is either."

"My baby girl!" Soun wailed, crying buckets of tears once more.

Issei's face turned grim. This was not good. No sooner had he found out about the presence of Fallen Angels in town and he already had a new problem. Issei wondered just why his curiosity for the supernatural always got him into situations like this. Then again, the supernatural world was the one that found him first, so to blame his curiosity for it wasn't quite right.

Even so, Issei didn't feel like backing away because of trouble. Rather, he felt like he needed to do this.

Because he was the only one who could…

"Don't worry, Tengu-san. There's still hope. In fact, I think I've got a lead. It's a weak one but still. Isn't that right, Hide no. 3?" Sanma turned his face to Issei, Soun following suit.

Issei looked at them in surprise.

"Me?" Issei questioned and pointed at himself. "Why me? And what's up with that nickname anyway?"

"Ya're the youngest of yer brothers, right? I heard it from Ryuga," Sanma said with a momentary grin, which was quickly replaced by a serious look. "Something tells me that ya weren't looking for these feathers because ya were a bird enthusiast. Ya knew, didn't ya? Ya knew what he was. And ya're gonna tell us everything we wanna know."

Soun said nothing and simply looked at Issei expectantly.

Issei gulped. It seemed like it was time to spill… and he also figured that he won't be going home until late in the evening.


And that was Chapter 30 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.

Now, you might have noticed the relative absence of Matsuda and Motohama in this chapter. This so that Issei can go through some challenges of his own. This story is titled "The Lone Vigilante Issei" so the story has to reflect the title in some way. That is what I have committed myself to do.

Another reason for their absence (as well as Ryuga's absense) is so that Issei could build a bond with Sanma. I didn't intend them to be on bad terms forever. Even though they have their differences regarding the issue of having harems, to have an honest conversation is to start a solid bond.

Kasumi Tengu is obviously based of Kasumi Tendo for Ranma ½ - a sweet lovely patient character in the original story. This character, however, will be a bit more complex. In what way, you may ask? Well, you will see soon…

Also, I feel like in Kasumi's and Soun's case, I realized I straight out copied the names of their original counterparts and only changed the surname. That was because I realized too late that I could have named Kasumi "Kazumi" but decided against because it was too much effort to change it now and left it as it is. With Soun, I didn't know what other similar sounding name to give him, so I left him his original fist name.

And as for the Fallen Angels, I'll just let you know that they will be tougher than the previous enemies Issei has faced thus far.

Will he manage to stop the Fallen Angel's from carrying out their plans and save Kasumi? Find out next time.

In the meantime, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Did you like it?

Please read and review. I hope to hear from you.

And I also wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Tens have just ended, the new Twenties have just begun…

I will hopefully see you then.

Until then.

Hide Shinyama